30th Wisconsin Legislature
← 29th 31st →
Wisconsin State Capitol, 1863
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 1, 1877 – January 7, 1878
Election	November 7, 1876
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	Charles D. Parker (D)
President pro tempore	William Hiner (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	John B. Cassoday (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
1st January 10, 1877 – March 8, 1877

The Thirtieth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1877, to March 8, 1877, in regular session.

This was the first legislative session after the redistricting of the Senate and Assembly according to an act of the previous session.

Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assembly members were elected to a one-year term. Assembly members and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 7, 1876. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 2, 1875.^[1]

• January 29, 1877: President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Electoral Commission Act to attempt to settle the disputed 1876 United States presidential election.
• March 2, 1877: The Compromise of 1877 secured the election of Rutherford B. Hayes, resolving the disputed 1876 United States presidential election.
• March 4, 1877: Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes as the 19th President of the United States.
• May 6, 1877: Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux surrendered to United States troops in Nebraska.
• July 16, 1877: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 lead to rioting in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.
• September 5, 1877: While in captivity, Chief Crazy Horse was killed by an American soldier.
• November 6, 1877: William E. Smith elected Governor of Wisconsin.
• November 29, 1877: Thomas Edison demonstrated his phonograph for the first time.

• January 31, 1877: Joint Resolution agreeing to an amendment of section four of article seven of the constitution of the state of Wisconsin, 1877 Joint Resolution 1. Confirmed a constitutional amendment adding two seats to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to be chosen at the Spring 1878 election.
• February 16, 1877: Joint Resolution relating to the coinage of silver, 1877 Act 3.

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	6	4	2	21	33	0
1st Session	8	0	3	22	33	0
Final voting share	33.33%			66.67%
Beginning of the next Legislature	10	0	2	21	33	0

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)							Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Soc.	Gbk.	Ind.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	35	11	0	0	1	1	52	100	0
Start of 1st Session	33	5	0	0	0	1	61	100	0
From Jan. 31	32						62
Final voting share	38%						62%
Beginning of the next Legislature	41	0	1	13	0	0	45	100	0

• 1st Regular session: January 10, 1877 – March 8, 1877

• President of the Senate: Charles D. Parker (D)
• President pro tempore: William Hiner (R)

• Speaker of the Assembly: John B. Cassoday

Members of the Senate for the Thirtieth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, & Shawano	George Grimmer	Kewaunee	Rep.
02	Brown	Thomas R. Hudd	Green Bay	Dem.
03	Racine	Thomas A. Bones	Racine	Rep.
04	Crawford & Vernon	J. Henry Tate	Viroqua	Rep.
05	Milwaukee (Northern Part)	Isaac W. Van Schaick	Milwaukee	Rep.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Part)	John L. Mitchell	Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Milwaukee (Central Part)	George A. Abert	Milwaukee	Dem.
08	Kenosha & Walworth	Asahel Farr	Kenosha	Rep.
09	Green Lake, Marquette, & Waushara	Hobart S. Sacket	Berlin	Rep.
10	Waukesha	William Blair	Waukesha	Rep.
11	Chippewa, Clark, Lincoln, Taylor, & Wood	Thomas B. Scott	Grand Rapids	Rep.
12	Green & Lafayette	Joseph B. Treat	Monroe	Rep.
13	Dodge	Charles H. Williams	Fox Lake	Dem.
14	Juneau & Sauk	David E. Welch	Baraboo	Rep.
15	Manitowoc	Joseph Rankin	Manitowoc	Dem.
16	Grant	Oscar C. Hathaway	Beetown	Rep.
17	Rock	Hamilton Richardson	Janesville	Rep.
18	Fond du Lac (Western Part)	William Hiner	Fond du Lac	Rep.
19	Winnebago	Return Torrey	Oshkosh	Rep.
20	Sheboygan & Eastern Fond du Lac	Daniel Cavanagh	Osceola	Dem.
21	Marathon, Portage, & Waupaca	Henry Mumbrue	Waupaca	Lib.R.
22	Calumet & Outagamie	James Ryan	Appleton	Dem.
23	Jefferson	William W. Reed	Jefferson	Lib.R.
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk, & St. Croix	Sam S. Fifield	Ashland	Rep.
25	Dane (Eastern Part)	George B. Burrows	Madison	Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)	Romanzo E. Davis	Middleton	Lib.R.
27	Adams & Columbia	Levi W. Barden	Portage	Rep.
28	Iowa & Richland	Daniel Downs	Richland Center	Rep.
29	Buffalo, Pepin, & Trempealeau	Alexander A. Arnold	Galesville	Rep.
30	Dunn, Eau Claire, & Pierce	Rockwell J. Flint	Menomonie	Rep.
31	La Crosse	Merrick Wing	La Crosse	Rep.
32	Jackson & Monroe	Mark Douglas	Melrose	Rep.
33	Ozaukee & Washington	Philip Schneider	Farmington	Dem.

