USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 74
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which had long been an object of interest to a por- tion of his district, he in March, 1872, presented the measure to the house in a carefully prepared speech, which was widely published in the newspapers inter- ested in that enterprise. He also interested himself in an attempted repeal of the bankrupt law, believ- ing the same, as administered, prejudicial to both the creditor and debtor classes. Although he se- cured the passage through the house of a bill repeal- ing the law, it was defeated in the senate, but resulted in a modification of the law, and a large reduction of the fees and costs. He also took an active interest in the subject of importation between the East and West, supporting his views in a speech on the floor of the house, which was produced and commended by the press of his State, and by prominent papers outside of the State. It was during the first session of this congress that he came prominently into notice ' in connection with two contested election cases from West Virginia. The question involved being which of two elections held in that State was legal, Mr. Hazleton prepared a minority report, supported by only one member of the committee, maintaining the legality of what was known as the August election. The discussion of the question occupied two days, and his report was finally sustained by a large major- ity. During the second session of this congress he
made a strenuous effort to get the so-called "iron- clad claims," amounting to a million and a half of dollars, out of the lobby of congress, and have them sent to the court of claims, where the government could make a proper investigation and present coun- ter proofs, which could not be done by a committee of the house. He, however, failed in his purpose. At the close of his second term, when about to resume his profession in Milwaukee, he was tendered the office of United States attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin, which, though unexpected, he accepted, and holds at the present time (1876).
Mr. Hazleton was married on the 24th of May, 1855, to Miss Martha L. Squire, a native of Berk- shire county, Massachusetts, then residing at Amster- dam, New York. They have one daughter, now a member of the senior class in the Milwaukee Female College.
During his entire residence in Wisconsin, Mr. Hazleton has been identified with public interests, and has responded to various calls from all parts of his State for addresses and lectures. As a speaker, he is easy, eloquent and effective, and has the happy faculty of impressing his auditors with the thoughts that inspire his own mind, and is justly esteemed by all who know him as an upright, honorable and in- fluential man.
HON. ALEXANDER GRAHAM,
GANESVILLE.
O F the great mass of the human family, few names are known outside the particular fam- ily or neighborhood to which they belong. It is therefore fit and proper that the record of those who emerge from this general obscurity and by their talents and virtues render peculiar service to mankind, should be preserved, because the record of their lives and their example may prove useful to those who come after them.
Alexander Graham was born in the city of Utica, in the State of New York, on the 6th of April, 1816. He was descended on his father's side from an ancient family of Scotch extraction, and on his mother's from German ancestry. His father's name was Alexander McClintock Graham, and his moth- er's maiden name was Dollie Richter, and who is still living at the venerable age of eighty-nine.
During his childhood his parents removed to
Homer, Cortland county, New York, and engaged in farming. Here he received a common-school and academic education, his studies being chiefly confined to the English branches, but the greater part of his education was obtained by his own pri- vate exertions. His father being a farmer of very limited means, with a large family (thirteen chil- dren) to support and educate, he could do little more for his son than to impress indelibly upon his mind the great value of a good education as an essential element to honorable success in life.
Rarely without a book in his pocket, oftentimes while following the plow upon his father's farm, and when stopping his team to rest, he would take the book and read a few sentences, and then pass on again reflecting upon the subject-matter therein contained.
It will be an encouragement to every young man
Eng 2 1; BR & Sons TABarclay ST.MY
Hiram &, Stomp
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to know that Mr. Graham began life without aid or means, except his own energies, and that he has pursued many of his studies while employed in his daily avocations, and that his early struggles with poverty were so great as at times to cause him great anxiety.
On leaving the paternal home he labored for a few months upon a farm, and then engaged in teach- ing school, which employment was chosen because it was more favorable to his cherished object, a good education. He pursued the occupation of teaching for about four years, meanwhile employing his spare time in reading law, a habit that he has always since continued, not with a view to its practice as a pro- fession, but to qualify himself for the duties of a citizen. All his life engaged in business, he has at the same time been a constant student, pursuing many of the sciences unaided, so that in a great measure he is emphatically a self-made man.
He was married in September, 1841, to Abigail M. Keep, daughter of General Martin Keep, of Homer, New York, a lady of high intellectual en- dowments, but of retiring habits, finding her chief enjoyments in her own family and home, over which she presides with equanimity, grace and dignity.
About this time the death of an elder brother occurred, who was engaged largely in milling, lum- bering and farming, and Mr. Graham purchased the interest of the heirs in the brother's estate, in which business he continued with good success for several years, adding in the meantime to it a valuable farm near the east shore of Seneca lake; and in the pursuit of agriculture, as in all else that he under- took, he brought this farm to such a state of culture that in the fall of 1856 he took the first premium for the best cultured and best managed farm in the county of Schuyler; and among all the trophies of his life there is no one to which he points with more pride or pleasure than to this carefully treasured premium.
