Moses Wisner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Moses Wisner
12th Governor of Michigan
In office January 5, 1859 – January 2, 1861
Lieutenant	Edmund B. Fairfield
Preceded by	Kinsley Bingham
Succeeded by	Austin Blair
Personal details
Born	June 3, 1815 Springport, New York
Died	January 5, 1863 (aged 47) Lexington, Kentucky
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Angeolina Hascall

Moses Wisner (born June 3, 1815 – died January 5, 1863) was an important politician and soldier from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served as the 12th Governor of Michigan and played a role during the American Civil War.

Moses Wisner's Early Life

Wisner was born in Springport, New York. His family came from Switzerland in the early 1700s and settled in Orange County, New York. One of his distant relatives was Henry Wisner, who was a delegate from New York to the Continental Congress. Henry Wisner also helped fight against the British during the American Revolution.

Moses Wisner went to local schools while helping out on his parents’ farm. In 1837, he moved to Michigan and started a farm in Lapeer County. After two years, he decided farming wasn't for him and moved to Pontiac, Michigan.

Becoming a Lawyer and Politician

In Pontiac, Moses Wisner began studying law. He worked at a law firm with his brother, George W. Wisner, and another lawyer named Rufus Hosmer. In 1841, he officially became a lawyer in Pontiac. He then moved to the village of Lapeer, Michigan to start his own law practice. In 1843, the Governor, William Woodbridge, appointed him as the prosecuting attorney for Lapeer County. This meant he was a lawyer who worked for the government to bring cases against people accused of crimes. Later, he moved back to Pontiac to join a law firm there.

Wisner wasn't very involved in politics until after Franklin Pierce became U.S. President in 1852. After that, he became very active in the movement to end slavery. He was one of the strongest critics in Michigan of the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. This act undid an earlier agreement called the Missouri Compromise and allowed new territories to decide if they wanted slavery.

Governor of Michigan

Moses Wisner attended the very first meeting of the U.S. Republican Party in Jackson, Michigan in July 1854. At this meeting, he was offered the chance to be nominated for Michigan Attorney General, but he turned it down. That same year, he ran for the U.S. House from Michigan's 4th congressional district but lost to George Washington Peck, a Democrat.

In 1858, Wisner was elected the 12th Governor of Michigan. He won by a large number of votes and served one term, from 1859 to 1861. After his time as governor, he went back home to Pontiac and continued working as a lawyer.

Moses Wisner's Final Years and Legacy

In September 1862, during the American Civil War, Moses Wisner worked hard to gather soldiers for the 22nd Michigan Infantry. He was made a colonel, which is a high rank in the army. However, while he was traveling to join his group of soldiers, he became very sick with typhoid fever. He died at the age of 47 on January 5, 1863, in a private home near Lexington, Kentucky. He left behind his wife, Angeolina Hascall, and their four children.

Moses Wisner is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac.

His beautiful mansion in Pontiac, built in a special Greek Revival-Style, is now called the Moses and Angeolina Hascall Wisner House. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site. Today, this house is a museum and a place for community events, like weddings and ice cream socials.

Two places in Michigan are named after Moses Wisner: Wisner Township, Michigan, in Tuscola County, and Wisner Stadium, a football stadium in Pontiac, Michigan.