Isaac Whitbeck Van Schaick (December 7, 1817 – August 22, 1901) was an American businessman and Republican politician. He served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He also served six years in the Wisconsin State Senate and two years in the State Assembly. His nephew, Aaron Van Schaick Cochrane, was also a member of congress.

Isaac W. Van Schaick
Photo by C. M. Bell, ca. 1890
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Preceded byHenry Smith
Succeeded byJohn L. Mitchell
In office
March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1887
Preceded byPeter V. Deuster
Succeeded byHenry Smith
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 1, 1877 – January 1, 1883
Preceded byRobert Hall Baker
Succeeded byJedd Philo Clark Cottrill
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Milwaukee 1st district
In office
January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876
Preceded byAlfred L. Cary
Succeeded byPatrick Drew
In office
January 6, 1873 – January 5, 1874
Preceded byJohn W. Cary
Succeeded byAlfred L. Cary
Personal details
BornDecember 7, 1817
Coxsackie, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 22, 1901(1901-08-22) (aged 83)
Catonsville, Maryland, U.S.
Resting placeAthens Rural Cemetery
Athens, New York
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Eliza Sanderson
(m. 1842⁠–⁠1901)
RelativesAaron Van Schaick Cochrane (nephew)
OccupationManufacturer

Early life edit

Van Schaick was born in Coxsackie, New York, on December 7, 1817. He was educated in the common schools there and worked on his father's farm. He engaged in the manufacture of glue in New York. He moved to Chicago in 1857, and to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1861, where he was in the flour-milling business with his wife's family. After the American Civil War, Van Schaick traveled to Arkansas and worked for in the cotton industry. He returned to Milwaukee three years later.[1]

Politics edit

Van Schaick was elected to the Milwaukee Common Council in 1871. He served as member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1873 and 1875. He served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1877 to 1882.

Van Schaick was elected as a Republican to the Forty-ninth Congress in 1884 as the representative of Wisconsin's 4th congressional district. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1886, and was succeeded by Henry Smith of the Union Labor Party.

Van Schaick defeated Smith for election to the 51st United States Congress in 1888, receiving 22,212 votes to 20,685 for Smith (running on the Democratic and Labor tickets), 527 for Socialist John Schuler and 302 for Prohibitionist George Heckendorn.[2] He was not a candidate for renomination to Congress in 1890, and was succeeded by Democrat John Lendrum Mitchell. In 1892 he ran unsuccessfully for State Senator from the 4th district, losing to Democrat James W. Murphy.[3]

Late life edit

He moved to Catonsville, Maryland, in 1894, where he lived in retirement until his death there August 22, 1901. He was interred in Athens Cemetery, Athens, New York.

Personal life and family edit

Isaac Van Schaick married Eliza Sanderson, daughter of John Sanderson and Margaret Whitfield, in 1842, in Athens, New York. She survived him, but died two years later, in 1903.

Electoral history edit

Wisconsin Assembly (1872, 1874) edit

Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee 1st District Election, 1872
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick 510 85.28%
Democratic Jacob Braun 88 14.72%
Total votes 598 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic
Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee 1st District Election, 1874
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick 752 56.54%
Democratic John W. Cary 578 43.46%
Total votes 1,330 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Senate (1876, 1878, 1880) edit

Wisconsin Senate, 5th District Election, 1876
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick 4,563 58.78%
Democratic Henry C. Runkle 3,200 41.22%
Total votes 7,763 100.0%
Republican hold
Wisconsin Senate, 5th District Election, 1878
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick (incumbent) 3,437 53.80%
Democratic David G. Hooker 2,639 41.31%
Greenback Robert Gunyan 312 4.88%
Total votes 6,388 100.0%
Republican hold
Wisconsin Senate, 5th District Election, 1880
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick (incumbent) 5,678 60.05%
Democratic Henry Smith 3,778 39.95%
Total votes 9,456 100.0%
Republican hold

U.S. House of Representatives (1884) edit

Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District Election, 1884
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick 16,783 49.05% +7.31%
Democratic Peter V. Deuster (incumbent) 15,907 46.49% -2.11%
Greenback Henry Smith 1,296 3.79%
Prohibition C. E. Reed 226 0.66%
Harrison C. Hobart (write-in) 1 0.00%
Plurality 876 2.56% -4.30%
Total votes 34,213 100.0% +71.66%
Republican gain from Democratic

U.S. House of Representatives (1888) edit

Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District Election, 1888[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick 22,212 50.80% +20.10%
Democratic Henry Smith (incumbent) 20,685 47.31% +4.80%
Socialist John Schuler 527 1.21%
Prohibition George M. Heckendorn 302 0.69% +0.10%
Write-ins 3 0.00%
Plurality 1,527 3.49% -8.32%
Total votes 43,729 100.0% +39.18%
Republican gain from Labor

Wisconsin Senate (1892) edit

Wisconsin Senate, 4th District Election, 1892[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic James W. Murphy 5,214 51.01% +15.47%
Republican Isaac W. Van Schaick 4,824 47.19% -4.32%
Prohibition William Bendike 98 0.96% +0.74%
Populist Meschaff 86 0.84%
Plurality 390 3.82% -12.15%
Total votes 10,222 100.0% +0.06%
Democratic gain from Republican

References edit

  1. ^ "Isaac W. Van Schaick". The Baltimore Sun. August 23, 1901. p. 7. Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b Timme, Ernst G., ed. (1889). "Biographical" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 488. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cunningham, Thomas J., ed. (1893). "Biographical" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 627. Retrieved December 26, 2021.

External links edit

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 1st district
January 6, 1873 – January 5, 1874
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 1st district
January 4, 1875 – January 3, 1876
Succeeded by
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 5th district
January 1, 1877 – January 1, 1883
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 4th congressional district

March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1887
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 4th congressional district

March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Succeeded by