Hanmer Robbins (December 11, 1815 – July 9, 1890) was a teacher from Platteville, Wisconsin who served several times as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

He was born in Deerfield, New York.[1] He moved to Platteville, Wisconsin in May 1837 and began teaching the village school. Besides teaching, he also was a farmer and miner.[2] On June 1, 1847, he married Annette L. Goodell.[3] They had seven children.[4][5]

Career

Robbins opened a school in a log house with 60 students in attendance.[6] He taught for a few years in that structure until additional schools were developed.

Robbins was town superintendent of schools from 1854 to 1860.[7] He was a member of the State Board of Regents for Normal Schools for ten years and made significant contributions towards the creation of multiple normal schools across the state.[8]

Robbins was a member of the Assembly on four occasions: from 1857 to 1858, in 1861,[9] in 1864, and from 1867 to 1868. Later, Robbins was an unsuccessful candidate for the Assembly, losing to Thomas G. Stephens. He was a Republican.[9]

He contributed to the development of the railroad through Platteville by gathering funds. The track, finished within three years, ran through Platteville in 1870.[6]

His greatest contribution was his dedication to public education in Platteville. Fifteen years after his death, the Hanmer Robbins school was built in 1905. It was Platteville's first official high school. In 1981, the building was repurposed as part of the Rollo Jamison museum.

References

  1. ^ "Hanmer Robbins". RootsWeb. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  2. ^ C.W. Butterfield's History 1881 Grant County, Wisconsin. Windmill Publications. 1881.
  3. ^ "Wisconsin, County Marriages, 1836-1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XR2L-F2Z : 3 June 2016), Hanmer Robbins and Annetta L. Goodell, 03 Jun 1847; citing , Grant, Wisconsin, United States, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison; FHL microfilm 1,266,982.
  4. ^ "Harmon Robbins [sic]". Green Bay Press-Gazette. June 12, 1890. p. 4. Retrieved June 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Wisconsin Death Index, 1820-1907," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJPM-D8V : 12 December 2014), Hamner Robbins, 09 Jul 1890; from "Wisconsin Deaths, 1820-1907," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2000); citing p. 0295, volume 02, Grant, Wisconsin, reel 031, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Vital Records Division, Madison.
  6. ^ a b Holford, Castello N. (1900). History of Grant County, Wisconsin: Including Its Civil, Political, Geological, Mineralogical, Archaeological and Military History, and a History of the Several Towns. Walsworth Publishing Company.
  7. ^ C.W. Butterfield's History 1881 Grant County, Wisconsin. Windmill Publications. 1881.
  8. ^ C.W. Butterfield's History 1881 Grant County, Wisconsin. Windmill Publications. 1881.
  9. ^ a b "The Legislature—List of Members Elected". Janesville Daily Gazette. December 22, 1860. p. 3. Retrieved June 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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