USA > Michigan > Early history of Michigan, with biographies of state officers, members of Congress, judges and legislators > Part 29
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GEORGE W. WISNER,
Representative from Oakland county in 1837, was born in Cayuga county, N. Y., in 1812. He was the son of Moses Wisner, a colonel of the war of 1812, and a brother of Gov. Wisner, of Michigan. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to learn the trade of printer. In 1833, at the age of twenty-one, in company with William H. Der, he established the New York Sun. the first cheap daily paper in that city, of which he was editor. The work broke his health, and in
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1835 he settled at Pontiac. Mich., studied law, was admitted in 1837; soon acquired distinction, and in 1838 was prosecuting attorney of Oakland county. In 1847 he became editor of the Detroit Advertiser. He died in 1849. He was a leading Whig, a fine lawyer, an eloquent speaker in a political campaign, and still holds a leading place in the remembrance of the pioneers of Oakland county.
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MOSES WISNER
Was born at Springport, Cayuga county, N. Y., June 3, 1815. He was. brought up to agricultural labor, and received only a common school education. In 1837 he came to Michigan, and purchased a farm in Lapeer county. After two years he gave up farming, removed to Pontiac, studied law with George W. Wisner and Rufus Hosmer, and. was admitted to practice in 1841. He established his office at Lapeer, and became prosecuting attorney of that county .. He soon removed to Pontiac, as one of the firm of Wisner & Hosmer. He was an anti- slavery Whig, but took little part in politics until 1852, when he openly espoused the cause of freedom for the territories. On the or- ganization of the republican party in 1854, he was nominated for at- torney-general, but declined. The same year he was nominated for congress, but was defeated by George W. Peck, the democratic can -- didate. In 1856 he was on the stump for Fremont, and in 1857 he was one of the Republican candidates for United States Senator. In 1858 he was the Republican candidate for governor, and was elected, serv- ing ably from 1859 to 1861, when he returned to practice. In 1862 he raised the 22d Michigan infantry, largely from Oakland county, of which he took command, and went to Kentucky in September, 1863. He died of typhoid fever at Lexington, Ky., January 5, 1864. He was a great lawyer, an excellent governor, a patriot, and has left his impress on the institutions of the state. In his valedictory mes- sage was embodied the principles that governed his own action in the war, and that governed largely the actions of the people of the . state. His eloquence was that of conviction and action, and the peo -- ple believed in him.
ELIJAH B. WITHERBEE
Was born in Hopkinton, Mass. July 19, 1504; received an academical education: became a clerk in Boston and Medford: went into busi- nees for himself until 1836; then came to Michigan, built a saw-mill in Genesee county, and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. In 1941 he removed to Flint, and was soon after appointed receiver of.
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the land office. In 1845 he entered into the drug business. In 1847 he was Senator, and died while the legislature was in session, Febru- ary 25, 1847. In politics a Whig.
BENJAMIN F. H. WITHERELL
Was born at Fair Haven, Vt., August 4, 1797. By reason of turbu- lence on the part of the Indians, preceding and following the war of 1812, the family of Judge James Witherell did not come permanently to reside in Michigan until 1817, the subject of this sketch, up to that time, pursuing his studies, which were classical if not collegiate. He was admitted to the bar in Detroit in 1819. He was justice of the peace in 1824; city recorder 1828; judge of probate 1834-5, and prose- cuting attorney 1835 to 1839. In 1843 a district criminal court was organized, embracing the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw and Jackson, and Mr. Witherell was appointed judge, holding the position until 1848, when the court was abolished. In the fall of 1843 Judge Witherell tried one Chorr, at Ann Arbor, for the murder of a neighbor named Dunn, with whom he had had trouble. Chorr was convicted and sentenced to death, but pending a new trial, made his escape. This was the only capital sentence ever pronounced under a law of the state, the death penalty being soon after abrogated. He was appointed a regent of the University in 1848, and was circuit judge 1857 to 1861, acting also a portion of the time as judge of the recorder's court. He was Senator 1840-1, member of the House in 1842, and of the constitutional convention of 1850. He held for a time the honorary position of historiographer of Detroit, was presi- dent of the state historical society, and of the soldiers and sailors monument association, and held high positions in the state militia. including that of major general. He contributed to the press and to the public archives many papers of great literary and historical value: politics, democratic. Died in Detroit, June 26, 1867.
