Jonathan Kearsley (1786–1859) was an American

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and politician. He fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and was a two-time mayor of Detroit.

Early life

Jonathan Kearsley was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania on August 20, 1786, and graduated from Washington College in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

(now

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

) in 1811. He was one of the founders of the Union Literary Society at

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

. He joined the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

the following year as a First Lieutenant in the

Second Artillery Corps The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF; ), formerly the Second Artillery Corps (), is the strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and c ...

, eventually reaching the rank of Major. He fought in several battles during the

, including the

Battle of Stoney Creek The Battle of Stoney Creek was a British victory over an American force fought on 6 June 1813, during the War of 1812 near present-day Stoney Creek, Ontario. British units made a night attack on the American encampment, and due in large part to ...

, Battle of Crysler's Farm, and the

Battle of Chippawa The Battle of Chippawa, also known as the Battle of Chippewa, was a victory for the United States Army in the War of 1812, during its invasion on July 5, 1814, of the British Empire's colony of Upper Canada along the Niagara River. This battle a ...

(following the Capture of Fort Erie). In the latter battle, he was wounded, and one of his legs was amputated. The operation was performed incorrectly and he suffered pain for the rest of his life from it. In 1815, Kearsley married Margaret Hetich. The couple had three children: Edmund Roberts (1816), Rebekah H (1817), and Martha I. (1819); Margaret died in 1821. He later married Rachel Valentine.

Life in Detroit

He held the office of Collector of Revenue Taxes in Virginia from 1817 until 1819, when he moved to Detroit and was appointed Receiver of Public Monies, a title which he held for thirty years. He lived on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street in Detroit. He served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Detroit two separate times, first appointed by the council to fill the unexpired term of

Henry Jackson Hunt Henry Jackson Hunt (September 14, 1819 – February 11, 1889) was Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was ...

in 1826, and then being elected in 1829. He also served on the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

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 ...

from 1827 to 1837, and again on its re-organized Board of Regents from 1838 until 1852. He died in 1859 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit. Kearsley Creek, a tributary of the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from the u ...

Kearsley Community Schools Kearsley Community School District is a public school district in Genesee County, residing in the U.S. state of Michigan and is part of the Genesee Intermediate School District. History Kearsley Community Schools is named after U.S. Army Ma ...

, and a major street in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

are named after him, as was the short-lived (1839–43)

Kearsley Township, Michigan The Township of Kearsley was a civil township in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan organized April 19, 1839 from part of then Flint Township of its Township 7 north of range 7 sections 1-5 and 8-17. This is approximately the area en ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearsley, Jonathan United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Washington & Jefferson College alumni Regents of the University of Michigan 1786 births 1859 deaths Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) Mayors of Detroit 19th-century American politicians People from Middletown, Pennsylvania United States Army officers Military personnel from Pennsylvania

Early life

Life in Detroit

Further reading

References