Richard Walter Hubbell (November 8, 1840April 5, 1910) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, representing Oconto County during the

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

and

1873 Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat ...

sessions, and also served as county judge and district attorney. In 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 ...

artillery officer. He was a son of Levi Hubbell—the first Wisconsin state official to be impeached.

Early life and education

Born in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

, Hubbell moved with his parents to

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

in 1844 and settled in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. Hubbell's father was a prominent lawyer and judge in these days, and afforded a good education for his sons. Hubbell attended a college preparatory course in 1853, and then attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 1854 through 1858, graduating with a bachelor's degree. Hubbell flourished at the University and was one of the charter members there of the Hesperia literary society, along with his lifelong friend

William Freeman Vilas William Freeman Vilas (July 9, 1840August 27, 1908) was an American lawyer, politician, and United States Senator. In the U.S. Senate, he represented the state of Wisconsin for one term, from 1891 to 1897. As a prominent Bourbon Democrat, he wa ...

. Hubbell subsequently earned his master's degree in 1861, and was admitted to the bar in 1862.

Civil War service

In the second year of the war, as new calls were being made for volunteers to the

, Hubbell saw several of his University classmates joining the service. William F. Vilas recruited a company for the 23rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, which Hubbell sought to join, but was too late to register a spot. He instead joined a company for the

24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 24th Wisconsin was organized at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and mustered into Federal service August 15, 18 ...

, and was enrolled as a sergeant in Company I of that regiment. He served only a few months with the 24th Wisconsin Infantry, but saw serious combat with them at the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the A ...

. In the Winter of 1862–1863, he accepted a commission to become a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery Regiment. With the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, he served with Battery B, which was stationed for the rest of the war at forts in Kentucky and Tennessee. He was promoted to captain of his battery in July 1864, and was then made a major in the regiment in September 1864. He mustered out with the rest of the regiment in June 1865.

Legal and political career

After the war, Hubbell moved to

Oconto, Wisconsin Oconto is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,609 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay Green Bay metropolitan area, Metropol ...

, and established a legal practice. Hubbell became active with the

Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a right-wing political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Paul Farrow. The state party is divided into 72 county parties f ...

and first ran for

in 1867. He failed in that campaign, but was subsequently elected to two consecutive terms, serving in the

and

sessions. In the meantime, he was also elected to two four-year terms as

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...

for Oconto County, serving in that office from 1870 through 1878. In the 1877 election, rather than running again for judge, he ran for and 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 ...

, for a two year term. In 1890, Hubbell moved to

Wautoma, Wisconsin Wautoma is a city in Waushara County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,218 at the 2010 census. Wautoma is the county seat of Waushara County. The city consists of three noncontiguous areas: one is entirely within the Town of Wa ...

, without his family and continued to practice law. He died at his home in Wautoma in 1910, he had been in ill health.

Personal life and family

Richard Hubbell was one of at least four children of Levi Hubbell, a Wisconsin pioneer lawyer and judge who served in Wisconsin's first

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...

and was the first state official to be impeached by the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

. He was not convicted in his impeachment trial, and later served as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for Wisconsin. Richard's grandfather, Abijah Hubbell, served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The Hubbells were descendants of Richard Hubbell, an English immigrant who came to the

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

about 1650. Richard W. Hubbell married Emily Snover in 1871. They had at least six children, but at least one died in infancy. In addition to his legal career, Hubbell was a lifelong literary enthusiast and wrote his own poetry and prose. For much of his life, including his final years, Hubbell wrote for and edited the ''Wisconsin Alumni Magazine'' in its various incarnations. Near the end of his life, he published several of his poems in the magazine. He was also apparently a fishing enthusiast, and authored a pamphlet on fly fishing, titled ''Hints on Fly Fishing''.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1871, 1872)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1871 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1872

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbell, Richard W. 1840 births 1910 deaths Politicians from Ithaca, New York Politicians from Milwaukee People from Oconto, Wisconsin People from Wautoma, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Wisconsin lawyers Wisconsin state court judges County officials in Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Writers from Ithaca, New York Writers from Wisconsin Burials in Wisconsin Union Army officers 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers