William Lawrence Greenly (September 18, 1813 – November 29, 1883) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as the sixth governor of Michigan.

William L. Greenly
6th Governor of Michigan
In office
March 4, 1847 – January 3, 1848
LieutenantCharles P. Bush
Preceded byAlpheus Felch
Succeeded byEpaphroditus Ransom
5th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
In office
1846–1847
GovernorAlpheus Felch
Preceded byOrigen D. Richardson
Succeeded byCharles P. Bush
Member of the Michigan Senate
In office
1839–1840
1842–1843
Personal details
Born(1813-09-18)September 18, 1813
Hamilton, New York, US
DiedNovember 29, 1883(1883-11-29) (aged 70)
Adrian, Michigan, US
Resting placeOakwood Cemetery, Adrian, Michigan
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Sarah A. Dascomb Greenly
Elizabeth W. Hubbard Greenly
Maria Hart Greenly
ChildrenMarshal Greenly

Early life in New York

edit

Greenly was born in Hamilton, New York. He graduated from Union College of Schenectady, New York in 1831, then studied law with Stower & Gridley in Hamilton and was admitted to the bar at Albany, New York in 1834.[1]

Politics in Michigan

edit

He moved to Adrian, Michigan in October 1836.[2] He served as a member of the Michigan State Senate from the 2nd district from 1839 to 1840, and from the 3rd district from 1842 to 1843.

Greenly served as the fifth lieutenant governor of Michigan from 1846 to 1847 and became governor on March 4, 1847, after the resignation of Alpheus Felch to take a seat in the U.S. Senate. He completed Felch's term through January 3, 1848.[3] Greenly served through much of the Mexican–American War, where troops from Michigan were sent such as Company K, 3d Dragoons, as well as A, E, and G of the U. S. Infantry.

Retirement and death

edit
 
Greenly grave

After his brief time as governor, he served as justice of the peace for twelve years, and was elected mayor of Adrian, Michigan, in 1858, serving only one year. He died on November 29, 1883, in Adrian at the age of seventy. He is interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Adrian.[4]

Family life

edit

Governor Greenly was married three times. He married Sarah A. Dascomb in Hamilton, New York in December 1834. Following her death, he married Elizabeth W. Hubbard in Northampton, Massachusetts, on June 11, 1840. He and Elizabeth had one son, Marshal. Following Elizabeth's death, he married Maria Hart in Adrian, Michigan, on October 25, 1859

References

edit
  1. ^ the University of Michigan (1888). EARLY HISTORY WITH BIOGRAPHIES OF STATE OFFICERS. the University of Michigan. p. 309. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  2. ^ GENERAL HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. 1873. p. 703.
  3. ^ Herringshaw, Thomas William (1909). Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States; Illustrated with Three Thousand Vignette Portraits. American Publishers' Association. p. 648. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  4. ^ Ashlee, Laura Rose (2005). Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers. University of Michigan Press. p. 246. ISBN 0472030663.

Further reading

edit
edit
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
1846–1847
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Michigan
1847–1848
Succeeded by