Alexander Mitchell

Who was Alexander Mitchell?

Alexander Mitchell was a Scottish-born banker, railroad financier and Democratic politician in Milwaukee.

He was born in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and immigrated to the United States in 1839. He pursued a career in banking in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded the Marine Bank of Wisconsin, and served as president of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway from 1864-1887. With fellow director Jeremiah Milbank he built the Milwaukee Road into one of the most profitable railroads in the United States. He was considered the wealthiest person in Wisconsin for his generation and owned a mansion across the street from the Milwaukee County Courthouse, which survives and is now the site of the Wisconsin Club.

Mitchell served in the Forty-second United States Congress and Forty-third United States Congress. He first represented Wisconsin's 1st congressional district and then redistricted to Wisconsin's 4th congressional district for the Forty-third Congress. He was nominated for Governor of Wisconsin in 1877, but he declined. Mitchell is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.