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This collection comprises citizen petitions written to the legislatures of the Wisconsin Territory and later the State of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1891. At the time, petitions were the only direct means for citizens to communicate with the government.
From requesting dams, roads, and money to build schoolhouses, to recording views on slavery, suffrage, and statehood, these petitions reveal what settlers wished to achieve for their communities, and the ways in which they hoped to connect Wisconsin to the expanding commerce and intellectual life of the United States. These petitions are mostly handwritten in blue and iron gall ink; most petitions comprise a title page, the petition itself, and signature pages.
For more information about this collection, visit its Online Finding Aid and View the Online Collection.
The work of flattening, scanning, and describing these petitions was funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of the National Archives.
Works
All works are fully transcribed.
Petition for allowing builders to place a lien on their projects for any debt owed for their labor and supplies
Petition for allowing certain residents of Racine County to hold lands for cemetery purposes
Petition for allowing cities and towns to decide how to spend money from the licensing and sale of intoxicating liquors
Petition for allowing Dane County to borrow money to help support the poor persons in the county
Petition for allowing German residents to hold public office
Petition for allowing insurance notices to go in any newspaper that publishes in the state
Petition for allowing John R. Kendall to build a dam on the Fox River
Petition for allowing Martha Hewitt and her children to sell and convey their land
Petition for allowing millers to opt out of grinding flour for distillation
