Jonathan Kearsley
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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
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- 19th-century mayors of places in Michigan
- United States Army personnel of the War of 1812
- Washington & Jefferson College alumni
- Regents of the University of Michigan
- 1786 births
- 1859 deaths
- Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit)
- Mayors of Detroit
- People from Middletown, Pennsylvania
- United States Army officers
- Military personnel from Pennsylvania