# 4th Wisconsin Legislature

The Fourth Wisconsin Legislature convened in regular session from January 8, 1851, to March 17, 1851. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and served 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 on November 5, 1850. 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, 1849.
The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Democrat Nelson Dewey, of Grant County, serving the second year of his second two-year term, having won re-election in the 1849 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

## Major events

* January 20, 1851: Henry Dodge re-elected United States Senator by the Wisconsin Legislature in joint session.
* November 4, 1851: Leonard J. Farwell elected Governor of Wisconsin.

## Major legislation

* January 22, 1851: Joint resolution in relation to the Honorable Isaac P. Walker, 1851 Joint Resolution 1
* February 1, 1851: Act to incorporate the Fire Department of the City of Milwaukee, 1851 Act 26
* February 4, 1851: Act providing for the election of a Chief Justice, 1851 Act 39
* February 6, 1851: Act to set apart and incorporate the County of Oconto, 1851 Act 44
* February 11, 1851: Act to set apart and incorporate Door County, 1851 Act 66
* February 15, 1851: Act to set apart and incorporate the County of Waushara, 1851 Act 77
* February 17, 1851: Act to incorporate the County of Waupaca, 1851 Act 78
* February 17, 1851: Act to divide the county of Brown and create the county of Outagamie, 1851 Act 83
* March 10, 1851: Act to prevent the killing of deer in certain months of the year, 1851 Act 171
* March 11, 1851: Act to change the name of the town of "Pike" in Kenosha county to "Somers," 1851 Act 211

## Party summary
### Senate summary

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |
| | Democratic | Free Soil | Whig | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 13 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 0 |
| 1st Session | 14 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 73.68% | 10.53% | 15.79% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 12 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 0 |

### Assembly summary

| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |
| | Democratic | Free Soil | Whig | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Legislature | 43 | 8 | 15 | 66 | 0 |
| 1st Session | 49 | 7 | 10 | 66 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 74.24% | 10.61% | 15.15% | | |
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 29 | 6 | 31 | 66 | 0 |

## Sessions

* 1st Regular session: January 8, 1851–March 17, 1851

## Leaders
### Senate leadership

* President of the Senate: Samuel Beall, Lieutenant Governor
* President pro tempore: Duncan Reed

### Assembly leadership

* Speaker of the Assembly: Frederick W. Horn

## Members
### Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Fourth Wisconsin Legislature:
| District | Counties | Senator | Party | Residence |
| 01 | Brown, Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan | Theodore Conkey | Dem. | Appleton |
| 02 | Columbia, Marathon, Marquette, Portage, Sauk, Waushara | G. DeGraw Moore | Whig | Prairie du Sac |
| 03 | Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix, La Pointe | Hiram A. Wright | Dem. | Prairie du Chien |
| 04 | Fond du Lac, Winnebago | John A. Eastman | Dem. | Fond du Lac |
| 05 | Iowa, Richland | Levi Sterling | Whig | Mineral Point |
| 06 | Grant | John H. Rountree | Whig | Platteville |
| 07 | Lafayette | Samuel G. Bugh | Dem. | Shullsburg |
| 08 | Green | William Rittenhouse | Dem. | Monroe |
| 09 | Dane | Eliab B. Dean Jr. | Dem. | Madison |
| 10 | Dodge | James Giddings | Dem. | Chester |
| 11 | Washington | Harvey G. Turner | Dem. | Ozaukee |
| 12 | Jefferson | Peter H. Turner | Dem. | Palmyra |
| 13 | Waukesha | George Hyer | Dem. | Waukesha |
| 14 | Walworth | George Gale | Free Soil | Elkhorn |
| 15 | Rock | Andrew Palmer | Dem. | Janesville |
| 16 | Kenosha | Orson S. Head | Dem. | Kenosha |
| 17 | Racine | Stephen O. Bennett | Free Soil | Racine |
| 18 | Milwaukee (Southern Half) | Duncan Reed | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 19 | Milwaukee (Northern Half) | Francis Huebschmann | Dem. | Milwaukee |

### Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Fourth Wisconsin Legislature:
| Senate District | County | District | Representative | Party | Residence |
| 01 | Brown | Brown | John F. Lessey | Dem. | Green Bay |
| 01 | Calumet | Calumet | William H. Dick | Dem. | Brothertown |
| 02 | Columbia | Columbia | William T. Bradley | Dem. | Leeds |
| 03 | Crawford & Chippewa | Crawford & Chippewa | William T. Price | Dem. | Black River Falls |
| 09 | Dane | 1 | Abram A. Boyce | Dem. | Lodi |
| 09 | Dane | 2 | Augustus A. Bird | Dem. | Madison |
| 09 | Dane | 3 | Gabriel Bjornson | Dem. | Perry |
| 10 | Dodge | 1 | John Muzzy | Dem. | Mayville |
| 10 | Dodge | 2 | Asa W. French | Dem. | Herman |
| 10 | Dodge | 3 | Charles B. Whitton | Dem. | Ashippun |
| 10 | Dodge | 4 | John Lowth | Dem. | Lowell |
| 10 | Dodge | 5 | William E. Smith | Whig | Fox Lake |
| 04 | Fond du Lac | 1 | Charles L. Julius | Dem. | Calumet |
| 04 | Fond du Lac | 2 | Morris S. Barnett | Dem. | Eldorado |
| 06 | Grant | 1 | James B. Johnson | Dem. | Fairplay |
| 06 | Grant | 2 | John N. Jones | Dem. | Platteville |
| 06 | Grant | 3 | William R. Biddlecome | Dem. | Potosi |
| 06 | Grant | 4 | Robert M. Briggs | Dem. | Beetown |
| 08 | Green | Green | Julius Hulburt | Whig | Albany |
| 05 | Iowa & Richland | 1 | Charles Rodolf | Dem. | Highland |
| 05 | Iowa & Richland | 2 | Richard J. Tregaskis | Dem. | Mineral Point |
| 12 | Jefferson | 1 | Patrick Rogan | Dem. | Watertown |
| 12 | Jefferson | 2 | Samuel T. Clothier | Dem. | Cold Spring |
| 12 | Jefferson | 3 | Alonzo Wing | Dem. | Jefferson |
| 16 | Kenosha | 1 | Henry Johnson | Whig | Somers |
| 16 | Kenosha | 2 | Obed Hale | Free Soil | Kenosha |
| 03 | La Pointe & St Croix | La Pointe & St Croix | John O. Henning | Dem. | Hudson |
| 07 | Lafayette | 1 | Nathan Olmsted | Whig | Cottage Inn |
| 07 | Lafayette | 2 | Samuel Cole | Dem. | Gratiot |
| 01 | Manitowoc | Manitowoc | G. C. Oscar Malmros | Dem. | Manitowoc |
| 02 | Marathon & Portage | Marathon & Portage | Thomas J. Morman | Dem. | Stevens Point |
| 02 | Marquette & Waushara | Marquette & Waushara | Charles Waldo | Whig | Kingston |
| 19 | Milwaukee | 1 | William K. Wilson | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 19 | Milwaukee | 2 | Charles E. Jenkins | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 18 | Milwaukee | 3 | John L. Doran | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 18 | Milwaukee | 4 | George H. Walker | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 18 | Milwaukee | 5 | Patrick Carney | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 18 | Milwaukee | 6 | Enoch Chase | Whig | Milwaukee |
| 19 | Milwaukee | 7 | Tobias G. Osborne | Dem. | Milwaukee |
| 17 | Racine | 1 | William L. Utley | Free Soil | Racine |
| 17 | Racine | 2 | Peter Van Vliet | Free Soil | Caledonia |
| 17 | Racine | 3 | James Tinker | Free Soil | Dover |
| 15 | Rock | 1 | William F. Tompkins | Whig | Janesville |
| 15 | Rock | 2 | John Bannister | Dem. | Beloit |
| 15 | Rock | 3 | John D. Seaver | Whig | Cooksville |
| 15 | Rock | 4 | Edward Vincent | Whig | Milton |
| 15 | Rock | 5 | Joseph Kinney Jr. | Dem. | Lima |
| 02 | Sauk | Sauk | Nathaniel Perkins | Dem. | Sauk City |
| 01 | Sheboygan | 1 | Albert D. La Due | Dem. | Sheboygan |
| 01 | Sheboygan | 2 | John D. Murphy | Dem. | Sheboygan Falls |
| 14 | Walworth | 1 | Adam E. Ray | Free Soil | Troy |
| 14 | Walworth | 2 | Henry C. Hemingway | Whig | Richmond |
| 14 | Walworth | 3 | Experience Estabrook | Dem. | Whitewater |
| 14 | Walworth | 4 | Elijah Easton | Free Soil | Walworth |
| 14 | Walworth | 5 | Wyman Spooner | Free Soil | Elkhorn |
| 11 | Washington | 1 | Harvey Moore | Dem. | Ozaukee |
| 11 | Washington | 2 | Frederick W. Horn | Dem. | Cedarburg |
| 11 | Washington | 3 | Frederick Stock | Dem. | Mequon |
| 11 | Washington | 4 | John C. Toll | Dem. | Cedar Creek |
| 11 | Washington | 5 | Francis Everley Jr. | Dem. | West Bend |
| 13 | Waukesha | 1 | Aaron V. Groot | Dem. | Brookfield |
| 13 | Waukesha | 2 | Peter D. Gifford | Dem. | North Prairie |
| 13 | Waukesha | 3 | Hosea Fuller Jr. | Dem. | Pewaukee |
| 13 | Waukesha | 4 | William A. Cone | Dem. | New Berlin |
| 13 | Waukesha | 5 | John C. Snover | Dem. | Eagle |
| 04 | Winnebago | Winnebago | Edward Eastman | Free Soil | Oshkosh |

## Employees
### Senate employees

* Chief Clerk: William Hull
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Enias D. Masters

### Assembly employees

* Chief Clerk: Alexander T. Gray
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles S. Kingsbury