Jonathan D. Davis
American politician
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Jonathan D. Davis (June 29, 1795 – May 15, 1853) was an American physician and politician. He served in the Michigan Senate in the early years of Michigan's statehood.
Jonathan D. Davis | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Michigan Senate from the 1st district | |
| In office November 2, 1835 – December 31, 1837 | |
| Preceded by | Legislature established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 29, 1795 |
| Died | May 15, 1853 (aged 57) |
| Party | Democratic |
Biography
Jonathan Davis was born in Hanover, New York, on June 29, 1795. He worked as a store clerk and teacher to pay for his own academic and medical education.[1]
He moved to Plymouth, Michigan, in 1828, purchased land, and began a career as a doctor and farmer.[1] He served as the clerk of Plymouth Township in 1828 and 1834.[2] He was also a justice of the peace in 1828 and 1831, and commissioned as a captain in the territorial militia in 1829.[3] He was briefly commissioned twice more, once during the Black Hawk War as a major in 1832, and again during the Toledo War when he served in September 1835 as a colonel, commanding the 1st Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division (Washtenaw County).[4]
Davis served as a territorial judge and was later elected as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1835, then as a Democrat to the Michigan Senate in the first election under the new constitution, and served from 1835 to 1837. He was the president pro tempore of the senate in 1837.[1]
He moved to Jackson, Michigan, in 1842, and worked as the prison physician. He later moved to Albion, Michigan, where he died on May 15, 1853.[1]
Davis was married; his wife, Betsy, died in Jackson on May 19, 1880.[5]