Silas U. Pinney

Silas Uriah Pinney (March 3, 1833 – April 1, 1899) was an American jurist and politician from Wisconsin. He was a Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the 13th Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.[1]

The Honorable Silas U. Pinney
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office January 5, 1892 – November 22, 1898
Preceded by	Orsamus Cole
Succeeded by	Joshua Eric Dodge
13th Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin
In office April 1874 – April 1876
Preceded by	Jared Comstock Gregory
Succeeded by	John N. Jones
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 2nd district
In office January 1, 1875 – January 1, 1876
Preceded by	Philo Dunning
Succeeded by	William Charlton
Personal details
Born	Silas Uriah Pinney March 3, 1833 Rockdale Township, Pennsylvania
Died	April 1, 1899 (aged 66) Madison, Wisconsin
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Melissa Mullikan (died 1909)
Children	Clarence H. Pinney ^(b. 1859; died 1879) Bessie E. Pinney ^(b. 1870; died 1891)

Biography

Born in Rockdale Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Pinney moved with his family to Dane County, Wisconsin. Pinney began reading law in 1851 or 1852 in the offices of Vilas & Remington. He was admitted to the Wisconsin Bar in 1854 and became a partner in the reorganized law firm of Vilas, Roys & Pinney, which is known as Bell Moore & Richter SC today.[2] In 1875, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly and was elected Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin in 1874. In 1891, he was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Because of ill health, Pinney resigned from the court and died the next year.[3][4] Prior to his own death, his one son, Clarence, died at age 20, and his daughter, Bessie, died in a carriage accident.[5]

The Pinney Branch of the Madison Public Library was named in his honor. Madison's first public library opened in 1875 when Pinney was mayor.[6]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Attorney General (1869)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1869[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 1869
	Republican	Stephen Steele Barlow	69,746	53.54%
	Democratic	Silas U. Pinney	60,520	46.46%	-1.89%
Plurality			9,226	7.08%	3.78%
Total votes			130,266	100.0%	-8.49%
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1891)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1891[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 7, 1891
	Nonpartisan	Silas U. Pinney	96,661	54.90%
	Nonpartisan	Eleazor H. Ellis	77,312	43.91%
		Scattering	2,082	1.18%
Total votes			176,055	100.0%

Notes

1. State Historical Society of Wisconsin (1868). Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Volume 5 (2 ed.). Madison, WI. p. 173. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
2. "About Bell Moore & Richter SC". Retrieved May 20, 2011.
3. Silas U. Pinney-Wisconsin Historical Society
4. Justice Silas U. Pinney-Wisconsin Supreme Court Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Wisconsin Court System - Silas U. Pinney". wicourts.gov. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
6. The Early Days of the Madison Free Library
7. "Official Vote at the State Election". Semi-Weekly Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. December 1, 1869. p. 2. Retrieved July 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Cunningham, Thomas J., ed. (1893). "Part III. Election statistics". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 308. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

External links

• Bell Moore & Richter SC Homepage