Louis John Fellenz Sr. (November 29, 1882January 1, 1953) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from

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 ...

. He was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Fond du Lac County for four years, was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, and was a Wisconsin circuit court judge for the last nine years of his life.

Early life and career

Fellenz was born on November 29, 1882, in Ashford, Wisconsin, in Fond du Lac County. He attended school in

Campbellsport, Wisconsin Campbellsport is a village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,016 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History The village was named after Stuart Campbell, an early sett ...

, before graduating from Oshkosh State Normal School in 1902. He taught school for two years before attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he received his LL.B. in 1907. He practiced law in Fort Atkinson for 3 years, then moved his practice to Fond du Lac.

Public office

In 1914 he was elected District Attorney of Fond du Lac County, running as a Republican. He was re-elected in 1916, and left office in January 1919. He returned to his law practice until 1928, when he was elected to represent Fond du Lac County in the Wisconsin State Senate for a four-year term. In the senate, he was chairman of the interim committee on the courts, and also served on the committees on fire insurance and guardianship. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1932. Fellenz continued his law practice until he was appointed, in 1943, as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Fond du Lac-based 18th Circuit, replacing the retiring Judge Clayton F. Van Pelt. He was re-elected without opposition in 1947, but died in January 1853, before the end of his 2nd term.

Family and personal life

Louis Fellenz married Erma E. Tabor in 1914. They had one son and two daughters, who all survived him. His son, Louis J. Fellenz, Jr., also went on to serve as a member of the Senate, representing the same district as his father. Fellenz was an avid hunter and golfer and a baseball enthusiast.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1928)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 1928

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1947)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 1, 1947

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fellenz, L. J. Politicians from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators District attorneys in Wisconsin Wisconsin circuit court judges University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni 1882 births 1953 deaths 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Wisconsin politicians