Manitowoc County, Wisconsin - Chapter 9: Politics, 1904

When the territory of Michig-an was org-anized it included what is now the state of Wisconsin. In the thirties this latter section of the western country was divided into counties and the whole northeastern part was known as Brown county, what is now Manitowoc being- embraced within its confines. On December 7 183^, however, soon after Wisconsin became a separate territory Manitowoc county was constituted, althoug-h not at first including- the present towns of Gibson, Cooperstown, Two Creeks or township 21 of the township of Mishicot, this territory remaining- as part of the orig^inal county of Brown until February 1850, when it was annexed. The county seat of Manitowoc was fixed at Manitowoc Rapids but no definite county g-overnment was established until two years later. In January 1838 an act was passed to the effect "that the county, contained within the boundary lines of Manitowoc County be and hereby is set off as a separate town by the name of Conroe and the polls of election shall be opened at Conroe's Mills." Finally in December the counties of Manitowoc and Sheboyg^an were organized by the leg-islature "for all purposes of county g-overnment," the first election for town and county oflficers beingfixed to take place on the first Monday in March, 1839 and it was further provided that the county commissioners of Brown county were to canvass the vote and issue certificates of election. It remained dependent on the latter county judicially, however, until 1848. Thus Manitowoc became a po- litical unit, enabling- a study of its political complexity as the varying- local, state and national issues evolved and disappeared. And first as to its attitude on national questions from the time of its org-anization until the present day.

At the outset it should be noted that Manitowoc county as a whole has always under normal conditions been a Democratic stronghold. The majority of that part}' has not been so great as to make changes in political complexion impossible when particular issues came to the front but the above statement is borne out by a careful investig-ation of the votes for presidential and cong-ressional candidates. The first opportunity for a division on national questions was that offered by the election of a delegate to congress from Wisconsin Territory' in 183^. Forty votes were cast in the county, of which J. B. Doty, the Democratic candidate, received twentynine, while Bennett, the chief opponent, received but nine. In 1841 a deleg-ate was again to be chosen; the total vote was increased by six, Henry Dodge, the Democratic candidate receiving- twenty-seven as compared with nineteen for J. E. Arnold, the representative of the Whig-s. In 1843 Dodge ag-ain carried the county receiving twenty-nine votes as against three for the Whig- candidate, W. Hickok. M. L. Martin, also a Democrat, in 1845 received forty majority and in 1847 M. W. Strong-, Democrat, received sixty-seven votes to sixty-four received by J. H. Tweedy, Whig-, showing- a closer division than had existed theretofore. In fact from 1846 to 1852, by which time ma.nj German Democrats had immig-rated to the county, the balance between the Democrats and Whig-s was about even. A year after .this last vote for delegate Wisconsin became a state and Manitowoc was placed in the Ihird Congressional disli ict. The presidential election then came on, the first in which Wisconsin voles cuuld be cast and that Manitowoc was relied on for a Democratic majority is evinced by the following- from the Green Bay Advocate: "Well, as what is wanted is to carr}- the state for Cass and Butler if the 'old North county' can't bring- it up we will call in the aid of our sisters, Manitowoc and Calumet - and if all these don't do we will finally give up all claims." The result in the county was as follows: - Cass, Democrat, 159; Taylor, Whig-, 77; Van Buren, Free Soil, 30; while the congressional vote was. Doty, Dem., 169; Howe, Whig-, 67; Judd, Free Soil, 30. Two years later Mr. Doty ran for congress again, receiving 420 votes, while 165 went to Harrison C. Hobart, the independent candidate, thus showing a great increase in the Democratic vote, despite a disaffection led against Mr. Dot}^ by George T^eed and others.

The presidential election of 1852 then approached. Pierce and King the regular Democratic nominees received a majority of over five hundred above all others, the vote being as follows: Pierce, 874; Scott, Whig, 209; Hale, Free Soil, 9. The congressional fight resulted similarly, James B. Macy, Democrat, receiving 843 votes and J. M. Shaffer, Whig, 243. In 1854, however, the Democrats of Wisconsin suffered a schism and as a result in the Third district two candidates were placed in the field. Turner the straight and Macy the bolting nominee, while Charles Billingshurst received the united support of the then new Republican party. The result was a victory for the last named all along the line, the vote in the county being: Billingshurst 750, Turner, 374, Macy 125. This defection from, the Democratic ranks was due largely to the question of free soil in Kansas and Nebraska and '.-v^as not of a continuous character for in 1856 the Democrats appeared stronger than ever. In the meantime the county had greatly increased in population and the presidential campaign took on almost modern form. In August a Republican rally was arranged for in order to make a demonstration against slaver}' extension, the call being signed by C. Roeser, C. Esslinger, J. Bennett, |N. Preston and others, several of whom had formerly been Democrats. An organization was formed with P. P. Smith as president and J. Bennett as treasurer and a similar movement headed by R. Klingholz and H. Baetz took place among the German Republicans, while other clubs were formed at Rapids and Two Rivers, A. C Pierce and H. Billings being presidents of tne respective orgfanizations. The Democrats were equally active and the result was that in Manitowoc two monster demonstrations were held by the two parties on October 11th. People from the rural districts came in with ox teams and a hickory pole was raised with g-reat acclaim by the Democrats, a Buchanan flag- being- hoisted upon it. A parade was then formed, led by the Sheboygan and Schmitz bands and containing- fully fifty wagons full of voters and their families, who proceeded to the Franklin House, where from the balcony Colonel E. Fox Cooke of Sheboyg-an addressed them upon the issues of the day. The Republican demonstration was led by Colonel K. K. Jones, one of the features of the parade being- thirty-two ladies on horseback while many of the sterner sex rode in the rear decked out in all the finery of feathers and plumes. Finally the campaig-n came to an end, Buchanan carrying- the count}-, his vote being 1907 to Fremont's 1177, Hobart's majority over Billingshurst being about the same for congress. Mr. Billiiig-shurst carried the district however, and was returned to Washington, where he continued to represent his constituents ably. In 1858 Manitowoc county came forward with its first candidate for cong-ressional honors, William Aldrich of Two Rivers being- prominently before the Republican convention of the district, but he received but six votes for the honor. Representative Billing-shurst was renominated and Charles Larrabee chosen by the Democrats to be their standard bearer. Both candidates stumped the county but Billing-shurst was defeated, his vote being- 1086 and that of his opponent 1598, Larabee also carrying- the district by a heavy majority.

And then came the thrilling- and momentous campaig-n of 1860. When the news of Doug-las' nomination by the northern wing- of the Democrac}' reached Manitowoc on June 24th g-reat rejoicing- occurred among- the Manitowoc Democrats, among- whom were many who considered ''the Little Giant" the greatest statesman of the age. A flagraising-, bonfire, parade and ball were a few of the varied modes of welcome which the information received, prominent amongthe participants being- E. K. Rand, C. C, Barnes. T. Robin- son, W. D. Hitchcock, H. Berners, A. Wittman, Temple Clark and ethers. The fact that at the time Lincoln was not as widely known somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of the Republicans until later in the campaig^n, when the candidate began to prove his worth. The Democrats were, however, not united since several of the prominent leaders supported the Breckenridg-e ticket, put up by the southern wing- of the party. Chief among- them were H. S. Pierpont and C. Kuehn of Two Rivers, C. W. Fitch, editor of the Herald and C. A. Reuter of Manitowoc. In choosing- delegates to the congressional convention a compromise was effected whereby Mr. Pierpont, a Breckenridg-e and Joseph Vilas, a Douglas Democrat were chosen. The split was injected into count)' politics as well and as the ye^r advanced the chances of Democratic victory decreased proportionately. However org-anization was perfected on both sides and the strug-gle went on unabated. As early as July the German Republicans organized a club with H. Baetz as president, followed by the Scandinavian Republicans, who chose Jacob Halverson as their leader, the Two Rivers Republican club and finally the Wide Awakes, a Republican org-anization formed in Manitowoc, whose distinctive insig-nia, oilcloth caps and helmets, made them conspicuous in all public demonstrations. A. Scott Sloan and Judge Larrabee, the candidates of the Republican and Democraticticketsfor congress canvassed the county thoroughly. At Two Rivers a parade was formed by the supporters of the former, attended by thirty farmers from Cooperstown carrying "a rail symbolizing allegiance to Lincoln" and in which many "hard fisted factory operatives" as they were flatteringly called participated. Democratic clubs were also active and thus the campaign progressed with parades, speeches and illuminations. Finally the eventful November day arrived and Manitowoc registered its vote against slavery in no uncertain manner, breaking over accustomed party lines so to do. Lincoln received 2041 votes, Douglas 1947 and Breckenridge a meager 9, while for congress Sloan received 2078 and Larrabee 1948. The vote clearly showed that what Breckenridge sentiment there had been in the county earlier in the

