Joseph Wagner (October 19, 1809October 27, 1896) was a German American immigrant, educator, and Democratic politician. He was a 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 ...

for four years and the State Assembly for six years, representing eastern

Fond du Lac County Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...

Biography

Wagner was born on October 19, 1809, in

Meckenbeuren Meckenbeuren is a municipality in the Bodensee district, in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It is located south of Ravensburg, and northeast of Friedrichshafen, on Lake Constance. Geography Location Meckenbeuren is located about eight ...

, in what is now the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

in southern

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 ...

. At the time of his birth, this area was part of the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

in the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

. He was raised and educated in Württemberg, and emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1832. He settled first in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

, where he worked as a school teacher for several years. He moved west to

Mount Calvary, Wisconsin Mount Calvary is a village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 762 at the 2010 census, down from 956 residents at the 2000 census. History Mount Calvary's location was chosen by missi ...

, in

, in 1846. He became involved in local politics shortly after his arrival in Wisconsin, and became a member of the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educa ...

. He was elected to the Fond du Lac County board of supervisors in 1848, and ran unsuccessfully for

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, ...

in 1851. He went on to win six terms in the Assembly, serving in the 1856, 1858, 1866, 1867, 1868, and 1871 sessions of the Legislature. Although he represented the district in three different decades and under several different map configurations, his district always comprised his home town, Marshfield, and the four neighboring towns of Calumet, Forest, Taycheedah, and Empire. In the 1871 redistricting, his district was dissolved as Fond du Lac went from six Assembly districts down to three. But in the same redistricting, the county increased from one Senate district to two. Wagner became the Democratic Party's nominee for

in Fond du Lac's eastern Senate district (the 20th Senate district) and was elected in November, defeating Republican A. T. Germond. He was re-elected in 1873 and retired from politics at the end of that term. Throughout his political career, he also often served in local offices. He was a member of the town board and county board for many years, and was superintendent of schools in his town. Wagner died on October 27, 1896, at his home in Marshfield.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1851)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1851

Wisconsin Senate (1871, 1873)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1871 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1873

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Joseph People from Bodenseekreis People from Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin People from Marshfield, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin German emigrants to the United States Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly County supervisors in Wisconsin School superintendents in Wisconsin 1809 births 1896 deaths 19th-century American politicians