Warriors, Saints and Scoundrels: Brief Portraits of Real People Who Shaped Wisconsin

By Michael Edmonds & Samantha Snyder

Meet the mayors, ministers, mystics, murderers, & more whose lives influenced and defined the state of Wisconsin in these brief biographies from the past. Co-authors Michael Edmonds, the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Director or Programs and Outreach, and Samantha Snyder plumbed the depths of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s collections to research and compose lively portraits of eighty of these notable individuals: mayors, ministers, mystics, murderers, and everything in between. Among them are a governor who saw ghosts, an incorrigible horse thief, a husband and wife who each stood over seven feet tall, an American Indian chief who defied forced removal, and the first woman to practice law before the Supreme Court. Each story is followed by recommended sources for readers’ continued exploration. Whether read on the fly or all in one sitting, these short, colorful narratives will intrigue and inform as you delve into Wisconsin’s diverse and diverting history.