Flagget Henry Trabbic (1866-1919)

From a campaign card in the possession of Mrs. Judy Carr.

   A resident of distinction in Monroe County, Michigan, Flagget Henry Trabbic lived to the age of just 53, and during that short lifespan rose to become one of the aforementioned county's most honored sons, being at various times a farmer, stock-raiser, town supervisor and state representative. Despite his prominence in 19th and early 20th century Michigan, Mr. Trabbic is all but forgotten today, and it is that point that makes me proud to know that there are existing historical and genealogical societies that dedicate much effort to keeping records on the lives of long deceased figures like the man profiled today.

   The following write-up on Flagget Trabbic's came about with the help of the Genealogical Society of Monroe County President Loretta Dunham, who received an e-mail from me a few weeks ago asking for help in tracking down a portrait of Mr. Trabbic. I received an e-mail shortly thereafter from Loretta, who related in her message that there was a GSMC member who was a Trabbic descendant, and with luck, she might have a picture of him. A short while afterward I received a kind e-mail from one Judy Carr, who noted that Flagget Trabbic was her great-great uncle! After relating that I had been unable to locate a portrait of Mr. Trabbic, Judy e-mailed me the above portrait, part of a campaign card dated 1910 that Trabbic used when he ran for register of deeds in Monroe County. The full card is shown below, and this marks the first time I've seen a picture of this elusive Michigan native since locating his name nearly a year ago. I can't thank Judy enough for her help with locating the picture, as well as relating new information on Flagget that I'd previously been unaware of.

   The story of this oddly named legislator begins with his birth in Erie Township, Michigan on February 10, 1866. Flagget H. Trabbic was one of eight children born to Guytani Peter Trabbic (1821-1903) and his second wife Caroline Knaggs (1830-1881). Peter Trabbic, as most references list him, was born near Genoa, Italy in 1821 and immigrated to the United States in the early 1830s. Over the course of his life, he became one of Monroe County's prominent landowners, "owning over 700 acres of Michigan's best soil, all located in Erie and Bedford townships." As Judy Carr related during our correspondence, the Trabbic family name was originally spelled as "Trebbeco", as per old family records, and "the name Flagget was not uncommon amongst the French Canadians" that had settled in the Monroe County area during the first half of the 19th century. Peter Trabbic was also politically active, serving as Erie Township supervisor on two occasions.

  Flagget Trabbic received his education in schools local to Erie township and later attended the St. Mary's Institute in Dayton, Ohio. Following the completion of his schooling, Trabbic returned to Erie to take over the day-to-day operations of the family's 700-acre farm. For many years afterward he was engaged in farming and in June 1892 married Ms. Mattie Lehr (1867-1957), mentioned by the 1913 History of Monroe County as a "musician of talent." The couple would later have two children, a son who died in infancy in 1893 and a daughter Gladys, who died aged one in 1902.

  Trabbic first became active in local political affairs in 1893, when he was elected as Erie township supervisor. He served in this capacity for three years, and during his last year in office served as president of the board of supervisors of Monroe County. He was returned to the office of supervisor a decade later but resigned when he was elected to the legislature. Trabbic became a candidate for the Michigan State House of Representatives in 1906 and in November of that year won the election, defeating Republican Lucien B. Smith by a vote of 3,269 to 3,007. His election as Monroe County's representative in the legislature was later encapsulated by the History of Monroe County in the following passage:

"The citizens of Monroe County were fully aware of the possibilities for either good or evil when they sent Mr. Trabbic to the legislature as their representative, but new absolutely from their lifelong acquaintance with the man that nothing but the strictest justice would ever issue from his hands. They were not mistaken; he preformed his duty to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, and also of his state, which is proud to acknowledge him as one of her sons."

From the 1907 Michigan State Legislative Manual.

   Taking his seat in January 1907, Trabbic served one term as a representative, 1907-1909. Despite serving only one term in the house Mr. Trabbic proved to be a very capable first-term legislator, introducing several bills during his term. Amongst these pieces of legislation was a bill "to establish a township system for maintaining, repairing and cleaning out established ditches, drains, and water-courses in the county of Monroe" and also introduced a petition brought about by Monroe County residents "asking for the passage of a bill to regulate the practice of optometry." In addition to the above Trabbic held a seat on the house committees on Game Laws, Industrial Home for Girls, and Mines and Minerals, during his term. Late in his service Trabbic became a booster for the establishment of a monument to Col. George Custer in Monroe County, and "was instrumental in gaining an appropriation of twenty-five thousand dollars" to fund the project through.

  After a successful first term in the legislature, Trabbic ran for reelection in November 1907 but was defeated by Republican candidate C. Wesley Kemmerling by a vote of 4,018 to 3,655. Following his defeat, Trabbic continued to take an active role in Monroe County political affairs, being the Democratic candidate for Register of Deeds in 1910.

Trabbic's campaign card, from the collection of Judy Carr.

   Little could be found in regards to Trabbic's final years, although notice is given as to his opening a garage in Erie township in 1917. He was the proprietor of this garage for only a few years, as he contracted pneumonia and later pyelitis (an inflammation of the kidney area in the pelvic region) and died aged 53 on April 4, 1919. Trabbic was later interred at the St. Joseph Cemetery in Monroe, Michigan, and was survived by his wife Mattie (also interred at St. Joseph), who died at age 90 in 1957. 

Ophir LeRoy Haring (1878-1943)

   Once in a while a certain city, town, or village is discovered that has an oddly named individual listed amongst its roster of past mayors. The city of Three Rivers, Michigan is a special case, as it has had the good fortune to have two men serve as mayor (twenty years apart) with truly unusual names. The first of these men was Cadalzo Dockstader (profiled yesterday) who held the job from 1897-1899. Following in his stead was Ophir LeRoy Haring, who is profiled today. This man with the intriguing first name was a lifelong Michigan resident and is presumed to have inherited the name "Ophir" from the like-named region in the Bible, an area known for gold, mineral wealth, and other precious resources.

   Ophir L. Haring was born in a log cabin on February 15, 1878, in the township of North Shade in Gratiot County, Michigan, the last of five children born to Hiram (1844-1905)  and Susan Foltz Haring (1843-1925). He spent a good majority of his adolescence engaged in farm work and attended schools local to the village of Hubbardston. After the completion of his education, he went to serve as a school teacher in the village of Beebe, Michigan, and was employed here for only a few months. He left this employ and later went on to a short career as a general merchandiser in the store of William D. Iseman. Haring married in Ithaca, Michigan in November 1904 to Else Harriett Hill (1875-1932) with whom he would have two daughters, Madelon Elaine (1914-1992) and Donna Jean (1918-1976). Ophir and Elsie are also recorded as adopting a third child, Doris Eileen Van Aken (1914-1992) in 1915.

  Two years following his marriage Haring decided upon a career as an undertaker, enrolling at the Williams School of Embalming in Chicago. After completing the curriculum he worked as an undertaker and embalmer in Cassopolis, Michigan, and Elkhart, Indiana before relocating to the Three Rivers area. Once settled, Haring formed another undertaking business with Frederick W. Balch, a prominent local furniture dealer. This partnership lasted for over a decade, and Haring himself is noted as opening the first funeral parlor in Three Rivers in 1919.

   Ophir L. Haring's activities weren't limited to just operating a funeral home. A member of several local fraternal organizations, including the Salathiel Chapter No. 23 of the Royal Arch Masons, Haring also made his name known politically, becoming a member of the Three Rivers City Commission in 1921. Two years later he was elected as Mayor of Three Rivers, and after serving a term of one year returned to his earlier career as a funeral director and embalmer. In his later years, Haring held a seat on the St. Joseph County Welfare Commission and is recorded as resigning from this board for unknown reasons. He died on December 29, 1943, at age 65 and was later interred at the Riverside Cemetery in Three Rivers. Haring's wife Elsie predeceased him eleven years previously and was interred in the same cemetery as her husband. 

  The rare portrait of Ophir LeRoy Haring shown above was featured on a 1932 poster featuring all of the past Three Rivers mayors who had served from 1908-1932. The original poster is located in the collection of the Three Rivers Library archive and can be seen on the Library's Flickr page at the following link. 

Cadalzo A. Dockstader (1861-1944)

   Possessing a truly unique first name, Cadalzo Dockstader was a locally prominent citizen in both St. Joseph County, Michigan, and later, Syracuse, New York. Born in Nevada County, California on July 2, 1861, Cadalzo was one of three children born to Giles Fonda and Mary Louise Keller Dockstader. Giles and his wife had migrated from Michigan to California sometime previously, and at some point following their son's birth removed back to the Michigan area, settling in the county of St. Joseph.

  Cadalzo Dockstader enrolled at the Michigan State Agricultural College at East Lansing, graduating from this school in August 1882. A short while later he became engaged as a druggist in the city of Three Rivers, becoming a partner of Henry Hall in the pharmacy office of Hall and Dockstader. Their business is recorded as being "one of the oldest drug stores in Three Rivers" as well as being dealers in peppermint oil. Dockstader himself is referred to as a "dealer in domestic essential oils, farmer and druggist" in a publication by his Alma mater. In the late 1880s, Dockstader married Eva Belle Jackson (1865-1917) with whom he would have one daughter, Mary Jane (1889-1922). 

  While prominent as a druggist in his community, Dockstader gained further notoriety in 1896 when he was elected Mayor of the city of Three Rivers, which had been incorporated as a municipality a short while before. Dockstader was the second man to serve as mayor of the city (succeeding Marvin H. Bumphrey) and held office from April 1897 to April 1899. Two years after his term as Mayor had concluded, Dockstader won election as a Probate Judge for St. Joseph County, serving on the bench until 1905. 

   A few years after the conclusion of his term as judge, the Dockstader family removed from Three Rivers to Syracuse, New York, where they would reside for the rest of their lives. Within a few years of his relocation to the Empire State Dockstader had established business roots in Onondaga County, becoming an "apple orchidist" and was Secretary of the Onondaga Orchid Co. in the town of Fabius. He served in the capacity of Secretary-Treasurer of the North Syracuse Light and Power Company during the early 1920s and in addition to the proceeding held the Presidency of the Cicero State Bank at Cicero, New York for an indeterminate length of time. Eva Dockstader died of an undisclosed illness in Syracuse in November 1917 at age 52, and Cadalzo never remarried following her death. Five years following his wife's passing Dockstader was dealt another tragedy when his only daughter Mary Jane died at age 33. 

  In 1929 Dockstader reentered the political forum, launching a campaign for Mayor of North Syracuse, New York. Dockstader ran as a "non-partisan candidate" and faced off against Republican Ernest Conway during the contest. On election day Dockstader emerged victorious, besting Conway by a close vote of 312 to 302. Two newspaper snippets concerning the election (both of which appeared in the Syracuse Journal in March 1929) are located below. Dockstader's one term as Mayor ended in 1931, and it is worth noting that he is the first oddly named politician profiled here on the site who served as a Mayor in two different states.

  Little else is known of Dockstader's life after he left office, and one can presume that he carried on with his earlier agricultural and banking interests in Onondaga County. Cadalzo Dockstader died at the Duryee Nursing Home in Syracuse on December 15, 1944, at age 83 and was shortly thereafter cremated. His remains were later interred at the North Syracuse Cemetery. The rare portrait of him shown above was found in the 1895 work Headlight Flashes Along the Michigan Central Line, which highlighted important civic and business leaders in the Three Rivers area.

From the December 16, 1944 edition of the Syracuse Journal.

Epaphroditus Champion (1756-1834), Epaphroditus Ransom (1798-1859), Epaphroditus Peck (1860-1938), Epaphroditus Champion Bacon (1811-1845)

   This particular posting will be in four parts, as there are four men with the unusual name of Epaphroditus who served their country in the political arena. The first to be profiled, Epaphroditus Champion, is shown above. Of the four, Champion is the only one to have been active in politics at the federal level, serving as a U.S. Representative from Connecticut for nearly a decade.

  Epaphroditus Champion was born April 6, 1756, in Westchester, Connecticut, the fifth of nine children born to Colonel Henry Champion (1723-1795) and his wife Deborah Brainard (1724-1789). In an interesting note to his childhood, Epaphroditus was actually the second child of that name born to Henry and his wife. The first Epaphroditus Champion was the second-born son in this family and died a tragic death at age 3 in 1752 when he was killed by "being scalded in a vat of malt." It seems that when another son was born to Henry and his wife in 1756, this unusual first name was passed along to him!
   Young Epaphroditus attended common schools in the Westchester area and during the Revolutionary War helped his father (a Colonel) drive a herd of cattle into Valley Forge to feed General Washington's troops. In 1776 the then twenty-year-old Champion was made assistant commissary to General Joseph Trumbull (1737-1778), who earned distinction as the first Commissary General of the Continental Army. In 1781 Champion married Ms. Lucretia Hubbard (1760-1836) with whom he had three children, Lucretia Champion (1783-1882) who lived to be nearly 99 years old, Clarissa (1785-1801), and a son, Epaphroditus (1786-1841).
  Throughout the 1780s and early 1790s, Champion served in the 24th Regiment of the Connecticut State militia, working his way up from major to lieutenant to finally, Brigadier General. Champion became well known in Connecticut business circles as a merchant, shipowner, and both an exporter and importer of goods. As the owner of several vessels Champion was recorded as having "successfully conducted trade in the West Indies."

  In 1791 Champion was elected to the first of many terms in the Connecticut State Assembly, representing the county of Middlesex. His service here extended fifteen years, and in 1807 won election as a Federalist to the U.S. Representatives, serving for five terms in this body. After his final term in Congress concluded in 1817, Champion returned to Connecticut and soon went back to his earlier business pursuits. In one of his last acts of public service, Champion is recorded as serving as commissary-general of provisions for army pensioners in 1832, two years before his death. He died in East Haddam, Connecticut at the age of 78 on December 22, 1834, and was later interred in the River View Cemetery in that village. His impressive gravestone gives notice to his service in the military, and his epitaph acknowledges that "talents, benevolence, and integrity characterized his spotless life."

    Next up is Epaphroditus Ransom, a New Englander by birth who made his political mark in Michigan. Ransom was originally born in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts on March 24, 1798, although the years 1787, 1796, and 1797 are variously given as his birth year. Ransom was one of twelve children born to Ezekiel (1763-1850) and his wife Lucinda Fletcher (died 1836), respective natives of both Vermont and Connecticut.

  Epaphroditus Ransom attended school at the Chester Academy in Vermont and later began the study of law at the Northampton Law School in Massachusetts, graduating from this institution with his law degree in 1823. Shortly afterward he set up a law practice, and on February 21, 1827, married Ms. Almira Cadwell (1804-1877), with whom he had four children, who are listed as follows: Wyllys Cadwell Ransom (1828-1908), Elizabeth (died aged one in October 1831), Antoinette (born in 1832) and Eugene Beauharnais, who died aged five months in 1837.
  Ransom began his political career in Vermont at a young age, winning election as the District Attorney for Windham County in 1825 at age 27. In the following year, he was elected by the citizens of that county to a seat in the Vermont State House of Representatives and was reelected the next year. In 1834 Ransom removed with his wife and children to the Michigan Territory, following the earlier example of two of his siblings. After arriving in Michigan in November of 1834, Ransom set up another law practice, and within a few years of his resettlement had won election as a circuit court judge. In 1837 the Michigan Governor appointed Ransom as an Associate Justice on the Michigan State Supreme Court. Ransom served here until 1848, and during his last five years on the bench served as the court's Chief Justice.

