Edward Sauerhering(June 24, 1864 – March 1, 1924) was aGerman AmericanpharmacistandRepublicanpolitician fromDodge County, Wisconsin.He was a member of theU.S. House of Representativesfor two terms, representingWisconsin's 2nd congressional districtduring the54thand55thcongresses (1895–1899). He was author of one of the first significantdairylaws in Congress, placing taxes and regulations on pseudo-dairy products like margarine. His father, Rudolf Sauerhering, was the first village president ofMayville, Wisconsin.
Edward Sauerhering | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's2nddistrict | |
| In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1899 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Barwig |
| Succeeded by | Herman Dahle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 24, 1864 Mayville, Wisconsin,U.S. |
| Died | March 1, 1924(aged 59) Mayville, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Resting place | Saint Marys Catholic Cemetery, Mayville |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Eugenia Langenbach
(m.1885–1924) |
| Children |
|
| Parent |
|
| Education | Chicago College of Pharmacy |
| Profession | Pharmacist |
Early life and education
editEdward Sauerhering was born inMayville, Wisconsin,on June 24, 1864. He attended public schools in Mayville until age 16, when he went to work at his father's drug store.[1]He went on to attend theChicago College of Pharmacy,where he graduated in 1885.[2]
After graduating, he worked in the drug business for three years inChicagobefore returning to Mayville.[1]
Political career
editAround this time, Sauerhering became active in politics with theRepublican Party of Wisconsin.As a German Catholic Republican, Sauerhering was a demographic outlier in 1890s Wisconsin. The German American population was generally split by religious denomination, with Protestants favoring the Republicans and Catholics favoring the Democrats. In the early 1890s, however, the German American population in Wisconsin was mostly unified against the Republican Party due to a compulsory English-language education law, passed as part of a larger education law referred to as the "Bennett Law"in the 1889 legislature. The issue was then exacerbated by some comments from the Republican Governor that were interpreted as xenophobic and anti-Catholic.
In 1891 Sauerhering was nominated on the Republican Party slate for Mayville city council but was not elected.[3]In 1892, Sauerhering was elected chairman of theDodge CountyRepublican Party. That fall, he was the Republican nominee forWisconsin State Assemblyin Dodge County's 1st Assembly district—comprising roughly the northeast quarter of the county. Nominations in 1892 were unusually late due to litigation overredistricting.Sauerhering officially received the nomination on October 22, seventeen days before the election.[4]Sauerhering faced Democratic incumbentBennett Sampsonin the general election, and lost by nearly a 2-to-1 margin.[5]
Undaunted, the next spring, Sauerhering ran for mayor of Mayville, but lost to Carl A. Barwig, son of congressmanCharles Barwig.[6]
Sauerhering, as chairman of the Dodge County Republicans, appeared at the 2nd congressional district convention in 1894 to organize a ticket. In the 1890s,Wisconsin's 2nd congressional districtcomprised Dane, Dodge, Columbia, and Jefferson counties, in south-central Wisconsin. The delegates' preferred candidate, Jefferson County state representativeGeorge Grimm,refused the congressional nomination; the convention eventually chose Sauerhering instead, some newspapers speculated that this was because Sauerhering was from the same city as the Democratic incumbent, Barwig.[7][8]
Sauerhering faced the incumbent,Charles Barwig,in the general election. The political mood had turned decisively against the Democrats in 1894, due to fallout from thePanic of 1893,which Republicans blamed on Democratic free trade policies. A Republican wave saw Republicans gain 104 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.[9]Sauerhering prevailed in one of the closest races in the country, defeating Barwig by just 265 votes.[10]Sauerhering won a second term by a wide margin 1896, defeating former Madison mayorWilliam H. Rogers.[11]His chief accomplishment in Congress was passage of an act defining cheese as a puredairyproduct without addition of other animal fats or vegetable oils. The act also placed taxes and regulations onmargarineand other "filled cheese" products.[1][12] He declined to run again in 1898, returning to his family drug store.[2]
Later years
editAfter leaving office, Sauerhering mostly focused on his drug business, but held local office. He was Mayville's superintendent of public works from 1909 to 1918, during which time he played a role in the construction of a new waterworks in the city. He also served as ajustice of the peacefrom 1912 to 1920.[2]
Sauerhering died at his home in Mayvile on March 1, 1924, after five years of illness.[13]He was interred at Mayville's Graceland Cemetery.[14]
Personal life and family
editEdward Sauerhering was one of five children born to Rudolf Sauerhering and his wife Henrietta (néeHartwig). Both parents wereGerman Americanimmigrants fromEast Prussia(present dayPoland). Rudolf Sauerhering was the first village president of Mayville; he and his brother, Adolph Sauerhering, where both pharmacists educated at theUniversity of Königsberg.They came to Wisconsin in the early 1850s and were among the first drug store operators in eastern Dodge County.[15]
Edward Sauerhering married Eugenia Langenbach on June 29, 1889.[16]Eugenia was also a first generation American and a child of German emigrants. They had three children together.[13]Their son, Adolph, served in the United States Army duringWorld War I.Both sons eventually adopted the shortened surname "Sauer".
Electoral history
editWisconsin Assembly (1892)
edit| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892[5] | General | Nov. 8 | Bennett Sampson(inc) | Democratic | 2,113 | 66.01% | Edward Sauerhering | Rep. | 1,088 | 33.99% | 3,201 | 1,025 |
Mayville Mayor (1893)
edit| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893[6] | General | Apr. 4 | Carl A. Barwig | Democratic | 164 | 58.99% | Edward Sauerhering | Rep. | 114 | 41.01% | 278 | 50 |
U.S. House (1894, 1896)
edit| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894[10] | General | Nov. 6 | Edward Sauerhering | Republican | 18,197 | 47.87% | Charles Barwig(inc) | Dem. | 17,932 | 47.17% | 38,017 | 265 |
| J. J. Sutton | Proh. | 1,433 | 3.77% | |||||||||
| B. W. Hewitt | Peo. | 120 | 1.20% | |||||||||
| 1896[11] | General | Nov. 3 | Edward Sauerhering(inc) | Republican | 24,011 | 56.48% | William H. Rogers | Dem. | 17,480 | 41.11% | 42,516 | 6,531 |
| Jesse Meyers | Proh. | 1,025 | 2.41% | |||||||||
References
edit- ^abc"Edw. Sauerhering Ex-Congressman Dies at Mayville".Dodge County Citizen.March 5, 1924. p. 3.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abc"Sauerhering, Edward 1864 - 1924".Wisconsin Historical Society.RetrievedJuly 12,2024.
- ^"County Politics".Dodge County Citizen.April 2, 1891. p. 3.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"The Republican Convention".Fox Lake Representative.October 28, 1892. p. 1.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abCunningham, Thomas J., ed. (1893). "Biographical Sketches".The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin(Report). State of Wisconsin. p.639.RetrievedJuly 12,2024.
- ^ab"County Election Tips".Dodge County Citizen.April 13, 1893. p. 2.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"The refusal of George Grimm".Portage Daily Democrat.August 16, 1894. p. 2.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Sauerhering for Congress".Green Bay Press-Gazette.September 5, 1894. p. 8.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"The Republican Rooster".The Watertown News.November 7, 1894. p. 4.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abCasson, Henry, ed. (1895). "Election Statistics".The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin(Report). State of Wisconsin. p.303.RetrievedJuly 12,2024.
- ^abCasson, Henry, ed. (1897). "Election Statistics".The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin(Report). State of Wisconsin. p.268.RetrievedJuly 13,2024.
- ^An Act Defining cheese, and also imposing a tax upon and regulating the manufacture, sale, importation, and exportation of "filled cheese."(PDF)(Act 337).54th United States Congress.1896.RetrievedAugust 13,2021.
- ^ab"Former Congressman Dies at Mayville".Waupun Leader.March 13, 1924. p. 1.RetrievedJuly 12,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Former Wisconsin Congressman Dies".Wisconsin State Journal.Mayville, Wisconsin. March 3, 1924. p. 6.RetrievedMarch 15,2020– via Newspapers.com.
- ^Hubbell, Homer Bishop (1913).Dodge County, Wisconsin, Past and Present.The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp.374,378.RetrievedJuly 12,2024.
- ^"One of the most interesting society events of the season".Dodge County Citizen.July 11, 1889. p. 3.RetrievedJuly 13,2024– viaNewspapers.com.
External links
edit- United States Congress."Edward Sauerhering (id: S000071)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.