Wiley Ward Hatcher

Wiley Ward Hatcher (May 3, 1828 – May 12, 1908) was an American businessman and politician. He served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly representing Fond du Lac County.

Biography Wiley Ward Hatcher was born in Henry County, Tennessee, on May 3, 1828. His parents both died of typhoid fever just two years later, leaving him an orphan. He was sent to live with his mother's brother, James Baker. He had little education as a child, but at age seventeen went off on his own, working as a farmhand in the summers and attending school in the winters.

In 1849, he went west for the California Gold Rush. He took a ship from New Orleans around Cape Horn, and stopped briefly in Valparaíso, before arriving in California. He worked successfully as a miner in California until 1853, when he traveled to Australia to continue his mining and prospecting career. Over the next several years, he traveled extensively between California, Australia, and various Pacific islands. He shipped oil from Australia to California and shipped grain, wool, and pelts from California to Australia and New Zealand, some of this was in partnership with B. F. Pond. He also served on the village board and the county board of supervisors. Wiley and Julia had three children, though their son, Wiley Clifford, died in childhood.