                                   

   In 1848 Epaphroditus Ransom was elected as Governor of Michigan and subsequently resigned his seat on the court. It is remarked that Ransom was elected "by a majority vote of every county in the state", and that he was also the first Michigan governor to be inaugurated in Lansing (then called Lansing Township), which became the new state capitol in 1847. During the Ransom governorship construction began on the now-famous Sault Ste. Marie canal and he was "also active in organizing and getting forward the Michigan quota of volunteers for the Mexican war." Sources also relate Ransom's impressive physical presence and demeanor, remarking:

"Governor Ransom was a man of commanding presence, in height over six feet, in weight exceeding two hundred pounds, with massive head, and a voice of power. As a judge, when off the bench, it was hs pride to mingle with the people, and to lead them into talks about their farm and mechanical implements; and he carefull noted the details of their experience and made effort to profit by it."

  Ransom served as Governor until 1850 and wasn't renominated by the Democratic Party because of his anti-slavery stances. He was subsequently elected to a term in the Michigan State legislature and held his seat from 1853-1854. Ransom is also recorded by the Historical Outline of the Ransom Family of America as being a prominent farmer in Kalamazoo, and engaged "extensively in the breeding of blooded stock, cattle, sheep, and swine and improving his beautiful estate."

   In 1855 Ransom lost most of his fortune courtesy of an ongoing financial panic, and he eventually moved to Kansas in 1856.  Two years later he was appointed by then-President James Buchanan as the receiver for the land office in Fort Scott, Kansas. It was here that Ransom died on November 9, 1859, at age 61, and his body was then returned to Kalamazoo, where he was buried in the Mountain Home Cemetery. Ransom was remarked by the earlier mentioned Ransom family history as being "somewhat reserved, but easy of approach, and had a friendly response to all who greeted him." He was "also noted for his fine social qualities and his home was always open to friends." The rare portrait of Epaphroditus Ransom shown above was featured in the second volume of the Historical Outline of the Ransom Family of America, originally published in 1903 and compiled by his son Wyllys Cadwell Ransom.

From Geer's Hartford City Directory and Hartford Illustrated.

   The next Epaphroditus to be profiled is arguably the most obscure of the four. His name is Epaphroditus Peck, born on May 20, 1860, and, like Epaphroditus Champion before him, was a native of Connecticut. Peck's parents, Josiah Tracy and Ellen (Barnard Peck) were both residents of Bristol and had a total of four children, Epaphroditus being the third born. 
   Epaphroditus Peck attended high school at Hartford, Connecticut, and following his graduation in 1877 began the study of law at Yale. Peck is recorded as graduating as valedictorian from Yale University in the class of 1881 and ten years later became a founder of the Bristol Public Library. He married in 1886 to Grace Brownell and became the parents of three daughters, none of whom survived past the age of four. They are listed as follows: Grace (1892-1896), Dorothy (1897-1899), and Eleanor (1904-1907).
    After graduating from Yale, Peck opened a law practice in Bristol, and over the next few decades became one of the most prominent members of the Connecticut bar. His career in public affairs began in 1895 when he won election as Prosecuting Attorney for Bristol. He served in this post for a decade and also served as associate judge of the Hartford County Court of Common Pleas from 1897-1912.
   In addition to the above activities, Peck served as an instructor at the Yale Law School from 1903-13, teaching courses in both civil procedure and domestic relations. Late in his life, Peck won election to the Connecticut State Assembly, his first term beginning in 1925. Peck won re-election to the assembly in 1927, 1929, 1931, and 1933, representing the town of Bristol throughout his service. During his service, Peck also served as a member of the Statute Revision Commission.

