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John Biddle
1818 portrait
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan Territory's At-large district
In office March 4, 1829 – February 21, 1831 (Delegate)
Preceded by	Austin Eli Wing
Succeeded by	Austin Eli Wing
4th Mayor of Detroit, Michigan
In office 1827–1828
Preceded by	Jonathan Kearsley
Succeeded by	Jonathan Kearsley
Personal details
Born	(1792-03-02)March 2, 1792 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died	August 25, 1859(1859-08-25) (aged 67) White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, US
Spouse	Eliza Falconer Bradish
Children	4
Parent(s)	Charles Biddle Hannah Shephard
Relatives	See Biddle family
Alma mater	Princeton College
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1812–1821
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	War of 1812

John Biddle (March 2, 1792 – August 25, 1859) was an American military officer, politician, and businessman. He served as a delegate to the United States Congress from the Michigan Territory, as the speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, and as mayor of Detroit.

Early life

Part of the prominent Pennsylvania Biddle family, John Biddle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1792, the son of Hannah Shephard and Charles Biddle, former Vice President of Pennsylvania, and nephew of Commodore Nicholas Biddle. He attended the common schools before entering and graduating from Princeton College.

Career

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Biddle enlisted in the U.S. Army and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Third Artillery on July 6, 1812, and promoted to first lieutenant March 13, 1813. He was attached to the staff of General Winfield Scott on the Niagara Frontier for most of the war. He became captain in the Forty-second Infantry October 1, 1813, served as assistant inspector general with the rank of major from June 19, 1817, to June 1, 1821, and commanded Fort Shelby in Detroit for some time.

After leaving the military, Biddle was appointed paymaster and Indian agent at Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1821 and 1822. He was register of the land at Detroit in Michigan Territory, 1823–1837; commissioner for determining the ancient land claims at Detroit, Mackinaw, Sault Ste. Marie, Green Bay, and Prairie du Chien.

Politics and civic leadership

Biddle served as mayor of Detroit in 1827 and 1828. He was elected a delegate from the Territory of Michigan to the Twenty-first Congress and served from March 4, 1829, until his resignation on February 21, 1831. He was president of the convention that framed the State constitution for Michigan in 1835, even though his Whig Party was in the minority. He ran unsuccessfully as the Whig candidate for election to the United States Senate and later for Governor of Michigan. Biddle was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives in 1841 and served as speaker, and was a Trustee of the University of Michigan.

Biddle was president of the Michigan Central Railroad. He also served as the first president of Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Bank, and was a bank director from 1829 through 1838. He was also active in the civic life of Detroit, being elected vice president of the Detroit Athenaeum, active in the Association for Promoting Female Education in the City of Detroit, and vice president (1828–1837) and president (1837) of the Historical Society of Michigan.

Personal life

On January 21, 1819, he married Eliza Falconer Bradish, the daughter of James Bradish and Margaretta Thompson of New York. The couple had four children that lived to adulthood:

• Margaretta Falconer Biddle (1825–1913), who married Andrew Porter (1820–1872), a Civil War general
• William Shepard Biddle (1830–1901), who married Susan Dayton Ogden (1831–1878), daughter of Elias B. D. Ogden, a New Jersey Supreme Court Justice
• Major James Biddle (1833–1905)
• Edward John Biddle (1836–1892)

In 1859, Biddle went to White Sulphur Springs in what is now West Virginia, for the summer, and died there. He is interred in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan.

Wyandotte

In 1818, Biddle acquired 1,800 acres (7.3 km) of land south of Detroit. He constructed a summer estate on the land, completed in 1835. Biddle named his estate "Wyandotte" after the Native American people who had once lived there. Biddle's home stood where the George P. MacNichol House how sits. Biddle and his family retired to the Wyandotte estate in 1836. However, Biddle was uninterested in farming the estate, and spent much time on his estate near St. Louis, Michigan. In 1853, he sold the Wyandotte estate to Eber Brock Ward of Eureka Iron & Steel Works, who developed the area into the city of Wyandotte, Michigan. Jefferson Avenue, which stretches from New Baltimore to East Rockwood, is named Biddle Avenue through Wyandotte. After selling the Wyandotte estate, Biddle and his wife returned to Philadelphia, and later the couple spent much time in Paris.

