Calvin Hoadley Upham (February 18, 1828February 26, 1892) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

businessman, politician, 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 served one term 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, ...

, representing

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

. He was a brother of

William H. Upham William Henry Upham (May 3, 1841July 2, 1924) was an American businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the 18th governor of Wisconsin and served three terms as mayor of Marshfield, Wisconsin. He is the namesake of Upham, Wiscons ...

, the 18th

governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

. In historical documents, his name is almost always abbreviated as C. H. Upham.

Biography

Calvin Upham was born in

Westminster, Massachusetts Westminster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 8,213. History Westminster was first settled by Europeans in 1737, and was officially incorporated in 1759. Westmin ...

, in February 1828. He ventured to the west in 1848, settling for several years at Niles, Michigan. He moved to

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

, in 1853, and worked in the forwarding and commission business. Upham became associated with the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

when it was established in the 1850s. He was elected city clerk in 1859, and was re-elected in 1860. In 1861, he held both offices of city clerk and city comptroller. He was elected to the

in the Fall of 1861 and served in the 1862 session of the legislature. He represented Racine County's 1st Assembly district, which then comprised just the city of Racine. After the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Upham became one of the founding donors and officers of the "Racine Soldier's Relief Society", which collected charity to outfit Racine's soldiers and care for their dependents. He was later appointed an enrollment officer for the city of Racine, soliciting volunteers for service in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. Towards the end of the war, he received a federal commission as a captain in the commissary and subsistence division and assigned to the

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was cons ...

. He served just over a year, from March 1864 through June 1865. In 1866, Upham moved north to

Shawano, Wisconsin Shawano (pronounced SHAW-no) is a city in Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,305 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Shawano County. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a tota ...

, to engage in the lumber business. While living there, he was an organizer and delegate to Wisconsin's 1868 "Soldiers' and Sailors' Convention", to select delegates to a national convention, to repudiate efforts to end

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

and restore the political power of former Confederate sympathizers. He was a partner in the corporation which was formed to purchase and overhaul the '' Milwaukee Sentinel'' in 1870, under Alexander McDonald Thomson. He moved to

Ripon, Wisconsin Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,733 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by the Town of Ripon. Ripon is home to the Little White Schoolhouse, the commonly recognized birthplace of ...

, in 1877. He was appointed postmaster at Ripon in 1882, under President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...

and postmaster general

Timothy O. Howe Timothy Otis Howe (February 24, 1816March 25, 1883) was a member of the United States Senate for three terms, representing the state of Wisconsin from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1879. He also served as U.S. Postmaster General under President Che ...

. He served until a replacement was named by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

in December 1885. He suffered a stroke in February 1892 and died at his home in Ripon.

Personal life and family

Calvin H. Upham was the eldest child of Alvin Upham and his wife Sarah (' Derby). His grandfather, Jonathan Upham, was a soldier in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and was present at the

surrender of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. The Uphams were direct descendants of John Upham, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

colonist who came to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

in 1635, and was one of the first settlers of Weymouth, Massachusetts. Calvin had several siblings, most notable was

, who also emigrated to Wisconsin and served in the

. William Upham later became the 18th

. Calvin Upham married Amanda E. Gibbs at Westminster, Massachusetts, in November 1851. They had at least three children, though one died young. Their son, Frederic William Upham, became a prominent businessman in

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

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upham, Calvin H. 1828 births 1892 deaths People from Westminster, Massachusetts Politicians from Racine, Wisconsin People from Ripon, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Wisconsin postmasters Businesspeople from Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Wisconsin politicians