Calvin Britain (December 31, 1800 – January 18, 1862) was an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of the
U. S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
.
Biography
Britain was born in
Jefferson County, New York
Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United Stat ...
. Britain came from New York to Michigan in 1827 and for a time was a teacher at the
Carey Mission The Carey Mission was established by Baptist missionary Isaac McCoy among the Potawatomi tribe of American Indians on the St. Joseph River near Niles, Michigan, United States in December, 1822. It was named for William Carey, a noted English Bapt ...
at
Niles, Michigan
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana border city of South Bend. In 2010, the population was 11,600 according to the 2010 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cities ...
.
Career
In 1829 Britain and Augustus Newell acquired the lands on which the business portion of
St. Joseph
Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...
was later built. Newell built the first hotel in 1831 known as the "Mansion House". The government surveyed the land in 1830, and Britain laid out the plat of the village in 1831 calling it Newburyport. Britain also built a warehouse and bought and sold real estate. The name of the town was changed to St. Joseph in 1834.
As a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, Britain was a member of the
Legislative Council of Michigan Territory
The Michigan Territorial Council, known formally as the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, was the legislative body of the Territory of Michigan from 1824 to 1835, when it was succeeded by the Michigan Legislature in anticipation ...
from 1832 to 1835,
Michigan Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...
from 1835 to 1837,
Michigan House of Representatives
The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...
from 1847 to 1851, and member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850. Due to changes to the
Michigan Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government.
There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The fi ...
adopted at that convention, he was elected to a one-year term as the
eighth Lieutenant Governor of Michigan with Governor
Robert McClelland.
Death and legacy
Britain never married and resided in St. Joseph until his death there in 1862. He is
interred
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
at Saint Joseph City Cemetery, St. Joseph, Michigan.
Calvin Township in
Cass County, Michigan
Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 51,589. Its county seat is Cassopolis.
Cass County is included in the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a t ...
, is named for him.
[Rogers, Howard S. (1875)]
''History of Cass County, from 1825 to 1875''
p. 208. W.H. Mansfield.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Britain, Calvin
1800 births
1862 deaths
Lieutenant Governors of Michigan
Burials in Michigan
Democratic Party Michigan state senators
Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Members of the Michigan Territorial Legislature
19th-century American politicians