Bernard John Gehrmann (February 13, 1880 – July 12, 1958) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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 ...

. Born in

Gnesen Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

, near

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

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, Gehrmann attended the common schools in Germany. In 1893, Gehrmann immigrated 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 ...

with his parents, who settled in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was employed in a packing plant in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and later learned the printing trade on a German-language daily newspaper. He attended night school. He moved to Wisconsin and settled on a farm near Neillsville, in Clark County in 1896 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He moved to a farm near

Mellen, Wisconsin Mellen is a city in Ashland County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 698 at the 2020 census. Attractions *Copper Falls State Park is located just north of Mellen. Government Mellen has a mayor-council form of government. ...

, in Ashland County in 1915. He served as clerk of the school board 1916–1934, town assessor 1916–1921, and chairman of the town board from 1921 to 1932. Gehrmann conducted farmers' institutes throughout the State for the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

College of Agriculture from 1920 to 1933. He served 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, ...

from 1927 to 1933. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1932. He served as member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

in 1933 and 1934. Gehrmann was elected as a Progressive to the Seventy-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1943). He represented

Wisconsin's 10th congressional district Wisconsin's 10th congressional district is a former congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin. It was created following the 1890 Census, and was abolished after the 1970 Census. Throughout its existence i ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress. He engaged in work for the United States Department of Agriculture from January 1943 to April 1945. Gehrmann was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1946, 1948, 1950, and 1952. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1954 for the term ending in January 1957. He died of a heart attack in

, July 12, 1958. He was interred in Mellen Union Cemetery. His son was Bernard E. Gehrmann, who also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly.Bernard E. Gehrmann
. ''Wisconsin State Journal'', December 19, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gehrmann, Bernard John 1880 births 1958 deaths Members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin Progressives (1924) People from Ashland County, Wisconsin People from Neillsville, Wisconsin Progressive Party (1924) members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians German emigrants to the United States