Edwin Willits (also Willets) (April 24, 1830 – October 22, 1896) was a politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. Willits served as prosecuting attorney of

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from

Michigan's 2nd congressional district Michigan's 2nd congressional district is a United States congressional district in Western Michigan. The current 2nd district contains much of Michigan's old 4th congressional district, and includes all of Manistee, Mason, Lake, Osceola, Cla ...

for the 45th, 46th, and 47th Congresses. Presidents of

Michigan State Normal School Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

(now

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

) and the State Agricultural College (now

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

). The first Assistant

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

under

Jeremiah McLain Rusk Jeremiah McLain Rusk (June 17, 1830November 21, 1893) was an American Republican politician. He was the 2nd United States Secretary of Agriculture (1889–1893) and the 15th Governor of Wisconsin (1882–1889), and served three terms in ...

for

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

's administration.

Early life

Willits was born in

Otto, New York Otto is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 775 at the 2020 census. The name comes from Jacob S. Otto, an agent of the Holland Land Company. The town lies on the northern border of Cattaraugus County. Hist ...

and moved to Michigan with his parents in September 1836. He graduated from 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 ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

in June 1855. The following April he settled in

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomo ...

where he was editor of the '' Monroe Commercial'' from 1856 to 1861. He studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in December 1857 and commenced practice in Monroe. He married Jane Ingersoll in 1856 and was a

Presbyterian 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 ...

Career

Willits served as prosecuting attorney of

from 1860 to 1862 and was a member of the State board of education from 1860 to 1872. He was appointed postmaster of Monroe on January 1, 1863, by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, and removed by

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

on October 15, 1866. He was a member of the commission to revise the

Michigan Constitution The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The fi ...

in 1873. In 1876, Willits was elected as a

from

to the

45th United States Congress The 45th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1877, ...

and subsequently re-elected to the 46th, and 47th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1883. During the Forty-seventh Congress he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1882. Willits was principal of the

at Ypsilanti from 1883 to 1885. He served as president of the State Agricultural College from 1885 to 1889 where he inaugurated the school's mechanical engineering program and secured state funding for its initial building. In

's administration, he served as the first Assistant

under

from March 23, 1889 to December 31, 1893. In 1890 he established the policy that all research by the Department would be mission-oriented to a practical objective, and encouraged USDA employees to look beyond the seed and plant distribution program which had previously been the main activity of the Department. This reorientation led to the creation of additional divisions within the USDA during the 1890s. Willits continued the practice of law in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, until his death there. He was interred in

Woodland Cemetery Woodland Cemetery may refer to: * Woodland cemetery, a type of cemetery or it may refer to specific places: in Sweden * Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) in Stockholm, Sweden in the United States (by state) * Woodland Cemetery (Quincy, I ...

in Monroe, Michigan.

References

The Political GraveyardBiographical Information
Michigan State University Archives *Willets, E. 1890. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, p. 59–73. *Griesbach, R.J. 2013. 150 Years of Research at the United States Department of Agriculture: Plant Introduction and Breeding. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington, DC.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willits, Edwin 1830 births 1896 deaths Burials at Woodland Cemetery (Monroe, Michigan) University of Michigan alumni Eastern Michigan University faculty People from Monroe, Michigan Presidents of Michigan State University Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 19th-century American politicians