James Witherell (June 16, 1759 – January 9, 1838) was an American politician. He served as a

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

from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and as a Judge of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

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 ...

Biography

Witherell was born in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

. After completing preparatory studies, he served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

from 1775 to 1783 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He entered service as a private and rose to the rank of Adjutant in the Eleventh Massachusetts Regiment. He was severely wounded in the

Battle of White Plains The Battle of White Plains took place during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War on October 28, 1776, near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward from N ...

in 1776. After the war, Witherell studied medicine and law, and was licensed to practice medicine in 1788. He moved to Hampton in the

Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic, officially known at the time as the State of Vermont, was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The state was founded in January 1777, when delegates from 28 towns met ...

in 1788 and to Fair Haven in 1789 and continued the practice of his profession. Witherell was a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

from 1798 to 1802. He was associate county judge from 1801 to 1803, judge of Rutland County from 1803 to 1806, and an executive councilor from 1802 to 1806. He was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

to the Tenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1807, until May 1, 1808, when he resigned to accept an appointment by President

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 one of the Judges of the

for the

. While serving in Congress, he argued in favor of the Act that abolished the slave trade, and voted for the Act, which passed in 1808. During 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 ...

, he was in command of the troops at

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 the absence of General William Hull, and was taken prisoner when General Hull surrendered. He lived in Fair Haven, Vermont while on

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

from the British and later was exchanged and returned to his duties in

in the

Michigan Territory 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 ...

. On April 30, 1821, Governor

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...

and Judges John Griffin and James Witherell passed a new act that changed the name of the Catholepistemiad or University of Michigania to 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 ...

, and put control in the hands of a board of trustees consisting of twenty members plus the governor. After serving as a Supreme Court justice for nearly twenty years, Witherell resigned in 1828 to accept an appointment by President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

to become Secretary of the Territory. He held the position until May 1830. Witherell was

Acting Governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or a ...

of the

for the first three months of 1830.

Family life

Witherell was married on November 11, 1790, to Amy Hawkins; the couple had six children. His son, Benjamin F. H. Witherell, was also a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, and his grandson was

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Michigan

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 ...

Death

Witherell died at his home in Detroit on January 9, 1838, less than a year after the Michigan Territory's admission to the Union as a state. He was interred at the Russell Street Cemetery. Later, he was reburied in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
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govtrack.us
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witherell, James 1759 births 1838 deaths People from Mansfield, Massachusetts Vermont state court judges Members of the Vermont House of Representatives History of Detroit People from Michigan Territory Chief justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly