Josiah W. Begole

Josiah W. Begole; photographer, Matthew Brady, Library of Congress

---

Josiah William Begole (January 20, 1885 – June 5, 1896)

Advocate for Equality 
Pioneer, Farmer, Lumber Baron, Wagon Maker, Politician

Josiah Begole was born at a time in the United States when one person could still own another person.  People traveled by foot, horse, cart or carriage, or water.  Most of what is today’s America was still inhabited by a multitude of indigenous tribal cultures, who knew no surveyed, legal boundaries.  But his time was a time of rapid change.  By the end of his life, he had participated in the American pioneer migration west, had seen railroad construction connect the East and West coasts, and had witnessed the final relocation of all tribal peoples.  He had also painfully lost a son in the Civil War, the vicious conflict that tore the country apart over slavery and produced a death toll of over 620,000.   He was a farmer, a lumberman, and wagon maker, that business being the stepping stone to the automobile industry and the industrial revolution.  His life directly parallels the history of Flint.
​

Harriet (Miles) and Josiah W. Begole; from the Harriet Lay personal family collection.

​The Early Years
Josiah’s lineage was of the French Huguenot stock, people who immigrated here during the late 1700s, to escape religious persecution, settling in Hagerstown, Maryland.  He had a grandfather who fought in the Revolution under George Washington, and his father was a soldier during the War of 1812.  His grandparents had emigrated from Hagerstown, Maryland to New York, because they disagreed with the slavery policy of their home state.  They were slaveholders themselves, but had made these purchases for the sole purpose of providing these men and women their freedom.  The freed people then chose to accompany the Begole family to their new life in New York, carving an existence as farmers.

His life began in the winter of 1815, in the western New York small town of Groveland in Livingston County.  He was the oldest of ten siblings.  After graduating from Temple Hill Academy in Genesee, New York, in 1837, Josiah took a boat to Toledo, Ohio, and walked 100 miles with $100 in his pocket, to the wilds of Genesee County.  When he arrived, there were only four or five shanties in the Flint area, and for a short time, Josiah made his way by living with pioneer families, teaching their children.  

Once permanently located in the county, Josiah's first significant purchase was an "unimproved" farm.  His father, William Begole, loaned him $520 to purchase 160 acres of land in Michigan.  Signed on October 19, 1837, the loan agreement stated the money was to be deducted from Josiah’s inheritance, and that no interest would be charged.  

He met and married Harriet Miles in 1839.  Her grandmother, parents, three sisters, and two brothers had moved to Michigan from Homer, New York, in 1837 by covered wagon.  The two were married on April 22, 1839, in her parents’ home, a log cabin, which was situated two miles north of Flint, on Saginaw Road.  “The groom was attired in a handsome blue suit, adorned with large brass buttons. while the bride was arrayed in white.” (Biographical History:  Genesee County Michigan).

Their first house was a primitive home in the woods, in Genesee Township.  Through hard work and good decisions, the Begole property grew into a well-cultivated farm of 500 acres during the 18 years Josiah practiced agriculture.  He and Harriet went on to build their family of five children, four who reached adulthood.  They lived a moderately comfortable, but not wealthy, lifestyle.  

---

Josiah W. Begole

Harriet (Miles) Begole

Image of Gov. Begole from the Harriet Lay collection

The Begoles and the Underground Railroad

From the Harriet Lay personal family collection.

On June 18, 1993, the Flint Journal published an article identifying Josiah Begole’s house as the local headquarters for the Underground Railroad.  Begole had purchased the house in 1857.  The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act made it illegal to aid and abet an escaped slave.  Therefore, the topic of assisting a 'passenger' on the Railroad, or having a 'depot' on your property, would not have been a subject talked or written about, in order to ensure the safety of those passing through.  It was also a dangerous activity for those people who disobeyed the federal law. Therefore, there is no written documentation available for the Begole’s home, only word-of-mouth accounts.  However, Kathryn Williams, the founder of the Museum of Afrikan American History in the City of Flint and author of the book, “The Stop:  The Underground Railroad in Flint, Michigan,” claims the Begole home to be a true stop, and has publicly honored Josiah Begole’s descendants.  Family tradition also corroborates the claim:  Harriet Begole’s niece, who grew up adjacent to the Begole house, claims to remember her mother telling her about the Underground Railroad headquarters being in her aunt’s home.

