4th Michigan Territorial Council

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4th Michigan Territorial Council
3rd Michigan Territorial Council 5th Michigan Territorial Council
Overview
Legislative bodyMichigan Territorial Council
JurisdictionMichigan Territory, United States
Meeting placeDetroit
TermMay 11, 1830 (1830-05-11) – March 4, 1831 (1831-03-04)
Michigan Territorial Council
Members13 members
PresidentAbraham Edwards
Sessions
1stMay 11, 1830 – July 31, 1830
2ndJanuary 4, 1831 – March 4, 1831

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]

Leadership and organization[edit]

Abraham Edwards was president of the council, Edmund A. Brush secretary, and William Meldrum sergeant-at-arms.[1]

Members[edit]

A 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.

Members[1]
District County Name Party Notes
1 Wayne William Bartow
William Brown
William A. Fletcher
John McDonell Democratic
2 Lenawee

Monroe

Laurent Durocher Democratic
Abraham Edwards
Wolcott Lawrence
3 Macomb

St. Clair

John Stockton
4 Oakland Thomas J. Drake
Daniel LeRoy
5 Washtenaw James Kingsley
6 Brown

Chippewa

Crawford

Michilimackinac

Robert Irwin Jr. Did not appear at second session.
Henry R. Schoolcraft

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  • Journal of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan: First Session—Fourth Council, Detroit: Edward D. Ellis, 1830, retrieved 2019-10-04 – via HathiTrust
  • Journal of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan: Second Session—Fourth Council, Detroit: George L. Whitney, 1831, retrieved 2019-10-04 – via HathiTrust
  • Michigan Manual (1907–1908 ed.), Lansing: Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford, 1907, retrieved 2019-10-04
  • State of Michigan (1874), Laws of the Territory of Michigan, vol. 2, Lansing: W. S. George, retrieved 2019-10-04