John S. Heath

John S. Heath (1807–1849) was an American physician and politician who served two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives.

John S. Heath
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the St. Clair County district
In office
November 2, 1835 – December 31, 1837
Personal details
Born1807 (1807)
Hillsborough, New Hampshire
Died1849 (aged 41–42)
drowned in Lake Huron

Biography

John Heath was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, in 1807,[1] the son of blacksmith Sargent Heath.[2] He was a schoolmate of President Franklin Pierce, and went on to study medicine in Glens Falls, New York.[1] He moved to St. Clair, Michigan, with his father in 1833, and from 1835 to 1836, he co-edited the St. Clair Republican.[2] In 1836, he moved from St. Clair to Port Huron, Michigan,[3] and he also owned mills and manufactured lumber at Pointe Aux Barques.[1] He married Marilda James, daughter of pioneer Horatio James. [2]

Heath was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in the first election under the state's new constitution in 1835, and re-elected to a second term.[1] He served as justice of the peace in 1839,[4] as postmaster of Port Huron,[5] as collector of customs,[1] and as sheriff of St. Clair County in 1843 and 1844.[1][6] In 1841 he began teaching at the first district school in Port Huron.[3] He served as a supervisor of Port Huron Township in 1842,[7] and was appointed a commissioner of the Detroit & Port Huron Plank Road Company in March 1844.[8]

Heath drowned returning in a small boat from his mills to Port Huron in March 1849.[2] The boat was later found washed ashore 10 to 12 miles up the coast from Lexington, Michigan, with one of its masts missing. Two of Heath's employees and Peter Shook, the lighthouse keeper at Pointe Aux Barques, on his way to Detroit for supplies, also drowned.[9]

Notes
  1. Bingham 1888, p. 337.
  2. Jenks 1912, p. 338.
  3. Jenks 1912, p. 273.
  4. A. T. Andreas 1883, p. 487.
  5. A. T. Andreas 1883, p. 520.
  6. St. Clair County 2018.
  7. Jenks 1912, p. 247.
  8. A. T. Andreas 1883, p. 470.
  9. Buffalo Weekly Republic 1849, p. 4.

References
  • Bingham, Stephen D. (1888), Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators, Lansing: Thorp & Godfrey, retrieved 2018-12-17
  • "Dr. Heath Drowned", Buffalo Weekly Republic, vol. 3, no. 12, p. 4, May 1, 1849, retrieved 2018-12-17
  • History of St. Clair County, Michigan, Chicago: A. T. Andreas & Co., 1883, retrieved 2018-12-17
  • Jenks, William L. (1912), St. Clair County, Michigan, Its History and Its People, vol. 1, Chicago: Lewis, retrieved 2018-12-17
  • Michigan Manual (1877–78 ed.), Lansing: State of Michigan, 1877, retrieved 2018-12-17
  • St. Clair County Sheriffs, St. Clair County, Michigan, 2018, retrieved 2018-12-17
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