Jedediah Philo Clark Emmons (January 1, 1818 – April 15, 1877), more commonly referred to as Jed P. C. Emmons or J. P. C. Emmons, was an American attorney and politician who served as the 12th

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is ...

Early life and education

Emmons was born on January 1, 1818, in

Hudson Falls, New York Hudson Falls (formerly Sandy Hill) is a village located in Washington County, New York, United States. The village is in the southwest of the town of Kingsbury, on U.S. Route 4. Hudson Falls is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical ...

. Emmons 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 ...

with his father and brother in 1836; his father, Adonijah, was an attorney, and his brother, Halmor Hull, would later become a

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A U.S. federal judge is appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Arti ...

. Upon arrival, Emmons became the private secretary for

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, ...

Governor

Stevens T. Mason Stevens Thomson Mason (October 27, 1811 – January 4, 1843) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Michigan from 1835 to 1840. Coming to political prominence at an early age, Mason was appointed his territory's a ...

, and much of his early legal education came from Mason. In 1838, Mason appointed Emmons as the Clerk of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

, though he would only stay in that position for a year in order to continue his legal studies. Emmons was admitted into the Michigan Bar in 1840 and began a law practice in Detroit with his father and brother the same year, named A. Emmons & Sons.

Political career

In 1848, Emmons, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, was elected to the

, representing Wayne County. Although he served on the powerful State Affairs and

Ways and Means A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

committees, Emmons resigned within the year, opting to return to private practice. In 1851, Emmons was appointed to be the

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the circuit court of

Marquette County, Michigan Marquette County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 66,017. It is the most populous county in the Upper Peni ...

, by 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 ...

. In 1853, he was elected to the Wayne County School Board, though he would resign the following year. In 1855, Governor Kinsley S. Bingham appointed Emmons as the

Prosecuting Attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

for Wayne County. He held this position until 1857. In 1854, Emmons joined the newly created Republican Party. With the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1861, Emmons enlisted in the Union Army, serving in Company K of the 1st Michigan Cavalry. Emmons, who began 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 ...

and rose all the way to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, was also part of the

Michigan Brigade The Michigan Brigade, sometimes called the Wolverines, the Michigan Cavalry Brigade or Custer's Brigade, was a brigade of cavalry in the volunteer Union Army during the later half of the American Civil War. Composed primarily of the 1st Michigan ...

, which was under the command of Brigadier General

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

. This brigade, a collection of various Michigan cavalry regiments, fought in every major campaign of the war from the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

in July 1863 to the

Battle of Appomattox Courthouse The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last, and ultimately one of the most consequential, battles of the American Civil War (1861–1865). It was the final e ...

in April 1865. After the war, Emmons settled in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. In 1872,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Governor Harrison Reed, another

carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical pejorative used by Southerners to describe allegedly opportunistic or disruptive Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War and were pe ...

Republican from the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, appointed Emmons as Florida Attorney General following the resignation of Horatio Bisbee Jr. Emmons served in this position until January 1873, when Judge William A. Cocke was officially elected to be Bisbee's successor.

Personal life and death

Emmons was married to Martha Eason Davisson, a native

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

an. Emmons died at his home in Jacksonville on April 15, 1877.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmons, J. P. C. 1818 births 1877 deaths Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) Florida attorneys general Members of the Michigan House of Representatives People from Hudson Falls, New York Politicians from Detroit Lawyers from Detroit Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida Lawyers from Jacksonville, Florida Florida Republicans Union army officers Union army soldiers People of Michigan in the American Civil War Michigan Democrats 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature

Early life and education

Political career

Personal life and death

See also

References