Jacob Bodden (September 21, 1831 – February 21, 1889) was a

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, farmer, and politician. He represented eastern Dodge County for three terms 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, ...

Biography

Bodden was born in Lich, which was, at the time, a part of the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

of 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 ...

(modern day

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

). In 1851, Bodden immigrated to Wisconsin and worked as a farmer. On January 24, 1856, Bodden married Agnes Schafer. On September 3, 1858, Schafer died after giving birth to their only child. In 1860, Bodden married Gertrude Schaefer at the Catholic church in

Theresa, Wisconsin Theresa is a village in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,262 at the 2010 census. The village is within the Town of Theresa. History Theresa was founded by Solomon Juneau along with his Metis wife and children in th ...

. They had 13 children. He died on February 21, 1889, in Theresa.

Career

Bodden served in the Wisconsin State Assembly during the

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first steam-p ...

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman tr ...

, and

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

sessions and was a

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 ...

. He also served as treasurer and sheriff of

Dodge County, Wisconsin Dodge County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 89,396. Its county seat is Juneau. The county was created from the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and organized in 1844. Dodge County com ...

. He also was chairman of the county board of supervisors of Dodge County in 1874–75. In 1873, Bodden ran for the state assembly unopposed and received 902 total votes.

Descendants

In 1988, Jacob Bodden's great-grandson, Todd Bodden, ran for Wisconsin's 59th Assembly district as a Democrat and lost in the general election. In 2022, Jacob Bodden's 3rd great-grandson, Ty Bodden of

Stockbridge, Wisconsin Stockbridge is a village in Calumet County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 686 at the 2020 census. The village lies within the Town of Stockbridge. History Stockbridge is known as "The Sturgeon Capital of the World," and was ...

, was elected to the Assembly in the 59th Assembly district, running as a Republican. He had previously run unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in this district in 2018.https://ballotpedia.org/Ty_Bodden. Like his 3rd great-grandfather, Ty Bodden is a former resident of

. Ty also used to reside in

St. Cloud, Wisconsin St. Cloud is a village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Sheboygan River. The population was 477 at the 2010 census. St. Cloud is part of The Holyland region in northeastern Fond du Lac County. History A post office cal ...

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac United States metrop ...

and

Kewaskum, Wisconsin Kewaskum is a village in Washington and Fond du Lac counties in Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,004 at the 2010 census. All of this population resided in the Washington County portion of the village. The village is mostly surro ...

. He currently resides in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodden, Jacob 1831 births 1889 deaths People from Theresa, Wisconsin Prussian emigrants to the United States Wisconsin sheriffs County supervisors in Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly