Robert Lees (politician)

Robert Lees (July 3, 1842 – September 21, 1908) was a Scottish American immigrant, lawyer, judge, and Democratic politician. He served four years in the Wisconsin State Senate and one year in the State Assembly, and served as county judge of Buffalo County, Wisconsin, for the last 27 years of his life. During the American Civil War, he served in the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac and was badly wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Robert Lees
County Judge of Buffalo County, Wisconsin
In office
January 2, 1882 – September 21, 1908
Preceded byConrad Moser Jr.
Succeeded byMartin L. Fugina
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 29th district
In office
January 5, 1891 – January 7, 1895
Preceded byJohn W. DeGroff
Succeeded byJames Huff Stout
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Buffalo district
In office
January 6, 1873 – January 5, 1874
Preceded byGeorge Cowie
Succeeded byAugustus F. Finkelnburg
Personal details
Born(1842-07-03)July 3, 1842
Coatbridge, Scotland, UK
DiedSeptember 21, 1908(1908-09-21) (aged 66)
La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S.
Cause of deathStroke
Resting placeAlma Cemetery, Alma, Wisconsin
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary Baertsch
(m. 1865⁠–⁠1908)
Children
  • Edward Lees
  • (b. 1865; died 1928)
  • May Mary Lees
  • (b. 1868; died 1930)
  • Isabel (Fetter)
  • (b. 1871; died 1944)
  • Andrew Lees
  • (b. 1872; died 1943)
  • Alice Lees
  • (b. 1875; died 1913)
  • Cora (Gesell)
  • (b. 1883; died 1976)
Parent
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service1861–1864
Rank1st Sergeant, USV
Unit6th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Biography

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Lees was born on July 3, 1842, in Coatbridge, Scotland, near Glasgow, in July 1842. As a child, he emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1848, settling first at Waukesha County, Wisconsin, then moving to Cross township in Buffalo County in 1855.[1] At the time, Buffalo County was a pioneer community with limited educational opportunities, but studied law under his father, Edward Lees.[1]

Civil War service

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At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, he joined up as a private with a company of volunteers for the Union Army. His company was enrolled as Company H, in the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.[1] The 6th Wisconsin Infantry was sent to the eastern theater of the war and organized into a brigade which soon became known as the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac.[2] Lees served with the regiment through its participation in the major battles of the eastern theater, including Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, and was promoted to first sergeant in the company.[3] At Gettysburg, he was severely wounded and taken prisoner by the enemy. He was subsequently paroled and sent to a Union Army hospital, where he remained until mustered out of federal service in July 1864.[1]

Political career

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After being discharged, Lees returned to Buffalo County and established a home in Gilmantown. His wounds left him incapable of farm work, so he devoted the next several years to teaching at rural schools and was subsequently elected superintendent of schools for Buffalo County.[1]

Lees became active with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. In 1872, he won election to the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Buffalo County's Assembly district.[3] He continued studying law and was admitted to the bar shortly after his Assembly term. In 1881, he was elected county judge of Buffalo County, and was subsequently re-elected in 1885, 1889, 1893, 1897, 1901, and 1905. While serving as judge, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1890 in Wisconsin's 29th State Senate district, then-comprising Buffalo, Barron, Dunn, and Pepin counties.[4] He was not a candidate for re-election to the Senate in 1894. He served as county judge for the rest of his life.[5]

Lees suffered a Stroke in September 1908, and died a few days later at his home in Alma, Wisconsin.[5]

Personal life and family

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Robert Lees was the son of Edward Lees. Edward Lees was also a self-taught lawyer and served four terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly. On March 4, 1865, Robert Lees married Mary Baertsch, the daughter of another family of Buffalo County pioneers. They had six children together.[1]

Their eldest son, Edward, became a lawyer in Winona, Minnesota, and served as court commissioner of the Minnesota Supreme Court for 10 years. Another son, Andrew, became a prominent attorney in La Crosse, Wisconsin.[1]

Robert Lees was described as a friend of Edward S. Bragg, who had been colonel of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry and later served as a U.S. congressman and a leader of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.[5] In Bragg's final bid for election to the United States Senate in 1893, Lees was the sole vote for Bragg in the official tabulation.[6]

Electoral history

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Wisconsin Assembly (1872)

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Wisconsin Assembly, Buffalo District Election, 1872[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 5, 1872
Democratic Robert Lees 930 54.26%
Republican Robert Henry 784 45.74%
Plurality 146 8.52%
Total votes 1,714 100.0% +10.72%
Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate (1890)

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Wisconsin Senate, 29th District Election, 1890[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 4, 1890
Democratic Robert Lees 3,414 55.27% +20.75%
Republican J. L. Lindeman 2,763 44.73% −14.64%
Plurality 651 10.54% -14.31%
Total votes 6,177 100.0% +9.50%
Democratic gain from Republican

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn, ed. (1919). History of Buffalo and Pepin Counties, Wisconsin. Vol. 2. Winona, Minnesota: H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co. pp. 595–596, 943. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Quiner, Edwin B. (1866). "The Iron Brigade of the West". The Military History of Wisconsin. Clarke & Co. pp. 443–482. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Turner, A. J., ed. (1873). "Official Directory" (PDF). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin. State of Wisconsin. pp. 440–441. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Cunningham, Thomas J., ed. (1893). "Biographical" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin. State of Wisconsin. p. 633. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Judge Lees Dead". Green Bay Press-Gazette. September 22, 1908. p. 2. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Election of United States Senator". Journal of Proceedings of the Session of the Wisconsin Assembly. Wisconsin Legislature: 74. 1893. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via HathiTrust.
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Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Buffalo district
January 6, 1873 – January 5, 1874
Succeeded by
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 29th district
January 5, 1891 – January 7, 1895
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by County Judge of Buffalo County, Wisconsin
January 2, 1882 – September 21, 1908
Succeeded by
Martin L. Fugina