Joel Cook Squires (December 11, 1819March 3, 1889) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

carpenter, miner,

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 ...

pioneer, and Democratic politician. He was elected as the 3rd Bank Comptroller of Wisconsin, and also served in the Wisconsin State Senate and

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

, representing Grant County.

Background

Squires was born in Vienna Township,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, on December 11, 1819, and attended the public schools. He came to Wisconsin in 1838 and settled in the Platteville area in 1841. He died at his home in Platteville on March 3, 1889.

Public service

Squires was Clerk of the Grant County

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

for 1849, 1850 and 1851; he was Clerk of the Circuit Court in 1851 and 1852. At that time a resident of Lancaster, Squires was elected to the State Senate from the Sixth District for the 1852 session. Squires, 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 ...

, succeeded Whig

John H. Rountree John Hawkins Rountree (March 24, 1805June 27, 1890) was an American farmer, businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the founder of Platteville, Wisconsin, and was instrumental in the early development of that village. He was also ...

. At the time of election, he was 31 years of age and had been in Wisconsin for twelve years; he listed his occupation as "carpenter". After the Senate was re-apportioned and the Sixth District was shifted from the region around Platteville and the surrounding region to the

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 ...

area, Squires was succeeded by fellow Democrat Duncan Reed in the Sixth District, but was elected to the succeeding one-year term in the new Sixteenth District. On May 1, 1853, he resigned from the Senate; fellow Democrat

James Wilson Seaton James Wilson Seaton (May 28, 1824February 11, 1904) was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served in the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly, representing Grant County. Biography Born in New Hartford, New Yor ...

of Potosi was elected to fill his seat. He served as Register of the United States

Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

at Mineral Point, from 1853 to 1857, until he was elected the State of Wisconsin's

Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

(at that time an elected position), serving through the end of 1859.''The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin; Comprising Jefferson's Manual, Rules, Forms and Laws, for the Regulation of Business; also, lists and tables for reference'' Ninth Annual Edition. Madison: Atwood and Rublee, State Printers, Journal Block, 1870; p. 250
/ref> He sought re-election in 1860, but was defeated by Republican Gysbert Van Steenwyk Sr.

In the Assembly

In 1870, now living in Platteville and working as a miner, he was elected for a single year term from the first Grant County Assembly district (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 Hazel Green, Smeltzer and Platteville), succeeding Republican Joseph Harris. He received 465 votes to 437 for Republican William E. Carter (Harris was not a candidate). He ran for re-election in 1871, but lost to Harris by 295 votes to 567 for Harris.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Bank Comptroller (1857, 1859)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1857 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1859

Wisconsin Assembly (1869, 1870)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1869 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1870

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Squires, Joel American carpenters Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly American miners Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators People from Platteville, Wisconsin People from Vienna Township, Trumbull County, Ohio 1819 births 1889 deaths 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Wisconsin politicians