John Hawkins Rountree (March 24, 1805June 27, 1890) 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 ...

farmer, businessman, 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 the founder of

Platteville, Wisconsin Platteville is the largest city in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. The population was 11,836 at the 2020 census, up from 11,224 at the 2010 census. Much of this growth is likely due to the enrollment increase of the University of Wisc ...

, and was instrumental in the early development of that village. He was also one of the founders of the

Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investm ...

Insurance Company, and remained a director in the company until his death. In politics, he represented

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant C ...

for five years in the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

, and was a delegate to Wisconsin's 2nd constitutional convention in 1847. 'Semi-Centennial History,' Henry Frank Tyrrell and George H. Noyes, Insurance, Life:1908, pg. 67

Founding Platteville

Born in

Warren County, Kentucky Warren County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,554, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kentucky. The county seat is Bowling Green. Warren Coun ...

, Rountree moved north in 1824 to

Hillsboro, Illinois Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Illinois, Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,207 at the 2010 census. History The community was founded in 1823 and incorporated on March 26, 1913. Ther ...

, where he served as deputy sheriff. In 1827, he continued north into the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

to seek economic opportunity in the

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

region in the area that is now southern Wisconsin. He staked a claim near the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself ...

—where the city of

, now stands—and discovered rich deposits of lead in the area. He constructed a sod house for himself and, the next year, opened the first

lead smelting Plants for the production of lead are generally referred to as lead smelters. Primary lead production begins with sintering. Concentrated lead ore is fed into a sintering machine with iron, silica, limestone fluxes, coke, soda ash, pyrite, zinc, ...

furnace in the town, the first store, and a log boarding house for newcomers. In 1829 he was appointed the first postmaster for the village and helped organize Platteville's

Methodist Episcopal The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

congregation, and in 1836 he established the first sawmill and built the first hotel. In 1841, he platted the original

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Platteville. He also helped establish a

creamery A creamery is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream re ...

and a newspaper there, and had a hand in bringing the

Chicago & Northwestern Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

to town in the 1870s. Rountree owned large parcels of land around the village of Platteville and every five or ten years would plat another addition to the village, selling the lots for businesses and homes. Rountree at this time also owned slaves, something that was not legal in the area at the time. His slaves were named Rachel, Maria and Felix. All three were granted their freedom in 1841 by the US Government, although Rachel stayed with Rountree until her death in 1854. In 1853 he built his own fine home on a large parcel south of the downtown. The building still stands, and is now listed as the J. H. Rountree Mansion in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. He had previously built a house for his father-in-law, Samuel Mitchell, now known as the Mitchell-Rountree House, that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite its proximity to the downtown, his house remained the only house on that parcel until after Rountree died in 1890, when his heirs subdivided the parcel and the lots quickly filled. The fine homes of the Bayley Avenue Historic District now occupy part of Rountree's home parcel.

Early service

Rountree served as judge in the Michigan Territory and later the

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 ...

. He was a captain of the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

during the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

of 1832, and was involved with Col.

Henry Dodge Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was a Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served as a ...

's negotiations attempting to keep the Winnebago from allying with the Sauk. He served on the Council (equivalent to a Senate) from the newly created

in the Second through Fourth Wisconsin Territorial Legislatures (1838–1846) and as a delegate to the 1847-1848 Wisconsin State Constitutional Convention from Grant County (where he is recorded as insisting that a strong

uniformity clause The Taxing and Spending Clause (which contains provisions known as the General Welfare Clause and the Uniformity Clause), Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, grants the federal government of the United States its ...

was "a matter of very great importance".

State legislature

1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a cit ...

and 1851, Rountree served as a Whig 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 original 6th Senate district, succeeding fellow Whig George W. Lakin; in 1852, he was replaced by

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 ...

Joel Squires. In 1863, he was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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, ...

from the 1st Grant County district (

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 Hazle Green, Smeltzer and Plattville) to succeed William Brandon, after a contested election result initially awarded the seat to Democrat John Harms; at that time, he characterized his profession as "farmer." He was succeeded in 1864 by Hanmer Robbins of the Republican/ National Union party. In

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 1867, Rountree served in the

again, elected on the National Union ticket to represent the 16th Senate district (Grant County), succeeding Milas K. Young (another Whig-turned-Republican elected on the National Union ticket); he still described his profession as "farmer". He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

s on finance, agriculture, and benevolent institutions. He was succeeded in 1868 by Republican George Hazelton.

Personal life and family

Rountree was married twice, and had fifteen children. His first wife was Mary Grace Mitchell, the daughter of Reverend Samuel Mitchell, another of the pioneer settlers at Platteville. They married August 7, 1828, at

Galena, Illinois Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The ci ...

, and had five children before her death in 1837. He subsequently married Lydia H. Southworth of Clinton, New York, the niece of New York politician Sylvester Gridley. Rountree and his second wife had ten children. Though the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

forbade slavery in the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

—including Wisconsin—Rountree bought a woman named Rachael in 1827, in

, to have her work as a servant to his new wife. "Aunt" Rachael was freed in the 1840s, but stayed with the family until her death. She was buried in the Rountree family plot, under the smallest stone, marked only with an initial "R."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rountree, John Hawkins 1805 births 1890 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature 19th-century American legislators People from Platteville, Wisconsin People from Warren County, Kentucky American people of the Black Hawk War Wisconsin Republicans Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin Whigs People from Hillsboro, Illinois American slave owners in nominally free territories 19th-century Wisconsin politicians