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42-552: Russell A. Alger senior was a Civil War general and lumberman from Michigan. He served as the Governor of Michigan , a United States Senator from Michigan, and United States Secretary of War under William McKinley . His eldest son, Russell A. Alger Jr. , was born in 1873. The Junior Alger was the executor of his father's large estate, one of the founders of the Packard Motor Car Company in 1903, and an early investor in

84-706: A constabulary force for Cuba , Puerto Rico , and the Philippines . He was criticized for the inadequate preparation and inefficient operation of the department during the Spanish–American War , especially for his appointment of William R. Shafter as leader of the Cuban expedition and the United States Army beef scandal , in which poor-quality canned beef was supplied to the Army. "Algerism" became an epithet to describe

126-480: A New England family, his ancestors came from England to Massachusetts in 1759. His parents died in 1848, leaving Russell the oldest of three orphan children, without money and with a brother and sister to care for and support. He had been accustomed to working for the neighbors for a small quantity of provisions or a few pennies a day even before the death of his parents, who were very poor. He now found homes for his brother and sister and secured work for himself on

168-609: A farm, his remuneration being his board, clothes and the privilege of attending school three months out of the year. He attended Richfield Academy in Summit County, Ohio , and taught country school for two winters. He studied law in Akron, Ohio , and was admitted to the bar in March 1859. He first began to practice law in Cleveland . In 1860, he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan , and engaged in

210-422: A large plant room. Doors lead out onto the terrace toward the lake. The house and associated landscaping are in original condition. An auditorium, designed to complement the house, was added in 1962. An art wing was added on the street side in 1977 and another wing added in 1993. Russell A. Alger Russell Alexander Alger ( / ˌ æ l dʒ ər / AL -jər ; February 27, 1836 – January 24, 1907)

252-514: A large stone fireplace. The main floor also contains a library and formal dining room, both with French doors overlooking the lake. The upper level contains a master suite built for the Algers, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a connecting sitting room. There are four more bedrooms: one each for the Alger's three children, and a guest bedroom. The lower level of the house contains a den, a billiard room, and

294-866: A lieutenant colonel with the American Expeditionary Force in France during the First World War , and was awarded the French Legion of Honor . Russell Jr. was instrumental in persuading the Packard Motor Car Company to move to Michigan from Ohio. He built a palatial Italian Renaissance style estate, "The Moorings," in Grosse Pointe . It was donated in 1949 and became the Grosse Pointe War Memorial . He died in Washington, D.C. , in 1907. He

336-801: A monument to Alger was erected on the William G. Mather Building in Munising, Michigan. It consists of a bronze bust of Alger on a stone pedestal, and was sculpted by Detroit sculptor Carlo Romanelli with funds provided by the heirs of Alger and by the Board of Education of the Munising Township Schools. In 1921, a memorial fountain was dedicated to Alger in Grand Circus Park , Detroit by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon . Attribution Summit County, Ohio Summit County

378-518: A plan for supporting Republican candidates in that year's elections. In mid-June, he presided over the Republican meeting in Detroit which was organized to ratify the results of the 1880 Republican National Convention , which had been held earlier in the month. In 1884, Alger was elected Governor of Michigan and served from January 1, 1885, to January 1, 1887. Highlights of his term included creation of

420-415: Is also possible to rent rooms for special events or banquets. The Russell A. Alger Jr. House is an Italian Renaissance Revival style mansion situated on one of the highest locations along the shoreline of Lake St. Clair . Major room orientations take advantage of the lake view. The house is symmetric, hipped roof rectangular structure, clad with stucco, having two stories facing the street and three facing

462-513: Is an urban county in the U.S. state of Ohio . As of the 2020 census , the population was 540,428, making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its county seat and largest city is Akron . The county was formed on March 3, 1840, from portions of Medina, Portage and Stark counties. It was named Summit County because the highest elevation on the Ohio and Erie Canal is in the county. Summit County

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504-601: Is in the northern part of the county. The southern border of the former Connecticut Western Reserve passes through the southern part of the county, leading to jogs in the east and west borders of the county. Summit County, along with Cuyahoga County , is one of two of Ohio's 88 counties that have a charter government, as authorized by Article X of the Ohio Constitution . Under its charter, rather than three elected commissioners, Summit County has an elected county executive and an eleven-member county council. Eight members of

546-625: Is interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan . In a memorial address, Senator John Spooner of Wisconsin said of Alger, "No man without noble purpose, well-justified ambitions, strong fiber, and splendid qualities in abundance could have carved out and left behind him such a career." An early movie entitled General Wheeler and Secretary of War Alger at Camp Wikoff documents an official visit to Camp Wikoff, New York as Secretary of War. The visit and film were produced to garner support from

588-656: Is more likely than Alger to have taken revenge on Mosby. On September 27, 1902, Alger was appointed by Michigan Governor Aaron T. Bliss to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James McMillan . He was elected to the seat by the Michigan State Legislature in January 1903. Alger was chairman of the Senate Committee on Pacific Railroads during the 59th Congress . Alger

630-549: Is more probable that the official preventing Mosby from receiving an appointment under McKinley was Secretary of State John Sherman . When Mosby began serving in Hong Kong, he concluded that his predecessor, David H. Bailey , had been involved in embezzlement and fraud. Bailey was forced to resign as U.S. Consul in Shanghai . Bailey was from Sherman's home state of Ohio, and Sherman had authority over diplomatic appointments, so Sherman

672-556: Is part of the Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area , which is also included in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area . According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 419.38 square miles (1,086 km ), of which 412.08 square miles (1,067 km ) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km ) (1.7%) is water. The largest portion of Cuyahoga Valley National Park

714-522: The Wright Company in 1909. In 1896, Alger Jr. married Marion Jarvis. In 1910, the couple commissioned Charles Adam Platt to design this house. The Algers and their three children moved in during 1910, and Russell Alger lived here until his death in 1930. Marion Alger moved out a few years later, and the house was donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1936. In 1948 the house was returned to

756-507: The census of 2010, there were 541,781 people, 222,781 households, and 141,110 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,312.6 inhabitants per square mile (506.8/km ). There were 245,109 housing units at an average density of 593.8 per square mile (229.3/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 80.6% white, 14.4% black or African American, 2.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of

798-656: The Alger family. In 1949, the Alger family donated the house to the Grosse Pointe War Memorial Association. The Alger House is the original building, and is now recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1962 the first addition, the Fries Auditorium and Crystal Ballroom, was dedicated, and in 1993 the Center for Arts and Communications

840-637: The Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company, which milled lumber in Foshee, Alabama and Century, Florida . Alger was active in politics as a Republican . In 1866, he was a delegate to the party's Wayne County convention and its state convention. In the late 1860s, Alger was a leader of the Boys in Blue, an organization of Union veterans formed to support Republican Party policies and candidates. In October 1872, Alger

882-602: The Civil War. Afterwards, he became a Republican and supported the presidential candidacies of Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes . In 1878, Hayes appointed Mosby as U.S. Consul in Hong Kong , where Mosby served until 1885. Mosby supported William McKinley for president in 1896, and was assured by members of Congress close to McKinley that he could expect appointment to a consulship in Asia or South America. When no appointment

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924-478: The Manistique Lumbering Company. His holdings included a great pine forest on Lake Huron covering over 100 square miles (260 km ) and producing more than 75,000,000 board feet (180,000 m ) of lumber per annum. In order to transport the lumber, Alger led his company to create the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad , of which Alger served as president. After clear cutting forests in

966-575: The New York newspapers. In May 1898, the War Department established Camp Russell A. Alger on a farm near Falls Church and Dunn Loring, Virginia . Faced with a typhoid fever epidemic , it was abandoned the month at the war's end in August 1898 and sold the following month. In its brief existence, 23,000 men trained there for service. It is commemorated by an official Virginia historical marker. In 1909,

1008-872: The U.S. Senate confirmed the award on March 2, 1867. In 1868, he was elected the first commander of the Michigan department of the Grand Army of the Republic . In 1889, he became the Grand Army's National Commander-in-Chief. He was also a member of the Michigan Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States . After the Civil War, Alger settled in Detroit as head of Alger, Smith & Company and

1050-412: The army on September 20, 1864. On January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Alger for the award of the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from June 11, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on March 12, 1866. On February 28, 1867, President Johnson nominated Alger for the award of the grade of brevet major general of volunteers to rank from June 11, 1865, and

1092-470: The claimed incompetence of the Army, especially as compared to the more stellar performance of the Navy. Alger resigned at President McKinley's request on August 1, 1899. He published a personal history of the war titled The Spanish–American War in 1901. John Singleton Mosby accused Alger of pursuing a vendetta against him during Alger's tenure as War Secretary. Mosby had been a Confederate partisan during

1134-514: The committee that organized a mass Republican rally in Detroit which featured a speech by former governor Edward Follansbee Noyes of Ohio . In late October 1876, he was one of the vice presidents of the committee that organized a Republican rally in Detroit which included a keynote address by U.S. Senator James G. Blaine of Maine . In early June 1880, Alger was a delegate to a mass interstate meeting of Union veterans which met in Chicago to devise

1176-621: The council are elected from individual districts; the other three are elected at large. Summit County also has an appointed medical examiner rather than an elected coroner, and an elected fiscal officer, who exercises the powers and performs the duties of a county auditor, treasurer and recorder. The remaining officials are similar to the officials in other counties. They include the following: Summit County currently has 14 Common Pleas judges. They are: Summit County has an 11-member council. Three members are elected at-large in midterm cycles, while eight members are elected from districts coinciding with

