Randall Wilcox Explained

Randall Wilcox
State:Wisconsin
State Assembly:Wisconsin
District:Brown 2nd
Term Start:January 4, 1869
Term End:January 3, 1870
Predecessor:David Cooper Ayres
Successor:Michael Dockry
Term Start1:January 7, 1867
Term End1:January 6, 1868
Predecessor1:William J. Abrams (whole county)
Successor1:David Cooper Ayres
Office2:1st, 3rd, & 5th Village President of De Pere, Wisconsin
Term Start2:April 1863
Term End2:April 1865
Predecessor2:Dominicus Jordan
Successor2:Joseph G. Lawton
Term Start3:April 1861
Term End3:April 1862
Predecessor3:Abiatha B. Williams
Successor3:Dominicus Jordan
Term Start4:April 1857
Term End4:April 1859
Predecessor4:Position established
Successor4:Abiatha B. Williams
State Assembly5:Wisconsin
District5:Brown - Door - Kewaunee
Term Start5:January 3, 1853
Term End5:January 2, 1854
Predecessor5:District established
Successor5:Francis X. Desnoyers
Office6:Chairman of the of Brown County, Wisconsin
Term Start6:January 1, 1848
Term End6:April 1852
Predecessor6:Position established
Successor6:Jonathan Wheelock
Office7:Member of the Council of the Wisconsin Territory for Brown, Calumet,, Manitowoc, Marquette, Portage, Sheboygan & Winnebago counties
Term Start7:January 6, 1845
Term End7:January 4, 1847
Predecessor7:Morgan Lewis Martin
Successor7:Mason C. Darling
Party:Democratic
Birth Date:9 November 1793
Birth Place:Lee, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:De Pere, Wisconsin, U.S.
Restingplace:Woodlawn Cemetery,

Randall Wilcox (November 9, 1793October 18, 1872) was an American businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the first village president of De Pere, Wisconsin, and played an important role in the early work to develop the Fox River system for navigability. He also served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly and - prior to Wisconsin statehood - he served two years on the Wisconsin Territory council during the 4th Wisconsin Territorial Assembly.

Biography

Randall Wilcox was born in Lee, Massachusetts, in 1793. As a child, he moved to Pennsylvania, with his parents, where he was raised and educated. He worked on many bridge and dam projects in Pennsylvania and Maryland.[1]

He moved west to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836, and settled on a plot of land along the Fox River, in the area that is now De Pere, Wisconsin. He quickly became involved in bridge and dam construction again, and became affiliated with pioneer John Penn Arndt as president of his De Pere Hydraulic Company, where he managed the building of the first lock and dam on the Fox River.[2] [1] At the same time, Wilcox became entangled with the recently-established De Pere Bank, and, in the midst of the Panic of 1837, attempted to backstop the bank with a $20,000 loan from his own savings (about $640,000 adjusted for inflation to 2023). His loan did not save the bank, so Wilcox became the owner of all the bank's assets, though this did not come close to covering his losses.[3]

In 1838, the territorial legislature named the area around their settlement as the town of "Wilcox", named for Randall Wilcox. The next year, however, that town was divided - the area east of the Fox River became the town of De Pere and the area west of the river was re-absorbed into the town of Howard.[4]

In 1844, Wilcox was elected to represent the northeast quadrant of Wisconsin on the council (upper house of the legislature). He served in the 3rd and 4th sessions of the 4th Wisconsin Territorial Assembly.[5]

After Wisconsin achieved statehood, Wilcox was the first chairman of the Brown County board of supervisors under state government, and remained in that office until 1852.[4]

In 1852, he was elected to his first term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, running on the Democratic Party ticket.[6] He served in the 6th Wisconsin Legislature and did not run for re-election in 1853.

In 1857, the Legislature passed an act incorporating the village of De Pere. At the charter election, Wilcox was chosen as the first president of De Pere. He was re-elected to another term in 1858 and subsequently won three more one-year terms in 1861, 1863, and 1864.[4] In 1864, Wilcox was also a Democratic candidate for presidential elector on behalf of George B. McClellan.

He returned to the Assembly in 1867, and again in 1869.

Personal life and family

Randall Wilcox was one of at least six children born to Edward Wilcox and his wife Deborah ( Bailey). He married Lydia Field in 1817, at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. They had three daughters.[7]

Their eldest daughter Mary Catherine married John Wallace Arndt, the son of De Pere pioneer John Penn Arndt and the brother of Charles C. P. Arndt, who was infamously killed by a fellow councilmember during an 1842 session of the Wisconsin Territory Council.[1]

Two other daughters, Sarah and Martha Ann, were married to Charles D. Robinson, in 1846, and his brother, Albert C. Robinson, in 1853, respectively. At the time, the Robinson brothers were operating the partisan Democratic newspaper the Green Bay Advocate.[8] George Robinson went on to become Secretary of State of Wisconsin and mayor of Green Bay.

Wilcox died on October 17, 1872.[2]

The former Wilcox home in De Pere is still standing, at 707 North Broadway Street, and is now part of the North Broadway Street Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places.[9]

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Book: Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago . 1895 . J. H. Beers & Co. . 214 . December 6, 2023 .
  2. News: Death of Hon. Randall Wilcox . . October 17, 1872 . 4 . December 6, 2023 . .
  3. Book: The American Sketch Book . 3 . French . Bella . 1876 . 85 - 86 . December 6, 2023 .
  4. Book: Martin, Deborah Beaumont . History of Brown County, Wisconsin, Past and Present . 1913 . 1 . S. J. Clarke Publishing Company . 164, 166 . December 6, 2023 .
  5. The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1882 . 1882 . State of Wisconsin . Warner . Hans B. . Annals of the Legislature . 170 - 171 . December 6, 2023 .
  6. News: Wisconsin Legislature . . November 12, 1852 . 2 . December 6, 2023 . .
  7. Book: Field Genealogy . 1 . Pierce . Frederick Clifton . 1901 . W. B. Conkey Co. . 552 . December 6, 2023 .
  8. News: Married . . May 4, 1853 . 2 . December 6, 2023 .
  9. News: De Pere Rich in Old Homes and Buildings . . July 18, 1934 . December 6, 2023 . .