Frederick William Horn (August 21, 1815 – January 15, 1893) was a German-American immigrant, lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served in many elected offices; he was the 4th, 7th, & 25th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and served a total of 14 years in the Assembly. He also served five years in the Wisconsin State Senate—including the first three sessions after statehood—and was the first mayor of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, serving seven years in that role. He generally identified as a Democrat, but was elected several times as an Independent.

Frederick W. Horn
Portrait ca. 1872 by Hugo Broich
4th, 7th, & 25th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 13, 1875 – January 12, 1876
Preceded byGabriel Bouck
Succeeded bySam Fifield
In office
January 11, 1854 – January 10, 1855
Preceded byHenry L. Palmer
Succeeded byCharles C. Sholes
In office
January 8, 1851 – January 14, 1852
Preceded byMoses M. Strong
Succeeded byJames McMillan Shafter
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
In office
January 5, 1891 – January 15, 1893
Preceded byPeter Lochen
Succeeded byStephen F. Mayer
Constituency33rd Senate district
In office
June 5, 1848 – January 6, 1851
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byHarvey G. Turner
Constituency11th Senate district
1st Mayor of Cedarburg, Wisconsin
In office
April 1885 – April 1892
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJohn F. Bruss
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Ozaukee district
In office
January 3, 1887 – January 5, 1891
Preceded byJohn J. Race
Succeeded byWilliam Henry Fitzgerald
In office
January 2, 1882 – January 1, 1883
Preceded byCharles G. Meyer
Succeeded byJohn J. Race
In office
January 7, 1867 – January 4, 1869
Preceded byJames McCarthy
Succeeded byJob Haskell
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Ozaukee 2nd district
In office
January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876
Preceded byAdolphus Zimmermann
Succeeded byWilliam Carbys
In office
January 1, 1872 – January 6, 1873
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byAdolphus Zimmermann
In office
January 3, 1859 – January 7, 1861
Preceded byAlexander M. Alling
Succeeded byWilliam F. Opitz
In office
January 5, 1857 – January 4, 1858
Preceded byWilliam Vogenitz
Succeeded byAlexander M. Alling
In office
January 2, 1854 – January 1, 1855
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byWilliam H. Ramsey
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Washington 1st district
In office
January 6, 1851 – January 5, 1852
Preceded bySolon Johnson
Succeeded bySimon D. Powers
Chairman of the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors
In office
April 1889 – January 15, 1893
Personal details
Born(1815-08-21)August 21, 1815
Linum, Brandenburg, Prussia
DiedJanuary 15, 1893(1893-01-15) (aged 77)
Cedarburg, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeCedarburg Cemetery
Cedarburg, Wisconsin
Political party
Spouse(s)
Adelheid Schaelher
(m. 1845; died 1849)

Minna Schaper
(m. 1850⁠–⁠1893)
Children
  • Bertha B. (Zaun)
  • (b. 1850; died 1918)
  • Clara
  • (b. 1853; died 1900)
  • Ernestine
  • (b. 1856; died 1875)
  • William Horn
  • (b. 1859; died 1927)
  • Minna
  • (b. 1861; died 1900)
  • Alex W. Horn
  • (b. 1862; died 1919)
  • Johanna (Altenhofen)
  • (b. 1866; died 1932)
Professionlawyer

Early life and career

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Horn was born in Linum, in the Province of Brandenburg, in the Kingdom of Prussia. He was educated in Berlin, at the Gymnasium of the Gray Friar, but did not graduate, and entered the military service of Prussia.

He emigrated to the United States in 1836, first residing in New York state, then making his way west in 1837. He made his residence in Michigan but traveled extensively through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and finally Wisconsin. He arrived in Milwaukee, in the Wisconsin Territory, in 1840 and, in 1841, settled in Mequon, in what was then Washington County. He resided here until his final move, to the neighboring community of Cedarburg, in 1847. He practiced law in Cedarburg and served as Mayor. He was editor of the Cedarburg Weekly News.

In 1842 Horn entered his first public office when James Duane Doty, Governor of the Wisconsin Territory, appointed him Justice of the Peace for Washington County.

