USA > Michigan > Gratiot County > Biographical memoirs of Gratiot County, Michigan : compendium of biography of celebrated Americans > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
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Gc 977.401 G77b 385431
PUBLIC LIBRARY BORT WAYNE & ALLEN CO .. IR
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
.
-
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00827 9942
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
OF
GRATIOT COUNTY, MICHIGAN
. COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY OF
CELEBRATED AMERICANS
CAP J. H. BEERS & CO. CHICAGO 1906
. Br.Ex. 2.00 i
MAR 2 0 1939
PREFACE
HE importance of placing in book form biographical history of representative citizens - both for its immediate worth and for its value to coming generations-is admitted by all thinking people; and within the past decade there has been a growing interest in this commendable means of perpetuating biography and family genealogy. 385431
That the public is entitled to the privileges afforded by a work of this nature needs no assertion at our hands; for one of our greatest Americans has said that the history of any country resolves itself into the biographies of its stout, earnest and repre- sentative citizens. This medium, then, serves more than a single purpose; while it perpetuates biography and family genealogy, it records history, much of which would be preserved in no other way.
In presenting this work to its patrons, the publishers have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the encouragement and support their enterprise has received, and the willing assistance rendered in enabling them to surmount the many unforeseen obstacles to be met with in the production of a work of this character. The volume is placed in the hands of the public with the belief that it will be found a valuable addition to the library, as well as an invaluable contribution to the historical literature of the State of Michigan.
THE PUBLISHERS.
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018
https://archive.org/details/biographicalmemo00unse 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I Biographical Memoirs of Gratiot County
PART II . Compendium of Biography of Celebrated Americans
INDEX TO PART I.
PAGE
Acker, George J.
196
Ackles, Mrs. Abigail. 103
Ackles, Timothy D. 100
Aldrich, George R 75
Aldrich, George S
205
Amsbury, Seely
22I
Arnold, Daniel F
286
Bagley, Edgar A., M. D 57
Bahlke, William A. 29
Baney, John C. I30
Barnes, Samuel I23
Barnes, Samuel M.
234
Bartley, William
193
Beery Family 158
Beery, John S. I57
Behler, John V. 273
Bobzien, Chriss D. 248
Cohoon, Lyman C .. 290 Bodfish, Henry II5
Bovee, Ira 188
Bovee, Woodbury H 259
Bradley, William A. 105
Briggs, John A .. 291
Brooks, Warren J 232
Crawford, Thomas
29I
Brown, Caris
118
Curtis, Albro 81
Curtis, Castle J.
80
Curtis, Seth J.
182
Curtiss, Francis W.
...
217
Darragh, Hon. Archibald B .. 17
Darragh Family 19
Delavan, Charles L.
43
Delavan Family
43
Chambers, Clifton J.
32
Devereaux, Hiram C.
67
Doyle, John S.
177
Drake, W. Mortimer, M. D .. 304
Edgar, James 115
Elwell, Col. John A. .30
Ely, Hon. Townsend A. 70
Everden, John M.
IIO
Everden, Oscar M.
270
Fidler, Lyman W I45
Fox, Nelson G. II6
Franks, Millard F.
238
Frear, Francis M.
194
Crandell, Edgerton C. 290 Gardner, Justus B 232
Gee, Burton I. 261
Gee, Edwin F. 305
Gibson, George 280 Giddings, Hon. Charles W. .. 58
Brown, Hon. Giles T.
61
Brown, Herbert L ..
244
PAGE
PAGE
Brumby, Joseph 273
Burns, Newton 243
Button, Charles A.
97
Cash, Vincent P. 134
Chaffin, Charles M. I33
Chisholm, Hon. Hugh 135
Church, Bayard A. 76
Church Family 22
Church, Isaac H. 160
Church, Lafayette 87
Church, Gen. Nathan 22
Churchill, Edwin J 284
Clark. Alvin D. 219
Clark, Frank W. 295
Clark, Wilbert B., M. D. 299
Coffin, Binnie M.
158
Cornwell, Rev. William J. 164
Cowdrey, Frank E. 183
Crane, C. A., M. D. I04
Culver, William 288
Brown, Charles F. 212
Gidley, Hazen
27I
Giles, Abraham L ..
260
X
INDEX.
PAGE
Giles, Adelbert U.
303
Mitchell, Kenneth
105
Monfort, Frank R.
296
Moody, Hon. Silas
36
Moore, Adelbert G.
294
Munson, Harvey R.
255
Spaulding, Simeon
A.
233.
Sprague, Stephen T.
188
Squire, Frank E. 200
Stedman, William H.
165
Stone, Arlan W
266
Stone, Arthur H.
300
Stpne, George P
49
Stuart, James
289
Sullivan, John D.
297
Sullivan, William C.
178
Swope, Barney
2II
Taylor, Joseph H.
302
Tenney, Ozro H.
262
Tomlin, William A.
242
Torbert, George W
220
Tucker, Francis J.
288
Tucker, Willard D.
I66.
Turck, Hon. William S. 50
Vandercook, Frank M.
184
Van Deventer, Charles A
199
Waggoner, Lemuel
I71
Wagner, Elias M.
282
Warner, Fred G .. 225
Watson, Charles S., M. D.
146
Rooks, Charles
I70
Watson Family
253
Rosa, Frank E.
238
Watson, John C.
298
Watson, William O
250
Welling, David E.
263
Welling, Frank
II6
Wheeler, A. R., M. D.
64
Wiley, Alton G ..
187
Williams, Jackson M.
I33
Williams, Willis W
190
Wilson, James F
292
Wilson, Noah
279
Winton, John H.
41
Winton, Hon. William E.
36
Wolfgang, Jacob
I28
Wolford, Lewis B
274
III
Wonders, Christopher
C.
189
226
Wood, Cephas E.
280
Wood, Harrison
209
Woods, Charles
241
Woodward, Jesse J.
198
Wright, Ammi W ..
24
Wright, James K.
106.
Young, George P
I72
Metcalf, Ephraim
270
Smith, Gordis
285
Smith, J. L.
294
PAGE.
Smith, John W.
265
Gladstone, Thomas
287
Goggin, Daniel
292
Grant, Lurley J. 303
Green, Charles A.
279
Greenlee, James R.
145
Griffith, Jay A.
24I
Griswold, Frederick W 283
Gulick, Henry B. 98
Guthrie, Jesse L.
23I
Harrison, Thomas
93
Hastings Family
I36
Hastings, Frank W.
140
Hastings, Sidney S.
I 36
Hetzman, William H.
301
Hoffman, Adolphus
272
Holmes, Hon. John W 263
Holton, Frank E.
I76
Holton, Thomas
86
Horn, Charles E.
305
Horton, William
197
Hosenkamp, John
302
Howe, Leslie A., M. D. 288
Howes, Francis H 262
Huff, Jesse
163
Hutchinson, William L.
I64
Jeffrey, John 67
Jenkins, George W. 159
Jessup, Charles H. 154
Jessup, George L
I4I
Jessup, John H.
216
Johnstone, Adam
I22
Kellogg, Ebenezer W 68
Kennedy, Stiles, M. D 88
Kernen, John W 103
Kesling, George
239
Kime, Samuel G. .
159
Kleckner, William H.
218
Lang, Thomas
197
Long, Rev. John E. 215
Long, William 147
McCall, Ernest J. I27
McCall, Jonathan N I24
McDonald, Alexander 303
Shaver, James
Sickels, William
42
McLaughlin, David H. 74
McLean, Wanton 225
Markham, Wilber F. I42
Smith, W. Frank
285
Smith, Fred E.
80
Smith, George
69
Miller, Robert S. 28 I
PAGE
Muscott, Ernest
300
1
Naldrett, George
195
Naldrett, William
T
203
Nelson, Wilbur
44
Oakes, Oscar
92
Palmer, Frank G
240
Parling, Jesse
247
Peach, Frank
206
Peet, Frank M.
I29
Peet. Odell
152
Perkins, Philip A.
Perkins, Wallace
Perrigo, Milton L.
276
Pettey, George W., M. D.
56
Pitt, William T
148
Pollasky, Marcus
55
Pollasky, Michael
52
Potter, Ellis A.
118
Potter, Elon P.
IZI
Richards, Thomas
222
Rolfe, George E.
293
Salisbury, J. R. 218
Sartor, Joseph F., Jr.
II2
Sartor, Joseph F., Sr. II2
Saviers, Col. Lemuel 94
Sawvel, Clinton
249
Schick, John E .. 265
Scholtz, Charles A. 18I
Scott, William D., M. D 275
Seamon, William A.
256
Searl, Hon. Kelly S. 46
Sensabaugh, Francis A
227
Sexton, Alba E.
Sexton, Frank A
Slingluff, Charles E. 304 Smith, Francis J., M. D. 296
I2I
McKenzie, Duncan 175
Martin, Charles L
275
Maurer, George W 282
i
Zimmerman, William H
228
Porter, Samuel
287
Vedder, Clark
226
Rowell, John B.
99
237
237
Snyder, Theodore
I22
Somerville, T. Sheridan
176
Somerville, William S
293
INDEX TO PART II.
PAGE
PAGE
Abbott, Lyman
144
Adams, Charles Kendall.
143
Booth, Edwin .. 51
Adams, John . 25
Adams, John Quincy 61
Agassiz, Louis J. R
137
Brooks, Phillips.
130
Brown, John 51
Brown, Charles Farrar 91
Brush, Charles Francis. 153 Copely, John Singleton 191
Bryan, William Jennings 158
Bryant, William Cullen 44
Buchanan, Franklin. 105
Buchanan, James. 128 Cramp, William. 189
Buckner, Simon Boliver. 188 Crockett, David. 76
Cullom, Shelby Moore
116
Curtis, George William
144
Cushman, Charlotte.
107
Custer, George A 95
Bailey, James Montgomery 177
Bancroft, George. .
74
Barnard, Frederick A. P 179
Cameron, Simon. 141
Cammack, Addison. 197
Campbell, Alexander.
180
Carlisle, John G.
133
Carnegie, Andrew 73
Carpenter, Matthew Hale. 178
86
Deering, William. 198
Depew, Chauncey Mitchell. 209
Chase, Salmon Portland. 65 207 83 Childs, George W Dickinson, Anna 103 Dickinson, Don M. 139 Dingley, Nelson, Jr. 215
Chaflin, Horace Brigham 107 Donnelly, Ignatius .. 161
Clay, Henry.
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne. . 86
Cleveland, Grover
174
Clews, Henry
153
Clinton, De Witt.
110
Colfax, Schuyler,
139
Booth, Junius Brutus. 177 Conklin, Alfred .. 32
Brice, Calvin S.
181
Conklin, Roscoe .. 32
Cooley, Thomas McIntyre 140
Cooper, James Fenimore. 58
Cooper, Peter. 37
Corbin, Austin ..
205
Corcoran, W. W
196
Anthony, Susan B
62
Armour, Philip D
62
Arnold, Benedict ..
84
Arthur, Chester Allen 168 Burdette, Robert J 103
Astor, John Jacob 139
Audubon, John James
166
Butler, Benjamin Franklin. 24
Calhoun, John Caldwell 23
Cameron, James Donald. 141
Dana, Charles A. 88
"Danbury News Man" 177
Davenport, Fanny. 106
Davis, Jefferson. . 24
Debs, Eugene V. 132
Decatur, Stephen 101
Beauregard, Pierre G. T. 203
Beecher, Henry Ward.
26
Bell, Alexander Graham
96
Bennett, James Gordon.
206
Benton, Thomas Hart. 53
Bergh, Henry .
160
Bierstadt, Albert. 197
Billings, Josh. 166
Blaine, James Gillespie.
22
Bland, Richard Parks. 106
Boone, Daniel.
36
PAGE.
Allison, William B. 131
Allston, Washington 190
Altgeld, John Peter.
140
Andrews, Elisha B 184
Barnum, Phineas T. 41
Barrett, Lawrence
156
Barton, Clara. .
209
Bayard, Thomas Francis 200 Beard, William H .. . 196
Carson, Christopher (Kit) Cass, Lewis 110
Choate, Rufus.
21 Douglas, Stephen Arnold. 53 Douglass, Frederick. 43
Dow, Neal.
108
Draper, John William. 184
Alger, Russell A.
173
Burr, Aaron.
111
Cornell, Ezra .. 161
xii
INDEX.
PAGE
Drexel, Anthony Joseph. .. ..... 124
Dupont, Henry. 198
Edison, Thomas Alva
55
Edmunds, George F
201
Ellsworth, Oliver
168
Emerson, Ralph Waldo 57
Ericsson, John
127
Evarts, William Maxwell.
89
Farragut, David Glascoe
80
Field, Cyrus West .
173
Field, David Dudley. 126
Field, Marshall.
59
Jay, John.
39
Field, Stephen Johnson.
216
Jefferson, Joseph .
47
Fillmore, Millard .. 113
Foote, Andrew Hull. 176
Foraker, Joseph B.
143
Forrest, Edwin.
92
Franklin, Benjamin 18
Fremont, John Charles. 29
Fuller, Melville Weston. 168
Fulton, Robert.
62
Gage, Lyman J
71
Gallatin, Albert. 112
Garfield, James A 163
Garrett, John Work 200
Garrison, William Lloyd.
50
Gates, Horatio
70
Gatling, Richard Jordan. 116
George, Henry_ 203
Gibbons, Cardinal James
209
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield .. 77
Girard, Stephen. 137 Gough, John B. 131 52
Gould, Jay.
Gordon, John B 215
Grant, Ulysses S
155
Gray, Asa ..
88
Gray, Elisha. 149
Greeley, Adolphus W 142
Greeley, Horace. 20
Greene, Nathaniel ..
69
Gresham, Walter Quintin 183
Hale, Edward Everett. 79
Hamilton, Alexander. 31
Hamlin, Hannibal. 214
Hampton, Wade 192
Hancock, Winfield Scott. 146 Hanna, Marcus Alonzo .. 169
Harris, Isham G.
214
Harrison, William Henry 87
Harrison, Benjamin. 182
Harvard, John .. 129 Monroe, James. 54
Moody, Dwight L. 207
Morgan, John Pierpont.
208
Hendricks, Thomas Andrew .. 212
Henry, Joseph ..
105
Morris, Robert ..
165
Beecher.
66
Hill,David Bennett
Hobart, Garrett A .. 213
Holmes, Oliver Wendell. 206
Hooker, Joseph
52
Howe, Elias.
130
Howells, William Dean ..
104
" Nye, Bill "
59
Nye, Edgar Wilson
59
PAGE
Houston, Sam.
120
O'Conor, Charles.
187
Olney, Richard.
133
Hughes, Archbishop John.
157
Hughitt, Marvin
159
Hull, Isaac .
169
Huntington, Collis Potter.
94
Ingalls, John James.
114
Ingersoll, Robert G.
85
Irving, Washington.
33
Jackson, Andrew
71
Jefferson, Thomas
34
Johnson, Andrew
145
Johnson, Eastman
202
Johnston, Joseph Eccleston. 85
Jones, James K . .
171
Jones, John Paul.
97
Jones, Samuel Porter.
115
Kane, Elisha Kent.
125
Kearney, Philip.
210
Kenton, Simon
188
Knox, John Jay
134
Lamar, Lucius Q. C. 201
Landon, Melville D.
109
Lewis, Charles B ..
193
Lincoln, Abraham.
135
Livermore, Mary Ashton
131
Locke, David Ross.
172
Logan, John A ..
26
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth 37
Longstreet, James ..
56
Lowell, James Russell.
104
Mackay, John William. 148
Madison, James
42
Marshall, John. 156
Mather, Cotton
164
Mather, Increase.
163
Shaw, Henry W.
166
Sheridan, Phillip Henry
40
Sherman, Charles R. 87
McDonough, Com. Thomas.
167
Shillaber, Benjamin Penhallow
202
McKinley, William.
217
Sherman, William Tecumseh ..
Meade, George Gordon.
75
30
Smith, Edmund Kirby
114
Medill, Joseph.
159
Miles, Nelson A ..
176
Sousa, John Philip ..
60
Spreckels, Claus
159
Miller, Cincinnatus Heine ..
218
Stanford, Leland.
101
Stanton, Edwin McMasters ..
179
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady.
126
Stephens, Alexander Hamilton 32 Stephenson, Adlai Ewing .. . 141
Morgan, John T.
216
Stowe,
Harriet
Elizabeth
Henry, 'Patrick.
83
90
Morton, Levi P.
142
Sumner, Charles.
34
Morse, Samuel F. B.
124
Stuart, James E. B.
122
Taney, Roger Brook~
129
Taylor, Zachary.
108
Teller, Henry
127
Peck, George W.
187
Peffer, William A
164
Perkins, Eli ..
109
Jackson, " Stonewall "
67
Perry, Oliver Hazard.
97
Jackson, Thomas Jonathan
67
Phillips, Wendell.
30
Pierce, Franklin
122
Pingree, Hazen S.
212
Plant, Henry B.
192
Poe, Edgar Allen
69
Polk, James Knox
102
Porter, David Dixon.
68
Porter, Noah.
93
Prentice, George Denison.
119
Prescott, William Hickling.
96
Pullman, George Mortimer .. 121
Quad, M.
193
Quay Matthew S.
171
Randolph, Edmund.
136
Read, Thomas Buchanan.
132
Reed, Thomas Brackett. 208
Lee, Robert Edward ..
38
Reid, Whitelaw.
149
Roach, John. .
190
Rockefeller, John Davison
195
Root, George Frederick.
218
Rothermel, Peter F.
113
Rutledge, John.
57
Sage, Russell.
211
Schofield, John McAllister.
199
Schurz, Carl.
201
Scott, Thomas Alexander ..
204
Scott, Winfield.
79
Seward, William Henry
44
Sharon, William
165
Maxim, Hiram S. 194
McClellan, George Brinton. 47
Hall, Charles Francis.
167
McCormick, Cyrus Hall.
172
Sherman, John.
86
Miller, Joaquin .. 218
Mills, Roger Quarles.
211
Havemeyer, John Craig. 182 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. 135 Moran, Thomas 98 Stewart, Alexander T 58 Stewart, William Morris. 213
Hayes, Rutherford Birchard .. 157
Morton, Oliver Perry.
215
Motley, John Lathrop.
130
Talmage, Thomas DeWitt.
60
PAGE
Paine, Thomas
147
Palmer, John M
195
Parkhurst, Charles Henry.
160
" Partington, Mrs."
202
Peabody, George.
170
xiii
INDEX.
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
Tesla, Nikola. 193
Thomas, George H. 73
Thomas, Theodore. 172
Thurman, Allen G. 90
Thurston, John M .. 166
Tilden, Samuel J .. 48
Tillman, Benjamın Ryan 119
Toombs, Robert
205
"Twain, Mark" 86
Tyler, John 93
Van Buren, Martin. 78
Vanderbilt, Cornelius 35
Vail, Alfred .. 154
Weaver, James B.
123
Windom, William
138
PORTRAITS OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES.
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
Alger, Russell A.
16
Field, Marshall. 117
Longstreet, Gen. James.
16
Allison, William B.
99
Franklin, Benjamin 63 Lowell, James Russell. 27
Anthony, Susan B.
63
Fremont, Gen. John C. 16
McKinley, William. 45
Armour, Philip D. 151
Gage, Lyman J. 151
Morse, S. F. B. 185
Arthur, Chester A 81
Garfield, James A. 45
Phillips, Wendell. 27
Barnum, Phineas T. 117
Garrison, William Lloyd. 63
Porter, Com. D. D 185
Beecher, Henry Ward. 27
George, Henry . 117
99
Booth, Edwin.
63
Grant, Gen. U. S.
185
Reed, Thomas B. 151
Bryan, Wm. J . 63
Greeley, Horace. 81
Sage, Russell 117
Bryant, William Cullen.
185
Hampton, Wade .. 16
Scott, Gen. Winfield. 185
Buchanan, James 81
Hancock, Gen. Winfield S .. 185
Seward, William H. 45
Buckner, Simon B 16
Hanna, Mark A . 117
Sherman, John. 99
Butler Benjamin F. 151
Harrison, Benjamin 81
Sherman, Gen. W. T. 151
Carlisle, John G. 151
Hayes, R. B .. 45
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. 27
Childs, George W.
99
Holmes, Oliver W. 151
Sumner, Charles 45
Clay, Henry.
81
Hooker, Gen. Joseph. 16
Talmage, T. DeWitt 63.
Cleveland, Grover.
45
Ingersoll, Robert G. 117
Teller, Henry M. 99
Cooper, Peter.
99
Irving, Washington. 27
Thurman, Allen G. 81
Dana, Charles A. 151
Jackson, Andrew. 45 Tilden, Samuel J. 117
Depew, Chauncey M. 117
Jefferson, Thomas 45 Van Buren, Martin. 81
Douglass, Fred. 63
Johnston, Gen. J. E. 16
Vanderbilt, Commodore 99.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo 27
Lee, Gen. Robert E. 185
Webster, Daniel . 27
Evarts, William M. 99
Lincoln, Abraham. 81 Whittier, John G. 2
Farragut, Com. D. G. 185
Logan, Gen. John A. 16
Washington, George .. 45
Field, Cyrus W.
