Asahel Farr

Asahel Farr
Asahel Farr
Member of the Wisconsin Senate; from the 8th district
	In office; January 1, 1876 – January 1, 1878
Preceded by	Thompson Weeks
Succeeded by	Benoni Reynolds
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly; from the Kenosha district
	In office; January 1, 1873 – January 1, 1874
Preceded by	Frederick Robinson
Succeeded by	Robert S. Houston
6th, 10th, 17th, and 21st Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
	In office; April 1877 – April 1879
Preceded by	Joseph V. Quarles
Succeeded by	Frederick Robinson
	In office; April 1871 – April 1874
Preceded by	Milton Pettit
Succeeded by	Isaac W. Webster
	In office; April 1864 – April 1865
Preceded by	Frederick Robinson
Succeeded by	Milton Pettit
	In office; April 1859 – April 1860
Preceded by	George Howard Paul
Succeeded by	Isaac W. Webster
President of the Kenosha School Board
	In office; April 1871 – April 1874
Preceded by	E. P. Lewis
Succeeded by	Volney French
Personal details
Born	Asahel Farr; October 10, 1820; Waterford, Vermont
Died	June 13, 1887 (aged 66); Kenosha, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican; Democratic (before 1861);
Spouse(s)	Martha Jackson Wheeler; (m. c.1847; died 1878); Emma Marr Durfee;
Children	Dr. Albert L. Farr; (b. 1849; died 1920); Dr. William Mattocks Farr; (b. 1853; died 1922); Martha Wheeler (Nutting); (b. 1862);
Mother	Sybil Farr
Father	Alpheus Farr
Alma mater	Dartmouth College
Profession	surgeon

Asahel Farr (October 10, 1820 – June 13, 1887) was an American surgeon and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate, and was Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin, for seven years between 1859 and 1879.

Biography

Farr was born on October 10, 1820, in Waterford, Vermont.[1] He attended the common schools and then taught school to raise money to enter Dartmouth College. He graduated from the medical department of Dartmouth College in 1846 and commenced practice as a doctor and surgeon in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He moved to Peacham, Vermont, in 1847, where he married Martha Jackson Wheeler and where his father died in 1852. He then moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1854, with his wife and son.[1][2]

In addition to his work in medicine, he served on the Kenosha school board and was president of the school board from 1871 to 1874. He was elected to his first one-year term as Mayor in 1859, then again in 1864, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1877, and 1878. Farr was a member of the Assembly in 1873 and represented the 8th district of the Senate (at the time Kenosha and Walworth counties) from 1876 to 1877.[1] Politically, he was a Democrat until the outbreak of the American Civil War. At that time, he became a Republican and remained with that party for the rest of his life.[2]

Personal life and family

Farr married Martha Jackson Wheeler of Vermont and together they had three children. Albert and William both became doctors like their father, and Martha married Colonel James R. Nutting. His wife died in 1878 and he remarried to Emma Marr Durfee of Waukegan, Illinois.[2]

Farr's parents, Alpheus and Sybil Farr, appear to be cousins, both descended from George Farr, a shipbuilder who came to the colonies from England.[2]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1872)

Wisconsin Assembly, Kenosha District Election, 1872[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, November 5, 1872
	Republican	Asahel Farr	1,390	52.67%
	Democratic	Frederick Robinson (incumbent)	1,249	47.33%
Total votes			'*2,639'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Senate (1875)

Wisconsin Senate, 8th District Election, 1875[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, November 2, 1875
	Republican	Asahel Farr	4,152	65.70%
	Reform	U. S. Hollister	2,168	34.30%
Total votes			'*6,320'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican hold

References

Bashford, R. M., ed. (1877). "Official directory". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 448–449. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
Aikens, Andrew J.; Proctor, Lewis A. (1897). Men of progress, Wisconsin. Milwaukee: The Evening Wisconsin Company. p. 307. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
Turner, A. J., ed. (1873). "Official directory". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 446. Retrieved December 26, 2019.