George Edwin Cabanis (September 7, 1815February 7, 1892) was an American

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 builder from Bigpatch, Wisconsin, who served one term as a

Republican 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 ...

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, ...

representing

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana *Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant Co ...

's First Assembly district (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 ...

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Po ...

, Hazel Green, Jamestown,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Platteville and Smelser).

Background

Cabanis was born in Greensburg, in

Green County, Kentucky Green County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Greensburg, Kentucky, Greensburg. Green was a prohibition or dry county until 2015. History Green County was formed in 1792 from portions ...

in 1815. When he was seven years old, his family moved to

Sangamon County, Illinois Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, the List ...

, where they were some of the first white settlers. During the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

in 1832, he volunteered with the brigade of

Samuel Whiteside Samuel Whiteside (April 12, 1783 – January 12, 1866) was an Illinois pioneer. A farmer and backwoodsman, Whiteside briefly served in the Illinois General Assembly after statehood and led the Illinois militia for decades, rising to the rank ...

in the

Illinois militia In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

. In 1834 he moved to New Diggings, Wisconsin, to

prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

for lead. In 1844 he moved to the Town of Smelser in Grant County, where he settled. He served as town

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

school superintendent In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principa ...

, and town chairman at various times.

Legislature

In 1871, he was elected to the Assembly to succeed fellow Republican Joseph Harris, defeating former State Representative and State Senator

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

John Rountree by a vote of 670 to 615. 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 mining and

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

. He did not run for re-election in 1872, and was succeeded by Liberal Reform Party candidate Thomas G. Stephens.

Personal life

He married Mary Ann Lauterman, a native of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. They had two sons: * Jasper N. Cabanis served in the

25th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 25th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. During their service, they first participated in the Dakota War of 1862, then spent most of the rest of the war in ...

during the Civil War and died of disease in 1862. * James Henry Cabanis was elected to his father's former seat in the Wisconsin Assembly, in 1881. Cabanis died in Bigpatch or Georgetown, Wisconsin, on February 7, 1892. It is unclear whether the "G. E. Cabanis" and "Geo. E. Cabanis" who is reported as principal of various area public high schools ( Potosi, Mineral Point and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

) from 1887 to 1891 is the same man.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabanis, George 1815 births 1892 deaths American carpenters American people of the Black Hawk War People from Smelser, Wisconsin People from Greensburg, Kentucky Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly School board members in Wisconsin People from Sangamon County, Illinois People from New Diggings, Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians