| Robert Masters | |
| Office: | of |
| Term Start: | January 1, 1846 |
| Term End: | January 1, 1847 |
| Predecessor: | E. G. Darling |
| Successor: | E. G. Darling |
| Office1: | Member of the for Dane, Dodge, Green, Jefferson, and Sauk counties |
| Term Start1: | November 7, 1842 |
| Term End1: | January 6, 1845 |
| Alongside1: | Isaac H. Palmer |
| Office2: | of |
| Term Start2: | September 1839 |
| Term End2: | November 7, 1842 |
| Predecessor2: | Position established |
| Successor2: | G. F. Markley |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Birth Date: | 1787 |
| Birth Place: | Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Restingplace: | Rock River Cemetery, |
| Occupation: | Sailor, farmer |
Robert Masters (1787January 23, 1867) was an American sailor, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was one of the first settlers of Jefferson, Wisconsin, and represented Jefferson County in the 4th Wisconsin Territorial Assembly. He was also the first register of deeds of Jefferson County.
Robert Masters was born in the state of Pennsylvania about 1787. At some point he moved to New York, where most of his children were born.
In the Winter of 1836, he traveled from Milwaukee west into the wilderness of the Wisconsin Territory with his daughter and a number of other settlers. They reached the Rock River on Christmas Eve, then spent Christmas with an earlier settler in what is now the town of Aztalan. Masters set out a claim near the junction of the Crawfish River with the Rock River, roughly the site of what is now Jefferson, Wisconsin. In January 1837, he erected a rough shanty on the property and prepared to establish a farm, while his daughter Emogene kept the house.[1]
In the Spring of 1837, the territorial legislature approved an act to create Jefferson County, and Masters was appointed a commissioner for establishing the county seat. They selected a site for a village near Masters' claim, which became the city of Jefferson. After the county was established, Masters was elected the first register of deeds, serving from 1839 through 1842, he simultaneously served as one of the county commissioners in 1841, and was on the board which approved the contract for the original county courthouse.[1]
Subsequently, the town of Jefferson was established, and Masters served as the first chairman of the town's board of trustees.[1]
In the 1842 Fall elections, Masters was chosen as a representative to the first session of the 4th Wisconsin Territorial Assembly, and was returned for the second session. His district comprised all of Dane, Dodge, Green, Jefferson, and Sauk counties, and elected three at-large representatives.[2]
After his term in the territorial legislature, Master's was elected a justice of the peace and coroner of Jefferson County.[1] After Wisconsin statehood, Masters became involved in the founding of the Jefferson County Agricultural Society, and served as an officer in that organization in the 1850s and 1860s.[1]
Masters died on January 22, 1867.[3]
Robert Masters was married twice. He had at least twelve children with his first wife, Olive, before her death in 1849. In 1851, he married Lucina Chaffee, who survived him. His children were also active in politics and local affairs in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.[1]
All of Masters' children's names begin with the letter E. The spelling of the names is often inconsistent.
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