History of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens.

              HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
49
terms a year in the capital, Madison. This was afterward changed so that one term only was held at the seat of the State government, while the other was to be held at Milwaukee. Special terms could be held at either of these places. On the 12th day of June, 1848, Andrew G. Miller was appointed by the President district judge. By the act of Congress of July 15, 1862, a circuit court of the United States was created to be held in Wisconsin. The district judge was given power to hold the circuit court in Wisconsin in company with the circuit judge and circuit justice, or either of them, or alone in their absence. Wisconsin now composes a portion of the seventh judicial circuit of the United States, Thomas Drummond being cir¬ cuit judge. He resides at Chicago. The cir¬ cuit justice is one of judges of the United States supreme court. Two terms of the circuit court are held each year at.Milwaukee and one term in Madison.
In 1870 the State was divided into two dis¬ tricts, the eastern and western. In the western district, one term of the United States district court each year was to be held at Madison and one at La Crosse; in the eastern district, two terms were to be held at Milwaukee and one at Oshkosh. On the 9th day of July, 1870, James C. Hopkins was appointed judge of the western district, Andrew G. Miller remaining judge of the eastern district. The latter resigned to take effect Jan. 1, 1874, and James H. Howe was appointed to fill the vacancy; but Judge Howe soon resigned, and Charles E. Dyer, on the 10th of February, 1875, appointed in his place. He is still in office. Judge Hopkins, of the western district, died Sept. 4, 1877; when, on the 13th of October following, Romanzo Bunn was appointed his successor, and now fills that office.
An act was passed by the first Legislature pro¬ viding for the election and defining the duties of a State superintendent of public instruction. The persons holding that office, with the term of  each,  are  as  follows:    Eleazer Root, from
Jan. 1, 1849, to Jan. 5, 1852; Azel P. Ladd, from Jan. 5, 1852, to Jan. 2, 1854; Hiram A. Wright, from Jan. 5, 1854, to May 29,1855; A. Constantine Barry, from June 26, 1855, to Jan. 4, 1858; Lyman C. Draper, from Jan. 4, 1858, to Jan. 2, 1860; Josiah L. Pickard, from Jan. 2, 1860, to Sept. 30, 1864; John G. Mc- Mynn, from Oct. 1, 1864, to Jan. 6, 1868; Alex¬ ander J. Craig, from Jan. 6, 1868, to Jan. 3, 1870; Samuel Fallows, from Jan. 6, 1870, to Jan. 4, 1874; Edward Searing, from Jan. 4, 1874, to Jan 7, 1878; William C. Whitford, from Jan. 7, 1878, to Jan. 2, 1882; Robert Gra¬ ham, from Jan. 2, 1882, (now in office,) By the same Legislature, a State University was estab¬ lished. The school system of Wisconsin em¬ braces graded schools, to be found in all the cities and larger villages, the district schools, organized in the smaller villages and in the country generally, besides the University of Wisconsin, (located at Madison, the capital of the State). The university has three depart¬ ments: the college of letters, the college of arts, and the college of law. It was founded upon a grant of seventy-two sections of land made by Congress to the territory of Wisconsin. That act required the secretary of the treasury to set apart and reserve from sale, out of any public lands within the territory of Wisconsin, "a quantity of land, not exceeding two entire town¬ ships, for the support of a university within the said territory and for no other use or purpose whatsoever; to be located in tracts of land not less than an entire section corresponding with any of the legal divisions into which the public lands are authorized to be surveyed." The territorial Legislature, at its session in 1838, passed a law incorporating the "University of the Territory of Wisconsin," locating the same at or near Madison. In 1841 a commissioner was appointed to select the lands donated to the State for the maintenance of the university, who performed the duty assigned to him in a most acceptable manner. Section 6 of article X of the State constitution provides that "pro-