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George Davis McDill

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George D. McDill
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 1, 1883 – January 5, 1885
Preceded byDistrict established
Succeeded byFrank Nye
ConstituencyPolk district
In office
January 3, 1881 – January 1, 1883
Preceded byLars L. Gunderson
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
ConstituencyAshland–Barron–Bayfield–Burnett–Douglas–Polk district
District Attorney of Polk County, Wisconsin
In office
January 5, 1874 – January 7, 1878
Preceded bySamuel Thompson
Succeeded byVarnum M. Babcock
Personal details
Born(1838-07-28)July 28, 1838
Wayne Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 15, 1899(1899-06-15) (aged 60)
Osceola, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeMount Hope Cemetery, Osceola, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Emma Ankeny
​
​
(m. 1871; died 1892)​
Children
  • James McDill
  • (b. 1872; died 1874)
  • Susan McDill
  • (b. 1874; died 1896)
  • Hugh McDill
  • (b. 1876; died 1910)
  • Alexander Stuart McDill
  • (b. 1879)
  • Ruth Emma McDill
  • (b. 1881; died 1964)
  • Gladys McDill
  • (b. 1883)
  • Mary Eliza (Thompson)
  • (b. 1885)
  • Ella (Dickinson)
  • (b. 1888)
Parents
  • Hugh McDill (father)
  • Jane (Davis) McDill (mother)
Relatives
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service1861–1864
Rank1st Lieutenant, USV
Unit
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

George Davis McDill (July 28, 1838 – June 15, 1899) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He served four years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Polk County and surrounding areas. He also served four years as district attorney of Polk County and was chairman of the county board of supervisors. He served in the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac through most of the American Civil War.

Early life

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McDill was born on July 28, 1838, in Wayne Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. When he was a toddler, he moved with his parents to Beloit, Wisconsin Territory, and then to De Soto, in Vernon County, Wisconsin.

Civil War service

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At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he joined up with a company of volunteers for service in the Union Army. His company was enrolled as Company I in the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in the summer of 1861. The 6th Wisconsin Infantry was organized into a brigade which became famous as the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, serving in the eastern theater of the war. McDill served with the regiment through the first three years of the war, fighting in some of the most important battles of the war, including Second Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.[1]

In March 1864, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to Company K of the newly-raised 37th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to first lieutenant two months later. Serving with the 37th Infantry, he participated in the Siege of Petersburg and was wounded at the Battle of the Crater—named for the detonation of a sapper mine intended to undermine the Confederate defense line. He was designated for promotion to captain in September 1864 but was mustered out due to his wounds before the promotion was confirmed.[2]

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After the war, McDill studied law and was admitted to the bar at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1870.[3] In 1872 he established a legal practice in Polk County, Wisconsin, where he lived for most of the rest of his life. In 1873, he was elected district attorney of Polk County. He was re-elected in 1875. He also served five years as chairman of the Polk County Board of Supervisors.[4]

McDill was a member of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1880 from the district comprising Polk, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, and Douglas counties. He was re-elected from that district in 1881.[4] After redistricting and a constitutional amendment which changed legislative terms in 1882, he was elected to a two-year term from a new Assembly district comprising just Polk County.[5] He was not a candidate for re-election in 1884.

His legal practice flourished in Polk County for the rest of his life. He died on June 15, 1899, at his home in Osceola, Wisconsin.[6]

Personal life and family

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George Davis McDill was a grandson of James McDill, an Irish American immigrant who served in the Pennsylvania Militia during the War of 1812. George Davis' uncles, Alexander S. McDill and Thomas McDill were also prominent politicians in Wisconsin.[7] Alexander McDill served a term in the United States House of Representatives; Thomas McDill served in the Wisconsin Assembly and served as a quartermaster in the Union Army.[1]

George Davis McDill married Emma Ankeny on November 25, 1871. They had eight children together, though their first son, James, died in infancy.[7]

Electoral history

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Wisconsin Assembly (1880, 1881, 1882)

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Wisconsin Assembly, Ashland–Barron–Bayfield–Burnett–Douglas–Polk District Election, 1880[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 2, 1880
Republican George D. McDill 2,848 64.74%
Democratic Charles B. Marshall 1,551 35.26%
Plurality 1,297 29.48%
Total votes 4,399 100.0% +45.90%
Republican hold
Wisconsin Assembly, Ashland–Barron–Bayfield–Burnett–Douglas–Polk District Election, 1881[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 1881
Republican George D. McDill (incumbent) 2,498 71.99% +7.25%
Democratic Frank M. Angel 972 28.01%
Plurality 1,526 43.98% +14.49%
Total votes 3,470 100.0% -21.12%
Republican hold
Wisconsin Assembly, Polk District Election, 1882[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 7, 1882
Republican George D. McDill 656 64.13%
Democratic Daniel Mears 292 28.54%
Prohibition C. H. Staples 75 7.33%
Plurality 364 35.58%
Total votes 1,023 100.0%
Republican win (new seat)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sixth Regiment Infantry". Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865. Vol. 1. Office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin. 1886. p. 531. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "Thirty-Seventh Regiment Infantry". Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865. Vol. 2. Office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin. 1886. p. 628. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  3. ^ Reed, Parker McCobb (1882). The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. Milwaukee: P. M. Reed. pp. 393–394. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Biographical Sketches" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 540. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Heg, J. E., ed. (1883). "Biographical Sketches" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 501. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "Hon. Geo. D. McDill". Vernon County Censor. July 5, 1899. p. 3. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Woods, Robert McDill (1940). McDills in America : a history of the descendants of John McDill and Janet Leslie of County Antrin, Ireland. Edwards Brothers Inc. p. 124. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Heg, J. E., ed. (1881). "Biographical Sketches" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 504. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
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Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by
Lars L. Gunderson
 Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Ashland–Barron–Bayfield–Burnett–Douglas–Polk district
January 3, 1881 – January 1, 1883 		District abolished
District established Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Polk district
January 1, 1883 – January 5, 1885 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by
Samuel Thompson
 District Attorney of Polk County, Wisconsin
January 5, 1874 – January 7, 1878 		Succeeded by
Varnum M. Babcock
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