William C. Coleman (July 6, 1878 – ?) was a

house painter A house painter and decorator is a tradesman responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator or house painter.''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton The purpose of painting is to imp ...

and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

activist from

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 ...

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 ...

who served two terms as a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

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, ...

Background

Coleman was born July 6, 1878 on a farm at Sioux City, Iowa, where his parents (father from

Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

in Dodge County; mother from

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

in Fond du Lac County) had settled in 1877. During the year his parents returned to Wisconsin, due to a

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

plague and Indian disturbances, settling on a farm in Fond du Lac County, where he was educated in the

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

. He moved to Milwaukee in 1899, and became a house painter by trade, and an active member of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers Union of America. He worked as a union organizer for the Painters' Union, the Milwaukee Federated Trades Council and the

Wisconsin State Federation of Labor The Wisconsin State Federation of Labor (WSFL), affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, was the largest federation of labor unions in Wisconsin, from its formation in 1893 at the behest of the Milwaukee Federated Trades Council to its 195 ...

, and rose to be a member of the executive boards of the Council and the Federation.

Politics

In 1908, Coleman came within nine votes of unseating incumbent Republican State Representative

Herman Georgi Herman Emil Georgi (June 16, 1870 - ?) was an American schoolteacher, lawyer and Republican politician who served two terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, representing the 10th Milwaukee County district (t ...

. In 1920, Coleman was the Socialist candidate for governor, coming in third in a four-way race and receiving 71,104 votes, the highest vote ever cast for a Socialist candidate for that office to that date. When elected to the Assembly in 1924, he had already been an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

-at-Large on the

Milwaukee Common Council The municipal government of the U.S. city of Milwaukee, located in the state of Wisconsin, consists of a mayor and common council. Traditionally supporting liberal politicians and movements, this community has consistently proved to be a strongho ...

, and was serving as state secretary and organizer of the Socialist Party of Wisconsin. In 1924, he succeeded fellow Socialist Albert F. Woller in the Twentieth

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

Assembly district (the 20th ward of the City of Milwaukee), defeating former State Representative Republican

Charles Meising Charles Meising (April 9, 1876 – ?) was a salesman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who served one term as a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and conducted several less successful campaigns. Background Meising was born in Taylors ...

(whom Woller had unseated in 1922), 4,232 to 3,492. He was assigned to the standing committee on labor. In 1926, Coleman was re-elected with 3327 votes to 2679 for Meising and 2763 for

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 ...

Gustin Schwarn. Coleman did not run for re-election in 1928, and was succeeded by Republican Norman R. Klug.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, William C. Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Milwaukee Common Council members House painters American builders 1878 births Year of death missing Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee Politicians from Sioux City, Iowa Wisconsin State Federation of Labor people American trade union leaders