Ebenezer Oliver Grosvenor, Jr. (January 26, 1820 – March 10, 1910) was an American politician from the U. S. state 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 ...

Early life

Grosvenor was born in Stillwater, New York and received a common school and academic education. From the age of fifteen to seventeen he was a clerk in Chittenango, New York. He moved to Michigan in 1837 and worked as a clerk with his brother for two years in

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

. He was also a clerk in the state commissioner’s office in Monroe from 1839 to 1840, and a clerk in Jonesville from 1840 to 1844. In 1840, he became a charter member of the Odd Fellows in Jonesville and passed all the chairs of that Order. On February 25, 1844 he married Sally Ann Champlin in Stillwater, New York and they had four children together. After returning to Michigan he became a merchant at Jonesville. In 1854, he established the banking house of Grosvenor & Co., in which he was president and manager. In 1855, he joined the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and achieved the rank of Master Mason. He also regularly attended the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Politics

Grosvenor was a Whig until 1854 and in 1858 he was elected as a Republican to the

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 ...

serving in 1859. In 1861, he was president of the military contract board. Also in that year, he was commissioned a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on Governor

Austin Blair Austin Blair (February 8, 1818 – August 6, 1894), also known as the Civil War Governor, was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as its 13th governor and in its House of Representatives and Senate as well as the U.S. Sena ...

's staff and was also president of the state military board. He was again elected to the stated senate and served from 1862 to 1864 and served on the committee on finance in 1862. In 1864, Grosvenor was elected the 17th

lieutenant governor of Michigan The lieutenant governor of Michigan is the second-ranking official in U.S. state of Michigan, behind the governor. The current lieutenant governor by default is Garlin Gilchrist, a Democrat, who has held the office since January 1, 2019. Proce ...

and served during Governor

Henry H. Crapo Henry Howland Crapo (pronounced ''Cray-poe''; May 24, 1804 – July 23, 1869) was a businessman and politician who was the List of Governors of Michigan, 14th Governor of Michigan from 1865–1869, during the end of the American Civil War and th ...

's first term from 1865 to 1867. He was then appointed

State Treasurer of Michigan The State Treasurer of Michigan functions as the chief financial officer for the U.S. state of Michigan. The State Treasurer oversees the collection, investment, and disbursement of all state monies, and also administers major tax laws, safeguard ...

from 1867 to 1871 during Crapo’s second term and

Henry P. Baldwin Henry Porter Baldwin (February 22, 1814 – December 31, 1892), a descendant of pilgrim father Nathaniel Baldwin, was the 15th governor of Michigan and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. Early life in Rhode Island Baldwin was born to Jo ...

's first term. Grosvenor served a member and president of the board of state building commissioners from 1871 to 1879. He then served on the board of regents at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1879 to 1888. He was also long vice president of the Jackson & Fort Wayne railroad company and a director of some insurance companies and other corporations. In 1903, at the age of 83, he became a member of the

Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronald Weiser was elected chairman in 2021. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been el ...

State Central Committee.

Death and legacy

Grosvenor died at the age of ninety in Jonesville. His former house in Jonesville is now a museum.Grosvenor House
hillsdalecounty.info; accessed May 14, 2017.

Notes

General references

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grosvenor, Ebenezer O. 1820 births 1910 deaths American bank presidents American Freemasons Lieutenant Governors of Michigan Michigan Republicans Michigan state senators Michigan Whigs People from Jonesville, Michigan People from Stillwater, New York Regents of the University of Michigan State treasurers of Michigan 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American merchants