Political career

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He served as postmaster for Mequon, while he was residing there, was Register of Deeds for the county in 1846 and 1847, and served on the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors

In 1848, he ran for and was elected to the first session of the Wisconsin State Senate, running as an independent Democrat. He was re-elected in November 1848 to a full two-year term in the Senate.[1]

In 1850, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1851 session, and was chosen as the Speaker of the Assembly for that session. In 1853, Ozaukee County was created out of the eastern part of Washington County. That same year, Horn was elected as one of the first two representatives of Ozaukee County in the Wisconsin Assembly for the 1854 session, he was again chosen as Speaker for that session.[1]

Later in 1854 and 1855, he served as Wisconsin's Commissioner for Immigration in New York City, directing new immigrants and settlers to Wisconsin.[1]

He served again in the 1859 and 1860 sessions of the Wisconsin Assembly. Also during this time, he represented Wisconsin on the Democratic National Committee, and was Vice President of the 1860 Democratic National Conventions in Charleston and Baltimore. He was also a delegate for Wisconsin at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.[1]

He served as Ozaukee County Commissioner of Schools from 1862 to 1865, but returned to the Assembly again in 1867, 1868, and 1872. He was elected in 1874 with both Democratic and Republican support, and was then chosen as Speaker again for the 1875 session of the Assembly. He went on to serve another five years in the Assembly, in 1882, 1887, 1888, 1889, and 1890.[1]

In 1890, he was elected to a four-year term in the Wisconsin State Senate, but he would die in January 1893 before the end of that term.[1][2][3]

Horn was also active in local politics during this time, serving as Mayor of Cedarburg for the first seven years after it was incorporated as a city in 1885, and serving as Chairman of the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors for the last four years of his life, from 1889 to 1893.[1]

Horn is the namesake of the community of Horns Corners, Wisconsin.[4]

Family and personal life

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Horn married Adelheid Schaelher in 1845, but she died in 1849. They had no children. Horn married for a second time in 1850. With his second wife, Minna Schaper, Horn had seven children. Horn died January 15, 1893, in Cedarburg.[5]

Electoral history

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Wisconsin Assembly (1874)

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Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee 2nd District Election, 1874
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1874
Independent Democrat Frederick W. Horn 444 42.13%
Reform William F. Jahn 334 31.69%
Reform R. Schmidt 276 26.19%
Total votes 1,054 100.0%
Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly (1881, 1886, 1888)

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Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee District Election, 1881
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 1881
Democratic Frederick W. Horn 690 42.07%
Independent Democrat James McCarthy 527 32.13%
Republican Alexander M. Alling 423 25.79%
Total votes 1,640 100.0%
Democratic hold
Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee District Election, 1886
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 2, 1886
Independent Democrat Frederick W. Horn 1,648 61.33%
Democratic H. B. Schwim 1,039 38.67%
Total votes 2,687 100.0%
Democratic hold
Wisconsin Assembly, Ozaukee District Election, 1888
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 6, 1888
Independent Democrat Frederick W. Horn (incumbent) 1,888 40.67%
Democratic John J. Race 1,438 30.98%
Republican Alexander M. Alling 1,316 28.35%
Total votes 4,642 100.0%
Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate (1890)

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Wisconsin Senate, 33rd District Election, 1890
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 4, 1890
Democratic Frederick W. Horn 7,097 71.00%
Republican J. E. Trottman 2,878 28.79%
Prohibition Mr. Thayer 21 0.21%
Total votes 9,996 100.0%
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Biographical". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin, 1893 (Report). p. 634. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  2. ^ Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Bar Association: 1901, Biographical Sketch Of Frederick W. Horn, pg. 284
  3. ^ "Horn, Frederick William 1815 - 1893". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Newland Became Cedarburg". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 4 September 1967. pp. Part 5, Page 5. Retrieved 23 April 2015.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Reed, Parker McCobb (1882). The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. P. M. Reed. p. 408. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
Wisconsin State Assembly
New county established Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee 2nd district
January 2, 1854 – January 1, 1855
Succeeded by
William H. Ramsey
Preceded by
William Vogenitz
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee 2nd district
January 5, 1857 – January 4, 1858
Succeeded by
Alexander M. Alling
Preceded by
Alexander M. Alling
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee 2nd district
January 3, 1859 – January 7, 1861
Succeeded by
Preceded by
James McCarthy
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee district
January 7, 1867 – January 4, 1869
Succeeded by
New district established Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee 2nd district
January 1, 1872 – January 6, 1873
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Adolphus Zimmermann
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee 2nd district
January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876
Succeeded by
William Carbys
Preceded by
Charles G. Meyer
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee district
January 2, 1882 – January 1, 1883
Succeeded by
John J. Race
Preceded by
John J. Race
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ozaukee district
January 3, 1887 – January 5, 1891
Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
1851 – 1852
Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
1854 – 1855
Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
1875 – 1876
Succeeded by
Wisconsin Senate
New state government Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 11th Senate district
June 5, 1848 – January 6, 1851
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 33rd Senate district
January 5, 1891 – January 15, 1893
Succeeded by
Political offices
City incorporated Mayor of Cedarburg, Wisconsin
April 1885 – April 1892
Succeeded by
John F. Bruss