De Garmo Jones (November 11, 1787 – November 14, 1846) was a businessman, state senator, and mayor of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Biography

De Garmo Jones was born in 1787 in

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; the first name of his father is unknown but his mother was Rachel De Garmo, daughter of a prominent Albany family. He served as a sutler during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, during which time he passed through Detroit. In March, 1818, Jones married Catherine Annin. The couple immediately moved to Detroit, arriving in 1819. De Garmo and Catherine Annin Jones had seven children, of which three survived them: Matilda Cass Jones (born 1833, married Augustus Porter Thompson), De Garmo Jones (born 1835, married Caroline Sauger), and Alice Kercheval Jones (born 1838, married Albert M. Steele). De Garmo Jones purchased a farm near the city of Detroit, located between what is now Third Avenue and the alley east of Fourth Street. from the National Park Service Over time, Jones increased the value of the farm, making him and his heirs wealthy. Jones had a diverse portfolio of business interests: he was one of the first stockholders in the Bank of Michigan, one of the first directors of the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad (later the Michigan Central Railroad), and developed

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mines near

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. He also owned interests in shipping, warehousing, and construction companies, and built the first capitol building on the state of Michigan. Jones was a member of the Whig Party, and served several times as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

of the city of Detroit (1827, 1830, and 1838), and was elected mayor in 1839. He also served as

Adjutant-General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the state of Michigan in 1829 and as a state senator in 1840-1841. His contemporary George C. Bates said of him: :Sudden and quick in quarrel, with a temper requiring a curb bit, Mr. Jones was a sort of western Vanderbilt, with a great big head, enlarged views, interesting industry, who saw far ahead into the future, and had he lived longer, would have cut deeper and deeper into the tablet of time his career, for he was a most public spirited, enterprising, go ahead man. (Originally published in the ''Detroit Free Press,'' 1877-1878) De Garmo Jones died on November 14, 1846, leaving an estate valued at $250,000. His wife Catherine died in 1865, leaving an estate valued at $500,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, De Garmo 1787 births 1846 deaths Michigan state senators Detroit City Council members Mayors of Detroit Politicians from Albany, New York Michigan Whigs 19th-century American politicians