Zephaniah Platt (Michigan Attorney General)

Zephaniah Platt (March 31, 1796 April 20, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician from Michigan. He was Michigan Attorney General from 1841 to 1843.

Zephaniah Platt
Michigan Attorney General
In office
1841–1843
GovernorJames Wright Gordon
John S. Barry
Preceded byPeter Morey
Succeeded byElon Farnsworth
Personal details
Born(1796-03-31)March 31, 1796
Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, New York
DiedApril 20, 1871(1871-04-20) (aged 75)
Aiken, Aiken County, South Carolina
Political partyWhig
Spouse(s)
Cornelia Jenkins
(m. 1818; his death 1871)
RelationsZephaniah Platt (grandfather)
Charles Z. Platt (uncle)
John Henry Livingston (uncle)
Children7, including Mary
ParentsJonas Platt
Helena Livingston Platt

Life

Platt was born on March 31, 1796 in Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, New York. He was the son of New York Supreme Court Justice Jonas Platt and Helena (nee Livingston) Platt (1767-1859),[1] and was baptized at the Presbyterian Church in Pleasant Valley, N.Y.[2] Among his siblings was sister, Helen Livingston Platt, who married Truman Parmelee and, after his death, Dr. Henry W. Bell.[2]

He was a grandson of Zephaniah Platt, and a nephew of Charles Z. Platt and of John Henry Livingston.[2]

Career

He removed to the Michigan Territory and practiced law at Jackson, Michigan. Platt, an antislavery Whig,[3] was Attorney General of the State of Michigan from 1841 to 1843.[4] He also served as a vice president in the American Anti-Slavery Society.[3]

He attended the 1842 Ojibwe treaty negotiations with the "Lake Superior Chippewa" at LaPointe and signed the treaty as a witness. Subsequently Platt acted as representative for some of the American Fur Company's Ojibwe traders seeking recompense for past Indian debts.

After the end of the American Civil War, he removed to South Carolina, and was Judge of the 2nd Circuit Court from 1868 until his death.

Personal life

On September 30, 1818, he married Cornelia Jenkins (d. 1890), and they had seven children, including:[2]

  • Mary Platt (1843–1911), who married J. J. Agnew. After his death, she married her cousin, Theodore Weld Parmele (1833–1893).[5]

Platt died on April 20, 1871 in Aiken, Aiken County, South Carolina.[2]

References

Legal offices
Preceded by
Peter Morey
Michigan Attorney General
18411843
Succeeded by
Elon Farnsworth
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