Sources |
- [S19] 1900 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
- [S30] 1910 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
- [S24] 1920 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
- [S25] 1930 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
- [S26] 1940 US Federal Census.
- [S891] World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917 - 1918, (www.ancestry.com).
Name: Edward J Gehl
County: Washington
State: Wisconsin
Birthplace: Wisconsin,United States of America
Birth Date: 26 Jan 1890
Race: White
FHL Roll Number: 1675077
- [S926] Find-A-Grave, (www.findagrave.com).
LTC Edward J. Gehl
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Birth: Jan. 26, 1890
Hartford
Washington County
Wisconsin, USA
Death: Feb. 28, 1956
Madison
Dane County
Wisconsin, USA
Wounded in action while serving with the 127th Infantry Regiment in France during WWI. After the war attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the WI National Guard. Elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1949.
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Edward John Gehl was born January 26, 1890, in Hartford, Wisconsin. He graduated from Hartford High School in 1908 and received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1913. Gehl was in private practice until 1917, when he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army during World War I. There he became close friends with three other men who also became Wisconsin Supreme Court justices: Roland J. Steinle, John E. Martin, and Theodore G. Lewis. Gehl was promoted to the rank of captain and was also awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. Upon discharge, he continued service in the National Guard, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He retired in 1950.
Following the war, Gehl practiced law in Hartford until 1932 and then served for two years as U.S. district attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He was elected judge to the 13th Judicial Circuit in 1940. In 1947, he served as chair of the Wisconsin Board of Circuit Judges.
Gehl was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1949. He was the first justice elected under a 1949 law that ensured that the winner must receive a majority of the votes cast. He was well respected by his colleagues. Governor Walter J. Kohler, Jr., said of Gehl’s work on the bench: “Justice Gehl was a dedicated public servant and an outstanding jurist whose work on the circuit and supreme benches won the respect and admiration of all who knew him.”
Gehl was married to Jessica Colburn and had a daughter, Mary Louise. He died August 28, 1956.
[excerpted from from Portraits of Justice: The Wisconsin Supreme Court's First 150 Years. Trina E. Gray, Karen Leone de Nie, Jennifer Miller, and Amanda K. Todd, eds. 1998: Wisconsin Historical Society]
Thanks to Find-a-Grave contributor Cindy Gengler for providing the biographical information about Colonel Gehl.
Family links:
Parents:
Peter L. Gehl (1864 - 1919)
Margaret Wegmann Gehl (1869 - 1928)
Spouse:
Jessica Marie Colburn Gehl (1890 - 1980)*
Children:
Mary Lou Gehl McCollow (1926 - 1965)*
Siblings:
Edward J. Gehl (1890 - 1956)
William John Gehl (1891 - 1963)*
Vina Mary Gehl Brumm (1895 - 1990)*
Norman Mathias Gehl (1904 - 1962)*
Gregory N. Gehl (1908 - 1933)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Holy Angels Cemetery
West Bend
Washington County
Wisconsin, USA
Created by: Thucydides
Record added: Aug 30, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 96258821
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