  Highly regarded in his hometown as a knowledgeable man on New England history, he authored a work relating to the history of his native town of Bristol, which he revised "several times" and in 1935 delivered the main address at the 150th anniversary of Bristol's founding. He was also a major contributor to the second edition of the English and American Encyclopedia of Law. In 1932 he was elected treasurer of the Connecticut Bar Association, serving for an indeterminate period.

  Active in the civic life of his native Bristol, Peck chaired the Bristol Public Library Board of Directors, was a director of the Bristol Hospital, and was a trustee of the Bristol Savings Bank. 

Epaphroditus Peck died at the Bristol Hospital on October 29, 1938, at age 78, following an operation. Peck's Hartford Courant obituary notes that he had attended a Connecticut State Bar Association meeting the week before his death, and shortly thereafter entered into hospital care. Following his death he was memorialized in the Hartford Courant as a "loyal, wise, and learned citizen", and:

"A revered teacher and a forthright and independent character. One of the high stand men of his class in the Yale Law School, he might have one a national reputation in the legal profession. Instead, he was content to divide his time between a small town practice, writing and the abundant public service his alma mater, his church and his State called him. Like another Epaphroditus, he was received ''with all gladness'' and ''held in reputation.'' His long, useful and honorable career will not soon be forgotten by the State he loved."

From the Hartford Courant, March 22, 1932.

From the Hartford Courant, October 30, 1938.

 In a January 11, 2013 update, another Epaphroditus was discovered who had fleeting involvement in politics. Read on to find out more!

 From the Litchfield Historical Society's Litchfield Ledger webpage.

  Pictured above is Epaphroditus Champion Bacon of Litchfield, Connecticut. Named in honor of his uncle Epaphroditus Champion, Mr. Bacon died at the young age of 33 in 1845 but not before having carved a notable (yet short) career for himself in Connecticut political circles. Listed by most sources of the time as "E. Champion Bacon", Bacon was born in Litchfield on September 2, 1811, the son of Asa and Lucretia Champion Bacon. Lucretia Bacon (1783-1882) was the daughter of the previously profiled Epaphroditus Champion and died aged nearly 99 in 1882.

   Epaphroditus C. Bacon attended school in Litchfield and later enrolled in the prominent Litchfield Female Academy from 1821 to 1823. Bacon continued his education at the Goshen Academy in 1829 and four years later entered the Yale Law School. Sources also mention that Bacon studied medicine for a short time in addition to his law studies. After receiving his law degree Bacon removed from the confines of Litchfield to Mobile, Alabama in 1835, where he soon after opened a law practice. His stay in Mobile was short-lived, as a bout of ill health and "weakness of the lungs" caused him to return to Litchfield in 1838. 

  Bacon began to venture into politics in 1839 when he became a delegate to the 1839-1840 Whig National Convention that nominated Gen. William Henry Harrison for the Presidency. Bacon pulled double duty at this convention by also serving as the secretary of the proceedings. In 1840 Bacon was elected to the Connecticut State House of Representatives from Litchfield County and won a second term the following year.

   Bacon's continuing health troubles eventually got the best of him, necessitating a trip to Europe to better his health. While traveling in Seville, Spain in January 1845 Bacon suffered a strangulated hernia that led to his death on January 11. He was only 33 years old and his demise certainly curtailed an already promising political career! His body was eventually returned to Connecticut some weeks following his death and he was later interred at the Strangers Cemetery in Litchfield. Bacon never married and was survived by both his mother Lucretia and father Asa.

  The rare painting of Bacon shown above (completed by Anson Dickinson, 1779-1852) was located via the Litchfield Historical Society's webpage, which gives a brief but highly informative overview of Bacon's short life. This webpage also contains a color painting of the portrait of Epaphroditus Champion shown at the very top of this article. For those interested, the name Epaphroditus originates from an ancient figure (Saint Epaphroditus) in the Orthodox and Catholic churches.