Reinhart Frederick George Schlichting (May 23, 1835July 6, 1897) was a

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

immigrant, businessman, and Democratic politician. He served two years in 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 ...

representing

Calumet County Calumet County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 52,442. The county seat is Chilton, Wisconsin, Chilton. The county was created in 18 ...

and southern

Outagamie County Outagamie County is a county in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,705. Its county seat is Appleton. Outagamie County is included in the Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he served as a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

officer.

Biography

Born in the

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

, in what is now northwest

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Schlichting was educated in the Oldenburg city schools until age 12, when he emigrated with his parents to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. They immediately settled at

Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin Sheboygan Falls is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 8,210 at the 2020 census. The city's downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the first Main Street Community in Wisconsin ...

, and Reinhard labored to assist his father in clearing land and establishing a homestead. During the

, Schlichting served in the 9th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and in the

45th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 45th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 45th Wisconsin was organized at Madison, Wisconsin, and mustered into Federal service on November 8, ...

. After the war, in 1865, he moved to

Chilton, Wisconsin Chilton is a city in and county seat of Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 4,080 at the 2020 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Chilton. History The first residents of Chilton were Africa ...

, where he purchased a hotel and operated it for the next six years. After selling his hotel, he operated a hub-and-spoke manufacturing business, and then purchased and ran a drug store in Chilton. He became a leading citizen in Chilton and was elected to several local offices. He was chairman of the town board and served on the school board. In the Fall election of 1866 he was elected

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 ...

. In 1873 he won election to the

running on the Reform Party ticket, and served in the 1874 and 1875 sessions. In 1887, he was elected mayor of Chilton, and was re-elected without opposition in 1888. For the last decade of his life, he was employed as the manager of the Calumet County operations of the

Pabst Brewing Company The Pabst Brewing Company () is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and was, by 1889, named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently a holding company which contracts the brewing of over ...

. He died of sudden heart failure in his bed at Chilton, Wisconsin.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlichting, Reinhard 1835 births 1897 deaths Oldenburg emigrants to the United States People from Oldenburg (city) People from Chilton, Wisconsin People from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Businesspeople from Wisconsin Wisconsin Reformers (19th century) Mayors of places in Wisconsin School board members in Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople