German American politician (1831?1905)
Adam Apple
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|
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In office
January 5, 1891 ? January 7, 1895
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Preceded by
| Henry Allen Cooper
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Succeeded by
| Ernst Timme
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In office
January 2, 1882 ? January 7, 1889
|
Preceded by
| Sidney A. Sage
|
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Succeeded by
| Alfred L. Buchan
(entire county)
|
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|
|
Born
| (
1831-11-27
)
November 27, 1831
Rhenish Palatinate
,
Bavaria
|
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Died
| April 19, 1905
(1905-04-19)
(aged 73)
North Cape, Wisconsin
, U.S.
|
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Resting place
| North Cape Lutheran Cemetery
North Cape, Wisconsin
|
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Political party
| Democratic
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Spouse
|
Dorothea Eckel
(
m.
1856; died 1913)
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Children
| 8
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Adam Apple
(November 27, 1831 – April 19, 1905) was a
Kingdom of Bavaria
born immigrant to the United States who was a farmer, carpenter, and politician. A
Democrat
, he served four years in the
Wisconsin State Senate
and seven years in the
State Assembly
representing
Racine County
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Apple was born in the
Palatinate Region
in the
Kingdom of Bavaria
.
[1]
He was the eldest of five sons born to Adam and Barbara Beecher Apple.
[2]
He was raised and worked on his father's farm and was educated in German common schools until age 17, when he set out on his own to
emigrate
to the
United States
.
[1]
He traveled to
Rotterdam
, in what was then part of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
, and sailed from there to
New York City
, finally settling in
Philadelphia
, where he worked as an apprentice
cabinetmaker
.
[2]
At the end of his three-year apprenticeship, rather than continuing in that vocation, he set out west to
California
, following the call of the
Gold Rush
.
[1]
: 40
After three years mining gold, he returned to Philadelphia, intent on investing his earnings and returning to his cabinetry.
[1]
: 40
Within a year, however, Apple was again drawn to the west and this time moved to the new state of
Wisconsin
. He settled in the town of
Norway
, in Racine County, and purchased 120 acres of land. He worked at cultivating the land but soon purchased additional acres, bringing his total estate to nearly 340 acres within a few years.
[1]
: 40
He became renowned in local farming for his
cultivation of tobacco
.
[2]
Apple was a life-long member of the
Democratic Party
, since his early years in the United States, having cast his first vote for
Franklin Pierce
in 1852. He was elected chairman of the Norway Town Board in the 1870s and served in that role for eight years, and was clerk of the local school board for eighteen years. In 1881 he was elected to the
Wisconsin State Assembly
for Racine County's rural 2nd assembly district, earning re-election in 1882, 1884, and 1886. An 1887
redistricting
act reduced the county of Racine from two assembly districts to one, thus eliminating Apple's seat. Apple ran instead, in 1890, for the
Wisconsin State Senate
in the district encompassing Racine and
Kenosha
counties, winning a narrow victory in a part of the state that?at the time?generally provided a Republican majority.
[1]
: 41
[3]
Apple worked on his farm until age 70, when he began leasing the land to his sons, Charles and Harry. He removed to the neighboring community of
North Cape
, where he remained until his death in 1905.
[1]
: 40
Apple had been in declining health for several months and underwent an operation in Milwaukee in the weeks before his death.
[2]
Personal life and family
[
edit
]
Adam Apple married Dorothea (Dorothy) Eckel in 1856. Dorothy was also a German American immigrant who had been brought to the United States by her parents at age 7. They had eight children together?four sons and four daughters:
[1]
: 41
- Ellen C. (Ella), who married Charles Blakey of Estherville, Iowa,
- Adam Jr., who died at age 28,
- Josephine, who married Daniel M. Clump of Monmouth, Iowa,
- Anna (Annie), a teacher in Mitchellville, Iowa,
- Andrew J., living in Chicago,
- Charles E. and Harold (Harry), who remained in Norway and took over their father's farms,
- and Florence (Flora), the twin of Harry
Apple was a devoted
Lutheran
, a
Mason
, and a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
.
[1]
: 41
Electoral history
[
edit
]
Wisconsin Senate (1890)
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]