Hubert Lavies (August 31, 1833 - October 21, 1905) was an American farmer from

Root Creek, Wisconsin Root Creek was a hamlet in Sections 21-22 and 27-28 of the Town of Greenfield in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, on the Milwaukee- Janesville plank road, at what is now roughly the intersection of that thoroughfare (now Forest Home Aven ...

who spent a single one-year term as a 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, ...

from

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

Background

Lavies was born in Niederdrees (now a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Rheinbach) in the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

on August 31, 1833. He came to Wisconsin in 1844, and settled in the

Town 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 ...

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

. He had received a

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

education, and became a farmer.

Public service

Lavies took over as

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Root Creek in 1864, when his father

Peter Lavies Peter Lavies or Lavis, Sr. (''c.'' 1790 – ''c.'' 1876) was a German-American farmer, tavernkeeper and sometime moneylender from Root Creek, Wisconsin, who was postmaster there, and served three one-year terms as a Democratic member of the Wisc ...

retired; but relinquished the office in 1867. He had served one year as

assessor An assessor may be: * ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes * Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate * Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford * Assessor (property), an expert who calculates the value of pr ...

for the town, three years as its treasurer, and six years as

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, when was elected to the Assembly's 11th Milwaukee County district (the Towns of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, Greenfield,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and Oak Creek; roughly the same district his father had represented in the 1850s) in 1875, as part of the Reform Party, a short-lived

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

of Democrats, reform and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Republicans 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 ...

, and

Grangers The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...

formed in 1873, which had secured the election of one

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

and a number of state legislators. He received 675 votes to 617 for Republican E. S. Estes (Republican incumbent Thomas O'Neill was not a candidate). He was assigned to the standing committee 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 was not a candidate for re-election in 1876, and was succeeded by Democrat

Aloysius Arnolds Aloysius Arnolds (December 17, 1835 - February 9, 1896) was an American farmer who served as a local official and as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Arnolds was born in Simmerath, Prussia. He received a common school educatio ...

Personal life

He married Barbara Eichen (1839-1909), and died on October 21, 1905. The couple are buried together in the Lavies Cemetery in Greenfield.Photo of the Lavies' gravestone
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavies, Hubert 1833 births 1905 deaths People from Rheinbach Politicians from the Rhine Province Prussian emigrants to the United States Wisconsin Reformers (19th century) Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin postmasters Farmers from Wisconsin People from Root Creek, Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Wisconsin politicians