Edward F. Hilker

Edward F. Hilker
Edward F. Hilker
Member of the Wisconsin Senate; from the 21st district
	In office; January 12, 1943 – March 4, 1949
Preceded by	Kenneth L. Greenquist
Succeeded by	Gerald T. Flynn
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly; from the Racine 2nd district
	In office; January 8, 1941 – January 12, 1943
Preceded by	Jack Harvey
Succeeded by	Willis Frazell
	In office; January 14, 1924 – January 11, 1933
Preceded by	Jacob Stoffel Jr.
Succeeded by	Joseph C. Hamata
Member of the Racine City Council
	In office; 1916–1930
Personal details
Born	April 13, 1881; Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	March 4, 1949 (aged 67); Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Mound Cemetery, Racine
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Anne Deschler
Children	Grace (Wabakkan)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1898
Rank	Private, USV
Unit	1st Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War

Edward F. Hilker (April 13, 1881 – March 4, 1949)^[1] was an American politician. He served six years in the Wisconsin State Senate and ten years in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Biography

Hilker was born April 13, 1881, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Adolph and Carline Hilker. His father was a pioneer brick manufacturer in Racine. In 1898, at age 17, he volunteered for service in the Spanish–American War and was enlisted as a Private in Company M, 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The war ended before his regiment saw any combat and he mustered out the same year. He married Anne Deschler on November 11, 1899, and together they had one daughter, Grace. Hilker worked in the candy wholesale business, as a coal broker, and in sales promotion. He was a member of the United Spanish War Veterans, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Knights of Pythias.^[2]

Political career

In 1916, Hilker was elected Alderman for the 8th ward on the Racine City Council. He was re-elected six times, and served on the City Council until 1930.

In 1924, Hilker was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly for the Racine 2nd District. He was re-elected in 1926, 1928, and 1930. He ran for re-election again in 1932, but was defeated by former assemblyman, Democrat Joseph C. Hamata.

Hilker remained active in politics and was a delegate to the 1936 Republican National Convention.

In 1940, he reclaimed his former Assembly seat, defeating incumbent Wisconsin Progressive assemblyman Jack Harvey.

In 1942, he was elected to the Wisconsin Senate in the 21st District, representing all of Racine County. He was a delegate, again, to the 1944 Republican National Convention. He was re-elected to the senate in 1946, but died before the end of his second term.

Death

For years before his death, Hilker struggled with a diabetic condition. In early 1949, he was hospitalized at the Wisconsin General Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. He deteriorated over several weeks until his death on March 4, 1949, with his wife and daughter were by his bedside.^[3]

His funeral was held at the Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Racine. It was attended by many Wisconsin legislators, including pallbearers senators Bernhard Gettelman, Chester Dempsey, J. Earl Leverich, Taylor G. Brown, and Everett F. LaFond, and assemblyman Fred Pfennig. He was laid to rest at Mound Cemetery in Racine, less than half a mile from his former home.^[2]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1924-1932)

Wisconsin Assembly, Racine 2nd District Election, 1924
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker	5,412	81.84%
	Democratic	Ernest Anheuser	1,201	18.16%
	Socialist	Lars P. Christiansen
Total votes			'*6,613'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Assembly, Racine 2nd District Election, 1926
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	4,984	90.97%	+9.13%
	Socialist	Lars P. Christiansen	495	9.03%
Total votes			'*5,479'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Assembly, Racine 2nd District Election, 1928
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	8,189	100.0%	+9.03%
Total votes			'*8,189'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Assembly, Racine 2nd District Election, 1930
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	3,964	61.64%
	Republican	Lawrence A. Brown, Jr.	2,412	37.51%
	Socialist	Joseph Becker	55	0.86%
Total votes			'*6,431'*	'*100.0%'*
General Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	4,327	63.43%	−36.57%
	Republican	Lawrence A. Brown, Jr.	1,671	24.49%
	Socialist	Joseph Becker	824	12.08%
Total votes			'*6,822'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Assembly, Racine 2nd District Election, 1932
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	2,214	24.83%
	Republican	Mr. Porter	1,899	21.30%
	Republican	Mr. Ahlgrimm	1,752	19.65%
	Republican	Mr. Windstrup	1,080	12.11%
	Socialist	John Duller	754	8.46%
	Democratic	Joseph C. Hamata	686	7.69%
	Democratic	Mr. Schowalter	532	5.97%
Total votes			'*8,917'*	'*100.0%'*
General Election
	Democratic	Joseph C. Hamata	5,794	48.98%
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	4,798	40.56%	−22.87%
	Socialist	John Duller	1,186	10.03%
	Independent	Ransom DeFaut	51	0.43%
Total votes			'*11,829'*	'*100.0%'*
	Democratic gain from Republican

Wisconsin Assembly (1940)

Wisconsin Assembly, Racine 2nd District Election, 1940
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Primary Election
	Progressive	Jack Harvey (incumbent)	1,862	23.59%
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker	1,823	23.10%
	Republican	Mr. Nelson	1,162	14.72%
	Democratic	Philip M. Geyer	1,027	13.01%
	Republican	Mr. White	1,018	12.90%
	Democratic	Mr. Rogan	1,000	12.67%
Total votes			'*7,892'*	'*100.0%'*
General Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker	5,878	41.92%
	Progressive	Jack Harvey (incumbent)	5,652	40.31%
	Democratic	Philip M. Geyer	2,493	17.78%
Total votes			'*14,023'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican gain from Progressive

Wisconsin Senate (1942-1946)

Wisconsin Senate 21st District Election, 1942
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Primary Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker	7,067	68.10%
	Democratic	William J. Swoboda	2,444	23.55%
	Progressive	Martin H. Herzog	865	8.34%
	Socialist	Mr. Dadian	1	0.01%
Total votes			'*7,892'*	'*100.0%'*
General Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker	11,942	46.78%
	Progressive	Martin H. Herzog	7,197	28.19%
	Democratic	William J. Swoboda	6,390	25.03%
Total votes			'*25,529'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican gain from Progressive

Wisconsin Senate 21st District Election, 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	4,952	34.44%
	Republican	Mr. Harvey	3,863	26.87%
	Democratic	Arthur E. Rohan	2,120	14.74%
	Democratic	Mr. Gorsky	1,830	12.73%
	Republican	Mr. Southey	1,601	11.14%
	Socialist	Victor Cooks	12	0.08%
Total votes			'*14,378'*	'*100.0%'*
General Election
	Republican	Edward F. Hilker (incumbent)	18,909	55.66%	+8.89%
	Democratic	Arthur E. Rohan	14,661	43.16%
	Socialist	Victor Cooks	400	1.18%
Total votes			'*33,970'*	'*100.0%'*	+33.06%
	Republican hold

References

^ Wisconsin Blue Book, 1950. Wisconsin: Legislative Reference Bureau. 1950. p. 33.
^ ^a ^b "Hilker Funeral On Wednesday". Madison, Wisconsin: Racine Journal Times. 1949-03-07.
^ "Sen. Hilker Dies, Aged 67". Racine Journal Times. 1949-03-05.

External links

The Political Graveyard

[Profile-1] Wisconsin Blue Book, 1950. Wisconsin: Legislative Reference Bureau. 1950. p. 33.

[obitjt-2] "Hilker Funeral On Wednesday". Madison, Wisconsin: Racine Journal Times. 1949-03-07.

[3] "Sen. Hilker Dies, Aged 67". Racine Journal Times. 1949-03-05.

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