De Garmo Jones (November 11, 1787 – November 14, 1846) was a businessman, state senator, and mayor of

Detroit 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 ...

Biography

De Garmo Jones was born in 1787 in

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; the first name of his father is unknown but his mother was Rachel De Garmo, daughter of a prominent Albany family. He served as a

sutler A sutler or victualer is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp, or in quarters. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling with an army or to remote military outposts. Sutler wa ...

during the

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, during which time he passed through Detroit. In March, 1818, Jones married Catherine Annin. The couple immediately moved to Detroit, arriving in 1819. De Garmo and Catherine Annin Jones had seven children, of which three survived them: Matilda Cass Jones (born 1833, married Augustus Porter Thompson), De Garmo Jones (born 1835, married Caroline Sauger), and Alice Kercheval Jones (born 1838, married Albert M. Steele). De Garmo Jones purchased a farm near the city of Detroit, located between what is now Third Avenue and the alley east of Fourth Street. from the National Park Service Over time, Jones increased the value of the farm, making him and his heirs wealthy. Jones had a diverse portfolio of business interests: he was one of the first stockholders in the Bank of Michigan, one of the first directors of the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad (later the

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...

), and developed

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mines near

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. He also owned interests in shipping, warehousing, and construction companies, and built the first capitol building on the state of Michigan. Jones was a member of the Whig Party, and served several times as an

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of the city of Detroit (1827, 1830, and 1838), and was elected mayor in 1839. He also served as Adjutant-General of the state of Michigan in 1829 and as a state senator in 1840-1841. His contemporary George C. Bates said of him: :Sudden and quick in quarrel, with a temper requiring a curb bit, Mr. Jones was a sort of western Vanderbilt, with a great big head, enlarged views, interesting industry, who saw far ahead into the future, and had he lived longer, would have cut deeper and deeper into the tablet of time his career, for he was a most public spirited, enterprising, go ahead man. (Originally published in the ''Detroit Free Press,'' 1877-1878) De Garmo Jones died on November 14, 1846, leaving an estate valued at $250,000. His wife Catherine died in 1865, leaving an estate valued at $500,000 (~$ in ).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, De Garmo 1787 births 1846 deaths Michigan state senators Detroit City Council members Mayors of Detroit Politicians from Albany, New York Michigan Whigs 19th-century mayors of places in Michigan People from Michigan Territory 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature