William Chappell
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 14th district
In office
January 4, 1858  January 2, 1860
Preceded byS. W. Barnes
Succeeded byCharles R. Gill
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 5, 1857  January 4, 1858
Preceded byDavid L. Morrison
Succeeded byPeter Rogan
ConstituencyJefferson 3rd district
In office
January 7, 1856  January 5, 1857
Preceded byPatrick Rogan
Succeeded byDelatus M. Aspinwall
ConstituencyJefferson 1st district
3rd Mayor of Watertown, Wisconsin
In office
April 1856  April 1857
Preceded byJohn W. Cole
Succeeded byHenry Bertram
Personal details
Born1813
Norwich, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedMarch 3, 1872(1872-03-03) (aged 58–59)
Watertown, Wisconsin, U.S.
Cause of deathTuberculosis
Resting placeMount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York
Political partyDemocratic
OccupationBusinessman, railroad promoter
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceWisconsin Militia

William Chappell (1813  March 3, 1872) was an American businessman, railroad promoter, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the 3rd mayor of Watertown, Wisconsin, and represented Jefferson County for two years each in the Wisconsin Senate (1858 & 1859) and State Assembly (1856 & 1857). He was accused of being a leading participant in a railroad corruption scandal during his time in the Legislature, and was nearly expelled from the Senate.

Biography

William Chappell was born in 1813 in Norwich, Connecticut. He moved to Rochester, New York, about 1830 and worked in milling and the freight forwarding businesses for about 15 years.[1]

He moved to the Wisconsin Territory in 1845, and settled in the not-yet-incorporated village of Watertown.[1] There he operated a merchant business, but soon became active in the developing railroad industry. He was a major promoter of the Watertown & Madison Railroad, and rose to prominence in Wisconsin politics, receiving an appointment as an assistant state adjutant general.[1]

He was elected to two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, in 1855 and 1856, running on the Democratic Party ticket. In between those two legislative sessions, he was elected the third mayor of Watertown in the Spring of 1856.[2] In the Fall of 1857, he was elected to the Wisconsin Senate, succeeding his one-time ally S. W. Barnes, who had also been a significant supporter of the Watertown & Madison Railroad.[3][4]

The railroad failed that year, following the Panic of 1857, and the Legislature subsequently made extensive investigations into the railroad's bonds and land grants. Chappell was accused of having received bribes during the land grant processwhen he was in the Assemblyand was accused of having bribed others for certain official actions, and later bribed potential witnesses against him to leave the state to avoid testimony. He was among the accused "Forty Thieves"a popular shorthand for the legislators and officials accused of involvement in the railroad scandaland he was personally named in a satirical song about the corruption saga.[5]

A Senate committee investigation recommended that he should be expelled from the Senate in 1858, the Senate voted 189 favor of his expulsion on May 5, 1858, but failed to reach the necessary 20 vote threshold for expulsion. So Chappell went on to serve another year in the Senate, despite this highly public censure and a vote in his home city of Watertown to request his resignation.[6]

Chappell left office in January 1860. Despite the public outrage, he remained in Watertown. He ultimately died in Watertown in 1872, after suffering from Tuberculosis.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ObituaryDeath of Gen. Wm. Chappell". Buffalo Express. March 9, 1872. p. 4. Retrieved February 15, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Municipal Elections". Wisconsin State Journal. April 4, 1856. p. 2. Retrieved February 15, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Annals of the Legislature". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1882 (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1882. pp. 191199. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  4. "Statistical List of Members and Officers of the Senate". A Manual of Customs, Precedents, and Forms, in use in the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1859. p. 1617. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  5. "Senator Chappell". Wisconsin State Journal. May 6, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved February 15, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Indignation Meeting at WatertownChappell's Constituents request him to resign". Wisconsin State Journal. May 11, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved February 15, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Gen. William Chappell". Grant County Herald. March 19, 1872. p. 2. Retrieved February 15, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
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