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Argalus Starks

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19th century American politician
Argalus Starks
3rd Prison Commissioner of Wisconsin
In office
January 4, 1854 – January 2, 1856
GovernorWilliam A. Barstow
Preceded byHenry Brown
Succeeded byEdward McGarry
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 14th district
In office
January 3, 1866 – January 1, 1868
Preceded bySmith S. Wilkinson
Succeeded byStephen Steele Barlow
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Sauk 2nd district
In office
January 1, 1862 – January 3, 1866
Preceded byMarsena Temple
Succeeded byRollin M. Strong
Personal details
Born(1804-03-10)March 10, 1804
Williamsburg, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJune 28, 1870(1870-06-28) (aged 66)
Baraboo, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeWalnut Hill Cemetery, Baraboo, Wisconsin
Political party
Spouses
  • Mary Ann Filkins ​ ​(m. 1828; died 1838)​
  • Margaret R. Worthman ​ ​(m. 1839; died 1864)​
  • Catherine Schwartz ​ ​(m. 1864⁠–⁠1870)​
Children
  • Mary Jane (Greeney)
  • John Starks

Argalus Waldo Starks (March 10, 1804 – June 28, 1870) was an American farmer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as the 3rd State Prison Commissioner of Wisconsin and later served 6 years in the Wisconsin Legislature, representing Sauk County.

Biography

Born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, Starks lived in Jefferson County, New York, and then in Albany, New York. He served on the Albany City Council while living in Albany, New York.

He moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory, around 1840, and began operating a stage coach line from Milwaukee to Watertown. He became involved with the Democratic Party organization in Milwaukee and was appointed City Marshall, and was nominated for Sheriff of Milwaukee County, but was not elected.

In the late 1840s, he supported the Free Soil Party, but ultimately returned to the Democratic Party. He moved to Sauk County in 1852, and in 1853 he was chosen as the Democratic nominee for the new office of State Prison Commissioner. Prior to 1853, the state had a board of prison commissioners appointed by the Governor; an 1853 law established the elected position of State Prison Commissioner, which office was temporarily held by an appointee of the Governor until the Fall general election of 1853.

His main opponent in the 1853 election was Free Soil candidate Sherman M. Booth, who would—the following year—become famous for his effort to free Joshua Glover in defiance of federal fugitive slave laws.

Starks won the election and was regarded as a fair and honest officeholder—in contrast to Governor William A. Barstow and other state officials of his time, who were implicated in a major bribery investigation. Starks was seen as refusing that influence, and came under attack from Governor Barstow and his allies.

Starks did not run for re-election in 1855, and instead returned to his farm in Sauk County. After the outbreak of the American Civil War, however, Starks chose to re-enter politics as a Union Democrat, and remained aligned with the National Union ticket throughout the war. He was elected to four terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly and one two-year term in the Wisconsin State Senate, running on the Union ticket. He remained a Republican after the war, but died in 1870 of a kidney disease.

Family

In one biography, he is described as a descendant—possibly a grandson—of American Revolutionary War general John Stark, but it's unclear if that's correct.

During the Civil War, his son, John Starks, served as a sergeant in Company A, 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, Iron Brigade, and was badly wounded in their first major battle at Gainesville, Virginia. After recuperating, he was commissioned as first lieutenant of Company I, 23rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, and was later promoted to captain of Company K in the same regiment. He was wounded again at the Siege of Vicksburg, and died of complications from this wound two years later.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Prison Commissioner (1853)

Wisconsin Prison Commissioner Election, 1853
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 1853
Democratic Argalus W. Starks 30,464 57.93%
Free Soil Sherman M. Booth 19,362 36.82%
Whig Elisha Starr 2,763 5.25%
Plurality 11,102 21.11%
Total votes 52,589 100.0%
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ "The Death of Gen. Starks, of Sauk—An Old Pioneer Gone". Wisconsin State Journal. July 1, 1870. p. 1. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Official Canvass". Daily Free Democrat. December 10, 1853. p. 2. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn, eds. (2005). "Feature Article: Those Who Served: Wisconsin Legislators 1848 - 2007" (PDF). State of Wisconsin 2007-20080 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 114, 177. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  4. ^ The History of Sauk County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company. 1880. p. 396, 431. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  5. Krug, Merton Edwin (1929). "Township Histories" (PDF). History of Reedsburg and the Upper Baraboo Valley. Democrat Printing Company. pp. 319–320. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
Party political offices
New office Democratic nominee for Prison Commissioner of Wisconsin
1853 		Succeeded byEdward McGarry
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded byMarsena Temple Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Sauk 2nd district
January 1, 1862 – January 3, 1866 		Succeeded byRollin M. Strong
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded bySmith S. Wilkinson Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 14th district
January 3, 1866 – January 1, 1868 		Succeeded byStephen Steele Barlow
Political offices
Preceded byHenry Brown Prison Commissioner of Wisconsin
January 4, 1854 – January 2, 1856 		Succeeded byEdward McGarry
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