Timothy Burns (May 31, 1820September 21, 1853) 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, Democratic politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

pioneer. He was the third Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, serving from 1852 until his death in 1853.

Early life

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on May 31, 1820, Burns came to New York in America with his family as an infant. In the fall of 1837 as a young man, he settled in Iowa County in

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 ...

, where he engaged in lead mining.

Career

In 1844 Burns was elected sheriff of Iowa County. Elected in 1846, he served in the Wisconsin territorial House of Representatives in 1847-1848 and became Assembly Speaker. He visited La Crosse in 1847. Later, in 1849 he served in 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, ...

. In 1850, he moved to

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

, and took a position on the State Board of Public Works. He was the chairman of the first La Crosse Town Board, chairman of the first La Crosse County Board and the first La Crosse county judge, while also engaging in the railroad industry. In 1851, he was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and became the Wisconsin's third Lieutenant Governor under the State's second Governor,

Leonard Farwell Leonard James Farwell (January 5, 1819 – April 11, 1889) was an American politician and public administrator. He was the 2nd Governor of Wisconsin. Early life Farwell was born in Watertown, New York, the son of James and Rebecca (Cady) ...

Death and legacy

While visiting his brother-in-law in Lafayette County, Burns became ill of

bilious fever Bilious fever was a medical diagnosis of fever associated with excessive bile or bilirubin in the blood stream and tissues, causing jaundice (a yellow color in the skin or sclera of the eye). The most common cause was malaria. Viral hepatitis and b ...

but recovered enough to travel home, and died of a relapse in La Crosse on September 21, 1853. He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Oak Grove Cemetery,

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

. Burns Park, in downtown La Crosse, and the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

of Burns were named after him.Burns, Timothy 1820 - 1853
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Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1851

References

External links

* ''Timothy Burns'', La Crosse Republican and Leader, Mose Strong, September 20, 1871. * ''Timothy Burns:Short-lived Settler left huge last memory'', Myer Katz, La Crosse Tribune, November 8, 1981. * ''Burns lite fire under young La Crosse'', Reid Magney, La Crosse Tribune, March 4, 1998. * Newspaper clippings courtesy of the La Crosse public library-archives.
Lieutenant Governor Timothy Burns of Wisconsin, Wisconsin State Historical Society
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Timothy 1820 births 1853 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Lieutenant Governors of Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin sheriffs Wisconsin state court judges County supervisors in Wisconsin Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin People from Iowa County, Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians Burials in Wisconsin 19th-century American judges Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly