USA > Michigan > Isabella County > Portrait and biographical album of Isabella county, Mich., containing portraits and biographical sketches > Part 52
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He was married in Coe Township, June 8, 1869, to Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel and Olive Brickley, natives of New York State. Mrs. G. was born in Summit, Jackson Co., Mich., Sept. 6, 1851. Mr. G. is a member of the I.O. O. F., and is politically a Democrat. He was appointed Deputy Sheriff in Jan- uary, 1883, of which position he is still incumbent.
charles E. Westlake, Postmaster at Mt. Pleasant and dealer in drugs, medicines, wall paper, etc., was born Aug. 20, 1853, at Long Lake, Mich., and is a son of Rev. Eli and Mary E. (Waterman) Westlake. His father was a minister of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and passed most of his life in the active duties of his profession in Michigan.
Mr. Westlake was a pupil in the common schools until he reached the age of 14 years, when he was
sent to the College at Albion, in Calhoun Co., Mich., where he pursued a classical course of study four years. In 1869 he went to the gold mines of Wyo- ming Territory, in company with his father, and there spent about eight months. He returned East, and in 1870 he came to Mt. Pleasant. Soon after his arrival, in company with J. W. Long, he engaged in the drug business, continuing to operate in that connection three years.
In December, 1872, Mr. Westlake was appointed Postmaster at Mt. Pleasant, and has continued to discharge the duties of the position since to the sat- isfaction of the public. He received a re-appoint- ment in 1883 for four years. He re-opened his drug store in October, 1881, and is engaged in the trans- action of a prosperous business His stock is valued at $3,000, and his trade requires the aid of two assistants.
Mr. Westlake was married Feb. 18, 1879, at Mt. Pleasant, to Jennie, daughter of Lorenzo and Virginia Graves. Mrs. Westlake was born July 8, 1861, in Warsaw, Ky.
ames Barry, of the firm of Sweeney & Co., dealers in groceries, crockery, produce, seeds, baled hay, etc., at Mt. Pleasant, was born May 24, 1852, in Toronto, Can. He is a son of John and Johanna (Harrington) Barry, and was reared on a farm. When he was 18 years old he became a sailor on the great lakes and followed that vocation about 18 months. At the ex- piration of that time he returned to the profession of agriculture, and bought 120 acres of land in Mid- dlesex Co., Can., where he managed business as a farmer and stock-dealer.
In November, 1881, he came to Mt. Pleasant and formed a partnership with F. A. Sweeney in the bus- iness referred to. They bought the site of the build- ing where they now transact business, and erected the same. It is 90 by 20 feet in extent, two stories high, with a brick front. Connected therewith, is a fire-proof warehouse two stories in height. They carry a well assorted stock of goods, and are operat- ing successfully. In the fall of 1883 they built their warehouse on Main Street, near the Flint & Pere
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Marquette Railroad depot, where they press hay. The machine has a capacity of one car load per day, and the firm also deal heavily in produce.
A llen J. Struble, M. D)., residing at Salt River, is a son of J. J. and Harriet F. (Os- borne) Struble (sec sketch of J. J. Struble), and was born in Fulton Co., Ohio, April 14, 1853. He was 14 years of age when the family came to this county. He attended first the district school, then two terms at the graded school of Day- ton, Ohio, and finally graduated at the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati. Completing his studies, he formed a partnership with his father, J. J. Struble, at Salt River, where he has since continued in the prac- tice of his profession.
He was married at Alma, Gratiot Co., Mich., Jan. 1, 1875, to Annie A., daughter of Richard Hoy, of Coe Township. Two children, Nellie and Grace G., have been added to the household.
Dr. S. is politically a Republican. He is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F. and F. & A. M., and has been Clerk of his township for three years.
oses Brown, merchant at Mt. Pleasant, was born in October, 1829, in Poland. He is the son of Samuel and Hannah (Jalinski) Brown, natives of Poland, where they both died. His father was a merchant, and the son was trained to the same business, entering the store at 16. When he was 19 years old he accompanied his father to the United States and settled in the city of New York, where they remained two years, Mr. Brown, of this sketch, operating mean- while as a peddler, in order to maintain himself while he obtained a knowledge of the language and customs of the people of this country. His father and himself were in possession of one dollar in money on their arrival, but found friends in New York they had known in their native land. The father was a tailor by trade, and he found employment without difficulty, and they were soon in comfortable circum- stances.
Mr. Brown found his calling as a peddler remun-
erative, and he continued to follow it about 20 years. He came to Detroit about 1851, and in 1861, on the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, he became a soldier, enlisting at St. John's, Clinton County, in Co. B, Eighth Mich. Vol. Inf., Capt. Pratt. Mr. Brown was in the military service of the United States three years, and was attached to the Army of the Potomac. Among the engagements in which he participated was the siege of Beaufort, Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Fort Sumter, Newport News, Culpeper Court-House, Bull Run (second), Fredericksburg and numberless minor skirmishes. He returned to Mich- igan after receiving honorable discharge, and in the spring of 1865 he came to Mt. Pleasant.
He at once opened a general mercantile establish- ment, which he has since conducted. He is also as- sociated with Frederick Dane in buying furs, hides, farmers' produce, etc., operating somewhat after the method of pioneer countries, keeping a sort of trading post. Mr. Brown has a ware-house at Mt. Pleasant, where he traffics in lime, coal, cement and general building materials. He also owns his residence and 60 acres of land adjoining the village corporation on the east, 40 acres southwest of the village on section 14 of Union Township, and 80 acres on section 17 of Lincoln Township. He is a member of the Masonic Order.
Mr. Brown was married May 20, 1868, in Detroit, to Mary Farinbacher, a native of Bavaria. She was born March 15, 1849. Six children have been born of the union ; they are Anna, Samuel, Jennie, Alice, Fannie and Harry.
The father of Mr. Brown returned to his estates in Poland in 1853, where he died, in 1870.
oreen H. Parsons, farmer on section 33, Coe Township, is a son of Worham and Chloe (Harmon) Parsons, natives of Con- necticut. The parents first settled in Connect- icut, then lived one year in Ontario Co., N. Y., and then made their last move, to Geauga Co., Ohio, where they died, he in August, 1855, and she Sept. 23, same year.
The subject of this narrative was born in Geauga Co., Ohio, June 10, 1818, received a common-school education and remained at home until about 20 years of age. He learned the trade of blacksmithing, which
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he followed about 15 years. In June, 1856, he came to Isabella County and bought 80 acres on section 30, Coe Township, which he worked five years. Sell- ing out, he then purchased an equal tract on section 33, where he now resides. He has 45 acres under cultivation.
He was married in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, Oct. 28, 1838, to Permelia, daughter of Nicanor and Lovisa Munson, natives of the State of New York. She was born in Chenango Co., N. Y., May 7, 1820, and has been the mother of five children, three of whom sur- vive : Sidney N., Harvey S. and Horace A. . The de- ceased are Alonzo C. and Elizabeth A.
Mr. P. has held the different school offices in his district, and in the spring of 1881 he was elected Justice of the Peace, which office he continues to hold. Mr. and Mrs. P. are members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church. Politically, Mr. P. is a Re- publican.
3 ajor James Webb Long, Editor of the Mt. Pleasant Times, was born at Hills- borough, Orange Co., N. C., June 20, 1840. His father, Edwin R. Long, was an officer in the Second Regt. U. S. Reg. Inf., and, when James was an infant, was ordered to Buffalo, N. Y., where the regiment was stationed at the bar- racks, Major Casey being in command. In 1844 it was ordered to Detroit and stationed at the barracks, Col. Hugh Brady being in command, with his head- quarters in the city,-or village, as it was then. The location of the barracks is now a point of historical interest. Arbeiter Hall stands near what was the center of the old barracks, and the wooden building standing back of it is the one that was occupied by Lieuts. Long and Burnett.
Lieut. E. R. Long had read medicine, and gradu- ated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, intending to resign; but in a post-mortem examination he cut his finger, resulting in erysipelas, from which he died in a few days; and Lieut. I. R. D. Burnett, who had nursed him tenderly, caught the infection and died a week afterwards, and both are buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
From Detroit, Major Long's mother, with her three children, went to North Carolina, where they re-
mained for one year, returning from there to Buffalo, where they lived until 1851. During this time Mrs. Long married William Lovering, Jr., and the family lived happily together until her death in 1851. A short time after her death, the subject of this biogra- phy was sent to North Carolina to complete his edu- cation under the care of his paternal grandfather, Hon. John Long, of Randolph County. While there, he attended the Collegiate Institute, presided over by Rev. Simeon Colton, D. D., first President of Am- herst College, and there he graduated in the higher branches, including the languages. He went into the stores of James Webb and P. Brown Ruffin, of Hills- borough, where he learned mercantile customs and also practical book-keeping. Afterwards he studied medicine under his uncle, Dr. J. Wesley Long, a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and read law under another uncle, Hon. William J. Long, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill.
In 1859, he again came North to visit relatives in Buffalo, and after being employed in various occupa- tions, he secured the position of local editor of the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, afterwards as corre- spondent of the Buffalo Courier, and still later as Washington correspondent of the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, also at the time being a paid contributor to and correspondent of Russell & Tolman's " Boston Musical Journal," then the leading publication of its kind in America.
While in Washington, he became acquainted, through a letter of introduction, with Mrs. Edith Grimsley, a cousin of Mrs. President Lincoln's, then residing at the Executive Mansion. Mrs. Grimsley procured for him, as a personal favor to herself, an appointment as Second Lieutenant in the Second Regular Infantry (his father's old regiment), his com- mission dating August 5, 1861. He was ordered to join his company, B, then at Rolla, Mo., and pro- ceeded there at once. He found a brigade of regular troops, composed of three companies of the First In- fantry, two of the Second, Crittenden's and Stanley's cavalary, and Totten's and Sokalski's batteries of artillery, under the command of Gen. Fred Steele. Lieut. Long was appointed acting Assistant Adjutant General of the brigade, besides having command of his company. From Rolla the command was ordered to St. Louis, where, as survivors of the battle of Wil-
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son's Creek, they met with a grand reception. From St. Louis, they were ordered (after a short stay at Benton Barracks) to Jefferson City, at which place Lieut. Long was taken down with typhoid fever, and sent to St. Louis for medical treatment. From there, after his convalescence, he joined his company at Sedalia, Mo., from which place he was ordered to Washington, where the regimental headquarters were established.
He spent the winter of 1861-2 in Washington on provost duty, and marched into Virginia with the Army of the Potomac under Mcclellan. The cam- paigns of that army having become a matter of com- mon history, it is not necessary to take space here to record them. At the battle of Gaines' Mill, Va., June 27, 1862, Lieut. Long was severely wounded, being shot in the foot, the left wrist, and through the right side of the face, thoroughly disabling him.
He returned to Buffalo, on sick leave, and was ordered after a while on duty as recruiting officer. From there he was ordered to rejoin his regiment in the field, but on his arrival at Washington he was ordered to report to Maj. Gen. S. P. Heintzelman, commanding the Department, for duty as mustering officer. After being stationed at Washington and Arlington House (being on the staff of Gen. De Russy), he was promoted to a Captaincy and ordered to join his regiment at Beverly Ford, Va. (1863). From there the regiment was ordered to New York, to assist in quelling the draft riots, after which they returned to their old camp at Beverly Ford.
From here they took part in the Virginia cam- paigns, Major Long being in command of his regi- ment most of the time, participating in the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, from which place he was ordered to Alexandria, for medical treatment, and from there to Annapolis, Md., where he was placed in military command of the Officers' Hospital. From there he was ordered to Louisville, Ky., on mustering duty; from there to Newport Barracks, on recruiting service; from there to Trenton, N. J., and while there he filled the positions of recruiting officer, mustering officer, disbursing officer, Assistant Adju- tant General, Post Adjutant, in charge of draft and credits, A. A. Q. M. and A. A. C. S.
From Trenton he was ordered to Newport Bar- racks, Ky .; from there to Louisville, Ky .; from there the command of the post of Jeffersonville, Indiana;
from there to Louisville; from there to the command of the post of Warsaw, Ky., at which place, Feb. 19, 1867, he was married to Miss Annie Graves, a daughter of Hon. L. Graves. From Warsaw, he was ordered back to Louisville, and from there to A'- lanta, Ga., where he was left on waiting orders on account of physical disability resulting from his wounds, and ordered to await orders at Warsaw, Ky.
While there he was detailed as Indian Agent for the State of Michigan and ordered to Detroit, to re- lieve William H. Brockway. Major Long held the position of Indian Agent during the most important period of its existence. The country in which the Indian reservations were situated, was being stunted in their growth by the Indian lands not being taxable or the titles transferable. Major Long set to work earnestly, and to him Isabella County owes the pres- ent flourishing condition of its northern portion by reason of his procuring the Indians their patents from the Government. Although the duties were onerous and in hundreds of cases required the most critical judgment, as he was necessarily the sole ar- biter and judge, yet with different interests pressing their claims upon him, he so conducted the immense business that when he resigned he carried with him not only the respect of all classes of citizens, but the unqualified endorsement and confidence of the In- dian Department at Washington, and the lasting good will of his Indian wards.
