Allen R. Bushnell

Allen Ralph Bushnell (July 18, 1833 – March 29, 1909) was an American lawyer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district for the 52nd Congress (1891–1893). Before his service in Congress, he was the first mayor of Lancaster, Wisconsin (1878), and served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin (1886–1890), appointed by President Grover Cleveland.

Earlier, he served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1872). In the 1860s, he served as district attorney of Grant County, Wisconsin, but took leave from those duties to serve as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War; in the war, he served with the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac.

Bushnell began his political career as a Republican, winning his elections as district attorney and member of the Assembly on the Republican ticket. He switched to the Democratic Party in the mid 1870s due to his disdain for the political machine running the Republican Party of Wisconsin. He was elected mayor and member of Congress on the Democratic ticket.