Gerry Whiting Hazelton

Gerry Whiting Hazelton (February 24, 1829 – September 29, 1920) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district in the 42nd and 43rd Congresses. Over the course of a long public career, he also served nine years as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and two years as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Columbia County. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, and he participated actively in the legislative process while representing the interests of his constituents as a member of the Republican Party.

Hazelton was born on February 24, 1829, in Chester, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. He was raised in New England and received his early education in the common schools of the region. Demonstrating an early aptitude for study and public affairs, he pursued further education at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, a well-regarded preparatory institution that trained many young men for professional and civic life in the mid-nineteenth century.

After completing his academic studies, Hazelton read law in the traditional manner of the period and was admitted to the bar. He began his legal career in New York, where he practiced law and gained experience in the courtroom and in local public affairs. Like many ambitious young professionals of his generation, he was drawn westward by the opportunities opening in the developing states of the Midwest. He eventually settled in Wisconsin, where he established a law practice and became active in Republican politics during the years following the Civil War.

Hazelton’s political career in Wisconsin began at the state level. As a Republican, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate, where he represented Columbia County for two years. In that capacity, he participated in shaping state legislation during a period of economic growth and political realignment in the postwar era. His work in the state legislature helped to establish his reputation as a capable lawyer-legislator and positioned him for higher office.

Building on his state-level experience, Hazelton was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district. He served two consecutive terms in the 42nd and 43rd Congresses, from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1875. During his tenure in Congress, he contributed to the legislative process at a time when the nation was grappling with the challenges of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the integration of new states and territories. As a representative, he took part in debates and votes that reflected both national concerns and the specific needs of his Wisconsin constituents, including issues related to commerce, transportation, and the development of the Upper Midwest.

After leaving Congress, Hazelton continued his public service in the federal judiciary system. He was appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, a position he held for nine years. In that role, he was responsible for representing the federal government in civil and criminal matters within the district, overseeing prosecutions, and advising federal officials on legal questions. His long tenure as U.S. Attorney underscored both his professional competence and the confidence placed in him by federal authorities.

In his later years, Hazelton remained a respected figure in Wisconsin’s legal and political circles. He lived to see the United States transformed by industrialization, urbanization, and World War I, outliving many of his contemporaries from the Reconstruction era in which he had first risen to prominence. Gerry Whiting Hazelton died on September 29, 1920, closing a life that had spanned from the Jacksonian period through the dawn of the modern American century and that had been marked by sustained service as a lawyer, legislator, and federal prosecutor.