Henry Ledyard
Mayor of Detroit
In office
1855–1855
Preceded byOliver Moulton Hyde
Succeeded byOliver Moulton Hyde
Personal details
Born
Henry Brockholst Ledyard

(1812-03-05)March 5, 1812
New York City, U.S.
DiedJune 7, 1880(1880-06-07) (aged 68)
London, England
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Matilda Frances Cass
​
​
(m. 1839)​
Children5, including Lewis
Parent(s)Benjamin Ledyard
Susan French Livingston
RelativesHenry Livingston (grandfather)
Lewis Cass (father-in-law)
Alma materColumbia College

Henry Brockholst Ledyard Sr. (March 5, 1812 – June 7, 1880) was the mayor of Detroit, Michigan, and a state senator, briefly served as assistant secretary under Secretary of State Lewis Cass, and was the president of the Newport Hospital and the Redwood Library in Newport, Rhode Island.

Early life

Ledyard was born in New York City on March 5, 1812, the son of prominent New York lawyer Benjamin Ledyard (1779–1812) and Susan French Livingston (1789–1864). His mother was the daughter of Revolutionary War Colonel and US Supreme Court justice Henry Brockholst Livingston (1757–1823) and granddaughter of New Jersey governor William Livingston.[1]

Ledyard graduated from Columbia College in 1830, and began practicing law in New York. When Lewis Cass was appointed Minister to France in 1836, Ledyard accompanied him to Paris, eventually becoming chargé d’affaires of the embassy.[1]

Career

Ledyard returned to the United States in 1844 and moved to Detroit, where he was active in the city and managed Cass's property holdings.[2] He was one of the founders of the State Savings Bank, one of the original promoters of the Elmwood Cemetery, and was a member of the Board of Education.[1]

He organized and promoted the first plank road company in Michigan, and was involved in a number of other ventures that promoted communication between Detroit and the interior of the state.[3] In 1849–1850 he was an alderman of the city, and served as mayor in 1855 and was one of the original commissioners on the Board of Water Commissioners.[1]

Ledyard was a Democrat, and was elected as a state senator in 1857.[1] However, when Lewis Cass was appointed Secretary of State under James Buchanan, Ledyard resigned his post in the legislature[3] and accompanied him to Washington, DC, and remained there until 1861,[1] briefly serving as assistant secretary of state.[2] Afterwards, he moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where he lived for the rest of his life. He raised funds for and was the first president of the Newport Hospital, and was the president of the Redwood Library in Newport.[1]

Personal life

In 1839, Ledyard married Cass's daughter Matilda Frances Cass (1808–1898).[1] The couple had five children:[4][3][5]

Henry Ledyard died June 7, 1880, in London, England, during a brief European visit.[1]

Descendants

Through his eldest son Henry, he was the grandfather of Matilda Cass Ledyard (1871–1960), who married Baron Clemens von Ketteler (1853–1900), a German diplomat,[13][14] Henry B. Ledyard III (1875–1932), Augustus Canfield Ledyard (1877–1899), and Hugh Ledyard (1885–1951).

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Silas Farmer (1889), THE HISTORY OF DETROIT AND MICHIGAN, pp. 1041–1043
  2. ^ a b Stephen D. Bingham (1888), Early history of Michigan: with biographies of state officers, members of Congress, judges and legislators, Thorp & Godfrey, state printers, pp. 410–411
  3. ^ a b c Compendium of History and Biography of the City of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Henry Taylor & Co, 1908, pp. 251–254
  4. ^ The Magazine of American history with notes and queries, vol. 7, A. S. Barnes, 1881, p. 195
  5. ^ a b Ledyard, Henry. "Guide to the Henry Ledyard collection 1726-1899 and undated (bulk 1840-1859)" (PDF). library.brown.edu. Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  6. ^ Island, National Society of the Colonial Dames of America Rhode (1897). First record book of the Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Ending August 31, 1896. Snow & Farnham, printers. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  7. ^ Clarence Monroe Burton; William Stocking; Gordon K. Miller (1922), The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922; Volume 4, The S. J. Clarke publishing company, pp. 5–6
  8. ^ "Ledyard Given Quiet Funeral," Detroit Free Press, May 28, 1921, p. 11.
  9. ^ Tompkins, Hamilton Bullock (1877). Biographical Record of the Class of 1865, of Hamilton College. Hamilton College. p. 73. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  10. ^ "Mrs. Lewis Cass Ledyard, Sr. (1851-1905)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  11. ^ Psi Upsilon (1932), The diamond of Psi Upsilon, vol. 18, Psi Upsilon Fraternity, pp. 170–171
  12. ^ Marquis, Albert Nelson (1911). Who's Who in America | A Biographical Directory of Notable Living Men and Women of The United States | Vol VI 1910-1911. London: A. N. Marquis & Co. p. 1134. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  13. ^ Michigan, University of (1960). The President's Report to the Board of Regents for the Academic Year ... Financial Statement for the Fiscal Year. UM Libraries. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  14. ^ Bragg, Amy Elliott (October 20, 2011). Hidden History of Detroit. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781614233459. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
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Political offices Preceded byOliver Moulton Hyde Mayor of Detroit 1855 Succeeded byOliver Moulton Hyde
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