Elon Farnsworth (February 2, 1799 – March 24, 1877) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He served as both

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the state of

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 was also the founder of the Detroit Savings Fund Institute, the precursor to

Comerica Bank Comerica Incorporated is an American financial services company, headquartered in Dallas, Dallas, Texas. It is the parent of Comerica Bank, a regional commercial bank with 413 branches in the U.S. states of Texas, Michigan, California, Florida an ...

Biography

Elon Farnsworth was born February 2, 1799, in

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Cha ...

. His father was a farmer and he was educated in the local schools. He moved to

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 ...

in 1822 and began studying law in the offices of

Solomon Sibley Solomon Sibley (October 7, 1769 – April 4, 1846) was an American politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory who became the first mayor of Detroit. Early life: 1769–1815 Sibley was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth and Reube ...

, eventually taking over the business after Sibley was elevated to the bench and his other partner died. He later formed his own firm of Farnsworth & Bates with

Asher B. Bates Asher B. Bates (May 2, 1810 – June 1, 1873) was a lawyer and politician in the United States state of Michigan and in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life His father was also named Asher Bates, so he is sometimes called Asher Bates Jr. Bates was born M ...

. He was elected to the

Legislative Council of Michigan Territory The Michigan Territorial Council, known formally as the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, was the legislative body of the Territory of Michigan from 1824 to 1835, when it was succeeded by the Michigan Legislature in anticipation o ...

in 1834 and served one term. When the office of

was created by the new state constitution of 1835, Farnsworth was appointed to it, and served until 1843. He served briefly again between the 1846 resignation of

Randolph Manning Randolph Manning (May 19, 1804 – August 31, 1864) was an American jurist and politician. He served as Michigan Secretary of State (1838-1840) and Chancellor of the Michigan Court of Chancery (1842-1846). Biography Born in Plainfield, New ...

and the 1847 abolishment of the Court of Chancery. He ran as the Democratic nominee for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

in 1839, losing to

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 ...

. After resigning as Chancellor in 1843, Governor

John S. Barry John Stewart Barry (January 29, 1802– January 14, 1870) was the fourth and eighth governor of Michigan. He was Michigan's only three-term governor in the 19th century. His main accomplishment was to rationalize state finances after the state's ...

appointed Farnsworth as

, a position which he held for two years. Farnsworth served several different terms on the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

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 ...

. As Chancellor of the state, he was an ''ex officio'' regent from 1835 to 1843. He was appointed to the board by the Governor in 1846 and served in that capacity until 1852 (while simultaneously being an ''ex officio'' member as Chancellor from 1846 to 1847). When the Board of Regents became an elected body in 1852, he was elected to the board and served again until 1858. He was influential in the board's selection of

Henry Philip Tappan Henry Philip Tappan (April 18, 1805 – November 15, 1881) was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. In August 1852, he assumed the newly created presidency of the restructured University of Michigan, an office estab ...

as the first

President of the University of Michigan The president of the University of Michigan is a constitutional officer who serves as the principal executive officer of the University of Michigan. The president is chosen by the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, as provided f ...

. He was a Director of 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 President of the Detroit Savings Bank from 1849 until shortly before his death. He died March 24, 1877, of complications from a long-term kidney disease and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnsworth, Elon People from Woodstock, Vermont Members of the Michigan Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Chancellors of Michigan Michigan attorneys general Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) Regents of the University of Michigan Businesspeople from Detroit Lawyers from Detroit 1799 births 1877 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Michigan state court judges 19th-century American lawyers