Elon Farnsworth (February 2, 1799,

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Chart ...

– March 24, 1877,

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 th ...

) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served as both

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the 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 ...

Biography

Elon Farnsworth was born February 2, 1799, in

. His father was a farmer and he was educated in the local schools. He moved to

in 1822 and began studying law in the offices of

Solomon Sibley Solomon Sibley (October 7, 1769 – April 4, 1846) was an American politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory who became the first mayor of Detroit. Early life: 1769–1815 Sibley was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth and Reube ...

, eventually taking over the business after Sibley was elevated to the bench and his other partner died. He later formed his own firm of Farnsworth & Bates with Asher B. Bates. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1834 and served one term. When the office of

was created by the new state constitution of 1835, Farnsworth was appointed to it, and served until 1843. He served briefly again between the 1846 resignation of

Randolph Manning Randolph Manning (May 19, 1804 – August 31, 1864) was an American jurist and politician. He served as Michigan Secretary of State (1838-1840) and Chancellor of the Michigan Court of Chancery (1842-1846). Biography Born in Plainfield, New J ...

and the 1847 abolishment of the Court of Chancery. He ran as the Democratic nominee for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...

in 1839, losing to

William Woodbridge William Woodbridge (August 20, 1780October 20, 1861) was a U.S. statesman in the states of Ohio and Michigan and in the Michigan Territory prior to statehood. He served as the second Governor of Michigan and a United States Senator from Mic ...

. After resigning as Chancellor in 1843, Governor John S. Barry appointed Farnsworth as

, a position which he held for two years. Farnsworth served several different terms on the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...

of 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 ...

. As Chancellor of the state, he was an ''ex officio'' regent from 1835 to 1843. He was appointed to the board by the Governor in 1846 and served in that capacity until 1852 (while simultaneously being an ''ex officio'' member as Chancellor from 1846 to 1847). When the Board of Regents became an elected body in 1852, he was elected to the board and served again until 1858. He was influential in the board's selection of

Henry Philip Tappan Henry Philip Tappan (April 18, 1805 – November 15, 1881) was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. He is officially considered the first president of the University of Michigan.The University of Michigan was establi ...

as the first

President of the University of Michigan The president of the University of Michigan is a constitutional officer who serves as the principal executive officer of the University of Michigan. The president is chosen by the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, as provided for ...

. He was a Director of the

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...

and President of the Detroit Savings Bank from 1849 until shortly before his death. He died March 24, 1877, of complications from a long-term kidney disease and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnsworth, Elon People from Woodstock, Vermont Members of the Michigan Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Chancellors of Michigan Michigan Attorneys General Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) Regents of the University of Michigan Businesspeople from Detroit Lawyers from Detroit 1799 births 1877 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers