# Otis Colwell

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{{Short description|American merchant and politician (born c. 1797)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{infobox officeholder
| name           = Otis Colwell
| state          = Wisconsin
| state_assembly = Wisconsin
| district       = [Racine](/source/Racine_County%2C_Wisconsin) 4th
| term_start     = January 1, 1849
| term_end       = January 7, 1850
| predecessor    = [Julius L. Gilbert](/source/Julius_L._Gilbert)
| successor      = [Samuel Hale Jr.](/source/Samuel_Hale_Jr.)
| party          = [Free Soil Party](/source/Free_Soil_Party)
| birth_date     = {{circa|1797}}
| birth_place    = [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts), U.S.
| death_date     = 1861 or later
}}
'''Otis Colwell''' ({{circa|1797}} – 1861 or later) was an [American](/source/Americans) [merchant](/source/merchant) and politician in the early years of the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [Wisconsin](/source/Wisconsin).  He was a member of the [Wisconsin State Assembly](/source/Wisconsin_State_Assembly) for the [1849 session](/source/2nd_Wisconsin_Legislature), representing the village of Southport (now part of the city of [Kenosha](/source/Kenosha%2C_Wisconsin)) and southeast [Racine County](/source/Racine_County%2C_Wisconsin) (now eastern [Kenosha County](/source/Kenosha_County%2C_Wisconsin)).<ref>{{cite report|url=  https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lrb/blue_book/2007_2008 |title= State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book |publisher= State of Wisconsin  |year= 2007 |author= Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau |editor-last1=  Barish |editor-first1= Lawrence S.   |editor-last2= Lemanski |editor-first2= Lynn |chapter-url= https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lrb/blue_book/2007_2008/300_feature.pdf  |chapter= Feature Article: Those Who Served - Wisconsin Legislators 1848-2007 |page= 130 |isbn= 978-0-9752820-2-1 |accessdate= June 1, 2021 }}</ref>

== Background ==
Colwell was born in [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts) approximately 1797 (in January 1849 he was 52 years of age). He came to [Wisconsin Territory](/source/Wisconsin_Territory) in 1844, and operated a store in Southport.

== Politics and legislature ==
In 1848 he was elected to the [second session of the Wisconsin legislature](/source/2nd_Wisconsin_Legislature) from the district consisting of the [Towns](/source/political_subdivisions_of_Wisconsin) of [Pike](/source/Pike%2C_Wisconsin), [Pleasant Prairie](/source/Pleasant_Prairie%2C_Wisconsin), and Southport,<ref>"State Legislature:In Assembly" ''[Wisconsin Express](/source/Wisconsin_Express)'' January 16, 1849; p. 1, col. 3</ref> succeeding [Julius L. Gilbert](/source/Julius_L._Gilbert), a [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)). At that time he is described as being 52 years old, as a native of [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts), and a merchant.<ref>"List of Members of the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin Convened at Madison January 10, 1849" ''Wisconsin Express'' January 30, 1849; p. 4, col. 4</ref> He was succeeded in the 1850 session by [Samuel Hale](/source/Samuel_Hale_Jr.), at that time a Democrat, but who would later join the Free Soil Party himself.

In 1852 he was one of two elected [justices of the peace](/source/justice_of_the_peace) for what was now named the City of Kenosha.

== Later life ==
A house built for Colwell in 1853 is still standing, at what is now 6215 7th Avenue in the City of Kenosha.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI9508  |title= Property Record - 6215 7TH AVE |website= [Wisconsin Historical Society](/source/Wisconsin_Historical_Society) |accessdate= June 2, 2021 }}</ref>

Colwell spent a brief period (part of 1861) as Head [Keeper](/source/lighthouse_keeper) of the [Kenosha Light](/source/Kenosha_Light) [lighthouse](/source/lighthouse) in Kenosha [Harbor](/source/Harbor); he was the second of three men to be Head Keeper in that year.<ref>[http://www.kenoshahistorycenter.org/restoration.pdf "In the Footsteps of the Keepers" Kenosha History Center, n.d.; p. 2]</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-wi-hs}}
{{s-bef|before = [Julius L. Gilbert](/source/Julius_L._Gilbert) }}
{{s-ttl|title  = {{nowrap|Member of the [Wisconsin State Assembly](/source/Wisconsin_State_Assembly)}} {{nowrap|from the [Racine](/source/Racine_County%2C_Wisconsin) 4th district}} |years= January 1, 1849{{spaced ndash}}January 7, 1850 }}
{{s-aft|after  = [Samuel Hale Jr.](/source/Samuel_Hale_Jr.) }}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colwell, Otis}}
Category:1790s births
Category:Politicians from Kenosha, Wisconsin
Category:Merchants from Massachusetts
Category:Wisconsin Free Soilers
Category:Year of birth missing
Category:Year of death missing
Category:American justices of the peace
Category:Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Category:19th-century American merchants
Category:19th-century members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Category:Merchants from Wisconsin

{{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Democratic-1790s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Otis Colwell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Colwell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Colwell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.