Silas W. Lamoreux

Silas W. Lamoreux
28th Commissioner of the General Land Office
In office
March 28, 1893 – March 25, 1897
Appointed byGrover Cleveland
Preceded byWilliam M. Stone
Succeeded byBinger Hermann
County Judge of Dodge County, Wisconsin
In office
January 1, 1878 – March 28, 1893
Preceded byEdward Elwell
Succeeded byJohn G. Bachhuber
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Dodge 4th district
In office
January 1, 1872 – January 6, 1873
Preceded byMarcus Trumer
Succeeded byDennis Short
Personal details
Born(1843-03-08)March 8, 1843
Lenox, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 5, 1909(1909-08-05) (aged 66)
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeOakwood Cemetery, Beaver Dam
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseHarriet Adelia Cobb (died 1914)
Children
  • Courtney Wayland Lamoreux
  • (b. 1869; died 1916)
  • Don Percy Lamoreux
  • (b. 1873; died 1955)
  • Harland Silas Lamoreaux
  • (b. 1882; died 1955)
  • Vivian Lucy (Murphy)
  • (b. 1882; died 1957)
Relatives
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service1864–1865
RankPrivate, USV
Unit5th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Silas Wright Lamoreux or Lamoreaux (March 8, 1843 – August 5, 1909) was an American lawyer from Wisconsin who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and as the 28th Commissioner of the General Land Office of the United States.[1][2]

He was the brother of Oliver Lamoreux, who served in the same session of the Wisconsin Assembly.

Biography

Lamoreux was born in Lenox, New York, on March 8, 1843,[3][4] and came to Plover, Wisconsin, in 1852 with his family to join his older brother Oliver,[3] who had moved to Wisconsin the year before. The family relocated to Mayville, Wisconsin, a year later.[3] He moved to Dodge County, Wisconsin, and was admitted to the bar at age 21.[3][5] He enlisted in the Union Army in 1864, and participated with the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.[3][4][5]

Lamoreux was elected as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 5th Dodge County district in 1871. In the same election, his brother was elected from Portage County.[3][6] He did not run for re-election in 1872.

Lamoreux was elected judge in his county in 1877.[3][4] He was appointed commissioner of the United States General Land Office by President Grover Cleveland (a Democrat), serving from 1893 to 1897.[4][5]

Lamoreux founded the Beaver Dam Malleable Iron Works,[4] which employed 750 men at the time of his death. He also was president of the German National Bank of Beaver Dam.[3][4] He died of blood poisoning in Beaver Dam on August 5, 1909, after a long history of diabetes.[3][4][5]

References

  1. ^ White, C. Albert; Bureau of Land Management (1983). A history of the rectangular survey system. Government Printing Office. p. 194. ISBN 9780160335044.
  2. ^ Silas W. Lamoreux, Wisconsin Historical Society
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Judge Lamoreux Is Dead at Beaver Dam". The Watertown News. Watertown, WI. August 13, 1909. p. 7. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Judge Lamoreaux". The Representative. Fox Lake, WI. August 13, 1909. p. 4. Retrieved April 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c d "Obituary". The Iron Trade Review. 45: 285. 1909-08-12.
  6. ^ 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1872,' Biographical Sketch of Silas W. Lamoreux, pg.446
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dodge 4th district
January 1, 1872 – January 6, 1873 		Succeeded by
Dennis Short
Government offices
Preceded by Commissioner of the General Land Office
March 28, 1893 – March 25, 1897 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by
Edward Elwell
 County Judge of Dodge County, Wisconsin
January 1, 1878 – March 28, 1893 		Succeeded by
John G. Bachhuber