In the spring of 1857 he disposed of all his inter- ests in the State of New York, and gave the follow- ing year to travel, and in the spring of 1858 he removed with his family to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he still resides. Here his principal business has been real estate, though he has been interested in other enterprises, and is a stockholder in the First National Bank, the Harris Reaper Manufacturing Company, and the Janesville Cotton Manufacturing Company.
When the civil war commenced Mr. Graham was
past age and not liable to military duty, but feeling a great interest in the impending struggle, he fur- nished at his own expense a " representative recruit," for which he holds the following testimonial :
To all who shall see these presents, greeting :
WHEREAS, Alexander Graham, of the city of Janesville in the State of Wisconsin, a citizen of the United States, not being required by law to do military service, has volun- tarily, and at his own expense, furnished David J. Dann, in the State of Wisconsin, as a representative recruit to serve in his stead in the military forces of the Union, he is, in accordance with the foregoing order, entitled to this officia. acknowledgment of his disinterested patriotism and public spirit.
JAMES B. FRAY, Brigadier General and Provost Marshal General. S. J. M. PUTNAM, Provost Marshal 2d Distriet, State of Wisconsin.
A sketch of his life would be imperfect without reference to his political principles. He is a repub- lican in the widest sense of the term.
His early political associations were with the whig party, his first vote being cast for General Harrison, then Clay, Taylor and Scott; but as early as 1848 he sympathized with the anti-slavery element, and in 1852 was one of those who voted for General Scott, but "spat on the platform" of the party that placed him in nomination.
He participated in the convention at Saratoga on the 4th of July, 1854, that organized the republican party in the State of New York, and from that time down to the present has most firmly adhered to its principles ; but during its later history, when some of its chosen leaders engaged in dishonorable public practices, he was not slow to declare his want of confidence, not in the tenets but in some of the standard-bearers of the party, and estimating in- tegrity in public life as of greater value than party success, he, in 1872 (as a protest) voted for Horace Greeley for President. For this he was severely criticised by his old political associates. It is always the case that the man who dares to openly challenge and expose the wrongs of his partisans brings upon himself, for the time being, an unnatural warfare which assumes a personal ferociousness of character unparalleled in the conflicts between general ene- mies.
Like all men who dare to step in advance, or question party "infallibility," Mr. Graham may not seek the justification of his course among the fossils of the present time, but may implicitly rely on the good sense of the people to ultimately vindicate his course.
The first public office held by Mr. Graham was superintendent of schools for the years 1843 and
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1844. In the year 1845 he was elected supervisor of his town, and in the fall of 1850 he was elected member of the assembly from the county of Tomp- kins, in the State of New York, for the session of 1851. This session is memorable on account of the great struggle to defeat the bill providing for the enlargement of the Erie canal, commonly called the " Nine Million Bill."
The canals of the State of New York at that time had cost about eighty million dollars, but were en- tirely inadequate to meet the growing wants of com- merce. Mr. Graham was placed on the committee on canals, and it so happened that the year previ- ously he had traveled extensively in the West and Northwest, which at that time was being developed with a rapidity unparalleled in the history of this country, and he became impressed with the growing power and increasing productiveness of this vast region, and that the means of transportation to the seaboard would soon become entirely inadequate to meet the wants of the country. He therefore took deep interest in the question of increased facilities for transportation to meet this growing want. To this end a carefully prepared statistical report was drawn, showing the annual revenue derived from the canals, accompanied by a bill providing for the en- largement of the Erie canal, and by the committee presented to the assembly. This bill passed the assembly and was sent to the senate for its concur- rence ; and now for the first time in the history of this country was manifested the power of the rail- road interest to control legislation. Great excite- ment prevailed throughout the State, and failing in all other means to defeat this all-important measure eleven senators resigned, leaving the senate without a quorum, thus by revolutionary means defeating the bill.
An appeal was taken to the country. The gover- nor called an extra session to meet the following June, and ordered a special election to fill the vacancies occasioned by the resigning senators, and the result was the defeat of the factious members and the final passage of a measure the wisdom of which time and necessity have fully demonstrated.
Removing to Wisconsin in the year 1858, Mr. Graham was, in the fall of 1860, chosen to represent the city of Janesville in the assembly in the session of 1861. At that time great excitement prevailed throughout the country ; the Southern States refusing to recognize the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, and general fear and financial distress
pervaded all ranks of society and all sections of the country. At this session Mr. Graham was made chairman of the committee on banks and banking.
