Simeon Mills (February 14, 1810 – June 1, 1895) was a Democratic member of 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 ...

from

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

in the

1st Wisconsin Legislature The First Wisconsin Legislature convened from June 5, 1848, to August 21, 1848, in regular session. Members of the Assembly and Senate were elected after an election on February 1, 1848, that ratified the proposed state constitution. Major event ...

. He introduced the bill which became the charter for 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, ...

Biography

Mills was born in 1810. Named assistant postmaster, he walked from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

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 ...

, arriving in June 1837. Mills met John Catlin and became the first Deputy Postmaster of Madison in 1837, housing the post office itself in his own store. He was the Clerk of the District Court of Dane County and the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the Wisconsin Territory. Mills was the last treasurer of the territory and was elected to the 1st Wisconsin Legislature in 1848. 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 ...

, he was the Paymaster of Wisconsin. Mills died in 1895.

"Elmside"

His former home, known as the Simeon Mills House, "Mills Folly," or "Elmside", was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1997. It was built in 1863 and he resided there until 1867, when he sold it to J. W. Hudson. The structure, now a multi-family residence, suffered $100,000 in damage in a fire June 21, 2012. An area where a number of his businesses were located, now known as the Simeon Mills Historic District, is also listed.

Career

Prior to serving in the Senate, Mills was Treasurer of the

, President of Madison, and a Justice of the Peace.

Photo gallery

File:Simeon Mills House.jpg, Simeon Mills House File:Simeon Mills Historic District.jpg, A portion of the Simeon Mills Historic District.

References

* * 1810 births 1895 deaths People from Norfolk, Connecticut American justices of the peace Mayors of Madison, Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin Territory officials 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges Wisconsin pioneers {{Wisconsin-mayor-stub