Mortimer M. Jackson

Mortimer Melville Jackson (March 5, 1809 – October 13, 1889) was an American lawyer, judge, and diplomat. He was a justice of the original Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1848 through 1853 and was later a United States consul general in Canada for twenty years. Prior to Wisconsin statehood, he was Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory.

Biography Jackson was born in Rensselaerville, New York. He received his education in New York City, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1838, Jackson moved to Milwaukee,

In 1842, Wisconsin Territorial Governor James Duane Doty appointed Jackson Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory, where he served until 1846. The debate was intense among the Republican caucus as they tried to come to consensus on their nominee; other candidates included Timothy O. Howe, Edward D. Holton, Alexander Randall, Wyman Spooner, and James Rood Doolittle. After several days of voting and debate, the Republican caucus coalesced around Doolittle as their nominee on January 21, formally electing him in a joint session of the Legislature two days later.

Later in 1857, Jackson was chosen by the Republican state convention as their candidate for Attorney General of Wisconsin; his opponent at the general election was Oshkosh lawyer Gabriel Bouck. The Wisconsin electorate was nearly evenly split along partisan lines at the 1857 election, Jackson lost by about 400 votes while Republican gubernatorial candidate Alexander Randall won his race by a mere 118 votes.

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Jackson United States consul general in Halifax, Canada.

Electoral history Wisconsin Attorney General (1857)