Selected officials of Branch County

(not intended to be complete)

Henry E. Straight (County Clerk, 1905-08) James Swain (School Commissioner) Charles U. Champion (Prosecuting Attorney) Stanley E. Weage (Prosecuting Attorney, 1921-26) William H. Frankhauser (Prosecuting Attorney)

Politicians who were born in Branch County

• No city given: Edgar J. Adams 1866
• Bethel: David E. Thompson 1854 Edwin G. Babcock 1863
• Bronson: M. Edward Doran 1895
• Near Bronson: John A. Evans 1853
• Butler Township: M. L. Evens 1865
• Coldwater: Norton D. Walling 1858 David E. Burns c.1862 Leslie Woodward 1895
• Near Coldwater: Harry W. Musselwhite 1868
• Colwater Township: Henry E. Straight 1864
• Girard: Carmi R. Smith 1862
• Noble Township: Ambrose G. Bushnell 1863 James Swain 1867
• Quincy: Blaque Knirk 1916 Mary A. Warner 1932
• Union City: O. L. Smith 1879 Orville L. Hubbard 1903 Howard Teeter 1907
• See also Mich. birthplaces not assigned to counties.

Politicians who lived in Branch County

• No city given: Wales Adams - Hiram Alden - Christopher G. Babcock - H. H. Barlow - Michael H. Cherry - William H. Frankhauser - William H. Lockerby - Thomas C. Megargle - Martin Olds - Mortimer W. Olds - S. W. Leonard Scott - Linus G. Taylor - Morgan L. Tyler - August C. Visel - Stanley E. Weage - Delbert E. Williams
• Bronson: Ambrose G. Bushnell - Kathleen Flynn - Thomas Flynn - John Kesslar - Lucius Lyon - Paul W. Shafer - Robert Stocker - Daniel Warner - J. E. Watson - Joseph E. Watson
• Coldwater:
  • Lived in Coldwater, 1800-1849: George A. Coe - Henry C. Gilbert
  • Lived in Coldwater, 1850-1899: Julius S. Barber - George A. Coe - Noah P. Loveridge - Jonas H. McGowan - Alfred Milnes - John G. Parkhurst - C. D. Randall - Charles Upson
  • Lived in Coldwater, 1900-1949: Edwin G. Babcock - Charles U. Champion - C. A. Conover - W. Glenn Cowell - Mark L. Crawford - Lyle Creel - Ford Davis - Albert A. Dorrence - M. L. Evens - Aaron O. Fox - E. R. Gamble - Ernest F. Gamble - Benjamin B. Gorman - John N. Hardy - Clayton C. Johnson - G. E. Kleindinst - H. C. Loveridge - Mrs. Elzora Lyons - Alfred G. Morency - Roy Newberry - Leroy Palmer - Edith Phelps - Marion L. Pillsbury - A. C. Shaw - A. A. Sherman - Charles Henry Snyder - Henry E. Straight - S. D. Strong - James Swain - L. M. Wing - Leslie Woodward
  • Lived in Coldwater, 1950-1999: Mark S. Andrews - Jim Bilsborrow - Marge Corey - E. Lee Feller - Roy Grigsby - John T. Jackson - John Keeslar - Frank E. Lucas - Arthur G. Lyon - Alfred G. Morency - E. Harold Munn, Jr. - Marion L. Pillsbury - John P. Smeekens - Howard Teeter - Frederick H. Weeks - Leland E. Wheeler - Dick Zeluff
  • Lived in Coldwater, 2000-2008: Ken Delaney - Jerry Fair - Mary Kinnee - Eugene F. Wallace
• Quincy: Blaque Knirk - Frank A. Lyon - Paul Porter
• Sherwood: Benjamin F. Ferris - John P. Smeekens
• Union City: Edward Bostwick - Hazel Ely - William B. Hatch - J. W. McCausey
• See also Mich. areas not assigned to counties.

Politicians who died in Branch County

• Bronson Township: Wales Adams 1879
• Coldwater: Charles Upson 1885 Cyrus G. Luce 1905 John G. Parkhurst 1906 Alfred Milnes 1916 Leslie Woodward 1980 Marion L. Pillsbury 1983 Howard Teeter 1998
• Quincy: Samuel Etheridge 1864
• See also Mich. deathplaces not assigned to counties.

Cemeteries and Memorial Sites of Politicians in Branch County

• Bronson Township Adams Cemetery
• Coldwater Oak Grove Cemetery
• Union City Unknown location

Politicians buried here:

• Wales Adams (1804-1879) — of Branch County, Mich. Born in Medway, Norfolk County, Mass., March 2, 1804. Member of Michigan state house of representatives from Branch County, 1844-45; delegate to Michigan state constitutional convention, 1850. Died in Bronson Township, Branch County, Mich., November 2, 1879. Interment at Adams Cemetery.
  
  

Politicians buried here:

• Clinton Bowen Fisk (1828-1890) — also known as Clinton B. Fisk — of New Jersey. Born December 8, 1828. Son of Benjamin Bigford Fisk and Lydia (Aldrich) Fisk; married 1850 to Jeannette Crippen. General in the Union Army during the Civil War; banker; Prohibition candidate for President of the United States, 1888. Founder of Fisk University. Died July 9, 1890. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  • See also: Wikipedia article; Find-A-Grave page.
  
