David Noggle

David Noggle (October 9, 1809 – July 18, 1878) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist. He was chief justice of the from 1869 to 1874, appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Earlier, he served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and a Wisconsin circuit court judge.

Early life and career

Born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, he moved with his family to Greenfield, Ohio, at age 16, where he worked on a farm with his father. Despite having little education in Ohio, attending school only a few weeks a year, he expressed interest in becoming a lawyer. At age 19, he left Ohio to seek employment and worked four years at a factory in Madison, New York. He returned to Ohio in 1833 and, finding his father deeply in debt, purchased his farm in partnership with his brother. Together they restored the farm to prosperity and improved the land with a water-powered mill.

He married Anne M. Lewis, of Milan, Ohio, in 1834, and together they traveled to Winnebago County, Illinois, in 1836, where they purchased government land and started a farmstead. Noggle was still intent on entering the legal profession and spent much of his free time studying legal texts; an anecdote references that he carried a book of the works of William Blackstone to read while tending his fields.

Like many progressive Democrats, Noggle split with the party over the Kansas–Nebraska Act and ran for Wisconsin State Senate in 1854 as an independent, citing that his platform was that of the 1849 Democratic state convention and the 1854 Republican state convention—meaning total opposition to the expansion of slavery into new states or territories. With the Wisconsin Legislature set to elect a United States Senator in the next session, Noggle pledged he would not vote for a candidate who did not adhere to his position on slavery. He was ultimately unsuccessful as an independent candidate, but subsequently became a member of the new Republican Party.

In 1856, Noggle was elected to the Assembly again, this time on the Republican ticket. At the start of the 1857 session, he was their choice for Speaker of the Assembly. However, due to an injury, he declined the honor, stating that his incapacitation would impair him in carrying out the duties of the speaker.

Judicial career

In August 1858, Noggle was appointed Wisconsin circuit court judge for the 1st circuit—southeast Wisconsin—by Governor Alexander Randall following the resignation of Judge John M. Keep. In the April 1859 election, Judge Noggle ran for election to a full six-year term as judge. Initially, it appeared his opponent would be respected Racine attorney and Speaker of the Assembly William P. Lyon, but Lyon—a fellow Republican—deferred. Nevertheless, Noggle did have an opponent in the election—John M. Keep—the man who had resigned the judgeship in 1858, creating the vacancy now up for election. Judge Noggle won a substantial victory in the election, taking nearly 70% of the vote.

Judge Noggle sought reelection in 1865, but this time William P. Lyon did choose to enter the race. Lyon prevailed in the April election and Judge Noggle's term expired at the end of the year. After leaving office, he lived for a short time in Dubuque, Iowa, and was attorney for the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. As Noggle's four-year term was expiring, Grant renominated him to the same post on March 13, 1873, and he was confirmed by the senate five days later. He resigned due to poor health in late 1874. Noggle returned to Janesville in 1875, and died there in 1878.

Personal life and family Noggle's father, John Noggle, was Pennsylvania Dutch and his mother was of Irish American descent. He married Anne M. Lewis, of Milan, Ohio, on October 13, 1834. They had at least eight children together, though one died in infancy.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1854)

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1859)