{{short description|American politician}} {{about|the politician from Michigan|other people named Jonathan Davis|Jonathan Davis (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox officeholder | birth_date = {{birth date|1795|6|29}} | birth_place = Hanover, New York | death_date = {{death date and age|1853|5|15|1795|6|29}} | death_place = Albion, Michigan | state_senate = Michigan | district = 1st | term_start = November 2, 1835 | term_end = December 31, 1837 | predecessor = ''Legislature established'' | party = Democratic }}

'''Jonathan D. Davis''' (June 29, 1795 – May 15, 1853) was an American medical doctor and politician. He served in the Michigan Senate in the early years of Michigan's statehood.

== Biography ==

Jonathan Davis was born in Hanover, New York, on June 29, 1795. He worked as a store clerk and teacher to pay for his own academic and medical education.{{sfn|Bingham|1888|p=221}}

He moved to Plymouth, Michigan, in 1828, purchased land, and began a career as a doctor and farmer.{{sfn|Bingham|1888|p=221}} He served as the clerk of Plymouth Township in 1828 and 1834.{{sfn|Farmer|1890|p=1341}} He was also a justice of the peace in 1828 and 1831, and commissioned as a captain in the territorial militia in 1829.{{sfn|Journal of the Legislative Council|1832|pp=34, 54, 68}} He was briefly commissioned twice more, once during the Black Hawk War as a major in 1832, and again during the Toledo War when he served in September 1835 as a colonel, commanding the 1st Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division (Washtenaw County).{{sfn|Rosentreter|2003|pp=149, 245, 259}}

Davis served as a territorial judge and was later elected as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1835, then as a Democrat to the Michigan Senate in the first election under the new constitution, and served from 1835 to 1837. He was the president ''pro tempore'' of the senate in 1837.{{sfn|Bingham|1888|p=221}}

He moved to Jackson, Michigan, in 1842, and worked as the prison physician. He later moved to Albion, Michigan, where he died on May 15, 1853.{{sfn|Bingham|1888|p=221}}

Davis was married; his wife, Betsy, died in Jackson on May 19, 1880.{{sfn|Inter-State Publishing Co.|1881|p=161}}

== Notes == {{reflist}}

== References == * {{Citation | last = Bingham | first = Stephen D. | title = Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators | publisher = Thorp & Godfrey | place = Lansing | date = 1888 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GRMVAAAAYAAJ | accessdate = 2018-11-12 }} * {{Citation | last = Farmer | first = Silas | title = History of Detroit and Wayne County and Early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0zbiAAAAMAAJ | publisher = S. Farmer & Company | location = Detroit | date = 1890 | accessdate = 2018-11-12 }} * {{Citation | title = History of Jackson County, Michigan | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xa6K0zTjFUEC | publisher = Inter-State Publishing Co. | place = Chicago | date = 1881 | accessdate = 2018-11-12 | ref = {{harvid|Inter-State Publishing Co.|1881}} }} * {{Citation | title = Journal of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4Y4UAAAAYAAJ | volume = 5 | publisher = Geo. L. Whitney | place = Detroit | date = 1832 | accessdate = 2018-11-12 | ref = {{harvid|Journal of the Legislative Council|1832}} }} * {{Citation | last = Rosentreter | first = Roger | title = Michigan's Early Military Forces: A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nAlQ6HwMlKYC | publisher = Wayne State University Press | isbn = 978-0-8143-3081-4 | date = 2003 | accessdate = 2018-11-12 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jonathan D.}} Category:1795 births Category:1853 deaths

Category:Medical doctors from Michigan Category:Democratic Party Michigan state senators Category:People from Michigan Territory Category:19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature