August 31, 1868--September 1, 1963

From a memorial by Lester J. Burr for the Fond du Lac Court:

Full Name: Samuel Marcellus Pedrick

Father: Marcellus Pedrick, pioneer settler in Ripon

Mother: Mary Ann [nee Smith]

Home: Ripon, homestead was on a downtown street now part of the public square

Birthdate: August 31, 1868.

Birthplace: Ripon, Wisconsin

Death: September 1, 1963 at Fairhaven Retirement Home at Whitewater, Wisconsin, Sunday, one day after his 95th birthday; had been at Fairhaven 3 months [since May] Interment at Hillside Cemetery

Siblings: Charles R. Pedrick and Edward Smith Pedrick; Samuel was the youngest of three children

Married: married Mildred Lois Robbins Dec. 12, 1899; she died February 28, 1955

Children: Marcella R. (Mrs. Fay B.) Morgan [of Madison, Wisconsin] Mildred R. Pedrick [Ripon, Wisconsin]; a registered nurse; also his wife's nieces, Ferne [Mrs. Frank]Wallschlaeger and Faye [Mrs. Carl] Eachus, raised in the Pedrick home from childhood to womanhood

Education:

• Ripon Public Schools, graduated from Ripon High School on June 11, 1886
• Preparatory Department, Ripon College, 1886-1887
• Ripon College: entered Fall of 1887; graduated 1891
  Degree: Bachelor of Science
  Honorary Degree: Master of Arts, in 1896
  Played on the first football team [1891? possibly] along with his friend Charles Dunbar

First Job: 1891--1892, taught in and was principal at Ceresco School in Ripon

Education, Professional

• Fall 1892, entered University of Wisconsin Law School
• 1893-1894 attended Law School of University of Denver, at Denver, Colorado
• 1894, returned to the University of Wisconsin Law School; received Bachelor of Laws on June 20, 1894.

Admitted to Bar: June 20, 1894, Bar of the Supreme Court and to the Bar of the Circuit and District Courts of the U.S. for the Western District of Wisconsin; and to the Bar of the Circuit of Brown County, Wisconsin on February 9, 1895

Career:

• after 1894 -- 1 year in Marinette, Wisconsin
• 2 years --law clerk with law firm, Upham and Black in Milwaukee
• returned to Ripon, and associated with Attorney John W. Rountree, who left practice and Ripon shortly thereafter
• Col. George W. Carter and Samuel M. Pedrick formed law firm of Carter and Pedrick
• after Col. Carter's retirement, S. Pedrick practiced law alone until February of 1962
• offices over the Ripon State Bank, closed two years before his death

• Ripon Library Board, wrote the Ordinance creating the Ripon Library Board and drafted its bylaws
• Ripon Hospital Commission --framed and drafted the regulations, bylaws and plan of operation; President of Commission from 1935-1943
• Ripon Municipal Hospital Board, first president
• Ripon Cemetery Association, treasurer for many years
• Ripon College: 21 years, member and Secretary of the Board of Trustees
• Ripon College: Treasurer of the College for 6 years; and Business Manager much of the time
• Masons, Ripon Lodge No. 95, Free and Accepted Masons of Wisconsin, from 1902 until his death
• Royal Arch Masons, Ripon Chapter, member
• Eastern Star, Chapter 151, member
• Odd Fellows, Independent Order of, Ripon Lodge No. 144, member
• First Congregational Church of Ripon, lifetime member and held many offices; moderator of the State Conference in 1925; served on its official board 1930-1936; Chairman of the Board for 4 years; wrote 176-page history of First Congregational Church in Ripon for the centennial in 1950 [copy available for use in RC Archives on request]
• Ripon Kiwanis Club, charter member in 1924. President of club in 1926, Lieutenant Governor in 1934, and Honorary member since 1943
• Ripon Historical Society, a moving force in its organization; but willed his papers and historical scrapbooks to Ripon College because there was no local historical society headquarters equipped to care for them
• Little White Schoolhouse, helped restore

• Board of Education, City of Ripon, from 1898 for 8 years, member and as President for 3 years
• City of Ripon, City Attorney
• Fond du Lac County Board of Supervisors, member 1898-1900 and 1940-48, at request of the Ripon City Council
• Four Minute Men, Chairman during World War I
• Council of Defense, Ripon Local, member
• Draft Board, Ripon, Government Appeal Agent
• Fond du Lac County Committee on administration of draft

• Nickname: "Mr. History;" also referred to as a "one-man historical society," because of his collection on Ripon and the surrounding area. Often consulted by mail or in person on historical or genealogical questions.
• State Historical Society of Wisconsin, a Curator from 1915-1952; declined re-election in 1952; made an Honorary Curator for life

• Ripon Commonwealth. Press columns on "Ripon's Early History; weekly, one to three articles on "Ripon's Early History,' from October 1931 to October 1942
• Expert on The Wisconsin Phalanx [Ceresco]; wrote extensively on it
• "History of the First Congregational Church of Ripon," 176 page history for its centennial celebration in 1950.
• Pedrick Necrologies, genealogical records for Ripon area
• Pedrick Scrapbooks, historical records, indexed, clippings, photos, etc.
• Cemetery Inscriptions
• Pedrick papers, miscellaneous

• Sons of the American Revolution, member
• Jeffersonian Democrat in politics and for the last 35 years of his life was an Independent