John H. Harmon

John H. Harmon was born in Portage County, Ohio, on June 21, 1819.^[1] His father, John Harmon, was a printer and published a newspaper in Ravenna, Ohio. The younger Harmon joined his father and learned the printer's trade. In 1838, the younger Harmon travelled to Detroit as the aide-de-camp of "General" Lucius V. Bierce, a leader of the Hunter Patriots, a group dedicated to ridding North America of the British Empire.^[2] In December 1838, Harmon took part in the Battle of Windsor, personally burning the British barracks and the steamer Thames.^[2]

After the Battle of Windsor, Harmon stayed in Detroit, obtaining a job at the Detroit Free Press. He became an editor and one-third owner of the paper in 1841, and in 1853 sole owner of the paper.^[3] Harmon sold the Free Press the next year.^[3]

In 1841, Harmon married Sarah S. Rood.^[1] The couple had three children: John Harmon, Emma Harmon, and Mrs. S. H. Bell.^[1]

Harmon was a prominent Democrat, serving as an alderman of the city of Detroit in 1847 and two years as mayor, in 1852 and 1853,^[1] as well as representing Michigan on the 1848 Democratic National Committee.^[4] He was also a member of the state militia, being appointed a Colonel in 1850.^[5] Following his stint as mayor, he was appointed by President Franklin Pierce as Collector for the Port of Detroit, where he served until 1857.^[1] After he left the office of Collector, Harmon spent much of his time in Washington, D.C., during congressional sessions.^[6]

During this time Harmon, as one biographer put it, "became a victim to the bad habits created by the customs of hospitality then existing in Detroit."^[6] Through generosity to his friends, his fortune declined, and Harmon spent some time again working for the Free Press.^[7] However, he later "conquered [his] habit" and became a total abstainer,^[7] a "silent but eloquent example of a permanently reformed man."^[6] John H. Harmon died August 6, 1888, in a hotel in Detroit.^[8]