Representative Alexander Woodruff Buel

Alexander Woodruff Buel (December 13, 1813 – April 19, 1868) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was most notable for his service as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1849 to 1851 and his multiple terms as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Michigan, Buel contributed to the legislative process during one term in Congress, serving during a significant period in American history and representing the interests of his constituents in the Thirty-first Congress.

Buel was born in Castleton, Vermont, the son of Ezekial and Sally Thompson Buel. From an early age he exhibited marked intellectual precocity. He attended the public schools in Poultney, Vermont, until the age of eight, when he began an accelerated course of studies in preparation for college under the private tutelage of Henry Howe, former principal of the Canandaigua Academy in Canandaigua, New York. In 1824, at the age of ten, he passed the admission examinations for Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, and was formally admitted, but his teacher and family, concerned about the disparity in age between Buel and other students, persuaded him to continue independent study for several more years.

In 1827, at age thirteen, Buel accompanied one of his teachers to Burlington and was enrolled as a sophomore at the University of Vermont, where he studied for one year. The following year, in 1828, he chose to attend Middlebury College, his original preference, and entered as a junior. While pursuing his own studies, he also taught in the common schools in Clarendon, Vermont, demonstrating both his academic ability and an early inclination toward public service. In August 1830, at the age of sixteen, he graduated from Middlebury College ranked first in his class, an achievement that underscored his reputation as a gifted scholar.

Immediately after graduation, in September 1830, Buel became superintendent of a classical academy in West Rutland, Vermont. In November 1831 he accepted an invitation to serve as principal of a classical academy at Fort Covington in northern New York, where he also began the study of law. In December 1832 he returned to his father’s home in Castleton, continuing his legal studies while teaching at the Castleton Academy. In October 1834 he moved west to Detroit, Michigan, then a growing city with a substantial French-speaking population and increasing numbers of German immigrants. Within two months of his arrival he was appointed Deputy Register of the Court of Probate. His facility with languages enabled him to converse effectively with Detroit’s French and German residents, an asset in both his legal practice and public life. He was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1835 and commenced the practice of law in Detroit.

Buel quickly became active in local affairs. He served as city attorney of Detroit in 1837, establishing himself as a prominent member of the bar. He entered state politics as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1838 and again in 1848, serving as speaker of the House during the 1848 session. From 1843 to 1846 he held the office of prosecuting attorney for Wayne County, Michigan, further consolidating his standing in the legal community. His early legislative and prosecutorial work coincided with Michigan’s formative years as a state, and he played a role in shaping its early legal and political institutions.

Buel first sought national office in 1846, when he ran for the United States House of Representatives from Michigan’s 1st congressional district, but he was narrowly defeated. In 1848 he was elected as a Democrat from the same district to the Thirty-first Congress, succeeding fellow Democrat Robert McClelland, who did not seek reelection. Buel served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1851. During his one term in Congress he participated in the legislative debates of a turbulent era marked by sectional tensions and the aftermath of the Mexican–American War. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1850 to the Thirty-second Congress and, following the end of his term, resumed the practice of law in Detroit.

Buel continued to be active in state and local politics after his congressional service. He returned to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1859 and 1860, again taking part in state legislative affairs on the eve of the Civil War. On September 28, 1860, he was appointed postmaster of Detroit, a federal position he held until March 18, 1861, spanning the final months of the Buchanan administration and the opening weeks of the Lincoln administration. After leaving the postmastership he continued his legal career in Detroit.

In his personal life, Buel married Mary Ann Ackley of West Rutland, Vermont, in October 1836. The couple had four daughters. One daughter, Julia Maria Buel, married General Luther Stephen Trowbridge, Buel’s law partner, on April 8, 1862. Another daughter, Mary B., married Charles H. Wetmore; Clara B. married Colonel James Mercur; and Delia W. married General Garrett J. Lydecker. Through these family connections Buel was linked to several prominent military and professional figures of the mid-nineteenth century.

Alexander Woodruff Buel died at his home in Detroit on April 19, 1868, at the age of 54 years and 128 days. He was interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, a resting place for many of the city’s leading citizens.