Bradley Francis Granger

Bradley Francis Granger (March 12, 1825 – November 4, 1882) was an American politician, lawyer, and a United States Representative from the state of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives during a pivotal period in American history, participating in the legislative process at the outset of the Civil War and representing the interests of his Michigan constituents in the Thirty-seventh Congress.

Granger was born on March 12, 1825, in Lowville, Lewis County, New York. He attended the public schools in his youth. As a young man he moved west to Michigan, where, at the age of fifteen, he began the study of law with the firm of Stacy & Beaman in Tecumseh, Lenawee County. He pursued his legal studies there until he reached his majority and was admitted to the bar on October 12, 1847, marking the formal beginning of his professional career in the law.

Immediately after his admission to the bar, Granger commenced the practice of law in Tecumseh. In the summer of 1847 he moved to Kent County, Michigan, where he engaged in farming and lumbering, reflecting the mixed agricultural and commercial development of the region at the time. His stay there was relatively brief, and in the spring of 1848 he returned to Manchester, in Washtenaw County. While residing in Manchester, he combined legal work with agricultural pursuits, owning and operating a farm that anchored him in the local community.

Granger’s public career began at the local level. In the spring of 1849, he was elected justice of the peace, a position he held for four years while continuing to manage his farm. His service in this judicial capacity provided him with practical experience in local governance and dispute resolution. In October 1848, he married Susan A. De Lamater, the niece of Hon. William J. Hough, thereby linking him to an established family with public connections. The couple had five children, one of whom died in infancy, and Granger’s household life ran in parallel with his expanding legal and political responsibilities.

After his early service in Manchester, Granger moved to Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County, where he continued the practice of law and became increasingly involved in county affairs. He was elected clerk of Washtenaw County in 1852, an administrative office that placed him at the center of local record-keeping and public business. In 1856 he advanced to the judicial post of judge of probate for Washtenaw County, overseeing matters related to estates, guardianships, and other probate issues. These roles enhanced his standing as a trusted legal professional and public official in southeastern Michigan.

Granger entered national politics as a member of the Republican Party, which had emerged in the 1850s as the principal anti-slavery and Unionist party in the North. Elected as a Republican from Michigan’s 1st congressional district to the Thirty-seventh Congress, he served as a United States Representative from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863. His term coincided with the opening years of the Civil War, a significant period in American history in which Congress grappled with questions of union, war powers, and the future of slavery. During this time, Granger contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the nation, representing the interests of his Michigan constituents in a time of national crisis. He served one term in office and did not return to Congress after 1863.

Following his congressional service, Granger resumed the practice of law in Ann Arbor. He remained active in his profession for the rest of his life, continuing to serve the legal needs of his community while maintaining the reputation he had built through years of public and private service. Bradley Francis Granger died in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan, on November 4, 1882.