Jonathan Kearsley

Jonathan Kearsley was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania on August 20, 1786,^[1] and graduated from Washington College in Washington, Pennsylvania (now Washington & Jefferson College) in 1811.^[2] He was one of the founders of the Union Literary Society at Washington College.^[3] He joined the Army the following year as a First Lieutenant in the Second Artillery Corps, eventually reaching the rank of Major.^[1] He fought in several battles during the War of 1812, including the Battle of Stoney Creek, Battle of Crysler's Farm, and the Battle of Chippawa (following the Capture of Fort Erie).^[4] In the latter battle, he was wounded, and one of his legs was amputated. The operation was performed incorrectly and he suffered pain for the rest of his life from it.^[1]

In 1815, Kearsley married Margaret Hetich.^[1] The couple had three children: Edmund Roberts (1816), Rebekah H (1817), and Martha I. (1819); Margaret died in 1821.^[1] He later married Rachel Valentine.^[5]

He held the office of Collector of Revenue Taxes in Virginia from 1817 until 1819, when he moved to Detroit and was appointed Receiver of Public Monies, a title which he held for thirty years.^[1] He lived on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street in Detroit.^[4]

He served as mayor of Detroit two separate times, first appointed by the council to fill the unexpired term of Henry Jackson Hunt in 1826, and then being elected in 1829.^[6] He also served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Michigan from 1827 to 1837, and again on its re-organized Board of Regents from 1838 until 1852.^[1][7] He died in 1859 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.^[8]

Kearsley Creek, a tributary of the Flint River, Kearsley Community Schools,^[9] and a major street in Flint, Michigan are named after him, as was the short-lived (1839–43) Kearsley Township, Michigan.