Bartholomew Ringle (October 16, 1814October 27, 1881) was a

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

immigrant, lawyer, and

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 ...

pioneer. He was instrumental in organizing many of the towns of

Marathon County, Wisconsin Marathon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,013. Marathon County's seat is Wausau. It was founded in 1850, created from a portion of Portage County. At that time the cou ...

. He was the fifth mayor of

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and ...

, represented Marathon County for five terms in 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, ...

, and served nearly 18 years as

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...

. His son and grandson also served in the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

Biography

Ringle was born on October 16, 1814, in the region of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...

in what is today southwest

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. At the time of his birth, this was part of the Rhine region which had just been transferred to the dominion of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

, after having been briefly under the rule of Napoleon's French Empire.His biographies always describe his home region as "Rhein-Bairen", which is likely a poor Anglicization of "Rhine-Bayern" or "Bavarian Rhine". As a resident of Bavaria, he received a common school education and became an attorney. He emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1846, coming directly to the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

and settling in

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ger ...

, in Washington County. He lived there for two years before moving to the town of

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

, in Dodge County. In Herman, Ringle became a prominent member of the community and a member of the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educa ...

. He was appointed to serve as postmaster for six years, and was elected justice of the peace, town clerk, and chairman of the town board. He moved to

, in Marathon County in 1859. Wausau was incorporated as a village in 1861; Ringle was elected the 2nd village president in 1862 and was re-elected in 1863. In 1863, he was also elected to the

, running on the Democratic Party ticket. He represented all of Marathon and Wood counties. In the 1863 election, he was also elected

, and would continue to hold that office until his death. In 1864, he was also elected to serve as county clerk—that office he held for three two-year terms. He did not run for re-election to the Assembly in 1864, but returned to the Assembly with the election of 1871, and then served three more terms in

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

, and 1877. While serving in the Assembly, he was instrumental in the act to incorporate Wausau as a city. He was elected the fifth mayor of Wausau in 1876. Ringle continued to work as an attorney and county judge until his death. He died of heart disease while working at his desk in Wausau, on October 27, 1881. He was buried at Wausau's Pine Grove Cemetery. Reports stated that Wausau "never saw a larger funeral."

Personal life and family

Bartholomew Ringle married Magdalena Amalia Pick in June 1834, while they were both living in the Kingdom of Bavaria. They had twelve children together, though two died in infancy, and two others died in childhood. Several of their children grew to prominence in Wisconsin. Charles (Carl) Ringle was a successful merchant in Herman, Dodge County, Wisconsin, and served as town chairman, town treasurer, town clerk, postmaster, and justice of the peace. Valentine Ringle served as a member of the city council in Wausau and city treasurer and postmaster. He was also a publisher of two newspapers, the English-language ''Wisconsin River Pilot'' and the German-language Wausau ''Wochenblatt''. John Ringle was a successful merchant in Wausau and also served as postmaster there. He served three terms as county clerk, three terms as a member of the State Assembly, and two years in the State Senate. His son, Oscar Ringle, also served in the State Assembly.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1871)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1871

Wisconsin Assembly (1874, 1875, 1876)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1874 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1875 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1876

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringle, Bartholomew 1814 births 1881 deaths Wisconsin postmasters Bavarian emigrants to the United States American justices of the peace People from Germantown, Wisconsin People from Herman, Dodge County, Wisconsin Mayors of Wausau, Wisconsin Wisconsin state court judges County supervisors in Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges 19th-century Wisconsin politicians 19th-century mayors of places in Wisconsin