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Joseph Phillips
Joseph Phillips
19th Mayor of Milwaukee
	In office; April 1870 – April 1871
Preceded by	Edward O'Neill
Succeeded by	Harrison Ludington
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly; from the Milwaukee 6th district
	In office; January 4, 1869 – January 3, 1870
Preceded by	Daniel H. Richards
Succeeded by	Daniel H. Richards
	In office; January 1, 1866 – January 6, 1868
Preceded by	Jacob Obermann
Succeeded by	Daniel H. Richards
Personal details
Born	November 6, 1825; Alsace, France
Died	September 13, 1906 (aged 80); Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Calvary Cemetery, Milwaukee
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Mary Anne End (m. 1846; died 1868); Henrietta Liginger (m. 1871⁠–⁠1906);
Children	with Mary Anne End; George Joseph Phillips; (b. 1850; died 1919); Henry A. Phillips; (b. 1854; died 1887); Charles Hermann Phillips; (b. 1859; died 1938); Clara (Ramstack); (b. 1860; died 1935); Elizabeth R. (Rebhan); (b. 1862; died 1921); Edward F. Phillips; (b. 1865; died 1937); Catherine A. (Ransom); (b. 1868; died 1961); 2 other daughters; with Henrietta Liginger; Joseph Phillips; (b. 1876; died 1876); Alice Phillips; (b. 1877; died 1878); Joseph Phillips; (b. 1878; died 1878); Walter B. Phillips; (b. 1882; died 1905);
Occupation	Tanner, insurance agent

Joseph Phillips (November 6, 1825 – September 13, 1906) was an Alsatian American immigrant, businessman, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the 19th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving from April 1870 to April 1871, and also represented the city for three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1866, 1867, 1869).

Early life

Joseph Phillips was born in the Alsace region of France. As a child, he emigrated with his parents to the United States, settling first in Lancaster, New York, and later moving to Buffalo.^[1] In 1842, he moved west to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory, where he was employed as a clerk in a general merchandise store.^[2]

Business career

After some time, Phillips purchased the business in partnership with George End and operated it for several years as "Phillips & End". He also married Mary Anne End, the sister of his business partner.^[2] The partnership continued for more than 20 years, until George End moved to Sheboygan.^[2]

Phillips then established a tannery business and operated it for nearly a decade before selling the business to Pfister & Vogel Leather Co. in 1877.^[2] At that point, he went into the fire insurance business, establishing the firm that he would manage until his death. In 1884 he took on his son-in-law, August Rebhan, as a partner and the firm was known as Phillips & Rebhan thereafter.^[2] By the time of his death, it was the largest fire insurance company in Milwaukee.^[2]

Political career

Phillips was a German Catholic and early in his life in Milwaukee—as with many others of his demographic—he became associated with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He was elected to the Milwaukee City Council in the 1850s, and was then elected to several terms as city treasurer. He was subsequently elected to three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving in the 1866, 1867, and 1869 sessions. He represented what was then Milwaukee's sixth ward, which then comprised the city's north side, west of the Milwaukee River.^[3]

In the 1870 spring election, he was elected mayor of Milwaukee, running on the Democratic ticket.^[4] His term as mayor was dominated by a controversy over his attempt to enforce a Sunday law—requiring saloons and bars to close on Sundays.^[5] He ran for re-election in 1871 and lost in a landslide to Republican Harrison Ludington.^[6]

Personal life and family

Joseph Phillips married Mary Anne End in 1848. They had four sons and five daughters before Mary died in 1868. Their third son was Charles H. Phillips, who went on to become a prominent lawyer in Milwaukee and served in the Wisconsin State Senate in the 1930s.^[2]^[7] Their daughter, Elizabeth, married August Rebhan of Racine, Wisconsin, and had three children.^[2] After the death of his first wife, Joseph Phillips married Henrietta Liginger in February 1871. He had at least four children with his second wife, but three died in infancy and the fourth died young.

From 1873 until his death, he resided at what is known as the "Casper Sanger House", part of the Brewers Hill Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places.^[8]

Electoral history

Milwaukee Mayoral Election, 1871^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 4, 1871
	Republican	Harrison Ludington	5,197	81.17%
	Democratic	Joseph Phillips (incumbent)	1,206	18.83%
Plurality			3,991	62.33%
Total votes			6,403	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

^ "Joseph Phillips' Long Life Closes". The Watertown News. September 14, 1906. p. 2. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Watrous, Jerome Anthony (1909). Memoirs of Milwaukee County. Vol. 2. Western Historical Association. pp. 378–379, 550–551. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ "Assembly Districts". The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1869. p. 182. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ "City Government". The Daily Milwaukee News. April 13, 1870. p. 2. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Conard, Howard L. (1895). History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895. Vol. 1. American Biographical Publishing Co. p. 83. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "The Election". The Daily Milwaukee News. April 6, 1871. p. 4. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
^ "Members of the Senate". The Wisconsin Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1933. p. 217. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ "Property Record - 1823-1825 N PALMER ST". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2022.

External links

The Political Graveyard

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Jacob Obermann	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 6th district January 1, 1866 – January 6, 1868	Succeeded by Daniel H. Richards
Preceded by Daniel H. Richards	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 6th district January 4, 1869 – January 3, 1870	Succeeded by Daniel H. Richards
Political offices
Preceded by Edward O'Neill	Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin April 1870 – April 1871	Succeeded by Harrison Ludington