USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume I > Part 20
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DWIN LAIR was born in Lima, Livingston county, New York, March 24th, 1814. His father, Benjamin Lair, was a native of the State of New York, and was born March 28th, 1788, his parents coming from Germany. He was a farmer
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
and owned a farm in Livingston county, and lived there until the spring of 1834; he then came to Michigan and took up 240 acres of land on section one, and purchased eighty acres on section twelve in Woodstock, where he lived until his death, April 25th, 1856. July 1st, 1810, he married Miss Elizabeth Dale, of York, Livingston county, New York, by whom he had four children, Edwin being the oldest. Mrs. Elizabeth Lair was born in Livingston county, New York, June 19th, 1789. Her parents came from England. She died in Woodstock, April 17th, 1869. Edwin Lair came to Michigan with his parents in 1834, and lived with them until their death. He was brought up a farmer and only received a common school education. He now owns one hun- dred and twenty acres of his father's first purchase, on sections twelve and one, in Woodstock, and resides there. He has no startling incidents to relate of pioneer life in Woodstock, but having passed through all the different phases, is satisfied that he got along and fared as well as his neighbors. In those days everybody was on a level, the rich inan and the poor man faring alike; all depended upon their own exertions, and if one neighbor had meat or flour and the other did not, it was divided. In sickness all assisted, and when trouble came, all sympathized. A neighborhood or a town- ship was as one family, with a common interest and a united feeling. Mr. Lair went to Tecumseh in the fall of 1834, to purchase wheat for flour. He went to the "Red Mill" in Brownville and purchased two bushels for $1.75 per bushel, which took all the money he had. He started for home with his ox team just before sundown, taking the La Plaisance Bay turnpike, which was then constructed only about two miles west of Tecumseh, the balance of the way to the Chicago turnpike being designated by marked trees. He drove to the end of the road and about one mile into the woods, when it got so dark and began to rain so hard that he was obliged to unyoke his oxen and let them go, and camp for the night. During the night he was attacked by wolves and took refuge under his wagon, with a pocket knife and an ox-bow as his only weapons. He managed to keep them off until day- light, when the pack departed, and he at once "yoked up" and started for home. January 25th, 1852, his house burned with all its contents, while he and his family were away from home. June 10th, 1857, his house and most of its contents were again destroyed by fire. June 17th, 1840, he married Miss Sarah A. Lake, of Cambridge, by whom he had four children, as follows: Malvina E., born September 2d, 1841, now the wife of Charles Griffin, of Benton county, Indiana; Benjamin, born November 2d, 1843, a resident of Hanover, Jackson county ; Frank, born June
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
2d, 1847, died September 21st, 1849; Ada, born July 2d, 1849, died in 1849. Mrs. Elizabeth Lair was a native of New York, and was born March 4th, 1819. Her parents died when she was very young, she coming to Michigan with friends in 1839. She died in Woodstock, October 4th, 1849. December 14th, 1851, he married Miss Margaret J. Weatherwax, daughter of John and Betsey Weatherwax, of Adrian, by whom he has had nine children, as follows : John, born October 29th, 1852, now of Spring Arbor, Jackson county ; Albert C., born January 21st, 1855, at home ; Betty F., born October 19th, 1862, at home; Mattie C., born August 21st, 1865, at home ; Edwin, born July 26th, 1868, at home; Mary P., born February 28th, 1874, at home. Three children died in infancy. All were born in Woodstock. Mrs. Margaret J. Lair was born in Peru, Clinton county, New York, April 18th, 1826, and came to Michigan with her parents in 1833. Her father was of German ancestors. He was a native of New York, and was born March 3d, 1789, and died in Adrian in 1860. Her mother was of Irish ancestors, and was born in Peru, New York, in 1790.
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R. JOSEPH TRIPP, son of Rev. Henry Tripp, was born in Bristol, England, November 3d, 1827, where he lived until he was three years old. His parents came to America in the year 1831, and settled in the present township of Franklin, on the bank of Sand Lake. He resided with his parents in that town, receiving his education there and at the Michigan university, then located in Tecumseh. He came to Adrian, March 17th, 1850, and, in the office of Dr. R. Stephenson, commenced the study of medicine, remaining there, including lecture terms, for three years. He attended two courses of lectures at Ann Arbor, and graduated at Cleveland medical college, in February, 1854. He was married to Miss R. A. Woods, at Manchester, Michigan, March 21st, 1854. He then went to Morenci and commenced the practice of his pro- fession, where he remained for five years. He then went to Buffalo and attended a course of lectures at the Buffalo medical college, and received the degree of "doctor of medicine," which was conferred on him by Millard Fillmore, who was then chancellor of of that institution. Returning to Morenci he continued to practice medicine until the year 1861, when he moved to Ypsilanti,
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
Washtenaw county, where he lived until September, 1873. He then removed to Adrian and formed a co-partnership with Dr. Stephenson, which lasted but a short time, when he opened an office alone, in rooms formerly occupied by Drs. Spalding and Barnard. In the year 1873, he received an appointment of examining surgeon for the commissioners of the Department of the Interior of Washington, which position he accepted and held for a short time, and resigned in consequence of removal from Ypsilanti to Adrian. He was city physician in Ypsilanti for four years, and is now acting as medical examiner for seven different life insurance companies. The doctor is still in Adrian, with his office located in the Conger Block, and, in addition to his regular business, he is employed by the county superintendents of the poor to attend to the medical wants of the poor.
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AMUEL BLIVEN was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, February 28th, 1792. His father, George Bliven, was born in the same place, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He was a farmer, and always lived in Westerly, where he died. Samuel Bliven, when a boy thirteen or fourteen years old, went to sea in the sloop " Benjamin." on a fishing expedition, to the Straits of Bell Isle, on the northern coast of New Foundland. He shipped aboard a merchant vessel, and went to England, France, and many of the southern ports in this country. He made one voyage from New York to the Russian ports in the Baltic sea. He spent in all about ten years of his life on the sea. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, in a Connecticut regiment of minute men, and now draws a pension for his services. About 1819 he went to Stonington, Connecticut, where he lived about one year. He then went to Berkshire county, Massachusetts, where he followed farming for about six years. In 1827 he emi- grated to Cleveland, Ohio, and purchased a farm within the present city limits of Cleveland. He lived there about seven years. In 1833 he came to Michigan and purchased one hundred and twenty- five acres of land, on sections twenty and twenty-one, in Blissfield, where he now resides. He has always been an active man, and lias bought and sold several pieces of land, both in this and Monroe county. He now owns a house and lot in the village of
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Blissfield. He has always enjoyed remarkably good health, and until after he was sixty years old, never was sick enough to keep him from his labor, except while he had his regular fits of ague, during the first few years of his residence in this county. During the past twenty years he has suffered from rheumatism, but he is now, in his eighty-eighth year, able to do considerable work. February 1st, 1818, he married Miss Mary Bliven, daughter of Jonathan and Amy Bliven, of Westerly, Rhode Island, by whom he had seven children, as follows: George W., born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, March 16th, 1821, now a resident of Blissfield village; Joseph F., born in Great Barrington, Massa- chusetts, April 1st, 1823, on the home farm, in Blissfield ; Albert H., born in Lee, Massachusetts, May 13th, 1825, died in Blissfield, July 29th, 1855 : Samuel M., born in Cleveland, Ohio, January 8th, 1832, now of San Francisco, California ; Mary A., born in Blissfield, April 8th, 1839, at home; one son and one daughter died in infancy. Mrs. Mary Bliven was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, June 11th, 1795, and died in Blissfield, November 10th, 1846.
