Vol. 76, No. 9, September 2003

Lifelong Service

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

In 1891 four founders of the Wisconsin State Bar Association took the oath of office as members of the Wisconsin delegation to the 52nd U.S. Congress. William F. Vilas, Nils P. Haugen, Allen Bushnell, and Thomas Lynch were the only lawyers among the nine Representatives and two Senators who constituted the 11-member delegation. Only two delegates were Republicans; one of the lawyers was a Republican, three were Democrats. Democrats controlled the House of Representatives 235 to 88 Republicans, the largest Democratic majority since the party was founded in 1828.

William Vilas. Born in Vermont in 1840, William Vilas moved with his parents to Madison, Wis., at age 11. A graduate of the U.W. and the University of Albany (N.Y.) Law School, Vilas was admitted to the bar in 1860. After service in the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, mustering out as a lieutenant colonel, Vilas served as a law professor, university regent, reviser of the Wisconsin statutes, and member of the Wisconsin assembly. In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed Vilas U.S. Postmaster General, probably in recognition of his service as chair of the 1884 Democratic National Convention. In 1888, he was named U.S. Secretary of the Interior, serving until 1889. Elected to the Senate in 1891, he served one term. In honor of his service, the Wisconsin Legislature named Vilas County for him in 1893. In 1897, he returned to law practice in Madison and again was appointed a university regent in 1898. He died in 1908 and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison.

Nils P. Haugen. Born in 1849 in Modum, Norway, Nils P. Haugen immigrated with his parents to Pierce County, Wis., in 1855. He attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1874. He was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in River Falls that same year. After two terms in the state assembly and five years as the state railroad commissioner, Haugen was elected as a Republican in a special election to replace Rep. William T. Price, who had died in office. Though elected in January 1887, Haugen was too ill to take his seat until a year later. Haugen served during the 1891 term and was reelected until 1894. A failed attempt to run for governor was followed by 20 years as a state tax commission member. Haugen died in Madison in 1931 and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.

Allen Bushnell. Born in Ohio in 1833, Allen Bushnell attended Hiram College in Ohio, and moved in 1854 to Platteville, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857. He served in the Iron Brigade during the Civil War, was elected Grant County D.A. before and after the war, and in 1875 was elected Lancaster's first mayor. His service in 1886-90 as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin prefaced his election to the House of Representatives and move to Madison in 1891. He refused renomination and returned to the practice of law, dying in Madison in 1909. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery in Lancaster.

Thomas Lynch. Born in Granville, Milwaukee County, Wis., in 1844, Thomas Lynch moved in 1864 to Chilton in Calumet County, where he farmed and taught school. Elected to the state assembly in 1873, he graduated from the U.W. Law School in 1875. He was serving as the Calumet County D.A. when he helped found the Wisconsin State Bar. After two terms as D.A., he moved to Antigo in 1883, served as mayor in 1885 and 1888, and was elected as a Democrat to the 52nd and 53rd Congresses (1891-95). He is buried in St. John's Cemetery, having died in Antigo in 1898.

For these four lawyers, their role in forming the Wisconsin State Bar Association was just one example of the public leadership they demonstrated throughout their lives.

Wisconsin Lawyer