1. William Woodbridge was a US statesman in the states of Ohio and Michigan and in the Michigan Territory prior to statehood.
18 Facts About William Woodbridge
1. 2.
William Woodbridge served as the second governor of Michigan and a United States senator from Michigan.
3.
William Woodbridge began the study of law in Marietta and developed a close friendship with Lewis Cass.
4.
William Woodbridge returned to Connecticut to complete his law studies, and after returning to Ohio, was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1806 where he began a practice in Marietta, Ohio.
5.
William Woodbridge was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1807, and was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1808, serving from 1809 to 1814.
6.
William Woodbridge was the prosecuting attorney for New London from 1808 to 1814.
7.
On October 15,1814, William Woodbridge reluctantly accepted the appointments from President James Madison and moved to Detroit, Michigan.
8.
In 1817, William Woodbridge became a trustee of the University of Michigan.
9.
William Woodbridge influenced Congress to pass legislation authorizing the selection of a non-voting delegate to Congress.
10.
William Woodbridge became the Michigan Territory's first delegate, serving in the 16th Congress from March 4,1819, to his resignation on August 9,1820, due to illness in his family.
11.
William Woodbridge secured approval for the construction of government roads from the Great Miami River to Detroit, and from Detroit to Chicago.
12.
William Woodbridge was a strong advocate for Michigan's claim to the Toledo Strip, which was disputed with the state of Ohio.
13.
William Woodbridge was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1835 and a member of the Michigan State Senate from 1838 to 1839.
14.
William Woodbridge was elected as the second Governor of Michigan in 1840, leading the Whig Party to sweeping statewide victories under the slogan "Woodbridge and reform".
15.
William Woodbridge resigned as governor on February 23,1841, to take a seat in the United States Senate and was succeeded by his Lieutenant Governor, J Wright Gordon.
16.
William Woodbridge was elected to the Senate by the Michigan Legislature and served from March 4,1841, to March 3,1847.
17.
William Woodbridge served as chairman of the Committee on Public Lands in the 28th Congress from 1843 to 1844, and of the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office in the 29th Congress from 1845 to 1846.
18.
William Woodbridge died in Detroit and is interred there in Elmwood Cemetery.