Barron County, Wisconsin - Chapter 8: County Officials, 1922

The first officers of Dallas county, which soon thereafter became Barron county, were appointed by Governor Lucius Fairchild late in 1868 to take effect Jan. 1, 1869. The first regular county election was held in the fall of 1869.

The following list of county officers has been compiled from the official records. The year given is the year of taking office, and each official mentioned served until the year given as the beginning, of his successor's term.

County Treasurer. 1869, James Bracklin (appointed) ; 1870, John Quaderer; 1872, M. W. Heller; 1874, Hiram Sawyer (Mr. Sawyer refused to move his office from Rice Lake to Barron in 1875, it was found that he had not filed a proper bond, and his office was declared vacant) ; 1875, John Quaderer (ap¬ pointed Feb. 11) ; 1876, Washington Bird (upon Mr. Bird's leaving the county his office was declared vacant on Jan. 23, 1879) ; 1879, N. M. Rockman (ap¬ pointed Jan. 23) ; 1891, J. E. Horsman; 1893, George Parr; 1897, Charles Chris¬ tenson ; 1899, Wilfred A. Demers ; 1903, Charles W. Moore (died May 6) ; 1903, Bennie Johnson (appointed May 16, and later elected) ; 1907, K. Edward Thompson; 1911, George E. Carr; 1915, E. C. Cleveland; 1917, S. R. Pollock.

Sheriff. 1869, Alex Beaton; 1871, E. L. Dolittle; 1874, Alex Beaton; 1876, A. J. Barton; 1878, William W. Dietz; 1880, A. J. Barton; 1882, J. N. Plato; 1885, Silas Speed ; 1887, J. W. Stone ; 1889, William W. Dietz ; 1891, Silas Speed ; 1893, Herbert M. Helliker; 1895, Fred S. Waterman; 1897, William W. Dietz; 1899, John M. Rassbach; 1901, John A. H. Johnson; 1903, John M. Rassbach; 1905, Hawkin Knutson; 1907, Christopher Kurschner; 1909, John H. Johnson; 1911, John M. Rassbach; 1913, Robert A. Phillips; 1915, Matt Olson (killed Jan. 25, 1916) ; 1916, A. I. Hulbert (appointed Feb. 2) ; 1917, Hans P. Borgen (removed late in 1917) : 1917, John H. Johnson (appointed Nov. 28, elected for full term of 1919-20, served until July 1, 1920, and declared not eligible) ; 1920, A. W. McGeorge (appointed July 1) ; 1921, John H. Johnson (eligibility ques¬ tion still in the courts). Mr. Johnson, as noted, was appointed Nov. 28, 1917, to fill out Mr. Borgen's term. He served a year and one month under this ap¬ pointment. He ran for the office in the fall of 1918, was elected, and took office under that election, Jan. 1, 1919. Under the Wisconsin law, a sheriff is not allowed to succeed himself. Mr. Johnson's eligibility was called into question, and the courts declared him ineligible after he had served a year and a half of his elected term. In the fall of 1920, he again ran for the office, was elected, and started his duties under his election, Jan. 21, 1921. His eligibility was again brought into question under the same law. In February, 1922, the Supreme Court held that his election in 1920 was legal and he will hold the office the full term.

County Judge. 1869, Francis Finley (appointed, then elected) ; 1874, Harvey J. Sill; 1882, William P. Swift; 1890, Henry S. Comstock (resigned in the spring of 1901) ; 1901, Andrew F. Wright (elected in April to serve out the year) ; 1902, Charles W. Meadows (resigned in summer of 1917) ; 1917, An¬ drew F. Wright (appointed Sept. 1, 1917, and then elected to full term).

Municipal Courts. The Municipal court of Barron county had its incep¬ tion Jan. 9, 1880, when the county board appointed H. J. Sill, William R. Smith and Charles S. Taylor to draft a bill embodying such a feature, and present it to the Legislature. The act was duly passed, and the First court created. In 1887 the Second and Third courts were created.

The First Municipal court meets at Barron. The first judge, Jerome F. Coe, was elected April 13, 1880. He was succeeded in 1892 by Clarence C. Coe, who served until 1900, when Fred B. Kinsley was elected. John W. Soderburg was elected in 1912. He was followed in 1916 by Charles A. Taylor. Judge Taylor was re-elected in 1920, and in the summer of 1921 resigned, being suc¬ ceeded by Fred B. Kinsley.