1218-407: The lake. The street facade has a central entrance pavilion decorated with rusticated stone with a small balcony above. The second floor window above the balcony is elaborately detailed. Inside, the entry foyer is dressed in marble, and a monumental stone staircase leads to the second floor. Inside is the reception hall, with a herringbone pattern wood floor, concrete ceiling beams simulating wood and

1260-617: The lower peninsula, his lumber companies acquired land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan including Kingston Plains, just south of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore . These bleak stump plains have resisted 90 years of reforestation efforts. Alger made a fortune logging the area which he used to propel himself to governor of Michigan. At the turn of the 20th century, he and Florida landowner Martin Sullivan established

1302-528: The lumber business. Alger enlisted as a private soldier in the American Civil War on September 2, 1861. He was commissioned and served as a captain and major in the 2nd Michigan Cavalry Regiment . In three years, he served in 66 different battles and skirmishes. On July 1, 1862, at the Battle of Booneville , Alger attacked the enemy's rear with ninety men. He was wounded and taken prisoner, but escaped

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1344-481: The nomination and went on to win the general election. After the election, Alger served as a presidential elector for Harrison. On March 5, 1897, Alger was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of U.S. President William McKinley . As Secretary, Alger recommended pay increases for military personnel serving at foreign embassies and legations , legislation to authorize a Second Assistant Secretary of War, and

1386-465: The population. In terms of ancestry, 24.9% were German , 15.3% were Irish , 10.6% were English , 10.1% were Italian , 5.1% were Polish , and 4.5% were American . Of the 222,781 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size

1428-405: The presidential election. The current members of Summit County Council are: * Indicates Council President Like much of Northeast Ohio, Summit is heavily Democratic. It has voted Republican only three times since 1932, all in national Republican landslides– Dwight D. Eisenhower 's 1956 victory, and the 49-state sweeps by Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in 1972 and 1984, respectively. As of

1470-405: The same day. The Confederate forces were soundly defeated. On October 16, he was made lieutenant colonel of the 6th Michigan Cavalry . On February 28, 1863, he was promoted to colonel of the 5th Michigan Cavalry . His command was the first to enter Gettysburg on June 28. Alger was personally mentioned in the report of General George Armstrong Custer on cavalry operations there. Alger

1512-595: The state board of pardons, the founding of a veterans home in Grand Rapids , the creation of two new counties ( Alger and Iron ), and establishment of the Michigan College of Mines . Alger declined renomination in 1886. Alger's name was placed in nomination for president at the 1888 Republican National Convention . He rose in balloting to 142 votes, with 416 necessary to win, but Benjamin Harrison ultimately obtained

1554-468: Was a vice president of the committee that organized a Republican campaign event which featured a speech by James G. Blaine , then serving as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives . In June 1876, Alger was a vice president of the committee which sponsored a Republican rally in Detroit that began that year's presidential campaign. In early October 1876, Alger was a vice president of

1596-527: Was added. Today the War Memorial also serves as a community center for the Grosse Pointe Communities and hosts several different kinds of programs and events, including concerts, holiday celebrations, drivers education, obedience school for dogs, and social dances for middle school-age children. The War Memorial also broadcasts WMTV 5, Grosse Pointe's local, twenty-four-hour television station. It

1638-605: Was an American politician and businessman. He served as the 20th governor of Michigan , U.S. Senator , and U.S. Secretary of War . Alger's life was a "rags-to-riches" success tale. He became an army officer, financier, lumber baron , railroad owner, and government official in several high offices. He was supposedly a distant relation of author Horatio Alger . Russell Alexander Alger was born on February 27, 1836, in Lafayette Township, Medina County, Ohio . His parents were Russell and Caroline Alger (née Moulton). Hailing from

1680-517: Was considered a military strategist and surveyed Union supplies with President Lincoln. Alger participated in General Sheridan's Valley Campaigns of 1864 in Virginia . On June 11, 1864, at Trevilian Station , he captured a large force of Confederates with a brilliant cavalry charge. On July 8, 1864, Alger was severely wounded pursuing the enemy at Boonesborough, Maryland . Alger resigned from

1722-457: Was forthcoming, Mosby concluded that Alger was blocking his return to the consular service and claimed that Alger was pursuing a vendetta. According to Mosby, this was because during the war Mosby had ordered the execution of soldiers under Alger's command who were accused of looting and destroying the property of supporters of the Confederacy in 1864. Historians and authors have concluded that it

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1764-594: Was the founder of a prominent family, many of whom became involved in 20th century Michigan politics and active in the Republican Party . The Algers had a home in Black River, Alcona Township, Michigan , from which Alger oversaw his lumbering operations. On April 2, 1861, he married Annette Huldana Squire Henry of Grand Rapids . They had six children; Henrietta, Caroline, Frances, Russell Jr., Frederick, and Allan. Frederick graduated from Harvard in 1899, served as

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