John F. Driggs

John F. Driggs
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 6th district
In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Randolph Strickland
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the Saginaw County district
In office January 1, 1859 – December 31, 1860
Personal details
Born	John Fletcher Driggs March 8, 1813 Kinderhook, New York
Died	December 17, 1877 (aged 64) East Saginaw, Michigan
Resting place	Forest Lawn Cemetery, Saginaw
Political party	Republican
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Civil War

John Fletcher Driggs (March 8, 1813 – December 17, 1877) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.

Driggs was born in Kinderhook, New York. He completed preparatory studies and moved with his parents to Tarrytown, New York, in 1825. He moved to New York City in 1827, where he was an apprentice, journeyman, and master mechanic in the trade of sash, door, and blind manufacturing, 1829–1856. He was superintendent of the New York penitentiary and public institutions on Blackwells Island in 1844

Driggs moved to Michigan in 1856 and engaged in the real-estate business and salt manufacturing. He was president of the common council of East Saginaw, Michigan, in 1858. He was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, 1859–1860. He was tendered an appointment as colonel during the Civil War and organized the Twenty-ninth Michigan Infantry, July 29, 1864.

Driggs was elected as a Republican becoming the first person to represent Michigan's 6th congressional district to the 38th, 39th, and 40th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1863 to March 3, 1869. He was one of the committee members appointed to accompany the body of President Abraham Lincoln to Springfield, Illinois, for interment.

Driggs was injured by a fall on the ice in the winter of 1875–1876, as a result of which he died in East Saginaw. He was interred in Brady Hill Cemetery, Saginaw and was re-interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Saginaw.

References

• John F. Driggs at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-02-14
• The Political Graveyard