Patrick Rogan (September 26, 1808February 16, 1898) was an

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

immigrant, businessman, Democratic politician, and pioneer of settler of Watertown, Wisconsin. He represented Watertown for four non-consecutive terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1851, 1853, 1855, 1866).

Biography

Patrick Rogan was born in Rossglass,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Ireland, in 1808. He had little formal education and emigrated with his parents to Montreal, Lower Canada, in 1823. While there he worked as an office boy and notary in a law office. They remained for two years in Montreal, then moved to Jefferson County, New York. In 1837, he came west to the Wisconsin Territory, settling at what is now Watertown, Wisconsin, on May 15 of that year. He claimed a plot of land west of the river and cultivated a potato farm. In the 1840s he constructed a saw mill, and operated it until 1858, investing in new buildings, roads, and railroads in the growing city. He constructed the first brick building on the west side of the river, later owned by Watertown mayor Henry Mulberger. Rogan was one of several settlers from Watertown, Jefferson County, New York. At the time when the Wisconsin Territory legislature voted to draw new counties, they successfully petitioned to name their county "Jefferson" and their settlement "Watertown". Rogan was appointed postmaster by President John Tyler in 1841, and served until 1849. He served as a town supervisor in Watertown before it was incorporated as a city, and subsequently served as an alderman and city assessor. He was also a member of the Jefferson County board of supervisors. In 1846, he was elected as a delegate from Jefferson County to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention. The constitution from this convention was ultimately rejected by voters. A second constitution was approved in 1848. Running on the Democratic Party ticket, Rogan was elected to four non-consecutive terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly from Jefferson County's 1st Assembly district, serving in the

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-day Columbia College, receives its charter from the Missouri General Assembly. ...

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping Reb ...

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city. * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens ...

, and

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 ...

sessions. He died at his home in Watertown, Wisconsin, in 1898.

Family and legacy

Rogan's brother, James, was the first member of the family to settle at Watertown. Patrick arrived two months later. James Rogan also served as a lighthouse keeper at Milwaukee. Patrick Rogan married Rose Crangle at Chicago, on January 17, 1846. Crangle was also a native of County Down, Ireland. They had six children together. Rogan sold his farmstead in Watertown to Henry Bertram, who later sold it to the Congregation of Holy Cross at Notre Dame, which established Sacred Heart College on that land. The college still exists today as Maranatha Baptist University.

References

External links

Watertown History-James and Patrick Rogan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogan, Patrick 1808 births 1898 deaths Politicians from County Down Politicians from Watertown, Wisconsin Irish emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from County Down 19th-century Wisconsin politicians