Edward Woolsey Dwight (April 8, 1827 – March 6, 1904) was an American farmer and politician.

Background

Dwight was born in

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

on April 8, 1827. His father was Benjamin W. Dwight, a doctor (son of

Timothy Dwight IV Timothy Dwight (May 14, 1752January 11, 1817) was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He was the eighth president of Yale College (1795–1817). Early life Timothy Dwight was born May 14, 17 ...

, President of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

and a member of the noted

Dwight family The Dwight family of New England had many members who were military leaders, educators, jurists, authors, businessmen and clergy. Around 1634, John Dwight came with his wife Hannah, daughter Hannah, and sons Timothy (1629–1718) and John (d. 163 ...

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

) and later treasurer of Hamilton College. His mother was Sophia (Strong) Dwight. He was the youngest of six children: Benjamin, Theodore, Sophia, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. Edward Dwight left home at the age of 15, went to Boston, Massachusetts and signed up on the

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Council'', which returned to Boston after sailing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

for one year. He then went to Clinton, Oneida County, New York, and worked on a farm there until 1847, when he left for the Wisconsin Territory (in May of that year he had married Elizabeth Foote of Clinton, daughter of John and Mary (Love) Foote). They traveled via the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

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 ...

, then got a ride on a

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

wagon to a place called "Walnut, Wisconsin" (some sources say Spring Prairie). This "Walnut" may or may not be identified with Walnut Springs, Wisconsin, a short-lived

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

which operated for a couple of decades in the Town of Adams in Green County on the road between

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and Wiota.

Wisconsin and Iowa and Wisconsin again

He worked in Walnut by the month, saving up enough that he could buy 160 acres (one-quarter of a square

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

) at $8 per acre. He made some

improvement Improvement is the process of a thing moving from one state to a state considered to be better, usually through some action intended to bring about that better state. The concept of improvement is important to governments and businesses, as well a ...

s on the land, then sold it and bought a 40-acre tract nearby, sold that and bought more land. In 1855 he went to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

by ox team; he became one of the pioneers of Winneshiek County, Iowa, buying 360 acres from the U.S. government

land office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

, 160 of which had already been improved. He stayed in Iowa only one year, then returned to "Walnut", where he stayed for a further year before he came to

Dane County, Wisconsin Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

in or near

Oregon, Wisconsin Oregon is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County, Wisconsin. As of the census of 2020, the population was 11,179. Oregon is part of the Madison, Wisconsin, Madison Madison, Wisconsin metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

, and bought another tract of land, which he would farm for many years. There was a

log house A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term " log cabin" generally refers to a sm ...

on the land, where the family camped for a few years. He planted

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

and shade trees, and erected some frame buildings.

Politics

Dwight was active in 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 ...

, held various offices, and was elected to a single one-year 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, ...

in 1860. Dane County had one less seat in the subsequent Assembly, and Dwight did not return. After 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 ...

, Dwight spent a great deal of time studying financial questions; as a result, in 1880 Dwight served as a United States

Presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

for the Greenback Party. He died in Oregon, Wisconsin on March 6, 1904.Butterfield, Consul Wilshire. "Biographical Sketch of Edward W. Dwight" ''History of Dane County, Wisconsin'' Chicago: Western Historical Company: 1880; pg. 1288

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwight, Edward W 1827 births 1904 deaths People from Winneshiek County, Iowa People from Catskill, New York People from Oregon, Wisconsin Wisconsin Greenbacks 19th-century American politicians Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Woolsey family