Arthur Courtenay Neville (October 13, 1850May 20, 1929) was an American lawyer and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, and was the 25th Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is the namesake of

Neville Public Museum of Brown County The Neville Public Museum of Brown County is an accredited cultural institution that champions history, science and art, named for Green Bay's 25th mayor, Arthur C. Neville. Located in downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin, the museum is dedicated t ...

in Green Bay.

Education and career

Neville was born in 1850 at

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...

, and moved as a young child with his parents to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1856. He received his early education from a governess and later attended the public schools at Green Bay until age 17. He went to work as a clerk and messenger for the firm of Dousman & Elmore, and was then employed as a bookkeeper for the

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

lumber firm Carter & Jones until 1869. He worked from 1869 to 1871 as an assistant bookkeeper for the wholesale grocer Sprague, Warner & Company. In 1871, he returned to Green Bay as bookkeeper for the Commercial National Bank. The next year, he went to work in his father's law offices of Neville & Tracy,

reading law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under th ...

there for the next three years until his admission to the State Bar of Wisconsin at the

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 10 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and criminal cas ...

in 1874. Neville worked for several years as a practicing attorney, and became a prominent member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in Green Bay. In 1888 he was elected Mayor of Green Bay on the Democratic "Peoples'" ticket, defeating incumbent mayor Charles Hartung. He was reelected in an 1889 rematch with Hartung, but by a smaller margin. After his terms as mayor, he focused on his interest in history and was one of the founders of the Green Bay Historical Society and the Brown County Historical Society. He was also a curator of the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

. Later, he was one of the organizers of the Green Bay Water Company, and was a co-founder and president of the Kendall Manufacturing Company, later known as the Green Bay Planing Mill.

Personal life, family, and legacy

Neville was one of six children born to John C. Neville and his wife Catherine Neville ('' née'' Lawton). John Neville was an Irish American immigrant and lawyer and became the 20th mayor of Green Bay, district attorney of

Brown County, Wisconsin Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 268,740, making it the fourth-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Green Bay, making it one of three Wisconsin counties on La ...

, and a one-time 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, ...

. Catherine was a descendant of a 17th century English settler at Massachusetts Bay Colony. Arthur Neville married twice. His first wife, Harriet Reynolds, died only a few months after they married in 1874. He later married Ella Peak ('' née'' Hoes), a great niece of former U.S. President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

. Neville had no children of his own, but Ella had one daughter from her previous marriage. Neville was a member of the Knights of Pythias, the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

, and the Episcopal church. He died at his home in Green Bay after a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in 1929. He had suffered several heart attacks over the last few months of his life. In 1923, Neville's step-daughter and her husband, George Grant Mason, made a $60,000 donation to Green Bay to build a museum named for Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Neville, to honor their "work towards civic betterment in Green Bay." The museum opened in 1927 and is still known as the

, although it is no longer housed in the original building.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 3, 1888 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 2, 1889

References

External links

Neville Public Museum

Brown County Historical Society

Neville, Arthur Courtenay 1850 - 1929
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, Arthur Courtenay Politicians from Pottsville, Pennsylvania Mayors of Green Bay, Wisconsin Wisconsin lawyers Wisconsin Democrats 1850 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American lawyers