Silas Bullard

from THE MENASHA PRESS SOUVENIR EDITION, June 1898

  Hon Silas Bullard, representative of the Second district in the Wisconsin assembly, was born in Greenfield, Franklin county, Mass., on December 9, 1841. Like many another successful American in fact, like nearly all successful Americans, Mr. Bullard was not born with the traditional "golden spoon" in his mouth, but was obliged to win his way through life by hard work from early boyhood up. During his younger years he attended the common schools, and later entered Powers Institute at Bernardstown, Mass. Vacation times were not spent at play or in idleness, but were put in at farm work, whereby he earncd  his education not only at Powers, but later at Bridgeton Academy in Maine, where his schooling was finished. In 1867 he went to Portland, Maine and took up the study of law.
  Not long after his admission to the bar Mr. Bullard came West, and on August 4, 1871, took up his residence in Menasha, opening a law office. In 1873 and 1874 he was part owner of The Menasha Press, and did considerable editorial work on the paper. For many years he also acted as correspondent for a number of the leading Chicago papers, so that his experience with newspaper work has been by no means insignificant. During the twenty-seven years that Mr. Bullard has been a resident of Menasha he has been almost continuously honored by the people with one position of trust after another. First it was superintendent of schools for six successive terms; then mayor of the city in 1882; then county supervisor for seven years; then district attorney for four years, from '85 to'89; city attorney in 1882-3 and in 1893-4, 1894-5, 1895-6, and during the past four years member of the legislature from the Second assembly district. It is doubtful if any other Menashan has seen as much public service, and it is certain that no Menashan of the present or past has fulfilled every duty more faithfully or merited the trust and confidence of the people more fully than has Mr. Bullard.
   During all these years of public service, however, Mr. Bullard has not neglected his law business, and today he has a practice that takes him before almost every circuit bench in Northern Wisconsin and not infrequently to the Supreme court of the state. He is recognized by all who know him as one of the most careful, conservative and conscientious men in his profession, and his daily life in and out of court stands as a notable refutation of the slander that no man can be a lawyer and an honest man at the same time. In 1894 Mr. Bullard formed a law partnership with M. M. Schoetz, which still exists.
  As a legislator Mr. Bullard has won laurels of which any man might well be proud. During the session of 1896-7 he was one of the leaders in the lower house, serving as chairman of the judiciary committee, and exerting an influence for good on the legislation enacted by that body that was recognized all over the state. No member was listened to with more close attention during debate, and in committee his work was always productive of good results. The writer of this has known Mr. Bullard intimately for a quarter of a century, and he feels that he is indulging in no unwarranted commendation when he says that he knows of no cleaner, fairer or more upright man in public life. Mr. Bullard has a comfortable home on Broad Street, where he spends much of his leisure time. His family consists of his wife, and a daughter and son Mrs. Caroline Bullard Spengler, who lives at Hortonville, and Harry Bullard, of this city.
   It may be interesting to relate here that just around the corner from the office in which Mr. Bullard was pursuing his law studies in Portland, Maine, a great, overgrown, but exceedingly jovial and happy-dispositioned young lawyer was making his professional start. He was one of the kind that didn't seem to care a continental whether clients came or not, and few would have predicted anything but the most commonplace sort of a career for him, and yet today that awkward, briefless young barrister is Congressman Thos. B. Reid, speaker of the House of Representatives, and one of the best known among contemporary Americans.

In later years, Mr. Bullard  was vice-president of the First National Bank of Menasha and secretary and treasurer of the Paul Paper Company.  He died in 1922.