Charles S. May
Encyclopedia
Charles Sedgwick May was a politician from the U. S. state of Michigan
.
and at the age of four moved to Richland, Michigan
. He worked there on a farm until the age of fifteen and became a student of the State University (now Western Michigan University
) at Kalamazoo
. He studied law in Bennington, Vermont and Battle Creek, Michigan
and was admitted to the bar
in 1854.
From November 1855 to October 1856, he was associate political editor of the Detroit Daily Tribune and its Washington, D. C. correspondent. He commenced the practice of law in Battle Creek, but soon returned to Kalamazoo where he was elected prosecuting attorney in 1860. In 1861, he resigned to raise a company for the second Michigan infantry, went into the field, but resigned due to ill health after taking part in many battles.
and served from 1863 to 1865. His brother Dwight May
was elected to the same office two years later. The following year he was a member of the 1866 Republican state convention. In 1872, he broke party ranks and supported Democrat
Horace Greeley
for U. S. President against the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant
and was a losing Democratic candidate for U. S. Senate in 1876. He then practiced law in Detroit
and later returned to practice law in Kalamazoo.
where he would write several newspaper and magazine articles and several books. He died there just three days after his sixty-first birthday.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Early life
May was born in Sandisfield, MassachusettsSandisfield, Massachusetts
Sandisfield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 824 at the 2000 census.- History :...
and at the age of four moved to Richland, Michigan
Richland, Michigan
Richland is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 791 at the 2010 census.The village is within Richland Township about nine miles northeast of Kalamazoo.-Geography:...
. He worked there on a farm until the age of fifteen and became a student of the State University (now Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
) at Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
. He studied law in Bennington, Vermont and Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
and was admitted to the bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
in 1854.
From November 1855 to October 1856, he was associate political editor of the Detroit Daily Tribune and its Washington, D. C. correspondent. He commenced the practice of law in Battle Creek, but soon returned to Kalamazoo where he was elected prosecuting attorney in 1860. In 1861, he resigned to raise a company for the second Michigan infantry, went into the field, but resigned due to ill health after taking part in many battles.
Politics
In 1862, May was elected the 16th Lieutenant Governor of MichiganLieutenant Governor of Michigan
The Lieutenant Governor of Michigan is the second-ranking official in U.S. state of Michigan, behind the governor, and one of four great offices of state...
and served from 1863 to 1865. His brother Dwight May
Dwight May
Dwight May was a politician from the U. S. state of Michigan.-Early life:May was born in Sandisfield, Massachusetts to Rockwell and Celestia May and moved to Richland, Michigan at the approximate age of twelve...
was elected to the same office two years later. The following year he was a member of the 1866 Republican state convention. In 1872, he broke party ranks and supported Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
for U. S. President against the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and was a losing Democratic candidate for U. S. Senate in 1876. He then practiced law in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and later returned to practice law in Kalamazoo.
Retirement and death
In 1888, May retired due to ill health and built a country home, “Island View”, overlooking Gull LakeGull Lake (Michigan)
Gull Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of Michigan, located mostly in Kalamazoo County with the northern tip extending into Barry County. The nearest major cities are Kalamazoo, to the southwest, and Battle Creek, to the southeast. The name was probably derived from the seagulls which at times...
where he would write several newspaper and magazine articles and several books. He died there just three days after his sixty-first birthday.