Early Life

Joseph Week Babcock was born in Swanton, Vermont. In 1855 his family moved to Butler County, Iowa and there he attended school at Cedar Falls then and for a brief time at Cornell College.

Business Endeavors

He began his business career in his father's lumberyard in Iowa, and in 1881 moved to Necedah. He amassed a fortune during the 17 years he was manager and secretary for the Necedah Lumber Co., one of the largest in the Northwest.

Political Career

He served as president of the village of Necedah, and was a member of the state assembly as the chairman of the committee on corporations from 1889 until 1892. In 1892 he was elected to Congress on the Republican ticket from the 3rd Wisconsin district, and served until 1907. During those years he was a member of the Committee on the District of Columbia and for 12 years its chairman, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee as well as chairman from 1899 to 1907, and a member of the national Republican congressional campaign committee as well as the chairman from 1894 until 1904.

Beginning in 1894, he gained prominence by successfully managing six consecutive national Republican campaigns. In 1900 he was instrumental in securing Robert M. La Follette's election as governor of Wisconsin, but in 1902 he broke with La Follette, who four years later helped bring about Babcock's defeat for re-election. 

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]