James Riley Stone Sr. (October 17, 1886February 25, 1978) was an American farmer, businessman, and Republican politician from

Reedsburg, Wisconsin Reedsburg is a city in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. Located along the Baraboo River, it was founded in 1868, and was named for early settler David C. Reed. The city is surrounded by the Town of Reedsburg. It is part of the Baraboo Mic ...

. He was 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, ...

for five terms, representing

Sauk County Sauk County is a county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. The county was created in 1840 from Wisconsin Territory a ...

from 1949 through 1959. He also served four years as sheriff. At various times his name was abbreviated as either James R. Stone, J. Riley Stone, or just Riley Stone.

Biography

James Riley Stone was born in Sully County, South Dakota, in October 1886. As a child, he moved with his parents to

, where he resided for most of the rest of his life. He was educated in the Reedsburg public schools for elementary and high school, and went on to attend the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University's College of Commerce (now the

Wisconsin School of Business The Wisconsin School of Business (WSB) is the business school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a public research university in Madison, Wisconsin and consistently ranks among the top business schools in the world. Founded in 1900, it has ...

) in 1907. Stone was involved for some time in 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 ...

, and when the United States became involved in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was selected for service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He initially served as an enlisted soldier in the 341st Infantry Regiment—a mobilized Wisconsin National Guard unit—but after a series of transfers, ended up serving as a first lieutenant in the

75th Field Artillery Regiment The 75th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army. History I was in Bravo Battery 1st Bn 75th Field Artillery stationed in Bamberg Germany from 1976 to 1978. It was an 8-inch Howitzer unit. The Battery h ...

. After the passage of the

Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Eighteenth Amendment (Amendment XVIII) of the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and was ratified by the requisite number of ...

and the

Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...

, creating a legal framework for alcohol prohibition, Stone was appointed the federal prohibition director for Wisconsin. After several years in that role, in 1925, he was appointed postmaster at Reedsburg. Stone was also involved with his father in a large farm real-estate business. By 1930 they owned ten farms which were rented to tenants, and Stone later purchased two dairy farms for his own use. After the implementation of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

, Stone served for ten years as an agent of the

Federal Land Bank The Farm Credit System (FCS) in the United States is a nationwide network of borrower-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations. The Farm Credit System provides more than $304 billion in loans, leases, and related services t ...

. Through his farm interests, he was also an active member and officer in the Sauk County Farm Association. Stone first served in county office in 1945, when he was appointed sheriff of Sauk County by Governor Walter Samuel Goodland, to fill a vacancy. He was subsequently elected to a full term as sheriff in 1946, running on the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

ticket. Two years later, Stone chose to enter the race for

in Sauk County, launching a primary challenge against George J. Woerth, who had previously been a member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party. Stone narrowly defeated Woerth in the September 1948 primary, and went on to win the general election with 73% of the vote. He was re-elected four times, but was unsuccessful seeking a sixth term in 1958. He was defeated in the Republican primary by

Walter Terry Walter E. Terry was a Wisconsin Politician (1909 – 1977) who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1959 to 1965 and later Wisconsin Senate, serving the 27th district of Wisconsin from 1967 to 1969. Terry was a graduate of Bar ...

, who went on to succeed him in the Assembly. Stone remained active in local politics after leaving the Assembly, and served several terms as member and later president of the Reedsburg school board. He died at his home in Reedsburg on February 25, 1978, at age 91.

Personal life and family

James Riley Stone was the second of three children born to James Aschel Stone and Mary "Minnie" Louise Stone (' Corwith). James R. Stone's mother was born and raised in Sauk County, Wisconsin, before her marriage to James A. Stone and their brief move to South Dakota. After their return to Wisconsin, James A. Stone served on the Sauk County board of supervisors. Stone married Vera A. Milhaupt, of

New Holstein, Wisconsin New Holstein is a city in Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,236 at the 2010 census. The city is located within the Town of New Holstein. History New Holstein is named after the Schleswig-Holstein region in ...

, on October 10, 1916. They had nine children, though one son died in childhood, and were married for 61 years before his death in 1978. Vera died three years later, at the time of her death, they had 30 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Four of Stone's sons served in the armed forces, three in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, one in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

: * Richard W. Stone (born 1919) was an officer in the United States Army and rose to the rank of captain, serving in the headquarters company of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. He participated in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on D-Day, and fought in northern France for three months before being mortally wounded on September 8, 1944. * Edward L. Stone (born 1920) was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was wounded at the

Battle of Corregidor The Battle of Corregidor (; ), fought on May 5–6, 1942, was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. The fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942, ended all organized o ...

in May 1942 and was taken prisoner as the Japanese conquered the Philippines. He remained a prisoner for the rest of the war, surviving three years of captivity. After the war he had a successful career with International Dairy Supply Co. * Frederick Stone (born 1923) was enlisted in the Army and served in a combat engineering battalion in France during World War II. * Lawrence J. Stone (born 1930) was too young to serve in World War II, but served more than 15 years as a U.S. Army officer. He earned a bronze star while serving in the

as commanding officer of the 156th Aviation Company. He ultimately attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, serving as commander of the 1st battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, after his return from Vietnam. Their other children also had notable public service: * Susan (born 1922) left school to work in an ammunition factory during World War II. She married

Frank J. Remington Frank John Remington (February 10, 1922 – February 9, 1996), was a University of Wisconsin law professor, who directed major studies reforming criminal law in the United States. He was a member of the Supreme Court's Standing Committee on ...

, then a U.S. Army pilot. Frank Remington went on to become a prominent figure in the evolution of the University of Wisconsin, and a nationally renowned legal scholar in reforming the criminal justice system. He is the namesake of the Frank J. Remington Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School. * Mark H. Stone (born 1926) spent most of his life as an educator, and was superintendent of the Little Chute School District from 1971 to 1990. * Patrick E. Stone (born 1932) was city treasurer for many years in Reedsburg and was director of the Sauk County Fair Board.

Electoral history

Sauk County sheriff (1946)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1946

Wisconsin Assembly (1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, James Riley 1886 births 1978 deaths People from Sully County, South Dakota People from Reedsburg, Wisconsin Wisconsin School of Business alumni Farmers from Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin sheriffs Wisconsin postmasters 20th-century American legislators Military personnel from Wisconsin Wisconsin National Guard personnel United States Army personnel of World War I Catholic politicians from Wisconsin Burials in Wisconsin 20th-century Wisconsin politicians