John Ellenwood

John Ellenwood
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the Oakland County district
In office
November 2, 1835 – January 1, 1837
Personal details
Born(1777 -09-15)September 15, 1777
Amherst, New Hampshire
DiedMay 9, 1856(1856-05-09) (aged 78)
West Bloomfield, Michigan
Political partyDemocratic

John Ellenwood (September 15, 1777 – May 9, 1856) was an American politician who served one term in the Michigan House of Representatives immediately after its establishment by the state's first constitution.

Biography

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John Ellenwood was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, on September 15, 1777, the son of Ebenezer Ellenwood and Elizabeth Seaton.[1][2][3][4] He worked as a surveyor,[5] served as town clerk in Amherst from 1812 to 1814,[6] then moved to Ridgeway, New York, in 1816.[5]

He moved to West Bloomfield, Michigan, in 1823,[1] and again worked as a surveyor, helping to lay out most of the roads that were laid out in the county at the time.[5] He was appointed a justice of the peace in 1827 and held that position his entire life. He was a delegate to the state's first constitutional convention in 1835, and was elected as a Democrat to the Michigan House of Representatives following the constitution's adoption. He also served as postmaster from 1831 to 1856, and as a supervisor for nine years.[1]

He died at home on the family farm on May 9, 1856.[1][7]

Family

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Ellenwood married Jane Stanley on June 23, 1799. They had five children: Calvin, Eben, Jane Seaton, Ismenia Stanley, and John Morris.[3] Jane Ellenwood died on April 1, 1864.[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Bingham 1888, p. 251.
  2. ^ Chapman Bros. 1891, pp. 449–450.
  3. ^ a b Secomb 1883, p. 578.
  4. ^ Seaton 1906, p. 241.
  5. ^ a b c Chapman Bros. 1891, p. 449.
  6. ^ Secomb 1883, p. 202.
  7. ^ a b Chapman Bros. 1891, p. 450.

References

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  • Bingham, Stephen D. (1888), Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators, Lansing: Thorp & Godfrey, retrieved 2018-12-15
  • Michigan Manual (1877–78 ed.), Lansing: State of Michigan, 1877, retrieved 2018-12-15
  • Portrait and Biographical Album of Oakland County, Michigan, Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1891, retrieved 2018-12-15
  • Seaton, Oren A. (1906), The Seaton Family, with Genealogy and Biographies, Topeka: Crane, retrieved 2018-12-15
  • Secomb, Daniel F. (1883), History of the Town of Amherst, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Concord, N. H.: Evans, Sleeper & Woodbury, retrieved 2018-12-15