# 32nd Wisconsin Legislature

The Thirty-Second Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 8, 1879, to March 5, 1879, in regular session.
Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assembly members were elected to a one-year term. Assembly members and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 5, 1878. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 6, 1877.
The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican William E. Smith, of Milwaukee County, serving the second year of a two-year term, having won election in the 1877 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

## Major events

* January 22, 1879: Matthew H. Carpenter elected United States Senator by the Wisconsin Legislature in Joint Session.
* November 4, 1879: William E. Smith re-elected as Governor of Wisconsin.

## Major legislation

* February 28, 1879: An Act to secure to children the benefits of an elementary education, 1879 Act 121. Created a legal requirement for parents and legal guardians to send their children to school for at least one semester per year between the ages of 7 and 15.

## Party summary
### Senate summary

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |
| | Dem. | Lib.R. | Rep. | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 10 | 2 | 21 | 33 | 0 |
| start of 1st Session | 9 | 0 | 23 | 32 | 1 |
| from Jan. 27 | 9 | 0 | 24 | 33 | 9 |
| Final voting share | 27.27% | 27.27% | 72.73% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 8 | 0 | 25 | 33 | 0 |

### Assembly summary

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |
| | Dem. | Soc. | Gbk. | Rep. | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 41 | 1 | 13 | 45 | 100 | 0 |
| 1st Session | 25 | 0 | 9 | 66 | 100 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 34% | 34% | 34% | 66% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 28 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 100 | 0 |

## Sessions

* 1st Regular session: January 8, 1879 – March 5, 1879

## Leaders
### Senate leadership

* President of the Senate: James M. Bingham (R)
* President pro tempore: William T. Price (R)

### Assembly leadership

* Speaker of the Assembly: David M. Kelly (R)

## Members
### Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Thirty-Second Wisconsin Legislature:
| Dist. | Counties | Senator | Residence | Party |
| 01 | Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, & Shawano | George Grimmer | Kewaunee | Rep. |
| 02 | Brown | Thomas R. Hudd | Green Bay | Dem. |
| 03 | Racine | William E. Chipman | Burlington | Rep. |
| 04 | Crawford & Vernon | George W. Swain | Chaseburg | Rep. |
| 05 | Milwaukee (Northern Part) | Isaac W. Van Schaick | Milwaukee | Rep. |
| 06 | Milwaukee (Southern Part) | George H. Paul | Milwaukee | Dem. |
| 07 | Milwaukee (Central Part) | Edwin Hyde | Milwaukee | Rep. |
| 08 | Kenosha & Walworth | Benoni Reynolds | Geneva | Rep. |
| 09 | Green Lake, Marquette, & Waushara | Hobart S. Sacket | Berlin | Rep. |
| 10 | Waukesha | John A. Rice | Merton | Dem. |
| 11 | Chippewa, Clark, Lincoln, Taylor, & Wood | Thomas B. Scott | Grand Rapids | Rep. |
| 12 | Green & Lafayette | Joseph B. Treat | Monroe | Rep. |
| 13 | Dodge | Edward C. McFetridge | Beaver Dam | Rep. |
| 14 | Juneau & Sauk | David E. Welch | Baraboo | Rep. |
| 15 | Manitowoc | Joseph Rankin | Manitowoc | Dem. |
| 16 | Grant | Oscar C. Hathaway | Beetown | Rep. |
| 17 | Rock | Hamilton Richardson | Janesville | Rep. |
| 18 | Fond du Lac (Western Part) | Alonzo A. Loper | Ripon | Rep. |
| 19 | Winnebago | Andrew Haben | Oshkosh | Dem. |
| 20 | Sheboygan & Eastern Fond du Lac | Louis Wolf | Sheboygan Falls | Dem. |
| 21 | Marathon, Portage, & Waupaca | John A. Kellogg | Wausau | Rep. |
| 22 | Calumet & Outagamie | George N. Richmond | Appleton | Dem. |
| 23 | Jefferson | Charles H. Phillips (died Jan. 1, 1879) | Lake Mills | Rep. |
| 23 | Jefferson | Joseph B. Bennett (from Jan. 27, 1879) | Watertown | Rep. |
| 24 | Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk, & St. Croix | Dana Reed Bailey | Baldwin | Rep. |
| 25 | Dane (Eastern Part) | George B. Burrows | Madison | Rep. |
| 26 | Dane (Western Part) | Matthew Anderson | Cross Plains | Dem. |
| 27 | Adams & Columbia | Charles L. Dering | Columbus | Rep. |
| 28 | Iowa & Richland | Archibald Campbell | Middlebury | Rep. |
| 29 | Buffalo, Pepin, & Trempealeau | Horace E. Houghton | Durand | Rep. |
| 30 | Dunn, Eau Claire, & Pierce | Abraham D. Andrews | River Falls | Rep. |
| 31 | La Crosse | Gysbert Van Steenwyk | La Crosse | Rep. |
| 32 | Jackson & Monroe | William T. Price | Black River Falls | Rep. |
| 33 | Ozaukee & Washington | Lyman Morgan | Port Washington | Dem. |

### Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Thirty-Second Wisconsin Legislature:
| Senate District | County | Dist. | Representative | Party | Residence |
| 27 | Adams | Adams | Charles A. Cady | Rep. | Dell Prairie |
| 24 | Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, & Polk | Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, & Polk | William J. Vincent | Rep. | St. Croix Falls |
| 02 | Brown | 1 | David M. Kelly | Rep. | Green Bay |
| 02 | Brown | 2 | Albert L. Gray | Gbk. | Fort Howard |
| 02 | Brown | 3 | John O'Flaherty | Dem. | Morrison |
| 29 | Buffalo & Pepin | 1 | John W. DeGroff | Rep. | Alma |
| 29 | Buffalo & Pepin | 2 | James Barry | Rep. | Pepin |
| 22 | Calumet | Calumet | Joseph B. Reynolds | Gbk. | Chilton |
| 11 | Chippewa | Chippewa | Hector McRae | Rep. | Chippewa Falls |
| 11 | Clark, Lincoln, Taylor & Wood | Clark, Lincoln, Taylor & Wood | Niran Withee | Rep. | Neillsville |
| 27 | Columbia | 1 | Charles R. Gallett | Rep. | Portage |
| 27 | Columbia | 2 | John Sanderson | Rep. | Randolph |
| 04 | Crawford | Crawford | Atley Peterson | Rep. | Soldiers Grove |
| 26 | Dane | 1 | Matthias Theisen | Dem. | Roxbury |
| 25 | Dane | 2 | Buel Hutchinson | Rep. | Madison |
| 25 | Dane | 3 | Charles G. Lewis | Rep. | Sun Prairie |
| 13 | Dodge | 1 | William Fleming | Dem. | Emmet |
| 13 | Dodge | 2 | Henry Spiering | Dem. | Mayville |
| 13 | Dodge | 3 | James Davison | Dem. | Chester |
| 13 | Dodge | 4 | William Geise | Dem. | Portland |
| 01 | Door | Door | Charles A. Masse | Rep. | Sturgeon Bay |
| 30 | Dunn | Dunn | Henry Ausman | Rep. | Elk Mound |
| 30 | Eau Claire | Eau Claire | Julius Ingram | Rep. | Eau Claire |
| 18 | Fond du Lac | 1 | Henry C. Bottum | Rep. | West Rosendale |
| 18 | Fond du Lac | 2 | Philip Greening | Dem. | Lamartine |
| 18 | Fond du Lac | 3 | Thomas W. Spence | Rep. | Fond du Lac |
| 20 | Fond du Lac | 4 | Michael Thelen | Dem. | Ashford |
| 16 | Grant | 1 | William E. Carter | Rep. | Platteville |
| 16 | Grant | 2 | Joseph T. Mills | Rep. | Lancaster |
| 16 | Grant | 3 | John Brindley | Rep. | Boscobel |
| 12 | Green | 1 | Fordyce R. Melvin | Rep. | Brooklyn |
| 12 | Green | 2 | Franklin Mitchell | Rep. | Spring Grove |
| 09 | Green Lake | Green Lake | Samuel Barter | Rep. | Markesan |
| 28 | Iowa | 1 | George L. Frost | Gbk. | Dodgeville |
| 28 | Iowa | 2 | George G. Cox | Rep. | Mineral Point |
| 32 | Jackson | Jackson | Frederick Condit | Gbk. | Merrillan |
| 23 | Jefferson | 1 | Hezekiah Flinn | Dem. | Watertown |
| 23 | Jefferson | 2 | John D. Bullock | Rep. | Johnson Creek |
| 23 | Jefferson | 3 | James W. Ostrander | Rep. | Jefferson |
| 14 | Juneau | 1 | James Mullowney | Dem. | Kildare |
| 14 | Juneau | 2 | Henry F. C. Nichols | Rep. | New Lisbon |
| 08 | Kenosha | Kenosha | Joseph V. Quarles | Rep. | Kenosha |
| 01 | Kewaunee | Kewaunee | John Carel | Dem. | Kewaunee |
| 31 | La Crosse | La Crosse | John Bradley | Rep. | Bangor |
| 11 | Lafayette | 1 | Nelson La Due | Rep. | Spafford |
| 11 | Lafayette | 2 | John W. Blackstone | Rep. | Shullsburg |
| 15 | Manitowoc | 1 | John Carey | Dem. | Osman |
| 15 | Manitowoc | 2 | William Zander | Dem. | Larrabee |
| 15 | Manitowoc | 3 | William H. Hemschemeyer | Rep. | Manitowoc |
