Charles Durkee

Charles H. Durkee (December 10, 1805 – January 14, 1870) was an American politician, activist, and Wisconsin pioneer. He represented Wisconsin as a United States senator from 1855 to 1861, and served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1849–1853). Later in life he was appointed governor of the Utah Territory, serving from 1865 to 1869. Before his political career, Durkee was one of the founders of Kenosha, Wisconsin; he was a vehement advocate for temperance and abolition, though he personally struggled with alcoholism.

He originally became involved in politics as a member of the Democratic Party, and was elected to the 1st Wisconsin Territorial Assembly on the Democratic ticket. In the 1840s he became a leader in Wisconsin of the short-lived Liberty Party, which advocated for the abolition of slavery. In 1848, the Liberty Party merged with other abolitionist and anti-slavery Democrats into the Free Soil Party, and Durkee was elected to his two terms in the U.S. House on the Free Soil ticket. In 1854, the Free Soil Party merged with much of the Whig Party to become the Republican Party, and a few months later Durkee became the first Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin.