Arnt Erickson (July 4, 1866 – September 8, 1932) was an American businessman and politician from New Auburn,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

who spent a single term as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, as well as holding many local offices.

Background

Erickson was born in Norway July 4, 1866, and came to

in 1882. He would remain there for the rest of his life, except for a period of about two years sent in the state of

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. He attended

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

in Norway and in Chippewa County. On April 27, 1890, he was living in

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

when he married Tillie Christianson. For six years he worked as a retail clerk in a clothing store in

Chippewa Falls Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River (Wisconsin), Chippewa River in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa County in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 14,778 in the 2021 census. Incorporated as ...

, and became a merchant himself in New Auburn and Chippewa Falls. He later went into

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

and

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

at New Auburn, serving as co-founder (in 1907) and first president of the Bank of New Auburn (now Security Bank, New Auburn); and as president of the Farmers Store Co. in New Auburn.

Public office

As of 1909, he had been a member of the school board for about eighteen years and had served as chairman of the town of Auburn and supervisor of the village of New Auburn. He had been a member of the county

board of supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

of Chippewa County for eight years, and four times elected chairman of that body. He was elected to the Assembly in 1908 as a Republican, with 2,887 votes to 1,330 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

G. W. Heaverin (the Republican incumbent, Theodore M. Thomas, was not a candidate). He was assigned to the standing committee on third reading. He did not run for re-election, and was succeeded by fellow Republican Chris P. Ellingson (also a native of Norway). Erickson rejected suggestions in later years that he return to state politics, preferring to stick to local affairs. At the time of his death, he was again chairman of the county board, on which he had served for thirty-two years representing New Auburn, including nine years as chairman.

Death

He died September 8, 1932, after being confined to bed for two weeks for an unspecified illness which had afflicted him less severely for years. Tillie was still alive at that time."Summoned by Death: Arnt Erickson Dies at Home in New Auburn"
'' Chippewa Herald-Telegram'' September 8, 1932; p. 1, col. 2 via Newspapers.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Arnt American bankers Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Norwegian emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Wisconsin School board members in Wisconsin 1866 births 1932 deaths County supervisors in Wisconsin