Sugden, Thomas

Born: 1810-06-12 England, United Kingdom

Died: 1883-08-27 Wisconsin

Flourished: Wisconsin

Thomas Sugden was a county government official, state legislator, and among the first white settlers in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Hailing from Yorkshire in Northern England, Sugden immigrated to the United States in April 1834, arriving in New York City in June 1834. He continued west to Fort Detroit, where he spent the summer and fall harvesting crops and gathering hay. In November 1834, he returned to England, and in April 1835, he married Hannah Slightam. In May, Sugden, his family, and his wife's family made the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States, making their way to the Wisconsin Territory, settling, in June, in the town of Mukwonago in Waukesha County. In 1842, Sugden became town assessor for Mukwonago. He and his family remained in Mukwonago until September 1843, when he and his family moved to the town of Eagle, which he had first visited in 1836. In October 1849, Sugden moved to Genessee, where he would live for the remainder of his life. In 1849, 1852, and 1857, Sugden represented Waukesha County in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He served on the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors in 1850-51, 1853, 1855-56, and 1858. After the demise of the Whig Party, Sugden became a leading member of the Republican Party in Waukesha County. Upon the commencement of the Civil War, Sugden received appointment to a committee to collect subscription money to purchase arms and supplies to outfit volunteers from Waukesha County.

J. D. Beck, comp., The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Madison, WI: Democratic Printing, 1909), 940; The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical, 1880), 368, 369, 372, 387, 492-93, 512, 575, 622, 735, 742, 756, 759, 761; Gravestone, North Prairie Cemetery, North Prairie, WI.