Wiram Knowlton

Wiram Knowlton (January 24, 1816 – June 27, 1863) was an American politician and jurist from Wisconsin. He was a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge and ex officio Justice of the pre-1853 Wisconsin Supreme Court (the Wisconsin Supreme Court before 1853 was composed of the state's elected circuit court judges).

The Honorable
Wiram Knowlton
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office
August 1850 – June 1, 1853
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 6th Circuit
In office
August 1850 – August 6, 1856
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byGeorge Gale
Member of the Council of the Wisconsin Territory for Crawford and St. Croix Counties
In office
January 6, 1845 – January 4, 1847
Preceded byTheophilus La Chappelle
Succeeded byBenjamin F. Manahan
Personal details
Born
Wiram Knowlton

(1816-01-24)January 24, 1816
Canandaigua, New York
DiedJune 27, 1863(1863-06-27) (aged 47)
Menekaunee, Wisconsin
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
Spouses
  • Candace Knowlton
  • (m. 1842; died 1863)
RelativesJames H. Knowlton (brother)
Occupationlawyer, judge
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Years of service1846–1848
RankCaptain, USV
Battles/warsMexican–American War

Biography

Born in Canandaigua, New York, Knowlton moved to Janesville, Wisconsin Territory, in 1837 and began to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and started a law practice in Prairie du Chien, where he was also elected to the Wisconsin Territorial Council (upper house of the Territorial Legislature) from 1845 to 1847.[1]

During the Mexican–American War, he raised a company of men using the W.H.C. Folsom House. He was elected captain of the company and they were stationed at Fort Winnebago for frontier duty, freeing up the regular garrison to be redeployed to the south. In July 1850, he was elected Wisconsin Circuit Court judge for the newly created 6th circuit and sworn into office in August.[2] Because of this office, he also served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which at the time was composed of Wisconsin's circuit court judges.[1] This changed in 1853, when a separate supreme court was created by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature.[3][4][5] Knowlton died in Menekaunee, Wisconsin.[6]

Knowlton's brother, James H. Knowlton, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.[6][7]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1852)
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1852[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, September 1852
Democratic Samuel Crawford 10,520 53.48%
Independent Wiram Knowlton 9,151 46.52%
Plurality 1,369 6.96%
Total votes 19,671 100.0%
Democratic win (new seat)

References
  1. Gray, Trina E.; de Nie, Karen Leone; Miller, Jennifer; Todd, Amanda K. (2003). "Portraits of Justice: The Wisconsin Supreme Court's First 150 Years" (PDF). Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  2. Reed, Parker McCobb, ed. (1882). The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. Milwaukee: P. M. Reed. p. 70. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  3. "An Act to provide for the organization of a separate Supreme Court, and for the election of justices thereof". Act 395 of 1852 (PDF). 5th Wisconsin Legislature. pp. 601–604. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  4. "Wisconsin Court System - Wiram Knowlton". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  5. ""Barstow and the Balance"". Archived from the original on 2008-08-24. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  6. "Judge Wiram Knowlton Dead". Janesville Daily Gazette. July 11, 1863. p. 6. Retrieved March 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. ""Barstow and the Balance"". Archived from the original on 2008-08-24. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  8. "Judicial Election". Racine Advocate. October 13, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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