Princetonian Major John Biddle Represents Michigan in US Congress, 1829

BIDDLE, John, a Delegate from the Territory of Michigan; born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 2, 1792; attended the common schools and Princeton College; enlisted in the War of 1812; appointed a second lieutenant in the Third Artillery July 6, 1812, first lieutenant March 13, 1813, and captain in the Forty-second Infantry October 1, 1813; assistant inspector general with the rank of major, June 19, 1817-June 1, 1821; attached to the staff of General Scott on the Niagara frontier; paymaster and Indian agent at Green Bay, Wis., 1821 and 1822; register of the land at Detroit, Territory of Michigan, 1823-1837; commissioner for determining the ancient land claims at Detroit, Mackinaw, Sault Ste. Marie, Green Bay, and Prairie du Chien; mayor of Detroit in 1827 and 1828; elected a Delegate from the Territory of Michigan to the Twenty-first Congress and served until his resignation on February 21, 1831 (March 4, 1829-February 21, 1831); president of the convention that framed the State constitution for Michigan, 1835; president of the Michigan Central Railroad Co., 1835; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1835; unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Michigan; member of the State house of representatives in 1841 and served as speaker; retired from public life and active pursuits and resided on his farm near Wyandotte, Mich.; later spent much time on his estate near St. Louis, Gratiot County, Mich.; went to White Sulphur Springs, Va., for the summer, and died there August 25, 1859; interment in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Mich. [Source: US Congress]