Nelson Dewey
| Nelson Dewey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st Governor of Wisconsin | |
|
In office June 7, 1848 – January 5, 1852 |
|
| Lieutenant |
John Holmes Samuel W. Beall |
| Preceded by |
Henry Dodge as Territorial Governor |
| Succeeded by | Leonard J. Farwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 19, 1813 Lebanon, Connecticut |
| Died | July 21, 1889 (aged 75) Cassville, Wisconsin |
| Resting place | Lancaster, Wisconsin |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Dunn |
| Relations | Ebenezer Dewey (father) Lucy Dewey (mother) William Dewey (brother) Orin Dewey (brother) John J. Dewey (brother) Charles Dunn (father-in-law) |
| Children | Katie Cole (son) Charlie |
| Occupation | lawyer |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Nelson Dewey (December 19, 1813 – July 21, 1889) was a politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin; he was the first Governor of Wisconsin, serving from 1848 until 1852.
Dewey was born in Lebanon, Connecticut on December 19, 1813, to Ebenezer and Lucy (née Webster) Dewey. His father's family had lived in New England since 1633, when their ancestor Thomas Due came to America from Kent County, England.
Dewey's family moved to Butternuts, New York (now called Morris) the year following his birth and he attended school there and in Louisville, New York. At the age of 16, he began attending the Hamilton Academy in Hamilton, New York. He attended the academy for three years, and then returned to Butternut to teach.
Ebenezer Dewey, Dewey's father, was a lawyer, and wished his son to join the same profession. Dewey began studying law in 1833, first with his father, then with the law firm Hanen & Davies, then with Samuel S. Bowne in Cooperstown, New York. He left Bowne in May 1836, and in June of that year arrived in the lead-mining region of Galena, Illinois, working as a clerk for Daniels, Dennison & Co., a firm of land speculators from New York. About a week after he arrived, he moved to Cassville, Wisconsin. He became a citizen of the territory in 1836. Daniels, Dennison & Co. had purchased the land on which Cassville was built, and their plan was to develop and promote the village in the hopes that it grow and eventually be chosen as the capital of Wisconsin Territory or of a future state.
On March 4, 1837, Dewey was elected Register of Deeds for the newly formed Grant County, Wisconsin; he was appointed the county's Justice of the Peace by Governor Henry Dodge the same year. He was, and continued to be for the rest of his political career, a member of the Democratic Party. When Daniels, Dennison & Co.'s business plans collapsed in 1838, after Madison was chosen to be the capital, Dewey moved to Lancaster, Wisconsin, where he was admitted to the bar in an examination held by Charles Dunn, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin Territory; he was appointed district attorney of Grant County that same year. As a lawyer, he entered into a partnership with J. Allen Barber, which lasted from 1840 until May 1848. Together, they became well known in Wisconsin's lead-mining region, acquiring mines and investing in mining companies.
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