Charles Waldo

Charles Waldo (December 16, 1819 – November 2, 1909) was an American millwright, woodworker, politician, and pioneer of Wisconsin and California. He served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Marquette and Waushara counties during the 1851 term.

Biography Charles Waldo was born in Tioga County, New York, in December 1819. He was raised and educated in that vicinity, learning the millwright trade from his elder brother, Orson. He then continued to develop his woodworking skills and worked as a patternmaker. In the mid-1840s, he moved west to the Wisconsin Territory, where he went to work for another brother, Albert Gallatin Waldo.

After his term in the Legislature, he resided at Waupun, Wisconsin, before moving west to California. In his later years, he resided at the home of his son, Charles F. Waldo, in Hood River, Oregon. He died there shortly after his 91st birthday in 1909.

Personal life and family Charles Waldo was the 10th of 11 children born to John Waldo and his second wife, Betsey ( Clark). The Waldos were descendants of Cornelius Waldo, who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the mid-1600s.

Charles Waldo married Antonette Phelps on January 20, 1848, in Oak Grove, Dodge County, Wisconsin. They had three children together, but one daughter died young.