John Biddle (Michigan politician)

John Biddle ( born March 2, 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, † August 25, 1859 in White Sulphur Springs, Virginia ) was an American politician. Between 1829 and 1831 he represented the Michigan Territory as a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

John Biddle attended the public schools of his home and then the Princeton College. Between 1812 and 1821 he served in the U.S. Army. He also took part in the British -American War of 1812. Until his retirement from military service, he had attained the rank of Major. During his military service, he served temporarily under General Winfield Scott in the Niagara area. He also commanded for some time the Fort Shelby in Detroit. Later he was Deputy Inspector General.

In the years 1821 and 1822 he worked as an Indian Agent in Green Bay in what is now the state of Wisconsin. Thereafter, he served from 1823 to 1837, including during his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, as the head of the land cadastre in Detroit. He was also a commissioner for the investigation of former land claims in the Michigan Territory. In the years 1827-1828 he was the successor of Jonathan Kearsley mayor of Detroit. 1828 Biddle was a delegate of the Michigan Territory in the Congress in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of Austin Eli Wing on March 4, 1829. This mandate he held until his resignation on February 21, 1831, two weeks before the end of the regular legislative session, from. Then entered on March 4, 1831 his predecessor Wing to his successor in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1835 Biddle was President of the Constituent Assembly of Michigan. In the same year he became president of the Michigan Central Railroad. At that time he joined the newly formed Whig Party. Also in 1835, failed his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. He also ran unsuccessfully as well as the first governor of Michigan, where he clearly failed because of the Democrats Stevens Mason. In 1841 he became a deputy House of Representatives from Michigan and also its president.

In the following years, Biddle withdrew from public life. He first lived on his farm " Wyandotte ", which he later sold, and spent a lot of time on his other property in St. Louis. John Biddle died on August 25, 1859 in White Sulphur Springs in what is now West Virginia. He was married to Eliza F. Bradish, with whom he had four children.