Jonathan Kearsley (1786–1859) was an American military officer and politician. He fought in the War of 1812 and was a two-time mayor of Detroit.
Early life
Jonathan Kearsley was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania on August 20, 1786,[1] and graduated from Washington College in Washington, Pennsylvania (now Washington & Jefferson College) in 1811.[2] He was one of the founders of the Union Literary Society at Washington College.[3] He joined the Army the following year as a First Lieutenant in the Second Artillery Corps, eventually reaching the rank of Major.[1] He fought in several battles during the War of 1812, including the Battle of Stoney Creek, Battle of Crysler's Farm, and the Battle of Chippawa (following the Capture of Fort Erie).[4] In the latter battle, he was wounded, and one of his legs was amputated. The operation was performed incorrectly and he suffered pain for the rest of his life from it.[1]
In 1815, Kearsley married Margaret Hetich.[1] The couple had three children: Edmund Roberts (1816), Rebekah H (1817), and Martha I. (1819); Margaret died in 1821.[1] He later married Rachel Valentine.[5]
Life in Detroit
He held the office of Collector of Revenue Taxes in Virginia from 1817 until 1819, when he moved to Detroit and was appointed Receiver of Public Monies, a title which he held for thirty years.[1] He lived on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street in Detroit.[4]
He served as mayor of Detroit two separate times, first appointed by the council to fill the unexpired term of Henry Jackson Hunt in 1826, and then being elected in 1829.[6] He also served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Michigan from 1827 to 1837, and again on its re-organized Board of Regents from 1838 until 1852.[1][7] He died in 1859 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.[8]
Kearsley Creek, a tributary of the Flint River, Kearsley Community Schools,[9] and a major street in Flint, Michigan are named after him, as was the short-lived (1839–43) Kearsley Township, Michigan.
Further reading
- John C. Fredriksen, ed., “The Memoirs of Jonathan Kearsley: A Michigan Hero From the War of 1812.” Indiana Military History Journal 10:2 (May 1985)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Elmer L. White (1900), The descendants of Jonathan Kearsley, 1718–1782, and his wife Jane Kearsley, 1720–1801, (from Scotland), pp. 51–52
- ^ (washington, Washington and Jefferson College; ), Pa; Eaton, Samuel John Mills (1889), Biographical and Historical Catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College, Cincinnati, Ohio: Elm Street Printing Company, p. 272
- ^ McClelland, W.C. (1903), "A History of Literary Societies at Washington & Jefferson College", The Centennial Celebration of the Chartering of Jefferson College in 1802, Philadelphia: George H. Buchanan and Company, pp. 111–132
- ^ a b Carlisle, Fred, ed. (1890), Chronography of Notable Events in the History of the Northwest Territory and Wayne County, Detroit: O.S. Gulley, Bornman, pp. 236–237, OCLC 13694600
- ^ Silas Farmer (1889), THE HISTORY OF DETROIT AND MICHIGAN, p. 1033
- ^ The government of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan: 1701 to 1907, historical and biographical, 1907, p. 28, ISBN 9780598455529
- ^ Barnard, F. A. (1878), American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-made Men: Michigan Volume, Cincinnati: Western Biographical, p. 88, OCLC 2988468
- ^ Franck, Michael S. (1996), Elmwood Endures: History of a Detroit Cemetery, Detroit: Wayne State University, p. 156, ISBN 0-8143-2591-2
- ^ McKay, Ave'r. "Kearsley celebrates its 75th anniversary". The Eclipse. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
