Epaphroditus Ransom
Epaphroditus Ransom (
March 24,
1798–
November 9,
1859) was
Governor and
Michigan Supreme Court justice from the
U.S. state of
Michigan.
Ransom was born in
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. There is disagreement about the year of his birth, sometimes given as 1787 [
1], 1796 [
2], or 1798 [
3]. He was the first of twelve children and was educated at various schools in
New England. He studied law and had begun his own practice in
Townshend, Vermont by
1823. He was elected to the state
House of Representatives but instead moved to
Michigan Territory in
1834 with his wife Almira and their children. He took up residence in what is now
Kalamazoo, Michigan. He took up farming and other business ventures and soon became active in politics. He served in the state legislature and became that area's first circuit court judge, riding horseback through the wilderness to hear cases.
He was appointed by
Governor Stevens T. Mason as an associate justice of the state Supreme Court in
1837 and served as chief justice from
1843 to
1848. In one notable issue, he issued a declaration in
1840 that prevented the removal of the Catholic
Potawatomi from their lands in southwestern Michigan.
In 1848, he resigned from the court after being elected Governor. Ransom was the first governor to be inaugurated in
Lansing, Michigan, after the state capitol moved there from
Detroit. During his term as governor, the first
telegraph line from
New York to
Detroit was completed and the first message sent on
March 1. There were two notable immigrations to the state during his administration. A group of
Hollanders came to western Michigan, lead by Rev. Van Raalte, of the
Dutch Reformed Church. They founded the city of
Holland, Michigan and later established
Hope College.
James Jesse Strang lead the other immigration, consisting of a faction of
Mormon followers. They settled on
Beaver Island in northern
Lake Michigan. Strang founded a kingdom there with a capitol,
St. James named for himself. Strang was even elected to the state legislature twice, but anti-Mormon sentiment and his totalitarian rule of the island led to his assassination.
Because of Ransom's strong anti-slavery position, the state
Democratic Party did not re-nominate him for Governor in
1850. He was elected again to the state legislature in
1853 and
1854.
He was also the first president of the
Michigan Agricultural Society, which was instrumental in the creation of both the
Michigan State Fair and
Michigan State University. He served as regent for the
University of Michigan, 1850 to
1852 and was a co-founder of the village of
Augusta, Michigan. His private business ventures were ruined by the
Panic of 1855, and in
1857, Ransom gratefully accepted appointment from
U.S. President James Buchanan as receiver of the public monies for the Osage Land Office in
Fort Scott, Kansas.
He died in Fort Scott and is interred at Mountain Home Cemetery in Kalamazoo.
*
Biographical Portrait from
1892 Portrait & Biographical Album of Genesee, Lapeer & Tuscola Counties, Chapman Bros
*
Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society
