George Washington Cate (September 17, 1825 – March 7, 1905) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northeastern Wisconsin. It is currently represented by Mike Gallagher, a Republican. Gallagher won the open seat vacated by Re ...

in the

Forty-fourth Congress The 44th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875, ...

. He also served two terms 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 21 years as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge.

Biography

Born in

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. The site of Vermont's state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population w ...

, Cate attended the common schools. He studied law in the office of

Lucius Benedict Peck Lucius Benedict Peck (November 17, 1802 – December 28, 1866) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont. Biography Peck was born in Waterbury, Vermont, to General John Peck and Anna Benedict Peck. ...

in Montpelier, paying his expenses by teaching school. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

at Montpelier in April 1844. He moved to the

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 1845 and supported himself in the lumber industry until he began the practice of law in

Plover Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. Description There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfa ...

, in Portage County, on January 1, 1848. He served as Deputy Postmaster, Register of Deeds, and Clerk to the Board of Supervisors that year. In 1849, he was elected District Attorney and served for two terms. He moved to

Stevens Point, Wisconsin Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The city was incorporated in 1858. Its 2020 population of 25,666 makes it the largest city in the county. Stevens Point forms the core of the United States Census Bur ...

, in 1852, where he opened a law office. He served as member of the

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

and

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping Reb ...

. Cate was elected

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 10 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and criminal case ...

judge for the 7th judicial circuit in April 1854, defeating former Whig state senator

James S. Alban James Shane Alban (October 30, 1809April 7, 1862) was an American lawyer, Wisconsin pioneer, and Union Army colonel in the American Civil War. He died leading the 18th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Shiloh. He also served as a memb ...

. He was re-elected in 1860, 1866, and 1872. In 1874, he was a candidate for the

, running as a Liberal Reformer. Democratic canvassers committed fraud to secure his election, though Judge Cate was not implicated in this act. His opponent, Dr.

Alexander S. McDill Alexander Stuart McDill (March 18, 1822 – November 12, 1875) was an American medical doctor, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, representing northern Wisconsin. He a ...

, challenged the results, but died before the court could determine that he had been the victor. Thus Judge Cate was allowed to take office for the

(March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1877). While in office, he represented

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1876. He resumed the practice of law in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and lived there for the rest of his life. Twenty years after leaving office, he was nominated for congress again against his own protests in 1896. At the time, he sent a telegram to the nominating convention saying: "I cannot possibly accept nomination. I am old and poor." Despite his protests, the convention nominated him unanimously, and Cate reluctantly participated in a final campaign. He was badly beaten in the general election, receiving just 38% of the vote. Cate died peacefully at his home in Stevens Point on the morning of March 7, 1905, after suffering from worsening asthma. He was interred in Forest Cemetery, Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Personal life and family

George Cate was a son of Isaac and Clarissa (' McKnight) Cate of Vermont. His father was a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and his grandfather was an enlisted volunteer in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. On October 24, 1851, George W. Cate married Levara Serena Brown (1836–1916) at Stevens Point. They raised eight children: Albert George Cate (1851–1933), Lynn Boyd Cate (1854–1937), Ida Levara Cate (1856–1866), Annie Serena Cate (1859–1881), Carrie Levara Cate (1864–1944) married William Jerome Cronyn, M.D., LL.B., who helped to establish

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

, Henry Brown Cate (1870–1956), Ruth Gray Cate (1874–1955), Georgeana Cate (1879–1949) married Gerhard Melvin Dahl, J.D., who was Vice President of Chase National Bank from 1917 to 1923 and then chairman of the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Corp. in New York City from 1923 to 1943."George Washington Cate", ''Pioneer Profiles'', Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society

Electoral history

U.S. House of Representatives (1874, 1876)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1874 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1876

U.S. House of Representatives (1896)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1896

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cate, George Washington 1825 births 1905 deaths People from Montpelier, Vermont People from Stevens Point, Wisconsin Wisconsin state court judges Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges