William H. Masters (August 14, 1820 – December 25, 1906) was an American farmer, pioneer, and politician. Born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

, Masters moved 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 1845 and eventually settled on a farm in Weyauwega,

Waupaca County, Wisconsin Waupaca County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,812. The county seat is Waupaca. The county was created in 1851 and organized in 1853. It is named after the Waupaca River, a Menominee la ...

. Masters served as chairman of the Royalton Town Board. He also served on the Waupaca County Board of Supervisors and was chairman of the county board. Masters served as

superintendent of the poor A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...

for Waupaca County. In 1887, Masters 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, ...

and was 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 ...

. Masters died suddenly on Christmas Day 1906, at his granddaughter's house in

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac United States metrop ...

.'Pioneers Are Called-Sudden Deaths of Madame de Neven and William H. Masters,' ''

Oshkosh Daily Northwestern The ''Oshkosh Northwestern'' is a daily newspaper based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The ''Northwestern'' was owned by the Schwalm and Heaney families until 1998, when it was sold to Ogden Newspapers; Ogden traded the paper to Thomson Newspapers two mo ...

'' December 26, 1906, pg. 1

Notes

1820 births 1906 deaths People from Norfolk, Connecticut People from Weyauwega, Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Mayors of places in Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century American legislators {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1820s-stub