newspaperman, politician, b. Rehoboth, Mass. He served in the War of 1812, worked on various newspapers in New York and Detroit, became an ardent Democrat, and for a time was deeply involved in Michigan territorial politics. In 1833 he moved to Dubuque, Iowa, under appointment as U.S. agent for the Dubuque lead-mine area, and in 1834 was appointed to the important post as register of the Mineral Point (Wis.) federal land office, and settled in nearby Willow Springs. Accused of misuse of his powers in 1836, after four years of heated controversy between his Democratic friends and Whig opponents, Sheldon was dismissed from office. In 1843 he moved to Madison, where he was one of the founders of the Wisconsin Democrat, and from 1845 to 1860 served as clerk in the U.S. Treasury Department at Washington, D.C. Returning to Wisconsin in 1860, he retired to his farm at Willow Springs. J. Schafer, Wis. Lead Region (Madison, 1932); Hist. of Lafayette Co. (Chicago, 1881); Palimpsest, 17 (1936); WPA MS; J. P. Sheldon Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the John P. Sheldon Papers for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]