Legislator Details
Portrait of Jonathan Shearer scanned from Rep.Dist. 1 page previous to p.131.
Vital Records Information:
Marital Information:
Married Christina Deuvall on 1822 in Phelps, Ontario County, NY. Christina was a native of Newport, Rhode Island and died in 1867.
Married Lydia Gray in 1871, she was from Ashfield, Massachusetts.
Number of Children: 6
Background
Education:
Studied under the Geologist Professor Hitchcock at Deerfield, MA, at the academy of Professor Chase in Rensselaer County, NY, and studied medicine at a doctors office in NH.
Biographical Sketch:
Born the seventh son of William and Betsey (Morton) Shearer on August 23, 1796 in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Jonathon Shearer tried his hand at many occupations but came back to farming after each stint. After seeing the crops coming in from New York, Mr. Shearer decided the soil was more fertile in the North West than in Massachusetts. He moved to Phelps, Ontario County, NY in 1822. In June 1836 he moved his family to Plymouth, MI where he resided on his own farm and managed several farms in neighboring counties. In 1837 he was elected a Supervisor and when the Board of Supervisors was abolished in favor of the County Commissioners system, Mr. Shearer was elected one of the three commissioners. He served three years, not missing one day of service. He was elected to Senator in 1841 for three terms and elected to the House of Representatives in 1851 for two terms. He was elected as a member of the Michigan Constitutional Convention. He was the Vice President of the State Agricultural Society, serving as such for 10 years and the President of the State Pioneer Society (elected in 1876 for one year).
Notable Facts:
Mother (Betsey [Morton] Shearer) went to school and became family friends with John Quincy Addams and the two families shared a home for a summer.
Mr. Shearer was instrumental in building of the Wayne County Poor Farm (Nankin), the Normal School at Ypsilanti, the State Agricultural Society, and the State Pioneer Society.