Thomas W. Ferry
Encyclopedia
Thomas White Ferry was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state
of Michigan
.
Ferry was born in the old Mission House on Mackinac Island
. The community on Mackinac at that time included the military garrison, the main depot of John Jacob Astor's
American Fur Company
, and the mission. His father was a Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. William Montague Ferry
, and his mother was Amanda White Ferry; together his parents ran the mission school.
Rev. Ferry also was the pastor of the Protestant church on the island. Thomas moved with his parents to Grand Haven, Michigan
, attended the public schools, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He worked as a store clerk in Elgin, Illinois
for two years from 1843 to 1845 before returning to Michigan.
He was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives
1850-1852 and a member of the Michigan State Senate in 1856. On January 26, 1857, Ferry, with his father William Montague Ferry, platted the village of Ferrysburg, Michigan
, which his father had first settled in 1834.
He was a delegate to the Loyalist Convention at Philadelphia in 1866. He was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives
for the 39th
, 40th
, and 41st Congresses
, serving from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1871. He was re-elected to the U.S. House for the 42nd Congress
in the general election of November 8, 1870. The Michigan Legislature subsequently elected him to the U.S. Senate on January 18, 1871 and Wilder D. Foster
was elected in a special election on April 4, 1871 to fill the vacancy in the House. Ferry was reelected to the Senate in 1877, and served from March 4, 1871 to March 4, 1883. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882. Ferry was the first person from Michigan to have served in both houses of the Michigan State Legislature and in both houses of the United States Congress
. The second person to do so is Debbie Stabenow
.
He served as President pro tempore of the Senate
during the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses and upon the death of Vice President Henry Wilson
on November 22, 1875, Ferry was next in the line of presidential succession. He delivered an address as the presiding officer of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
on July 4, 1876.
As the U.S. Constitution specifies that the President shall take the oath of office "before he enter on the execution of his office", Ferry always believed be had served for one day as President of the United States: March 4, 1877. As Ulysses Grant was no longer the President, and Hayes had not, at least in Ferry's view, assumed the office, he believed he was President. Ferry never knew, and neither did the public, that Hayes had taken the oath in a private ceremony held at the White House the day before, satisfying constitutional requirements and, for all legal purposes, becoming President on March 4.
While Senator, Ferry was chairman, Committee on Rules
(Forty-third through Forty-fifth Congresses), Committee on Post Office and Post Roads (Forty-fifth and Forty-seventh Congresses). He presided over the high court of impeachment of U.S. Secretary of War William Belknap and over the sixteen joint meetings of the Electoral Commission
during the Hayes
-Tilden
U.S. presidential electoral contest in 1877.
Ferry died in Grand Haven, Michigan
, aged 69, and is interred in Lake Forest Cemetery.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Ferry was born in the old Mission House on Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...
. The community on Mackinac at that time included the military garrison, the main depot of John Jacob Astor's
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
, and the mission. His father was a Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. William Montague Ferry
William Montague Ferry
William Montague Ferry, Sr. was a Presbyterian minister and missionary who founded several settlements in Ottawa County, Michigan....
, and his mother was Amanda White Ferry; together his parents ran the mission school.
Rev. Ferry also was the pastor of the Protestant church on the island. Thomas moved with his parents to Grand Haven, Michigan
Grand Haven, Michigan
Grand Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand Haven had a population of 10,412. It is part of the...
, attended the public schools, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He worked as a store clerk in Elgin, Illinois
Elgin, Illinois
Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...
for two years from 1843 to 1845 before returning to Michigan.
He was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives
Michigan State House of Representatives
The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2000 federal U.S. Census.Members are elected in...
1850-1852 and a member of the Michigan State Senate in 1856. On January 26, 1857, Ferry, with his father William Montague Ferry, platted the village of Ferrysburg, Michigan
Ferrysburg, Michigan
Ferrysburg is a city in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,040 at the 2000 census.Spring Lake Township borders the city on the north and east, though it is administratively autonomous. The village of Spring Lake is located to the southeast, on the opposite side of...
, which his father had first settled in 1834.
He was a delegate to the Loyalist Convention at Philadelphia in 1866. He was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for the 39th
39th United States Congress
The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of...
, 40th
40th United States Congress
The Fortieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867 to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth...
, and 41st Congresses
41st United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President : Schuyler Colfax* President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony - House of Representatives :* Speaker: James G. Blaine -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...
, serving from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1871. He was re-elected to the U.S. House for the 42nd Congress
42nd United States Congress
The Forty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth...
in the general election of November 8, 1870. The Michigan Legislature subsequently elected him to the U.S. Senate on January 18, 1871 and Wilder D. Foster
Wilder D. Foster
Wilder De Ayr Foster was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Biography:Foster was born in Orange County, New York where he attended the common schools. He moved to Michigan in 1837, and engaged in the hardware business at Grand Rapids in 1845...
was elected in a special election on April 4, 1871 to fill the vacancy in the House. Ferry was reelected to the Senate in 1877, and served from March 4, 1871 to March 4, 1883. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882. Ferry was the first person from Michigan to have served in both houses of the Michigan State Legislature and in both houses of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. The second person to do so is Debbie Stabenow
Debbie Stabenow
Deborah Ann Greer "Debbie" Stabenow is the junior United States Senator from Michigan and a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to the U.S. Senate, she was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001...
.
He served as President pro tempore of the Senate
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
The President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...
during the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses and upon the death of Vice President Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...
on November 22, 1875, Ferry was next in the line of presidential succession. He delivered an address as the presiding officer of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
on July 4, 1876.
As the U.S. Constitution specifies that the President shall take the oath of office "before he enter on the execution of his office", Ferry always believed be had served for one day as President of the United States: March 4, 1877. As Ulysses Grant was no longer the President, and Hayes had not, at least in Ferry's view, assumed the office, he believed he was President. Ferry never knew, and neither did the public, that Hayes had taken the oath in a private ceremony held at the White House the day before, satisfying constitutional requirements and, for all legal purposes, becoming President on March 4.
While Senator, Ferry was chairman, Committee on Rules
United States Senate Committee on Rules
The United States Senate Committee on Rules is a defunct Congressional committee, replaced by the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.-History:...
(Forty-third through Forty-fifth Congresses), Committee on Post Office and Post Roads (Forty-fifth and Forty-seventh Congresses). He presided over the high court of impeachment of U.S. Secretary of War William Belknap and over the sixteen joint meetings of the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United States)
The Electoral Commission was a temporary body created by Congress to resolve the disputed United States presidential election of 1876. It consisted of 15 members. The election was contested by the Democratic ticket, Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks, and the Republican ticket, Rutherford B....
during the Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
-Tilden
Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel Jones Tilden was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, one of the most controversial American elections of the 19th century. He was the 25th Governor of New York...
U.S. presidential electoral contest in 1877.
Ferry died in Grand Haven, Michigan
Grand Haven, Michigan
Grand Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand Haven had a population of 10,412. It is part of the...
, aged 69, and is interred in Lake Forest Cemetery.
External links
- Thomas W. Ferry at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...