Jonathan Kearsley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jonathan Kearsley
5th Mayor of Detroit
In office 1829 – 1829
Preceded by	John Biddle
Succeeded by	John R. Williams
3rd Mayor of Detroit
In office 1826 – 1826
Preceded by	Henry Jackson Hunt
Succeeded by	John Biddle
Born	1789 Virginia
Died	1859 Detroit, Michigan
Alma mater	Washington College

Jonathan Kearsley (1789, Virginia–1859, Detroit) was an American military officer and politician. He fought in the War of 1812 and was a two-time mayor of Detroit.

[edit] Biography

Jonathan Kearsley was born in Virginia in 1789 and graduated from Washington College in 1811. He joined the Army the following year as a First Lieutenant in the Second Artillery Corps, eventually reaching the rank of Major. 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). 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.

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. He lived on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street in Detroit.

He served as mayor of Detroit two separate times, in 1826 and 1829. 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]

He died in 1859 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.^[2]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Barnard, F. A. (1878), American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-made Men: Michigan Volume, Cincinnati: Western Biographical, OCLC 2988468, <http://books.google.com/books?id=U-IBAAAAMAAJ> 
• Carlisle, Fred, ed. (1890), Chronography of Notable Events in the History of the Northwest Territory and Wayne County, Detroit: O.S. Gulley, Bornman, OCLC 13694600, <http://books.google.com/books?id=bR4yB_oZTSYC> 
• Franck, Michael S. (1996), Elmwood Endures: History of a Detroit Cemetery, Detroit: Wayne State University, ISBN 0814325912, <http://books.google.com/books?id=Q0KBYj8v_ZMC> 

Political offices
Preceded by Henry Jackson Hunt	Mayor of Detroit 1826	Succeeded by John Biddle
Preceded by John Biddle	Mayor of Detroit 1829	Succeeded by John R. Williams