Moses Wheelock Field (February 10, 1828 – March 14, 1889) was a businessman and politician. He served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives 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 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 so ...

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, ...

, and was instrumental in organizing the Independent

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...

Early life and education

Field was born in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

, the son of William Field and Rebecca (Wheelock) Field. He moved with his parents to Cato, New York, and attended public schools and graduated from the academy in

Victor, New York Victor is an incorporated town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 15,969 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Claudius Victor Boughton, an American hero of the War of 1812. The Town of Victor con ...

In 1844, he 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 ...

, and engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits. Here he married Mary Kercheval whose father, Benjamin Kercheval (1793-1855), had been an officer in the War of 1812. He built a house beyond the then eastern limits of Detroit, at a location where it would be placed on Field Avenue (named for him) later, which his mother-in-law thought was too far from the center of town. He operated the Detroit Glass Works and the Detroit Hoop Manufacturing Company. In 1865, he was instrumental in establishing the Michigan State Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and helped create state laws relating to the humane treatment of animals. He is credited with helping establish an art museum in Detroit, and helping establish public drinking fountains in Detroit in 1871. Field served as

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of Detroit from 1863 to 1865.

Career

He was elected as a Republican candidate from

Michigan's 1st congressional district Michigan's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district that fully contains the 15 counties of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and 20 counties of Northern Michigan in the Lower Peninsula. The district is currently represen ...

to the 43rd Congress, serving from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1875. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress. Field was instrumental in organizing the Independent

, having called the national convention at

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, on May 17, 1876. Governor

Josiah Begole Josiah Williams Begole (January 20, 1815June 5, 1896) was an American politician serving as a U.S. Representative from 1873 to 1875 and the 19th governor of Michigan from 1883 to 1885. Early life in New York Begole was born in Groveland, New Y ...

appointed him a trustee of the Eastern Asylum for the Insane in 1883. In 1888, Field was elected to an eight-year term as

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

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 ...

. He died on March 14, 1889, before completing the term. At the time of his death, he lived on his farm, "Linden Lawn," (where Field Avenue would later be built) in the township of

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ; ; ; ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An enclave of Detroit, Hamtramck is located roughly north of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded by Detroit on most sides. As of the 2020 census, the city had a po ...

, a still largely rural area to the east of the city of Detroit. Most of that township would later be annexed into Detroit, including where Field lived. He is interred in

Woodmere Cemetery Woodmere Cemetery is at West Fort Street and Woodmere Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, in the neighborhood of Springwells Village in what was originally the township of Springwells. Woodmere Cemetery is operated by the Midwest Memorial Group. Hist ...

Personal life

On February 2, 1858, Field married Mary Kercheval. They had ten children, including Vincent Field, Alice Field and Mary Field. His family were members of the Swedenborgian Church.

References

External links

Picture of the Moses Whelock Field Home
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Moses W. 1828 births 1889 deaths Politicians from Watertown, New York Detroit City Council members Regents of the University of Michigan Michigan Greenbacks People from Cayuga County, New York Politicians from Detroit Politicians from Hamtramck, Michigan Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan People from Victor, New York 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives