Portrait and biographical album of Gratiot county, Mich., Part 70

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

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member of the Royal Arcanum and owns a small farm in Bethany Township.

Mr. Salisbury was married May 17, 1854, to Sarah Ann, daughter of Asa Himes, of Orleans Co., N. Y. She was born in Shelby, that county, Feb. 3, 1832. Following are the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Salisbury : Frank, born June 5, 1857, in Orleans Co., N. Y .; Nettie L., born July 30, 1866, in Lena- wee Co., Mich .; Nellie J., born July 28, 1868, at St. Louis. Hattie, eldest child, was born in Orleans County, in November, 1855, and died in the summer of 1867, at Battle Creek, Calhoun County. Frank Salisbury is accountant in the banking house of A. B. Darragh, at St. Louis.

ames Kress, retired agriculturist, resident at Alma was born Feb. 25, 1804, in Yates Co., N. Y. He is a son of Samuel and Catherine (Slaughter) Kress, who were natives of New Jersey. They located on a farm in Yates Co., N. Y., where they resided until they died.

Mr. Kress was the fourth son of eight children born to his parents. He acquired a common-school education and assisted on the farm of his father un- til he was 24 years old. In 1834 he bought So acres of land in Jackson Co., Mich., on which he settled and resided until 1855. In that year he sold his property and bought 320 acres of land in Pine River Township. After managing his estate nine years he sold 160 acres and fixed his residence at Alma. He has since disposed of nearly all his farm and lives in comfortable retirement after a long and active period of years.

Mr. Kress was married Nov. 4, 1829, in Yates Co., N. Y., to Mary, third daughter of Hugh and Rachel (Smith) Hulse. The parents were natives of the Empire State and subsequent to their marriage set- tled in Orange County, in that State. They after- wards went to Ovid, N. Y., and after a residence of nearly 20 years went to Yates County. Later on they again changed their residence to Poultney and still later went to Illinois, where the mother died. The father died in Yates County. They had nine children. Mrs. Kress was born Oct. 9, 1809, in Ovid. Of her marriage to Mr. Kress, eight children

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Martin

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have been born, six of whom are living. Samuel and James died in infancy. Those yet living are, -- Thompson H., Mary J., Garword E., Theron T., Richard A. and Rachel A. Mr. Kress is a Demo- crat in political faith.

At the dite of the location of Mr. Kress in Gra- tiot County this section of the Peninsular State was a vast wilderness. He cut his way 20 miles into the heart of the forest and wrought out success from the original, natural condition of things. His expe- riences differ in no wise from those whose combined energies and well-directed efforts have made this county bud and bloom in beanty and prosperity.

enry M. Martin, resident at St. Louis, was born Oct 24, 1843, in La Grange, Lorain Co., Ohio, and is the eldest child of Philo B. and Orilla (Smith) Martin. His father was born March 27, 1821, in Jefferson Co., N. Y., and went in early life to Lorain Co., Ohio, where he was married Oct. 14, 1842. His wife was born Feb. 27, 1823. Three children were born to them: Hen- ry M., as stated, Mary Jane, Nov. 2, 1846, and An- drew N., Sept. 30, 1854. The family came to Batavia, Branch Co., Mich., in 1846, where the father bought a farm and resided eight years. The younger son, now resident at St. Louis, was born there. In 1856, the senior Martin transferred his family and interests to Sigourney, Keokuk Co., Iowa, removing thither with two two-horse teams, driving the entire route. He established a grocery and provision store and a large livery at Sigourney, and also ran a line of mail coach- es, one year, between that place and Iowa City. In 1859, he went to Wise Co, Texas, for the purpose of starting a stock ranch, and his family returned to Lo - rain Co., Ohio. The husband announced his safe arrival and was heard from with regularity until the outbreak of the Rebellion, when all traces of him were lost and his fate is wholly unknown.

Two years after leaving Iowa, the family went to Freeport, Wood Co., Ohio, where Mr. Martin, of this sketch, interested himself in agriculture, in which he was occupied until 1864, when he entered the mili- tary service of the United States. He enlisted March 18, under Capt. A. J. Snyder, in Co. C, 72d Ohio Vol.

Inf., Col. Eaton. His regiment was attached to the command of Gen. Sturgis and was in the Western Army. He was under fire in the engagement at Pa- ducah, Ky., and went thence to Memphis, whence the regiment was ordered in pursuit of Gen. Forrest. After the battle of Gunntown, Miss., his command made a retreat of 150 miles, and when within 22 miles of the Union lines was captured by the rebels. The hasty, disorderly flight was one of the severest experiences of army life Mr. Martin had at that time encountered, and was a period of intense hardships and privation. All the food he was able to obtain for four days was a handful of plums. But worse was to follow in the horrors of Andersonville, whose atroc- ities outstripped the infamous record of the destruc- tion of the Sepoys in India, and rival those of the Black Hole of Calcutta. The food at the outset seemed intolerable, and some attempt at cookery was made previous to its distribution, but the latter was soon abandoned, and toward the finale the rations consisted of a half a pint of cob-meal for each 24 hours. The captives were obliged to cook it them- selves, which feat was accomplished by moistening, placing in a half canteen and holding it over a flame until slightly warmed. They burrowed in the earth for shelter and built over them sloping roofs of sticks and mud, which were most effective when least need- ed. In fair weather, they could be preserved in good order, but wind and rain soon demolished the inse- cure protections. Thousands of pens have tried to fairly delineate and adequately anathematize the stockade prison at Andersonville, but all the combined efforts and concentrated opinions and expressions in the range of human thought and feeling utterly fail. Some went insane; large proportions died from dis- ease and privation ; some sought death at the hands of the monsters, who stood at every point, at all hours waiting for the chance to glut their savage appetites for blood, by shooting without mercy all who crossed the " dead line;" some nerved themselves to endure to the end all that Southern ingenuity could inflict, and a portion of them surmounted their hardships solely by force of will, determining, as they expressed it, to outlive the whole Southern Confederacy. Mr. Martin was one of the latter, but the privations ard indignities to which he was subjected, broke the vig- or. of his manhood and undermined his hardy con- stitution. He was captured June 13, 1864, and, in September following, was sent with a large number of

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comrades to Rough and Ready, near Atlanta, Ga., for special exchange, which had been stipulated be- tween llood and Sherman ; but the detachment was rejected and sent to Savannah. A few weeks later they were transferred to Milan, where they remained until December. Sherman was then on his historic " march to the sea " and designed their release, but the rebels sent their captives to Blackshire, literally into the woods, in order to secure greater secrecy and security. They remained there some weeks, enduring all man- ner of suffering, which was greatly increased by the exposure to which they were subjected in addition to other privations.

When Sherman and his army were well on the way to Savannah, and no chance of relief probable or possible, the Union prisoners were marched 60 miles to .Albany, "carred " like cattle, and once more sent to Andersonville, where they again encountered a series of horrors second to none in the historical an- nals of the world. As Mr. Martin does not wish to do the rebels any injustice, he feels constrained to mention that a few times the luxury of fresh meat was furnished the prisoners. Slaughtered cattle were sent for the benefit of the guards, who generously contributed the hides and heads for the special treat of the captives, and the famished men seized with eagerness the abominable refuse. The hides were boiled and the hair pulled out, and among other pieces which fell to Mr. Martin's share at various times were chunks of the heads, with the eyes of the creatures still in the sockets. It was no time to be squeamish, and nothing in the shape of food was rejected. On the 9th of April, 1865, came the utter collapse of the whole scheme of the infuriated and misguided South, and, on the 29th of the month, the prison authorities played their last card in human diabolism. The Unionists who had survived their sufferings and preserved sufficient strength to main- tain an upright posture were hurried to a point 20 miles from Jacksonville, Fla., the remotest Southern point available, and turned loose to make their way homeward as best they could. Mr. Martin walked to Jacksonville, and was sent thence to Columbus, Ohio, where he was discharged June 19, 1865. His feelings can be imagined when he saw the sleek, well-dressed rebels furnished with transportation home, and a crisp, new two-dollar greenback, and compared them with himself in the garb a beggar

would scorn, his pantaloons tattered and frayed and worn away nearly to his knees, and the sleeves of his coat in the same disintegrated condition, his entire outfit being in rags, which were held together with wooden pins. He had been hatless for months, but had the good fortune to discover a hat lying over the dead line just previous to his release, and, by the aid of a stick, succeeded in securing it, together with the head which it afterward protected. It was a bitter trial to contemplate the difference, but he was thank- ful to belong to a race which, though it was the ag- grieved party, had in it no elements of cruelty or malicious revenge.

He returned to Freeport, Ohio, after receiving his discharge, and within the same year, 1865, came to Michigan. He bought 40 acres of land in the town- ship of Newark, Gratiot County, and by hard labor succeeded in clearing six acres during the following fall and winter. In the spring of 1866 he came to St. Louis, where, in company with Levi Alguyre, his brother-in-law, he established a livery stable. Their business was prosperous, and included the heavy freighting from St. John's to St. Louis, incident to the condition of the country, then without railroads, and with a large population with pressing needs. The relation of Messrs. Martin & Alguyre continued a year, when the former became sole proprietor by pur- chase. He was variously connected with different persons until Sept. 5, 1883, when he disposed of his stable and fixtures to George Deveraux. In company with John Goff, he is now engaged in building a double brick block of three stories at St. Louis. He also owns three stores south of the site of the new building. They are erected on a plat of ground 82 feet and 10 inches on Mill Street, and 165 feet on Washington Avenue. The remainder of his property includes his residence on Center Street, and a half interest in Block 33, less three lots which have been sold. Mr. Martin was Marshal of the village of St. Louis during the years 1879-8o.

He was married Oct. 21, 1869, at St. Louis, to Lizzie A., daughter of Sylvenus and Mary A. (Loomis) Ewell. She was born Oct. 27, 1850, in Shiawassee Co., Mich. Mrs. Martin is a member of the Ewell family, whose genealogy has been traced to 1734, when John Ewell, the earliest known ancestor, was born in Scotland, from whom she is fifth in line of direct descent. John Ewell became the father of

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC L'MARY

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France's Nelson

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nine children, and his eldest son, James, was the grandfather of Sylvenus Ewell, father of Mrs. Mar- tin. The neat, well-arranged volume, is the work of her uncle, Ervin H. Ewell, and is of incalculable value to the later generations of the family. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin as follows: George E., Dec. 2, 187 1 ; Helen May, June 10, 1875 ; Fred. H., Sept. 15, 1877 ; Mabel A., July 16, 1880. The mother of Mr. Martin died at St. Louis May 28, 1876. His sister, Mrs. Alguyre, died Jan. 18, 1877, and left three children: Nora, Carrie and Minnie. Cora and Philo, eldest and youngest, died before her. The brother of Mr. Martin, Andrew N., is the present Marshal of St. Louis.

The portrait of Mr. Martin is presented on another page of the Gratiot County Album. He is essentially a self-made man. The traits of character which enabled him to surmount the hardships of Anderson- ville have characterized his career since the loss of his father entailed upon him the responsibilities of the family, so painfully deprived of its head and sup- port. He began with only his remarkable physical hardihood and his indomitable perseverance and en- ergy, incited by his strong regard for ties of home and kindred. Men do nobly to carve out fortunes in their single strength when burdened only with their own maintenance. Mr. Martin has accomplished much more than ordinary self-made men, as he has discharged meanwhile every known filial and frater- nal duty, and won a position for his family which does him credit, and will be the best heritage he will leave to his children, for whose sakes he puts on per- manent record the unembellished account of his course of life and the imprint of his features.

rancis Nelson was born in Otsego Co., N. Y., July 15, 1808. He was the fifth of a family of eleven children. His father, Josiah Nelson, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and was born in Massachusetts, Sept. 9, 1773, and died in Lockport, N. Y., Dec. 4, 1847. His mother, Lucy Rice, was born in Connecticut, Sept. 22, 1778, and died in Mexico, N. Y., June 13, 1857. In 1812, his parents moved from Otsego County to Seneca Co., N. Y., a comparatively new

region at that period. Again, in 1826. they moved to Lockport, N. Y., and settled in an almost unbroken wilderness on the verge of civilization. In 1833, he married Deborah Cotton, daughter of Lake Cotton, by whom he has had six children, four of whom are living. Deborah Cotton Nelson was born in Bata- via, N. Y., Feb. 18, 1815, and died in Arcada, Mich., Aug. 15, 1874. She was a woman of very superior qualities of mind and heart-delicately organized, sensitive and spiritual. Her life was expended in good offices to the suffering, in tenderness to the af- Alicted, and in patient self-sacrifice for those she loved.

The subject of this sketch, with his family, emi- grated to Michigan in the fall of 1835, taking a steamer up Lake Erie from Buffalo to Monroe. For a time he resided in the village of Palmyra, where was buried their first-born child, a little boy of 18 months. Afterward he settled on a farm in the township of Madison, Lenawee County. At an early day, he took an active part in local politics, and was elected a Justice of the Peace. Touching the politics of that period, he was a pronounced Whig. He was also a prominent member of the Methodist Protestant Church, and his house was the home of ministers of that and all other religious communions. In 1848, he removed to another farm in the township of Me- dina, where he resided until 1854. To relieve him- self from a burden of debt, and to provide for the necessities of a growing family of boys, he determined to sell his farm in Lenawee County, and to take Gov- ernment lands recently brought into market in Gra- tiot County, then a wild and uninhabited part of the State. He accordingly located 160 acres in what is now the township of Arcada, removing his family in October, 1854. He was literally a pioneer, having to cut several miles of trait over which to convey his household goods. He was prominent in nearly all public affairs connected with the organization and early history of Gratiot County. He was chosen Su- pervisor at the first election in the township of Ar- cada. He was very active in the county-seat con- troversy, and it was chiefly through his exertions, whilst a member of the Board of Supervisors, that the county seat was finally located at Ithaca, Feb. 28, 1856. He was three times elected Judge of Pro- bate, holding the office twelve consecutive years, and might have had a fourth term had he not voluntarily retired. In 1878, he was married the second time, to

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Mrs. Ann Burgess, widow of the late Russell Bur- gess, of Arcada, since which time he has resided near his son, William, at Cedar Lake, Montcalm County.

In 1864, Mr. Nelson embraced the doctrines of that body of Christians called Adventists, amongst whom he holds a leading position. He has written and published several pamphlets in defense of their peculiar tenets. He has been a hard-working man all his life-has wrought, for the most part, on the frontiers of civilization, building well for those who should come after him. He is a man of much nat- ural vigor of intellect and force of character. Had he enjoyed the advantages of an education, he might have succeeded eminently in some professional ca- reer. ITis mind was cast in the judicial mold. Few men who have read law, and have made it the occu- pation of their life, have a better understanding of its most essential principles. His superior judgment, his universally recognized integrity, and his blame- less character in every way, have always given him a commanding influence with his neighbors. However they might differ with him as to his opinions, or his courses of conduct, none would believe that they were other than those of an honest man. He has been pre-eminently a good citizen-self-sacrificing, public-spirited and patriotic-the friend of good order, religion and common schools.

As one of the leading pioneers of Gratiot County and a man eminently worthy any honor that can be bestowed upon him, we give his portrait in connec- tion with this sketch.

en. Ralph Ely, the founder of Alma, now deceased, was born July 10, 1820, in Mar- shall, Oneida Co., N. Y. He was the son of Armenius and Electa (Munger) Ely, natives of New York. On the event of their marriage they settled in Oneida County, where they re- mained but a few years, going thence to Chautauqua County, where the father pursued the vocation of farmer and dairyman until his death in 1863. The mother died in 1836. Three sons and one daughter lived to mature age. They were born in the follow- ing order: Lucy, Ralph, Derwin and Flavius.

Until he was 19 years old Gen. Ely passed his life

as a pupil at the common schools, and as his father's assistant on the farm. In 1839 he left his native State, and after a somewhat extended tour of obser .. vation through the Western States in search of a sat- isfactory location, he settled in Wabash, Ind. He " squatted " on land that was the property of the United States Government, which he intended to pur- chase when it came into market. He made import- ant improvements thereon and after two years sold his claim. He returned to Chautauqua County and spent two years on his father's estate. In 1846, he came to Michigan and b oug320 acres of land in Ionia County. He engaged zealously in its improve- ment and resided thereon seven and a half years. He sold the place in 1854, and settled in Arcada Township, Gratiot County. That section was then in the depths of the wilderness and the General push- ed his way 20 miles from the outskirts of civilization, cutting his road as he proceeded. He bought a large tract of land for himself and other parties in Pine River and Arcada Townships, retaining as his own property 160 acres, which is the present site of the village of Alma. With the energy, zeal and persist- ency which characterized his whole life, he built a log house and at once entered into the merits of farming, lumbering and trade. He built the first saw and grist mills at Alma, and continued to operate in vari- ous avenues, calculated to enhance the prosperity and advancement of the place, until the advent of the Southern Rebellion, when, like a true son of the Peninsular State and heir to the inheritance of fealty to the Federal Government, he withdrew for the time being his interest from personal affairs, and threw him- self, heart and soul, into the work of aiding in the emergency which threatened the dismemberment of the Union. He was instrumental in raising a com- pany of soldiers under the second call for troops, and was elecled its Captain upon its organization. It was third in order and was assigned to the " Eighth Mich- igan " as Company C. In passing, it may be stated that the first and second lieutenants were also from Alma, a significant fact in the annals of the plucky little village, then about two years old.

