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Charles Durkee
Charles Durkee.jpg
6th Governor of Utah Territory
In office
September 30, 1865 – January 9, 1869
Preceded by James Duane Doty
Succeeded by John Shaffer
United States Senator
from Wisconsin
In office
March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1861
Preceded by Isaac P. Walker
Succeeded by Timothy O. Howe
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853
Preceded by William P. Lynde
Succeeded by Daniel Wells Jr.
Personal details
Born (1805-12-10)December 10, 1805
Royalton, Vermont
Died January 14, 1870(1870-01-14) (aged 64)
Omaha, Nebraska
Resting place Green Ridge Cemetery
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Nationality American
Political party
Spouses
  • Catherine Putnam Dana
    (m. 1836; died 1838)
  • Caroline Lake
    (m. 1840)
Children
  • Harvey Durkee
  • (died 1858)
  • Charles Durkee Jr.
  • (b. 1843; died 1847)

Charles H. Durkee (December 10, 1805 – January 14, 1870) was an American pioneer, Congressman, and United States Senator from Wisconsin. He was one of the founders of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and was a Governor of the Utah Territory in the last five years of his life.

Early life

Durkee was born in Royalton, Vermont. He became a merchant and moved to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. There he became involved in agriculture and lumbering, and was a founder of the town of Southport (later Kenosha, Wisconsin). Land he once owned in Kenosha is now part of the Library Park Historic District.

Career

He entered politics, serving two terms in the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature. Originally a Democrat, he became a member first of the Liberty Party and then of the Free Soil Party and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1848 as part of Wisconsin's first full congressional delegation. He served in the House for two terms as part of the 31st and the 32nd Congresses from March 4, 1849, till March 3, 1853, representing Wisconsin's 1st congressional district. In 1854, he switched to the newly formed Republican Party and was elected to the United States Senate by the Wisconsin State Legislature. He served for one term, from 1855 to 1861. In 1865 he became governor of the Utah Territory, and served in that position until 1869 when he resigned because of ill health. He died in Omaha, Nebraska while returning home.

Tributes

A street in the city of Appleton, Wisconsin, is named for him. An elementary school in Kenosha, Wisconsin, bore his name for many years. It was demolished in 2008.

He gave a speech at the hammering of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, connecting the Union Pacific tracks to the Central Pacific Railroad.

His former home, which later became an Episcopal school for girls and is now known as Kemper Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

See also

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