Dwight May (September 8, 1822 – January 28, 1880) 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 sov ...

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, ...

who also served as officer in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Early life

May was born in

Sandisfield, Massachusetts Sandisfield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 989 at the 2020 census. History Sandisfield was first settled in 1750 as Housatonic Towns ...

to Rockwell and Celestia (Underwood) May and moved to

Richland, Michigan Richland is a village in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 751 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 593 at the 2000 census. The village is within Richland Township, ...

at the approximate age of twelve. There he worked on the farm and attended district schools. In 1842, he attended the

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

branch 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 ...

(now

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...

), entered the sophomore class in 1846, and graduated in 1849 from the classical department. During that time he became a member of

Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (; commonly known as Alpha Delt, AD, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP) is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in ...

. In 1849, he married Amelia Stryker Kellogg in

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland * Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district fr ...

. They had three daughters. After graduating he entered the law office of Lathrop & Duffield in

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 ...

and in July 1850 was admitted to the bar at 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 ...

. The following month he opened an office in

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, and two years later moved to Kalamazoo forming a co-partnership with Marsh Giddings. In 1854, he was elected prosecuting attorney and served from 1855 to 1862. He also served as school inspector for two years and superintendent of the village schools from 1853 to 1856. In 1861, May enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the Kalamazoo Light Guards and was elected captain of company I, 2nd Michigan Infantry. He resigned from the post that December to attend to personal and legal business. On October 8, 1862, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 25th Michigan infantry at

Bolivar, Tennessee Bolivar, officially the City of Bolivar, is a city in and the county seat of Hardeman County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,417. History Bolivar was named for South American revolutionary leader Si ...

, and served through the rest of the

. May served in the battles of

Blackburn's Ford Blackburn's Ford was the crossing of Bull Run (Occoquan River), Bull Run by Centreville Road between Manassas, Virginia, Manassas and Centreville, Virginia, Centreville, Virginia, in the United States. It was named after the original owner of the ...

, Manassas (1st battle), Middleburg, Vicksburg,

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

and Clarendon. In June 1865 he succeeded Colonel W. H. Graves in command of the 12th Michigan Infantry Regiment and was soon afterwards

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

brigadier general and mustered out of the service on March 6, 1866.

Politics

May was a Republican. In 1866, May was elected the 18th lieutenant governor of Michigan as well as trustee of the village of Kalamazoo. He served as lieutenant governor from 1867 to 1869 under

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Henry Crapo's second term. His brother Charles S. May had also served as lieutenant governor from 1863 to 1865. In 1868, he was elected to the office of

Michigan Attorney General The attorney general of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor of Michigan, governor, Lieutenant Governor of ...

and served from 1869 to 1873 under Governor

Henry P. Baldwin Henry Porter Baldwin (February 22, 1814 – December 31, 1892), a descendant of pilgrim father Nathaniel Baldwin, was the 15th governor of Michigan and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. Early life in Rhode Island Baldwin was born to Jo ...

. In 1874, he was elected president of the village of Kalamazoo and was re-elected the following year.

Death

Dwight May died in 1880, aged 57. He was buried at Mountain Home Cemetery of Kalamazoo.

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Dwight 1822 births 1880 deaths Michigan Republicans Lieutenant governors of Michigan Michigan attorneys general People of Michigan in the American Civil War Union army colonels Kalamazoo College alumni 19th-century Michigan politicians People from Sandisfield, Massachusetts People from Richland, Michigan Military personnel from Massachusetts

Early life

Politics

Death

See also

References

External links