Moses Wisner

This is a biography of Moses Wisner, the twelfth Governor of Michigan who spearheaded the abolitionist movement of the new Republican Party in the mid-west. As Governor he felt the Great Lakes canal system should be opened for trade with the rest of the world. Through his efforts the state passed a bill which would finance building several canals. Bonds were drawn and auctioned for the highest bid. The deal went to a brokerage house owned by a former Michigan Congressman. The State Treasurer delivered the bonds to a New York bank where he was supposidly given $110,138.00 to be deposited in the Michigan State Treasury. He returned but the money did not. Although Moses Wisner was exonerated of any part of the crime, his political career was effectively ended. The money has never been recovered. Moses Wisner returned to his law practice and home after one term as Governor. He became a regimental leader of the Michigan Militia, fought in Kentucky duriing the Civil War where he died of Typhoid Fever. His beautiful home along the old Saginaw Trail was built in 1845 and is maintained today by the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society in Pontiac, Michigan.