Thomas W. Palmer

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Thomas W. Palmer
James McMillan
Member of the Michigan Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
January 1, 1879 – December 31, 1880
Member of the Detroit Board of Estimates
In office
1873
Personal details
Born
Thomas Witherell Palmer

(1830-01-25)January 25, 1830
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedJune 1, 1913(1913-06-01) (aged 83)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Resting placeElmwood Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lizzie Pitts Merrill
(m. 1855)
RelationsJames Witherell (maternal grandfather)
Children1
Parents
  • Thomas Palmer
  • Mary Witherell
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Occupationbusinessman, lumberman
ProfessionPolitician
Signature

Thomas Witherell Palmer (January 25, 1830 – June 1, 1913) was a

U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. He is considered to be one of the most significant figures in the history of Detroit, Michigan
.

Palmer was born in Detroit, where his mother was the daughter of the third

Michigan Humane Society
).

He served on the Board of Estimates of Detroit in 1873 and was a member of the

U.S. Constitution
granting women's suffrage.

Palmer was appointed

World Columbian Exposition in Chicago 1890–1893. He retired to his Wayne County
farm near Detroit.

Palmer and his wife,

Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Monument erected at Campus Martius. In honor of his mother, he built the Mary W. Palmer Memorial Church. He was also one of the founders and the first president of the Detroit Museum of Art (now known as the Detroit Institute of Arts
), to which he contributed $16,000 and its current building stands on the site of Palmer's former home.

Lizzie Palmer in 1901 commissioned the

Carrere and Hastings are responsible for the design. The fountain was moved to Palmer Park in 1926. She bequeathed $3 million to found the Merrill-Palmer Institute in 1916, which is a national center for child and family development and is now affiliated with Wayne State University and located in the former house of Charles Lang Freer
.

In 1897, Palmer donated 140 acres (60 hectares) of land along

Woodward Avenue to the city for use as a public park. This land formed the basis of Palmer Park
. Palmer had inherited the land from his grandfather Michigan Territorial Judge James Witherell. In 1885, the Palmers had had the prominent architecture firm of Mason & Rice design a rustic log cabin-style summer house on the land, which still remains in the park, although it is currently closed to visitors.

Palmer was a Unitarian and a member of the Freemasons. He died in Detroit and is interred in Elmwood Cemetery.

Bibliography

  • Dictionary of American Biography
  • Burton, M. Agnes. "Thomas W. Palmer." Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society Collections 39 (1915): 208-17
  • Burton, Clarence. "Thomas W. Palmer," The City of Detroit, Michigan: 1701-1922, v. VI. Detroit: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1922.
  • Ziewacz, Lawrence E. "The Eighty-First Ballot: The Senatorial Struggle of 1883." Michigan History 56 (Fall 1972): 216-32

References

  1. ^ "Bioguide Search". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2021.

External links

U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 2) from Michigan
1883–1889
Served alongside: Omar D. Conger and Francis B. Stockbridge
Succeeded by
James McMillan
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
U.S. Minister to Spain

1889–1890
Succeeded by