Petition for abolishing current law on county organization

Petition of the inhabitants of the County of Milwaukee praying the repeal of the present system of county government.

Laid on the table.

Milwaukee December 1 1838

To the Hon. the Council & House of Representatives of the Territory of Wisconsin -

Your memorialists inhabitants of the County of Milwaukee; respectfully represent that, in their opinion the law passed at the last session of the Legislature, establishing the present system of county organization, is anti republican in its tendency, unsuited to the condition of our county & odious to its citizens generally. That our County (at present) covers too great our extent of territory for such a system to operate equally & beneficially upon all.

That the power vested in the Board of County Commissioners is by far too great & absolute. That the present system does not secure to the towns that representation & influence when the management of the local citizens of the county which to them of right belong. And that in many other respects it is seriously defective. In view of the above facts we would therefore recommend that said law be abolished & the statute of the state of New York in relation to county organization (or some similar code) be substituted in lieu thereof ( by your honorable body) which will place the affairs of the county in the hands of supervisors, chosen annually by the people & one from each town. And your memorialists are duty bound will ever pray.

Henry Miller Alvis Carter E.W. Wolcott J.B. Zander Geo Bowman

John Everts [illegible] S.C. Nomeroy W.T. Johannes Lyndsey Ward James Giblett John S. Rockwell John Richard W. Brown John McLane H Ludington Samuel Race W.H. Henry G.W. Naught Thom [illegible] Robt. Ardus [illegible] Henry Shew LW Ryckward HA Ester Danforth Parnelle John A Larkin Timothy Wooden HW Hubbard Otis Hubbard J. Billing GF Wheelock Cyrus A Howell Byron Kilbourn I.Y. Haight A.O. Breit Elijah Gaston John W. Bigsley John Howell Maurice Pishley L.W. Weeks Aug. Peters N.C. Pinnboss Chas. Holton Allen M. Peff Z. Edgerton A. Rouse Geo. Walturk Francis Bancroft John Arnold WA Nebbler L. Blossom Jr. J Wardner Joshua Hatheway Patrick Hammel

[illegible] J. Boyd [illegible] W.W. Graham Samuel Brown [illegible] Sheldon Geo. O. Tiffany Henry Williams S.J. Wigby J.E. Arnold E. Kingsland Luis Ludington H. Birchard Ackley Carter Martin C. Geary James More Hugh Short Robert Corbet Samuel Young Newman Chubb John Child Luther Childs JR Barker John Lees Thomas Boyd E. Cramer Abiel Carell Elisha Starr James Murray Wm. W. Kellogg L.R. Rockwell Le Vail G. Aldrich James L. Mead Archer Martine Joseph Ward SL Corbin Wm. S. Miller David Maverill LW Lane Wm. Howard L. Seising Ira Corbin S.B. Hollister W. Jims L.N. Zander George D Dousman H.J. Hosmen W. Harrison T.C. Dousman

Casper DeRouse Enoch Shale George Nichols Daniel Ketchum J.M. Hawley Thomas J. Sayer Wm. N. Gardner George Reed M.M. Mayhew Silas M. Brown W. Leland Chas. W. Leland Ch. W. Leland Wm. G. Garkin Samuel Wright J.A. Wingfield Jacob M Rogers Arch Henley Jack Pierce Henry B Clarkie Geo Guild John Bayden Louis Whitney H.A. Tremble NW Brooks, [illegible] C. Hawley Harrison Reed S.W. Fieldy Albert Isaacs Hiram C Grant Berry S. Stimsa D.C. Johnson John Salinger J.W. Combs Ian N Rogers S.D. Cowles E.R. Collins S. Juneau Seth Blanchard J.C. Brayton I.A. Lapham Geo. Y. Knapp Richland Short Wm. L. Cully Waldo Rosebrook Lyman Fluskey John K Cathing J.H. Noyes