| 21 | Marathon | Marathon | John Ringle | Dem. | Wausau |
| 09 | Marquette | Marquette | James W. Murphy | Dem. | Briggsville |
| 05 | Milwaukee | 1 | Edward C. Wall | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 07 | Milwaukee | 2 | Christian Widule | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 07 | Milwaukee | 3 | Edward Keogh | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 07 | Milwaukee | 4 | Edward B. Simpson | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 06 | Milwaukee | 5 | John Bentley | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 05 | Milwaukee | 6 | Christopher Raesser | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 07 | Milwaukee | 7 | Anson Allen | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 06 | Milwaukee | 8 | Henry P. Fischer | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 05 | Milwaukee | 9 | Christian Sarnow | Rep. | Milwaukee |
| 05 | Milwaukee | 10 | Judson G. Hart | Rep. | Wauwatosa |
| 06 | Milwaukee | 11 | William W. Johnson | Rep. | Greenfield |
| 32 | Monroe | 1 | James D. Condit | Dem. | Sparta |
| 32 | Monroe | 2 | George R. Vincent | Gbk. | Tomah |
| 01 | Oconto & Shawano | Oconto & Shawano | Daniel H. Pulcifer | Rep. | Shawano |
| 22 | Outagamie | 1 | John C. Petersen | Gbk. | Appleton |
| 22 | Outagamie | 2 | Francis Steffen | Dem. | Hortonville |
| 33 | Ozaukee | Ozaukee | William H. Fitzgerald | Ind.D. | Cedarburg |
| 30 | Pierce | Pierce | Nils P. Haugen | Rep. | River Falls |
| 21 | Portage | Portage | Thomas McDill | Rep. | McDill |
| 03 | Racine | 1 | Norton J. Field | Rep. | Racine |
| 03 | Racine | 2 | Knud Adland | Rep. | North Cape |
| 28 | Richland | 1 | Joseph M. Thomas | Rep. | Lone Rock |
| 28 | Richland | 2 | Elihu Bailey | Rep. | Mill Creek |
| 17 | Rock | 1 | Richard Burdge | Rep. | Beloit |
| 17 | Rock | 2 | Allen P. Lovejoy | Rep. | Janesville |
| 17 | Rock | 3 | William Gardiner | Rep. | Emerald Grove |
| 14 | Sauk | 1 | Ulrich Hemmi | Rep. | Troy |
| 14 | Sauk | 2 | Alexander P. Ellinwood | Rep. | Reedsburg |
| 20 | Sheboygan | 1 | Wilbur M. Root | Dem. | Sheboygan |
| 20 | Sheboygan | 2 | La Fayette Eastman | Rep. | Plymouth |
| 20 | Sheboygan | 3 | James Allan Jr. | Rep. | Adell |
| 24 | St. Croix | St. Croix | James Hill | Rep. | Warren |
| 29 | Trempealeau | Trempealeau | George H. Markham | Rep. | Independence |
| 04 | Vernon | 1 | Jacob Eckhardt | Rep. | De Soto |
| 04 | Vernon | 2 | Roger Williams | Rep. | Hillsboro |
| 08 | Walworth | 1 | Ely Bruce Dewing | Rep. | Elkhorn |
| 08 | Walworth | 2 | Albert L. Mason | Rep. | Elton |
| 08 | Walworth | 3 | Edwin D. Coe | Rep. | Whitewater |
| 33 | Washington | 1 | Jacob H. Muckerheide | Dem. | Kewaskum |
| 33 | Washington | 2 | John G. Frank | Dem. | Jackson |
| 10 | Waukesha | 1 | Alvarus E. Gilbert | Rep. | New Berlin |
| 10 | Waukesha | 2 | William H. Washburn | Rep. | Pewaukee |
| 21 | Waupaca | 1 | Lorenzo L. Post | Dem. | Weyauwega |
| 21 | Waupaca | 2 | John Scanlon | Gbk. | Union |
| 09 | Waushara | Waushara | Samuel R. Clark | Rep. | Bloomfield |
| 19 | Winnebago | 1 | William Wall | Rep. | Oshkosh |
| 19 | Winnebago | 2 | John Potter Jr. | Gbk. | Menasha |
| 19 | Winnebago | 3 | Hiram W. Webster | Rep. | Omro |
| 19 | Winnebago | 4 | Milan Ford | Gbk. | Nekimi |

## Employees
### Senate employees

* Chief Clerk: Charles E. Bross
** Assistant Clerk: W. S. Reynolds
** Bookkeeper: T. S. Ansley
** Engrossing Clerk: John P. Mitchell
** Enrolling Clerk: A. J. Smith
** Transcribing Clerk: Fred. Richards
** Proofreader: Thomas A. Dyson
** Clerk for the Judiciary Committee: H. M. Pierce
** Clerk for the Committee on Claims: L. F. Nickey
** Clerk for the Committee on Enrolled Bills: Walter L. Houser
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Chalmers Ingersoll
** Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: William A. Adamson
* Postmaster: O. N. Russell
** Assistant Postmaster: A. C. Martin
* Gallery Attendant: O. A. Kluetz
** Doc. Room Attendant: William Graham
* Doorkeepers:
** E. T. Songstad
** M. Simon
** A. Knudson
** John Halls
* Porter: John Redman
* Night Watch: Eugene A. Steer
* Chief Clerk's Messenger: J. G. Hyland
* President's Messenger: John Barrows
* Messengers:
** Jos. Campbell
** Jas. H. Welch
** Harry M. Hathaway
** Thos. Farness
** Geo. Roe
** Jos. J. Gunkel
** Lono Loper
* Janitor: Ole Stevenson

### Assembly employees

* Chief Clerk: John E. Eldred
** 1st Assistant Clerk: William M. Fogo
*** 2nd Assistant Clerk: S. L. Perrine
** Bookkeeper: O. A. Southmayd
** Engrossing Clerk: T. J. Vaughn
** Enrolling Clerk: Franklin S. Lawrence
** Transcribing Clerk: F. W. Rogers
** Proof Reader: H. O. Fifield
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Miletus Knight
** Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: William Seamonson
* Postmaster: J. J. Gibbs
** Assistant Postmaster: William Stanton
* Doorkeepers:
** J. J. Burnard
** C. E. Webster
** George B. McMillen
** Fred Oelhafer
* Gallery Attendants:
** R. Worts
** J. L. Johnson
* Porter: C. Schneider
* Night Watch: N. V. Chandler
* Wash Room Attendant: J. W. Kildow
* Speaker's Messenger: E. H. Potter
* Clerk's Messenger: Arthur Truax
* Messengers:
** William Post
** John F. Sanderson
** Richard Kempter
** S. G. Bottum
** Harvey Barlow
** Candy Nicodemus
** William Renkema
** Eddie Kavenaugh
** Julius Leison
** B. F. Oakley
** Bertie Carter
** Freddie Wittl
** Jake Gill