Christian Mayer (January 24, 1827 - August 6, 1910) was an American carpenter and businessman from

Watertown, Wisconsin Watertown is a city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. The population of Watertown was 22, ...

who manufactured

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

s and

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...

s. He served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in, and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of, that city, and 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, ...

Background

Mayer was born on January 24, 1827, in

Bretten Bretten (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Bredde'') is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Geography Bretten lies in the centre of a rectangle that is formed by Heidelber ...

, then part of the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

. He received a

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

education. He emigrated to the United States in 1852. He spent six months in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

as a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

and

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

, then settled for a while in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, working at the Buffalo City Planing-Mills. While there he married Frederika Melcher on October 18, 1855; the couple would eventually have twelve children. In 1856 or 1857 (accounts vary) they moved to Wisconsin, settling in Watertown and worked as a carpenter until 1861. He then began manufacturing doors, window sashes and

window blind A window blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard mater ...

s, and operating a planing mill.

Public office

He had been alderman of Watertown seven years, and served as mayor of that city for one term, when in 1874 he was elected to the Assembly's 1st Jefferson County district (which included the

Towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Ixonia and

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

as well as the entire City of Watertown, including those two

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

which actually were in Dodge County) as a member of the Reform Party, a short-lived

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

of Democrats,

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and

Grangers The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...

formed in 1873 which had secured the election of a

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 ...

and a number of state legislators; incumbent Charles Beckman, a Reformer, was not running for re-election. Mayer won with 969 votes to 781 for Republican August Volkmann. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

on ways and means. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1875, and was succeeded by Democrat Thomas Shinnick.

After the Assembly

He continued to serve as an alderman in Watertown."Christian Mayer" in, ''The History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin: Containing a History of Jefferson County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc...'' Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879; pp. 617-18 He died August 6, 1910, as a result of a broken hip sustained in a fall. His wife had died about two years previously. They were survived by twelve children: seven daughters and five sons. He was buried in Watertown's Oak Hill Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Christian 1827 births 1910 deaths Businesspeople from Wisconsin Businesspeople in wood products Mayors of places in Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Bretten People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Politicians from Watertown, Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin Reformers (19th century) 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople