Robert Boyd Wentworth was born in
Buxton, Maine, in January 1827. He was raised in that area and worked as a boy at
Portland, Maine, learning the
printing trade. He came to
Wisconsin in 1848 and settled at
Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked as a journeyman printer. Subsequently, he moved to
Juneau, Wisconsin, where he published the
Dodge County Gazette—the first paper in that county. He later renamed the paper the
Burr Oak. In 1856, he was elected to the
Wisconsin State Assembly from Dodge County's 3rd Assembly district. In 1857, he relocated to
Portage, Wisconsin, in
Columbia County, and purchased a paper called the
Independent from Julius C. Chandler. He renamed it the
Portage City Record and published for several years in partnership with
Andrew Jackson Turner and Moses M. Davis. Turner later bought out the other two partners and merged the paper with the
Wisconsin State Register. After selling his stake in the
Record, Wentworth pursued other business ventures, building a grain elevator on the bank of the
ship canal between the
Fox and
Wisconsin rivers. He subsequently operated a successful
grain trade for several years, and through that interest developed into shipping, creating the Portage and Green Bay Transportation Company. He then moved into banking and was one of the founders of the City Bank of Portage. In 1880, he was one of the founders of the Portage Hosiery Company, which became a significant employer in the city. Aside from his business ventures, Wentworth served several years on the Portage city council. Wentworth died in August 1914 after a brief illness. ==Personal life and family==