E. B. West

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E. B. West
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 13th district
In office
January 15, 1852 – January 3, 1853
Preceded byGeorge Hyer
Succeeded byCharles Dunn
Personal details
Bornc.1804
Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died (aged 49)
Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placePrairie Home Cemetery, Waukesha, Wisconsin
Political partyWhig
Spouse
Sarah S. Sterling
​
​
(m. 1833⁠–⁠1854)​
Children
  • Frederick West
  • (b. 1835)
  • Theodore West
  • (b. 1836)
  • Edmund B. West Jr.
  • (b. 1849)
  • Julius S. West
  • (b. 1852; died 1919)
Relatives
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
ProfessionDentist, physician, surgeon

Edmund B. West (c.1804 – February 3, 1854) was an American dentist, physician, surgeon, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was one of the first dentists in the Wisconsin Territory, and went on to serve one year in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Waukesha County.

Biography[edit]

Edmund B. West was born in Pennsylvania, likely in 1804 (during his term in the Wisconsin State Senate, he was noted as being the eldest member of the Senate at age 47, as of January 1852[1]). He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and worked as a physician in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, from 1825 until 1841.[2] While residing in Wyoming County, he was active in politics as a leader of the local chapter of the Anti-Masonic Party, a forerunner of the Whig Party.[3]

He arrived in the city of Milwaukee around 1843 and began operating as a dentist and dental surgeon. At the time, he was one of the first professional dentists operating in the Wisconsin Territory.[4] Around 1847, he moved west to the town of Waukesha, where he operated as a general physician and surgeon.

Dr. West was first referenced in Wisconsin's political affairs in 1848, when he wrote as an advocate for Waukesha County physicians about what they saw as overly onerous state rules regarding the medical practice in the new state.[5] In 1850, he was the Whig Party's nominee for Wisconsin State Assembly in Waukesha County's 4th State Assembly district (Waukesha and New Berlin).[6] He was defeated by Democrat William A. Cone in that general election.[7]

A year later, State Senator George Hyer announced his resignation from the Senate in the middle of his term. Dr. West was selected as the Whig nominee for the January 1852 special election; the Free Soil Party, satisfied with his state position opposing the expansion of slavery and opposing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, chose to endorse his candidacy rather than running their own candidate.[8] West won a narrow victory over Democrat William H. Thomas, in what was then a fairly reliable Democratic district, and represented Waukesha County in the Wisconsin State Senate for the 5th Wisconsin Legislature.[9]

The status of the Wisconsin Supreme Court was a considered issue during the 1852 legislative session, as corruption charges had been brought to the Legislature by attorney Edward G. Ryan—who would become a member of the court 20 years later. Dr. West was assigned to a three-member committee to investigate, but found no merit to the charges.[10] Nevertheless, shortly thereafter, the Legislature voted to abolish the current Supreme Court—which was simply composed of the state circuit court judges—and establish a new three-member Supreme Court to be elected by statewide popular vote.[11]

1852 also saw the incorporation of the Village of Waukesha and the first election of village officers. West was a candidate for Village President in the first election that summer, but fell 7 votes short of Nelson Burrows.[12]

The 1852 Legislature also performed the first legislative redistricting of the state, and Waukesha County was subsequently divided into two Senate districts as the State Senate expanded from 19 members to 25.[13] West ran for a full term in the new 10th Senate district, which covered the southern half of Waukesha County. This time, the Free Soil Party ran their own candidate in the race, Reverend Henry H. Van Amringe.[14] In the three-way race, Dr. West came in a distant 3rd, with the Democrat, Marvin H. Bovee, winning the seat.[15]

Dr. West died one year after leaving office, on February 3, 1854, at his residence in Waukesha, after an illness of several months.[16]

Personal life and family[edit]

E. B. West was the sixth of nine children born to Elias West and his wife Mary "Polly" (née Armstrong). The Wests were descendants of Francis West, a carpenter who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from England in the 1630s.[17]

Electoral history[edit]

Wisconsin Assembly (1850)[edit]

Wisconsin Assembly, Waukesha 4th District Election, 1850[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
General Election, November 5, 1850
Democratic William A. Cone 308 57.25%
Whig E. B. West 230 42.75%
Plurality 78 14.50%
Total votes 538 100.0%
Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate, 13th district (1852)[edit]

Wisconsin Senate, 13th District Special Election, 1852[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Special Election, January 7, 1852
Whig E. B. West 992 54.39%
Democratic William H. Thomas 821 45.01%
Scattering 11 0.60%
Plurality 171 9.38%
Total votes 1,824 100.0%
Whig gain from Democratic

Waukesha Village President (1852)[edit]

Waukesha Village President Election, 1852[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Charter Election, June 30, 1852
Democratic Nelson Burrows 127 50.20%
Whig E. B. West 120 47.43%
Independent S. S. Case 3 1.19%
Independent John Bailey 1 0.40%
Scattering 2 0.79%
Plurality 7 2.77%
Total votes 253 100.0%
Democratic win (new seat)

Wisconsin Senate, 10th district (1852)[edit]

Wisconsin Senate, 10th District Election, 1852[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
General Election, November 2, 1852
Democratic Marvin H. Bovee 801 44.38%
Free Soil Henry H. Van Amringe 626 34.68%
Whig E. B. West 378 20.94%
Plurality 175 9.70%
Total votes 1,805 100.0%
Democratic gain from Whig

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Statistics of the Legislature". Daily Free Democrat. January 28, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Wyoming County". History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa. New York City: W. W. Munsell & Co. 1880. p. 519. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  3. ^ "Anti-Masonic Republican Meeting". The Wyoming Herald. September 24, 1830. p. 3. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Dr. E. B. West, Dentist". Milwaukee Daily Sentinel. June 13, 1845. p. 4. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Editor Daily Wisconsin". Wisconsin Democrat. December 2, 1848. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Whig Nomination". Waukesha Democrat. October 8, 1850. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Official Canvass of Waukesha County". Waukesha Democrat. November 19, 1850. p. 1. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Whig Nomination". Daily Free Democrat. January 3, 1852. p. 3. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Whig Victory in Waukesha!". Watertown Chronicle. January 14, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Fifth Annual Session". Journal of the Senate of the State of Wisconsin. Chas. T. Wakeley, State Printer: 572. 1852. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  11. ^ An Act to provide for the organization of a separate Supreme Court, and for the election of Justices thereof (PDF) (Act 395). Wisconsin Legislature. 1852. p. 601.
  12. ^ a b The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company. 1880. p. 637. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  13. ^ An Act to apportion and district anew the members of the Senate and Assembly of the State of Wisconsin (PDF) (Act 499). Wisconsin Legislature. 1852. p. 775.
  14. ^ "A Clear Field and a Fair Fight". Waukesha Democrat. October 12, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b c "Marvin H. Bovee". Waukesha Democrat. November 9, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Death of Hon. E. B. West". Wisconsin State Journal. February 7, 1854. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Cornwall, Edward Everett (1906). Francis West of Duxbury, Mass., and Some of his Descendants. New England Historic Genealogical Society. p. 8. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 13th district
January 15, 1852 – January 3, 1853 		Succeeded by
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