63
Longfellow, Henry W 185
Watterson, Henry .. 63:
Voorhees, Daniel Wolsey 95
Weed, Thurlow. 91
West, Benjamin. 115
Waite, Morrison Remich. 125
Wallace, Lewis 199
Wallack, Lester 12I
Wallack, John Lester. 121
Wanamaker, John
89
Ward, "Artemus" 91
Washburne, Elihu Benjamin. 189
Whittier, John Greenleaf. 67
Washington, George. 17
Willard, Frances E. 133
Watson, Thomas E. 178
Wilson, William L ..
180
Watterson, Henry 76
Winchell, Alexander.
175
Vest, George Graham. 214
Webster, Daniel .. 19
Whipple, Henry Benjamin 161
White, Stephen V . 162
Whitefield, George. 150
Whitman, Walt .. 197
Whitney, Eli .. 120
Whitney, William Collins. 92.
Pullman, George M. 117
Blaine, James G. 151
Gould, Jay
Quay, M. S. 99-
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 27
Chase, Salmon P 16
Hendricks, Thomas A. 81
.
Vilas, William Freeman. 140
Webster, Noah. 49
PART I.
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
H ON. ARCHIBALD BARD DAR- RAGH, for thirty-five years a promi- nent banker of St. Louis, Gratiot county, and now serving his third term in Congress as representative of the Eleventh Michigan Dis- trict, is a native of the Wolverine State, born in LaSalle township, Monroe county, De- cember 23, 1840, son of Benjamin F. and Catherine (Bard) Darragh. His father, Benjamin F. Darragh, was a native of Ful- ton county, Pennsylvania, born in 1808, and traced his ancestors back to well-known, in- fluential Scotch-Irish residents of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Dar- ragh was married December 4, 1834, to Catherine Bard, born November 12, 1804, near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, who died in April, 1863. They had a family of five children, of whom Archibald is the second child and eldest son.
Archibald Bard Darragh began his edu- cation in the common schools, which he at- tended until twelve years old. In 1852 he accompanied his parents to Monroe, where he attended the academy, and prepared, un- der the tuition of Hon. Edwin Willits, then at the head of a select school in Monroe, to enter college. In the fall of 1857 Mr. Dar- ragh entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he pursued the classical course for two years. After leaving college he obtained a position as tutor in Claiborne county, Mississippi, and was thus engaged at the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Darragh's return to the North was made possible only through the intervention of
the friend through whom he had obtained. his position. Though an earnest supporter of the Confederate cause, it is fortunate that the friend was still loyal to Mr. Darragh, and, with drawn revolver, protected the Yankee schoolmaster until his train bore him in safety toward the North. It was only with difficulty that he eluded the Confederate officials on the journey. On reaching home safely he again entered the University of Michigan, which he then attended for one year, graduating in the classical course, and receiving the degree of A. B., in 1868.
Meantime Mr. Darragh's patriotism was aroused, and on August 14, 1862, he en- listed in Company H, Eighteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, the regiment on the 5th of September joining the United States forces opposing the command of Kirby Smith. After serving but twenty days, Pri- vate Darragh and sixty-two others-belong- ing to his regiment, the Tenth Kentucky and the Fourth Indiana Cavalry-were captured while on picket duty near Walton, Boone county, Kentucky, in a sudden charge of Rebel cavalry under John Morgan. They were marched double quick to Falmouth, Kentucky, and paroled the day following their arrival by Major Dick Morgan, a nephew of the noted guerrilla commander. Early in January, 1863, Mr. Darragh was exchanged, and immediately joined Company D, Ninth Michigan Cavalry, receiving a commission as second lieutenant.
This regiment bore a prominent part in the pursuit and capture of Morgan, their
1
18
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS OF GRATIOT COUNTY.
first encounter with his forces in this cam- paign taking place July 5th, when a detach- ment from the Ninth cut off and captured Col. Robert Alston, Morgan's chief of staff, taking fifty-one prisoners. The Ninth was in the advance when Morgan was brought to bay at Buffington's Island, on the banks of the Ohio, and made such a successful at- tack that Col. Basil Duke and most of his immediate command was captured, Duke en- deavoring to hold the field while Morgan and the main body of his troops fled North. On July 20th a detachment from the regiment was in the engagement at which the greater part of Morgan's command was captured- all but Morgan himself and about five hun- dred of his men, who were taken prisoners six days afterward by Companies D, I, C, H and E, of the Ninth Regiment ; under command of Major W. B. Way. The Ma- jor's official report to General Burnside, "dated Salineville, Ohio, July 26, 1863, read . as follows: "After a forced march yester- day and last night, with almost continued : skirmishing, we succeeded this morning, at ·eight o'clock, in pressing Morgan to an engagement about half a mile from this "town. After more than an hour of severe fighting, we scattered his forces in all direc- · tions. The following is the result of our en- gagement : from twenty to thirty killed; " about fifty wounded; 255 prisoners. Our "loss slight. My command is 250 strong."
Within a month Lieutenant Darragh was proceeding with his regiment, under Burnside, over the mountains into eastern Tennessee, where the Ninth did particularly good service at Loudon Bridge, Knoxville, · and Cumberland Gap, and took part in the - pursuit of the enemy through Strawberry Plains, Morristown, Russellville, Blue : Springs, Greenville, Jonesboro and Watauga.
"It had watered its horses in every stream from the Cumberland range to the Blue Ridge." The manner in which the men of this command stood the rigors of the dread- ful campaign of 1863-64 was greatly to their credit. By the middle of February, 1864, there were but fifty serviceable horses in the entire command, and on the 25th of that month Lieutenant Darragh was ordered to report direct to Brigade Commander Gen- eral Garrard, with fifty picked men. Until March 25th they were engaged in scouting and reconnoitering, and the command was frequently engaged in skirmishes with the Confederate cavalry. In April the regiment was ordered to Kentucky to remount, and in June took a prominent part in routing Mor- gan out from Cynthiana, Kentucky, and driving him from the State, being in the advance. In July the regiment marched through Kentucky and Tennessee to Georgia, joining Sherman at Marietta, in the ad- vance on Atlanta. The cavalry was engaged in protecting the flanks, keeping open com- munications, scouting, reconnoitering and raiding until after the fall of Atlanta. It par- ticipated in the raid around that city under Kilpatrick. On November 14, 1864, the regiment marched out of its camp to take its position in Sherman's army on the march to the sea, being the only Michigan cavalry regiment which took part in that celebrated movement. Through Georgia there was continuous skirmishing with the Confederate cavalry under General Wheeler, the Ninth doing noteworthy work at Love- joy's Station, Macon, Waynesboro and Cy- press Camp, and winning special mention from General Kilpatrick in his official report to Sherman: "It has at all times behaved most handsomely and attracted my special attention." It had the honor
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS OF GRATIOT COUNTY.
of being Sherman's escort in the invest- ment of Savannah, made a gallant charge at Aiken, South Carolina, and was in the thick of the fight at Averysboro and Ben- tonville. On February 12, 1864, our sub- ject was commissioned first lieutenant, and was promoted to captain June 9, 1865, be- ing honorably discharged from the service with that rank July 21, 1865, at Jackson.
After the war Mr. Darragh decided to fit himself for the legal profession, and sub- sequently located at Jackson to assume the study of the law under Governor Blair. The experiences of the years which had inter- vened since his student days, however, caused him to change his mind, and he ob- tained a position in the West Side Union school at Jackson, having charge of the grammar department for two years. In 1867 he was elected the first superintendent of public schools of Jackson county, dis- charging the duties of that office two years.
In 1870 Mr. Darragh located in Gratiot county, and soon afterward established his banking business in St. Louis, in which he has since been continuously engaged. Since 1898 he has been president of the Gratiot State Bank, which he was instrumental in organizing. During the long period of his residence in St. Louis he has been intimately connected with the public interests of the vil- lage and has given years of service on the board of education, the perfect organization of the Union school being largely due to his efforts and views, made practical by his own experiences as an educator. Politically a stanch Republican, he has been active in local politics, and of late years has become a national legislator. He was elected county treasurer in 1872, and in 1882 was chosen to the Legislature as representative from Gra- tiot county. Mr. Darragh was active in his
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