John H. Harmon
John H. Harmon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Detroit | |
| In office 1852–1853 | |
| Preceded by | Zachariah Chandler |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Moulton Hyde |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 21, 1819 Portage County, Ohio |
| Died | August 6, 1888 (aged 69) Detroit, Michigan |
| Spouse | Sarah S. Rood |
John Hanchett Harmon (June 21, 1819 – August 6, 1888) was an American politician who was a member of the Democratic National Committee, the mayor of Detroit, and the publisher of the Detroit Free Press.
Early life
[edit]John H. Harmon was born in Portage County, Ohio, on June 21, 1819.[1] His father, John Harmon, was a printer and published a newspaper in Ravenna, Ohio. The younger Harmon joined his father and learned the printer's trade. In 1838, the younger Harmon travelled to Detroit as the aide-de-camp of "General" Lucius V. Bierce, a leader of the Hunter Patriots, a group dedicated to ridding North America of the British Empire.[2] In December 1838, Harmon took part in the Battle of Windsor, personally burning the British barracks and the steamer Thames.[2]
After the Battle of Windsor, Harmon stayed in Detroit, obtaining a job at the Detroit Free Press. He became an editor and one-third owner of the paper in 1841, and in 1853 sole owner of the paper.[3] Harmon sold the Free Press the next year.[3]
In 1841, Harmon married Sarah S. Rood.[1] The couple had three children: John Harmon, Emma Harmon, and Mrs. S. H. Bell.[1]
Politics
[edit]Harmon was a prominent Democrat, serving as an alderman of the city of Detroit in 1847 and two years as mayor, in 1852 and 1853,[1] as well as representing Michigan on the 1848 Democratic National Committee.[4] He was also a member of the state militia, being appointed a Colonel in 1850.[5] Following his stint as mayor, he was appointed by President Franklin Pierce as Collector for the Port of Detroit, where he served until 1857.[1] After he left the office of Collector, Harmon spent much of his time in Washington, D.C., during congressional sessions.[6]
During this time Harmon, as one biographer put it, "became a victim to the bad habits created by the customs of hospitality then existing in Detroit."[6] Through generosity to his friends, his fortune declined, and Harmon spent some time again working for the Free Press.[7] However, he later "conquered [his] habit" and became a total abstainer,[7] a "silent but eloquent example of a permanently reformed man."[6] John H. Harmon died August 6, 1888, in a hotel in Detroit.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Silas Farmer (1889), THE HISTORY OF DETROIT AND MICHIGAN, p. 1040
- ^ a b Samuel Alanson Lane (1892), Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County, Beacon Job Department, pp. 598–601
- ^ a b Z. L. White (1888), "Western Journalism", Harper's Magazine, vol. 77, p. 690
- ^ The Democratic National Committee, 1830–1876, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 1919, p. 63
- ^ Michigan. Legislature (1851), Joint documents of the Legislature of the State of Michigan for the year 1851, p. 203
- ^ a b c F. A. Barnard (1878), American biographical history of eminent and self-made men: Michigan volume, Part 1, Western biographical publishing co., p. 71
- ^ a b William E. Quinby (1881), "Reminiscences of Michigan Journalism", Michigan historical collections, vol. 4, p. 511
- ^ Robert B. Ross (1890), The patriot war, p. 44
