Densmore William Maxon (September 30, 1820March 21, 1887) 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 ...

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

, Democratic 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 9 years 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 4 years in the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, representing Washington County.

Background

Maxon was born in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...

, in 1820. He was educated at the Oneida Conference Seminary at

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove , Theophile Cazenove, the ''Agent Gener ...

, and became a farmer. He moved to

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 ...

in 1843, and first settled at

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

and was appointed deputy county

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

in 1843; but removed to Cedar Creek, Washington County, in 1846.

Political career

Maxon was

Town 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 ...

Chairman of Polk from 1846 to 1859. He was first elected a member of the Assembly in the first state legislative elections for the new state of Wisconsin, held in February 1848, and went on to serve in the

1st Wisconsin Legislature The First Wisconsin Legislature convened from June 5, 1848, to August 21, 1848, in regular session. Members of the Assembly and Senate were elected after an election on February 1, 1848, that ratified the proposed state constitution. Major event ...

. He was subsequently elected to another one-year term in the 5th Wisconsin Legislature (1852), and was elected to two terms as Washington County's representative in the

Wisconsin 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 ...

, serving from 1858 through 1861. In 1865, he was the Democratic candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, r ...

, but was defeated by Republican

Wyman Spooner Wyman Spooner (July 2, 1795 – November 18, 1877) was an American printer, lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the 9th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, the 10th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and President pro tempo ...

. Following the 1866

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

, he was again elected to the State Assembly, serving six consecutive terms (1867–1873). He was elected to a final term in 1881, receiving 797 votes to 613 votes for Republican Jacob H. Goelzer, and 72 for Greenbacker H. A. Forbes. In 1882, he was assigned to the joint committee on

charitable The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Etymology The word ''charity'' ori ...

and penal institutions.

Outside the legislature

In May, 1868 Maxon was appointed by President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

as a member of the

board of visitors In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...

to attend the annual examination at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point. In the 1880s he was one of the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

s of the Wisconsin Farm Mortgage Land Company, a state commission. He died in 1887 in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

, and was buried in Cedar Creek, Wisconsin.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxon, Densmore 1820 births 1887 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin People from Verona, New York People from Polk, Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century American politicians