Portrait and biographical album of Gratiot county, Mich., Part 67

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 856

USA > Michigan > Gratiot County > Portrait and biographical album of Gratiot county, Mich. > Part 67

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Mr. Turck was born in Port Hope, Canada, Aug. 7, 1839. He received a fair elementary education at the common schools, and at the age of 16 he began an apprenticeship with his brother Henry, who was engaged in the tannery business in Clark Township, Durham Co., Canada. He served about four years and then went to Shelby, Orleans County, where he remained until 1860, when he came to Isa- bella Co., Mich., and obtained employ at Indian Mills, on the Chippewa River, near the site of Mount Pleasant. The establishment was owned by the United States Government and included a grist-mill. Mr. Turck remained there a year in charge of the flouring department. In the fall of 1861 he rented a saw and grist mill at Alma. The now promising village was then in its earliest incipiency, and con- sisted of three log houses in the midst of a dense forest. He continued the management of the mill until August, 1862, when the spirit which enrolled the name of Michigan on the highest battlements of fame proved too strong to withstand, and he yielded to its overpowering influence. He arranged his pri- vate affairs and enlisted at Alma in Co. D, 26th Regt. Mich. Vol. Inf., Capt. Lafayette Church, and was mustered into service as 2d Lieutenant of the com- pany. The honorable record of the " 26th Michi-

gan," which outranked every other regiment in the war as skirmishers, included every name on its roll. It was constructed of the surplus companies for whom there was no assignment in the organizations of the 24th and 25th Michigan regiments, and rep- resented the best blood and position in the Peninsu- lar State. From the time it went into rendezvous at Jackson until the close of the war it was the object of a deep interest, and its course through the re- mainder of the war was observed with justifiable pride at home and won unstinted commendations in military and official circles. . Its members were noticed for special appointments for personal bravery by the brigade and corps commanders, and its effi- ciency, patriotism and order in the suppression of the rebellion conferred upon it a prominence second to none. On going to the front, in December, it was assigned to Provost duty at Alexandria, Va., and in the spring following proceeded to Suffolk, which place was endangered by the threatened assault of the insurgents under the rebel Longstreet. It was sent to New York to protect the city during the famous riot of 1863 consequent upon the draft. Its arrival upon the scene of action was hailed with de- light, and the New York journals glowed with en- comiums on the bravery, intelligence and military discipline of the regiment, for wich they bespoke the appreciation and welcome of the citizens of the great metropolis. Its duty in New York and the harbor being done, it rejoined the Army of the Potomac and was assigned to the tst Brigade, commanded by Gen. Miles, in the Ist Division, 2d Army Corps, in which it remained until the termination of the war. Mr. Turck was promoted to ist Lieutenant, April 15, 1863, and was made Captain, Aug. 12, 1864. He was in 28 engagements, including all the prominent actions of the war after the assignment of the regi- ment. At the battle of Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864, he was wounded in the head by a minie ball and was off duty in consequence ten days. On the occasion of Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court-House, Capt. Turck was in charge of the brigade skirmish- ers. The regiment was mustered out June 4, 1865.

Mr. Turck returned to Alma and engaged in lum- bering during the winter of 1865-6. In the fall of 1866 he was elected County Treasurer, and was twice re-elected to the same position, holding the office an aggregate of six years. In consequence of

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impaired health he determined to devote his energies to agriculture, and bought a farm one mile north of Ithaca. He passed the succeeding eight years in its improvement, and then returned to Alma, where, associated with A. W. Wright and others, he founded the banking house with which he is at present con- nected. Ile was one of its stockholders and held the positions of cashier and manager. In August, 1883, the bank was re-organized under its present style, and since that date has been engaged in pros- perous financial transactions common to institutions of similar scope and character. Upon the formation and organization of the banking establishment of Steel, Turck & Co., he became a stockholder therein.

Mr. Turck is interested in the milling business at Alma, and in 1881 built a flouring-mill. It is con- structed of brick, 45 x So feet, with three stories above the basement. Its producing capacity is 100 barrels daily, and it is fitted with 11 sets of rollers and three " run " of stones. Four men are employed and the mill is operated chiefly on custom work.

Mr. Turck has been a Republican since he attained to the privileges of citizenship, and has always been fearless and outspoken in the interests of the party. In the fall of 1876 he was nominated in the Repub- lican Convention, held at Ithaca, as member of the House of Representatives in the Legislature of Mich- igan. He was elected by a large majority, running 150 votes in advance of his ticket. During the ses- sion he performed much effective service in the in- terests of his constituency, introduced several import- ant bills and served on the Committees on Local Taxation and Drainage. He was re-elected in 1878 and was again in advance of his ticket. He was appointed Chairman of the Railroad Committee and on the State School at Coldwater.

Mr. Turck has been a member of the Masonic Order 22 years, in which he has taken 12 degrees. He has been the incumbent of all the important posi- tions in the lower body and was Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Michigan, and acted eight years as High Priest of Chapter No. 70, of Ithaca. Ile owns a fine residence at Alma, besides a consid- erable amount of village property. He is managing extensive stock interests on his farm of 400 acres located in the township of Arcada, three miles from Alma. The war, business, and political record of Mr. Turck afford the best possible manifest of his

merits as an American citizen. He needs no fulsome flattery to perpetrate the undefiled name transmitted to the generations to come on the pages of the Bio- graphical Album of Gratiot County. His portrait. which appears on a preceding page, is one that en- hances the value of the work and will be received with the greatest satisfaction by its patrons.

Mr. Turck's marriage to Louisa A. Ely occurred Sept. 15, 1864. She was born July 18, 1845, in New York, and is the daughter of Gen. Ralph and Mary E. Ely (see sketch of Gen. R. Ely). Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Turck, as follows : Ralph, June 26, 1865 (died in 1866); Ruby, June 28, 1869 (died in 1872); Lena M., Sept. 9, 1872 ; Raymond C., Oct. 12, 1874.

homas J. Hoxie, farmer, section 22, Fulton Township, is a son of Thomas J. and Eliza- beth (Hathaway) Hoxie, natives of New York and Massachusetts respectively. They first settled in Genesee Co., N. Y., whence, in 1845, they removed to Fulton Co., Ohio. There they lived until their death. Mr. Hoxie fell dead in the Island House, Toledo, in 1876, while returning home from Washington, D. C. Mrs. Hoxie died in January, 1874. Their family comprised six sons and one daughter: Eliza, Joseph, William E., John B., Thomas J., Calvin H. and Lyman P.

The fourth sou, Thomas J. Hoxie, was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., Aug. 26, 1843, and was one year old when his parents removed to Ohio. He remained at home intil 17 years old, and then began the battle of life for himself. He attended the com- mon schools while a boy, and for two winters taught school himself. At the age mentioned, he bought a farm of 40 acres of wild land in Fulton Co., Ohio, where he lived two years. He then sold, and in the summer of 1863 came with his wife and one child to Gratiot County, where he purchased 40 acres of tim- bered land on section 26, Fulton Township. Here he lived nearly two years. He has bought and sold several farms in Washington and Fulton Townships, making his last change in the spring of 1877, when he traded 160 acres on section 22, Fulton, for So acres on sections 22 and 27. He now lives on sec- tion 22, and owns 160 acres, of which 100 acres are nicely improved.

THE NE 7 : ORK PUBLIC MICHARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R

Lafayette Chanh

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May 19, 1861, at Morenci, Lenawee Co., Mich., he married Miss Martha A., daughter of Walter S. and Elizabeth (Smith) Coleman, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Coleman were among the first settlers of Williams Co., Ohio. They finally settled in Fulton Co., Ohio, where she died, March 3, 1881. He went to Arkansas, and died at Eureka Springs in February, 1883. Mrs. Hoxie was born in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, Dec. 10, 1844, and is the mother of six children : William E., Cecilia A., Lyman W. L., Thomas J., Joe M. and Herbert W.

Mr. Hoxie has taught school in this county ri terms. He has been School Superintendent two terms, and has held the various school offices. His wife and daughter are members of the Advent Church. Politically, he is a Democrat. Mr. H. is a relative of the wife of Hon. Jefferson Davis, the fa- mous ex-President of the Southern Confederacy. An uncle, Joseph Hoxie, was for many years a Senator from New York, and he raised and equipped a regi- ment for the Government during the rebellion. Mr. Hoxie's father was also in the late war, and the ancestors of both Mr. and Mrs. H. were in the Revo- lution.

afayette Church, farmer on section 2, Ar- cada Township, and whose portrait is given on the opposite page, was born in Wayne Co., N. Y., July 16, 1816, and is a son of Will- ard and Sally (Davis) Church, natives of Con- necticut. Willard Church was descended from the old Puritan stock, and was a soldier all through the Revolution. His cousin, Capt. Church, was one of the leaders on the side of the Colonists in King Philip's war. The Church family was one of the first of New England, and its members were prominently identified with its Colonial history. Sally Davis was of English parentage, and her family came from the other side of the waters much later than the Churches.

Lafayette was the youngest of nine children, all of whom grew to be adults, be married, and have fami- lies about them, before death began to thin their numbers. His father died in Livingston County, this State, at the advanced age of 88. The educa- tional advantages afforded the subject of this sketch in his boyhood were very limited, and most of his

time was spent at work on the farm. When 16 years old, he left the parental roof to seek his own liveli- hood. He was first employed in a drug-store at Pro- vidence, R. I., for about three years, during which time he improved his leisure hours in study, and at- tended school to some extent. Returning home, he lived there one year, and in the fall of 1836 came to this State, spending the following winter in Oakland County. The next spring he went to lonia, then a mere village of a hundred or so inhabitants. He was afterwards employed in Clinton County and again in Ionia.

Jan. 29, 1840, at Lyons, Ionia County, he was united in marriage to Sophronia, daughter of Nathan and Chloe (Tyler) Benjamin, natives of New York State, and of English and Irish extraction. She was born in Wayne Co., Ohio, Oct. 26, 1823, and when a year and a half old, she came with her parents to Oakland Co., Mich. Thence they removed to Ionia County, where she lived until her marriage. Her father drove the first wagon over East Plains, of that county, and also the first wagon into Maple Rapids. Mr. and Mrs. Church lived at Lyons seven years, and then went to Wheatland Township, Hillsdale County, where they lived until 1854. In the winter of that year they came to Gratiot County, and pur- chased from the Government So acres of land in what is now Arcada Township. They were among the very first settlers, and were familiarized with all the hardships of pioneer life. Mr. Church has since added 120 acres to his farm, but the farm has been mostly divided up among the family, and he now has 60 acres, well cultivated. He helped to start the town of Ithaca, building a house, and starting a saw and grist mill at that place in connection with Francis Nelson and John Jefferson.

Mr. and Mrs. Church have been blessed with ten children, of whom two have gone to "that-bourne whence no traveler returns." The living are as fol- lows : Nathan, born Nov. 22, 1840 ; Susan, Aug. 22, 1849; Marie E., Oct. 9, 1851; Avolin, Dec. 22, 1853; Julia, Sept. 7, 1856; Flora, March 25, 1860; Willard, May 19, 1861; Fred, June 2, 1863. S. Cornelia was born .Aug. 3, 1842, and died March 23, 1878; Frances A., born Aug. 5, 1844, and died Sept. 17, 1865.

At the first general election held in Gratiot Coun- ty, Mr. Church was chosen County Treasurer, which

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office he held four years, and he was also the first Treasurer of Arcada Township. In May, 1855, he organized the first Sunday-school started in Gratiot County, meeting at the house of F. Way, midway between Alma and St. Louis. July 19, 1862, he re- ceived from the Governor of the State a commission as Second Lieutenant, and authority to raise a com- pany of volunteers. When a sufficient number had been raised, they were mustered in as Co. D, 26th Mich. Vol. Inf., and Lieutenant Church was imme- diately made Captain of that company, which con- tained many of the best citizens of Gratiot County. Hle held that rank for 18 months, and was then, on recommendation of the principal officers of the regi- ment, commissioned as Regimental Chaplain. This position he held until the rebellion ciosed with the surrender of Gen. Lee, of which historical event he was an eye-witness. Ile was at the head of his com- pany at the battle of Mine Run, and distinguished himself on other occasions. His son, Nathan, held the rank of First Lieutenant in the same company, and the two fought and marched together until the close of the war. They were honorably discharged in June, 1865. Since the war, Capt. Church has led a quiet and retired life at his home in Arcada Town- ship. He is highly respected by all his numerous friends, and his long residence and gallant services have won him a front place among Gratiot County's leading citizens. Politically, he is an ardent and in- fluential Republican.

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imothy Pressley, farmer, section 24, New- ark Township, was born Feb. 14, 1822, in Ilannstone Parish, 12 miles east of Shef- field, Yorkshire, England, where his parents, William and Anna (Holmes) Pressley, were born and passed their lives. They belonged to the agricultural class and the son was reared to the Same calling.

He came to the United States in 1844 and landed at the city of New York. His first experience in the Great Republic was novel, and almost startling. During his first night in New York, while occupying a room with several other young men, they were ser- enaded by a myriad of katydids, an insect entirely

strange to them. During a great part of the night they were kept awake, conjecturing who the disputing parties might be, who seemed to be trying to decide by verbal contest whether Katy did or didn't. To add to the weird effect, a number of the common in- sects usually called "lightning-bugs" were flying around in the darkness. These seemed to be peace- makers, trying to pacify the disputants. Mr. Press- ley made his first location in Ostego Co., N. Y. After a residence there of three years he removed to Columbus, O., and passed three years, acting as Stew- ard in the American Hotel. He went next to Rich- land Co., Ohio, where he operated as a farm assist- ant for about seven years. In November, 1857, he came with his family, then comprising his wife and three children, to Michigan. He fixed upon Gratiot County as promising to afford a suitable field for the development of his labors and aspirations, and bought So acres of land in an unimproved condition on sec- tion 34, in Newark Township. He experienced many severe privations during his early years in Gratiot. On one occasion, having to go to St. John's on busi- ness, he had but 75 cents in money. Paying 50 cents for a night's shelter for his steers, and 25 cents for himself, consumed the entire supply of specie in his possession, and his entire subsistence during the two days' journey was a little bread made of bran and wa- ter brought from home. In spite of hardships almost incredible, Mr. Pressley persevered in his resolve to make a home in the woods of Michigan, and he retained the farm on which he first located for 22 years. In 1879, he sold it to J. M. Walker. He had made previous purchase of 40 acres on section 33, on which he built a house and continued the pursuit of agriculture a few months, when he again sold out. In April, 1881, he bought 110 acres on section 24. This is his homestead and he is engaged in success- ful farming on 90 acres of well-improved. valuable land. He also owns a lot in the village of Alma, on the corner of Fourth and Superior Streets. It is on section 3. Arcada Township. Mr. Pressley is a Re- publican in political connection and served 18 years as School Director in District No. 4, Newark Town- ship. In the spring of 1883 he was elected Highway Commissioner.

He was married Feb. 1, 1850, in Columbus, Ohio, to Sarah E .. eldest daughter of Harmon Earl, a na- tive of the Dominion of Canada. The daughter was

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R

Demiel. Q. South

Mhrs Damit G. Buff,

THE NE . YORK FIRING . ARAPY

AMOR LENOX AND ILDEN FOUNDATIONS T

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born Nov. 5, 1829, in Columbiana Co., Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Pressley are the parents of eight children. Six of these are living, named as follows : Emma J., Clarissa A., Eva E., Rosa J., Frank L. and Hannah E. Charles Nelson died when nearly 14 years of age. Walter II. was about the same age when he died.

aniel O. Cuff, Under-Sheriff of Gratiot County, resident at St. Louis, was born in Brandon, Rutland Co., Vt., May 12, 1834. Ilis father, Thomas Cuff, was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and is now living in Sandstone Township, Jackson Co., Mich., 74 years okl. His mother, Clarissa (Frost) Cuff, was born in Bran- don, and is 75 years of age. The parents removed from the Green Mountain State to Michigan in 1838. They located at Jackson, which was then a hamlet in its most rural condition and consisted of a few log huts and a log hotel. The State Prison was located there about that time, and Thomas and Pat- rick Cuff took the contract to build the wall, which was constructed of tamarack poles 22 feet long, set in trenches, from which the institution was called " The Tamaracks." Thomas Cuff bought three acres of land, a part of which is now included in the Jack- son County Fair Grounds, and built two log houses thereon, one for himself and the other for his father. He was one of the first to be appointed a prison guard, and officiated in that capacity three years. On the building of the Michigan Central railroad, he was one of the contractors, and constructed seven miles of the track west of the city. The venture proved successful, and he went to Sandstone, then larger in fact and promise than Jackson, and bought 320 acres of land in the township, where he has since lived. The place was located in heavy "oak openings," and very valuable for agricultural pur- poses. The homestead now includes 160 acres, and is in admirable condition, with two fine residences and suitable and substantial farm buildings. One of the dwellings is occupied by the family of a son, and two younger. Norman and Thomas, reside with their father.

The early years of the life of Mr. C'uff, of this sketch, were spent in active labor. He first worked

as a lumberman, and, when his father took a contract to furnish stone for paving the streets of Detroit, he assisted in the work of delivering the material at the side track in Sandstone. He was thus occupied two years. At 20, he became his "own man " and went to Tonia, where he engaged in rafting square timber from Lyons to Ionia and Grand Rapids. He worked as a laborer on the extension of the Detroit & Mil- waukee railroad from St. John's to Grand Rapids until the track was completed to Ionia, when he took a contract to build two and a half miles west of that city. When the road was in running order, Mr. Cuff became Section Master between Lyons and Ionia, and served a year in that position. He acted the next year as Division Master between St. John's and Saranac. He resigned the latter post, and took a contract to fence both sides of the railroad track from Ionia to Lyons. The job occupied a year, and on its completion Mr. Cuff went to Hubbardston, in lonia County, and entered the employ of a heavy lumber firm as foreman in their mill and lumber yards. He remained with them four years, and then obtained a situation as clerk in a drug store in Hubbardston.

In 1862, the public interest in the fact that armed rebellion had grown to such proportions as to engage the attention of the whole civilized world superseded every private ambition. The impulses of the emer- gency swayed every class of men, and the response of Michigan to the sentiment which ruled the sum- mer and autumn of 1862 gave the grand Peninsular State a prestige whose record will glorify the pages of history while time endures. Mr. Cuff enlisted at Hubbardston in Co. K, 21st Mich. Vol. Inf., Capt. Herman Baroth, and was in the service of the United States nearly three years. On the organization of the company, Mr. Cuff was appointed Sergeant, and Nov. 12, 1863, was promoted to the position of Sec- ond Lieutenant. The regiment was mustered out June 8, 1865. Mr. Cuff participated in the following engagements : Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Savannah, Averys- boro and Bentonville. After receiving his discharge, he came to St. Louis and opened an establishment for the sale of boots, shoes and groceries, in company with James S. Eager. He sold out at the end of two years, and engaged with H. L. Holcomb as foreman in his mills and lumber yard. He officiated in that position seven years. In 1876, he bought a farm of

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40 acres in Pine River Township, on section 36, which he still owns. The place is all cleared and finely improved. In the years 1880-1-2, Mr. Cuff was engaged in buying grain for Nelson & Barber, of Ithaca.

