Nicholas D. Fratt (January 25, 1825November 12, 1910) was an

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businessman, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was president of the Racine County Bank for fifty years. He also served two years in the Wisconsin State Senate and was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives and

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

. He is the namesake of Fratt Elementary School in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

Biography

Nicholas Fratt was born in Watervliet, in Albany County,

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, to Catherine (Miller) and Jacob Fratt. As a young man, he worked for his father in the provision and packing business. At age 18, in 1843, he moved to

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

, in the Wisconsin Territory, and was employed at a packing house. In 1844, he went into business with Charles Herrick and opened a meat market and packing business. Two years later, his brother, Francis, arrived from New York and took the place of Herrick as his partner in the business. The company thrived and was his primary employment for the next fourteen years. In 1853, Fratt was one of the founders of the Racine County Bank, and would serve as President of the bank from 1859 to 1908. The bank became First National Bank & Trust Co. of Racine, and in 1988 was absorbed into Bank One Corporation. In 1855, Fratt bought a farm west of Racine. The land was later incorporated into the City of Racine in the neighborhood known as "West Racine". Fratt lived on his farm until 1894, when he moved into the city and bought a home on College Avenue. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1858 and served in the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

and

13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...

sessions of the Wisconsin Legislature (1859 and 1860). In 1874, he was the Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, losing to incumbent

Charles G. Williams Charles Grandison Williams (October 18, 1829March 30, 1892) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He represented the state of Wisconsin for ten years in the United States House of Representatives, from 1873 to 1883, and was chairman ...

. Fratt ran for

twice, in 1881 and 1884. In both elections he was defeated by Republican Jeremiah McLain Rusk.

Personal life

In 1846, Fratt married Elsie Duffes. Duffes had been born near Aberdeen, Scotland, and immigrated with her parents, in 1835, first to Canada, then to Illinois, and, in 1840, to

Racine County Racine County (, sometimes also ) is a county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a par ...

. Nicholas and Elsie had eight children with six surviving to adulthood—three sons and three daughters. Elsie died in 1890, leaving Nicholas a widower. Nicholas Fratt died in 1910. He bequeathed land from his farm to the school district, on which the first school in West Racine was built. The school opened in 1916 and continues to operate as Fratt Elementary School in the Racine Unified School District.

Electoral history

U.S. House of Representatives (1874)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1874

Wisconsin Governor (1881, 1884)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1881 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1884

References

External links

Nicholas D. Fratt
at

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Fratt Elementary School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fratt, Nicholas D. 1825 births 1910 deaths Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Politicians from Racine, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Racine, Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Wisconsin politicians Burials at Mound Cemetery (Racine, Wisconsin)