John Harmon (Wisconsin politician) explained

John C. Harmon
State:Wisconsin
State Assembly:Wisconsin
District:Chippewa 1st
Term Start:January 2, 1893
Term End:January 7, 1895
Successor:Charles A. Stanley
Party:Democratic
Birth Date:16 June 1845
Birth Place:Wooster, Ohio, U.S.
Death Place:Puyallup, Washington, U.S.
Restingplace:Forest Hill Cemetery,

John C. Harmon (June 16, 1845January 22, 1921) was an American lumberman and pioneer of Wisconsin and Washington. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Chippewa County during the 1893 sessions.

Biography

John C. Harmon was born in June 1845 in Wooster, Ohio. As a child, he came with his parents to the Wisconsin Territory, settling in Beaver Dam in 1847. He was educated there and went to work in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, in the lumber business. He was justice of the peace and county supervisor in Chippewa County, and was elected town treasurer of the town of Big Bend in 1881 and 1882.[1]

He then moved into the city of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where he was again elected county supervisor and member of the city council. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1892, running on the Democratic Party ticket.[1] He represented Chippewa County's first Assembly district, which then comprised the southwest corner of the county.[1] He was part of a brief Democratic majority in the Legislature. His most notable contribution was likely authoring the first law to make Labor Day a holiday in Wisconsin.[2] [3] He was not a candidate for re-election in 1894.

He moved to Puyallup, Washington, about 1908 and resided there until his death in 1921.[4] His body was interred at Chippewa Falls' historic Forest Hill Cemetery.[5]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1892)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 8, 1892

Notes and References

  1. The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin . 1893 . State of Wisconsin . Cunningham . Thomas J. . https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1893/reference/wi.wibluebk1893.i0016.pdf . Biographical Sketches . 636–637 . April 20, 2022 .
  2. News: State Labor Day Law Originated in Chippewa Falls . Chippewa Herald-Telegram . September 1, 1918 . 1 . April 20, 2022 . .
  3. An Act to make labor day a legal holiday . . 1893 . Act . 271 . April 20, 2022 .
  4. News: Dies at Masonic Home . The Tacoma Daily Ledger . January 23, 1921 . 8 . April 20, 2022 . .
  5. News: John C. Harmon's Body is Enroute . Chippewa Herald-Telegram . January 28, 1921 . 3 . April 20, 2022 . .