Henry Brockholst Ledyard Sr. (March 5, 1812 – June 7, 1880) was the 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 th ...
, Michigan, and a state senator, briefly served as assistant secretary under
Secretary of State Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...
, and was the president of the
Newport Hospital
Newport Hospital is a private, nonprofit hospital located in Newport, Rhode Island. Together with The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital, Newport Hospital is a member of the Lifespan health system.
History
Newport Hospital was founded in ...
and the
Redwood Library
The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a subscription library, museum, rare book repository and research center founded in 1747, and located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The building, designed by Peter Harrison and completed ...
in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
.
Early life
Ledyard was born in New York City on March 5, 1812, the son of prominent New York lawyer Benjamin Ledyard (1779–1812) and Susan French Livingston (1789–1864). His mother was the daughter of Revolutionary War Colonel and
US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
justice
Henry Brockholst Livingston
Henry Brockholst Livingston (November 25, 1757 – March 18, 1823) was an American Revolutionary War officer, a justice of the New York Court of Appeals and eventually an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Early life
...
(1757–1823) and granddaughter of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
governor
William Livingston
William Livingston (November 30, 1723July 25, 1790) was an American politician who served as the first governor of New Jersey (1776–1790) during the American Revolutionary War. As a New Jersey representative in the Continental Congress, he sig ...
.
Ledyard graduated from
Columbia College in 1830, and began practicing law in New York. When
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...
was appointed Minister to France in 1836, Ledyard accompanied him to Paris, eventually becoming ''
chargé d’affaires
Chargé () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France.
Chargé is a small town near Amboise. The Rock 'in Chargé festival has revitalized the village sinc2006
Population
The inhabitants are called ''Chargéens''.
See a ...
'' of the embassy.
Career
Ledyard returned to the United States in 1844 and moved to Detroit, where he was active in the city and managed Cass's property holdings.
He was one of the founders of the State Savings Bank, one of the original promoters of the
Elmwood Cemetery, and was a member of the Board of Education.
He organized and promoted the first
plank road
A plank road is a road composed of wooden planks or puncheon logs. Plank roads were commonly found in the Canadian province of Ontario as well as the Northeast and Midwest of the United States in the first half of the 19th century. They were oft ...
company in
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 ...
, and was involved in a number of other ventures that promoted communication between Detroit and the interior of the state.
In 1849–1850 he was an alderman of the city, and served as mayor in 1855 and was one of the original commissioners on the Board of Water Commissioners.
Ledyard was 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 ...
, and was elected as a state senator in 1857.
However, when Lewis Cass was appointed
Secretary of State under
James Buchanan
James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
, Ledyard resigned his post in the legislature
and accompanied him to Washington, DC, and remained there until 1861,
briefly serving as assistant secretary of state.
Afterwards, he moved to
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, where he lived for the rest of his life. He raised funds for and was the first president of the
Newport Hospital
Newport Hospital is a private, nonprofit hospital located in Newport, Rhode Island. Together with The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital, Newport Hospital is a member of the Lifespan health system.
History
Newport Hospital was founded in ...
, and was the president of the
Redwood Library
The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a subscription library, museum, rare book repository and research center founded in 1747, and located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The building, designed by Peter Harrison and completed ...
in Newport.
Personal life
In 1839, Ledyard married Cass's daughter Matilda Frances Cass (1808–1898).
The couple had five children:
* Elizabeth Cass Ledyard (1840–1918), who married to Francis Wayland Goddard (1833–1889) in 1862.
*
Henry Brockholst Ledyard Jr. (1844–1921), a twin, who married Mary R. L'Hommedieu (1847–1895). He was president 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 the Union Trust Company.
* Susan Livingston Ledyard (1844–1877), a twin, who married to Hamilton Bullock Tompkins (1843–1921) in 1876. She died the following year.
*
Lewis Cass Ledyard
Lewis Cass Ledyard (April 4, 1851 – January 27, 1932) was a New York City lawyer. He was a partner at the firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn, personal counsel to J.P. Morgan, and a president of the New York City Bar Association.
Early life
Lewis ...
(1851–1932), who married to Gertrude Prince (1851–1905) in 1878. After Gertrude's death in 1905, Lewis married Isabelle Henning Morris in 1906. He was a prominent New York lawyer in the firm
Carter Ledyard & Milburn, president of the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
, and personal counsel to
J. Pierpont Morgan.
* Matilda Spencer Ledyard (b. 1860).
Henry Ledyard died June 7, 1880, in London, England, during a brief European visit.
Descendants
Through his eldest son Henry, he was the grandfather of Matilda Cass Ledyard (1871–1960), who married Baron
Clemens von Ketteler
Clemens August Freiherr von Ketteler (22 November 1853 – 20 June 1900) was a German career diplomat. He was killed during the Boxer Rebellion.
Early life and career
Ketteler was born at Münster in western Germany on 22 November 1853 into ...
(1853–1900), a German diplomat,
Henry B. Ledyard III (1875–1932), Augustus Canfield Ledyard (1877–1899), and Hugh Ledyard (1885–1951).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledyard, Henry
1812 births
1880 deaths
Livingston family
Democratic Party Michigan state senators
Mayors of Detroit
Detroit City Council members
Politicians from New York City
Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island
19th-century American politicians
Columbia College (New York) alumni