John Hawkins Rountree was a Wisconsin pioneer and politician.

Born in Warren County, Kentucky

Warren County, Kentucky

Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky, specifically the Pennyroyal Plateau and Western Coal Fields regions. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 113,792 in the 2010 Census. The county seat is Bowling Green...

, Rountree settled first in Hillsboro, Illinois

Hillsboro, Illinois

Hillsboro is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,359 at the 2000 census, and 6,106 at a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Montgomery County.-History:...

, and then went to Michigan Territory

Michigan Territory

The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan...

 to the lead mines in 1827. There he staked a claim where the city of Platteville, Wisconsin

Platteville, Wisconsin

Platteville is the largest city in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. The population was 11,224 at the 2010 census, growing 12% since the 2000 Census. Much of this growth is likely due to the enrollment increase of the University of Wisconsin–Platteville...

 is today. Hawkins served as judge in the Michigan Territory and later the Wisconsin Territory

Wisconsin Territory

The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin...

. He also served in the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, the 1847-1848 Wisconsin State Constitution Convention, and was a captain in a militia during the Black Hawk War

Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....

 of 1832. In 1850-1851 and in 1866-1867, Rountree served in the Wisconsin State Senate

Wisconsin State Senate

The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly...

 and in the Wisconsin State Assembly

Wisconsin State Assembly

The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

in 1863.