Originally located on the corner of Beech and Court Street, the house was moved to Westwood Parkway in Flint, in the 1930s, and is still standing, under private ownership.

The Civil War Years

William Begole; Harriet Lay family collection

Josiah was very involved in his community.  During his early years in Genesee County, he served as the clerk of the first election, school inspector and justice of the peace. He was elected County Treasurer in 1856, holding office for eight years, through the majority of the Civil War.  During the war he recruited and equipped Union soldiers, while attending to widows, families, and the needy. 
​It was during the great conflict that Josiah and Harriet lost their eldest son, William, or 'Will', who had enlisted in the Union Army on August 4, 1862.  He was the first sergeant of the Twenty-Third Michigan Infantry, serving under Major General Burnside.  In the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, at Lookout Mountain, William was shot, receiving a lethal wound in his shoulder.  While recuperating from his weakened health, at the Officer’s Hospital in Chattanooga, he contracted typhoid fever.  Both of his parents had been able to travel to Tennessee, to be at his side. Harriet had received special written permission to cross enemy lines.  After about four months of uncertainty, on October 15, 1864, Will died.   ​​

Harriet Lay Family Collection

---

A New Business Venture-The Lumber Man
​
Following the war, Josiah established a lumbering interest, forming the company 'Begole, Fox & Co. Lumber Mills', in 1865.  The Michigan timber industry was booming, and Flint grew right along with it.  His company was one of the city’s top producing mills, and made the Begole family very rich.

Political Aspirations and the Mature Years
​
As his wealth increased, so did his involvement in the political realm.  As an anti-slavery man, he was a member of Lincoln’s Republican Party.  In 1870, at the age of 55, Josiah was elected to the State of Michigan’s Senate.   
During his 2-year term as state senator, he supported or spearheaded bills including the Soldiers’ Equalization Act and the bill to build a new capitol building in Lansing.  He was Chairman of the Committee on the 'Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind', as well as being a member of the Committee of 'Finance and Railroads'.  His career, as senator, ran simultaneously with his Flint City Council membership.

Josiah also championed women’s rights, a fairly unpopular stance during the time.  In 1870, he was an early member of the fledgling 'Flint Woman’s Suffrage Association', later serving on the statewide 'Michigan Equal Suffrage Association', as vice-president. 

Then, in 1872, Senator Begole was a delegate to the National Republican Convention, held in Philadelphia.  Subsequently, he was chosen as a member of the contingent sent to Washington D.C. to notify General Grant of his nomination for president. 

By 1873, Begole had been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in Washington D.C., serving Michigan’s 6th district.  As one of only one of 17 farmers in Congress, he participated in the Committee on Agricultural and Public Expenditures.  His political career faded out for a short time during his second run for office, so he returned home to his Flint lumbering interests.

---

"Let no one suffer while I have money."

An extreme drought was affecting Michigan, in 1881.  Accounts from Detroit, to Flint, to Saginaw, to Port Austin reported spontaneous, fast fires.  Finally, on September 5, a southwestern gale blew into the Thumb Region, igniting an inferno.  Despite courageous effort, the citizens were overcome by the blaze. Many people abandoned their homes, farms, and towns, with barely enough time to survive and with only the clothes they wore, seeking refuge along the waters of Lake Huron.  Over a million acres were scorched to ashes in only three days.  Written accounts from the time describe the horrors of burned animals and people, causing at least 125 human deaths, and the despair of thousand left homeless.  Two relief committees were formed, but their assistance was stalled by internal squabbling over the distribution of funds.  Josiah Begole reached out to an agent of the devastated region, offering his own personal assistance until the committees could come to terms, saying, “Until the differences between the two committees are adjusted and you receive regular supplies from them, draw on me.  Let no one suffer while I have money.”

---

---

The Wagon Industry Booms

Begole’s business success continued.  In the early 1880’s, Begole, Fox & Co. was approached by their own secretary and general manager, James H. Whiting.  He had an idea to expand the business into wagon making.  Soon, Begole, Fox & Co. opened up shop on W. Kearsley Street,  in Flint, naming their new venture 'Flint Wagon Works', which became one of the biggest manufacturers of wagons in Flint.  It was one of the first incorporated companies in Flint, and marked the beginning of the vehicle industry in the area.  The Flint Wagon Works was one of the first manufacturing companies to assemble an entire vehicle under one roof; this concept was the initial spark of innovation, which became the assembly line.  (Though a few years after Josiah’s death, The Flint Wagon Works was also the business that bought The Buick Motor Company, relocating it to Flint.)

---

Shifting Allegiances

An example of Civil War-era 'greenbacks'

Congressman and State Senator Begole’s opinions and political allegiances had begun to shift over those years, almost solely pivoting on one issue:  The United States monetary policy.  Though he had become rich through lumbering, he related to the farmer and agriculture community, having spent most of his life tilling the soil.  One of the major issues of the day was the currency of the United States.  Before the Civil War, money was backed by gold, but during the war, the government desperately needed more revenue  This initiated the government to print more money, or “greenbacks” as they were called.  This money, instead of being backed by gold, was backed by federally sponsored bonds.  Both currencies, “Greenbacks” and gold-backed bills, were used simultaneously.  As is common during wartimes, consumers struggled with the scarcity of goods and supplies available, causing inflated prices on those goods, due to demand.  The economic atmosphere, after the war, due to all those “greenbacks” circulating, was easier for the common man—and the farmer—to make purchases and pay off debt.  This didn’t benefit banks or wealthy industrialists; they wanted to go back to the “gold standard”, and remove all those “greenbacks” from circulation.  There was a lot of pressure on Congress to take this action.  Begole was adamant in his position to keep the surplus of new money available.  His sentiments led him to leaving the Republican Party for the new and short-lived 'Greenback Party'.  (Eventually, the argument to keep the “greenbacks” in circulation failed, and the United States went back to the gold standard for a time.)

Governor Begole

From the Harriet Lay Collection

At the age of 68, Josiah was nominated and won the 19th Gubernatorial seat in Michigan, as a member of the Greenback Party, serving from 1883 to 1885. Begole was the only Governor to have ever been elected from this Party.  His term of office, as Governor, for the great State of Michigan, proved to be troublesome, as many of his past Republican associates considered him disloyal, creating abundant difficulties.  Governor Begole lost his second bid for the seat.  His successes, however, include the establishment of the State Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the approval of the Municipal Suffrage Bill, finally allowing women to finally vote in certain local elections.  This law was an early and positive step in the direction of equality for women.

Josiah returned home to his businesses, leaving the large political arena for good.  He lived the last eleven years of his life at his home, in Flint, with his wife, Harriet, passing away at the age of 81, in 1896.

d. Flint, Michigan, June 5, 1896

Written by Tracy Leigh Fisher
Fact-checking, information, stories, and photos contributed by Harriet Lay

About Harriet Lay:

Harriet sits on the Board, as Treasurer, of the Genesee County Historical Society.  An expert on the Begoles, she is also the third great-grandchild of Josiah W. and Harriet Miles Begole.

---

Sources:  
Biographical History:  Genesee County Michigan; B.F. Bowen & Co. Publishers, 1908.
The Flint Journal Centennial Picture History of Flint, Edited by Lawrence R. Gustin, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976.
History of Genesee County Michigan with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Everts & Abbott, Original printing 1879, Reproduction 2005.
Biography of Governor Josiah W. Begole, https://michigangenealogy.com/statewide/biography-of-governor-josiah-w-begole.htm, Chapman Brothers. Portrait and biographical record of Genesee, Lapeer and Tuscola counties, Michigan. Chicago: Chapman brothers, 1892.
Family resource:  Harriet Lay, third gr-granddaughter of Josiah and Harriet Begole.
"Josiah Begole:  A Portrait of the American Spirit", Jessica Pressley Sinnott, My City Magazine, Dec. 1, 2018, http://www.mycitymag.com/josiah-w-begole-a-portrait-of-the-american-spirit/#prettyPhoto.