2nd Wisconsin Legislature
← 1st 3rd →
Wisconsin State Capitol, 1855
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 1, 1849 – January 7, 1850
Election	November 7, 1848
Senate
Members	19
Senate President	John Edwin Holmes
Party control	Democratic
Assembly
Members	66
Assembly Speaker	Harrison Carroll Hobart
Party control	Democratic
Sessions
1st January 10, 1849 – April 2, 1849

The Second Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1849, to April 2, 1849, in regular session. Senators representing odd numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Senators representing even numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term.^[1]

Major events

• March 4, 1849: Inauguration of Zachary Taylor as the 12th President of the United States.
• November 6, 1849: Nelson Dewey re-elected Governor of Wisconsin.

Major legislation

• February 8, 1849: Joint resolution related to Slavery and the Slave trade, 1849 Joint Resolution 2
• March 6, 1849: Act to extend the boundaries of the county of Marquette, 1849 Act 73
• March 8, 1849: Act in relation to the boundaries of the counties of Columbia, Adams, Sauk, Chippewa, La Pointe, and St. Croix, 1849 Act 77
• March 8, 1849: Act to extend the boundaries of Winnebago county, 1849 Act 79
• March 10, 1849: Joint resolution relative to a proposed amendment to the constitution of the United States, concerning the election of Senators in congress, 1849 Joint Resolution 5
• March 22, 1849: Act submitting the question of the extension of the right of suffrage to a vote of the People, 1849 Act 137. Setting a referendum for the 1849 general election which would grant voting rights to African Americans living in Wisconsin. The referendum passed, but the legality was challenged. The Wisconsin Supreme Court finally upheld the result of the 1849 referendum in the 1866 case of Gillespie v Palmer and others.^[2]
• March 31, 1849: Joint resolution instructing the Hon. Isaac P. Walker to resign his seat as United States Senator, 1849 Joint Resolution 9.
• March 31, 1849: An Act in relation to homicide. Created Wisconsin's first law criminalizing abortion.

Party summary

Senate summary

Assembly summary

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 10, 1849 – April 2, 1849^[1]

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: John E. Holmes, Lieutenant Governor^[1]

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: Harrison Carroll Hobart^[1]

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Second Wisconsin Legislature (19):^[1]

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Second Wisconsin Legislature (66):^[1][3][4]

Employees

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: William Rudolph Smith
• Assistant Clerk: P. N. Bovee
• Enrolling Clerk: G. W. Boardman
• Engrossing Clerk: Henry B. Welsh
• Transcribing Clerk: William Dutcher
• Messenger: Moritz Morgenstine
• Doorkeeper: J. S. Delno
• Fireman: S. B. Sibley
• Sergeant-at-Arms: W. Shellmer

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: Robert L. Ream
• Chief Clerk pro tem: Daniel Noble Johnson
• Assistant Clerk: William Hull
• Assistant Clerk pro tem: Alexander T. Gray
• Enrolling Clerk: Aaron V. Fryer
• Engrossing Clerk: J. J. Driggs
• Transcribing Clerk: Lyman Cowderey
• Messenger: Marshall Ten Eyk
• Doorkeeper: C. W. White
• Fireman: Samuel Noyes
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Felix McLinden