Michael Hutchinson Jenks

Michael Hutchinson Jenks (May 21, 1795 – October 16, 1867) was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was born at Bridgetown Mills, Pennsylvania, near Middletown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. Little is recorded about his early childhood, but his later public service in county and local offices indicates that he became a prominent figure in his community and developed an early familiarity with local affairs and public administration in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Jenks’s formal education is not extensively documented in surviving records, but his subsequent career in county government, the judiciary, and national politics suggests that he acquired the learning and practical experience necessary to manage public finances, legal responsibilities, and legislative duties. His rise through a series of county offices in Bucks County reflects both his standing among local voters and his growing engagement in civic life during the early decades of the nineteenth century.

Before entering Congress, Jenks held several important positions in Bucks County. He served as commissioner of Bucks County from 1830 to 1833, overseeing county administrative and fiscal matters during a period of expanding local infrastructure and governmental responsibilities. He then served as treasurer of Bucks County from 1833 to 1835, managing the county’s financial affairs. In 1837 he moved to Newtown, Pennsylvania, which would remain his home for the rest of his life. From 1838 to 1843 he served as an associate judge of the court of common pleas of Bucks County, participating in the administration of justice at the county level and gaining further experience in legal and judicial proceedings.

Jenks’s congressional service came during a significant period in American history, as the nation confronted questions of economic policy, territorial expansion, and the evolving balance of power between the federal government and the states. A member of the Whig Party representing Pennsylvania, he was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress and served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. During this term he contributed to the legislative process, participating in the democratic governance of the country and representing the interests of his Bucks County constituents. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1844, which concluded his brief but notable tenure in national office.

After leaving Congress, Jenks returned to private and local public pursuits while remaining an active figure in Newtown. From 1845 to 1865 he was engaged in the real estate business and worked as a general business agent, reflecting the economic growth and development of the region in the mid-nineteenth century. He also continued his public service at the municipal level, serving as chief burgess of Newtown from 1848 to 1853, a role in which he acted as the town’s principal executive officer and helped oversee local governance and community affairs.

In his personal life, Jenks was married to Mary Ridgeway. Their family became connected to broader national political circles through their daughter, Anna Earl Jenks, who married Alexander Ramsey. Ramsey, who served alongside Jenks in the Twenty-eighth Congress, later became the first territorial governor of Minnesota and the second governor of the State of Minnesota. It was during a visit to Washington, D.C., while Jenks was serving in Congress, that Anna met her future husband, linking the Jenks family to the emerging political leadership of the Upper Midwest.

Michael Hutchinson Jenks spent his later years in Newtown, continuing his business activities until shortly before his death. He died in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on October 16, 1867. He was interred in the Newtown Friends Meetinghouse Cemetery, reflecting his ties to the local community in which he had lived, worked, and held public office for many years.