Edward Hicks (pioneer) explained

Edward Hicks
State:Wisconsin
State Assembly:Wisconsin
District:Brown 1st
Term Start:January 3, 1870
Term End:January 2, 1871
Predecessor:Joseph S. Curtis
Successor:Joseph S. Curtis
State Senate1:Wisconsin
District1:2nd
Term Start1:January 6, 1862
Term End1:January 4, 1864
Predecessor1:Edward Decker
Successor1:Frederick S. Ellis
Party:Democratic
Birth Date:24 October 1818
Birth Place:Conneaut, Ohio, U.S.
Death Place:Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
Death Cause:Stroke

Edward Hicks (October 24, 1818May 15, 1873) was an American merchant, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate (1862, 1863) and State Assembly (1870), representing Brown County. He was postmaster of Green Bay for about 12 years during the 1840s and 1850s.

Biography

Edward Hicks was born in Conneaut, Ohio, in October 1818.[1] He received a common school and academic education, and moved west to the Wisconsin Territory in the early 1840s. He settled in Green Bay, where he remained for nearly three decades.[2] Hicks was affiliated with the Democratic Party, and under President James K. Polk, he was appointed postmaster at Green Bay, serving until the end of the Polk administration.[3] He was subsequently re-appointed postmaster in 1853, under President Franklin Pierce,[4] and was retained as postmaster under President James Buchanan.[1]

In 1861, Hicks was the Democratic Party nominee for Wisconsin Senate in the 2nd Senate district, which then comprised Brown and Kewaunee counties. Hicks faced no opponent in the general election and went on to serve in the 1862 and 1863 sessions of the legislature. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1863.[5]

He was named postmaster of Green Bay again in 1866, under President Andrew Johnson,[6] but he was one of several Johnson nominees ultimately rejected by the Republican Senate.[7]

In 1869, Hicks ran for state office again, running as the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin State Assembly in Brown County's 1st Assembly district. The district then comprised Green Bay and roughly the eastern half of Brown County. He defeated Republican Louis Schiller in the general election and went on to serve in the 1870 legislative session.[1]

Hicks moved to Sioux City, Iowa, in 1871, after suffering from poor health.[8] He died of a stroke in Sioux City on May 15, 1873.[2]

Personal life and family

Edward Hicks was the only known son of Joseph Hicks and his wife Sally ( Chamberland). The Hicks family were descended from Dennis Hicks, who settled at the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1700s.

Edward Hicks married Charlotte Gertrude Satterlee about 1847, in Stonington, Connecticut. They had at least three sons.[2]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1869)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 2, 1869[1]

Notes and References

  1. The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin . 1870 . State of Wisconsin . Official Directory . 357 . May 25, 2023.
  2. News: Death of a Former Resident . . May 15, 1873 . 4 . May 25, 2023 . .
  3. News: Appointments by the Post Master General . Wisconsin Express . May 1, 1849 . 2. May 25, 2023 . .
  4. News: Green Bay Post Office . The Weekly Wisconsin . May 11, 1853 . 3 . May 25, 2023 . .
  5. The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1882 . 1882 . State of Wisconsin . Heg . J. E. . Annals of the Legislature . 203, 205 . May 23, 2023 .
  6. News: Edward Hicks . . October 19, 1866 . 2 . May 25, 2023 . .
  7. News: Political . Semi-Weekly Wisconsin . March 6, 1867 . 5 . May 25, 2023 . .
  8. News: Gone West . . November 10, 1871 . 4 . May 25, 2023 . .