29th Wisconsin Legislature

The Twenty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 12, 1876, to March 14, 1876, in regular session.

Senators representing even-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 even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 2, 1875. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 3, 1874.

The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican Harrison Ludington, of Milwaukee County, serving the first year of a two-year term, having won election in the 1875 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

• January 3, 1876: Inauguration of Harrison Ludington as the 13th Governor of Wisconsin.

• February 2, 1876: The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was founded at a meeting in Chicago.

• March 7, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell was granted a United States patent for the telephone.

• March 27, 1876: The United States Supreme Court decided the case United States v. Reese, narrowing the scope of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and enabling the creation of new laws to limit the voting rights of African Americans. On the same day, the court also decided the case United States v. Cruikshank, significantly limiting the power of the federal government to enforce civil rights protections.

• June 25 – June 26, 1876: 300 men of the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment were killed by a force of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

• July 4, 1876: United States Centennial.

• November 7, 1876: The 1876 United States presidential election was held. Rutherford B. Hayes was the apparent winner of the electoral college votes, but the results were bitterly disputed due to various fraud schemes in southern states, and the fact that Samuel J. Tilden was the apparent winner of the popular vote.

• March 13, 1876: An Act to apportion the state into senate and assembly districts, 1876 Act 343.

Senate partisan composition .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  Democratic: 6 seats   Reform: 4 seats   Liberal Republican: 2 seats   Republican: 21 seats

Assembly partisan composition   Democratic: 35 seats   Reform: 11 seats   Independent: 1 seat   Liberal Republican: 1 seat   Republican: 52 seats

• 1st Regular session: January 12, 1876 – March 14, 1876

• President of the Senate: Charles D. Parker (D)

• President pro tempore: Robert L. D. Potter (R)

• Speaker of the Assembly: Sam S. Fifield (R)

Members of the Senate for the Twenty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

Senate partisan representation   Democratic: 6 seats   Reform: 4 seats   Lib. Rep.: 2 seats   Republican: 21 seats

Members of the Assembly for the Twenty-Ninth Wisconsin Legislature:

Assembly partisan composition   Democratic: 35 seats   Reform: 11 seats   Independent: 1 seat   Liberal Republican: 1 seat   Republican: 52 seats

• Chief Clerk: Andrew Jackson Turner

  • Assistant Clerk: J. F. A. Williams
  • Bookkeeper: J. T. Huntington
  • Engrossing Clerk: Ms. Georgie Clise
  • Enrolling Clerk: J. T. Jacobson
  • Transcribing Clerk: Ed. Borcherdt

• Sergeant-at-Arms: R. T. Gardner

  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: George Hawley

• Postmaster: D. McBride

  • Assistant Postmaster: C. A. Carter

• Gallery Attendant: R. B. Winsor

  • Assistant Attendant: A. T. Conger
  • Committee Room Attendants:
    • H. A. Head
    • Alfred Newgent
    • C. H. Newton

• Doorkeepers:

  • M. Lynch
  • T. Torkelson
  • S. F. Leavitt
  • Hohn Hallahan

• Porter: T. H. Hanson

• Janitor: P. Gilluly

• Messengers:

  • Arthur A. Hills
  • Sherman G. Potter
  • Daniel Trainer
  • Herbert Rinder
  • Eugene Abbott
  • Fred Richards
  • George Gewicke
  • Lucien Pickarts
  • Willie Scampton

• Chief Clerk: Rollin M. Strong

  • Assistant Clerk: Chester Deming Long
  • Bookkeeper: William M. Fogo
  • Engrossing Clerk: Mrs. Fannie Vilas
  • Enrolling Clerk: R. A. Gillett
  • Transcribing Clerk: J. P. Cooper
  • Clerk for the Committee on Judiciary: Frank O. Wisner

• Sergeant-at-Arms: Elisha Starr

  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: George H. Osgood

• Postmaster: John H. Manschot

  • Assistant Postmaster: Fred M. Griswold

• Doorkeepers:

  • Henry Matthews
  • William F. Shallock
  • T. E. Abbott
  • E. S. Chase

• Committee Room Attendants:

  • John Hannon
  • W. H. Bell
  • W. R. Kent
  • Richard Prichard

• Gallery Attendants:

  • W. Alten
  • Frank Burgess

• Porter: W. F. Bingman

• Night Watch: C. F. Ainsworth

• Fireman: Thomas Nelson

• Speaker's Messenger: Charles Weight

• Chief Clerk's Messenger: Theo. Thorson

• Sergeant-at-Arms' Messenger: M. L. Parker

• Messengers:

  • Willie Betts
  • Walter Holt
  • Joseph Ready
  • Mark Baker
  • Harry Meeker
  • B. B. Jones
  • Lyman Curtis
  • James DeBauker
  • Willie Plumb
  • Julius Voltz
  • Lucius Cannon
  • Freddie D. Fagg
  • Henry Delaney

• 1876: Related Documents from Wisconsin Legislature