3'ear had been dissipated by the threats of secession. The Republicans celebrated the victory by an enthusiastic demonstration on November 17, in which a parade headed by Marshal Robert Blake was a feature. The war then broke out and men's minds necessarily turned from mere politics, all supporting the g-overnment in its struggle for existence. The Republicans, however, 'id not retain their control of the county, a fact shown by the election of 1862, in which Wheeler, the Democratic candidate for congress, received 795 majority over Browne, his Republican opponent The county was now in the Fifth district together wnth Calumet, Winnebago, Green Lake, Marquette, Waupaca, Outagamie, Brown, Kewaunee, Door, Oconto and Shawano counties. Both H. S. Pierpont and George Reed 'were mentioned as possibilities for congressional honors in the Democratic district convention of that year, which was presided over by the former.

Opposition to Lincoln grew steadily owing to the length of the war and the campaign of 1864 was in reality started a year earlier. In February 1863 a Democratic club was organized at the Courthouse, with the protection of the constitution as its aim and "Conciliation and Peace" as its motto. Among the promoters were F. Becker, W. Bach, J. Crowley, A. Bleser, W. M. Nichols, J. C. Eggers, G. S. Glover. P. J. Blesch, M. Kuhl, R. O'Connor, A. Wittmann and George Reed, the last named being elected president. Similar clubs were organized throughout the county also. The movement was met by the Republicans in March in the formation of the Union club, which met at Klingholz Hall weekly, among the members being S. A. Wood, J. F. Guyles, Oscar Koch, P. P. Smith, S. W. Smith, Rev. Mead Holmes and O. H. Carpenter. Many Manitowoc Democrats attended the National convention of their party held in Chicago in August 1864, which nominated General McClellan for the presidency. The campaign which followed was a hotly contested one, although party lines were changed considerably as a result of the war and the issues arising therefrom. Joseph Vilas was put forward by the local Democrats for the congressional nomination but received only fourteen votes in the conventioi; against twenty-nine for Gabriel Bouck of Oshkosh. The result of the election was a landslide for the Democrats, the home vote being- 2248 for McCLdlan and 1179 for Lincoln, the vote of the soldiers in the field somewhat reducing the former's majority. Colonel Bouck secured a similar lead over Philetus Sawyer in the county, although the latter carried the district. By 1866 due partially to the latter's interest in Manitowoc harbor improvements the Republican vote increased to 1737, Martin, the Democratic candidate receiving 1891 votes.

The campaign of 1868 was a closely contested one in Manitowoc. Seymour and Blair clubs divided honors as to enthusiasm with Grant and Wilson organizations and several prominent speakers, including Gov. Fairchild and George B. Smith visited the county. At the congressional convention Joseph Vilas was nominated on the first ballot and he carried on the fight with great vigor against Philetus Sawyer, whom the Republicans had renominated. The vote' for president was very close, Seymo.ur receiving 7640 votes and Grant 2605, For congress, how.ever, Mr. Vilas ran greatly al;ead of hi« ticket, receiving 3204 votes as against 2043 for Sawyer and also carrying Calumet, Kewaunee, Marquette and Outagamie counties. He was, however, defeated in the district as a whole, his total vote being 12431 against Sawyer's 16816. In 1870 another change took place and Sawyer, popular in the county on account of his championship of the harbor, received 3000 votes, a majoritv of 1473 over Stringham, his Democratic opponent. By 1872, however, the Democrats had' resumed their control of the situation and were able to put up a strong and winning fight for Greeley. Another Manitowoc man was in the congressional fight this time in the person of Henry Baetz, who was the Republican nominee. Manitowoc by the new apportionment was still in the Fifth district, which now included the counties of Dodge, Fond dvi Lac, Manitowoc and Sheboygan. The result of the election was as follows: - Gram 2289. Greeley 2677; for congress, Eldridge 2526, Baetz, 2443. Mr. Baetz was also defeated by a heavy majority in the rest of the district. In 1874 Bur- chard, the Democratic nominee for cong-ress, received 3157 votes, Barber, his opponent, polling only 1923. The next campaig"n was a memorable one. A Hayes club, of which A. D. Jones was president was early organized and among the speakers secured by the Republicans were ex-Governor Salomon and Matt Carpenter. T)ie result was an overwhelmingvictory for the Democrats, Tilden receiving 3908 votes to Hayes' 2700 while Bragg for congress received 3913 ag-ainst 2692 for G. W. Carter, his Republican opponent. During the long electoral struggle that followed the election excitement was intense, the Democrats holding mass meetings in protest against the final decision of the electoral commission. In 1878 Gen. Bragg secured another large majority of 1085 for congress over Smith, his opponent, which was reduced in 1880 to 630 over Colman, Republican.

The presidential campaign of 1880 was somewhat featureless in the county. Gen. Hancock, the Democratic nominee cairying it by a somewhat reduced majority, his vote being 3676 while that for Garfield was 2988. Two years later a Manitowoc man again ran for congress and this time secured the prize. He was Joseph Rankin, a Democrat and one of the most poj ular and straightforward men that Wisconsin has ever sent to national council halls. In the eighties the Fifth district included Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Calumet and Brown counties. Rankin received 3228 votes in the county and 12,933 in the district, while his opponent, Howland, received 1483 votes in the county and 6108 in the district. The Prohibition district convention was held in Manitowoc that year and at the time about one hundred votes, the maximum of the party's strength, were polled in the county. In 1884 Congressman Rankin ran again, this time against Charles Luling, also of Manitowoc and defeated him by a majority of 1353 in the county and 6241 in the district. As elsewhere in the country the Blaine-Cleveland fight of 1884 was a bitter one but the latter's majority was very large, the vote being- Cleveland 4203, Blaine 2525. Cong-ressman Rankin died early in 1886, greatly lamented at Washington as well as at his home and it became necessary to hold a special election to fill the remainder of his term. Charles Luling- was nominated by the Republicans and Joseph Vilas put forward b}' Manitowoc Democrats before their party convention but their claims were rejected, larg-ely throug-h the action of the Sheboyg-an deleg-ates. Thomas R* Hudd of Green Bay received the nomination, the vote beings Hudd 16, Vilas 8, Horn 3, Timlin 3. Local Democrats resented this action of their convention and the result was that Mr, Luling- carried the count}', his vote being- 2338 as ag-ainst Hudd's 1586, although the latter's majority in the district was 3781. Hudd carried the county in the fall at the reg-ular election, his majority over Kuesterman, his Democratic opponent, being- 1534. The Cleveland administration recog-- nized Manitowoc Democracy by appointing- William A. Walker United States - district attorney, that g-entleman thereupon removing- to Milwaukee.

The presidential campaig-n of 1888 in the county was one of g-reat enthusiasm, parades being- frequent. The result was another majority for Cleveland, reduced somewhat but still substantial, his vote being 4218 ag-ainst 2713 for Harrison, 127 for Streeter, Prohibitionist, and 19 for Fish, Labor, George Brickner, the Democratic candidate for congress defeating- Kuesterman by about the same majority, Brickner ag-ain carried the county in 1890 by a majority of 1285 over T. Blackstock, a Republican. In 1892 a long- deadlock occured at the Democratic cong-ressional convention held at Fond du Lac. The deleg-ates from Manitowoc supported A. J. Schmitz as did many others but after scores of ballots Owen A. Wells of Fond du Lac received the nomination. Manitowoc was now in the Sixth district, including- the counties of Marquette, Fond du Lac, Winnebag-o, Calumet, Waushara and Green Lake. The Republicans in this campaign placed Emil Baensch in the field for cong-ress. The result of the campaign was easily discernible by men of political experience even before the vote had been taken. The feeling against the McKinley tariff bill was strong and particularly so in the west. The Cleveland landslide was tremendous, his vote in the county being 4349 as against Har- rison's 2276, a majority of 2073. Owing- to the popularity of candidate Baensch he ran about six hundred votes ahead of his ticket, but failed of election in the district. The county soon underwent a g-eneral political chang-e, due perhaps to the stringency of the times and in 1894 the contest for cong"ress was ag-ain close, Wells receiving- 3368 votes while S. A. Cook, the Republican nominee received 2923, he carrying the district. The Populisit party about this time became a factor and secured many adherents in the two cities of the county, detracting largely from the Democratic strength. The silver issue then came to the front and many prominent Democrats, including John Nagle, editor of the Pilot, bolted the Bryan ticket. This defection spread throughout all portions of the county, causing a great change, which was doubtless augmented by the able speakers, such as General Bragg, Senator Quarles and others who were sent to the county to address the citizens. The result was a Republican victory, the first on national issues since 1860, the vote being as follows: - McKinley 4431, Bryan 3917, Palmer lb3, the last being the Gold Democratic vote. J. H. Davidson, the Republican nominee for congress, also carried the county by a majority somewhat smaller over W. F. Gruenewald.* In 1898 Mr. Davidson and J. Stewart were opponents, Davidson losing the county by 206 votes. In 1900 silver plus expansion was again before the people and Manitowoc county remained in the Republican column. The local cam^ paign was a hard fought one and McKinley 's majority was somewhat reduced, the vote being as follows: - McKinley 4317, Bryan 4167, Debs 169, Wooley 65, Mallory 4. Congressman Davidson also carried the county by a majority of 241 over his Democratic opponent, Mr. Watson of Fond du Lac, and in 1902 he was again re-elected, carrying Manitowoc county by 418 votes over Thomas Patterson. Summarizing it will be seen that the Republicans have carried the county in but three out of fourteen presidential campaigns, and in only seven out of twenty-seven congressional struggles.

STATE POLITICS. Manitowoc county has voted for g-overnors of the state larg-ely as it voted for presidents of the nation. It is of interest, however, to note how and bj whom the county has been represented in the leg-islature and on the state tickets of the various political organizations. In territorial days Manitowoc was represented in the council and assembly larg-ely by strang-ers, mainly from firown county. The vote of the county in 1837 was called into question in a contest for a scat in the council. At this election the county g-ave J. Dickinson 32 votes and A. J. Irwia 2. In 1840 J. W. Conroe was elected to the lower house from Brown county and held the position for several years, being" the sole representative from Manitowoc until statehood was reached. C. V. Arndt of Green Bay, who was a representative of the Manitowoc interests was shot by another legislator in 1842 and the news of the tragedy created considerable stir when it reached his constituents. W. H . Bruce, then a resident of the Rapids and a friend of the murdered man, made a trip to the state capitol in the dead of winter in order, if possible, to assist in aveng-ing- the dastardly act. In 1843 a vote concerning- the adoption of a state governmjnt was taken, the vote in the county being- 5 for and 6 ag-ainst the proposition, showingthat little interest was taken in the matter at the time. On August 7 1846 the question ag-ain came up and Manitowoc registered its vote as 23 for and 4 ag-ainst the proposition. A constitutional convention was called in 1847 and Kvander M. Soper was sent to represent Manitowoc county. He served on the committee on banks and banking- but otherwise took no prominent part in the proceedings. The labors of this convention were rejected in the state when the constitution was put to a popular vote, although it carried the county by a vote of 96 to 45, Manitowoc also reg-istering- her vote ag-ainst the equal suffrag-e of the negro at the time. A second constitutional convention was called as soon as the work of the first had been rejected and this time the people accepted the document, Manitowoc county g^iving- 122 votes for and 5 ag-ainst the proposition. It was represented in this

Then followed the first election. Manitowoc was placed in the First Senatorial district tog-ether with Brown and Sheboyg-an counties and H. C. Hobart of Sheboyg"an was chosen the first senator, becoming- a leading- member of the upper house. The vote for assemblyman resulted in a tie between D. Smith of Mishicot and Ezra Durg-in. K. K, Jones in a letter to the Manitowoc Pilot published in 1860 describes the first state election in the county as follows: - "Within about threi weeks after my arrival (May 1848) we had an election for a representative to the first state legfislature. Col. Ezra Durg-in, and the lamented and noble Daniel Smith of Mishicot were opposing- candidates. The result was a tie; a new election was called by John Plumb, a deputy undersheriff of Brown county. We, the Smith men, denied the leg-ality of the call and g-enerally staid at home and the Durg-in men had it all to themselves. Next week lihder a call from the coroner, the late Hubbard, Uncle Dan's friends went in on their muscle and had an election all alone in their g-lory. I believe we claimed more votes cast at our election than theirs. However Col. Durg-in took his seat and a very inflrential and energ-etic member he made. If Manitowoc never had a worse one to represent her she may well be proud of them all. The g-ood old Whig- party of those dav's in the county consisted of James L. Kyle, James Bennett, Harvey Case, Pliny Pierce, Daniel Smith, Alfred Smith, H. H. Smith, Fred Borcherdt imd perhaps a half dozen others, whom I do not now remember, excepting- our old friend Mc- Nulty who was then one of us. I was also counted in that squad. Col. Sherwood used to say he admired our courag-e but had a poor opinion of our discretion. Yet we used to make a heap of trouble in your wig-warns at every election." At this same election Dewey, the Democratic nominee for governor, carried the count}- by twenty votes over Tweedy his Whig- opponent.

Stockbridg-e, Theodore Conkey of Appleton, H. N. Smith of Plymouth and David Taylor of Sheboyg-an. In the assembly, however, during- the same period the county remained as one of the units of representation. Charles Kuehn was unanimously elected in the fall of 1848 and the succeeding- fall defeated James L. Kyle, the Whig- candidate, by a vote of 182 to 132. In the election of 1850 G. C. O. Malmros received 229 votes for the position as ag-ainst 214 cast for J. M. Sprag-ue and 68 for A. W, Preston while in 1851 and 1852 E. Ricker defeated S. B. Sherwood and B. P. White respectively. In the fall of 1853 the Whig-s were victorious, James L. Kyle receiving- 543 and J, M. Sherwood 416 votes, althoug-h Barstow the Democratic candidate for g-overnor carried the county by over 600 majoiity In that year also the county g-ave 618 votes ag-ainst and only 319 for the prohibitory liquor law then before the people. In 1854 a three cornered strug^g-le occurred in the county for a seat in the lower house. James Bennett was placed in nomination by the newly org-anized Republicans, Lyman Emerson by the Democrats and J. M. Sherwood by the Independent Democrats. Bennett was elected, receiving 616 votes, while Emerson received but 313 and Sherwood 308. Manitowoc county played an important part in the formation of the Republican party in the state of Wisconsin during- this year. It may be well said that the org-anization took definite form at a People's State convention held in Madison on July 31st. C. Roeser was a delegate to this convention from the county and was made the candidate of the new party for the position of state treasurer in 1855, he and Charles Kuehn his' successful opponent in that year being the first men from Manitowoc to attain places on a state ticket of any political organization. The Democratic majority for governor was 376 and C. H. Walker, a Democrat, was sent to the assembly by an even larger vote. Charles Kuehn served two years as state treasurer and made a very efficient officer. B}^ the new apportionment going into effect in 1856 Manitowoc and Calumet counties were placed in one senatorial district while the former was divided into two assembly districts, the first including the towns of Two Rivers,

Mishicot, Kossuth and Manitowoc while the second comprised the towns of Rapids, Maple Grove, Franklin, Eaton, Newton, Meeme, Schleswig" and Centerville. Both candidates for senatorial honors in that year were from Manitowoc, Temple Clark the Democratic nominee defeating" O. tl. Piatt by about 570 votes and in the assembly districts C. H. Walker and T. Cunningham, both Democrats, were successful. In the succeeding- year these men were followed by H. C. Hamilton and J. B. Dunn, also followers of Jeffersonian doctrines, Hamilton giving away in 1858 to a Republican, William Aldrich, the defeat of the regfular Democratic candidate being" larg-ely due to the independent candidacy of S. A. Wood, who received 111 votes, thus cutting down the vote of Temple Clark, the regular candidate of-the party, to 741. For senator S. H. Thurber, a leading- merchant, was successful in defeating- Dr. Preston, his Republican opponent. Assemblyman Aldrich soon became very prominent in the leg-islature and was hig-hly reg-arded over the state. The g-ubernatorial election of 1859 was a hard foug-ht one between Alexander Randall and Harrison C. Hobart, the nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties respectively. Arrang-ements were made for a series of joint debates between them during- the campaign and Manitowoc was chosen as the scene of one of the forensic strug-g-les. Mr. Randall was unable to be present but sent as his representative Carl Schurz, who came to Manitowoc for the occasion. Each was g-iven an hour and the debate was an event long- to be remembered by all present, it being said that the result might well have been declared a draw. Hobart was not elected althoug-h he carried the county by 1430 majority and both districts sent Democrats to the assembly, Joseph Rankin from the First and Peter Mulhol- ] and from the Second. In 1860 owing to disaffection in the Democratic camps both returned Republicans, J. L. Fobes representing the First and Joseph Stephenson the Second, while B. J. Sweet, a Republican from Calumet count}- carried the county by over 400 majority for senatorial honors.

but the county being- divided into three assembly districts; the first including- Centerville, Meeme, Schleswig, Eaton, Liberty, Newton and Rockland; the second Rapids, Cato, Maple Grove, Franklin, Kossuth and Cooperstown and the third Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Mishicot, Gibson and Two Creeks. In two of the three in the fall of 1861 Democrats were chosen by small majorities, the favored ones being- J. Cahill of the second and E. K. Rand of the third district. In the first, however, S. Rounseville a Republican was elected by 8 majority. The vote for governor was also Democratic that year. Edward Salomon of Manitowoc was the candidate for the Republicans for the position of lieutenant g-overnor and by the death of Gov. Harvey in 1862 the former became the chief magistrate of the state, a position which he held until January 1864, he being- one of the first of his nationality in the western states to hold such hig-h office. In 1862 both Messrs. Rand and Cahill were reelected by increased majorities and D. Shanahan, a Democrat, succeeding- Mr. Rounseville in the first district while Joseph Vilas, also of that party, became state senator. In 1863 the Democrats lost ground ag-ain, P. P. Fuessenich a Republican being- sent to Madison from the first district, althoug-h T. Thornton and D. Smoke, both Democrats, represented the remainder of the county. H. S. Pierpont was the Democratic candidate for state bank comptroller in this campaig-n but went down in defeat with the others of his party. It was in this y< ar also that the town of Maple Grove went unanimously Democratic, a feat which called forth considerable comment and the presentation of a fiag on the part of the Democratic ladies of the county. The campaign of 1864brought aboutother changes, the first and second districts returning- Democrats, H. Mulholland and M. Murphy while the third elected C. B.-Dag-gctt of Two Rivers, a Republican. Georg-e Reed secured a gratifying majority for the senatorship and immediately occupied a prominent place in state affairs. He held the place six years, being- reelected by large majorities in 1866 and 1868 and was particularly valuable as a member of the committees on finance and banking-. In the fall of 1865 the state decided the question of negro suffragfe, the vote in the county being- 840 for and 1858 agfainst the proposition. In the first district that fall three candidates were in the field, H, Mulholland, P. J. Pierce and N, Dittmar, the first two being- Democrats and the last named a Republican. The result was that Dittmar was elected althoug-h the second and third districts returned Democrats, William Eatough and David Smoke.

No chang-es were made by the apportionment of 1866 as far as the county was concerned. Mr. Dittmar was reelected in the first and M. Murphy and T. Robinson chosen in the second and third districts. In the next year John H. Bohne, Richard Donovan and David Smoke, all Democrats, represented the various districts and a strong- majority was reg-istered for Tallmadg-e, the Democratic nominee for governor as against Fairchild. In the fall of 1868 the representatives from the first and second districts were reelected but in the third J. L. Fobes, a Republican, defeated D. Smoke by sixty votes. A year later Henry Baetz was chosen by the Republicans as their candidate for state treasurer and was elected, althoug-h the county of his residence went Democratic. Three Democratic assemblymen, John Earth, Michael Fitzg-erald and C. H. Schmidt were also chosen. The political strug-g-le for leg-islative positions in 1870 was a bitter one. Three candidates for senatorial honors were placed in the field, J. Carey by the Republicans, althoug-h he had been and was later a Democrat, W. Bach by the People's party and C. H. Schmidt by the Democrats. Schmidt was elected, receiving- 2141 votes to Carey's 1411 and Bach's 1011, and was reelected two years later by a somewhat smaller majority, the number of the district then being- chang-ed to the Fifteenth, which it has since remained. For the assembly S. Samuelson, a Republican was successful in the first district, M. Fitzg^erald was reelected in the second and Joseph Rankin chosen in the third. Assembl3^man Rankin was ag-ain honored in 1871 but Samuelson g-ave way to Peter Reuther, another Republican, and Fitzg-erald to Martin McNamara, a Democrat. A year later there were elected C. R. Zorn, O. S.

Davis and J. Rankin and in 1873 W. R. Taylor the Democratic nominee for g-overnor secured a larg-e majority and in all three assembl}' districts Democrats were chosen to the assembly, C. R. Zorn, B. S. Lorng-an and Joseph Rankin, the majority of the last named being- over 800. John Schuette was the next incumbent of the senatorial position, defeating- Joseph Vilas in a hard fought contest in 1874. B. Lorrigan was reelected in the second assembly district but C. R. Zorn was superseded in the first by Fred Schmitz, a Newton Democrat, while in the third R. D. Smart, a Republican was selected. The next year Democrats were chosen to fill all the positions, the winning candidates being- C. R. Zorn, T. Mohr and "William Tisch. Senator Schuette was one of the Republicans who supported Don A. Cameron in the heated struggle for the United States senatorship and did much to make that. statesman's election possible.

The apportionment of 1876 changed the outlines of the assembly districts of the county considerably, Cato, Maple Grove and Franklin being taken from the second and added to the first, Centerville and Newton from the first and added to the third, Rapids from the second and added to the third and Gibson, Two Rivers, Two Creeks and Mishicot changed from the third to the second. Thus constituted the first district returned Thomas Thornton, a Democrat, the second Thomas Mohr, another Democrat and the third Peter Johnston, a Republican. Senator Schuette ran again but was defeated by Joseph Rankin, who remained the representative of the Fifteenth for six years thereafter, defeating- Charles LuUng in 1878 and H. H. Smith in 1880. Senator Rankin gained an enviable reputation at Madison, one which later lifted him into a seat in the national council chamber He was chairman of the Democratic state central committee for two years during his incumbency as a state official. In 1877 Manitowoc gave 600 majority for the Democratic candidate for governor, J. A. Mai lory and chose three men of the same faith to represent it in the assembly, Thomas Thornton, W. F. Nash and Henry Vits. John Carey, Demo- crat, became the representative of the first district a year later, another Democrat, William Zander in the second and a Republican, W. H. Hem[ischemeyer in the third. Carey and Hempschenieyer were reelected in 1879 but F. Pfunder, a Democrat, succeeded Zander in the second. In 1880 a new set of men were sent to Madison, Thomas Gleeson from the first, Ira P. Smith from the second and C. E. Estabrook from the third, all Democrats but the last named. He was reelected a year later, but Gleeson g-ave way to Peter Phillips, a Republican and Smith to Henry Goedg-en, a Democrat In 1882 since Senator Rankin was running for congress it became necessary to choose his successor. The Republicans placed D. Nottage of Two Riv^crs in nomination, the Democrats J. Carey and the Prohibitionists E. J. Smalley, Carey winning by over 500 votes. He remained in office until his death in 1887, being reelected in 1884 and 1886. The assemblymen elected with Carey in 1882 were J. Miller, H. Goedgen and W. T. Albers, all Democrats. The first district reelected their representative in 1884 but Messrs. Goedgen and Albers were succeeded by John Robinson, Democrat and C. E. Estabrook, Republican, the latter defeating his Democratic opponent, John FrarLZ by a close margin of four votes. By this time the elections for governor was changed to the even years and the assemblymen were elected as the senators had been formerly, that is to say biennially, while the senators were chosen every four years. In 1886 Manitowoc was quite prominent in state politics, C. E. Estabrook being chosen attorney general as the candidate of the Republicans and W. A. "Walker acting as chairman of the Democratic state central committee. To the assembly the three districts sent D. Tracy, Isaac Craite and Reinhardt Rahr, all Democrats.

According to the apportionment which went into effect in that year Manitowoc and K :waunee counties were combined in one senatorial district and W. F. Nash of Two Riva strong Democrat, was elected in 1888 by a large majority over C. F. Smalley. In the assembly apportionment the three districts were retained but many changes made, Centreville being transferred from the third to the. first and Maple Grove and Franklin from the first to the second, thus reducing- the third district to Manitowoc, Rapids and Newton. The towns of Franklin and Carlton in Kewaunee county were also made a part of the second district. In the first district, thus constituted, E. P. Scheibe, a Democrat, was chosen, in the second Isaac Craite reelected and in the third J. S. Anderson, a Republican, selected. In 1890 the Bennett law, compellingpublic school education, was an issue in Wisconsin and feelingamong- the supporters of the parochial institutions ran hig-h. The result in Manitowoc ccunty was a phenomenal majority of 2182 for George W. Peck as against W. D. Hoard for g-overnor, a most sweeping- Democratic victory and for the assembly three Democrats were also chosen by larg-e majorities, P. J. Conway, J. P. Nolan and William Croll. Then by the apportionment of 1892 Calumet was ag-ain attached to Manitowoc instead of Kewaunee and the number of assembly districts was reduced to two, the first including- the towns of Centerville, Cato, Eaton, Liberty, Meeme, Rockland, Schleswig-. Rapids, Kossuth, Franklin, Maple Grove and Newton and the second comprising- Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Mishicot. Two Creeks, Gibson and Cooperstown. Senator Nash held ofl&ce until 1894, being- succeeded by J. McMuUen of Calumet county. In 1892 P. J. Conway and W. Croll were returned as assemblymen and two years later the latter was reelected althoug-h Mr. Conway was succeeded by F. C. Maertz, another Democrat. In that year, (1894) Manitowoc was well represented on state tickets, both the candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties for the office of lieutenant g-overnor, Emil Baensch and A. J. Schmitz, being residents of the city. The vote for lieutenant g-overnor in the county was Baensch 3223, Schmitz 3165, the former runningseveral hundred votes ahead of his ticket and being- successful in the state as well, securing- an office which he held with g-reat credit to himself for four years. Henry Stolze received 356 votes in the county.

The Republicans g-aining control another apportionment took place in 1896, Cato, Centerville, Liberty, Meeme, Rapids, Newton and Manitowoc composing- the first and the rest of the coanty the second district. Charles W. Sweeting-, a Republican, was chosen to represent the first and Mr. Maertz was .reelected by his constituents in the second district that year. In 1898 Sweeting- was succeeded by Joseph Willott, another Republican, who was ag-ain elected in 1900, while in the second district Jonas Gag-non of Two Rivers was chosen twice to serve its interests. For the senate the choice fell upon Norman A. Knudson, a young- Republican who g-ained the district by 19 majority. The apportionment of 1901 left the assembly districts unchang-ed with the exception of the transfer of the town of Cato from the first to the second district. Among- the candidates for state offices in 1900 were Georg-e Dicke of Two Rivers and Max Goeres of Kiel, the nominees of the Social Democracy for the positions of lieutenant g-overnor and insurance commissioner respectively.

Joseph Willott succeeded himself as'assemblyman in 1902 while Mr. Gag-non made way for another Democrat, N. Terens of Mishicot. Senator Knudson not being a candidate for reelection, W. A. Knauf of Chilton was placed in the field by the Republicans while Samuel Randolph, Jr. was nominated by the Democrats. The latter carried both counties by a close vote and was consequently the chosen representative of the district in the Senate. For g-overnor however the county reg-istered its preference for Robert M. LaFollette. The Social Democratic vote of this year was considerable, amounting- to over four hundred, and the county was represented on the state ticket of the organization.

