Joseph T. Copeland
Joseph Tarr Copeland (May 6, 1813 – May 6, 1893) was a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1852 until 1857, as well as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Later promoted to brigadier general, he commanded the "wolverines" of the Michigan Brigade, but was replaced by George A. Custer shortly before the Battle of Gettysburg.
In 1870 he and some local businessmen turned it into a hotel, and in 1873 they sold it to J. Sumner Rogers, who used the site to found the Michigan Military Academy.
Located in Lincoln County, Newcastle sits about forty miles north of Portland, Maine, yet is on a long finger of water extending to the Atlantic coast.
Joseph's father, Royal, the 2nd child of Captain Samuel and Emma (Parker) Copeland, was born August 11, 1790, in either Maine or New Hampshire.
In a letter to his children, Joseph's brother writes about his parents' meeting, When my father was 21 years old he started out to seek a fortune for himself.
Seemingly a one-man political machine, Copeland was made deputy collector and inspector of revenue for St. Clair County in 1848.
The 1870 Census notes that two of Joseph's brothers, Royal Franklin and Roscoe Pulaski, are "lumber dealers" near Dexter, each with considerable wealth.
Perhaps influenced by his famous uncle, Roscoe's son Royal eventually became Mayor of nearby Ann Arbor and ultimately a U.S.
Joseph and Samuel had a saw mill and got their pine timber up the river near where Burton located and when we made that first visit Frank and wife went with us.
[citation needed]Judge Copeland delivered but few opinions while a member of the Supreme Court, and these are marked by brevity, a good vein of reasoning, and few references to authority.
During this time his health was poor and Copeland ultimately resigned his position as Circuit and Supreme Court Judge in 1857, before the expiration of his term.
Upon his retirement from the bench, Copeland moved to West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, and in 1858 built the elaborate, Gothic Revival house that has always been referred to as "the castle" on the north shore of Orchard Lake.
The 1860 Federal Census shows Copeland to be the fourth-richest head of household in West Bloomfield Township, with real estate holdings valued at $15,000.
He and his wife, Mary Jane, relocated several miles to the southwest on the north shore of Orchard Lake, in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
Three of the group, including Samuel, stayed in the mountains west of Denver long enough to take part in the Colorado Territory's first election on August 19, 1861.
Roscoe, Joseph's youngest brother, details the entire adventure – which unfortunately failed to make them all rich – in a fascinating letter to his children.
A seasoned military man, having been promoted to colonel in the Maine Militia in the 1830s, Copeland offered his service at the brink of the Civil War.
"[11] Joseph's son, Frederick, followed his father into service during the Civil War, enlisting as 1st lieutenant in Company G of the 1st Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment on September 25, 1862.
During the early hours of June 29, 1863, Copeland and his staff were riding towards Emmitsburg, Maryland, when an approaching courier informed the fifty-year-old that he had been removed from command of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade.
When I was about 10 years of age we were greatly surprised to hear that some Pontiac business men had entered into a partnership with General Copeland to build a summer resort hotel on his premises, using the castle as a nucleus for it.
Soon after, hammers and saws were resounding and two long wooden wings were built extending sideways from either side of the castle, while a lobby was finished off in the latter.
A four horse frontier stage coach with cowboy driver and covered with leather trappings in true western style plied with cracking of whips and much apparent abandon at top speed between the railroad depot at Pontiac and the hotel, meeting all passenger trains.
Seemingly unable to give up a life of public service, Copeland was appointed Postmaster of Orchard Lake on March 17, 1873.
Copeland eventually sold the property in 1877 to Colonel Joseph Summer Rodgers who established the Michigan Military Academy on the site.
A 1926 letter from Roscoe tells his children, "your Uncle Joseph and Aunt Mary died in Florida & their remains were brought back to Pontiac for burial."
After finding Roscoe's letter, I raced over to Oak Hill Cemetery to see the striking monument I was certain would grace the final resting place of this great statesman.
One can easily miss the small lettering, which notes that he was a Civil War General, on the back of the plain rectangular block.
It is the sole public tribute to a man who shared the benefits of his grandfather's gift of a free college education with so many people across a blossoming nation.
Much of this material was compiled for the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society Joseph Tarr Copeland by Neil Hepburn.
