James M. Edmunds was a politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Biography

Edmunds was born in Niagara County, New York

Niagara County, New York

Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...

, received a common school and academic education and taught school from 1826 to 1831.

In 1831, he moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...

, where he became a merchant. He took an interest in the schools there and for ten years was an inspector of schools, also holding a number of other local positions. He was elected as a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 to the Michigan Senate

Michigan Senate

The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. The Senate consists of 38 members, who are elected from constituencies having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents....

 from Washtenaw County

Washtenaw County, Michigan

Washtenaw County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area...

 (5th district) 1840-41 and later to the Michigan House of Representatives 1846-47. In 1847, he was a Whig candidate for Governor of Michigan

Governor of Michigan

The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...

, losing to Epaphroditus Ransom

Epaphroditus Ransom

Epaphroditus Ransom was the seventh Governor of Michigan and Michigan Supreme Court justice from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Early life in Massachusetts and Vermont:...

. Edmunds was also a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1850 and member 1851.

In 1853 he moved to Detroit, engaged in the lumber business, extending his operations to Saginaw and Tuscola counties. In 1854, he became a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and chaired the Michigan Republican Party

Michigan Republican Party

The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan. It is sometimes referred to as MIGOP, which simply means Michigan Grand Old Party....

 from 1855 to 1861. He was also Comptroller

Comptroller

A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...

 of Detroit during most of those years from 1857 to 1861. In 1859 he was appointed postmaster of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and held that position until his death.

In 1861, Edmunds resigned as comptroller when he was appointed by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

, commissioner of the General Land Office

General Land Office

The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...

of Washington, and held it until 1866, when he became postmaster of the Senate which he resigned in 1869.
He was also president of the Michigan Soldiers’ Relief Association in Washington, D.C. from its organization in 1861. He was also president of the National Council of the Union League from 1862 to 1869 and for a number of years published The Republic, a Washington magazine.

Edmunds died at the age of sixty-nine.