The Second Municipal court meets at Rice Lake. Franklin M. Angel was elected judge of this court April 14, 1887. In 1899 Lewis L. Constance was elected. James Robbins was elected in 1911, and re-elected in 1915 and 1919. At his death, C. A. Stark was appointed, and is still serving the unexpired term.

The Third Municipal court meets at Cumberland. Andrew F. Wright was elected judge of this court April 14, 1887. He did not qualify. William N. Fuller was elected in 1891, and re-elected in 1895. For some years the court did not function, the business being handled by a police justice. In 1907 An¬ drew F. Wright was elected. Judge Wright occupied the bench until Sept. 1, 1917, when he resigned to become county judge. R. B. Hart was appointed, and in 1919 was elected.

Circuit Judge. H. L. Humphrey, who held the first term of court in this county at Rice Lake in 1874, was judge of the Eleventh circuit from 1866 to 1877. The county was included in the Eleventh circuit by the apportionment of 1877. The judges have been: Henry D. Barron, 1877-1881; Solon H. Clough, 1882-1888; R. D. Marshall, 1889-1894; Aad. J. Vinje, 1895-1909; Frank A. Ross, 1910-1918; Frank A. Foley, 1919.

The first attorney to locate in the county was E. M. Sexton, who came in 1872. He was closely followed by H. J. Sill, John H. Ives and F. M. Angel. A new impetus was given to the legal profession of the county with the arrival of Charles S. Taylor, as district attorney, appointed by the governor in 1876.

Members of the Legislature. William T. Price, of Black River Falls, rep¬ resented this region in the state senate in 1870-71. In the latter year the ap¬ portionment placed Barron county in the Thirteenth Senatorial district. Its senators were: Joseph C. Thorp, Eau Claire, 1872-73; Hiram P. Graham, Eau Claire, 1874-75; Rockwell G. Flint, Menomonie, 1876-77. In 1877 the appor¬ tionment placed Barron county in the Twenty-fourth Senatorial district. Its representatives were: Dana Reed Bailey, Baldwin, 1878-79; S. S. Fifield, Ash¬ land, 1880-81; James Hill, Warren, 1882-84; Joel F. Nason, St. Croix Falls, 1885-88; Charles S. Taylor, Barron, 1889-94; James H. Stout, Menomonie, 1895-1910; George E. Scott, Prairie Farm, 1911-16; A1 C. Anderson, Menomonie, 1917 to the present time. The county is now in the Twenty-Ninth Senatorial district with Polk and Dunn counties.

Barron County in 1870 was included in an assembly district embracing Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas and Polk counties. The district was represented in the assembly by Samuel B. Dresser, of Osceola Mills. Following him came: Samuel S. Vaughn, Bayfield, 1871; Henry D. Barron, St. Croix Falls, 1872-73; Samuel S. Fifield, Ashland, 1874-76; Woodbury S. Grover, Prairie Farm, 1877; Canute Anderson, Grantsburg, 1878; William J. Vincent, St. Croix Falls, 1879 ; Lars L. Gunderson, Cumberland, 1880 ; George D. McDill,

Osceola Mills, 1881-82. By a new apportionment the counties of Barron, Bayfield, Burnett and Douglas were made an assembly district. Its representa¬ tive was Canute Anderson, Grantsburg. The districts were again reappor¬ tioned, and Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas and Washburn became one district. It was represented by Charles S. Taylor, Barron, 1885-88. In 1888, Barron County was made one district, and has since continued to remain so. The representatives have been: Charles W. Moore, Chetek, 1889-92; Sewall A. Peterson, Rice Lake, 1893-94; Jonathan J. Smith, Barron, 1895-98; Kapp E. Rasmussen, Rice Lake, 1899-1902; Henry C. Dolittle, Cumberland, 1903-04; George E. Scott, Prairie Farm, 1905-10; Andrew Gulickson, Stanley Town¬ ship, 1911-14; James R. Beckwith, Barron, 1915-16; Isaac J. Kvam, 1917 (Mr. Kvam died suddenly at Madison during the term of the legislature, Feb. 14, 1917) ; C. A. Beggs, Rice Lake, 1917-18 (Mr. Beggs was elected to fill out Mr. Kvam's term); Clarence C. Coe, Barron, 1919-20; John L. Dahl, Rice Lake, 1921-22.