Alden I. Bennett

Alden Isaac Bennett (August 23, 1807June 17, 1862) was an American medical doctor, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing eastern Rock County from 1858 through 1862. His name was often abbreviated as

Biography Alden I. Bennett was born at Quaker Hill, New York, on August 23, 1807. He was raised and educated in New York, and studied medicine with Gaius Halsey in Kortright, New York. He moved to Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, in 1825, where he was the first resident medical doctor in that settlement. In 1831, he moved to Bolivar, Ohio, and resided there for the next 20 years.

In Ohio, Bennett was active in politics with the Whig Party. He served as a Whig delegate to the Ohio constitutional convention of 1851 and subsequently advocated for the ratification of that constitution.

Bennett moved west to Wisconsin in 1853, settling in the town of Turtle, Wisconsin, just outside of Beloit. He quickly became involved in politics in the new state, first with the Whig Party and then with its successor, the Republican Party. He was chosen as president of the first Republican convention at the Beloit district.

In 1857, he was the Republican nominee for Wisconsin Senate in the 18th State Senate district, which then comprised Beloit and the eastern half of Rock County. He prevailed in the general election and served in the 1858 and 1859 legislative sessions. In 1859, he was renominated in a contested convention and went on to defeat Democrat Daniel Ruggles Spooner in the general election, earning another two years in the Senate.

During his years in the Senate, he was also appointed a trustee of the State Hospital for the Insane. In 1861, Bennett was discussed as a potential candidate for Governor of Wisconsin, but he ultimately did not seek the office. He left the Senate in January 1862.

Personal life and family

Alden Bennett was the fifth of eight children born to Isaac Bennett and his wife Anna ( Losee) Bennett.

Electoral history Wisconsin Senate (1857, 1859)