Never before had the people of this State suffered so severely financially. Scattered about over the State were over one hundred banks, many of them without local habitation, and all of which, in com- mon with the banks of the whole country, had sus- pended specie payments, their bills greatly depreci- ated, exchange at fabulous rates, and all kinds of business suffering immensely in consequence.
This was indeed a perilous time. If the banks were destroyed the State would be without any cir- culating medium whatever. If they were retained in their unsound condition it was only a question of time as to the destruction of all kinds of business. The general impression prevailed that it was only a choice whether financial death should be sudden or lingering. But at the head of this committee Mr. Graham exhibited his cool calculating ability in the management of the finances, and in due time made his celebrated report, accompanied by a bill provid- ing for " central redemption," which passed into a law, the operation of which saved the State from financial disaster. This report was published and republished until five thousand extra copies had been issued.
As a general rule, when disaster comes, when the ship goes down, the good and the bad perish alike together; but in this instance, by skillful manage- ment the good institutions were saved and the bad ones perished.
During this entire session the whole country was fearfully agitated by the threatening and belligerent attitude of the Southern States, and a feeling of gloom and despondency everywhere pervaded the public mind, and many and various were the pro- jects devised and the plans suggested to avert the coming storm, and prominent among these was the celebrated Virginia convention, to which all the States were invited to send delegates; and notwith- standing the prime movers of this convention were rabid secessionists, and the basis upon which they proposed a settlement of pending difficulties such as no Northern man could accept without dishonor, still there were many very good men who strongly favored sending delegates to represent Wisconsin in that convention, and to this end a joint resolution was introduced into the assembly for this purpose.
To this resolution Mr. Graham made most deter- mined opposition, and in conjunction with Judge
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Spooner and others, succeeded in defeating it on the ground that the terms of settlement were fixed in advance and were such as no Northern State could accept.
During the closing hours of this session came the startling news of the attack on Fort Sumter by the rebels.
The President and Congress now called upon the loyal States for aid to put down the rebellion, and Wisconsin was not slow in responding to this call. Her patriotic governor, Hon. Alexander Randall, convened an extra session of the legislature, the ob- ject of which was to provide men and money to meet this great emergency. This was the sole and only object of the session, and Mr. Graham was appoint- ed chairman on the part of the assembly of the joint select committee of thirteen, and the late Attorney- General Gill, who was then a member of the senate, on the part of that body, to draft the necessary bills for this purpose. This committee was subdivided, General Gill taking the principal charge of the pre- paration of the military bill and Mr. Graham of the financial bill, both of which became laws of the State.
Mr. Graham also prepared the bill, introduced by a democratic member, providing for aid by the State to families of volunteers.
In the fall of 1869 he was again chosen to repre- sent the city of Janesville in the assembly in the session of 1870. At this session he was chairman of the committee on railroads, and in all the impor- tant legislation of the session took an active part.
He was again chosen a member of the session of 1872. At this session he added new luster to his reputation by the introduction and advocacy of a measure that caused great public interest. He was chairman of the committee on claims, member of the committee of ways and means, and chairman of the special committee on the " Dells " investigation, as also of the special committee on assembly bill No. 7, "A bill to provide against the evils resulting from the sale of intoxicating drinks," commonly called the "Graham Liquor Law," and of which he was the author.
Perhaps no question was ever brought before the legislature .of the State that created a profounder interest, none ever more fully and ably discussed, none that aroused the people more thoroughly, there being more than thirty thousand names of petition- ers and remonstrants presented for or against the passage of the bill. The bill finally passed into a
law. This was not a prohibitory law. The object sought to be attained by it was to do away with the abuse and not the entire use of intoxicating liquors. In principle it was based upon that rule of law that every man shall be holden for the consequences of his own acts; that he who has been the means of producing evil and has enjoyed all the pecuniary benefits of selling intoxicating drinks shall be re- sponsible for the damage done by such sale.
It was upon this bill and in this contest, perhaps more than any other, that the latent powers of his mind were brought into active exercise, and his cool determination and parliamentary tact and legislative ability fully manifested. At times during the pend- ency of this measure the excitement was at fever heat. but throughout the entire discussion he met successfully the arguments and the tactics of his opponents at every point, and when the debate finally closed and the bill passed, his course had been such that the strongest opponents of the bill were personally his warmest friends.
Mr. Graham has always taken a great interest in public schools, and an active part in all that per- tained to the growth and prosperity of his city. He was elected school commissioner of the city of Janesville in 1859, alderman in 1864, and was three times reëlected, serving eight years. He is exem- plary in private life, of industrious habits, a kind neighbor and firm friend, always entering with great zeal into every project that promises to promote the welfare of society, and especially those plans that are most likely to provide remunerative employment for the laboring classes.
