Orphaned as a young boy, Russell Alger went on to study law and began a practice in Cleveland. During the Civil War, Alger became colonel of the Fifth and Sixth Michigan Regiments. After the war, he moved to Michigan and founded the Manistee Lumber Company, becoming one of the state’s wealthiest men. In 1884, he won election as Michigan governor, and in 1892, he was appointed Secretary of War during the Spanish-American War by President McKinley. From 1902-1907 he served Michigan as a United States Senator.
Source : Michigan Historical Calendar, courtesy of the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University.
For more on Russell Alger, see “April 2, 1861 : Russell A. Alger, Sr. Marries Annette Huldana Squire