Eleazer Wakeley

Eleazer Wakeley (June 25, 1822 – November 21, 1912) was an American lawyer, politician, judge, and pioneer of Wisconsin and Nebraska. He was a Nebraska District Court Judge, a justice of the Nebraska Territory's Supreme Court, and a delegate to Nebraska's constitutional convention. In Wisconsin, he served two terms in the Wisconsin State Senate and one in the Wisconsin State Assembly, he also served in the last sessions of the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory.

The Honorable
Eleazer Wakeley
Nebraska District Court Judge
In office
1883–1892
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Nebraska Territory
In office
January 1857 – May 1861
Preceded byJames Bradley
Succeeded byWilliam F. Lockwood
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
In office
January 1, 1853 – January 1, 1856
Preceded byAlva Stewart
Succeeded byJesse C. Mills
Constituency12th Senate district
In office
January 1, 1852 – January 1, 1853
Preceded byGeorge Gale
Succeeded byAlva Stewart
Constituency14th Senate district
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Dane 5th district
In office
January 1, 1867 – January 1, 1868
Preceded byBenjamin F. Hopkins
Succeeded byLevi B. Vilas
Member of the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territory for Walworth County
In office
October 18, 1847 – March 13, 1848
Serving with George Walworth
Preceded by
  • Charles A. Bronson
  • Palmer Gardiner
Succeeded byPosition Abolished
Personal details
Born(1822-06-25)June 25, 1822
Homer, New York
DiedNovember 21, 1912(1912-11-21) (aged 90)
Omaha, Nebraska
Resting placeProspect Hill Cemetery
Omaha, Nebraska
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Sabina Sarah Comstock
  • (died 1918)
Children
  • Arthur Cooper Wakeley
  • (b. 1855; died 1928)
  • Bird Chapman Wakeley
  • (b. 1857; died 1911)
  • Lucius Winchester Wakeley
  • (b. 1859; died 1928)
  • Lucy Wakeley
  • (b. 1861; died 1917)
  • William Comstock Wakeley
  • (b. 1862; died 1894)
  • Emily Doane (Crain)
  • (b. 1871; died 1971)
Parents
Professionlawyer, judge
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service1862–1863
RankCorporal, USV
Unit145th Reg. Penn. Vol. Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Early years

Born in Homer, New York, Wakeley and his family moved first to Pennsylvania and then to Elyria, Ohio, where he studied the law and was admitted to the Ohio bar. His father was Solmous Wakeley, who served in the Wisconsin Legislature. Wakeley moved to Wisconsin Territory to Whitewater, in Walworth County, where he served in the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature.

Career

In 1857, Wakeley was appointed to the Nebraska Territorial Supreme Court serving until 1861. He served briefly in the American Civil War, volunteering with the 145th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, but received a medical discharge after the Battle of Fredericksburg, only four months into his service. He returned to Wisconsin to practice law and, in 1863, ran for Wisconsin Attorney General, but lost.[1][2]

Wakeley served in the Wisconsin State Senate 1851–1855 and the Wisconsin State Assembly 1866–1867.[3]

In 1867, Wakeley and his family moved to Omaha, Nebraska. There he practiced law and served in the 1877 Nebraska Constitutional Convention. Wakeley was appointed Nebraska district court judge and was the first president of the Nebraska State Bar Association.[4][5]

Death

After he died in Omaha on November 21, 1912, he was buried at the Prospect Hill Cemetery.

References
  1. "Omaha Illustrated".
  2. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Wait to Walborn".
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2015-01-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. http://casemaker.nebar.com/pdfs/nelawyer/1999/119901.pdf%5B%5D
  5. "Eleazer Wakeley Residence". Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
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