{{short description|19th century American politician}} {{infobox officeholder |name = Edward Gernon |state1 = Wisconsin |state_senate1 = Wisconsin |district1 = 10th |term_start1 = January 7, 1856 |term_end1 = January 4, 1858 |predecessor1 = James DeNoon Reymert |successor1 = Denison Worthington |party = Democratic |birth_date = {{birth date|1800|12|26}} |birth_place = |death_date = {{death date and age|1877|6|23|1800|12|26}} |death_place = Genesee, Wisconsin, U.S. |death_cause = Edema |resting_place = Prairie Home Cemetery, {{nowrap|Waukesha, Wisconsin}} |spouse = {{marriage|Catherine Huyck|1828|1877}} |children = 3 |profession = Lawyer }} '''Edward Gernon''' (December 26, 1800{{spaced ndash}}June 23, 1877) was an American lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Waukesha County during the 1856 and 1857 sessions. He was one of dozens of lawmakers in the 1856 session caught up in the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad bribery scheme.
==Biography== Edward Gernon lived for many years in Claverack, New York, where he was elected justice of the peace in the 1840s and 1850s, running on the Democratic Party ticket.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/historyofcolumbi00ever/ |title= History of Columbia County, New York |year= 1878 |publisher= Everts & Ensign |page= [https://archive.org/details/historyofcolumbi00ever/page/n302/ 237] |accessdate= February 20, 2023 }}</ref>
He moved west to Wisconsin in 1854 with his wife and children. They settled on a farm in the town of Genesee, in Waukesha County, where he resided for the rest of his life.<ref name="obit-free">{{cite news|url= https://newspaperarchive.com/waukesha-freeman-jun-28-1877-p-3/ |title= Gernon |newspaper= Waukesha Freeman |date= June 28, 1877 |page= 3 |accessdate= February 20, 2023 |via= NewspaperArchive.com }}</ref><ref name="steph-obit">{{Cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119267986/stephen-gernon-obit/ |title= Stephen Gernon Dies |newspaper= Vernon County Censor |date= April 18, 1906 |page= 3 |accessdate= February 20, 2023 |via= Newspapers.com }}</ref>
Almost immediately after arriving in Wisconsin, he became involved in politics with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Although he did not pursue the office, in 1855, he was nominated for Wisconsin Senate by a fractious Democratic Party convention in Waukesha County.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119270064/edward-gernon-senate-nom/ |title= Democratic Convention |newspaper= Waukesha County Democrat |date= October 10, 1855 |page= 2 |accessdate= February 20, 2023 |via= Newspapers.com }}</ref> The Democratic Party of Wisconsin at the time was split over several issues, but prominently over the re-election of Governor William A. Barstow, who was tainted by corruption allegations. Gernon's opponent in the general election was former U.S. senator Isaac P. Walker, who was an anti-Barstow Democrat running as an independent. Gernon narrowly prevailed in the election,<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119271645/election/ |title= Waukesha County |newspaper= Wisconsin State Journal |date= November 8, 1855 |page= 2 |accessdate= February 20, 2023 |via= Newspapers.com }}</ref> and went on to serve a two-year term representing Wisconsin's 10th State Senate district—then-comprising the southern half of Waukesha County.<ref name="annals">{{cite report|url= https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/742ZPKF2KGL2D8H |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1882 |year= 1882 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |chapter= Annals of the Legislature |pages=[https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A742ZPKF2KGL2D8H/full/A7W5ONNIRVO5438B 191], [https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A742ZPKF2KGL2D8H/full/AFCGJWN2C4CTGG8H 193] |accessdate= February 19, 2023 }}</ref>
During the 1856 term of the Legislature, Gernon was one of dozens of Wisconsin legislators caught up in a massive railroad bribery scheme. In a subsequent investigation, Gernon was found to have received $10,000 worth of the corrupt railroad stock (over $360,000 adjusted for inflation to 2023).<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119263418/railroad-bribes/ |title= How the Bonds were Delivered |newspaper= Wisconsin State Journal |date= May 18, 1858 |page= 2 |accessdate= February 20, 2023 |via= Newspapers.com }}</ref>
==Personal life and family== On January 16, 1828, Edward Gernon married Catherine Huyck at Claverack, New York, as members of the Dutch Reformed Church.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067949131 |title= The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record |volume= 90 |year= 1959 |publisher= The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society |chapter= Marriages, Dutch Reformed Church, Claverack, New York |page= [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067949131&seq=226 202] |accessdate= February 20, 2023 }}</ref> They had at least three children. Their son Stephen served for several years as chairman of the Genesee town board, and was a member of the Republican Party of Wisconsin state central committee.<ref name="steph-obit"/>
Gernon died at his home in Genesee on June 23, 1877, after suffering from Edema.<ref name="obit-free"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Find a Grave|53399290}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-wi-sen}} {{s-bef|before = James DeNoon Reymert }} {{s-ttl|title = {{nowrap|Member of the Wisconsin Senate}} {{nowrap|from the 10th district}} |years= January 7, 1856{{spaced ndash}}January 4, 1858 }} {{s-aft|after = Denison Worthington }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gernon, Edward}} Category:1800 births Category:1877 deaths Category:Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Category:Wisconsin pioneers Category:19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature