Franklin Leander Gilson (October 22, 1846June 7, 1892) was an American politician and jurist. He was the 32nd Speaker 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, ...

, and for the last two years of his life, he was judge of the Milwaukee Superior Court. Earlier in his career, he served as

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for Pierce County for six years.

Biography

Born in

Middlefield, Ohio Middlefield is a village in Middlefield Township, Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,748 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Middlefield is known for being the center of the world's fourth lar ...

, Gilson studied at

Hiram College Hiram College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Hiram, Ohio. It was founded in 1850 as the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute by Amos Sutton Hayden and other members of the Disciples of Christ Church. The college is nonsectarian and coe ...

and

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, but did not graduate. In 1870, he moved to

West Bend, Wisconsin West Bend is the county seat of Washington County, Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,752. History Early history and settlement Northeastern Washington County's earliest known inhabitants were pre-Columbian Mound Builder ...

, in Washington County, and studied law with his uncle Leander F. Frisby. In 1872, Gilson 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 ...

and practiced law in

Ellsworth, Wisconsin Ellsworth is a village in and the county seat of Pierce County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,348 at the 2020 census. The village is adjacent to the Town of Ellsworth and now incorporates the formerly separate district known as ...

, in far west Pierce County. Gilson served as district attorney of

Pierce County, Wisconsin Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,212. Its county seat is Ellsworth. Pierce County is part of the Minneapolis–St. Paul– Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

, from 1875 to 1881. A member of the Republican Party, Gilson was a delegate for Wisconsin to the

1880 Republican National Convention The 1880 Republican National Convention convened from June 2 to June 8, 1880, at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Delegates nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio and Chester A. Arthur of New York as the offic ...

. That same year, he was elected to represent Pierce County in the Wisconsin Assembly. He was re-elected in 1881, and in the 1882 session, he was chosen by his caucus as Speaker of the Assembly. In 1883, Gilson moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 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, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, to practice law with his uncle Leander Frisby. In 1890, Gilson was appointed judge of Milwaukee Superior Court serving until his death in 1892.'Report of the Annual Proceedings of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin February 2–3, 1901, Taylor and Gleason Book and Job Printers, Madison, Wisconsin: 1898, Biographical Sketch of Franklin L. Gilson, pg. 266-271

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilson, Franklin L. 1846 births 1892 deaths People from Geauga County, Ohio People from Ellsworth, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee Hiram College alumni Oberlin College alumni Wisconsin state court judges District attorneys in Wisconsin People from West Bend, Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly