USA > Michigan > Gratiot County > Biographical memoirs of Gratiot County, Michigan : compendium of biography of celebrated Americans > Part 7
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lived to mature age were: Lucy, Ralph, Derwin and Flavius.
Until he was nineteen years old Ralph Ely attended the common schools, assisting his father on the farm in the summer months. In 1839 he left home and settled on a government claim in Wabash, Indiana. Later he sold the tract, returned to Chau- tauqua county, spent two years on his fath- er's farm, and in 1846 purchased 320 acres of land in Ionia county, Michigan. There he resided seven and one-half years, selling the place in 1854 to settle in Arcada township, Gratiot county, where he purchased a quar- ter section of land for a homestead, which is now embraced by the site of the flourish- ing city of Alma. His family constituted the first settlers on the north side of Pine river, he himself building a log house, plat- ting the original village and, by personal participation and encouragement, furthering . in every way the advancement of the place, He erected the first saw and grist mills at that point, and continued to be engaged in lumbering and farming operations until the outbreak of the Civil war. On the second call for troops he raised a company of sol- diers, and upon its organization, August 12, 1861, was made captain; his company was known as C, Eighth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry. On the 21st of the same month the regiment went to Grand Rapids, being mustered into the service of the United States on the 23rd of September. On the 10th of November it went into camp with the other regiments of Sherman's brig- ade. The regiment took part in about forty notable engagements of the Civil war and was certain to be detailed for especially hard duty, receiving therefor the appellation of "the Wandering Regiment."
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Captain Ely was wounded June 16, 1862, at Secessionville, South Carolina, the action of the day being better known as James Island. Major Watson resigned his position September 10, 1862, and the same day Cap- tain Ely was promoted to that rank. Four- teen days later he was in command of the regiment, Colonel Fenton having charge of the brigade. Lieutenant-Colonel Graves then resigned his post, on February 1, 1863, and Major Ely was commissioned to the vacancy, and when Colonel Graves was killed May 6, 1864, at the battle of the Wil- derness, Lieutenant-Colonel Ely was made brevet colonel, United States Volunteers, his commission to date from July 6, 1864, for "gallant and meritorious services at the bat- tle of the Wilderness, Virginia." He was afterward commissioned Colonel, to rank from May 7, 1864, the day following the action for which he was brevetted. On April 2, 1865, he was promoted to be brigadier general, United States Volunteers, by brevet, for "conspicuous gallantry before Petersburg, Virginia." He remained in the service until after the close of the war, and was mustered out May 19, 1866.
After the war General Ely received the appointment of superintendent of the Freed- man's Bureau in South Carolina, and also engaged for a time in settling freedmen on government lands in Florida. He purchased 130 acres of land near. Jacksonville, about one hundred miles south of that city, and spent one year in setting out an orange grove. The second year all the young trees were killed by the frost and he returned to Gratiot county, Michigan, in 1869, to en- gage again in farming and lumbering. In 1873 he was elected senator from the Twenty-sixth District, and in the fall of
1874 was chosen auditor general of Michi- gan, being re-elected to the latter office in 1876. In the fall of 1879 he located in Emmet county, where he engaged exten- sively in lumbering until his death, April 14. 1883. He was buried at Cross Village, but in February, 1884, his remains were brought to Alma and re-interred. His wife. the mother of Townsend A. Ely, resided in the village continuously from 1854 until the date of her death, August 28, 1905.
On September 22, 1842, General Ely married, in Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, Miss Mary E. Halstead, who was born February 16, 1823, in Waterloo, Seneca county, New York, the fifth daugh- ter of Elisha O. and Phebe M. (Wood- worth) Halstead. Her parents were na- tives, respectively, of New Jersey and New York, Mr. Halstead dying in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 24, 1876, and Mrs. Hal- stead, while on a visit to her children in Gratiot county, July 16, 1875. Six chil- dren were born to General and Mrs. Ely, as follows: Townsend A .; Louise A., mar- ried to W. S. Turck, a banker of Alma, Michigan; Electa, wife of Henry Brubaker, an Alma (Michigan) farmer; Josephine E., Mrs. G. S. Ward, whose husband is a book- keeper at Alma; Lucy L., deceased, Mrs. C. H. Coats, who resided in Buffalo, New York; and Kate E., wife of George A. Royce, an accountant of Hancock, Mich- igan.
When seventeen years of age Townsend A. Ely assumed charge of the home farm, his father having enlisted in the army, and lie continued to manage it, as well as his father's business interests, until nearly the close of the war. In February, 1865, he enlisted in the Eighth Michigan Infantry,
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became sergeant of Company C, and was made second lieutenant April 25, 1865. He remained in the service until August 14, 1865. and was under fire at Fort Steadman and before Petersburg. He received his honorable discharge at Detroit, Michigan.
At the age of twenty-three years, Mr. Ely embarked on an independent career, purchasing a tract of 240 acres of land in Arcada township, to which he afterward added 100 acres. Thus he continued three years, and then sold his property to accept the position of mail messenger between St. Louis and Saginaw, and in that capacity he was engaged two years and nine months, after which he became a conductor on the Saginaw Valley & St. Louis railroad. After holding that position for three years and three months he resigned to establish himself in the hardware business at Alma. One year later he disposed of his store and was appointed postmaster at Alma, succeeding to the place August 6, 1881, by appointment under Postmaster-General James, and serv- ing for a period of four years, later being appointed by President Harrison and hold- ing the office for a like term. His entire incumbency was marked by prompt ser- vice, business-like management and admin- istrative ability.
In his political affiliations Mr. Ely is firmly Republican, having never deviated in his loyal support of the party. In Novem- ber, 1904, he was elected State Senator from the Nineteenth Senatorial District, which office he still holds.
Senator Ely was married at Alma, Sep- tember 25, 1866, to Miss Maggie C. Chapin, born at Chicago, Illinois, June 27, 1845, daughter of DeWitt C. and Edna F. (Utley)
Chapin, and of this union there is one son, Ralph C., born March 5, 1870.
D AVID H. MCLAUGHLIN, ex-justice of the peace of Seville township, is one of Gratiot county's energetic and public- spirited men, and has spent the greater part of his life in this section, engaged in lum- bering and farming. He was born in Pitts- field, Washtenaw county, Michigan, October 23, 1846, son of Thomas and Bridget (Hines) Mclaughlin, both natives of Ire- land, the former of whom died in Washte- naw county, while the latter passed away in Isabella county, Michigan. They had seven children, and of this family our subject was the third member.
David H. Mclaughlin was reared in Washtenaw county, where he remained un- til about seventeen years old. He then lo- cated in Gratiot county, where for about a year he worked out, then settling on the farm which he now occupies. He purchased I20 acres of wild land, upon which he has erected good buildings, and has added forty acres to the original tract, making in all a farm of 160 acres, of which 135 acres are cleared.
Judge Mclaughlin was married in Gra- tiot county, July 1, 1867, to Miss Bridget Battle, who died in Seville township, April 12, 1895, the mother of eight children : Franklin, John, Andrew, Celia (the wife of John Duffy), James, Daniel, Charles and Nathaniel. Of the above family John died, September 26, 1901, aged twenty-six years. David H. Mclaughlin was again married, February 22, 1898, to Mrs. Mary Lentz Ha- gon, widow of Theodore Hagon.
Mr. Mclaughlin held the office of jus-
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tice of the peace of Seville township for twenty-four years, sixteen years of that time in succession. He has taken an active part in all township affairs and has always been identified with the Democratic party. He has been a member of the Catholic Church ever since coming to Seville township in 1864. For some twenty seasons during the winter months Mr. Mclaughlin worked at lumbering in the woods. Farming, how- ever, has been his chief occupation in life, and at this he has become very successful, acquiring a handsome competency. For seven years Mr. Mclaughlin also operated a threshing machine. At one time he took up a homestead in the Upper Peninsula, in Ontonagon county, but this he sold after having improved it.
G EORGE RILEY ALDRICH, former supervisor of Lafayette township, has been a leader in both the agricultural and political interests of that section. He was born in Oakland county, Michigan, Novem- ber 29, 1854, son of George W. and Martha A. (Sturgis) Aldrich, natives of Michigan, who came to Gratiot county in the spring of 1865 and settled in Lafayette township, where they lived for many years; then spent a short time in Ithaca, and later settled in Hamilton township, where they now reside. George R. Aldrich is the eldest in a family of eight children.
