David P. Mapes

David Parshall Mapes (January 10, 1798 – May 17, 1890) was an American pioneer businessman and politician.

Life

David P. Mapes was born January 10, 1798 in Coxsackie, New York.[1][2] The youngest of four children, his parents were of English origin and moved from Long Island to Coxsackie, where his father built a hotel, the Elm Tree House. His father also owned a sloop to run from Coxsackie to New York City. His mother died of consumption when he was about six years old. His father got into the lumber business and bought a mill about seven miles from Coxsackie. At age of twelve young Mapes would draw the lumber to the Hudson River and sell it. He attended a log schoolhouse in the winter.[3]

At the age of twenty, Mapes went to Roxbury, Delaware County[1] to work in his brother-in-law's store. After two years, he became a partner in the business, which he took over upon his brother-in-law's death. He married Ruth Frisbee; they had two sons and a daughter. He expanded his business undertakings to include a grist mill and farm, and the manufacture of potash and whisky. He was elected Town Supervisor. In 1831, he served in the New York State Assembly, where he voted in favor of abolishing imprisonment for debt. He then moved to Carbondale, Pennsylvania where he operated a sawmill for about five years.[1][3] Around 1838, he returned to New York entered the freight and passage business on the Hudson River.[3]

He moved to Ripon, Wisconsin Territory, in 1844, which he helped found.[1][2] He also help found Ripon College.[1] He wrote an autobiographical and historical account about Ripon, Wisconsin.[1] In the 1860s, Mapes moved to Winneconne, Wisconsin, where he opened a hotel. He died in Winneconne[2][4][5] and was buried at Hillside Cemetery in Ripon.[6]

Family

His son-in-law, Otto Christian Neuman, became a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.[7]

Notes
  1. "Capt. Mapes' Death". Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. May 17, 1890. p. 1. Retrieved November 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Death of D. P. Mapes". Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. May 17, 1890. p. 4. Retrieved November 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Mapes, David P., History of the City of Ripon: And of Its Founder, David P. Mapes with His Opinion of Men and Manners of the Day", Cramer, Aikens & Cramer, 1873
  4. David Parshall Mapes, Wisconsin Historical Society
  5. Biographical Profile, Ripon College Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Capt. Mapes, Founder of Winneconne, Ripon, to Be Honored on Memorial Day". Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. May 14, 1959. p. 32. Retrieved November 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Datadase
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