  
• Cyrus Gray Luce (1824-1905) — also known as Cyrus G. Luce — of Michigan. Born in Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio, July 2, 1824. Married 1849 to Julia A. Dickinson (died 1882); married 1883 to Mary Thompson. Whig candidate for Ohio state house of representatives, 1848; member of Michigan state house of representatives from Branch County 2nd District, 1855-56; member of Michigan state senate, 1865-68 (15th District 1865-66, 13th District 1867-68); delegate to Michigan state constitutional convention, 1867; member of Michigan state board of agriculture, 1885-86; resigned 1886; Governor of Michigan, 1887-90. Member, Grange. Died in Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., March 18, 1905. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery. Luce County, Mich. is named for him.
  • See also: National Governors Association biography.
  
  
• Lewis Cass, Jr. (c.1814-1878) — U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Papal States, 1849-54; U.S. Minister to Papal States, 1854-58. Died in 1878. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  
  
• John Gibson Parkhurst (1824-1906) — also known as John G. Parkhurst — of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Oneida Castle, Oneida County, N.Y., April 17, 1824. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1860; U.S. Minister to Belgium, 1888-89. Died in Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., May 6, 1906. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  
  
• Charles Upson (1821-1885) — of Centreville, St. Joseph County, Mich.; Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Marion, Southington, Hartford County, Conn., March 19, 1821. Son of Lydia (Webster) Upson (1781-1861) and Asahel Upson (1783-1867); second cousin twice removed of Daniel Upson; married, August 4, 1852, to Sophia Upham; third cousin once removed of William Hanford Upson; fourth cousin of Harvey Washington Upson; brother of Gad Ely Upson; third cousin of Andrew Seth Upson; fourth cousin once removed of James Wesley Upson and William Hazlett Upson. Lawyer; member of Michigan state senate, 1855-56, 1881-82 (17th District 1855-56, 10th District 1881-82); Michigan state attorney general, 1861-62; U.S. Representative from Michigan 2nd District, 1863-69; circuit judge in Michigan 15th Circuit, 1869-73; resigned 1873; member of Michigan state constitutional commission 3rd District, 1873. Died in Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., September 5, 1885. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  • See also Upson family
  • See also: congressional biography.
  
  
• Alfred Milnes (1844-1916) — of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, May 28, 1844. Republican. Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; mayor of Coldwater, Mich., 1885-86; member of Michigan state senate 7th District, 1889-92; Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, 1894-95; U.S. Representative from Michigan 3rd District, 1895-97; defeated, 1896; delegate to Michigan state constitutional convention 6th District, 1907-08. Died in Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., January 15, 1916. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  • See also: congressional biography.
  
  
• Jonas Hartzell McGowan (1837-1909) — also known as Jonas H. McGowan — of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Smithtown Township, Columbiana County (now Smith Township, Mahoning County), Ohio, April 2, 1837. Republican. Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; member of University of Michigan board of regents, 1870-77; resigned 1877; member of Michigan state senate 10th District, 1873-74; U.S. Representative from Michigan 3rd District, 1877-81. Died in Washington, D.C., July 5, 1909. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  • See also: congressional biography.
  
  
• Marion L. Pillsbury (1902-1983) — also known as Pill Pillsbury — of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Metz, Steuben County, Ind., January 7, 1902. Son of Zachary A. Pillsbury and Meda (Burch) Pillsbury; married, December 1, 1925, to June Lois Merriman (1906-1985) (second cousin of Robert Lendon Bibler). Played professional basketball for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons); automobile dealer; mayor of Coldwater, Mich., 1966-70. Member, Farm Bureau; Freemasons; Exchange Club. Pillsbury Avenue in Coldwater was named for him in 1986. Died in the Community Health Center of Branch County, Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., January 2, 1983. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  • See also Howard-Bibler-Merriman-Pillsbury family of Indiana
  
  
• Samuel Etheridge (1788-1864) — Born in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass., April 15, 1788. Miller; inventor; member of Michigan state senate 7th District, 1839-40. English ancestry. Member, Freemasons. Died in Quincy, Branch County, Mich., February 18, 1864. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  
  
• Henry Clark Gilbert (1818-1864) — also known as Henry C. Gilbert — of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Salina (now part of Syracuse), Onondaga County, N.Y., July 14, 1818. Democrat. Candidate for Michigan state house of representatives, 1849; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1852; colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War. Mortally wounded at the battle of Resaca, Georgia, and died nine days later at the Military Hospital, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tenn., May 24, 1864. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  
  
• Leslie Harry Woodward (1895-1980) — also known as Leslie Woodward — of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., July 19, 1895. Republican. Mayor of Coldwater, Mich., 1935-36. Died in Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., September 4, 1980. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  
  
• Howard Teeter (1907-1998) — of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. Born in Union City, Branch County, Mich., February 13, 1907. Republican. Mayor of Coldwater, Mich., 1946; delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1964. Died in Coldwater, Branch County, Mich., December 15, 1998. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
  
  

Politicians buried here:

• Orville Liscum Hubbard (1903-1982) — also known as Orville L. Hubbard — of Dearborn, Wayne County, Mich. Born in Union City, Branch County, Mich., April 2, 1903. Republican. Republican candidate for Michigan state senate 21st District, 1932 (primary), 1938; candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Michigan 16th District, 1936; delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1940 (alternate), 1952; Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1940; mayor of Dearborn, Mich., 1942-77; candidate for circuit judge in Michigan 3rd Circuit, 1953, 1956 (primary). Died in 1982. Interment somewhere.
  • Critical books about Orville L. Hubbard: David L. Good, Orvie : The Dictator of Dearborn : The Rise and Reign of Orville L. Hubbard (out of print)
  
  

"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard." Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872