Misplaced Pages

Stephen A. Harrison

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
19th century American politician
Stephen A. Harrison
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876
Preceded byA. Warren Phelps
Succeeded byBernard F. Cooke
ConstituencyMilwaukee 4th district
In office
January 3, 1870 – January 2, 1871
Preceded byPatrick Drew
Succeeded byJames Stephen White
ConstituencyMilwaukee 1st district
Personal details
Born(1829-09-18)September 18, 1829
England, UK
DiedJune 7, 1898(1898-06-07) (aged 68)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeForest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Martha Gardiner ​(died 1881)​
  • Alice Dudley Ward ​ ​(m. 1882⁠–⁠1898)​
Children
  • Martha Emma Harrison
  • Harriet Louisa (Green)
  • Mary Ann (West)
  • Bessie D. (Keihle)
  • Ida Maria (Atkins)
OccupationContractor

Stephen A. Harrison (September 18, 1829 – June 7, 1898) was an English American immigrant, construction contractor, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing downtown Milwaukee during the 1870 and 1875 terms. He also served on the Milwaukee Common Council.

Biography

Stephen A. Harrison was born in England in September 1829. He received a common school education there before emigrating to the United States in 1853. He first arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1854, but was not initially encouraged by the business climate. He traveled around the region for the next two years, but ultimately decided to return to Milwaukee.

A building contractor by trade, he formed a partnership with William Clark, known as Harrison & Clark. They became a major building contractor in Milwaukee, and in 1861 they bid for the contract to build the west wing of the third Wisconsin State Capitol then under construction in Madison—their bid was not selected. During these years though, he did construct the first headquarters of the Northwestern Mutual insurance company and the main building of the Milwaukee Soldiers Home.

Harrison made his first run for Wisconsin State Assembly in 1862, running on the Republican Party ticket. He lost the general election to Democrat John Sharpstein.

In the Spring of 1869, he was elected to a two year term on the Milwaukee Common Council. That fall, he was elected to represent Milwaukee County's 1st district in the Wisconsin State Assembly, defeating Democrat Edward Keogh by 45 votes.

In 1874, he ran for Wisconsin Assembly again. The districts had been redrawn since his previous term, and in 1874 he resided in what was then Milwaukee County's 4th district. The incumbent, Liberal Republican A. Warren Phelps, was running for re-election on the Reform ticket. Harrison initially seemed poised to easily receive the Republican nomination, but when he made it clear he would not vote for the re-election of Matthew H. Carpenter as U.S. senator in the next session of the legislature, a movement of Carpenter allies began to try to deny him the nomination. Carpenter's camp supported city councilmember Julius Wechselberg for the nomination, but Harrison ultimately prevailed at the district convention. Wechselberg then entered the general election as an independent candidate. Harrison narrowly prevailed with 47.5% of the vote, Wechselberg received 36.5%; Phelps received just 16%.

In the 1870s and 1880s, Harrison became a major railroad construction contractor in southeast Wisconsin, constructing roughly 1,100 miles of track for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and also taking contracts for the Wisconsin Central Railroad.

Harrison died at his home in Milwaukee on June 7, 1898.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1869)

Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee County 1st District Election, 1869
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 2, 1869
Republican Stephen A. Harrison 395 53.02%
Democratic Edward Keogh 350 46.98%
Plurality 45 6.04%
Total votes 745 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Assembly (1874)

Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee County 4th District Election, 1874
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1874
Republican Stephen A. Harrison 831 47.54%
Independent Republican Julius Wechselberg 638 36.50%
Reform A. Warren Phelps (incumbent) 279 15.96%
Plurality 193 11.04%
Total votes 1,748 100.0%
Republican gain from Liberal Republican

References

  1. ^ "S. A. Harrison Dead". The Weekly Wisconsin. June 11, 1898. p. 7. Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "The Capitol Extension - Contract Awarded". Wisconsin State Journal. May 2, 1861. Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Legislative Nominations of 1862". Wisconsin State Journal. October 28, 1862. p. 1. Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Official Directory". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1870. p. 366. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  5. "The Republicans". Daily Milwaukee News. October 25, 1874. p. 4. Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Official Directory". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1875. p. 328. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  7. ^ "Stephen A. Harrison". The New York Times. June 9, 1898. p. 7. Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded byPatrick Drew Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly Milwaukee 1st district
January 3, 1870 – January 2, 1871 		Succeeded byJames Stephen White
Preceded byA. Warren Phelps Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly Milwaukee 4th district
January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876 		Succeeded byBernard F. Cooke
Categories: