Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1898-01-27
Birthplace OF Republican Partu.

This is the Congregational church
Of Ripon. Ia this church the bli
can party was born. Feb. %, 1854, al
a public meeting il was voted to cast
off old party organizations and form {
new party under the name of .'Repub-
lean on the sole issue of opposition
to slavery extensions; said to be the
first action Of the kind taken in the
nation.
This statement suggests reference
to the prominent and early action
Grant county men had in helping
form the Republican party, Months
before the action taken in the Ripon
church there was an organization OF
men in Lancaster who were resolved
to leave the democrat and whig part
les and organize new one whose
first efforts should be directed against
the extension of slavery and the en-
forcement OF the fugitive slave law.
The leaders in the movement were
Joseph Cover, j. &. Clark, VIM. Me-
Gonigal. j. Allen Barber, Judge Cox
and y. W Kendall. Judge Mills was
afterwards taken into their councils
but not at first, because OF his ultra
abolition tendencies. lie stood so
straight that he leaned backwards
on the question at issue and the gen
tlemen mentioned were at first afraid
to give him their confidence.
In the fall of 1858 active work was
begun. Col. Clark now has in his
possession pocket notebook enrolling
the names Of 1875 residents of Lancas-
ter and vicinity who were to be ais
cretly sounded as to their political
views with view to enlisting them
in the new party. This list was
made in 1858.
OF this list of names the following
were checked as safe men for the new
party:
J. d. Wood, w. \. Reed. p. /. Adams,
Mike Wood, Israel Miles, Wm.Alcorn.
j )hn Alcorn, ST., Geo. Maiben, Sandi-
mon Maiben, VIM. II. Foster, j. G.
Clark. Edward Coomb, Rev. ID. Mat
lock. Osborn, Abner Dyer, Thos. Wier,
J. G.. Boulder, solomon Goodrich.
VIM. McGonigal, Probst, McClenathan,
David McCord, Sam McCord, Bailey,
Sr.. Bailey. Jr., II. d. Bristol, j. T.
Mills, n. w. Kendall, Warren Beard,
Fountain Taylor, Hathaway, Albert
Stuntz, Perry Wetmore. Jos. Tobler,
VIM. Walker, Arr. ott. Freeman, Thos.
Stanley, Martin Tiel, Morrison, Rus
sell, j. Chandler, Up. Cox, X. Frank
land, j Allen Barber. Jos. Cover, Ed.
HARRISON, Shewey, stephen Mahood.
Not only were the beginnings of
new party made but the name Repub-
lican had been tacitly agreed upon as
early as November or December. 1858.
From what we can learn now, to Joseph
Cover is due the honor of first sug-
costing and advocating the name Re-
publican for the new party.
Col. Clark relates this interesting
personal reminscence:
In the fall or early winter of 1858,
he and MIR, Cover one day took stroll
to the west and north of the village of
Lancaster and Of course talked poll
tics. They sheltered themselves from
the cold north wind on the sunny side
Of strawpile which stood about two
blocks west of the present Northwest
ern station house The question of
name Tor the new party arose and Mr..
Clark asked for a suitable name.
Cover had apparently thought the
matter out and replied Immediately,
Republican" and proceeded to give
his reasons for urging this name.
One of these reasons seems almost in
creditable in the light Of the latter
history OF the Republican party. The
old Republican party. which was OPP
posed to the Federalists in the early
wears Of our nation, the party to
which Thomas Jefferson belonged.
was founded on the principle OF OPP
position to a centralized government
and in favor Of preserving and en-
larging the rights Of the states 1t
was for this old party that Cover
wished to name the new party He
was heart and soul opposed to the en-
forcement Of the fugitive slave law
and the only course open seemed to
him to be resistance by the free states
to the operation If the federal law;
and SO he advocated the name Repub-
l;aou onA a~npctad IL IN form a Stota'S