politician, businessman, b. Phelps, N.Y. In 1841 he moved to Milwaukee and set up a law practice. A Democrat, he was state assemblyman (1849-1850, 1855), Milwaukee city attorney, and mayor of Milwaukee (1855-1857). In 1857 he was an unsuccessful candidate for governor. He opposed the Smith liquor law and, while mayor, condemned further municipal aid to railroads. He was accused of financial maladministration during his mayoralty, and his political association with W. A. Barstow (q.v.) handicapped his gubernatorial campaign. As a businessman, he had extensive real-estate interests in Milwaukee, was president of the Juneau Bank (1857-1862), and from 1867 to 1876 engaged in the liquor business. W. G. Bruce, ed., Hist. of Milwaukee (3 vols., Chicago, 1922); J. S. Buck, Pioneer Hist. of Milwaukee (2 vols., Milwaukee, 1876-1881); J. G. Gregory, Hist. of Milwaukee (4 vols., Chicago, 1931); WPA field notes.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]