Jedediah Philo Clark Emmons (January 1, 1818 – April 15, 1877), more commonly referred to as Jed P. C. Emmons or J. P. C. Emmons, was an American attorney and politician who served as the 12th

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's t ...

Early life and education

Emmons was born on January 1, 1818, in

Hudson Falls, New York Hudson Falls (formerly Sandy Hill) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village located in Washington County, New York, United States. The village is in the southwest of the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Kingsbur ...

. Emmons moved to

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

with his father and brother in 1836; his father, Adonijah, was an attorney, and his brother, Halmor Hull, would later become a

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...

. Upon arrival, Emmons became the private secretary for

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 ...

Governor Stevens T. Mason, and much of his early legal education came from Mason. In 1838, Mason appointed Emmons as the Clerk of the

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 ...

, though he would only stay in that position for a year in order to continue his legal studies. Emmons was admitted into the Michigan Bar in 1840 and began a law practice in Detroit with his father and brother the same year, named A. Emmons & Sons.

Political career

In 1848, Emmons, 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 ...

, was elected to the

, representing Wayne County. Although he served on the powerful State Affairs and Ways and Means committees, Emmons resigned within the year, opting to return to private practice. In 1851, Emmons was appointed to be the

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of the circuit court of

Marquette County, Michigan Marquette County ( ) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 66,017. The county seat is Marquette. The county is named for Father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary. It wa ...

, by Governor John S. Barry. In 1853, he was elected to the Wayne County School Board, though he would resign the following year. In 1855, Governor

Kinsley S. Bingham Kinsley Scott Bingham (December 16, 1808October 5, 1861) was a U.S. Representative, a U.S. Senator, and the 11th governor of Michigan. Early life in New York Bingham (whose first name is sometimes spelled ''Kingsley'') was born to the farmer f ...

appointed Emmons as the

Prosecuting Attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

for Wayne County. He held this position until 1857. In 1854, Emmons joined the newly created Republican Party. With the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

in 1861, Emmons enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

, serving in Company K of the

1st Michigan Cavalry The 1st Michigan Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Michigan Brigade, commanded for a time by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer. Service The 1st ...

. Emmons, who began as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and rose all the way to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, was also part of the

Michigan Brigade The Michigan Brigade, sometimes called the Wolverines, the Michigan Cavalry Brigade or Custer's Brigade, was a brigade of cavalry in the volunteer Union Army during the latter half of the American Civil War. Composed primarily of the 1st Michigan C ...

, which was under the command of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

. This brigade, a collection of various Michigan cavalry regiments, fought in every major campaign of the war from the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

in July 1863 to the

Battle of Appomattox Courthouse The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War (1861–1865). It was the final engagement of Confederate General in Chief, Rober ...

in April 1865. After the war, Emmons settled in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. In 1872,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Governor Harrison Reed, another

carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the lo ...

Republican from the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, appointed Emmons as Florida Attorney General following the resignation of Horatio Bisbee Jr. Emmons served in this position until January 1873, when Judge William A. Cocke was officially elected to be Bisbee's successor.

Personal life and death

Emmons was married to Martha Eason Davisson, a native

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

an. Emmons died at his home in Jacksonville on April 15, 1877. He is buried in Detroit's Elmwood Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmons, J. P. C. 1818 births 1877 deaths Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) Florida Attorneys General Members of the Michigan House of Representatives People from Hudson Falls, New York People from Detroit People from Jacksonville, Florida Florida Republicans Union Army officers Union Army soldiers People of Michigan in the American Civil War 19th-century American politicians Michigan Democrats

Early life and education

Political career

Personal life and death

See also

References