He filled the above position until 1871, when he resigned, removing first to Saginaw and afterwards to Isabella County, where he now resides. He received, during his military service, two brevets, both being for gallant and meritorious services in action; one being for brevet Captain for Gaines' Mill, Va., and the other for brevet Major for the Wilderness, Va.
Shortly after settling in Isabella County, Major Long assumed the editorship of the Isabella County Enterprise, holding the position for four years, and building it up from a weakly folio into a vigorous quarto. Afterwards he became editor of the Mt. Pleasant Times, and Nov. 19, 1879, he purchased the office which he is at present conducting. In April, 1884, he purchased the Farwell Register, which he also controls.
Major Long's connection with journalism dates back a good many years, beginning as a paid literary contributor to the Newbern (N. C.) Daily Progress,
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in 1858, under the noms de plume of "Gabriella," "Phixanella " and " Florine." After his return North he became associated with journalism again as be- fore stated, and, besides being on the regular staff and correspondent of the Boston Musical Journal, he also at times has contributed articles to some of the leading magazines, notably among others, Frank Leslie's publications. Major Long has also had 36 pieces of original music published, all of which have met with a good sale, while a good percentage have met with a flattering reception from the public.
His family is a decidedly political and literary one. His grandfather, John Long, of Randolph Co., N. C., represented his district in Congress for eight years ; while two of his uncles were in the State Legislature. One of them, James A., was also editor of the Greens- borough (N. C.) Patriot. A cousin, Họn. William H. Hilliard, of Alabama, has been Governor of that State, United States Senator, Minister to Belgium, and latterly Minister to Brazil. On his mother's side another cousin, Hon. Graham N. Fitch, of Logans- port, Ind., has been United States Senator from that State. His wife, formerly Miss Graves, is also re- lated to some of our most notable men. Her father was Judge of the Court in the district in which he resided, and by maternal descent she is related to Gen. Wade Hampton, of North Carolina; on her father's side she is related to the Branhams of Virginia.
Major Long's family is one well known in the Regular Army. His father graduated at the United States Military Academy at West Point, in 1829, and subsequently married Phebe Ann Fitch. The issue of this marriage were John O., Helen M. and James W. John Osmond graduated at West Point in 1854, and was assigned to the Second Infantry. Helen M., his sister, married William Montgomery Gard- ner, a Captain in the same regiment, who was a graduate of the class of 1846. Two maternal aunts were married to two Lieutenants in the same regi- ment, viz .: Charlotte Fitch to Lieut. I. R. D. Bur- nett, and Jane Fitch to Lieut. Alex. T. Hoffman. So that from 1829 to 1871, the date of Major Long's resignation, there has always been a representative of the family in the regiment. Lieut. Alex. T. Iloff- man's son, Alexander W., graduated in 1864, but was assigned to the roth Infantry. In the Navy the family was represented by Lieut. Commander Le Roy Fitch.
The regimental record is as follows: Lieut. E. R.
Long, from 1829 to 1846; Lieut. Alex. T. Hoffinan, from 1830 to 1839; Lieut. I. R. D. Burnett, from 1830 to 1846; Capt. William M. Gardner, from 1846 to 1861, afterwards Brigadier General in the Confed- erate Army; Lieut. John O. Long, from 1854 10 1861, afterwards Colonel of the 22d Reg. N. C. T., C. S. A; Major James W. Long, from 1861 to 1871.
The early life of the subject of this sketch was passed in garrison and in army circles, having been born and reared in the army, where money came and went easily, and his boyhood days having been spent under the protection of his grandfather, who was one of the rich planters in the South. His first experience of civilian life, where for himself he had to meet the world, where the motto was " Every man for himself and the Devil take the hindmost," was when he re- signed his commission and came to Isabella County to live in the fall of 1 87 r.
Having had occasion to visit this county by reason of his duties as Indian Agent, and wishing to settle in a new place, he invested in property there. On removing here he first platted a town called Long- wood, where he opened a drug-store. The place seemed to grow, by reason of the trade engendered by the presence of the Government's Indian grist and saw mills; but as they were burned and not rebuilt, he opened a store at Mt. Pleasant and purchased prop- erty here, building the St. James Hotel block in 1 874, shortly after he had completed his residence. Hav- ing brought considerable means with him, he en- deavored to run a drug-store for the benefit of the people, having one at Longwood and another at Mt. Pleasant. The temperance people having impor- tuned him successfully to disassociate the sale of wines and liquors from his business, and finding that a drug-store could not be run successfully in a new town without that, and his tastes being of a literary turn naturally, he sold out and devoted himself to journalism.
There have been five children born to Major and Mrs. Long: James Hampton, born at Louisville, Ky., April 4, 1868; Edwin Ramsey and Henry Daw- son, twin boys, born at Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 3, 1869 ; Annie Fitch, born at Mt. Pleasant, Nov. 21, 1873; and Montgomery Gardner, born at Mt. P'leas- ant, Nov. 26, 1878. Out of all these, around whom so many hopes were woven and so much affection given, only one remains to the stricken couple. James
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Hampton died in infancy, at Louisville, Ky., June 29, 1868; Henry Dawson died at Mt. Pleasant, Nov. 19, 1880, at the age of 11 years ; Edwin Ramsay died at Mt. Pleasant, Dec. 6, 1880; and Montgomery Gardner died at Mt. Pleasant, Dec. 11, 1880, aged 11, leaving only one child, Annie Fitch.
Lost to their childhood's sweet promise. Lost to their youth's luring strife, Lost to their manhood's proud glory, Lost to their harvest of life.
B
This severe visitation of Death was a most ter- rible one, their two twin boys 11 years old and their two-year old baby, all being taken from them in 22 days by that terrible pestilence, diphtheria; and we cannot wonder that, although the Major is still a hard and earnest worker, yet both himself and wife cannot feel resigned to their terrible loss, but can only wait as patiently as they can, until some day it will be all more plain why they were so afflicted, and when they hope to see and kiss their little ones once more. Of course the portrait of Maj. Long appears in this ALBUM, on a preceding page.
saac Ingersoll, farmer on section 26, Coe Township, is a son of Daniel D. and Eunice (Button) Ingersoll, natives of Connecticut. The parents left that State for New York, and settled in Cortland County, where they died.
The subject of this biography was born in Fairfield Co., Conn., and was a year and a half old when his parents removed to New York. He lived at home until 20 years old, and then worked at car- pentry for two years, and becoming acquainted with the use of tools he spent three years in learning the carpenter and joiner's trade in Otsego Co., N. Y. He then came to Ingham Co., Mich., where he fol- lowed his trade for three years. In the spring of 1856, he came to Isabella County and took up 160 acres of wild land in Coe Township, under the Grad- uation Act. He now owns 120 acres, 80 of which are in a good tillable condition.
He was first married in Cortland Co., N. Y., May 3, 1846, to Jane Tripp, a daughter of Daniel and Betsey Tripp, born Oct. 9, 1829. Of this marriage 12 children have been born, nine of whom survive : Lewis B., Henry A., Sarah J., Isaac F., .Alfred M., Charles, George, Edwin F. and Arthur C. The de- ceased are Amanda R., Inis J. and Mary A. Mrs.
I. dying Sept. 4, 1873, he was again married, at St. Louis, Gratiot County, March 23, 1875, to Lizzie A., daughter of David and Lydia (Huber) Dutt, and widow of Conrad Riess, who died in Venango Co., Pa., June 19, 1868. Mrs. I. was born in Venango Co ... Pa., March 1, 1843. She has by her first mar- riage three sons, Henry K., Conrad V. and Charles L., and by her second, two daughters, Emma M. and Flora E.
Mr. I. has been Constable two years, Justice of the Peace four years and Township Treasurer one year. He is politically a Republican, and religiously, he and wife are members of the Disciples' Church.
rville W. Stebbins was born June 19, 1861, in Bethany Township, Gratiot County, four miles north of St. Louis. His parents, Wil- liam L. and Lucinda (Francisco) Stebbins, re- moved, when he was three years of age, to the village of St. Louis. His father spent some time there working at his trade as machinist, and is now managing a boot and shoe store.
Mr. Stebbins employed his youthful years in the acquirement of his education, and at the age of 19 began to fit himself for the business of a harness- maker. He learned the details of that vocation with thoroughness and opened a shop at Ithaca, which was owned by his brother, F. A. Stebbins. He con- tinned its management one year, when he went to Solomon Valley, Kansas, and spent seven months herding sheep. In May, 1883, he came to Mt. Pleas- ant and formed an association with Herbert W. Bennett, in the music business, afterwards being in partnership with B. F. Kyes. In April, 1884, he withdrew and is now traveling in the West.
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