Rising from among the toiling millions, he has never ceased to sympathize with and interest him- self in the education and elevation of the masses.
As a debater before a deliberative body his lan- guage is direct and concise, his manner sincere and earnest, being more logical than rhetorical, address- ing himself to the sense and judgment of his hear- ers rather than to their passions or prejudices, though he sometimes indulges in repartee, if the time and occasion permit. Judged by the best of all tests, the effect upon his hearers, few public speakers wield a greater influence.
As a writer he is clear and forcible, always pre- senting his subject in the best light possible.
There is a tinge of self-conceit and self-reliance in his character, born of a life-long dependence upon his own exertions to obtain for himself a com- petence and an honorable position among men.
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Starting in life with nothing but his own exertions, his success in business has been such that he has come to believe in and trust himself entirely. But the very faults in his character in this respect tend in some degree to render him more successful, be- cause relying on his own exertions his powers are not weakened or impaired by any expectation of aid or assistance from others.
As a public man his consistent decorous deport- ment, his untiring industry and attention to busi- ness, his manly independence, his steady and per- fectly temperate habits, his candor and sincerity,
and above all the feeling generally entertained of his unquestionable personal integrity, inspire a con- fidence that has never been impaired or disappointed.
Taking part in public life at a time remarkable for the good principles and bad conduct of public men, when virtue is preached and not generally practiced, when free-thinking consists in allowing party to think for you, when the profession of principle by party leaders consists in having no principle, it is refreshing to find a public man who can rise above these influences and act for the right, regardless of personal interests.
LUCIUS A. WHEELER,
MILWAUKEE.
T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Chitten- den county, Vermont, was born on the 9th of March, 1828, and is the son of Orrin Wheeler and Sarah née Hickok. His father, a farmer in moder- ate circumstances, removed to western New York in 1833. Here Lucius attended the public schools and early manifested a great aptness in study, and was uniformly at the head of his class. While still a boy he became a great student of historical and scientific works, and read all books that he could obtain. After closing his studies in the public schools, at the age of thirteen he entered a colle- giate institute to prepare himself for college. Ow- ing, however, to impaired health and a delicate con- stitution, he was obliged to abandon his purpose at the end of one year, and took a position in a country store. At the expiration of six years of faithful ser- vice he became a partner in the business, and dur- ing the next two years was unremitting in his efforts to build up his trade, frequently rising at three or four o'clock in the morning and working till twelve o'clock at night. At the age of twenty-two, desir- ing a change and recreation, he spent some time at Avon Springs and in visiting various places, and finally, with his former firm, established a flourish- ing branch business at Dunkirk, it being then the terminus of the Erie railroad, with fine prospects of becoming a place of considerable importance. After four years the parent house failed, involving him in liabilities to the amount of sixty-five thousand dol- lars. The misfortune was a severe one to him, but he bravely faced it, and turning all his property over to his creditors, in the summer of 1856 started west-
ward, visiting all the important places as far as the interior of Iowa, and finally settled at Milwaukee, his present home, having upon his arrival one hun- dred dollars. After a search of one week he se- cured a situation in a clothing house, which he filled one year, and then spent one year in the dry-goods establishment of Bradford Brothers. At the expira- tion of this time, returning to New York, he secured a release from the claims against the old house, and with the aid of an uncle purchased a small stock of dry goods, and opened a store on East Water street, Milwaukee, where he was soon joined by his brother- in law. The business was prosperous from the be- ginning, and gradually grew in extent and influence. His brother-in-law soon returned to Dunkirk, and the business was left entirely in his hands. He opened a wholesale department, and in 1866 re- moved to more commodious quarters. In 1872, to meet the constantly increasing demands of his trade, he removed to his present stand, at 133 and 135 Wisconsin street, and devoted his special attention to the retail business. Mr. Wheeler's success is wholly the result of his determined effort, and fur- nishes a most worthy example of what may be at- tained by will and constant work.
Politically he is identified with the republican party, but in the midst of his active business career he has found no time, nor has he had any ambition, to take part in political matters more than to per- form his duties as a citizen.
His early religious training, at the hands of a pious mother, led him to reverence God and re- ligion, though from a want of understanding the
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simplicity of the gospel he was kept from making a public profession until he attained the age of twenty-eight years, when he united with the Presby- terian church at Dunkirk, and was soon elected an elder in the same. He has held all the important offices of the Plymouth Congregational Church at Milwaukee, and is at the present time identified with the Immanuel Presbyterian Church of that city. In all religious enterprises he has taken an active interest, and was at one time secretary of the
State Sunday-school Union. In all his career his dealing has been open, frank and fair, and by a strict adherence to principle he secured the respect and esteem of many personal friends and a wide reputation as an honorable and true man.
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