Matthias Theisen (sometimes spelled Mathias, August 24, 1833 – March 23, 1923) 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 from

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...

, Wisconsin, who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1879. Additionally, he chaired the town board (similar to city council) and was Town Treasurer of

Roxbury, Wisconsin The Town of Roxbury is located in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Alden Corners and Roxbury are located in the town. The unincorporated community of Lutheran H ...

. He was a Democrat.

Background

Theisen was born on August 24, 1833, in

Trimport Trimport is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Eu ...

, in the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

of the Kingdom of Prussia. In August 1851, his parents Johann (John) Theisen (1805–1881) and Maria Anna (Mary A.) Theisen (1805–1883) emigrated to the United States, bringing Matthias and his brother Nicholas. The family settled on a farm in Section 16 of the Town of Roxbury. Matthias married Elizabeth Coch, also a native of Prussia. As of 1880, the Theisens and their families (including Matthias and Elizabeth's seven children) all still lived on the homestead, by that time 175 acres in extent.

Public office

Theisen had been town treasurer and chairman of the town board for a series of years when he was elected in 1878 from Dane County's 1st Assembly district to succeeded fellow Democrat John Lyle, who was not running for re-election. He received 1,690 votes against 1,217 for Republican John McKenzie, and 442 for Greenbacker L. P. Edwin. He was assigned to the standing committee on agriculture. He did not seek re-election in 1879, and was succeeded by another Democrat,

John H. Tierney John Hogan Tierney (June 24, 1832 – February 9, 1907) was an American politician and farmer. Tierney was born in Freshford, County Kilkenny, Ireland and went to the public schools in Ireland. He emigrated to the United States in 1851 and ...

Later years

Theisen was interviewed as part of a 1920 ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'' article, and is described as "wonderfully vigorous in mind and body for one of his years"; he was by then 86 years old, and living in Sauk City.Barton, Albert O. "Napoleonic Soldiers in Wisconsin" ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'' Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1921; p. 353

References

External links

* City and town treasurers in the United States People from Dane County, Wisconsin Prussian emigrants to the United States Wisconsin city council members 1833 births 1923 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin People from Bitburg-Prüm People from Sauk City, Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Democratic-stub