Walter Duncan McIndoe (March 30, 1819August 22, 1872) was a

Scottish American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, d ...

immigrant, lumber industrialist, and politician. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he represented

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 ...

for two terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

(from 1863 to 1867).

Biography

Born in

Dumbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Per ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, McIndoe immigrated to the United States in 1834. He engaged in business in New York, Charleston, and St. Louis, finally settling in the

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 1845 where he became involved in the lumber business. He served as 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, ...

in 1850, 1854, and 1855. In 1850 as a member of the Assembly he introduced a bill changing the name of his home community from "Big Bull Falls" to Wausau and creating Marathon County. Initially a Whig, in 1854 he became a member of the newly formed Republican Party. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Wisconsin at the 1857 Republican state convention, contending with Edward Dwight Holton, with both candidates losing to the eventual nominee and governor, Alexander Randall. 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 provost marshal of Wisconsin. McIndoe was first elected to Congress in the December 1862 special election to replace Congressman Luther Hanchett, who died three weeks after the 1862 general election. Hanchett was the incumbent in

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...

and, in the 1862 general election, had been elected to Wisconsin's newly-created 6th congressional district. McIndoe's election allowed him to replace Hanchett for the last months of the

37th Congress The 37th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861, ...

and also for the full term of the 38th Congress. He was subsequently re-elected in 1864 to the

39th Congress The 39th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 ...

, ultimately serving from January 26, 1863, until March 3, 1867. During the Thirty-ninth Congress, he served as chairman of the House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. In 1866, McIndoe declined candidacy for renomination, instead resuming his interests in the lumber business. He died in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, an ...

, on August 22, 1872, and was interred at Pine Grove Cemetery.

Electoral history

U.S. House of Representatives (1862, 1864)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Special Election, December 30, 1862 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1864

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McIndoe, Walter D. 1819 births 1872 deaths Politicians from Wausau, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin Whigs Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians Scottish emigrants to the United States 19th-century American businesspeople