Longyear, J. W. (John Wesley), 1820-1875

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Republican congressman and U.S. district judge from Lansing, Michigan.

From the description of John Wesley Longyear papers, 1846-1875. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 154302138

From the description of John Wesley Longyear papers, 1846-1875. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34422516

John Wesley Longyear, lawyer, U.S. congressman, and judge, was born in 1820 in Shandaken, New York. After being educated at seminaries in Amenia and Lima, New York, Longyear taught school and studied law. In April 1844, he moved to Mason, Michigan in Ingham County where he continued to teach school and study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1846. When the state capitol was moved to nearby Lansing in 1847, Longyear moved there and formed a law partnership with his brother Ephraim Longyear. He was married in June 1849 to Harriet M. Munroe.

In 1862, Longyear was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's third district, composed of Calhoun, Eaton, Ingham, Jackson, and Washtenaw counties. He was reelected in 1864 and served on the Committee on Common Expenditures and as chairman of the controversial extension of U.S. land grants to the Amboy, Hillsdale, Lansing, and Traverse Bay Railroad. The ensuing controversy may have cost Longyear his seat in Congress.

Longyear was a delegate to the 1866 Loyalist Convention in Philadelphia, a convention called to influence public opinion against the Johnson Reconstruction policy. He also served as a member of the Michigan Constitutional convention in 1867.

In 1870, Longyear was appointed U.S. district court judge for the eastern district of Michigan. He moved to Detroit the following year and developed a national reputation for expertise in bankruptcy and admiralty law. He died suddenly in March 1875.

From the guide to the John Wesley Longyear Papers, 1837-1875, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)

Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad. corporateBody
associatedWith Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Bagley, John Judson, 1832-1881. person
associatedWith Barbour, Levi L. (Levi Lewis), 1840-1925. person
associatedWith Beaman, F. C. (Fernando C.), 1814-1882. person
associatedWith Blair, Austin, 1818-1894. person
associatedWith Cooley, Thomas McIntyre, 1824-1898. person
associatedWith Cutcheon, Sullivan M., 1843-1900. person
associatedWith Duffield, D. Bethune (Divie Bethune), 1821-1891. person
associatedWith Edmunds, J. M. (James Madison), 1810-1879. person
associatedWith Ferry, Thomas White, 1827-1896. person
associatedWith Graves, Benjamin Franklin, b. 1817. person
associatedWith Howard, William Alanson, 1813-1880. person
associatedWith Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Railroad Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Jackson, Lansing, and Saginaw Railroad Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Lanman, Charles, 1819-1895. person
associatedWith Longyear, Edmund J. (Edmund Joseph), 1864-1954. person
associatedWith Longyear, Ephraim, 1827-1889. person
associatedWith Mayhew, Ira, 1814-1894. person
associatedWith McKinney, John, 1803-1870. person
associatedWith Michigan Female College. corporateBody
associatedWith Michigan Female College (Lansing, Mich.) corporateBody
associatedWith Newberry, John Stoughton, 1826-1887. person
associatedWith Olds, Schuyler Seager. person
associatedWith Olds, Schuyler Seager. person
associatedWith Republican Party (Mich.) corporateBody
associatedWith Trowbridge, Rowland E., 1821-1881. person
associatedWith Turner, James, 1820-1869. person
associatedWith Turner, James Munroe, 1850-1896. person
associatedWith United States. Congress. House. corporateBody
associatedWith United States Military Academy. corporateBody
associatedWith Withey, Solomon L., 1820-1886. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Upper Peninsula (Mich.)
Muskegon (Mich.)
Michigan--Lansing
Manistee (Mich.)
United States
Lansing (Mich.)
Michigan
Lansing (Mich.)
United States
Newaygo County (Mich.)
Muskegon (Mich.)
Muskegon (Mich.)
Michigan
Newaygo County (Mich.)
Newaygo County (Mich.)
Manistee (Mich.)
Upper Peninsula (Mich.)
United States
Michigan--Upper Peninsula
Manistee (Mich.)
Lansing (Mich.)
Upper Peninsula (Mich.)
Subject
Business records
Copper
Copper mines and mining
Copper mines and mining
Dwellings
Homestead law
Homestead law
Judges
Judges
Mines and mineral resources
Railroads
Railroads
Women
Women
Women
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1820-10-22

Death 1875-03-11

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