As was stated before the county of Manitowoc was org-anized as a separate political unit for all except judicial purposes in December 1838. The first election was held accordingly on March 4 1839 at the residence of P. P. Pierce near the villag-e of Rapids. O. C. Hubbard and Horace Conroe were judg-es of the election and Peter Johnston and J. F. Este clerks. Two parties were in evidence even in this primeval community, the one composed of the partisans of B. Jones, who resided at the mouth of the river and the other made up of Conroe's follo^vers. There were only thirtj^-five votes cast and as the Conroe party numbered seventeen their ticket was chosen as follows: - Count}^ commissioners, Horace Conroe, J. G. Conroe, J. Rigby; assessor, O. C. Hubbard; reg-ister of deeds, J. W. Conroe; collector, Peter Johnston. Under the law then in existence the county commissioners corresponded to the present county board but were elected from the county as a whole, - a system which obtained in Wisconsin until 1849 and again from 1861 to 1870. The ofifice of collector corresponded to the modern county treasurer. The other county officers such as sheriff, district attorney, clerk of the court and county judge did not become necessary until Manitowoc was organized judicially while the count}- clerk was chosen by the commissioners. These latter met first on March 15, choosing J. W. Conroe as clerk and J. G. Conroe chairman. The principal business was the appointment of three constables, Joseph Estes, W. Flinn and Chauncey Calhoun, At about the same time the legislature of the territory changed the name of the township from Conroe back to Manitowoc and provided that polls should be established at the steam sawmill at the Rapids and at "the public house" at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. In May two precincts were laid out, W. T, Sheppard, S. C. Chase and John Glap being chosen judges of election in the Two Rivers and J. W. Conroe, H. McAllister and B. Jones in the Manitowoc precinct. Thus was the county legally established and in 1840 J. W. Conroe constructed a one story county and town house at the northern limits of the village of Rapids, it being 24 by 38 feet in dimensions. This structure remained for twelve years the seat of government. For ten years the county - board was composed of three members, one retiring annually. The principal business before that body was the laying out of roads and school districts and the appointment of constables and other minor officials. Among the latter were Constables D. S. Munger, S. Peake, E. h. Abbott, J. Hoisted, H. B. Ed- ,son, J. Edwards, F. Laduke and L. D. Sackett; Tax Collectors D. S. Munger, E. D. Beardsley, P. P. Smith and Evander Soper. The county was sparsely populated and li-ttle gov- ernment, even of a local nature, was needed for some time, the work done being- largely ministerial. The men who composed the board were, however, leaders in the community and served their constituents well. In October 1839 Horace and J. L. Conroe were succeeded by Benjamin Jones and Joseph Kdwards, showing- that "the mouth" was in the ascendant, althoug-h a year later J. G. Conroe was returned instead of J. Edwards while Rigny, one of the first board after several year's service gave way to R. M. Eberts, the founder of Two Rivers. No change in the personnel of the board then occurred until 1842 when Conroe -was succeeded by Oliver Clawson and in 1843 Eberts g-ave way to H. McAllist(r, who was soon succeeded, however, by Evander M. Soper, while Joel R. Smith succeeded Benjamin Jones. In 1844 A. Hoyt took the place formerly held by Evander Soper and the next year H. H. Champlin that of O. C. Hubbard, who had served one year instead of Mr. Clawson, the latter however ag-ain g-iving- way in 1846 to Daniel Smith of Mishicot. In 1847 the board was made up of Oliver Clawson, Daniel Smith and Charles McAllister, the first named followed by E. M. Soper the next year. The last board under this county system of representation was elected in the fall of 1848 and consisted of J. M. Sprag-ue, Albert Wheeler and Peter Poh.

The year 1848 witnessed several important changes in the county government. The county officials, who prior to this time had been appointed or elected annually were now to hold for two years. The township county board system, which had been optional in Wisconsin Territory since 1841, was now made compulsory and finally by legislative act of March 2 1848 Manitowoc couniy was judicially separated from Brown county, the act taking- effect after the second Tuesday in April. The county was made a part of the Third Judicial Circuit under Judg-e A. W. Stow and it was ordered that proper rooms should be provided for the court at an expense of not exceeding $100 per year. The first term of court was held by Judg-e Stow on September 15 1848. O. C. Hubbard was chosen sheriff and E. Ricker clerk to act until the first of the following- year; E- H. Ellis, J. W. Colby and

J. h. Kyle were admitted to the bar and an indictment was found for trespass on state lands. The records having- to do with the county were removed to the Rapids from Green Bay also in this year, the work being- under the direction of John P. Champlin. In the fall the first biennial election for county officers took place. Several candidates were frequently in the field for the same office in these early days and the personal more than the partisan element predominated for some time. In fact it may be said that it was not until 1854 that the various candidates for local office g-enerally alligned themselves under the banner cf some political party. The officers chosen in this first election were as follows: - Sheriif, Georg-e W. Durgin; county treasurer, Pliny Pierce; register of deeds, A. VV. Preston; county clerk, E, H. Ellis; clerk of court, Ezekiel Kicker; surveyor, E. D. Beardsley; coroner, Joseph Edwards; county judg-e, J. H. W. Colby. Elections were held in the odd years for several of the olifices.at the beg-inning- and thus it was that in 1849 Adam Bleser became treasurer, and P. P. Smith clerk of court. In the same year a jail was built at a cost of $235.

By the county organization formed in 1848 four townships, Manitowoc, Manitowoc Rapids, Two Rivers and Meeme were set off and the first session of the county board occurred June 28, 1849, the members being- Andrew J. Vieau of Manitowoc, John Stewart of Two Rivers, Charles IvIcAllister of Rapids and T. Cunningham of Meeme. The polls in the four towns were respectively as follows: - The American House, the h<^me of Sebastian Boldus, the Courthouse and the home of H. B. Edson. Early in 1850 the towns of Newton and Centerville were formed, the first election being- held in private houses and in the fall Maple Grove was added. The first rej)resentativesfrom th^se towns were: - Centerville, Charles Koehler; Newton, F. Hacker and Maple Grove, M. C. Brown. In 1850 a full set of county officers were elected with the exception of couuty clerk, that official being- chosen in the odd years until 1883. It was in this year also that the legislature added the slice of territory, now composing- the northern tier of townships, to the county. The towns of Kossuth and Eaton, or as it was first called, Valders, were formed in 1851 with William Katoug-h and Georg^e Monroe as their first representatives, Kossuth beingset otf from Rapids. The board at about this time adopted the county poor farm system which continued in use for over ten years when the more popular township system of maintenance supplanted it. Little interest was shown in the political campaig-n of 1852, most of the officers being- elected unanimously or as independent candidates. In this year the county suffered a serious loss in the burning of the courthouse at the Rapids. The fire was set on April 30th by an insane man named Benjamin E. f^ynde, who was confined in the jail and both the structures were a total loss, althoug-h the records were fortunately saved. The fire and the fact that Manitowoc had by tar outstripped Rapids led to the ag-itation for the removal of the count}^ seat to the former place. The matter came to a vote on April 14 1853 in accordance with leg-islative permission g-ranted a month earlier. Ten townships registered their opinion in the matter, Mishicot, or as it was first called, Saxonburgh, having- been organized with F. Borcherdt as chairman late in 1852. The vote resulted in an overwhelming- majority in favor of the chang-e, being- as follows: -

Strang^e to say, however, the battle was only half over when the removal was decided upon for the question immediately arose on which side of the river the structure should be placed. The people residing- on the north side suggested Union Park but the site finally chosen on South Eighth Street was a strong competitor from the first. The legislature of 1853 authorized a loan with which the building should be erected at a cost of not to exceed $5000, which sum was raised to $10,000 two years later after several public meeting-s had been held to consider the wisdom of the increase for the proposition had met with considerable opposition. Delays followed and for three years the question of a site was a rnooted one in village politics. Finally, however, the south side triumphed and in 1857 the courthouse was constructed, John Meyer being- the architect. An attempt had been made at construction a year or two before under the direction of a building committee but a defect had been found in the foundation and a new committee, consisting- of G. Lee, E. D. Beardsley and S. Hill was appointed under whose direction the work was completed.

