Just in time for Black History Month, here’s an extremely fascinating historical fact that has just been discovered: The first African-American elected to political office in Livingston County was an escaped slave from Kentucky who moved to Fowlerville and became the town’s beloved barber in the late 1800s.
His name was Charley Straws, and in 1888, he was elected as a Republican to the Fowlerville Common Council.
How cool is that?
To my knowledge, this is brand-new information to Livingston County. I was doing some research on Charley for a story and I saw this tiny item in the Livingston Republican on March 22, 1888. It seems that the election for Fowlerville Common Council that year was quite a nailbiter, and Charley came out on top:
That’s how this came to light. For years, we had thought that the first Black elected official in Livingston County was Ray Kendrick, who was elected to the Brighton Township Board in 1988.
As it turns out, Charley Straws did it exactly 100 years earlier. And not only was he the first Black elected official in Livingston County history; there’s a good chance he was the first Black elected official in Michigan history.
The first African-American elected to the State Legislature was William Webb Ferguson, who won office in 1892. Charley was elected four years earlier and now I need to go down some historical rabbit holes to see if I can find anyone before that, because I can’t see that Michigan ever elected an African-American prior to 1888.
So for now, I’m going to assume that the first African-American elected to political office in Michigan was a Republican barber from Fowlerville who was an escaped slave.
Either way, he was the first from Livingston County, and when you learn his full story – and how beloved and respected he was in his hometown – this is a story that every schoolchild in our county should know.
Much of this information comes from his obituary, which was printed in the Livingston Republican on Aug. 2, 1899.
Charley Straws was born into slavery in Kentucky on April 27, 1845. In 1864, while the Civil War was still being fought, Charley decided he’d had enough, so he escaped and made his way north to Michigan.
His uncle, Abraham Losford, was also a fugitive slave who had escaped in 1849 and eventually found his way to Howell. When Charley escaped in 1864, he came to Howell to live with his uncle.
He worked on a farm and went to school and eventually became a barber, just like his Uncle Abe.
In 1873, he moved from Howell to Fowlerville, where be became the original “Barber of the ‘Ville.” A few years later, Charley married a woman named Lulu Brown at the Baptist Church in Howell, and they became one of the most popular couples in town.
Newspaper accounts from back then say that Charley’s barber shop in downtown Fowlerville was the most popular spot in town. Everybody stopped in darn near every day, even if they didn’t need a shave or a haircut, just to listen to Charley tell stories or opine on the issues of the day.
As the Livingston Republican put it, “Charley was a good counselor and authority on many subjects, such as politics and sports. He was a jolly companion, ever ready to lend a helping hand when necessary.”
The folks who especially loved stopping by were Fowlerville’s Civil War veterans, who felt a special kinship with the former slave who was now their good friend and neighbor.
“His shop was ever open to the old soldiers who congregated there to spin their yarns and talk of by-gone days, in which he would join himself,” the newspaper said.
In every way, Charley was a beloved and respected member of the community, and 150 years later, it’s so heartwarming to know that Livingston County was such a welcoming place. Everybody in town loved Charley and Lulu Straws.
He was so popular that in 1893, to mark the occasion of his 20th anniversary in Fowlerville, the whole damn town held a party for him and showered him with gifts. Here’s the story that ran in the newspaper that week, and look at how much affection everyone in town had for him – especially the Civil War veterans in town (referred to here as “the boys of ’61-’65”):
Who wouldn’t live in Fowlerville?
The story of Charley Straws just warms my heart in every way. Back in the late 1800s, this was about as colorblind a town as you could find. The town loved Charley and Charley loved them back and the color of his skin didn’t matter one damn bit.
As someone who once lived in the Village of Fowlerville, I’m proud to say that I lived in the same town as Charley Straws.
Who wouldn’t live in Fowlerville?
Here’s Charley in 1893 with a bunch of Fowlerville businessmen. It’s one of the only photos of him that I could find and it’s quite possible this photo was taken during his 20th anniversary party. That’s him in the middle of the second row, third from left. All these men loved Charley Straws.
Back in 1888, the townsfolk showed how much they respected him by electing him to the Fowlerville Common Council. The Republicans were the party of Abraham Lincoln and emancipation, so Charley Straws was a proud Republican. He had served as a delegate to the County Republican Convention in 1886, representing Handy Township, and I found a story that said he actually ran for the Fowlerville Common Council way back in 1875 but fell short (the town mostly voted Democratic back then).
In 1888, though, Charley broke through and was elected as a trustee.
As for what the Fowlerville Common Council actually DID in those days, it seems they handled pretty much all the important local business. And as this newspaper clipping from 1889 shows, Charley and his fellow council members weren’t playing around:
And if you think that roaming dogs were the only problem plaguing Fowlerville in the 1880s, well, you’ve got another think coming. Here’s another action that Charley and the council took:
So if you walk down the streets of Fowlerville today and you don’t have to see hens and dogs roaming free, you can thank Charley Straws!
It was a sad and shocking day in town, though, when Charley passed away unexpectedly on July 31, 1899, at the age of 54. His funeral took place at the First Baptist Church and the church was overflowing with people.
The Livingston Republican summed up his legacy thusly: “During these 26 years in Fowlerville, he has ever proved himself to be an honorable, upright citizen, one whom the people have been proud to respect. We think it may be safely said there is not a man in Livingston County who had more friends than Charley Straws.”
Your legacy in your hometown in indeed assured, Charley. And so is your place in the history books.
To my knowledge, there’s nothing in Fowlerville or anywhere in Livingston County to honor the first African-American ever to hold elective office here. There needs to be.
A plaque in the Fowlerville Village Offices would be a good start.
