John H. Rountree
John H. Rountree | |
|---|---|
| Member of the 6th district | |
| In office January 7, 1850 – January 5, 1852 | |
| Preceded by | George W. Lakin |
| Succeeded by | Joel C. Squires |
| Member of the Council of the Wisconsin Territory from Grant County | |
| In office November 26, 1838 – January 4, 1847 Serving with James R. Vineyard (1838–1842) and Nelson Dewey (1842–1847) | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Orris McCartney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 24, 1805 Warren County, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | June 27, 1890 (aged 85) Platteville, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hillside Cemetery, Platteville, Wisconsin |
| Political party |
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| Spouses |
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| Children |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | Michigan Territory Militia |
| Years of service | 1832 |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | Black Hawk War |
John Hawkins Rountree (March 24, 1805 – June 27, 1890) was an American farmer, businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the founder of Platteville, Wisconsin, and was instrumental in the early development of that village. He was also one of the founders of the Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, and remained a director in the company until his death. In politics, he represented Grant County for five years in the Wisconsin Legislature, and was a delegate to Wisconsin's 2nd constitutional convention in 1847.[1][2]
Founding Platteville
Born in
Rountree owned large parcels of land around the village of Platteville and every five or ten years would plat another addition to the village, selling the lots for businesses and homes. Rountree at this time also owned slaves, something that was not legal in the area at the time. His slaves were named Rachel, Maria and Felix. All three were granted their freedom in 1841 by the US Government, although Rachel stayed with Rountree until her death in 1854.[citation needed] In 1853 he built his own fine home on a large parcel south of the downtown. The building still stands, and is now listed as the J. H. Rountree Mansion in the National Register of Historic Places. He had previously built a house for his father-in-law, Samuel Mitchell, now known as the Mitchell-Rountree House, that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite its proximity to the downtown, his house remained the only house on that parcel until after Rountree died in 1890, when his heirs subdivided the parcel and the lots quickly filled. The fine homes of the Bayley Avenue Historic District now occupy part of Rountree's home parcel.[6]
Early service
Rountree served as judge in the Michigan Territory and later the Wisconsin Territory. He was a captain of the militia during the Black Hawk War of 1832,[1] and was involved with Col. Henry Dodge's negotiations attempting to keep the Winnebago from allying with the Sauk.[3]
He served on the Council (equivalent to a Senate) from the newly created Grant County in the Second through Fourth Wisconsin Territorial Legislatures (1838–1846)[7] and as a delegate to the 1847-1848 Wisconsin State Constitutional Convention from Grant County (where he is recorded as insisting that a strong uniformity clause was "a matter of very great importance".[8]
State legislature
In
In 1863, he was elected as a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 1st Grant County district (Towns of Hazle Green, Smeltzer and Plattville) to succeed William Brandon, after a contested election result initially awarded the seat to Democrat John Harms; at that time, he characterized his profession as "farmer."[9] He was succeeded in 1864 by Hanmer Robbins of the Republican/National Union party.
In
Personal life and family
Rountree was married twice, and had fifteen children.[1] His first wife was Mary Grace Mitchell, the daughter of Reverend Samuel Mitchell, another of the pioneer settlers at Platteville.[11] They married August 7, 1828, at Galena, Illinois, and had five children before her death in 1837.[11] He subsequently married Lydia H. Southworth of Clinton, New York, the niece of New York politician Sylvester Gridley.[11] Rountree and his second wife had ten children.[1]
Though the Northwest Ordinance forbade slavery in the Northwest Territory—including Wisconsin—Rountree bought a woman named Rachael in 1827, in Galena, Illinois, to have her work as a servant to his new wife. "Aunt" Rachael was freed in the 1840s, but stayed with the family until her death. She was buried in the Rountree family plot, under the smallest stone, marked only with an initial "R."[citation needed]
References
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b 'Semi-Centennial History,' Henry Frank Tyrrell and George H. Noyes, Insurance, Life:1908, pg. 67
- ^ a b "Rountree, John Hawkins 1805 - 1890". Wisconsin Historical Society. 8 August 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- OL 22879013M. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Lusignan, Paul R. (March 25, 1986). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form: J. H. Rountree Mansion (Report). National Park Service. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Heggland, Timothy F. (February 19, 2007). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form: Bayley Avenue Historic District (Report). National Park Service. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
- ^ Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 163–171. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ Quaife, Milo, ed., The Attainment of Statehood, vol. 4 of Constitutional Series Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1928; p. 402
- ^ Dean, John S.; Stewart, Frank M., eds. (1863). "Legislative Department" (PDF). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 89, 90, 128. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "Legislative Department" (PDF). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1867. pp. 166, 168–169, 177, 182, 185. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
