People

Jennie (Milner) Cornwall

Winnie emma (Milner) Beecher

COLONEL OSCAR FRANCES LOCHHEAD

Colonel Oscar Francis Lochhead

One of the most distinguished surviving soldiers and officers of the Civil war in Michigan is Col. Oscar F. Lochhead of Flint, a city in which he has lived for forty-five years, and where he occupies a position of peculiar esteem and affection among all classes of people.  Born in Wayne county, Michigan, in Plymouth township, November 28, 1838, Colonel Lochhead is almost as old as the state of Michigan, and represents one of the pioneer families in the south eastern section of the state.  His parents were Mathew and Miranda (Lyon) Lochhead.  His father was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and his mother in Lima, New York state, near Avon.  Mathew Lochhead when a young single man in the early twenties came to Plymouth, Michigan.  A miller by trade, he worked at farming during his first five years in Michigan, and then found a place as miller at Plymouth with the Hardenburg Milling Company.  He was with that firm until his death in 1864 at the age of sixty years.  In politics he devoted himself actively to the Whig principles, and later became an equally staunch Republican.  He was a Unitarian in religious faith, and a man of moral probity and of fine character.  His wife was a devout Christian lady, and they reared only two children to maturity.  The daughter, Mary, became the wife of Willard Roe, of Plymouth, and she died some years ago.  Colonel Oscar Francis Lochhead was reared at Plymouth, educated in the village schools, and for a time attended an old red school house situated about a mile distant from his father's farm.  When a boy of sixteen he left home to go to Detroit, in which city he found employment as clerk in the wholesale grocery house of W. H. & J. Craig.  After several years experience there he became clerk in the hardware store of C. P. Woodruff and Company.  His progress towards business success was interrupted by the outbreak of the war.  He was among the early volunteers from the state of Michigan, and enlisted in the three months service April 21, 1861, and on May 10, 1861, in Company H, Second Michigan Infantry for three years service.  He went in as a private, and his first enlistment closed in 1863.  On December 31, 1863, he re-enlisted and fought with his command until the close of the war.  He was mustered out and given an honorable discharge at the Delaney House in Washington on July 28, 1865.  His service had lasted for four years and three months, and going in as a private he came out as First Lieutenant of Company E, Second Infantry.  At Blain's Cross Roads in Tennessee he was made corporal, in July, 1862, and was commissioned first lieutenant of Company E on October 12, 1864.  He was commissioned regimental quartermaster on September 30, 1864.  He participated in nearly all the battles in which the Second Infantry was engaged, and his service was both in the great seat of the war in Virginia and also in the South.  His first fight was at Blackburn's Ford in Virginia, just three days before the first battle of Bull Run.  He was at the siege of Yorktown, at Williamsburg, at Fair Oaks, Glendall, Malvern Hill, at the second battle of Bull Run, at Chantilly, at Fredricksburg, the siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Mississippi, Blue Springs, Tennessee, Loudon, Lenoir Station, Campbell Station, and at the siege of Knoxville he and his comrades lived for nineteen days on three days' rations.  He was quartermaster in the battle of the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, at Cold Harbor, at Petersburg, at Pegram Farm, at Hatchers Run, Fort Steadman.  His was the first quartermaster's wagon to enter Petersburg after the fall of that city.  After this long and honorable record as a soldier, Colonel Lochhead returned to Detroit.  One year was spent as a traveling salesman, and in 1867 he came to Flint.  For eight years he served as assistant postmaster under Washington O'Donoughue, and then for ten years was a bookkeeper in the Citizens National Bank of Flint. For four years Colonel Lochhead was in the Secretary of State's office at Lansing, and since 1897 nas been in practice as a pension attorney at Flint. In politics he has been a Republican since casting his first vote in the gloomy days of the Federal war, and has done much to keep up and main tain the strength of this great political organization.  Colonel Lochhead organized and was 1st lieutenant of the Flint Union Blues, and was the first officer who ever drilled the company.  He became first lieutenant, then for four years was captain and was finally promoted to major of the Third Regiment, Michigan State Troops, and finally was colonel of the regiment until he resigned in 1882.  He has long been prominent in Grand Army circles, and for two years was commander of Governor Crapo's Post, G. A. R., and was twice assistant adjutant general for the department of Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic.  Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and the uniform rank of that order, and attends the Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member.  On January 8, 1867, Colonel Lochhead married Mary Reynolds, who was born in Flint, a daughter of Almon and Betsey (MacCumber) Reynolds.  The first child of that union was Dr. Harry B. Lochhead, who graduated in medicine from the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, and had already began a promising career as a surgeon when death called him at Pittston, Pennsylvania, October 24, 1910.  The second child was Grace E. Lochhead, who was liberally educated and performed successful service in the world as a teacher in the Deaf and Dumb Institution of Jacksonville, Illinois.  She died August 23, 1905, at Flint.  Colonel Lochhead was devoted to his children, never spared expense in educating them for their careers, and had the severe misfortune of losing both when just started in their professions.  Both children now rest in Glenwood cemetery at Flint.  For more than forty years Colonel Lochhead has lived in the third ward of Flint, with his present home at 511 West Second street.  No man in the city has more sincere friends in all the walks of life, and he has done much to deserve the esteem in which his declining years are passed. He is cheerful at all times, is a man who never worries, and is a true and tried gentleman of the old school.  

-Source: History of Michigan, Volume 2, Charles Moore, Lewis Publishing Company, 1915

Mary Lochhead

Captain John Algoe

Second Lieutenant John Algoe of the 10th Michigan .  He enlisted on the 10th October 21, 1861 and was discharged March 8, 1865 for wounds received at Jonesboro.  Michigan State University has a letter from Alex Campbell of the 10th where he writes about visiting Algoe in the hospital and describes the visit as such, "Allen and I went to see Lieut. Algoe who is here wounded.  He had his right under jaw shot away by a minie ball.  It has been a very painful wound but he is not nearly well and will probably be home in a month or so, poor fellow.  His Country owes him and other wounded heroes a debt she never can repay"   Note: permission to use the above photos and description were provided by David K. Parks. 

John Algoe was another prominent Flint citizen.  Just a couple blocks away from the Stockton mansion, in circa 1884, he built a fine brick home at 713 Oak Street.  

Franklin H. PieRCE

Franklin H. Pierce was born on October 24th, 1841 in New Hampshire and died on June 24th, 1901 after an illness of several months.  He came to Flint in 1865 and engaged in the clothing business in partnership with his brother, Edward O. Pierce.  He made his residence at 704 Oak Street. (1)   St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Flint has two stained glass windows called, "Easter Morning" that were made by the famous New York studio of Louis C. Tiffany.  The stained glass windows were given in memory of Franklin and Mary A. Pierce by their son and daughter-in-law John L. and Frances Pierce. (2)  More can be found about the magnificent stained glass windows of St. Paul's church here:  MichiganStainedGlass.org  

Notes:  (1) History of Genesee County, Michigan, her people, industries and institutions, by Edwin O. Wood, 1916, page 128.  

            (2) http://www.michiganstainedglass.org/month/month.php?month=04&year=2007, retrieved on March 18, 2018.