Robert Glenn, Sr. (September 10, 1813August 10, 1887) was a pioneer farmer and politician from Wyalusing,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, who spent three terms (1863, 1865, and 1874) 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

Background

Glenn was born September 10, 1813, in what was described in 1874 as ''"within the present limits of the city of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

..."''. He attended

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

schools, and became a farmer. He moved to Wisconsin in 1840, and settled in the

lead mines Lead () is a chemical element; it has symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead ...

near Potosi. He moved to Wyalusing in 1850, where he was a merchant and sold

produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...

until 1860, when he returned to farming. He is credited with naming the village "Wyalusing" after

Wyalusing, Pennsylvania Wyalusing is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 596 as of the 2010 census. History The history of Wyalusing dates back centuries. It was originally known as ...

, because of a perceived resemblance.

Public office

As early as 1840-43, he was a "judge of the precinct" (apparently equivalent to a justice of the peace) for the

mining camp A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...

precinct in the Town of Harrison called "Big Platte", then "Red Dog". He would hold various offices in the Town of Wyalusing, including Supervisor (equivalent to

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

member) in 1854-59, assessor in 1860,

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

in 1862 and 1862–70, supervisor again 1863-64, 1870–74, 1878–79, 1882, 1884, 1887, and 1897. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1862 (as a Republican) from the 5th Grant County assembly district (the

Towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Cassville, Beetown, Glen Haven, Tafton, Little Grant, Wyalusing, and Patch Grove), to succeed fellow Republican

Samuel Newick Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venerated a ...

. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

manufactures Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

. He was replaced for the 1864 session by Wood R. Beach, who was elected on the National Union ticket. In 1864, he was re-elected to his old seat for the

18th Wisconsin Legislature The Eighteenth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 11, 1865, to April 10, 1865, in regular session. Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. ...

, running this time on the National Union ticket (as did all Wisconsin Republicans of that era). He was put on the committee on charitable and benevolent institutions, and on

enrolled bill In the United States Congress, an enrolled bill is the final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both houses of Congress in identical form, and been signed by the clerk of the house or the secretary of the senate. In the United ...

s. He did not return for the next session, being succeeded by Alvery A. Bennett, also running on the National Union ticket. He was

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of the Wyalusing

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

for some time in the 1860s. He was elected to the county board of supervisors for 1870 and 1871, and would return in 1877-79 and 1884. In 1872 he was appointed one of the county's "Commissioners of the Insane" for 1873. In 1873, Glenn returned to the Assembly as a Republican from what was now the 4th Grant County district, with 596 votes to 507 for Jared Warner, who had last served in the Assembly in 1861 as a Republican, but was running on the Reform Party ticket. Republican incumbent Christopher Hutchinson was not a candidate. Glenn was assigned to the committee on

roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

and

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1874, and was succeeded by fellow Republican Delos Abrams.

Personal life

Glenn was for many years an adherent ("receiver") of the teachings of the

Swedenborgian Church of North America The Swedenborgian Church in North America (also known as the General Convention of the Church of the New Jerusalem) is one of a few New Church Christian sects which draws its faith from the Bible as illuminated by the teachings of Emanuel Sweden ...

. Glenn died on August 10, 1887, after a gradual decline in health.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn Sr., Robert Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Grant County, Wisconsin Politicians from Philadelphia People from Wisconsin Territory 1813 births 1887 deaths Wisconsin city council members American Swedenborgians American justices of the peace 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature