- Alfred Milnes
Alfred Milnes (May 28, 1844 - January 15, 1916) was a politician from the
U.S. state ofMichigan .Early life
Milnes was born in Bradford,
Yorkshire ,England . His parents, Henry and Mary Ann (née Amyss) Milnes joined the Mormon Church and left England with their family in 1854. After a sixty day voyage fromLiverpool , they arrived in New Orleans, from which they proceeded by boat to St. Louis and then to Kansas City. There, Henry bought a wagon and proceeded overland to Salt Lake City, viaFort Kearny ,Fort Laramie , andFort Bridger . After sixteen weeks, they reached their destination on September 25, 1854. Two years later, Mary Ann died and Henry moved with the family toSpringville, Utah , and remained there until May 1859. Henry had become disenchanted with the Mormons and sold his property at a great loss in order to leave. They stayed inNewton, Iowa , for the winter of 1859-1860, and in 1861 arrived inColdwater, Michigan , after traveling the entire distance by oxen-drawn wagon. He opened a small store and became a successful merchant.Alfred Milnes was age seventeen upon arriving in Coldwater. He had attended the common schools in Salt Lake City and Newton. In Coldwater, he worked as he was able to during the summer and attended school in the winter.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Milnes enlisted as a private in Company C, Seventeenth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, June 30, 1862. The forces mustered at Detroit, and left the state on August 27, 1862, going straight to
Washington, D.C. . On September 14, he saw action in theBattle of South Mountain inMaryland . Three days later, the regiment was in theBattle of Antietam , where they lost half their men. Their next engagement was theBattle of Fredericksburg , after which they were joined with the 9th Army Corps under the overall command of GeneralAmbrose Burnside , and engaged in the pursuit of Confederate GeneralJohn Hunt Morgan to put an end toMorgan's Raid . After this, his regiment was positioned to serve as rearguard against attack by Confederate GeneralJoseph E. Johnston at theSiege of Vicksburg . The regiment then proceeded toJackson, Mississippi . The regiment then went to Kentucky and into east Tennessee, where it saw action in theBattle of Campbell's Station and theSiege of Knoxville . They then moved toAnnapolis, Maryland , where they were attached to theArmy of the Potomac . The 17th regiment saw heavy losses in theBattle of the Wilderness , with only 35 of the original 225 remaining. The regiment was discontinued as a military unit and the survivors were taken to the headquarters of GeneralOrlando B. Willcox , where they served guard duty until the end of the war.After the war, Milnes was 21 years old when he returned to Coldwater. He worked as a clerk in his father's business until 1871, when he formed a mercantile partnership called "Mines & Vanderhoof". The partnership prospered for ten years, after which Milnes sold hist interest and started his own business. On January 6, 1868, Milnes married Lucina E. Hull, the younger child of Cyrus and Eunice (Allen) Hull, who were owned a farm in Quincy. Alfred and Lucina had three children: Alfred Cyrus, born December 12, 1868 and died August 12, 1882; Maude L., born December 18, 1871; and Mabel F., born December 4, 1879.
Politics
Milnes became a member of the board of aldermen of Coldwater in 1876 and 1877. He was elected mayor of Coldwater in 1885 and 1886 was a member of the
Michigan Senate , 1888-1890. He electedLieutenant Governor of Michigan in 1894 and served under GovernorJohn T. Rich until his resignation June 1, 1895.Milnes was chosen from a special election in April 1895 as a Republican from
Michigan's 3rd congressional district to the 54th Congress, Fifty-fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofJulius C. Burrows . Milnes served from December 2, 1895, to March 3, 1897. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress and was appointed postmaster of Coldwater in 1898 and served until 1902. He was also a delegate to the Michigan constitutional convention of 1907 and 1908.Alfred Milnes engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Coldwater until his death. He was interred there in Oak Grove Cemetery.
References
*CongBio|M000783 Retrieved on 2008-09-27
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/millsap-minehart.html#R9M0J6V2J The Political Graveyard]
* [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;idno=bad0865.0001.001;size=l;frm=frameset;seq=229;view=image;page=root "Portrait and biographical album of Branch county, Mich"]###@@@KEY@@@###
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NAME= Milnes, Alfred
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DATE OF BIRTH= May 28, 1844
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DATE OF DEATH= January 15, 1916
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