The campaig-n of 1854 was a most bitter one. By this time the Republican party was a factor and many who had formerly been Democrats flocked to the new organization. To make matters more complicated a well defined movement of defection occured in the Democratic ranks. The county convention of the party was a scene of discord and after it was over independent nominees were placed in the field for the offices of county treasurer, district attorney and sheriff. The Republicans thus succeeded in electing their entire ticket with the exception of the register of deeds. The vote is an interesting one as illustrating- that men and not the party was the principle of division at the time. It was as follows:

The Democralic party in the county soon, however, recovered from its internal dissensions and in 1855 elected C. A. Renter, their candidate for clerk of court by a larg-e majority, while in 1856 they were victorious all along- the line, notwithstanding- the fact that there were independent candidates for both the offices of sheriff and county clerk. In 1855 the town of Schleswig-, or as it was first known, Abel, was formed and H. F. Belitz chosen as its first representative in the county board. Cooperstown, Rockland and Franklin also set off soon after, being- represented respectively by J. R. "Weber, Louis Faulhaber and Alanson Hickok. In 1857 the various wards of the villag-es of Two Rivers and Manitowoc were recognized as units of representation in the board, there being- at that time three such divisions in Manitowoc, althoug-h the first and third tog-ether were g-iven but one supervisor at first, and two in Two Rivers. Thereafter as the towns g-rew each ward was g-iven representation as it came into existence, thus preserving- the balance between the rural and urban interests. In early judicial affairs politics were largely tabooed. Judg-e Gorsline received the almost unanimous support of the county in the spring- of 1856 for the circuit bench and at his resig-nation the year following- Judg-e David Taylor of Sheboygan was appointed. At this time Kewaunee county was attached to Manitowoc for judicial purposes. As county judg-es the successors of Ezekiel Ricker whose death occurred in 1854 were Georg-e Reed who resigned, then Georg-e C. Lee who also relinquished the office after a short incumbency, Isaac Parrish, who served until 1858 and Charles H. Walker who defeated Parrish for reelection by a majority of 1013 votes.

tnost the whole county ticket was victorious. During" the latter campaign there was again disaffection in the ranks, not sufficient to chang-e the result at the polls however. Prominent among- the bolters were Col. Sherwood, G. W. Barker, W. F. Eldredge, William Eatough, M. Playfair and Patrick P^lynn and they placed D. H. Van Valkenburg-h in the field as sheriff ag-ainst Louis Kemper, the reg-ular Democratic nominee and A. N. Baker as reg^ister of deeds ag^ainst Jere Crowley. The votes for these two independent candidates, however, did not much exceed one hundred, althoug"h Baker's vote caused the election of Henry Baetz, the Republican nominee for reg-ister of deeds. On the other hand the Democrats secured almost exclusive control of the county board, all but five of the members being- followers of the party. In 1858 Cato, Gibson and Liberty, the last first known as Buchanan, were created and given representation in the board, the first chairmen of the towns being- Alanson Hickok, Jason Pellett and Ole Oleson. Finally in 1860 the town of Two Creeks, first called Rowley after an earlier settler, was set off it being- the last of the eig-hteen townships to come into existence. H. Luebke was its first supervisor. In that year also the county board authorized the building- of a brick structure for the county offices, as an annex to the courthouse. B. Jones secured the contract for ^5000 and the building was erected on the southeast corner of the square. The year lSf)0 witnessed more factional strife and bitter contests in county politics, the campaig-n being- perhaps the most virulent in Manitowoc's history. At the Democratic convention the trouble first began to show itself, larg-ely from the fact that some, among them Editor Crowley of the Pilot, openly asserted that the gathering was in the hands of the Breckenridg-e followers and that they were trading with the Republicans. Judg-e Pierpont, as leader of the Breckenridg-e supporters, presided over the convention and Renter, the reg-ular nominee of the party for treasurer, was also of that faction. The result was that the bolters placed M. Kuhl in nomination for the position of county treasurer as opposed to Renter and P. Hog-an to oppose Alanson Hickok, the reg-ular nom- inee for county clerk. Thus handicapped the Democrats went into the struggle against the Republicans and the result was a defeat in the case of ever}' nominee by majorities ranging from two to seven hundred. Candidate Kuhl developed a remarkable strength, considering that he was an independent nominee, receiving 786 votes while Reuter received 1260 and his victorious Republican opponent, O. Koch 1907. S. A. Wood, the Democratic candidate for district attorney was about the only one on the ticket that secured anywhere near the regular party strength. The war then beginning led to many changes in local politics. The Breckenridge and Douglas Democrats drew together gradually and this fact, allied to that of the opposition of "H. S. Pierpont to harbor taxes led to his election to the office of county judge in the spring of 1861, In the meanwhile the Union Democrats, including such men as Henry Sibree, Lyman Emerson and others joined the Republicans on all issues and gradually became an integral part of the party. In the fall of that year Conrad Bates was pat forward as the Union candidate for clerk of court but was defeated by Jere Crowley, his Democratic opponent by 192 votes. The first election of a county school superintendent also occurred at this time, B. J. Van Valkenburgh, the Democratic nominee defeating Fred Borcherdt, whom the Unionists supported.

By this time another change had been made in the system of county government in the state. By act of March 28, 1861 the county boards were made to consist of three supervisors, one elected from each assembly district, while the chairmen of the towns retained only such functions as pertained to the ec ualization of taxes. Under this law the first board was elected in Manitowoc in November. In the first district John Carey, Democrat defeated F. R. Gutheil, Union. In the second district Lyman Emerson was chosen unanimously while in the third Nels Sorenson, Democrat defeated S. A. Wood, Union. The board met in the spring of 1862 and elected Mr. Emerson president but soon both he and Supervisor Sorenson resigned, necessitating the calling of a special election, which resulted in the choice of Alanson

Hickok in the second and Jason Pellett in the third district, both being- Democrats. J. O'Hearn succeeded Hickok in November 1863 and as thus constituted the board continued to exist until 1866. The. campaigfn of 1862 was somewhat of a complicated one. Men that had recently chang-ed political allegiance were placed on tickets in strang-e companionship and the result was a remarkable diverg-ence in the number of votes received by the candidates for different offices. There was no open bolting-, however, and the Democrats elected all their officers except the county treasurer for which position Oscar Koch defeated H. S. Pierpont by a narrow majority. As the war proceeded the Democratic party continued to g-row stronger in the county, only the towns of Manitowoc, Kossuth, Gibson, Liberty, Eaton and Rockland g-iving- majorities for the Republican ticket in 1862, of which three, Kossuth, Gibson and Liberty, went over to the opponents a year later. During the war a number of tesig-nations occurred among- the county officers due to enlistments for military service, amongthe number being- Sheriff Murphy, Superintendent of Schools Van Valkenburg-h, County Judg-e Walker and Reg-ister of Deeds Baetz.

In 1863, 1864 and 1865 the Democratic county tickets were entirely successful by large majorities, due partially to the fact that many of the Republican candidates were former Democrats. In the fall of 1865 a new county board was chosen consisting- of F. Schmitz, B. S. Lorrig-an and G. Damler, who administered affairs ably. After the war had closed the Republicans regained considerable strength and in the fall of 1866 succeeded in electing- Henry Baetz as county treasurer, besides making a very respectable showing- in the contest for the other offices. The following- fall according- to an amendment of the county supervisor law a supervisor at larg-e from the county as a whole was chosen to sit in the county board, the Democratic candidate, J. S. Eg-g-ers, carrying- the election by seven hundred majority over C. W. White. Messrs. Gallogly, Mohr and Koehnke were also added to that body from the first, second and third districts respectively hy virtue of another amendment to the law, which increased its total membership to seven, this action being- taken for fear that dictatorship might be the' result of too close a corporation. The board thus constituted remained in office until 1870 when a return to the system, whereby each township was represented by a supervisor, was made.

