The Fourth Michigan Territorial Council was a meeting of the legislative body governing Michigan Territory, known formally as the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan. The council met in Detroit in two regular sessions between May 11, 1830, and March 4, 1831, during the terms of Lewis Cass and George B. Porter as territorial governor.[1]
| 4th Michigan Territorial Council | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 Districts of the Fourth Territorial Council | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Michigan Territorial Council | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Michigan Territory, United States | ||||
| Meeting place | Detroit | ||||
| Term | May 11, 1830 – March 4, 1831 | ||||
| Michigan Territorial Council | |||||
| Members | 13 members | ||||
| President | Abraham Edwards | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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Leadership and organization
editAbraham Edwards was president of the council, Edmund A. Brush secretary, and William Meldrum sergeant-at-arms.[1]
Members
editA January 1827 act of the United States Congress provided for the direct election of a 13-member legislative council by the people of the territory; the same act gave the council responsibility for determining the apportionment of seats.[2] The council apportioned the seats as follows in an 1828 act:[3]
... the county of Wayne shall form the first electoral district, and shall be entitled to elect four members; the counties of Monroe and Lenawe shall form the second district, and shall be entitled to elect three members; the counties of Macomb and St. Clair shall form the third district, and shall be entitled to elect one member; the county of Oakland shall form the fourth district, and shall be entitled to elect two members; the county of Washtenaw shall form the fifth district, and shall be entitled to elect one member; and the counties of Michilimackinac, Brown, Crawford, and Chippewa shall form the sixth district, and shall be entitled to elect two members of the legislative council.
| District | County | Name | Party[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne | William Bartow | ||
| William Brown | ||||
| William A. Fletcher | ||||
| John McDonell | Democratic | |||
| 2 | Lenawee | Laurent Durocher | Democratic | |
| Abraham Edwards | Democratic | |||
| Wolcott Lawrence | ||||
| 3 | Macomb | John Stockton | Democratic | |
| 4 | Oakland | Thomas J. Drake | Whig[5] | |
| Daniel LeRoy | Democratic[5] | |||
| 5 | Washtenaw | James Kingsley | Democratic[5] | |
| 6 | Brown | Robert Irwin Jr. | Did not appear at second session. | |
| Henry R. Schoolcraft | Democratic |
Notes
edit- 1 2 3 Michigan Manual 1907, p. 131.
- ↑ 4 Stat. 200
- ↑ State of Michigan 1874, p. 695.
- ↑ Political parties were in flux early in the Second Party System. Affiliations for each individual are more general indicators of their politics, but they may not have had a declared allegiance during the 4th Territorial Council. The Whig Party did not even formally exist during the time of this Council.
- 1 2 3 Michigan Historical Commission 1924.
References
edit- Journal of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan: First Session—Fourth Council, Detroit: Edward D. Ellis, 1830, retrieved October 4, 2019 – via HathiTrust
- Journal of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan: Second Session—Fourth Council, Detroit: George L. Whitney, 1831, retrieved October 4, 2019 – via HathiTrust
- Michigan Manual (1907–1908 ed.), Lansing: Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford, 1907, retrieved October 4, 2019
- State of Michigan (1874), Laws of the Territory of Michigan, vol. 2, Lansing: W. S. George, retrieved October 4, 2019
- Michigan Historical Commission (1924), Michigan biographies, including members of Congress, elective state officers, justices of the Supreme court …, retrieved June 18, 2025 – via HathiTrust