Members of the Assembly for the Thirtieth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
27	Adams		Solon Pierce	Rep.	Friendship
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, & Polk		Woodbury S. Grover	Rep.	Prairie Farm
02	Brown	1	David M. Kelly	Rep.	Green Bay
		2	William J. Fisk	Rep.	Fort Howard
		3	Michael J. Touhey	Dem.	Morrison
29	Buffalo & Pepin	1	John J. Senn	Rep.	Fountain City
		2	Vivus W. Dorwin	Rep.	Durand
22	Calumet		Benjamin F. Carter	Dem.	Harrison
11	Chippewa		Louis Vincent	Dem.	Chippewa Falls
	Clark, Lincoln, Taylor & Wood		Freeman Lindsay	Rep.	Neillsville
27	Columbia	1	David Owen	Rep.	Caledonia
		2	Harmon J. Fisk	Rep.	Columbus
04	Crawford		Samuel Wannemaker	Dem.	Marietta
26	Dane	1	Michael Johnson	Ref.	Springdale
25		2	Phineas Baldwin	Rep.	Oregon
		3	George Weeks	Rep.	York
13	Dodge	1	William Zeiman	Dem.	Horicon
		2	Francis Newhauser	Dem.	Lomira
		3	Leander H. Shepard	Rep.	Burnett
		4	Patrick Roche	Dem.	Elba
01	Door		Jarvis T. Wright	Dem.	Sturgeon Bay
30	Dunn		Samuel Black	Rep.	Menomonie
	Eau Claire		Thomas Carmichael	Dem.	Eau Claire
18	Fond du Lac	1	William T. Innis	Rep.	West Rosendale
		2	Wolcott T. Brooks	Rep.	Waupun
		3	Thomas W. Spence	Rep.	Fond du Lac
20		4	Lambert Brost	Dem.	Calumet
16	Grant	1	William E. Carter	Rep.	Platteville
		2	Joseph Bock	Rep.	Lancaster
		3	Daniel R. Sylvester	Rep.	Castle Rock
12	Green	1	John Luchsinger	Rep.	New Glarus
		2	Franklin Mitchell	Rep.	Spring Grove
09	Green Lake		Homer Nelson	Rep.	Markesan
28	Iowa	1	Robert Kinzie	Dem.	Avoca
		2	John Gray	Rep.	Mineral Point
32	Jackson		Carl C. Pope	Rep.	Black River Falls
23	Jefferson	1	Hezekiah Flinn	Dem.	Watertown
		2	Charles H. Phillips	Rep.	Lake Mills
		3	Adolf Scheuber	Dem.	Erfurt
14	Juneau	1	David Truell	Rep.	Lyndon
		2	William H. H. Cash	Rep.	New Lisbon
08	Kenosha		Walter Maxwell	Rep.	Somers
01	Kewaunee		Charles Tisch	Dem.	Carlton
31	La Crosse		William Van Waters	Dem.	Hamilton
11	Lafayette	1	Andrew J. Anderson	Rep.	Argyle
		2	James Earnest	Dem.	Shullsburg
15	Manitowoc	1	Thomas Thornton	Dem.	Cato
		2	Thomas Mohr	Ref.	Kossuth
		3	Peter Johnston	Rep.	Manitowoc
