John Bentley (March 23, 1822March 5, 1894) was a

Welsh American Welsh Americans ( cy, Americanwyr Cymreig) are an American ethnic group whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Wales. In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans had Welsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U.S ...

immigrant, building contractor, Democratic politician, and

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. 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, ...

, representing

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 ...

in the

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaims t ...

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

1879 Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * Janu ...

, and

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

sessions. He also served as

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

during the 1880s, and constructed many notable buildings of early Wisconsin. In historical documents, his last name was sometimes spelled Bently.

Biography

Bentley was born on March 23, 1822, in

Newtown, Wales Newtown ( cy, Y Drenewydd) is a town in Powys, Wales. It lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a new town in 1967 and saw population growth ...

. When he was young, his father emigrated to the United States, leaving him in the care of his mother. He had little formal education and was employed as a child to work as a clerk in a seed store. Through his teenage years, he sought to educate himself by studying in the evenings, and brought himself up to general knowledge. At age 17, he emigrated to the United States, joining his father in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He worked a number of jobs over the next few years. He was an apprentice

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

and brassfitter in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

for a year and a half, then moved to in

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 populat ...

, where he worked for a farmer, who also operated a lumber business on his land. Finally, he moved to

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

, where he found his trade as an apprentice builder and mason. He worked as a journeyman in

Haverstraw, New York Haverstraw is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Ramapo; east of Orange County; south of the Town of Stony Point; and west of the Hudson River. The town runs from the w ...

, then began to take on his own contracts. In 1848, he moved to

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 ...

, and became a prominent building contractor in the new city. His first major contract was for the building of the Milwaukee Female Seminary, followed quickly by contracts for the North Presbyterian Church, and Saint John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. He also went on to construct the State Reform School in Waukesha. He also did mason work on the

Newhall House Newhall may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places in England *Newhall, Cheshire *Newhall, Derbyshire * Newhall, Essex, an area within Harlow * Newhall, South Yorkshire, an area within Sheffield in the United States * Newhall, Santa Clarita, California, a ...

, which famously burned in 1883, and the original Nunnemacher Grand Opera House, which burned in 1895. Later in his career, he partnered with his son, Thomas R. Bentley, and worked on a number of significant projects around the state and region, including some of the state office buildings in Madison, the north wing of the Northern Insane Asylum in Oshkosh, the

Wisconsin School for the Deaf Wisconsin School for the Deaf (WSD) is located in Delavan, Wisconsin. The school has been serving Wisconsin’s deaf and hard of hearing children since 1852. WSD has an average enrollment of 130 students (the highest enrollment was 215 in 1980 and ...

in Delavan, and the

Traverse City State Hospital The Traverse City State Hospital of Traverse City, Michigan is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital that has been variously known as the Northern Michigan Asylum and the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital. It is the last Kirkbride Build ...

in Traverse City, Michigan. After his retirement, his son carried on the business and went on to other significant works.

Political career

Bentley cast his first vote for

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

in the

1844 United States presidential election The 1844 United States presidential election was the 15th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held from Friday, November 1 to Wednesday, December 4, 1844. History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democr ...

, and always afterward identified with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. He was elected chairman of the town of

Lake, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin The Town of Lake was formerly a town in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, which existed from January 2, 1838 to April 6, 1954. Geography After 1840, using current street names, the Town of Lake encompassed the area bordered by Greenfie ...

, in 1862, and later that year he won his first term in the

. In the 1863 session, he represented Milwaukee County's 9th Assembly district, then-comprising roughly the southern quarter of the county. Serving in the Assembly during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Bentley was identified as a

War Democrat War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads (or Peace Democrats). The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the Con ...

, and strongly supported the Union cause and raising Union Army volunteers. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1863, but he was later elected to four consecutive terms, serving in the

, and

sessions, representing Milwaukee County's 5th Assembly district, which in those years comprised the southeast quadrant of the city of Milwaukee. His chief accomplishment in the Assembly was bringing Milwaukee the state normal school—the predecessor to the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

. In 1880, he was the Democratic nominee for

of Milwaukee County, but suffered his only electoral defeat in the November general election, losing to German American Republican

John Rugee John Rugee (January 3, 1827 – March 7, 1894) was an American politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Rugee was born John Christopher Rugee on January 3, 1827 in Lübeck. He married Malvina C. Palmer. They had four ...

. He ran again in 1882, however, and this time won the office. His last public office was park commissioner of the city of Milwaukee, having been appointed by Mayor Thomas H. Brown in 1889. He held that office until his death. Bentley died at his home in Milwaukee on March 5, 1894, after suffering from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Personal life and family

John Bentley was a son of Thomas Bentley and his wife Jane (' Jones). After emigrating to the United States, Thomas Bentley worked in manufacturing woolen goods in New Jersey until coming to live with his son in Milwaukee in the 1860s. John Bentley married Sarah Ann Roberts, whose parents were English emigrants, on May 17, 1845. They had eight children together, though only four of his children survived him.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1877, 1878, 1879)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 1877 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1878 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1879

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, John 1822 births 1894 deaths People from Newtown, Powys Welsh emigrants to the United States Politicians from Milwaukee Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin city council members County supervisors in Wisconsin Wisconsin sheriffs 19th-century American politicians