Augustus Seymour Porter

Augustus S. Porter
United States Senator
from Michigan
In office
January 20, 1840 March 4, 1845
Preceded by Lucius Lyon
Succeeded by Lewis Cass
14th Mayor of Detroit
In office
1838 March 14, 1839
Preceded by Henry Howard
Succeeded by Asher B. Bates
Personal details
Born (1798-01-18)January 18, 1798
Canandaigua, New York
Died September 18, 1872(1872-09-18) (aged 74)
Niagara Falls, New York
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Sarah A. Mansfield
(m. 1822; her death 1824)

Sarah G. Barnard
(m. 1832; his death 1872)
Children 3
Parents Augustus Porter
Lavinia Steele
Relatives Peter Porter, Jr. (half-brother)
Peter Buell Porter (uncle)
Peter A. Porter (cousin)
Education Canandaigua Academy
Alma mater Union College
Profession Lawyer

Augustus Seymour Porter (January 18, 1798  September 18, 1872) was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan.

Early life

He was born in Canandaigua, New York, the son of Augustus Porter (1769–1849) and his first wife, Lavinia Steele.[1] His brother was Peter B. Porter, Jr. (1806–1871) and his uncle was Peter Buell Porter (1773–1844), the United States Secretary of War under John Quincy Adams.

He attended Canandaigua Academy,[2] and graduated from Union College, in Schenectady, New York, in 1818, studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Detroit, Michigan.

Career

Porter became the recorder of Detroit in 1830 and was the treasurer of the Michigan Pioneer Society in 1837.[2] He was elected mayor of Detroit in 1838,[2] resigning in 1839 to run for the United States Senate, and was succeeded as mayor by Asher B. Bates on March 14, 1839.[2]

He was elected as a Whig to the United States Senate, and served from January 20, 1840 until March 4, 1845.[3] He did not run for reelection in 1844.[2] He was chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals, 1841–1845, and was on the Committee on Enrolled Bills, 1841–1843.[2]

Personal life

On July 25, 1822, he married Sarah A. Mansfield (d. 1824). Mansfield died a few months after the birth of Porter's only son:[4]

On September 24, 1832, he married his second wife, Sarah G. Barnard (1807–1885). Together, they had:[4]

In 1848, he moved to his father’s residence, in Niagara Falls, New York, and died there on September 18, 1872. He is interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York.[5] Sarah died at Newport, Isle of Wight on April 30, 1885.[4]

References

  1. Welles, Albert (1881). History of the Buell Family in England: From the Remotest Times Ascertainable from Our Ancient Histories, and in America, from Town, Parish, Church and Family Records. Illustrated with Portraits and Coat Armorial. New York, NY: Society Library. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 United States Congress. "Augustus Seymour Porter (id: P000437)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  3. Press, C. Q. (October 6, 2009). American Political Leaders 1789-2009. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. ISBN 9781452267265. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Andrews, Henry Porter (1893). The Descendants of John Porter of Windsor, Conn. 1635-9 (Vol. II ed.). Saratoga Springs: G.W. Ball, printer. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  5. "The Political Graveyard". Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.

External links

United States Senate
Preceded by
Lucius Lyon
U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Michigan
January 20, 1840 – March 4, 1845
Served alongside: John Norvell,
William Woodbridge
Succeeded by
Lewis Cass


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