Isaac Stephenson

Isaac Stephenson

Isaac Stephenson (* 18th June 1829 in Fredericton , New Brunswick ; † 15. March 1918 in Marinette , Wisconsin ) was an American politician of the Republican Party . From 1883 to 1889 he sat for the state of Wisconsin in the US House of Representatives , from 1907 to 1915 he sat in the US Senate .

lumberjack

He worked as a lumberjack in the eastern United States, especially in Maine . In 1845 he moved to Wisconsin, where he worked in the timber trade from then on. In 1858 he finally settled in Marinette, where he was able to establish himself in the timber trade, especially during the Civil War. Although Stephenson suffered heavy losses during the Peshtigo Fire of 1871, he recovered quickly and was soon one of the richest loggers in the Great Lakes region, with real estate holdings in Marinette, Green Bay , Milwaukee and Chicago as well as large acreages of pine in the northern Wisconsin and Michigan .

Political career

As a Republican, Stephenson played a huge role in both local and state politics. He has held numerous local offices, including town supervisor , county board chairman, and justice of the peace. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1866 and 1868 . In 1882 he was elected to the US House of Representatives as a representative of the newly created 9th Congressional District. He was re-elected twice. In 1888 he no longer ran for office. In 1899 his application for a seat in the Federal Senate was unsuccessful.

In 1900 he supported the ultimately successful application of Robert M. La Follette senior as governor of Wisconsin , mainly financially . During this time he was also included in the progressive wing of his party. Stephenson was elected by the High School Convention as one of the progressive delegates to the Republican National Convention along with La Follette and William D. Connor . In 1901 he founded the Milwaukee Free Press, a newspaper that still appears today.

In May 1907 he was sent to the US Senate as the successor to the resigned John Coit Spooner . In the regular Senate elections in 1908, he was able to prevail despite resistance from within his own ranks and was re-elected for a full term of office. In 1914 he did not stand for re-election. In 1910 he gave US President William Howard Taft a Holstein cattle named Pauline Wayne . It was the last cow kept by a President.

Last years

Stephenson retired to his home in Marinette after retiring from politics. He died there in 1918. A park, a street and a library in his hometown are named after him in his honor.

His brother Samuel M. Stephenson was a member of the US House of Representatives for the state of Michigan.

Web links

• Isaac Stephenson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Isaac Stephenson in the database of Find a Grave (English)