Augustus S. Porter | |
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United States Senator from Michigan |
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In office January 20, 1840 – March 4, 1845 |
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Preceded by | Lucius Lyon |
Succeeded by | Lewis Cass |
14th Mayor of Detroit | |
In office 1838 – March 14, 1839 |
|
Preceded by | Henry Howard |
Succeeded by | Asher B. Bates |
Personal details | |
Born |
Canandaigua, New York |
January 18, 1798
Died | September 18, 1872 Niagara Falls, New York |
(aged 74)
Political party | Whig |
Spouse(s) |
Sarah A. Mansfield (m. 1822; her death 1824) Sarah G. Barnard (m. 1832; his death 1872) |
Children | 3 |
Parents |
Augustus Porter Lavinia Steele |
Relatives |
Peter Porter, Jr. (half-brother) Peter Buell Porter (uncle) Peter A. Porter (cousin) |
Education | Canandaigua Academy |
Alma mater | Union College |
Profession | Lawyer |
Augustus Seymour Porter (January 18, 1798 – September 18, 1872) was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan.
He was born in Canandaigua, New York, the son of Augustus Porter (1769–1849) and his first wife, Lavinia Steele. His brother was Peter B. Porter, Jr. (1806–1871) and his uncle was Peter Buell Porter (1773–1844), the United States Secretary of War under John Quincy Adams.
He attended Canandaigua Academy, and graduated from Union College, in Schenectady, New York, in 1818, studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Detroit, Michigan.
Porter became the recorder of Detroit in 1830 and was the treasurer of the Michigan Pioneer Society in 1837. He was elected mayor of Detroit in 1838, resigning in 1839 to run for the United States Senate, and was succeeded as mayor by Asher B. Bates on March 14, 1839.
He was elected as a Whig to the United States Senate, and served from January 20, 1840 until March 4, 1845. He did not run for reelection in 1844. He was chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals, 1841–1845, and was on the Committee on Enrolled Bills, 1841–1843.
On July 25, 1822, he married Sarah A. Mansfield (d. 1824). Mansfield died a few months after the birth of Porter's only son: