James Rolfe (1821 – April 1, 1888) was an American farmer from
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
*Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missouri ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, who spent a single one-year term in 1855 as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
member of the
Wisconsin State Senate
The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...
from the
4th District
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
.
Background
Rolfe, born in
Hillsboro, Massachusetts
Leverett is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,865 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The Town of Leverett is located on the tr ...
, in 1821, was the son of Stephen and Mary A. (Reed) Rolfe. He came to
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 1846, and located in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, living there for seven years, when he moved to the town of Polk and acquired 400 acres of land. In 1849 he married Matilda Meade.
Public service
In November 1854 Rolfe was one of three committee members appointed by Washington County's Board of Supervisors who negotiated a final settlement of financial controversies deriving from the division of
Ozaukee County
Ozaukee County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,503. Its county seat is Port Washington, making it one of three Wisconsin counties on Lake Michigan not to have a county seat with the same ...
from that county in the spring of 1853. He held various
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 ...
offices as well.
At the time of Rolfe's 1854 election to the Senate, the 4th District consisted of 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 ...
of
Erin
Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as ''"go hà ...
,
Richfield,
Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region
United States
* Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County
* Ger ...
,
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Q ...
, Polk,
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
,
Addison
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Places Canada
* Addison, Ontario
United States
*Addison, Alabama
*Addison, Illinois
*Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field
*Addison, Kentucky
*Addison, Maine
*Addison, Michigan
*Addison, New York
* ...
,
West Bend,
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
,
Trenton,
Farmington
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Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
* Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
*Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
*Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
* ...
,
Kewaskum and
Wayne, in
Washington County It had been represented by
Baltus Mantz
Baltus (Balthus) Mantz (January 29, 1815 – August 9, 1854) was an American politician.
Mantz was a farmer, from Meeker, Wisconsin. He was born in Germany in 1815 and immigrated to the United States in 1837. Mantz served as register of deeds for ...
, 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 ...
from
Meeker who died in office of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
.
Rolfe was succeeded in 1856 by former incumbent
Baruch Schleisinger Weil
Baruch Schleisinger Weil, born Baruch Schleisinger, also known as Benjamin S. Weil, () was a French American immigrant, farmer, real estate broker, and politician. He is the founder and namesake of Slinger, Wisconsin; he served three years in the ...
, a Democrat from
Schleisingerville.
After the Senate
Matilda Rolfe died in 1859, by which time the two of them had had four children, three daughters and one son. Rolfe died on April 1, 1888, at the Rock County Asylum in
Johnstown Center, Wisconsin
Johnstown Center is an unincorporated community located in the town of Johnstown, Rock County, Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-mos ...
.
[ ]
References
1821 births
1888 deaths
Farmers from Wisconsin
People from Polk, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Independents
Wisconsin state senators
19th-century American legislators
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