21	Marathon		Bartholomew Ringle	Dem.	Wausau
09	Marquette		Samuel Crockett	Dem.	Westfield
05	Milwaukee	1	James G. Flanders	Dem.	Milwaukee
07		2	Joseph Hamilton	Dem.	Milwaukee
		3	Edward Keogh	Dem.	Milwaukee
		4	Edwin Hyde	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		5	David Vance	Rep.	Milwaukee
05		6	Florian J. Ries	Rep.	Milwaukee
07		7	David P. Hull	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		8	Peter Salentine (Until Jan. 31)	Dem.	Milwaukee
			Henry Fink (From Jan. 31)	Rep.	Milwaukee
05		9	Christian Sarnow	Rep.	Milwaukee
		10	Richard F. Stapleton	Dem.	Granville
06		11	Aloysius Arnolds	Dem.	New Coeln
32	Monroe	1	Chauncey Blakeslee	Dem.	Sparta
		2	Harry Doxtader	Rep.	Tomah
01	Oconto & Shawano		John D. Kast	Rep.	Shawano
22	Outagamie	1	David Hammel	Dem.	Appleton
		2	John J. Knowlton	Dem.	Seymour
33	Ozaukee		Gustav Gotze	Ref.	Port Washington
30	Pierce		Ellsworth Burnett	Rep.	River Falls
21	Portage		William Arnott	Rep.	Stockton
03	Racine	1	Norton J. Field	Rep.	Racine
		2	John T. Rice	Rep.	Waterford
28	Richland	1	J. L. R. McCollum	Dem.	Sextonville
		2	Elihu Bailey	Rep.	Marshall
17	Rock	1	Sereno Merrill	Rep.	Beloit
		2	John B. Cassoday	Rep.	Janesville
		3	Gideon E. Newman	Rep.	Cooksville
14	Sauk	1	David B. Hulburt	Rep.	Loganville
		2	Silas J. Seymour	Rep.	Dellona
20	Sheboygan	1	Joseph Wedig	Ref.	Sheboygan
		2	Samuel D. Hubbard	Lib.R.	Lyndon
		3	Ambrose D. DeLand	Rep.	Lima
24	St. Croix		Guy Dailey	Ref.	Hudson
29	Trempealeau		James L. Linderman	Rep.	Osseo
04	Vernon	1	Peter J. Dale	Rep.	Coon Prairie
		2	Henry H. Wyatt	Rep.	Stark
08	Walworth	1	Alfred H. Abell	Rep.	Bloomfield
		2	Wilson R. Herron	Rep.	Sharon
		3	William Greening	Rep.	La Grange
33	Washington	1	Frank Fitzgerald	Dem.	Hartford
		2	Nicholaus Marx	Dem.	Farmington
10	Waukesha	1	Hercules F. Dousman	Rep.	Waterville
		2	Thomas McCarty	Dem.	Menomonee Falls
21	Waupaca	1	Asa L. Baldwin	Rep.	Baldwin's Mills
		2	Hannibal Dixon	Rep.	New London
09	Waushara		Jabez K. Walker	Rep.	East Oasis
19	Winnebago	1	Thomas Wall	Dem.	Oshkosh
		2	Henry Leavens	Rep.	Neenah
		3	Levi E. Knapp	Rep.	Oshkosh
		4	Sidney Shufelt	Rep.	Poygan

New districts for the 30th Legislature were defined in 1876 Wisconsin Act 343, passed into law in the 29th Wisconsin Legislature.

• 10 Senate districts were left unchanged (or were only renumbered).
• Brown County became its own senate district (2), after previously having been in a shared district with Door and Kewaunee counties.
• The Dane County district boundaries were slightly redrawn and renumbered (25, 26).
• Milwaukee County went from having 2 districts to 3 (5, 6, 7).
• Green and Lafayette counties were combined into one district (12).
• Fond du Lac County's eastern district was combined with Manitowoc County as one district (20).
• Pierce County was removed from the 24th district and added to a new district with Eau Claire and Dunn counties (30).

Dist.	29th Legislature	30th Legislature
1	Sheboygan County	Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, Shawano counties
2	Brown, Door, Kewaunee counties	Brown County
3	Ozaukee County	Racine County
4	Monroe, Vernon counties	Crawford, Vernon counties
5	Racine County	Northern Milwaukee County
6	Southern Milwaukee County	Southern Milwaukee County
7	Eastern Dane County	Central Milwaukee County
8	Kenosha, Walworth counties	Kenosha, Walworth counties
9	Iowa County	Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara counties
10	Waukesha County	Waukesha County
11	Lafayette County	Chippewa, Clark, Lincoln, Taylor, Wood counties
12	Green County	Green, Lafayette counties
13	Dodge County	Dodge County
14	Sauk County	Juneau, Sauk counties
15	Manitowoc County	Manitowoc County
16	Grant County	Grant County
17	Rock County	Rock County
18	Western Fond du Lac County	Western Fond du Lac County
19	Manitowoc County	Winnebago County
20	Eastern Fond du Lac County	Sheboygan, Eastern Fond du Lac counties
21	Marathon, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca, Northern Outagamie counties	Marathon, Portage, Waupaca counties
22	Calumet, Southern Outagamie counties	Calumet, Outagamie counties
23	Jefferson County	Jefferson County
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix counties	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk, St. Croix counties
25	Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara counties	Eastern Dane County
26	Western Dane County	Western Dane County
27	Columbia County	Adams, Columbia counties
28	Crawford, Richland counties	Iowa, Richland counties
29	Adams, Juneau, Portage, Wood counties	Buffalo, Pepin, Trempealeau counties
30	Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin counties	Dunn, Eau Claire, Pierce counties
31	La Crosse County	La Crosse County
32	Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, Trempealeau counties	Jackson & Monroe counties
33	Ozaukee, Washington counties	Ozaukee, Washington counties

• 45 Assembly districts were left unchanged (or were only renumbered).
• Adams County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Wood County.
• Chippewa County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Taylor County.
• Columbia County went from having 3 districts to 2.
• Dane County went from having 4 districts to 3.
• Dodge County went from having 6 districts to 4.
• Door County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Northern Kewaunee County.
• Dunn County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Pepin County.
• Juneau County went from having 1 district to 2.
• Ozaukee County went from having 2 districts to 1.
• Rock County went from having 5 districts to 3.

County	Districts in 29th Legislature	Districts in 30th Legislature	Change
Adams	Shared with Wood	1 District
Ashland	Shared with Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk
Barron	Shared with Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk
Bayfield	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Burnett, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Burnett, Douglas, Polk
Brown	3 Districts	3 Districts
Buffalo	1 District	2 shared with Pepin
Burnett	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Polk
Calumet	1 District	1 District
Chippewa	Shared with Taylor	1 District
Clark	Shared with Jackson	Shared with Lincoln, Taylor & Wood
Columbia	3 Districts	2 Districts
Crawford	1 District	1 District
Dane	4 Districts	3 Districts
Dodge	6 Districts	4 Districts
Door	Shared with Northern Kewaunee	1 District
Douglas	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Polk
Dunn	Shared with Pepin	1 District
Eau Claire	1 District	1 District
Fond du Lac	3 Districts	4 Districts
Grant	4 Districts	3 Districts
Green	1 District	2 Districts
Green Lake	1 District	1 District
Iowa	2 Districts	2 Districts
Jackson	Shared with Clark	1 District
Jefferson	3 Districts	3 Districts
Juneau	1 District	2 Districts
Kenosha	1 District	1 District
Kewaunee	Divided between Door and Brown	1 District
La Crosse	1 District	1 District
Lafayette	1 District	2 Districts
Manitowoc	3 Districts	3 Districts
Marathon	1 District	1 District
Marquette	1 District	1 District
Milwaukee	11 Districts	11 Districts
Monroe	2 Districts	2 Districts
Oconto	1 District	Shared with Shawano
Outagamie	Divided between Shawano and own district	2 Districts
Ozaukee	2 Districts	1 District
Pepin	Shared with Dunn	2 shared with Buffalo
Pierce	1 District	1 District
Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas
Portage	1 District	1 District
Racine	2 Districts	2 Districts
Richland	2 Districts	2 Districts
Rock	5 Districts	3 Districts
Sauk	2 Districts	2 Districts
Shawano	Shared with Northern Outagamie & Eastern Waupaca	Shared with Oconto
Sheboygan	3 Districts	3 Districts
St. Croix	1 District	1 District
Taylor	Shared with Chippewa	Shared with Clark, Lincoln, Wood
Trempealeau	1 District	1 District
Vernon	2 Districts	2 Districts
Walworth	3 Districts	3 Districts
Washington	2 Districts	2 Districts
Waukesha	2 Districts	2 Districts
Waupaca	Shared with Shawano & Northern Outagamie	2 Districts
Waushara	1 District	1 District
Winnebago	4 Districts	4 Districts
Wood	Shared with Adams	Shared with Clark, Lincoln, & Taylor

• 1877: Related Documents from Wisconsin Legislature