Harlow S. Orton

The Honorable Harlow S. Orton
Mathew Roche
Succeeded by	Levi Baker Vilas
Personal details
Born	(1817-11-23)November 23, 1817 Niagara County, New York, U.S.
Died	July 4, 1895(1895-07-04) (aged 77) Dane County, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic (after 1856) (Conservative Democrat) Whig (until 1856)
Spouse	Elizabeth S. Cheney ​ ​ (m. 1839⁠–⁠1895)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Madison University

Harlow South Orton (November 23, 1817 – July 4, 1895) was an American lawyer and judge. He was the 8th Chief Justice of the

.

Background

Orton was born in

.

Orton served as an Indiana judge for four years. In 1847, he moved to Milwaukee, in the Wisconsin Territory, and again set himself up as a private lawyer. In 1852, Orton moved to Madison, Wisconsin to serve as legal counsel and private secretary for Whig Governor of Wisconsin Leonard J. Farwell.

Assembly service and 1855 election

He was elected as a Whig member of the

.

In the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, in the official canvass, Republican Coles Bashford was narrowly defeated by Democrat William A. Barstow. Bashford sued, however, alleging fraudulent election returns, and was ultimately successful in having the Wisconsin Supreme Court declare him the winner of the election. Orton was Bashford's lawyer in this proceeding.

In 1858, Orton was again elected to the Assembly, succeeding Democrat

.) Orton resigned as circuit judge in 1865 and returned to private law practice.

U.W. Law School and elected offices

Orton served as dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School from 1869 to 1874. He was elected a final time to the Assembly in 1870, this time unopposed, as one of several "people's" candidates; he described himself as "a conservative democrat, or democratic-whig, or independent, [who] believes in a strong government of the people". (Democratic incumbent Alden Sanborn was not running for re-election.) He was succeeded in 1871 (the Assembly having been redistricted in the meantime) by Democrat John D. Gurnee. Orton ran for Congress in 1876 as a Democrat, against Republican incumbent Lucien B. Caswell, but lost by 348 votes (0.55% of the vote); and served one term as mayor of Madison in 1877.

Supreme Court

In 1877, Wisconsin amended

to create two more seats on the Supreme Court and Orton was elected. Orton became the chief justice when Chief Justice William Lyon retired in 1894.

Orton was on the Supreme Court until he died July 4, 1895. He and his wife Elizabeth Cheney had four children.

External links

• New York Times Obituary
• Biography at the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Harlow South Orton at Find a Grave

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Mathew Roche	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 5th district January 1, 1854 – January 1, 1855	Succeeded by Levi Baker Vilas
Preceded by Frank Gault	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 5th district January 1, 1859 – January 1, 1860	Succeeded by Leonard J. Farwell
Preceded by Alden Sprague Sanborn	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 5th district January 1, 1871 – January 1, 1872	District abolished
Legal offices
New seat	Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court January 1, 1878 – July 4, 1895	Succeeded by Roujet D. Marshall
Preceded by William P. Lyon	Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court January 1, 1894 – July 4, 1895	Succeeded by John B. Cassoday