Lion Silverman

Lion Silverman (1818 – April 27, 1894) was an American merchant and Wisconsin pioneer. He was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria and later immigrated to the United States. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Ozaukee County during the 1859 session. He was also sheriff of Ozaukee County and also briefly of Washington County before the division of Ozaukee from Washington. He was also the Democratic nominee for State Treasurer of Wisconsin in the 1859 election. His first name was often alternatively spelled Lyon. His last name was also sometimes incorrectly written as "Silberman".

Early life Lion Silverman was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria about 1818. At age 13, he emigrated to the United States with his parents, settling first at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, Lion began working as a merchant's apprentice. He moved to Mansfield, Ohio, about 1841, where he started his own merchant business. The exact circumstances are unclear, but his business failed after a short time, and caused some substantial collateral financial damage to the farmers of the community. Several of those impacted later wrote letters denouncing him. After his problems in Mansfield, he moved to Wooster, Ohio, where he met and married his wife Mary Troutman.

Washington County division controversy

Later that year, he was elected sheriff of Washington County—which then included all the present territory of Washington County plus what is now Ozaukee County—and moved to Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Silverman, however, was returned to office in February 1854, when the new Democratic governor William A. Barstow appointed him sheriff of Ozaukee County and removed Pidge from office. Silverman did not run for re-election in 1854, and instead sought election to the Wisconsin Senate. He was defeated in the general election by the Anti-Nebraska Democrat Bolivar G. Gill.

During this time, Silverman had also begun operating a pier in Port Washington, and conducted freight forwarding business. He was named postmaster of Ozaukee in 1855, but resigned after less than a year in the job.

Lynching of George De Bar

Also in the mid-1850s, Silverman was involved with the Wisconsin Militia and was captain of the "Union Guards" militia company based in Port Washington. In this role, he was involved in another significant scandal when the Union Guards were summoned to West Bend to provide security for a murder trial which had significantly inflamed the passions of the local community.

George De Bar was a Native American and a resident of the town of Barton. De Bar worked numerous odd jobs in the area, and came into conflict with a farmer named John Muehr over $1.50 in wages. On the night of August 1, 1855, De Bar went to Muehr's home to try to obtain the wages. According to the official records, after a disagreement, De Bar struck Muehr in the head and knocked him down a set of stairs. He then stabbed Muehr's wife and killed Muehr's 16-year-old son. De Bar then set the house on fire and fled. Muehr managed to recover from his injuries and saved his wife from the burning home. De Bar was thrown to the ground and beaten with stumps and stones. He was then dragged down the street, being kicked and pelted by the crowd. He was then hanged upside down from a tree for a short time, after which he was cut down and moved to another area, where he was hung by the neck until dead.

Political career Silverman was a strong supporter of William A. Barstow in both his 1853 and 1855 gubernatorial campaigns. At the 1857 Democratic state convention, Silverman's name was put in nomination for State Treasurer of Wisconsin, but withdrawn after coming in fifth in the informal balloting.

Silverman received the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin Senate in the 3rd State Senate district in 1858, and faced no opposition in the general election. In the Senate, he served on the committees on internal improvements and on the state prison.

He participated in all of the work of the 1859 legislative session, but resigned in the fall of 1859, after he was nominated for State Treasurer in the 1859 election. His nomination was seen as an attempt to strengthen the ticket with the German voters of the state. He challenged the incumbent state treasurer Samuel D. Hastings, but fell far short in the general election. The entire Democratic ticket was defeated, but Silverman ran about 5,000 votes behind the other Democratic statewide candidates.

Later years

Just after the start of the Civil War, Silverman lost election as chairman of the town of Ozaukee. Silverman subsequently accepted a commission to form a company of volunteers for the Union Army, but he never personally went into the service. His pier was destroyed by a storm that winter, essentially terminating his business. He moved to Chicago shortly after that disaster. He remained only a few years though, moving south to Bond County, Illinois, where he was convicted of selling liquor in violation of federal laws. He subsequently lived for a few years in Rockaway, Queens.

His health declined following her death, until April 27, 1894, when Silverman killed himself. He shot himself twice—once in the chest and once in the head.

Electoral history Wisconsin Senate (1854)

Wisconsin State Treasurer (1859)