Henry Ledyard
Encyclopedia
Henry Ledyard was the mayor of Detroit, Michigan
and a state senator, briefly served as assistant secretary under Secretary of State
Lewis Cass
, and was the president of the Newport Hospital
and the Redwood Library in Newport, Rhode Island
.
March 5, 1812, the son of prominent New York lawyer Benjamin Ledyard and Susan French Livingston (the daughter of Revolutionary War Colonel and US Supreme Court justice Henry Brockholst Livingston
and granddaughter of New Jersey
governor William Livingston
). Henry Ledyard graduated from Columbia College in 1830, and began practicing law in New York. When Lewis Cass
was appointed Minister to France, Ledyard accompaned him to Paris
, eventually becoming chargé d’affaires of the embassy.
In 1839, Ledyard married Cass's daughter Matilda Frances. The couple had five children:
, and was a member of the Board of Education. He also organized and promoted the first plank road
company in Michigan
, and was involved in a number of other ventures that propmoted communication between Detroit and the interior of the state. In 1849-1850 he was an alderman of the city, and served as mayor in 1855 and was one of the original commissioners on the Board of Water Commissioners.
Ledyard was a Democrat
, and was elected as a state senator in 1857. However, when Lewis Cass was appointed Secretary of State
under James Buchanan
, Ledyard resigned his post in the legislature and accompanied him to Washington, DC, and remained there until 1861, briefly serving as assistant secretary of state. Afterwards, he moved to Newport, Rhode Island
, where he lived for the rest of his life. He raised funds for and was the first president of the Newport Hospital
, and was the president of the Redwood Library in Newport.
Henry Ledyard died June 7, 1880, in London, England, during a brief European visit.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and a state senator, briefly served as assistant secretary under Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
, and was the president of the Newport Hospital
Newport Hospital
Newport Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in Newport, Rhode Island. Together with The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital, Newport Hospital is a member of the Lifespan health system.-History:...
and the Redwood Library in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
.
Early life and family
Henry Ledyard was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
March 5, 1812, the son of prominent New York lawyer Benjamin Ledyard and Susan French Livingston (the daughter of Revolutionary War Colonel and US Supreme Court justice Henry Brockholst Livingston
Henry Brockholst Livingston
Henry Brockholst Livingston was an American Revolutionary War officer, a justice of the Supreme Court of New York and eventually an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States....
and granddaughter of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
governor William Livingston
William Livingston
William Livingston served as the Governor of New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War and was a signer of the United States Constitution.-Early life:...
). Henry Ledyard graduated from Columbia College in 1830, and began practicing law in New York. When Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
was appointed Minister to France, Ledyard accompaned him to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, eventually becoming chargé d’affaires of the embassy.
In 1839, Ledyard married Cass's daughter Matilda Frances. The couple had five children:
- Elizabeth Ledyard, born October 1, 1840, and married to Francis Wayland Goddard in 1862.
- Henry Brockholst Ledyard, born February 20, 1844 (Susan's twin), and married to Mary R. L'Hommedieu. Henry Brockholst Ledyard was president of the Michigan Central RailroadMichigan Central RailroadThe Michigan Central Railroad was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada...
and the Union Trust Company, and a great philanthropist. - Susan Livingston Ledyard, born February 20, 1844 (Henry's twin), married to Hamilton B. Tompkins in 1872, and died the next year.
- Lewis Cass Ledyard, born April 4, 1851, and married to Gertrude Prince in 1878. After Gertrude's death in 1905, Lewis married Isabelle Henning Morris in 1906. Lewis Cass Ledyard was a prominent New York lawyer in the firm Carter Ledyard & MilburnCarter Ledyard & MilburnCarter Ledyard & Milburn LLP is a New York City law firm. It has more than 100 attorneys with offices in New York and Washington, D.C..The firm was founded in 1854 by Henry Scudder and James C. Carter. Those partners along with Henry’s younger brother Townsend, who subsequently joined the firm,...
, president of the New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, and personal counsel to J. Pierpont Morgan. - Matilda Spancer Ledyard, born May 27, 1860.
Politics and later life
Ledyard returned to the United States in 1844 and moved to Detroit, where he was active in the city and managed Cass's property holdings. He was one of the founders of the State Savings Bank, one of the original promoters of the Elmwood CemeteryElmwood Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)
Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit is one of Michigan's most important historic cemeteries. Located at 1200 Elmwood Street in Detroit's Eastside Historic Cemetery District, Elmwood is the oldest continuously operating, non-denominational cemetery in Michigan...
, and was a member of the Board of Education. He also organized and promoted the first plank road
Plank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...
company in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and was involved in a number of other ventures that propmoted communication between Detroit and the interior of the state. In 1849-1850 he was an alderman of the city, and served as mayor in 1855 and was one of the original commissioners on the Board of Water Commissioners.
Ledyard was a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and was elected as a state senator in 1857. However, when Lewis Cass was appointed Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
under James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
, Ledyard resigned his post in the legislature and accompanied him to Washington, DC, and remained there until 1861, briefly serving as assistant secretary of state. Afterwards, he moved to Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, where he lived for the rest of his life. He raised funds for and was the first president of the Newport Hospital
Newport Hospital
Newport Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in Newport, Rhode Island. Together with The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital, Newport Hospital is a member of the Lifespan health system.-History:...
, and was the president of the Redwood Library in Newport.
Henry Ledyard died June 7, 1880, in London, England, during a brief European visit.