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JAMES WITHERELL,
One of the early territorial judges, was born in Mansfield, Mass .. June 16, 1759. IIe served through the greater part of the war of the revolution, entering the service as a private, and rising to the rank of adjutant in a Massachusetts regiment. He studied medicine and law, and settled in Vermont, where he held many positions of trust. including that of judge, member of the governor's council, and of the legislature. He was elected to congress in 1807, but resigned his seat
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to accept an appointment by President Jefferson, as one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the territory of Michigan, coming here in 1SOS. He held a local military command during the war of 1812, specially raised for the defense of Detroit, and it is reported that on the surrender of the town by Gen. Hull, he broke his sword to escape the mortification of relinquishing it to an enemy. A similar action used to be attributed to Gen. Cass on the same occasion. In January, 1828, after a service of twenty years, Judge Witherell relinquished the judgeship to become secretary of the territory. He held this position until May, 1830, and during the first three months of 1830 was acting governor. He raised a family of several children, none of whom are now living. The late Judge B. F. H. Witherell was his son, and a daughter, Mrs. Thomas Palmer, was the mother of Senator Thos. W. Palmer. Judge Witherell died in Detroit, January 9, 1838.
WILLIAM H. WITHINGTON,
Representative from Jackson county in 1873-4, was born in Dorchester, Mass., Feb. 1, 1835. He received an academical education. He emi- grated to Michigan in 1857, and settled in Jackson, where he now resides. In 1861 he entered the first Michigan infantry, as captain. He was captured at the first battle of Bull Run, and was held prisoner for six months. In 1862 he was commissioned colonel of the seven- teenth Michigan infantry, for a prominent part taken in the battles of the army of the Potomac, and was brevetted brigadier general of volunteers in 1865 for conspicuous gallantry at the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Gen. Withington's business is that of a manufacturer of farming tools. As a member of the legislature he was very efficient in securing appropriations for volunteer militia, of which he has since been commanding general. In politics a Republi- can.
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SOLOMON L. WITHEY
Was born at St. Albans. Vt., April 21, 1920. His father, Solomon Withey, known to early residents of Michigan as General Withey, emigrated to Grand Rapids in 1836 with his family. Mr. Withey received a common school and academical education, and in 1939 entered the law office of Rathbone & Martin. He was admitted to the bar in 1543, and engaged in active practice for nineteen years. His career at the bar was one that gave him the unlimited confidence of his clients, and he acquired a competence. His cool judgment, perfect integrity and high character as a man, and thorough knowl-
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edge of the law, made him prominent. From 1848 to 1852 he was judge of probate of Kent county; Senator from 1861 to 1863, and mem- ber of the state constitutional convention of 1867. Both in the Senate and in that convention he was chairman of the committee on the judiciary. In 1863 he was appointed by President Lincoln, United States district judge for the western district of Michigan, a position he filled with signal ability until his death, which occurred at San Diego, California, April 25, 1886. He married Marion L. Hinsdill, in 1846, and left five children-four sons and one daughter. In 1869 he was tendered the position of United States circuit judge for the states of Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky, which he declined. He was director and president of the first national bank of Grand Rapids for many years. He was a Republican in politics, and a con- sistent member of the Congregational church. His courts were models of propriety and decorum.
ISAAC WIXOM
Was born in Hector, N. Y., March 7, 1803. He received an academical and medical education in the state of New York. Hepracticed medicine four years in Steuben county, settled at Farmington, Michigan, in 1529, bought a farm and improved it. His practice in medicine and surgery became very extensive. In 1845 he removed to Argentine, Genesee county, and engaged in a large milling and mercantile business in connection with his practice. He was so noted as a surgeon that he was called into other states to perform difficult surgical operations. In 1838 and 1839 he was Representative in the legislature; in 1842 and 1813 was Senator. In 1861 he became surgeon of the 16th Michigan infantry, followed it through twenty- two battles, but at the end of two years resigned from ill health and returned to practice. In 1870 he removed to Fentonville. In politics a Democrat. He was made a Mason when young and took the highest degree known in the United States. In June, 1845, he per . formed the first successful amputation of the hip joint known in the United States, and afterwards performed sixteen successful operations of that kind. Deceased.
LEVI L. WIXSON
Was born Jan. 9, 1823, in Pickering, Canada. He is of American parentage. He was raised on a farm, and was for several terms engaged in teaching school in Sanilac county. After graduating in the law department of the University in 1862, he commenced the practice of law at Lexington, and continued in practice there until
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his election as circuit judge of the newly organized twenty-fourth judicial circuit, in the spring of 1879, to which office he was reelected April 4, 1881, for the full term. He was elected prosecuting attorney in 1862, and has held publie office continuously since that time, having been three times elected prosecuting attorney, and three times judge of probate of Sanilac county, and twice elected judge of his circuit. In politics he has been Republican since 1856.
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DANIEL WIXSON,
Was born in Jersey, (now Orange) Steuben county, N. Y., Feb. 1, 1822. He received a common school education, and in 1851 settled in Lexington, Michigan. He held various township offices. In 1859 he was a Representative in the legislature, and again in 1873-4. A farmer by occupation; in politics a Republican.
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JOSHUA WIXSON,
Representative from Sanilac county in 1883, was born in Canada, of American parentage, Jan. 9, 1827. Removed to Sanilac county in 1841, where he has since resided. His education was self-acquired. He has taught school, held office in Worth, Sanilac county, continu- ously for 28 years, including that of township clerk, justice of the peace, school inspector, and supervisor, the latter from 1876 to 1882 inclusive. His principal occupation is that of a farmer. He is a Republican.
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GROVE H. WOLCOTT,
Representative from Jackson county in 1881-2, was born in Alabama, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1836. He removed with his parents to llamlin, Mich., in 1837. He received an academical education, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1962, and went into practice at Jackson. He was private secretary to Gov. Blair in 1861, and has been circuit court commissioner two terms. Politically a Democrat.
ALFRED B. WOOD,
Senator from Saginaw and other counties in 1869-70-1-2, was born in Norwalk, Conn., April 18, 1819, where his ancestors settled in 1648. Removed with his mother to Lyons, N. Y., in 1833, and received an academical education. From 1845 to 1851 was engaged in the book business at Auburn and Geneva, N. Y., and then was in the same business at Ann Arbor, Mich. He then became interested in the Ann
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Arbor paper mills, the first in Michigan, until 1862. In 1863 engaged in the real estate and lumber business at East Saginaw, where he now resides. Has been an alderman, and was president pro tem of the Senate in 1871-2. Politically a Republican. .
CHAS. M. WOOD,
Senator from Livingston and Shiawassee counties in 1875, was born at West Brookfield, Mass., Sept. 29, 1826. He received a common school education, and removed to Michigan in 1835. He resides at Pinckney. In politics a Republican.
EDWIN K. WOOD,
Representative from Montcalm county in 1833, was born in Wyoming county, N. Y., in 1840. Served from 1861 to 1863 in 17th N. Y. infan- try. He settled in Michigan in 1865: has been a merchant, farmer and Inmberman, and now resides at Stanton. Has held various local offices. In politics a Republican.
HENRY L. WOOD,
Representative from Gratiot county in 1887, was born in Troy, Ohio, June 17, 1848, where he lived until 1876. He removed to Monroe, Mich., where he remained eighteen months. then removed to Gratiot county, where he has since resided, following the occupation of farming and brick-making. Mr. Wood enlisted in company G, 189th Ohio Vol. infantry, at the age of sixteen and served in Tennessee and Alabama until the close of the war. He is a Republican. He has held the offices of supervisor and school trustee.
JAMES C. WOOD,
Representative from Jackson county in 1875-7, was born in Decatur, N. Y., in 1913. He removed to Michigan in 1843, and settled at White Pigeon. In 1844 removed to Jackson, where he has continued to reside. He has been treasurer of Jackson county, and mayor of the city of Jackson. He is by profession a lawyer, and is also engaged in farming.
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THOMAS WOOD
Was born at Norwich, N. Y., May 21, 1805. He came to Michigan in 1820, and located a farm in Pittsfield, Washtenaw county, where he
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lived until his death, September 21, 1865. His farm was a fine one, and he gave much attention to horticulture. He was Representative in 1845.
WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE
Was born in Norwich, Conn., August 20, 1780, and removed to Mari- etta, Ohio, with his father's family in 1791. He studied law three years at Litchfield, Conn., and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1806. The same year married Juliana, daughter of John Trumbull, the dis- tinguished lawyer, judge and poet, of Connecticut. He was a mem- ber of the Ohio assembly in 1807, and a Senator from 1909 to 1814. In 1814 he was appointed secretary of the territory of Michigan, and was also collector of customs at Detroit,and in the absence of the governor, superintendent of Indian agencies. In 1819 the people of the territory were allowed a delegate in congress, and he was selected with the concurrence of all parties, as the right to a delegate had been secured by his exertions. As a delegate he secured government aid to build the roads from Detroit to Fort Gratiot. Chicago, and through the " black swamp" to the Miami river. He also secured the settle- ment of the old French claims, and the expedition, under Gov. Cass, to Lake Superior and the upper valley .of the Mississippi river. He refused a second terin to congress, acted as secretary until 1824, was then appointed one of the commissioners to adjust private land claims, and also engaged in law practice.
In 1925 he was appointed by President Adams, judge of the Supreme Court, and served until 1832. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1835, and was a Senator in 1838-9. In 1839 he received the nomination for governor and. was elected as the Whig candidate. He served as governor from January 7. 1840, to February 23, 1841, when he resigned, having been elected United States Senator, by a combination of Whigs and Democrats, over the Whig caucus nominee, Lieutenant Governor Gordon. He served six . years in that office, then retired to private life. He owned the Woodbridge farm in Detroit, which has become very valuable prop- erty. He died October 20, 1861.
He was decided in his opinions; earnest, dignified and courteous in manner; a profound jurist and constitutional lawyer; the oldest member of the Detroit bar; a man of refined and cultivated taste, and left a spotless name. In religion a Congregationalist.
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LEMUEL WOODHOUSE,
Delegate in the constitutional convention of 1867, was born in the state of New York in 1819; became a cabinet maker and millwright. and worked near Columbus, Ohio. He removed to Unadilla, Mich., in 1840, afterwards settled at Leslie. He was eight years treasurer of Ingham county, was in the mercantile business at Dansville, resided several years in Lansing, was a clerk in the office of the auditor general, then ran a store and saw-mill and owned a farm at White Oak. Politically a Republican. Died Feb. 22, 1885.
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ELIAS S. WOODMAN,
Delegate in the constitutional convention of 1850, was born in Rod- man, N. Y., Oct. 15, 1815. He came to Michigan with his father in 1837, who settled on a farm at Novi. His education was limited. He was a farmer at Novi until 1873, then removed to Northville, where he now resides. He studied law late in life and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He has held many local offices. In politics a Democrat.
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JONATHAN J. WOODMAN,
Representative from Van Buren county in 1861-2-3-4-5-7-9-'70-1-2. and Speaker in 1869-'70-1-2, was born in Sutton, Vt., May 24, 1825. He received a common school education. He became a resident of Paw Paw, Mich., in 1855. He commenced teaching at the age of twenty-one, which he continued winters for several years. From 1852 to 1854 was a worker in the California gold mines. He is a farmer, politically a Democrat until 1856, since a Republican. . He was one of the state board at the Philadelphia exposition in 1876. He was master of the state grange from 1874 to 1878, and overseer of the national grange from 1875 to 1879. He was one of four agricultural commissioners to the Paris exposition in 1818. He was an able legis- lator and an excellent presiding officer.
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ALBERT N. WOODRUFF,
Representative from Berrien county in 1885, was born in Bainbridge, Mich., July 22, 1950. He received an academical and collegiate edu- cation, and for three years was a teacher. since a farmer. Has been supervisor and held other town offices. Politically a Republican.
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GEORGE WOODRUFF
Was born in Binghampton, N. Y., July 4. 1807. He received a good education, graduated at Hobart college, Geneva, N. Y .; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1833; practiced law in New York state four years; settled in practice at Marshall, Mich., in 1837; and resided there until his death, May 13, 1887. He was village recorder in 1842; circuit court commissioner from 1855 to 1860, and again from 1862 to 1866; judge of the fifth circuit from 1866 to 1876; and held other positions. In politics a Republican.
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HENRY WOODRUFF,
Senator from Clare and other counties in 1885, was born at Seneca Falls, N. Y., Feb. 13, 1813. Removed to Flat Rock, Mich., in 1833, to East Saginaw in 1855, and to Clare county in 1871. He served two and a half years as captain in the 23d Michigan infantry. Has been a sheriff and judge of probate. In politics Whig and Republican.
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NEWTON R. WOODRUFF
Was born in Broome county, N. Y., Oct. 2, 1808. In 1836 he came with his family to Michigan, and in 1837 settled in Bainbridge, Berrien county, on a farm, where he remained until his death, Dec. 24, 1880. From 1852 to 1855 he was in California. In 1865 he was Representative in the legislature. A member of the Methodist church and a patron of husbandry.
AUGUSTUS B. WOODWARD
Was a native of Virginia. In early life he devoted himself to literary work, and wrote and published several works. He became a lawyer, and on the 3d of March, 1805, was appointed by President Jefferson United States judge for the territory of Michigan. He, together with the two other judges, Bates and Griffin, with the governor of the territory, or a majority of them, possessed the legislative power of the territory, which they exercised until 1824, when the first legislative council held its session at Detroit. Judge Woodward was an able lawyer, but very eccentric, and the wheels of government, with himself and colleagues often in collision, did not always run without friction. He acted as judge until 1824. After the surrender of Detroit, in 1812, he did much to ameliorate the condition of the citizens of Detroit, who had been placed under martial law by
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Proctor. In August, 1824, he was appointed United States judge for the territory of Florida, but died about 1826. Ile never married.
DAVID Ą. WOODWARD,
Representative from Monroe county in 1869-70, was born in Phelps- town, N. Y., in 1812. He came with his parents to Michigan in 1833, who settled upon a farm in Milan, where he resided, except the last few years of his life. In 1834 he built the first flouring mill and the first saw-mill in Milan. In 1834 he was elected justice under the territorial laws, and continued to act in that capacity for thirty years. He was supervisor of Milan for several years. In politics a Democrat. From 1850 until his death, June 13, 1884, he devoted most of his time to the practice of law.
HIEL WOODWARD,
Was born in Bridgewater. Vt., Feb. 10, 1824. His grandfather, Nehemiah, was a Baptist clergyman, and in the revolution was an attaché of the staff of General Washington. He came to Michigan with his father in 1836, and lived at Adrian until 1845. He learned the trade of a mechanic, which he followed several years. He purchased a farm in Columbia, Jackson county. In 1858 he was elected supervisor, and held that office ten years: in 1865 and 1867 he was a Representative, and in 1869-70 Senator in the legislature. In 1870 he took the census of the south part of Jackson county. In 1872 ' he was appointed postmaster of Brooklyn and held it many years.
LYSANDER WOODWARD
Was born in Columbia, Conn., Nov. 19, 1817. He removed with his parents to Chili, N. Y., in 1825. In 1838 he came to Rochester, Michi- gan, and five years afterwards settled on a farm in Avon, same county. He was several times supervisor and justice. In 1861-2 he was a Representative from Oakland county. From 1866 to 1870 he was county treasurer, and several times has been president of the county agricultural society. He was for two years president of the Detroit & Bay City railroad company. In politics a Republican.
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JOHN D. WOODWORTH
Was born in Pembroke, N. Y., Feb. 28, 1826. Emigrated to Jackson in 1831, and was educated in the schools of that city. He studied
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medicine, and graduated from Rush medical college, Chicago, in 1853. He came to Leslie in 1849, and represented the town for fifteen years on the board of supervisors. He was a Representative from Ingham county in 1863-4-5-7, was the first president of the village of Leslie, a member of the board of education for 25 years, and director of the Leslie schools for fifteen years. A Republican in politics.
THOMAS B. WOODWORTH,
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Representative from Huron county in 1877, was born Oct. 2, 1841, in Wayne county, N. Y. He received an academical education. He removed from Auburn, N. Y., to Huron county, Michigan, in 1867. He has been supervisor of the township of Caseville, 1868 to 1876, and was county surveyor for two years. He founded the Caseville Adver- tiser in Jan.', 1874, and continued its editor until 1876, when it was merged in the Huron County News. He is by profession a lawyer. In politics a Republican.
WALTER W. WOOLNOUGH
Was born in Suffolk county, England in July, 1822. He came to Rochester, N. Y., with his parents in 1833, where he learned the art of printing. In 1845 came to Battle Creek, Mich., bought the first print- ing material and published the Western Citizen, the first newspaper. In August, 1846, began to publish the Michigan Tribune, which after two years was merged in the Liberty Press. From 1851 to 1863 was editor and publisher of the Battle Creek Journal. From that date until 1871 was not engaged in newspaper work, then edited and pub- lished the Michigan Tribune until 1877, when he sold out. He was a trustee of the village of Battle Creek: a Representative in 1859; an alderman four years; nine years a member of the board of education, and president, and a justice. In politics a Whig until 1854, a Repub- lican until 1872, since a Democrat. Is now connected with the Battle Creek Daily Moon.
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