Part VIII. Biographical Sketches
- Members of the Sixtieth Congress
State Officers [pp. 1120-1122]
Governor.
JAMES O. DAVIDSON (Rep.), of Soldiers Grove, was born in
Norway, Feb. 10, 1854, and was educated in the
common schools of his native country. He came to Wisconsin
in 1872, residing first at Madison, later at Boscobel, and since
1877 at Soldiers Grove. He has been engaged for twenty-three
years in the mercantile business. He was president of the village
of Soldiers Grove in 1888 and 1889, treasurer in 1892 and 1893,
and again in 1897 and 1898; was elected to the assembly in 1892
and re-elected in 1894 and again in 1896. He was chairman of
the republican committee of the third congressional district
for several years; was elected state treasurer in 1898 and re-elected
in 1900; was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1902, and re-elected
in 1904, upon the resignation of Gov. R. M. La Follette he became
Governor, Jan. 1, 1906. The following September he was nominated
as the republican candidate for governor, receiving 109,583 votes
at the primary election, against 61,178 for I. L. Lenroot. He
was elected in November, receiving 183,526 votes, against 103,114
for J. A. Aylward (Dem.), 24, 435 for W. R. Gaylord (Soc. Dem.),
8,215 for E. L. Eaton (Pro.) and 456 for O. T. Rosaas (Soc. Lab.).
Lieutenant Governor.
WILLIAM D. CONNOR (Rep.), of Marshfield, was born on a farm
near Stratford, Ontario, March 24th, 1864. When
eight years of age he moved with his parents to Wisconsin
and grew to manhood on a farm at Auburndale, Wood county. He
was educated in the district school and later attended the state
normal school at Oshkosh for two years. He moved to Marshfield
in 1895, where he has since resided. He has been engaged in the
lumber business for the greater part of his life. He has always
been interested in politics and for twenty years was a member
of the Wood County Board of Supervisors, of which body he was
twice elected chairman. In 1892, 1894, 1896, 1902 and 1904 he
was elected a delegate to the Republican State Convention and
in 1904 he was also elected one of the four delegates-at-large
to the National Republican Convention, by the regular Republican
State Convention.
Through his efforts Marshfield secured a free public library
and Mr. Connir [Connor] has been president of the library
board since its organization.
At the present time Mr. Connor is a trustee of the Wood County
Normal Training School and also of Carroll College. He
was the chairman of the Rep. State Central Committee in the
campaigns of 1904 and 1906, and was elected Lieutenant Governor
in 1906, receiving 174,750 votes against 104,398 for Michael
F. Blenski (Dem.), 25,036 for William Kaufmann (Soc. Dem.), 8,724
for August F. Fehlandt (Pro.) and 510 for John Veirthaler (Soc.
Lab.).
Secretary of State.
JAMES A. FREAR (Rep.) was born at Hudson, Wis., Oct. 24,
1861. Was attending Lawrence University at Appleton,
Wisconsin, in 1878, when with his parents he moved to Washington,
D.C. Served five years in the U.S. Signal Corps at Fort Myer,
Va., Indianapolis and Washington, in 1884. He was admitted to
the bar of the supreme court, District of Columbia, the same
year and then returned to Hudson, entering the practice of law
in that city. Has held different city offices, including city
attorney for several years. He was appointed district attorney
for St. Croix county by Governor Upham in April 1896, and was
elected for three consecutive terms thereafter. He was appointed
on the staff of the governor in 1901 and elected to the assembly
in 1902, and to the state senate in 1904. He was appointed chairman
of the senate investigation committee on state insurance March
9th, 1905, and at the same session was chosen a member of the
Wisconsin Insurance Investigation committee. He served as chairman
of both committees during the year 1906. September 4th of that
year he was nominated at the primaries for Secretary of State
and was elected to that office in November, receiving 178,818
votes, against 100,194 for Clarence J. Noel (Dem.), 24,427 for
Chas. V. Schmidt (Soc. Dem.), 8,174 for John E. Clayton (Pro.)
and 468 for Albert Wang (Soc. Lab.).
State Treasurer.
ANDREW H. DAHL (Rep.), of Westby, was born in Lewiston, Columbia
county, Wisconsin, April 13, 1859, and was
educated in the high school at Viroqua and the Northwestern
Business college at Madison. Vernon county has been his home
since 1864, where he is engaged in dealing in general merchandise.
He was supervisor of the village of Westby during 1896 and 1897,
and was elected trustee of Vernon county asylum in 1897 and re-elected
in 1901 and 1904. He was president of the village from 1899 to
1902, and was elected to the assembly in 1898, 1902 and 1904;
was chairman of committee on penal and charitable institutions
in the legislature of 1903, and served as chairman of committee
on "Assessment and Collection of Taxes" during the
session of 1905. September 4th, 1906, he was nominated at the
primaries for state treasurer over John J. Kempf, John W. Thomas,
Julius Howland and Henry D. James, and was elected in November,
receiving 178,650 votes, against 101,054 for Andrew Jenson (Dem.),
24,259 for Joseph Ammann (Soc. Dem.), 8,227 for David W. Emerson
(Pro.) and 461 for Theo. Horn (Soc. Lab.).
Attorney General.
FRANK L. GILBERT (Rep.), of Madison, was born March 3, 1864,
in Arena, Iowa County, Wisconsin. When but a
few months old he was made an orphan by the death of his
father in the civil war. His early youth was spent in Iowa County,
Wisconsin, working on farms in the summer and attending school
in the winter. He taught his first school at the age of sixteen
and graduated from the Mazomanie high school in 1883. He later
entered the academic department of the University, but before
graduating was obliged to abandon his studies in order to earn
means to pursue them. In 1896 he entered the law school of the
state university, passed the state bar examination in 1897, and
though engaged activity in practice continued his studies in
the law school, graduating in 1899. Served as district attorney
of Dane county from January 1st, 1902, to January 1st, 1907.
Was nominated as the republican candidate for attorney general
in 1906, receiving 73,761 votes against 44,102 for C. A. A. McGee
and 26,423 for Wallace Ingalls. Was elected attorney general,
receiving 179,427 votes, against 99,391 for Martin Lueck (Dem.),
24,411 for Richard Elsner (Soc. Dem.) and 7,991 for B. E. Van
Keuren (Pro.).
Insurance Commissioner.
GEORGE E. BEEDLE was born in Shawano, Wis., July 17th, 1864;
was educated in the common schools; was in the
employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway company,
from 1883 to 1899; was elected a member of the county board of
supervisors in 1901, resigning that position to become one of
the first trustees of the Waupaca county asylum, which position
he held until his term expired, December 31st, 1906, when he
retired to take up the duties of Commissioner of Insurance. Was
elected member of the assembly in 1902 and re-elected in 1904.
He was appointed one of the Legislative Insurance Investigating
committee at the special session of the legislature in 1905.
He was elected Commissioner of Insurance in 1906, receiving 177,082
votes, against 99,810 for Henry J. Neunens (Dem.), 24,240 for
Herman W. Bistorius (Soc. Dem.), 8151 for Lincoln Abraham (Pro.)
[and] 532 for A. B. Gunderson (Soc. Lab.).
State Superintendent.
C. P. CARY was born in southern Ohio, January 28, 1856. His
mother was of German descent and his father was
directly related to the English political economist, Henry
Cary. From the time he arrived at school age till he was seventeen
he worked on his father's farm in summer and attended the district
school in winter. At the age of seventeen he began to teach district
school in winter and continued working on the farm in summer.
In 1877 he entered the Ohio Central Normal School and was graduated
in 1879. After this he taught for seven years as principal of
graded schools in Ohio and Kansas, and served during most of
this period as county examiner of teachers and instructor in
teachers' institutes. In 1886 he was elected county superintendent
of schools in Brown county, Kansas; but declined renomination
for a second term, and accepted the position of superintendent
and high school principal at Fairbury, Nebraska. This position
he resigned in the summer of 1893 to accept the position of instructor
in pedagogy and principal of the training department of the Milwaukee
State Normal School. This position he resigned in the fall of
1902 to accept the nomination for the office of state superintendent
of public instruction . He holds a life certificate to teach
in the schools of Nebraska, also in Wisconsin, and is a graduate
of the University of Chicago, class of '98. He is an active member
of the National Educational Association, and a member of the
National Society for the Scientific Study of Education, and has
devoted his life to the study of all the sciences and arts that
bear upon the problems of education; was elected superintendent
of public instruction in 1902, and re-elected in April, 1905,
receiving 115,284 votes, against 86,743 votes, for Albert Salisbury.