The military career of Gen. Ely was one continu- ous record of bravery on the field. The history of his regiment is one that blazes with lustre from first to last, and the prominent annalists of the cause of the terrible internecine struggle yield their pages to

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mmortalize the deeds of the "Eighth Michigan." Its bravery and efficiency were early acknowledged, and its inscribed trophies include the most important and hardest-fought engagements of the war. But one fact need be mentioned : after action the dead of the Eighth Michigan always lay in close proximity to the battlements of the enemy. Gen. Ely was elect- ed Captain Aug. 12, 1861, and on the 21st of the same month the regiment rendezvoused at Grand Rapids, and on the 23d of September was mustered into the service of the United States. On the roth of November it went into camp with the other regi- ments of Sherman's brigade, to which it had been assigned. Its registered engagements comprise about 40 immortal names, and its latest record is, that on April 3, 1865, it was among the first to enter the city of Petersburg. General (then Captain) Ely, was wounded June 16, 1862, at Secessionville, N. C. The action of that day is better known to history as James Island, and the part performed by the Eighth Michigan is on record and will go down to the gen- erations of the future as " signally distinguished."

The assault with bayonets upon the rebel works can be adequately characterized only in the full sig- nificance of the terms "most daring and gallant." Major Watson resigned his commission Sept. 10, 1862, and on the same day Captain Ely was pro- moted to the position. Fourteen days later he was in command of the regiment, Col. Fenton having charge of the brigade. Lieut. Col. Graves resigned his post that day. Feb. 1, 1863, Major Ely was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel, and May 1, of the same year, the former incumbent of the position be- came Colonel of the regiment. Col. Graves was killed May 6, 1864, at the battle of the Wilderness, and Lieut .- Col. Ely was made Brevet Colonel United States Volunteers, July 6, 1864, for " gallant and meritorious services at the battle of the Wilderness, Va." He was afterward commissioned Colonel to rank from May 7, 1864, the day following the action for which he was brevetted. On the second of April, 1865, he was made Brigadier General United States Volunteers by brevet for "conspicuous gallantry in the assault before Petersburg, Va." He remained in the service of the United States until after the close of the war and was mustered out May 19, 1866. It became a notorious fact that the Eighth Michigan was morally certain to be detailed for spe-

cially severe duty, and early in the war acquired the cognomon of the "Wandering Regiment."

An incident is related of Gen. Ely which displays his distinguishing traits in a most marked manner. While stationed at Wilmington Island, S. C., he was sent with four men on a reconnoissance to the main land. He landed in a marsh and after cross- ing a small bridge, pushed ahead to the discharge of his duty. After making some progress he decided that a detail of rebel cavalry had discovered his party and he therefore made a precipitate retreat toward the bridge-the sole means of escape. He had the " short cut " and he made it about ten rods in ad- vance of the leading rebel officer at the head of 40 cavalry. Capt. Ely and his three men made a stand at the entrance to the bridge, guns in hand, and the enemy hesitated. Capt. Ely ordered his men to stand firm and ran a short distance, rapidly issuing orders in a loud voice, as if to a force lying in am- bush in close proximity to the bridge. He returned to his former place and confronted nearly an entire cavalry company. He doffed his cap, stepped for- ward and in a short speech, full of bravado, dared them to advance. But they took the retrograde and the four conquerers of the situation speedily placed themselves in safety. They had the satisfaction of seeing the rebels ride down to the river bank, cha- grined and self-disgusted on discovering that they had been out-generaled by Yankee shrewdness, and their mortification was in no degree lessened by the echo of "Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are march- ing," and " John Brown," sung lustily by the five Un- ion soldiers beyond the reach of their vengeance.

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Portrait and biographical album of Gratiot county, Mich., Part 70

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

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