Descendants

His grandson (William Shepard Biddle's son), also named John Biddle, became Superintendent of the United States Military Academy.

References

1. ^ United States Congress. "John Biddle (id: B000441)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
2. ^ "Major John Biddle". Elmwood Cemetery. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
3. ^ Carlisle, Fred, ed. (1890), Chronography of Notable Events in the History of the Northwest Territory and Wayne County, Detroit: O.S. Gulley, Bornman, pp. 237–238, OCLC 13694600
4. Lawrence Kestenbaum (March 10, 2005). "Index to Politicians: Biddle". Political Graveyard. Paul Haas. Retrieved 2006-07-06.
5. ^ Owen Picton (May 2004). "Descendants of William Biddle III". Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2011.

v t e Speakers of the Michigan House of Representatives
Convis Whipple Bingham Acker Fuller Biddle Bingham McClelland Lothrop Hanscom Crary Peck Buel Chapman Harris Thurber Quackenboss Lovell Stout Shaw Mussey Cutcheon G. E. Read P. D. Warner Woodman Croswell Hoyt Rich Moffatt Howard Clark Markey Diekema Wachtel Tateum Gordon Adams Carton Master Whelan Campbell Baker Currie Smith Rice T. Read F. L. Warner Welsh Wells Gardner Ming Bradley Schroeder Nugent Knox Van Valkenburg Van Peursem Pears Green Kowalski Waldron Ryan Crim Owen Dodak Hertel/Hillegonds (co-speakers, '93–'94) Hillegonds Hertel Perricone Johnson DeRoche Dillon Bolger Cotter Leonard Chatfield Wentworth Tate Hall (designate)

