Leonard J. Farwell

Leonard James Farwell (January 5, 1819 – April 11, 1889) was an American politician and public administrator. He was the second governor of Wisconsin. the son of James and Rebecca (Cady) Farwell; both his parents died before his 11th birthday. He completed common schooling and apprenticed as a tinsmith until age 19. At that age, he moved west, settling briefly at Lockport, Illinois, where he established himself as a tinsmith. In January 1840, he sold his tinsmith business and moved north, to Milwaukee, in the Wisconsin Territory.

He travelled extensively between 1846 and 1849, visiting Caribbean islands, Europe, and the near East. On his return, he settled in Dane County, Wisconsin, where he had invested in a great amount of property and owned roughly half the land of the village of Madison, the capitol of the new state. Farwell was active in building up the new capitol—he owned and operated half a dozen mills and shops, and was instrumental in laying out the streets and erecting the public buildings. He contributed to the establishment of the Wisconsin Historical Society, the state Agricultural Society, the public school system, and the University of Wisconsin. Governor Farwell then proceeded to Secretary William H. Seward's residence but arrived too late to prevent that attack. President Johnson later offered Farwell any appointment he wanted in the federal government, but Farwell declined, choosing to continue his work in the Patent Office.