William WOODBRIDGE, Congress, MI (1780-1861)

WOODBRIDGE, William, a Delegate and a Senator from Michigan; born in Norwich, Conn., August 20, 1780; studied law; moved to Ohio in 1799; admitted to the Ohio bar in 1806 and commenced the practice of law in Marietta; member, State house of representatives 1807; prosecuting attorney for New London (now Washington) County, Ohio, 1808-1814; member, State senate 1808-1814; moved to Detroit, Mich.; collector of customs, Michigan Territory 1814-1829; appointed secretary of Michigan Territory in 1814, and served until appointed judge of the Territory in 1828; elected as a Delegate to the Sixteenth Congress and served from March 4, 1819, to August 9, 1820, when he resigned; judge of the supreme court of Michigan Territory 1828-1832; delegate to the State constitutional convention 1835; member, State senate 1838-1839; Governor of Michigan 1840-1841; elected as a Whig to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1847; was not a candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee on Public Lands (Twenty-eighth Congress), Committee on Patents and the Patent Office (Twenty-ninth Congress); retired from public life and devoted his time to horticulture; died in Detroit, Mich., October 20, 1861; interment in Elmwood Cemetery.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Lanman, Charles. The Life of William Woodbridge. Washington, D.C.: Blanchard and Mahun, 1867.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present