George W. Aldrich, the father, is a son of Asquar and Betsy (Tarbell) Aldrich, na- tives of Vermont and Massachusetts, respect- ively. He was born May 27, 1828, at De- troit, and was married August 16, 1853, to Martha A. Sturgis, born April 4, 1836, a daughter of Benjamin and Caroline (Olm- stead) Sturgis. Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich be-
gan housekeeping in Oakland county, where the husband was engaged in farming for a year and a half. They then lived two years in Livingston county, and a short time in Shiawassee, Genesee and Clinton counties, and later located in Lafayette, Gratiot coun- ty. Mr. Aldrich served one year during the Civil War, enlisting in Company D, Sixthi Cavalry, September 6, 1862, and was dis- charged August 29, 1863, at "Convalescent Camp," near Alexandria, Virginia. He has been township clerk, highway commissioner, special commissioner and justice of the peace, and has held various school offices. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a valued com- rade of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich had a family of eight children; George R .; Anna D., Mrs. Charles Green, whose husband is a farmer of La- fayette township; Ira B., a Saginaw county farmer; Emma J., wife of C. A. Thomas, a farmer living in Lafayette township; Nora B., Mrs. Joseph Turner, wife also of a La- fayette township agriculturist; R. T., a farm- er of Saginaw county ; Charles E. ; and Rob- ert G., who died in Lafayette township July 23, 1880.
George Riley Aldrich came to Gratiot county with his parents in the spring of 1865, and has been a resident of Lafayette township since that time, with the exception of one year, when he lived with his parents in Elsie, Michigan. He has always been engaged in agriculture, in which he has en- joyed unusual prosperity. He owns 320 acres of farm land, nearly all of which is under cultivation, and which, with his valu- able building improvements, constitutes one of the finest pieces of property in that sec- tion of Gratiot county.
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George Riley Aldrich and Miss Olive A. Thomas were united in marriage, January I, 1879, in Lafayette township. She was born in that township, the estimable daughter of David Thomas, a very highly respected citi- zen and one of its earliest settlers, being one of the thirteen men who organized the town- ship, and prominent in its public affairs. Mrs. Aldrich's mother was Ann (Maples) Thomas, who still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich have had these children: Martha A., Emma V., Irvin R., Olive B., Cyrus G., George D., Bert, Dewey, Gordon and Ar- thur J., all living, and one child who died in infancy.
Mr. Aldrich has held the office of justice of the peace for four years, and that of town- ship treasurer three years. He was super- visor four years, and has held many minor offices in both county and township. He is prominently identified with the Republican party. Fraternally he affiliates with the I. O. O. F. and the K. O. T. M. M. Mr. Al- drich is highly regarded throughout Lafay- ette township, and his knowledge of agri- cultural matters is thorough, broad and prac- tical. He has many warm friends who, with- out envy, applaud his business success and his social and political prestige.
B AYARD A. CHURCH, cashier of the Gratiot County State Bank, at St. Louis, Michigan, and a successful promoter, as well as a substantial supporter of several of the city's most flourishing industries, was born on a farm near Naples, Maine, No- vember 10, 1865, a son of John M. and Cordelia A. (Hasty) Church. The mother of Mr. Church was a native of Portland, Maine. For a number of years before com- ing to Michigan, in 1873, the father was
deputy sheriff of his county and a man of firm and high standing in the public esteem. He first settled at Elsie, and in 1876 located in St. Louis, building a sawmill on the site now occupied by the chemical works, and operating it for a number of years. Subse- quently he engaged in a grocery business and for about three years prior to the ad- ministration of President Cleveland was postmaster of the city. John M. Church and wife had three children, one son and two daughters.
Bayard A. Church, the eldest of the fam- ily, accompanied his parents to Elsie and to St. Louis, the latter having been his home since 1876, with the exception of two years which he spent in travel in the West. Even when a boy he was his father's "right hand man," assisting him in his mill, in his gro- cery store and in the postoffice, giving his services to the government work, out of school hours, quite constantly from 1881 to 1884. In the latter year he graduated with the first class of the St. Louis high school, and has ever since taken a prominent part in the doings of the Alumni Associa- tion as well as in the general progress of the city schools. During 1885 he was assistant postmaster under Rev. Theodore Nelson and practically had charge of the office.
After leaving the post office Mr. Church took a trip South, spending one winter in Florida, and upon his return in 1886 he en- tered the employ of F. G. Kneeland in the Bank of St. Louis, which was a private in- stitution. After serving as a clerk there for three years he resigned his position, and during 1889 and 1890 traveled through the West.
On January 1, 1891, Mr. Church became a clerk in the First National Bank at St.
Balchurch
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Louis, a position he filled until December 13, 1898. During that period the business was reorganized, the First National becom- ing the Gratiot County State Bank, and on the above date he became cashier. He thus became, in many respects, the leading execu- tive officer of an institution which has passed triumphantly through not a few financial crises in the history of the coun- try and stanchly supported the business and industrial interests of this section of the State. It was organized in 1870 as a pri- vate bank by Hon. A. B. Darragh. Known for the first three years as the Gratiot County Bank, its business thereafter until 1884 was conducted under the name of Dar- ragh & Co., bankers. It was then organized as the First National Bank, with A. B. Darragh as cashier, and in July, 1897, re- organized as the Gratiot County State Bank with Mr. Darragh cashier, and F. M. Thed- gar, assistant cashier; capital stock, $25,- 000. Mr. Darragh soon succeeded to the presidency, a position which he still holds, B. A. Church becoming cashier.
Mr. Church's long connection with this bank has made him well known to almost every capitalist in Gratiot county. As a financier he stands high, while his personal character has gained him the confidence of all who have dealings with this old and well established institution. He is identified with the city's leading interests and is the only resident director of the St. Louis Sugar Company, the largest business enterprise of the city. It was largely through his ex- ertions and influence that the plant was lo- cated in St. Louis. The works, which are equipped with the most modern machinery, are valued at $500,000 and rank with the
best in the State. They employ one hundred and fifty men, disburse $60,000 annually in wages, and buy $200,000 worth of raw ma- terial from the producers of sugar beets. These facts prove their importance as an element in the prosperity of St. Louis and Gratiot county, and redound directly to the credit of Bayard A. Church.
Politically Mr. Church is identified with the Republican party, and has always taken a deep interest in political matters in Gra- tiot county, although he has not found time to accept office. He is one of the leading members of the Masonic fraternity in the State of Michigan and has been advanced to some of its most honorable and important positions. He is past master of St. Louis Lodge, No. 188, F. & A. M., St. Louis; past high priest of St. Louis Chapter, No. 87, R. A. M., St. Louis; past thrice illus- trious master of St. Louis Council, No. 68, R. & S. M., St. Louis; eminent commander of Ithaca Commandery, No. 40, K. T., Ithaca, Michigan; past worthy patron of St. Louis Chapter, No. 144, O. E. S., St. Louis ; most illustrious grand master of the Grand Council of Michigan, and representa- tive of the Grand Council of California. He has attained the thirty-second degree in Scottish Rite Masonry, and belongs to the Shrine.
Mr. Church was married March 10, 1891, to Miss Carrie M. Thedgar, who was born February 27, 1866, in Kent county, Michigan, a daughter of John L. and Jose- phine L. Thedgar. They have two chil- dren : Felix M. and Conrad N. Mr. and Mrs. Church are members of the First Bap- tist Church at St. Louis.
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS OF GRATIOT COUNTY.
C ASTLE JOHN CURTIS, one of the leading farmers and influential citi- zens of Gratiot county, resides upon a finely cultivated and improved farm, known as "Locust Lawn", situated in Section I, Pine River township. Mr. Curtis was born Au- gust 9, 1845, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, son of John and Ann (Hill) Curtis, natives of England, who died in Ann Arbor, leaving three children. Of these Castle J. was the eldest, the other children being Thomas, of Lansing, Michigan; and Charlotte, widow of Charles Gardner, of Ann Arbor, Michi- gan.
Mr. Curtis was reared to manhood in his home in Ann Arbor, and learned the harness- maker's trade, at which he worked four years. He then engaged in farming for two years, at the age of twenty-one going to Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in book canvassing for about a year and a half. He then went to Saginaw, Michigan, and was employed by the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, as fireman, for a year and a half, and as engineer for about two years. Mr. Curtis then became connected as engineer for the B. C. R. & N. Railroad, and after two years spent in this service returned to the Flint & Pere Marquette, with which com- pany he remained five years. At the end of this period in October, 1881, he went to Gra- tiot county, and bought forty acres of farm land in Section I, Pine River township, where he has since resided. He has erected good buildings on his farm, and made gen- eral improvements, and his farm, besides be- ing productive, presents an attractive ap- pearance and compares favorably with oth- ers in the township.
In November, 1872, Mr. Curtis was married, at Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Miss Ella
Schuyler, a native of New York State, born in 1853, daughter of James and Catherine (Smith) Schuyler, the former of whom died at Tiffin, Ohio, and his wife at Washington, D. C. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis have had five children: Charles C. married Jessie Beh- ler ; Catherine married Louis Behler and has four children; Benjamin married Ella Cal- laghan, and lives at Foley, Minnesota ; Marie lives in Washington, D. C .; and Hal- let, a mail agent, married Blanche Pettey, and lives at "Locust Lawn." Mr. Curtis has actively participated in the public affairs of Pine River township, having held several of the school offices. Politically he is a Re- publican, and fraternally is identified with the I. O. O. F., the local Grange and the Pine River Farmers' Club.
F RED E. SMITH, the careful, conscien- tious treasurer of Gratiot county, is one of the public officials whose services have met with the universal approval of the public. He was born in Erie county, New York, June 22, 1857, son of Horton and Adaline (Berry) Smith, natives of that county, who came to Michigan the same year that Fred E. Smith was born and settled on a farm in Washington township, Gratiot county, where they are at present residing.
Fred E. Smith came to Michigan with his parents and has lived on a farm all of his life. He was educated in the common schools of the township. Mr. Smith served his town- ship two years as treasurer and four as su- pervisor, resigning two years ago to accept his present position. He is quiet, careful, a watchful guardian of the people's money and in every way admirably fitted for this important trust. During his incumbency more money has passed through his hands
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than through those of any of his predeces- sors, yet in the hundreds of accounts he has been required to keep, not a single cent has been short, nothing has been neglected, noth- ing overlooked. The people know this and have the utmost confidence in the safety of the funds committed to Mr. Smith's safe- keeping. It was only by nominating a man who was not present at the Democratic con- vention that anyone was found to go on the ticket in opposition to Mr. Smith for a sec- ond term. The people are to be congratu- lated on having had an opportunity to again elect so excellent a county treasurer, and on having grasped that opportunity.
Mr. Smith was married February 17, 1901, to Miss Eva Alice Ladd, a daughter of Ellison and Elizabeth (Largent) Ladd, and to this union two children have been born: Kenneth H., and F. Willard. Mr. Smith is a popular member of Pompeii Lodge No. 417, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
A LBRO CURTIS. No history of Gratiot county would be complete without the sketch of Albro Curtis, as perhaps no one man in his section has done more to mold public opinion. He was born October 17, 1839, in Weathersfield, Wyoming county, New York, son of Waterman F. and Sylvia (Cronkite) Curtis, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Vermont, who removed from New York to Michigan in 1857 and settled in Ionia county. Here the father died on August 2, 1861, aged fifty-five years, his wife passing away while on a visit to friends in Illinois, on December 16, 1894, at the age of eighty-eight years. They were the parents of eleven children, as follows: Francis, a farmer of Emerson
township; Ardelia, who died aged twenty- two years; Elizabeth, Mrs. William Hall, of Wyoming county, New York; Jane, wife of William Cleveland, residing in Winne- bago county, Illinois; Seneca, a farmer of Breckenridge, Michigan; Helen, widow of John Hall, living in Wyoming county, New York; Albro; Waldo, a farmer of Brecken- ridge, Michigan; Martha, Mrs. T. W. Mus- cott, of Emerson township; Mary, unmar- ried, residing in the same township ; and Wil- liam, living in the State of Iowa. The pater- nal grandparents of Albro Curtis were Ami- son and Eunice Curtis, of Vermont, his grandfather on his mother's side being Ja- cob Cronkite, a native of Germany.
Albro Curtis was the seventh in a family of eleven children, and reached the period of youth in Wyoming county, New York, where he received his education in the schools and on his father's farm. He was eighteen years old when he located in Ionia county, Michigan, where he lived until February, 1862, at that time removing with his mother's family to Gratiot county. They lo- cated on Section 12, Emerson township, where Mr. Curtis has been a resident ever since, with the exception of the two years he was serving his country as a soldier.
Mr. Curtis enlisted in Company A, Eighth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer In- fantry, and served gallantly with that regi- ment until the close of the war. At the bat- tle of the Wilderness he was wounded in the right arm, and at Petersburg was slightly wounded by spent balls in the foot and be- tween the shoulders. He was a participant in the battle of Weldon Railroad, and was at Lee's surrender, after which he was hon- orably discharged and returned to his home in Emerson township. When he left for the
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