Benjamin Franklin Hawkins Witherell (August 4, 1797 – June 26, 1867) was a jurist in 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 so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He served as a justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

in 1857.

Biography

Witherell was born in

Fair Haven, Vermont Fair Haven is a New England town, town in Rutland County, Vermont, Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,736 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Within the town is located the census-designated place of Fair Ha ...

, the second son and fifth of six children of

James Witherell James Witherell (June 16, 1759 – January 9, 1838) was an American politician. He served as a United States representative from Vermont and as a Judge of the Supreme Court for the Territory of Michigan. Biography Witherell was born in Mansfiel ...

. His father moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, in 1808 after being appointed by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

as a Judge of the Supreme Court for the

Territory of Michigan The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

. With the impending outbreak of hostilities in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Benjamin was sent back to Vermont with his mother in 1811. He studied the classics privately in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

, and returned to Detroit in 1817. He then studied law in the offices of his father and of Territorial Secretary

William Woodbridge William Woodbridge (August 20, 1780October 20, 1861) was a U.S. statesman in the states of Ohio and Michigan and in the Michigan Territory prior to statehood. He served as the second governor of Michigan and a United States senator from Michi ...

and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1819. He was subsequently admitted to the bar of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

on the motion of

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

. He served as prosecuting attorney and judge in various local and state courts through the 1820s and 1830s. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1824 and Recorder of the City of Detroit in 1828. In 1834–1835, he was a Judge of Probate, and from 1835 to 1839, he was Prosecuting Attorney for Wayne County. In 1840 and 1841, he served in the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Constitution of Michigan, Mi ...

. He also held at various times, the military offices of Judge Advocate General, Brigadier General, and Major General of the militia.Farmer
p. 1133
/ref> In 1842, Witherell lost an election for mayor of Detroit, with

Zina Pitcher Zina Pitcher (April 12, 1797, in Sandy Hill, New York – April 5, 1872, in Detroit) was an American physician, politician, educator, and academic administrator. He was a president of the American Medical Association, a two-time List of mayors o ...

receiving 793 votes to 479 for Witherell. Soon afterwards, the state legislature abolished the District Court of the County of Wayne, officiated by Judge Henry C. Chipman, and replaced it with the District Court for the Counties of Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw and Jackson. Governor John S. Barry appointed Witherell to be judge of the new court, where he served until the court was abolished by 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 ...

of 1850. Witherell was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1850 that revised the Michigan Constitution. He was a regent of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, 1848–1852. In 1857, Witherell was appointed as Judge of the Circuit Court of Wayne County, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Samuel T. Douglass. He was twice re-elected to the Circuit Court serving until his death in 1867. During his term, he served in 1858 on the

, since at the time, the court was constituted of Circuit Court judges. From 1862 to 1864, he was also Judge of the Recorder's Court. He was called by his intimate friends a "Walking Historical Dictionary of Detroit," and published a series of Historical Recollections. He also took an active interest in all public affairs during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, and was the originator, and chosen President of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Association at the time of his death. He wrote several articles on the early history of Michigan for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' under the pen name 'Hamtramck'. From 1855 to 1867, he was the Historiographer of the City of Detroit and was President of the State Historical Society for many years. Witherell owned land in several parts of

Southeast Michigan Southeast Michigan, also called southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are c ...

, including

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

29 of Ypsilanti Township in

Washtenaw County Washtenaw County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat and largest city is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county ...

, section 33 of Township 5N16E ( St. Clair Township) in St. Clair County, and sections 34 and 35 of Warren Township in

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county on the eastern shore of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, bordering Detroit to the north and containing many of its northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Mt. Clemens, a ...

. He was also among the first purchasers of land in Lynn Township in St. Clair County. As a member of "The First Methodist Episcopal Society of the City of Detroit", incorporated in 1822, he was a trustee for several lots of land on which

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

churches were located in downtown Detroit.Burton
pp. 1252–1253
/ref>

Family and legacy

Witherell was the uncle of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Thomas W. Palmer Thomas Witherell Palmer (January 25, 1830 – June 1, 1913) was a U.S. Senator from the U.S. state, state of Michigan. He is considered to be one of the most significant figures in the history of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Palmer was born in ...

. He was married three times. In 1824, he married Mary A. Sprague of

Poultney, Vermont Poultney is a town in Rutland County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. New York state is on its western border. Castleton, Vermont, is on its northern border. Poultney was home to Green Mountain College, a private liberal ar ...

. They had four children, Martha E., James B., Harriet C. M., and Julia A. Mary died in August 1834, and Witherell married Delia A. Ingersoll in 1837. they had one child, Charles I. Delia died in 1847, and he married Cassandra S. Brady, who died in March 1863. Witherell is interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

References and notes

*Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society
BENJAMIN F.H. WITHERELL, 18th Justice
Accessed 2007-07-28

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witherell, Benjamin F. H. 1797 births 1867 deaths Delegates to the 1850 Michigan Constitutional Convention People from Michigan Territory Michigan state court judges Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Michigan state senators Regents of the University of Michigan 19th-century Michigan state court judges Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature