Max W. Heck

Max W. Heck (June 9, 1869 – October 18, 1938) was an American politician and jurist from Wisconsin, who served as a County Judge and Progressive Republican Wisconsin State Senator.

Biography

Max Heck was born in Chicago, Illinois, one of seven children born to Jacob and Victoria (Schlund) Heck. His parents were both German American immigrants, but were well established in the United States by the time of his birth. When Max was six months old, his family moved back to Racine, Wisconsin—where they had previously resided before his birth. He was raised and educated there, attending public schools. After his primary education, he attended Howlands Academy and studied law in the office of Hand & Flett while working as a paperboy and then letter carrier. Finally he attended the University of Wisconsin Law School, graduated in 1892, and was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in June of that year. In 1894 he sought the Democratic nomination for district attorney, making a strong showing in the first round of balloting, but ultimately did not get the nomination. Nevertheless, he remained active and influential in the party and became chairman of the party in the city of Racine.

As he rose in local political prominence, he also rose in prominence in his legal career, forming a law partnership known as Richie & Heck. In 1894, he earned local notoriety when he successfully won the acquittal of Mary Mayer, who had been charged with poisoning her husband, Herman Groenke.

War and City Attorney

At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, in 1898, he enlisted in the United States Army and was enrolled as a private in Company F, 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He left the state with the regiment in late April, but a week after his departure, the Racine City Council voted to name him City Attorney. Heck's volunteer regiment was billeted to Camp Cuba Libre near Jacksonville, Florida. They did not see any combat in the short war, but lost 40 men to disease.

That fall, Heck received a thirty-day furlough to return to Racine and accompany the body of fellow Racinian Charles Evenson, who had died of Typhoid Fever. During that trip, he formally took office as City Attorney on August 23, 1898, and the City Council passed a resolution requesting an honorable discharge for him so that he could continue to attend to his responsibilities in the city. The request was transmitted to the Governor, who was commander-in-chief of the state volunteer force, and Congressman Henry Allen Cooper, receiving a prompt favorable reply.

Elected office

In 1901, he ran for County Judge in the seat being vacated by Judge Ellsworth Burnett Belden, who was opting to run for the Wisconsin Circuit Court seat instead. He won the April election and was inaugurated in January 1902. He went on to win re-election in 1907. In 1913, Judge Heck suffered a form of mental breakdown and was admitted to the Pennoyer Sanitarium to recuperate. He did not run for re-election and left office at the end of his term, in January 1914.

During his time as County Judge, Heck transitioned from the Democratic Party to become a member of the Progressive faction of the Republican Party, which—in Wisconsin—was closely identified with then-Governor Robert M. La Follette. In 1922, Judge Heck was elected to represent Racine County in the Wisconsin State Senate, running as a La Follette Republican, and he was a strong support of La Follette's campaign for the presidency in the 1924 election. La Follette still attended the event and paid tribute to the Judge at the event.

He died on October 18, 1938, he fell from his roof while attempting to trim the trees around his home.

Personal life and family

Max Heck married Luella Margaret Pritchard on April 29, 1896. They had one daughter, Margery, who attended Marquette University and became a successful lawyer and worked for a time as deputy clerk of the Wisconsin Circuit Court in Racine County.