Legislator Details
Portrait captured from Find-a-Grave.com 4/29/2026
Vital Records Information:
Birth
Death
Burial
Marital Information:
married Mary S. Conger, dau. of David Conger, 1/6/1875 in Wisconsin; children: 3, Edith, Adeline and Loraine (McClave); married Edith E. Clark, dau. of Isaac M. Clark, 2/1/1905; children: 2, Charles R., jr. and Gertrude
total children: 5
Number of Children: 5
Background
Education:
common school; public schools of Grand Rapids, MI
Biographical Sketch:
Of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Son of James W. and Eliza (Wilson) Sligh. They settled in Michigan in 1846. Charles' father was killed in the Civil War in 1863. He went to work at 15 as a clerk for the county, then apprenticed as a tinsmith. For a time he was a salesman for a Grand Rapids furniture manufacturer, making frequent trips to Texas. He organized the Sligh Furniture Co. in 1880. He was director of the Citizens' Telephone Company; served a term on the board of education and was president of the National Furniture Manufacturers' Association. He helped organized the Grand Rapids Board of Trade, acting as vice-president for 1 year and a director for 10. He was officer or director of various banking and business enterprises in Grand Rapids and has extensive irrigation and timber interests in the west.
Prior to WWI, he attended the Plattsburg training camp, and later organized the Business Men's Battalion of Grand Rapids. He served on the aircraft production board with a commission as major. He was a member of the workmen's compensation commission and was elected a member of the commission which drafted the present charter of Grand Rapids . He has also served on the board of education.
Notable Facts:
Died suddenly at sea September 15 aboard the SS Berengaria returning from Europe