David J. Powers

David Johnson Powers (June 3, 1814 – February 11, 1909) was an American businessman and Wisconsin pioneer. He was one of the founders of Whitewater, Wisconsin, and Palmyra, Wisconsin, and served in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing southeast Jefferson County in the 1853 session. His name was often abbreviated as

Biography David J. Powers was born in Athens, Vermont, in 1814. He had a common school education and apprenticed as a machinist before emigrating west to the Wisconsin Territory in 1838. He first arrived at the village of Milwaukee, and there met Willard B. Johnson, who convinced him to settle in the area that would later become Whitewater, Wisconsin. He served only one term in the Assembly, and afterward moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he operated a general store. He also took over publication of the Wisconsin Farmer, a monthly magazine for agricultural interests, During that time he was also active in the State Agricultural Society and the management of the Wisconsin State Fair.

He moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1868 and founded the Union Wire Mattress company there. He continued running the company until his retirement at age 91, in 1903. After the war, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin and went on to a successful business career.

Published works