The county election of 1868 was another close contest. The Republicans developed considerable streng-th, reelecting- Henry Baetz.as treasurer and putting in of&ce P. P. Fuessenich as county clerk and Fayette Armsby as surveyor while the Democrats elected the rest of the ticket. In the spring of that year Judge Taylor, the Democratic candidate for the circuit bench had also been defeated by Campbell McLain. On the other hand W. W. Waldo was chosen county judge by 2500 majority over H. Sibree, the Republican candidate, in the judicial election of 1869 while Democratic successes in the fall also presaged a change. The campaign of 1870 was nevertheless a very bitter one. This time both the Democratic and Republican camps suffered defections in the form of a third or People's party movement. I'his faction placed Ira P. Smith in nomination for sheriff, A. Chloupek for treasurer, J. Garry for register of deeds, G. A. Woodin for district attorney and J. Oswald for coroner, endorsing J. Thombs, the Democratic nominee for county clerk. The result of the election was unsatisfactory to all, the division of offices being about even. Quirin Ewen, P. P. Fussenich and F. Armsby, Republican nominees for treasurer, county clerk and surveyor were successful while from among the Democrats John Franz, A. Wittenberg, E. B. Treat and F. Simon secured the positions of register of deeds, sheriff, district attorney and coroner. Then came the Fuessenich scandal, the o:dy deep blot on the history of Manitowoc politics, which had an injurious effect on Republican success for many years as well as casting a shadow on several leading Democratic politicians. Rumors that P. P. Fuessenich, the county clerk had not been using honest methods in the discharge of his duties led to an investigation early in 1871 and it was revealed by a*committee of the county board, appointed to investigate the matter, that for six 3'ears a system of illegal appropriation of public funds had been going- on. It was proved that over $20,000 of the county money had thus been squandered and it came to lig"ht that Fuessenich, the chief offender had made away with other sums besides. Before hearing- the testimony the clerk handed in his resig-nation and fled the country, nothing- further ever being- heard from him. The matter created much excitement at the time and led to the institution of many reforms in the a Iministration of public business.

Fuessenich's resig-nation made a special election necessary in the fall of 1871, Gilbert Burnet being- chosen by 63 majority over H. S. Pierpont, the former being- a Republican. Considerable trouble was experienced over the refusal of the county board of canvassers, through some irreg-ularity, to count the returns from Cato and Pierpont was at first declared elected. On quo warranto proceeding's, however, the vote of the town was admitted and Mr. Burnet seated. Despite the effects of the Fuessenich scandal the contest in the fall of 1872 was most intense and the result was another division of offices. The People's party of the county held a convention, H. S. Pierpont being- the leading- spirit but no nominations were made. P. J. Pierce was announced as an independent candidate for sheriff but later withdrew. R. D. Smart, the Republican candidate for that office ran several hundred ahead of his ticket and was elected over Edward Conway. A. M. Richter, another Republican, was chosen county clerk and the vote for treasurer resulted in a tie between Quirin Ewen, Republican and A. Wittenberg, Democrat, each receiving 2458 votes. The rest of the offices went to the Democrats. The tie in the case of treasurer made a special election necessary and one was accordingly held in December in which Mr. Ewen defeated his opponent by 101 votes. On the other hand the Democratic majority in 1873 increased to over 2000 on the vote for clerk of court and in 1874 their ticket was successful with the exception of county treasurer, to which position Quirin Ewen was again elected, this time by 256 majority over G. Damler. Ewen, however, died before his terra expired and his opponent was chosen by the county board to fill the vacancy. From this time on until 1882 only three Republicans were succeessful in securingcounty office, the Democratic majorities being" in the neighborhood of one thousand and in some cases, as in the election of county judge in 1877, there being no opposition. The first of these three exceptions was Prof. G. F. Viebahn, who in 1879 was chosen school superintendent over John Hussey by a majority of 561. The second was R. D. Smart, who owing to his personal popularit}^ and disaffection in the Democratic ranks defeated J. P. Wickert for countv judge in the spring of 1881 by 870 votes. The third was John Bibinger, who in 1882 was elected sheriff over W. Wieboldt. A year before Judge Norman Gilson had been chosen circuit judge over Campbell McLain, his Republican opponent, by a majority of 3102, one of the largest ever given in the county for an}^ candidate. In 1882 the Prohibitionist put up a count}' ticket but did not develop essential strength. At this time the odd year elections for count}' superintendent and clerk of court ceased and thus political energies could be more centralized. Early in the eighties many Manitowoc county men, notably William Rahr, urged the building of a county asylum for the care of the insane and at a meeting of the county board in May 1884 $25,000 was voted for that purpose. A three story brick structure was built on spacious grounds southwest of Manitowoc and the institution was opened in January 1885 with Gustav Mueller as superintendent. The asylum has since been managed by trustees and has proved most successful, many patients from other counties as well as the local insane being cared for. A county jail was erected in the early nineties and the old courthouse remodeled, the county office annex being removed. The latter part of the decade 1880-1890 saw as few Republicans in office in the county as had the earlier years of it. County Judge C. H. Schmidt, who had defeated Judge Smart in 1885 died in 18.>8 and Emil Baensch, a Republican was chosen to fill the vacancy. A year later, his term having expired, he defeated Hubert Falge by 1253 votes, the most decisive Republican victory for sometime. Democratic landslides occured in 1890 and 1892 but by 1894 the beg-inning- of another change in count)^ politics came about and the years of exclusive Democratic rule were brought to an end. In that year the Populists put up a county ticket, which secured about three hundred votes, forming no inconsiderable element as the first third party movement in the county since the Prohibition ticket of 1882 with the exception of a few local candidates on the Labor ticket in 1888. The Democrats secured every office with the exception of sheriff, to which Henry Schmidt was elected over Daniel Tracy. Then came the campaign of 1896, resulting in a victory for all of the Republican nominees except the county clerk. In 1898 a reaction took place, the Republicans securing only the county treasurership, 10 which Peter Kaufman was elected, but in 1900 the party again gained ground, electing the sheriff, county clerk, district attorne}^, treasurer and surveyor while the Democrats secured the register of deeds, coroner and clerk of court, the count}' superintendent being chosen on a non-partisan basis. Owing toan error in the returns from the fourth ward of the city of Manitowoc E. S. Schmitz, the Democratic nominee for district attorney, was seated by the board of canvassers but after continuing in office for two months and after some litigation had been commenced a compromise was effected, whereby the Republican candidate, A. L. Hougen, took the position. A municipal court was established in the county in 1895 and both this and the probate court were for some time governed by non-partisan principles, owing to ihe balance existing between the two parties in the county but in 1901 the matter was again taken into politics, a Republican, A. P. Schenian being chosen municipal judge and a Democrat, John Chloupek becoming judg-e of the probate court. Michael Kirwan of Manitowoc succeeded Judge Gilson on the circuit bench in 1899, defeating Attorney Prescott of Sheboygan by a swee; ing majority.

The election held in the fall of 1902 again witnessed an almost equal division of the spoils, the Democrats succeeding in electing the sheriff, register of deeds, clerk of court and coroner, while the Republicans chose the county clerk, treas- urer, district attorney and surveyor, while for county school superintendent Fred Christiansen received support from both parties. The Social Democrats put a full county ticket in the field and made a very considerable showing-.

Thus in summarizing- it will be noted that the Democrats, with few exceptions, ha,ve been victorious in county politics. And yet the divisions that have occurred in the apportionment of the offices within the gift of the people show very clearly that the true t^st that has been applied was the man and not the party. Factional strife that was,so bitter in earlier days, leading- to scurrilous abuse and insult through the columns of the public press has largely ceased of late years. On the whole the study of the political complexion of the county in its varying chang-es is an interesting one and the record of the public officials has been with some few exceptions fairly g-ood. Particularly might this be said of the members^of the county boards, who, it may well be admitted, have been representatives in the best sense of the word. A list of the various officials of the county, the mrmbers of the county board and the chairmen of that body will be found in Appendix C.