Mr. Cuff has been the incumbent of responsible public positions ever since he became a citizen of Gratiot County. In 1872 he was elected Trustee of the village of St. Louis and retained the position two years. The following year he officiated as Village Assessor, and in 1874 filled the same office. In 1875 he was elected President of the Board of Trustees of St. Louis and again in 1876. In 1877 he was elected Supervisor of Pine River Township and was successively re-elected five times. In 1880-1 he served as President of the Village Board. In the fall of 1882 he was the Fusion candidate for Repre- sentative of Gratiot County, and ran against A. B. Darragh. Probably two more popular candidates were never in the field in a local election. Mr. Cuff made a vigorous and well-nigh successful campaign, virtually securing a triumph, as Mr. Darragh won by only 34 votes. In January, 1883, Mr. Cuff was ap- pointed Under-Sheriff of Giatiot County by K. P. Peet, and is at present discharging the obligations of the position. His record affords a fine illustration of the inherent value of republican institutions to men of energy, perseverance and self-respect. He was born heir to the grand American privilege of unob- structed effort, and he applied himself manfully and creditably to his struggle with opportunity The victory he carries on his banners is the just reward of his integrity and endeavors.

Mr. Cuff was married at Hubbardston, Dec. 10, 1859, to Harriet E., daughter of Elijah and Sarah (Goodwin) Marlett. Her father was born Nov. 30, 1802, in Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and was the son of Peter and Mercy Marlett, natives of New Jersey. He grew to manhood in the town of Penfield, Mon- roe C'o., N. Y., and was married Sept. 17, 1826, to the daughter of Chauncey and Sarah (Hubbard) Goodwin. After their marriage they went to Roch- ester, N. Y., where Mr. Marlett worked about one year as a carpenter and builder, removing at the ex- piration of that time to Steuben, Oneida C'o., N. Y. He lost his health and came to Michigan in 1836 and settled at lonia. His wife came in 1837. Their family included six children, born as follows : Rich-

ard Ely, March 18, 1829; Clinton Erastus, Feb. 12, 1832; Sarah Maria, Oct. 20, 1834 ; Celia Sophia, April 17, 1837; W. H. H. July 21, 1841 ; Harriet E. (Mrs. Cuff), April 13, 1843. Mr. Marlett died at Ionia, Mich., Feb. 24, 1845, of lingering consump- tion, from which he was a sufferer 21 years. He left a wife and four children. He was a man of integ- rity and exalted Christian character and left a record of honesty and uprightness which is still fresh and green in the memory of many, though nearly 40 years have gone since he passed to the shelter of a home " whose curtain never outward swings." Chaun- cey Goodwin, the grandfather of Mrs. Cuff, died Feb. 17, 1788. Her grandmother was born in Mid- dletown, Conn., Nov. 2, 1790. Mrs. Marlett was born Oct. 13, 1809, in Steuben, Oneida Co., N. Y., and is the oldest of 14 children, seven of whom are living. After her husband's death she maintained and brought up her four children, residing at Ionia until 1862, when she came with her youngest daugh- ter to St. Louis, where she is still a resident and is nearly 75 years old. Her oldest son, Richard E., became a soldier and enlisted in 1863, in the 21st Mich. Vol. Inf. He was attacked with camp diarrhea and sent, March 13, 1865, to Danel's Island Hos- pital, N. Y., where erysipleas set in, and he died March 29, 1865. .

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Portrait and biographical album of Gratiot county, Mich., Part 67

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers Number of Pages: 856

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 856