Name Edward Scofield Role American Politician | Spouse(s) Agnes Potter Scofield | |
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Lieutenant Emil BaenschJesse Stone Succeeded by Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Born March 28, 1842Clearfield, Pennsylvania ( 1842-03-28 ) Died February 3, 1925, Oconto, Wisconsin, United States | ||
Service/branch United States Army Allegiance United States of America | ||
Edward Scofield (March 28, 1842 – February 3, 1925) was an American politician who served as the 19th Governor of Wisconsin.
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Early life
Scofield was born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania on March 28, 1842. He became a printer's apprentice at a newspaper in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and worked in the newspaper business for a number of years.
Career
Scofield fought in the American Civil War as a member of the 11th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment. Commissioned a lieutenant, after the Battle of South Mountain he was promoted to captain. He participated in all the battles and marches of his regiment up to the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5, 1864, where he was taken prisoner and incorrectly reported as dead. He was a prisoner for ten months, during which time he was held in southern prisons before being released at Wilmington, North Carolina on March 1, 1865. He was promoted to major after his release.
After his recuperation from illness, Scofield worked in the "engineer corps" of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. In 1868, he moved to Oconto, Wisconsin, where he entered the lumber business and became a principal in the Marinette Mill Co. He entered politics when he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1886 as a Republican, beating Democrat Amos Holgate. He was appointed to the standing committees on engrossed bills (which he chaired) and on railroads.
In 1896 Scofield was elected as the 19th Governor of Wisconsin. He entered the gubernatorial race as a conservative against progressive Republican Robert M. La Follette, Sr.. Winning the Republican nomination on the sixth ballot, he defeated his Democratic opponent Willis C. Silverthorn in a five-way general election: 264,981 for Scofield; 169,257 for Silverthorn; 8,140 for Prohibitionist Joshua Berkey; 1,306 for Christ Tuttrop of the Socialist Labor Party; and 407 for Robert Henderson of the Nationalist Party. During his tenure, he introduced the first governor's budget in Wisconsin, established a central accounting system, and oversaw revision of the state's banking laws. He increased public school funding and helped raise troops to serve in the Spanish–American War. After completing a second term in office, he returned to his business interests in Oconto.
Death
The last of several Civil War veterans to serve as Governor of Wisconsin, Scofield died in his home in Oconto on February 3, 1925 (age 82 years, 312 days). He is interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Oconto.
Family life
Scofield married Agnes Potter (1850–1919) and they had three children, Julia, Paul, and George.