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Thomas Reynolds (state representative)

American politician

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ55635765 ↗
Source-derived summary

Thomas Reynolds (March 17, 1840 – January 11, 1919) was an Irish American immigrant, farmer, and Republican politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Door County during the 1907 and 1909 sessions. He also served as chairman of the town of Jacksonport, Wisconsin.

He was the father of John W. Reynolds Sr.—the 26th attorney general of Wisconsin—and the grandfather of John W. Reynolds Jr.—a federal judge and the 36th governor of Wisconsin.

Biography

Thomas Reynolds was born in County Longford, Ireland. He fled Ireland around 1865 due to involvement in a plot to incite an Irish revolt against British rule. In 1866, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin. He later settled in Jacksonport, Wisconsin, in Door County, and became involved in the lumber and farming industries. Reynolds died in Jacksonport in 1919 following an illness.

Family

Reynolds married Jane Foley (1852–1922).

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Thomas Reynolds (state representative)” is american politician. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Thomas, Reynolds and state, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1840, 1919, 1907, 1909—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1840-01-01. For this dossier, Thomas, Reynolds and state is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american politician” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55635765. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1840, 1919, 1907 and 1909.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Thomas Reynolds (state representative)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Thomas Reynolds (state representative) primary sources, Thomas Reynolds (state representative) archive and Thomas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Thomas Reynolds (state representative)”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Thomas Reynolds (state representative)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.