He also represented Door County in the State Assembly in 1885 and served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

[1] As a child, he emigrated to the United States with his parents aboard the ship Edwina, arriving at the harbor of New York City.

[2] John Fetzer attended the high school in Manitowoc for one year, then went to work on his father's farm until the outbreak of the American Civil War.

[2] In June 1861, Fetzer responded to the call for 300,000 volunteers for the Union Army and was enrolled as a private in Company B of the 9th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.

He received a gunshot wound to the right breast and arm, and, after some time in the hospital, he was sent back to Manitowoc until the end of his three-year term.

[2][3] In April 1867, Fetzer moved further north to Ahnapee, Wisconsin, in Kewaunee County, where he established a foundry and machine shop.

He also set up a general merchandise store and, in 1872, he also established a sawmill, soon growing to employ fifty laborers.

The 1890 election was a Democratic wave year, assisted by the backlash against the anti-immigrant Bennett Law, which had been passed in 1889.

After a few weeks of testimony, the Democratic majority ruled in his favor and awarded him the seat in early February 1891.

[2] John's younger brother, Jacob, also enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War and acted as a scout for the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery Regiment.