v t e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan
Territory Woodbridge Sibley Richard Wing Biddle Wing Lyon G. Jones At-large Crary J. Howard Kelley Staebler
1st district McClelland Buel Penniman D. Stuart W. Howard Cooper W. Howard Granger Beaman Waldron Field A. S. Williams Newberry Lord Maybury J. L. Chipman Griffin Corliss Lucking Denby Doremus Codd Clancy Sosnowski Clancy Sadowski Tenerowicz Sadowski Machrowicz Nedzi Conyers Stupak Benishek Bergman 2nd district Lyon J. S. Chipman E. Bradley C. Stuart Sprague C. Stuart Noble Waldron Beaman Upson Stoughton Waldron Willits Eldredge Allen Gorman Spalding H. Smith Townsend Wedemeyer Beakes Bacon Beakes Michener Lehr Michener Meader Vivian Esch Pursell Hoekstra Huizenga Moolenaar 3rd district Hunt Bingham J. Conger Clark Walbridge Kellogg Longyear Blair Willard McGowan Lacey O'Donnell Burrows Milnes A. Todd Gardner J. Smith Frankhauser J. Smith A. B. Williams Hooper Kimball Main Shafer Johansen P. Todd G. Brown Wolpe Henry Ehlers Amash Meijer Scholten 4th district H. L. Stevens Peck Leach Trowbridge Kellogg Ferry Foster Burrows Potter Keightley Burrows Yaple Burrows Thomas Hamilton Ketcham Foulkes Hoffman Hutchinson Stockman Siljander Upton Camp Moolenaar Huizenga 5th district Baldwin Trowbridge O. Conger Foster W. Williams Stone Webber Houseman Comstock M. Ford Belknap M. Ford Belknap Richardson W. Smith Diekema Sweet Mapes Jonkman G. Ford Vander Veen Sawyer Henry Barcia D. E. Kildee D. T. Kildee Walberg 6th district Driggs Strickland Sutherland Begole Durand Brewer Spaulding Winans Brewer Stout Aitken S. Smith Kelley Hudson Person Cady Blackney Transue Blackney Clardy Hayworth Chamberlain Carr Dunn Carr Upton Dingell 7th district O. Conger Rich Carleton Whiting Snover Weeks McMorran Cramton Wolcott McIntosh O'Hara Mackie Riegle D. E. Kildee N. Smith Schwarz Walberg Schauer Walberg Slotkin Barrett (elect) 8th district N. Bradley Ellsworth Horr Tarsney Bliss Youmans Linton Brucker Fordney Vincent Hart Crawford Bentley Harvey Traxler Carr Chrysler Stabenow Rogers M. Bishop Slotkin Kildee McDonald Rivet (elect) 9th district Hubbell Cutcheon H. Wheeler Moon R. Bishop McLaughlin Harry W. Musselwhite Engel Thompson Griffin Vander Jagt D. E. Kildee Knollenberg Peters S. Levin A. Levin McClain 10th district Hatch Fisher F. Wheeler Weadock Crump Aplin Loud Woodruff Loud Currie Woodruff Cederberg Albosta Schuette Camp Bonior Miller Mitchell McClain J. James 11th district Breitung Moffatt Seymour Stephenson Avery Mesick Darragh Dodds Lindquist Scott Bohn P. Brown Luecke F. Bradley Potter Knox Clevenger Ruppe Davis Knollenberg McCotter Curson Bentivolio Trott H. Stevens 12th district Stephenson Shelden Young MacDonald W. F. James Hook Bennett Hook Bennett O'Hara Bonior Levin J. Dingell Jr. D. Dingell Tlaib 13th district Nichols McLeod Brennan McLeod O'Brien McLeod O'Brien Coffin O'Brien Diggs Crockett Collins W. Ford Rivers Kilpatrick Clarke Conyers B. Jones Tlaib Thanedar 14th district Weideman Rabaut Youngblood Rabaut Ryan Nedzi Hertel Conyers Peters Lawrence 15th district J. Dingell Sr. J. Dingell Jr. W. Ford Collins Kilpatrick J. Dingell Jr. 16th district Lesinski Sr. Lesinski Jr. J. Dingell Jr. 17th district Dondero Oakman Griffiths Brodhead Levin 18th district Dondero Broomfield Huber Blanchard Broomfield 19th district Farnum McDonald Broomfield

v t e Mayors of Detroit (since 1824)
Williams Hunt Kearsley Biddle Kearsley Williams Chapin Cook Chapin Trowbridge Mack Cook H. Howard Porter Bates Jones Pitcher Houghton Pitcher Williams Van Dyke F. Buhl C. Howard Ladue Chandler Harmon Hyde Ledyard Hyde Patton C. Buhl Duncan Barker Mills Wheaton Moffat Lewis Langdon W. G. Thompson Grummond Chamberlain Pridgeon Pingree Richert Maybury Codd W. B. Thompson Breitmeyer W. B. Thompson Marx J. Couzens Lodge Doremus Martin Lodge Smith Lodge Bowles Murphy F. Couzens Smith F. Couzens Reading Jeffries Van Antwerp Cobo Miriani Cavanagh Gribbs Young Archer Kilpatrick Cockrel Bing Duggan

• 1792 births
• 1859 deaths
• 19th-century mayors of places in Michigan
• 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature
• Biddle family
• Mayors of Detroit
• Speakers of the Michigan House of Representatives
• Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Territory
• Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit)
• Regents of the University of Michigan
• United States Army officers
• United States Army personnel of the War of 1812
• Michigan Jacksonians
• Michigan Whigs
• Delegates to the 1835 Michigan Constitutional Convention
• Politicians from Philadelphia
• Military personnel from Philadelphia
• 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives