USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. II > Part 14
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The office, too, was much to his taste. He did not make a holiday of his residence at Stettin, but gave a close attention to his duties and an intelli- gent study to political, social and trade conditions, the results of which he transmitted to the Secretary of State in a large number of valuable reports, many of which were published by the Government. Among these may be named his "Report on Beet Sugar," published in Volume XXXIX of the United States Consular Reports; "Report on Base Burn- ers," in Volume XL; "Report on the Extension of European Trade in the Orient," in Volume XLII ; " Report on American Trade with Stettin," in Vol- ume XLVI; " Report on Agricultural Machinery," in Volume XLVIII ; " How Germany is Governed," in Volume L; "Report on Labor in Europe," pub- lished by the Department of State in a separate volume. These are by no means all the reports made by Dr. Kiefer, during an official service of but eighteen months, and they furnish a sufficient evidence of the activity and zeal with which he per- formed his duties.
Upon the election of a Democratic president, Dr. Kiefer was one of the first officials to resign his office. This he did in a characteristic letter, ad- dressed to the Department of State immediately after the election, and while the cabinet, of course, was still Republican, in which he expressed his unwillingness either to be "a victim of the political guillotine or to see civil service reform managed by the Democrats."
On the twenty-first of January, 1885, he retired from his office. For several months thereafter he remained in Europe, traveling extensively upon the continent. In September of the same year he returned to America, and, upon his arrival at Detroit, was complimented with two formal receptions-one tendered by his fellow physicians and the other by German residents of the city. He brought with him, from his brief official life, an enviable reputa- tion for the zeal and ability with which he had dis-
charged its duties. During 1886 he made a pro- longed visit to California.
Dr. Kiefer was reared a Protestant, but his views have greatly changed, and he now disavows any religious belief, holding that every individual must be judged purely by his own acts.
Soon after coming to America, Dr. Kiefer was joined by his mother, who was accompanied by Francesca Kehle, to whom he was affianced in Ger- many. The two were married July 21, 1850. During the year 1851 his father also came to Detroit, but both father and mother returned to the old country after a brief residence in America. Dr. and Mrs. Kiefer have passed together nearly thirty-six happy and prosperous years. They have had seven sons and two daughters, and of these five sons and one daughter are now living. These children are : Alfred K. Kiefer, who is connected with the Wayne County Savings Bank of Detroit; Arthur E., Man- ager of the Detroit Edge Tools Works ; Edwin H., a resident of New York ; Edgar L., of the firm of Kiefer & Heyn, of Detroit; Minnie C., the wife of Dr. C. Bonning, Dr. Kiefer's partner, and Guy Lincoln, now at Ann Arbor University.
For the foregoing biography we are indebted to the Magazine of Western History.
ALEXANDER MACOMB, Major-General U. S. A., was born in Detroit on April 3, 1782, and was the son of Alexander Macomb, a prominent merchant of Detroit in Revolutionary days. His mother's maiden name was Catharine Navarre. He received a good education and in 1779 was enrolled as one of the " New York Rangers," a volunteer col- onial corps. He subsequently served on the staff of General North, and with General Wilkinson in the southwest, and was for a time connected with the Academy at West Point, where he compiled a treatise on martial law, which was published in 1809.
He became a Captain in 1805, a Major in 1808, commanded an artillery corps in 1812, and won special renown at the battle of Plattsburgh in Sep- tember, 1814, receiving the thanks of Congress, accompanied by a gold medal. From 1815 to 1821 he was in command of Military District No. 5, with head-quarters at Detroit. In 1821 he was made Chief Engineer of the Army and removed to Washington. Before leaving Detroit he was pre- sented by the citizens with a silver tankard and several engravings as a testimonial of their esteem and regret at his departure. In 1835 he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United States. He was universally respected as a model and accomplished soldier, a worthy and honorable
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citizen and a useful and agreeable friend. He was married on July 18, 1803, to his cousin, Catharine Macomb, the third daughter of Wm. Macomb, of Detroit. She died in September, 1822, and on April 27, 1827, at Georgetown, D. C., he married Mrs. Harriet Balch Wilson. He had twelve chil- dren, as follows: Catharine, wife of John Mason, of Virginia ; Alexandrine, wife of General Henry Stanton, U. S. A .; Czarina Carolina, wife of Gen- eral John Navarre Macomb, the sixth child of J. N. Macomb and Christina Livingston; Alexander Sara- nac, husband of Susan Kearney, daughter of Gen- eral Philip Kearney, of New York; William Henry Alexander, husband of Mary Eliza Stanton, second daughter of General Henry Stanton ; Jane Octavia, wife of Lieutenant Morris L. Miller, U. S. Artillery, and Sarah, married first to Captain H. W. Stanton, of the U. S. Dragoons, and after his death to J. C. Devereux Williams, of Detroit. The other chil- dren, Robert Kennedy, Alexander Catawba, Anna Matilda, Francis Alexander Napoleon and Oc- tavia Eliza were unmarried. Only Mrs. Alexan- drine Stanton and Mrs. Jane Octavia Miller are living.
General Macomb died in Washington on June 25, 1841.
FREDERICK MORLEY, the Nestor among the newspaper publishers of Detroit, was born in Derby, England, December 23, 1821. His father was a Bap- tist minister and with his family came to this country in 1830. Their first home was in Wayne County, New York, and in an adjoining county, at Seneca Falls, Mr. Morley learned the " art preservative of all arts." In 1841, when only nineteen years of age, he became one of the publishers of the Wayne County Whig, issued at Lyons, New York, and four years later, in May, 1845, at Palmyra, in the same county, he established a new paper named the Courier.
In 1853 he left New York State and came to Detroit, and a few months later engaged with Rufus Hosmer in the editorial management of the Detroit Inquirer, which was first issued on January 18, 1854. During his connection with the Inquirer he had much to do with the work that inspired the Republican movement of 1854 and brought it to the front, and in point of fact is one of the several fathers of the Republican party.
Mr. Morley retained his position with the paper until a month or two prior to its consolidation with the Free Democrat, when he left to engage in the book and stationery trade, under the firm name of Kerr, Morley & Company. His love for the edi- torial tripod soon took him back into the profession, and in 1858 he became editor and publisher of the Daily Advertiser, and continued in the position
until near the close of the year 1861, when he sold out his interest to Messrs. Geiger and Scripps.
In May, 1862, he was appointed Assistant Adju- tant General under the administration of Governor Blair, and initiated and organized the system which gave to the State its detailed military record, and after five years in the office, in April, 1867, he retired. In the meantime the Daily Post had been established as a Republican paper by persons who were dissatisfied with the management of the Advertiser and Tribune. It was edited by Carl Schurz, and the first issue was dated March 27, 1866. Differences, however, arose between him and the stockholders, and after serving one year, on March 1, 1867, Mr. Morley became his successor and also had the care of the business management, continuing in charge of the paper for nine years, or up to January 1, 1876.
During this period it is safe to say that no other paper in Detroit approached the Post in complete- ness of its news, attractiveness of its make-up and general typographic excellence, and as a stalwart Republican organ it was never excelled. While at the head of the Daily Post, Mr Morley also from 1871 to 1876, served as Register of the United States Land Office of Detroit. After leaving the paper he was appointed by President Grant and confirmed by the Senate, as Consul General to Egypt, but personal reasons induced him to decline the position.
During 1881 and 1882 he served as Commis- sioner of Immigration for the State of Michigan, and in the discharge of his duties aided by the efficient and accomplished Assistant Commissioner, Charles K. Backus, prepared the most complete compen- dium of the advantages and resources of the State ever issued. It was circulated very extensively, especially in the Eastern States, and probably no public document was ever of more service to the State.
In the fall of 1883 he became editor and business manager of the Post and Tribune, and held the position until August, 1, 1884, when he withdrew from active participation in the conduct of any newspaper. He ever and anon, however, finds himself writing out some interesting reminiscences, and his matter is so instructive and entertaining, and style so clear and captivating, that whatever he is willing to write, the public are willing to read.
Always unpretentious and always able and ready to convey information upon many subjects of inter- est, he is an excellent conversationalist and has the rare gift of being an equally good listener, and is thus doubly qualified to serve his friends and asso- ciates. He was married at Lyons, New York, on January 12, 1843, to Eleanor Ninde, daughter of Rev. Wm, Ninde, a Protestant Episcopal minister
R.C. Olin
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of Maryland, and aunt of Bishop W. X. Ninde of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
ROLLIN CHARLES OLIN, M. D., of Detroit, was born near Waukesha, Wisconsin, August 17, 1839 His parents, Thomas H. and Sarah (Church) Olin, were of Welsh-Irish descent, and their ances- tors settled in Vermont at an early date. The great-great-grandfather of R. C. Olin settled in Rhode Island, and was a revolutionary soldier under General Greene. Thomas H. Olin was a farmer, and when his son was five years old, re- moved with his family to Waukesha, and was for several years engaged in the milling business. He afterwards settled on a farm in Northfield, Minne- sota, where he remained until a short time before his death, in July, 1883. His wife is still living and resides with her son in Detroit.
R. C. Olin remained at home during his earlier years, receiving the best educational advantages that the schools of his native place afforded, and subsequently attending for one year Carroll College at Waukesha. He then decided to adopt the calling of a teacher, and as a preparation to that end en- tered the State Normal School at Winona, Minne- sota. At the end of his second term the war of the rebellion began, and in August, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company B, of the Third Minnesota Infantry. Promotions to a Second Lieutenancy and then to a First Lieutenancy soon after followed, and while acting in the latter capacity he took part in the battles of Pittsburgh Landing, Shiloh, and Mur- freesboro. In the last named engagement his regi- ment was captured, and all of the officers then pres- ent except Lieutenant Olin and two others, were sent to Libby Prison. Lieutenant Olin was paroled with the regiment and sent to the parole barracks at St. Louis, remaining until September, 1862, when the regiment, with himself as the only commis- sioned officer present for duty, was ordered to the Minnesota frontier to aid in subduing an insurrec- tion of the Sioux Indians, his command forming part of the Army of the Northwest, commanded by General Pope. During the campaign Lieutenant Olin was appointed Judge Advocate of the military commission which tried four hundred Sioux In- dians for insurrection, twenty-eight of whom were executed. While acting as commander of the regiment in the notable encounters at Yellow Medicine and Lone Tree Lane, where many Union soldiers were killed, Lieutenant Olin attracted the favorable attention of General Sibley, and after this campaign he was appointed on his staff as Adjutant General, with the rank of Captain, and served in this capacity during General Sibley's subsequent expedition against the Indians on the Missouri River in 1863, in which three pitched battles were fought.
In the winter of 1862-3, General Sibley took up his headquarters at St. Paul, Minn., where he re- mained until the opening of the campaign in May, 1863. In September he returned to St. Paul, where he remained until relieved by General John M. Corse, to whose staff Captain Olin was trans- ferred. In February, 1865, Captain Olin resigned from the army and in the spring of the same year he went to Savannah, Georgia, with the intention of embarking in the lumber business, but being unable to secure a favorable opening, returned to St. Paul, and in partnership with E. H. Burrit estab- lished a bookstore, which was continued until 1868, when he went to Owatonna, and for four years was employed as teller of a bank. He then came to Detroit and began the study of medicine, and after a full course of instruction in the Medical Depart- ment of the University of Michigan, he graduated in 1877. He adopted the homoeopathic school of medicine, and immediately after graduation entered upon the duties of his profession in Detroit, and in a comparatively few years has gained an extensive practice, being remarkably successful.
He is possessed of unusual power of applica- tion, quick discernment, and is ready in analysis, qualities that are specially helpful in medical prac- tice. He is essentially a family physician, and enjoys in a marked degree the confidence and respect which should be possessed by those holding such a relation. His success is largely due to the devotion with which he has adhered to his work, and to the trust his ability and conscientious fidelity, have inspired in his patients. The tenets of his medical principles are founded on broad, liberal, and honest convictions, and he is far removed from the unjustifiable prejudices which animate many of his profession. He is a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Michigan, and of the Homoeopathic Medical Society. His standing, and the regard in which he is held by his professional brethren in the State, was attested by his election as President of the State Society in May, 1887, and he is also a member of the military order of the Loyal Legion.
The rapid growth of his practice, and the demand it has made upon his time, have given him little op- portunity for work outside of his professional duties, but he takes a commendable interest in all projects of a public nature. He is a Republican in politics, and is in hearty accord with the efforts of his party. He is of a sanguine temperament, kindly and genial in nature, and a citizen of irreproachable character. Among the members of the medical fraternity of Detroit, of every school of practice, he is no less respected for professional attainments than for his personal worth.
He was married at St. Paul, Minnesota, on Octo-
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ber 30, 1865, to Georgie A. Dailey. She died at Detroit on September 8, 1881, and on June 15, 1887, he married Grace Eugenie Hillis, of Syracuse, New York.
JOHN PULFORD, Colonel United States Army and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born in New York City, July 4, 1837, and is the seventh son of Edward and Sarah Lloyd (Avis) Pulford ; the former a native of Norwich and the latter of Bris- tol, England. They emigrated to New York City in 1833, and in 1838 removed to Essex county, Ontario, and engaged in farming.
John Pulford was educated in the public schools and when thirteen years of age came to Detroit ; sailed on the lakes in the summer and in the winter read law. In 1854 he became proprietor of a hotel and continued the business until the breaking out of the civil war, when he and Edward T. Sherlock organized a military company, tendered their ser- vices to the General Government and Mr. Pulford was appointed First Lieutenant in the Fifth Michi- gan Volunteer Infantry. He entered upon service June 19, 1861, in the camp of instruction at Fort Wayne, Michigan, where he remained until Sep- tember II, and was then with his regiment ordered to the front. During the fall and winter following he aided in constructing Forts Richardson and Lyon, part of the defenses of Washington south of the Potomac. In March, 1862, he left with the Army of the Potomac for Fortress Monroe, Virginia, doing camp and picket duty in front of Hampton. In April, 1862, he moved with his company and regiment to Yorktown and assisted in the construc- tion of earthworks, preparatory to laying siege to that place, and while there performed important picket duty. At Williamsburgh, Virginia, on May 5, he par- ticipated in a charge on the enemy at the point of the bayonet, and captured the works and a number of prisoners. In this charge over three hundred Con- federates were killed by the bayonet in front of his regiment, and soon after this engagement he was pro- moted to a Captaincy. He took part in the battle of Fair Oaks, his company acting as skirmishers, and losing heavily. He was also engaged in all the move- ments of the Army of the Potomac in the seven days' fight before Richmond, including Peach Or- chard, Charles City, Cross Roads, and Malvern Hill.
Soon after he went into action on the morning of July I, he was struck by a partially spent cannon- ball which fractured his collar-bone and broke his jaw. He was left on the battle-field for dead, cap- tured by the enemy and taken to Richmond, where he was kept a prisoner for eighteen days, when he was exchanged and taken to the hospital at Balti- more. After ten weeks spent in the hospital, he was so far recovered as to be able to return to duty.
His friends had procured a detail for him on the recruiting service, but he refused to listen to any proposition which would take him away from his command and active field duty. On the 13th of December he was in the battle of Fredericksburgh, remaining on the battle-field until the 16th.
His company and regiment suffered severely during this engagement, and the regimental com- mander having been killed, Captain Pulford, al- though one of the junior captains, -was soon after- ward appointed Major, the officers of the regi- ment having petitioned the Governor for his promo- tion. He took part in what is known as Burn- side's mud march, in the Battle of the Cedars, on May 2, 1863, in which he assisted in the capture of the Twenty-third Georgia Infantry; and in the bril- liant night charge when Stonewall Jackson was killed. This was one of the shortest and most ter- rific encounters of the war, as the charge was made to reopen communication with the army from which the Third Corps had been cut off late in the even- ing. The next day he was engaged in the battle of Chancellorsville, where Lieutenant-Colonel E. T. Sherlock was killed, after which Major Pulford assumed command of the regiment, although suffer- ing severely from a wound he had received.
The officers of his regiment now petitioned the Government to appoint him Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, and he was appointed, his commis- sion dating from May 3, 1863. He was next engaged with his command in several skirmishes with the enemy on the march to Gettysburgh, and opened the engagement at that place in front of the First Division, Third Corps. After the regiment had been assembled from the skirmish line, they fought as heavy infantry in almost a hand to hand con- flict, and Colonel Pulford was severely wounded in the thigh and slightly in the right hand, and his horse was killed, but the Colonel did not leave the field nor his command. Of the fourteen officers of his regiment present in this battle, eleven were either killed or wounded. The brigade commander, in his report of this engagement, says: "The un- flinching bravery of the Fifth Michigan, which sus- tained a loss of more than one-half of its members without yielding a foot of ground, deserves to be especially commended."
Colonel Pulford with his regiment, also partici- pated in the battle of Wapping Heights, the regi- ment acting as flankers and skirmishers during the march from Gettysburgh to White Sulphur Springs. On the 16th of August, 1863, he went in command of his regiment, to New York City, as a guard against threatened resistance to the draft, and thence to Troy, for the same purpose, return- ing to the Army of the Potomac, September 18, 1863. He was in command through the actions at
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Auburn Heights, Kelly's Ford, Locust Grove and Mine Run. His regiment having re-enlisted as a veteran organization, Colonel Pulford took it to Detroit, where a public reception was given them. They returned to the Army of the Potomac on the 19th of February, 1864, and Colonel Pulford partici- pated in all the actions and movements of that army, including the battle of the Wilderness, at which time he was severely wounded, his back being broken and both his arms partially disabled. On June Ioth, 1864, he was appointed Colonel of the Fifth Michigan Veteran Volunteers Infantry, Colonel Beech having been mustered out of the service on account of having been absent from duty two years by reason of wounds received. The Third Michi- gan Infantry Volunteers having been consolidated with the Fifth Michigan Infantry, Colonel Pulford commanded the regiment in the siege of Peters- burgh, from June 27, 1864, to April 3, 1865. Dur- ing the greater portion of the time he was in com- mand of Fort Davis, having as a garrison the Fifth Michigan Infantry, the First Regiment of United States Sharp-shooters, the One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and a battery of artillery.
He was general officer of the day for the Second Corps at the engagement at Deep Bottom, Virginia; was engaged at Petersburgh, July 30, command- ing the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps; he commanded Birney's Division of the Tenth Corps, for a short time, at the battle of Strawberry Plains, Virginia ; the Fifth Michigan at the Battle of Poplar Springs' Church ; the first line of battle of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps, at Boydton Plank Road, October 27, 1864, where he was wounded in the right knee. At Hatcher's Run, on March 25, 1865, he com- manded the Fifth Michigan, together with the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, and at Sailors' Creek and New Stone, Virginia, the Fifth Michigan Infantry, and was general officer of the day for the Third Division, Second Corps, at the surrender of the insurgent armies at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865. In June, of the same year, he was appointed by the President, Brigadier-General of the United States Volunteers, by brevet, to rank as such from the 30th of March, 1865, " for gallantry in action and efficiency in the line of duty and commissioned to date, March 13, 1865, for good conduct and meritorious services during the war." After the general review of the armies of the United States at Washington, he proceeded in command of the Fifth Michigan and several other Western regiments, to Louisville, Kentucky, and commanded the First Brigade, provisional division, Army of the Tennessee, at Jeffersonville, Indiana. The Fifth Michigan Regiment, having been mus-
tered out of service on July 5, 1865, he brought it to Detroit, where it was disbanded on July 17th.
Returning to private life, in October following Colonel Pulford was admitted to the bar, but hav- ing acquired a strong taste for military life, he applied for a commission in the regular army, and on February 23, 1866, was appointed Second, and afterwards First Lieutenant, Nineteenth United States Infantry, being assigned to the command of Company G., third battalion of that regiment. On the 28th of April following he was stationed at Newport Barracks, Kentucky. He was in com- mand of his company en route to and at Little Rock, Arkansas, until August 3, and was soon after assigned to the command of the post at Du- vall's Bluff, Arkansas. On the 21st of September he was transferred to the Thirty-seventh United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and engaged in General Hancock's expe- dition against hostile Indians, and commanded a detachment of troops who were guarding the United States mail route from Indians, between Forts Lyon and Aubrey, Kansas. He was Acting Quartermaster, Commissary of Subsistence and Dis- bursing Officer from November 1, 1867, until May 31, 1869. He was awaiting orders and on recon- struction duty in Mississippi until December 13, 1869 ; on recruiting duty at Newport Barracks and Atlanta, Georgia, and awaiting orders until Decem- ber, 1870.
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