Howard M. Eliot (1875-1950) was born on the Delhi Township farm of his parents Silas and Mary Eliot, located off modern day Washington Road, north of Holt Road and south of Willoughby Road.

He attended schools in Dimondale and graduated from Olivet College. He was captain of the 1901 Olivet football team. He went on to graduate from the University of Wisconsin and the Central State Teachers College (now Central Michigan University).

His career as an education began in Ingham County before spreading across the nation. Next, he landed in Traverse City, teaching history, civics, and coaching football. He later became principal and football coach of Eaton Rapids High School. He then returned to northern Michigan, where he was briefly principal of and then Superintendent for four years of Petoskey Schools. He also went on to be principal of the Burlington (Iowa) High School.

Eliot also entered a career in higher education. He taught history and economics for two years at the University of Wisconsin. He also landed at Texas A&M, where he worked six years in farm management as part of the extension program. Then, he returned home and took up a career at Michigan State College in East Lansing (now Michigan State University) as an extension worker, before becoming a professor at MSC.

An economist by trade, Eliot later chaired the board of directors for the Ingham County National Farm Loan Association, serving for nearly a decade.

Eliot was also active in politics for most of his life. He was chair of the Ingham County Democratic Committee. He challenged incumbent Republican State Legislators Vernon Brown and Harry Hittle of Ingham County for the Michigan State Senate three consecutive elections, but was never successful. His platform for office was the “restoration of the proper and efficient law-making functions of the legislature,” adding that minority party representation in the legislature is important and that varying career fields like farming are key to good lawmaking.

In 1941, Governor Murray D. VanWagoner named Eliot one of four men members of the Ingham County Defense Council, alongside the likes of Lansing Mayor Sam Street Hughes.

Howard M. Eliot returned to his family’s 126-acre Delhi Township dairy farm in 1923 and remained there for the rest of his life. He was active with the local Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, as well as Farmer’s Union and Michigan State Grange. He died August 7, 1950 and is buried in Maple Ridge Cemetery in Holt.

Photo Courtesy of Bobbie Doe Snow.