Emil Wallber (April 1, 1841June 2, 1923) was a

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

lawyer and judge. He was the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, at the time of the Bay View massacre and labor strike, and adopted the city's first ordinance on an eight-hour work day.

Early life and career

Born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, Wallber 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 family in 1850. He is the son of Julius and Henrietta Krohn Wallber, both of whom had also been born in Berlin. They settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he was educated in the public schools and the New York free academy. At age 14, Wallber moved to

, intent on studying law. He first took a position as a clerk for Charles F. Bode, who was then justice of the peace. He then went to study in the law offices of

Edward Salomon Edward Salomon (August 11, 1828April 21, 1909) was a Jewish American politician and the 8th Governor of Wisconsin, having ascended to office from the Lieutenant Governorship after the accidental drowning of his predecessor, Louis P. Harvey. He ...

and Winfield Smith, who would later become the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

Attorney General of Wisconsin The Attorney General of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, ...

, respectively. Salomon was elected lieutenant governor in 1861, and became governor on the death of Governor Harvey in April 1862. On ascending to the governorship, Salomon hired Wallber as his chief clerk. Wallber served with Governor Salomon until the end of his term in January 1864. Wallber meanwhile continued his study of the law and was admitted to the

State Bar of Wisconsin The State Bar of Wisconsin (SBW) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for all attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license, the State Bar of Wisconsin aids the courts i ...

later that year. He then returned to the service of Winfield Smith as an assistant attorney general and remained in that role until the end of Smith's term in 1866.

Elected office

Wallber then returned to Milwaukee and practiced law. He was elected as a school commissioner, and served as president of the school board from 1871 to 1873. He was elected to serve 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, ...

for the 1872 session, and served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1873 to 1878. He was County court commissioner for ten years, and from 1883 to 1890 was a regent of the state

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

s. He was elected Mayor of Milwaukee in 1884 and was re-elected in 1886. During his second term as mayor, there was a major labor walkout during agitation for the

eight-hour workday The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 1 ...

. The strikes closed virtually every business in Milwaukee, starting on May Day, May 1, 1886. At Wallber's request, the Governor,

Jeremiah McLain Rusk Jeremiah McLain Rusk (June 17, 1830November 21, 1893) was an American Republican politician. He was the 2nd United States Secretary of Agriculture (1889–1893) and the 15th Governor of Wisconsin (1882–1889), and served three terms in ...

, called up the

Wisconsin National Guard The Wisconsin National Guard consists of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the Wisconsin Air National Guard. It is a part of the Government of Wisconsin under the control of the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs. The Wisconsin Natio ...

. In what's now known as the Bay View massacre, on May 5, the national guard fired into the protesters as they marched on the North Chicago Rolling Mills in Bay View. Seven people died as a result, including a thirteen year old boy. In April 1889, the year after he left the Mayors office, Wallber was elected judge of the municipal court. He was re-elected in 1895 and left office in 1902. In his later life, he served as a German consular agent in Milwaukee from 1906 to his retirement in 1917. Wallber is buried at

Forest Home Cemetery Forest Home Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite. Both the cemetery and ...

in Milwaukee.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1871)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1871

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallber, Emil Prussian emigrants to the United States Mayors of Milwaukee Lawyers from Milwaukee Wisconsin lawyers Wisconsin state court judges Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1841 births 1923 deaths Burials in Wisconsin 19th-century American lawyers