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RVILLE McLOUTH was born in Farmington, Ontario county, New York, December 21st, 1831. His father, William W. McLouth, was born in Cheshire, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, September 10th, 1792, where he lived until about the year 1815, when he went to Galon, Wayne county, New York, where he was engaged in the dry goods business for about four years. He then moved to Farmington, Ontario county, and purchased a farm, where he lived until the spring of 1835. He then emigrated to Michigan, and took up from the government, the e. ¿ of the n. w. 4 of section 23, in Dover, this county, where he lived until his death, which occurred December 4th, 1860. February 21st, 1815, he married Miss Betsey Ketcham, daughter of Eleazer and Polly Ketcham, of Clarksburg, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, by whom be had fourteen children, twelve of whom lived to be men and women, as follows : Eleazer K., born in Galon, Wayne county, New York, October 30th, 1816, now "a resident of Allegan county, Michigan ; Peter, born in Galon, New York, October 18th, 1818, and died in Dover, in December, 1863; William W., Jr., born in Farmington, Ontario county, New York,
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
January 6th, 1821, now a resident of Dover, this county; Lavina, born in Farmington, New York, December 29th, 1822, now the wife of Isaac Palmer, of Deerfield, this county ; Alvah K., born in Farmington, New York, November 4th, 1824, now a resident of Hudson, this county ; Newton, born in Farmington, New York, July 19th, 1826, now a resident of Dewitt, Clinton county, Michigan ; Re- becca, born in Farmington, New York, July 7th, 1828, now the widow of Jonathan R. Mosher, of Pewamo, Ionia county, Michigan ; Polly Jane, born in Farmington, New York, February 10th, 1830, now the wife of George Webb, of Canandaigua, this county ; Orville ; Cyrus, born in Farmington, New York, November 16th, 1833, now a resident of Dover, this county ; Angeline, born in Dover, this county, July 4th, 1835, now the wife of Charles M. Tobias, of Dover ; Lawrence, born in Dover, October 19th, 1837, now a resident of Dover. Mrs. Betsey McLouth was born in Clarksburg, Massachusetts, March 26th, 1798, and died in Dover, this county, July 25th, 1873. Orville McLouth made it his home with his parents until their death, and now owns the old homestead in Dover, where he resides. He was brought up a farmer, but receiv- ed a very fair education, at Medina, and the Adrian Public Schools. About the year 1849 he commenced teaching a district school, which he followed for six winters, chiefly in Dover. He has served one year as school inspector, and thirteen years as clerk of the township. November 16th, 1859, he married Miss Mary Ann S. Ludlum, daughter of Samuel and Anna Ludlum, of Hudson, this county, by whom he has had three children, as follows : Clarence D., born November 21st, 1860; Herbert G., born August 26th, 1864; Lenora, born September 24th, 1867, and died August 31st, 1868. All were born in Dover, this county. Mrs. Mary A. S. McLouth was born in Hudson, this county, November 25th, 1838, and has always resided in Lenawee county. Her parents were pioneers of Hudson township, and came from Seneca county, New York.
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E LISHA A. BAKER was born in Milo, Ontario (now Yates) county, New York, April 1st, 1809. His father, Elisha Baker, was born in Vermont. About the year 1804 he mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Harris, of Milo, New York, by whom he had three children, Elisha A. being the youngest. Mrs. Elizabeth
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Baker was born in the State of New York, and died in Milo, Yates county, in 1838. Elisha A. Baker lived with his mother until he was about seven years old, when he was bound out to a farmer named Bush, who lived in Parma, Monroe county, New York. He lived with Mr. Bush until he was about sixteen, when he left him and commenced for himself. For several years he worked on a farm by the month, and in 1835 came to Michigan, and purchased 400 acres of government land, which at that time was in Gorham, Lenawee county, Michigan, but after the " Toledo war," it was ceded to Ohio. He resided in Gorham until the spring of 1845, when he sold out, and purchased a farm in Medina, one-half mile south of Canandaigua village. He lived on that farm until 1854, when he sold it and purchased the old Garlick farm, adjoining N. K. Green's, in Medina. In 1856 he again sold out, and purchased a farm in Seneca, where he lived until 1862. He then sold and moved to Morenci village, where he now resides. In March, 1860, he engaged in the mercantile business, in Morenci, with J. P. Cawley & Co., and continued there until 1864, since which time he has not been engaged in any business. In 1858 he was elected supervisor of Seneca, and was re-elected in 1859-60. In 1864 he was again elected supervisor, and was re-elected in 1866-67-68. He was elected once after that, but qualified and resigned. During his residence in Medina, he was once elected township treasurer and collector. July 1st, 1831, he married Miss Mary Leonard, daughter of Silas and Rachel Leonard, of Parma, Monroe county, New York, by whom he has had eight children, as follows : John H., born in Parma, Monroe county, New York, February 28th, 1832, now a resident of Goshen, Indiana, and mem- ber of Congress from the Thirteenth Congressional district of Indiana ; Asa L., born in Parma, New York, June 25th, 1833, a commission merchant of Elmira, New York; Elisha, born in Parma, New York, December 17th, 1834, a resident of Clayton, this county ; Myron, born in Parma, New York, March 14th, 1837, was a lawyer of Goshen, Indiana, and enlisted as a private in the 74th Indiana Infantry, in the war of the Rebellion. He was promoted to captain, afterwards to major, then lieutenant colonel, and was killed by a sharp-shooter, at Atlanta, Georgia, August 5th, 1864. Previous to his death, he was brevetted colonel. Maria A., born in Gorham, Fulton county, Ohio, September 18th, 1838, now the wife of Denison C. Thomas, of Union City, Pennsylvania, where he is principal of the public schools ; Sarah E., born in Gorham, Ohio, June 18th, 1840, at home ; Lucien, born in Gorham, Ohio, June 8th, 1842, now a prosperous lawyer of Leavenworth, Kansas; Mary Jane, born
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
in Medina, this county, September 18th, 1845, now the wife of Cash D. Fuller, of Carlton, Monroe county, Michigan. Mrs. Mary Baker was born in Parma, New York, June 27th, 1810. Her father, Silas Leonard, was born in Lyme, Connecticut, November 11th, 1778, and was of English origin. In 1797 he went to Monroe county, New York, and settled on a farm. He died there, February 12th, 1864, Her mother was born in Albany county, New York, in 1794, and was the daughter of Conrad and Catharine Bush-of German ancestry-of Geneva, New York.
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DAM DREHER was born in Michelfeld, Germany, March 29th, 1832. His father, Jacob Dreher, was born in the same place in 1797, where he still lives and is a farmer. Since the revolution in Baden, in 1848, he has been a Burgomaster ( justice of the peace), until 1877, when he resigned on account of old age. In 1827 he married Miss Elizabeth Miller, daughter of Heinrich Miller, of Michelfeld, by whom he had three sons, Adam being the oldest. Mrs. Elizabeth Dreher died in 1839. In September, 1840, he married Miss Margarette Wipf, of Michelfeld, by whom he had five children. She died in 1879. Adam Dreher lived with his parents until he was fourteen years old, when his father bound him to an uncle to learn the millers' trade. He fol- lowed his trade until 1853, when he came to America. After his arrival in New York, April 19th, 1853, he went to Pennsylvania, where he stayed a short time, afterwards going to New Jersey, and worked about two months to obtain means to come further west. He then came to Vermilion, Ohio, and stayed until October, 1854, when he came to Michigan, and settled in Riga, this county, October 17th. The first work he did in Riga was chopping wood in the cotton-wood swamp, which he continued through the winter. In the spring of 1855 he commenced work for the railroad company as a " track hand." He worked for the railroad company three summers and chopped wood during the winter. In 1855 he purchased twenty-eight acres of heavy timber land in the swamp, and built a log house on it that spring. In 1857 he purchased fifty-seven acres more land adjoining his first purchase. In 1859 he was forced to build another house on account of the railroad company prohibiting him using their
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
premises as a road. His new house stood south of the track and a road was laid out near it, which he assisted in cutting through. In 1861 he was elected highway commissioner,-an important office in this township at that time, when new and passable roads through the swamp were required. He held the position for nine consecutive years. At that time the offices of highway and ditch commissioner were one. In 1864 he was drafted as a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, and served ten months (until the close of the war) in Company E, 14th Michigan Infantry. In 1866 he was elected township treasurer, which office he held consecutively until the spring of 1871, when he was elected supervisor of the township. During this year he purchased one-half of the Blissfield grist-mill and resigned the office of supervisor August 26th. He held his interest in the mill until April 15th, 1874, when he sold out and returned to Riga. In 1874 he purchased the general stock of goods then owned by Charles Waggonlander, and since that time he has kept a general store in the village. He owns eighty acres of land on sections three and ten, in Riga. In the spring of 1879 he was again elected supervisor of the town- ship. July 16th, 1854, he married Miss Elizabeth Siebert, daughter of Casper and Annamata Siebert, of Vermilion, Ohio, by whom he has had nine children, as follows : Elizabeth, born June 24th, 1855, now the wife of Philip Lipp, of Riga; Jacob J., born August 18th, 1858, at home; Anna C., born August 27th, and died September 14th, 1861; Annamata, born January 14th, 1863, at home; Mary, born June 23d, 1864, at home; Carolina, born May 13th, 1866, died in infancy; Anna E., born February 17th, 1869, died in infancy; Mary Emma, born March 16th, 1870, at home ; Carolina J., born July 22d, 1876, at home. All of the children were born in Riga. Mrs. Elizabeth Dreher was born in Breitenbach, Prussia, October 18th, 1831, and came to America alone, in 1852, and settled in Vermilion, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Dreher have raised a good family of children and are thank- ful for their good health and prosperity in this country.
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ELEG C. HAVILAND was born in Providence, Saratoga county, New York, March 26th, 1813. His father, Ingurson Haviland, was born in New York, August 11th, 1785, and and was a farmer all his life. He owned a farm in Providence,
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
Saratoga county, where he lived until the year 1821, when he moved to the Holland Purchase, in Royalton, Niagara county, New York, and purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres. He lived there until 1834, when he emigrated to Michigan, and settled on the n. ¿ of the n. e. 4 of section 31, in Raisin. He at once built a log house, and had only lived in it about one month, when he died of a disease contracted in New York, August 8th, 1834. About the year 1807 he married Miss Alice Chase, daughter of Wing and Abigail Chase, of Saratoga county, New York, by whom he had eleven children, four sons and seven daughters, six of whom lived to become men and women. Mrs. Alice Haviland was born in New York, October 26th, 1788, and died in Raisin, January 4th, 1851. Peleg C. Haviland lived with his father until he was twenty-one, and received a good common school education, for those days. He came to Michigan with his parents, and purchased land adjoining his father's farm, it being the s. ¿ of the n. e. 4 of section 31, in Raisin, which he has added to, until he now owns one hundred and ten acres. He has built a good brick house upon the site originally selected by his father adjoining his own first purchase, and has also good barns, sheds, etc. During the winter of 1834-5 he taught school in the build- ing then known as the Westgate school house. He has been highway commissioner of Raisin for six successive years. He has always been a member of the society of Friends, and has acted with the Republican party since its formation. He has often been called upon to serve as administrator on the estates of friends and neighbors, and has settled a number of large and important estates. He has also been called upon several times to serve on grand and petit juries. June 14th, 1836, he married Miss Laura Slade, daughter of Lawton Slade, of Somerset, Niagara county, New York, by whom he has had eight children, three sons and five daughters, as follows: Hiram, born April 28th, 1838, died Septem- ber 30th, 1870 ; Huldah, born November 4th, 1840, wife of Stephen H. Aldrich, a farmer of Raisin ; Roxcina, born April 5th, 1843, wife of Moses Bowerman, Jr., owner of a farm in Raisin, and owns and runs a saw-mill in Ridgeway; Abigail, born August 3d, 1845, died in infancy ; Nancy, born October 26th, 1846, wife of Stephen Bowerman, a farmer of Raisin ; Phebe, born Septem- ber 23d, 1848, wife of W. B. Gray, of Alum Creek, Morrow county, Ohio, died February 9th, 1874; John, born July 1st, 1852, died September 13th, 1876. Emerson, born December 31st, 1858, is married, and lives at the old homestead, and runs the farm with his father. All of the children were born in Raisin. Mrs. Laura Haviland was born in Farmington, Ontario county,
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
New York, September 24th, 1819. Her father and mother were born and raised in Pittstown, Rensselaer county, New York. They came to Michigan in 1837, and settled in Raisin, where they died. Mr. Haviland has lived upon his farm for forty-five years, and has transformed it from a wilderness, without roads or bridges, to a valuable and productive property.
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MOS B. BEDELL was born in Fort Covington, New York, February 7th, 1832. His father, Burr BeDell, was. a native of Manchester, Vermont, where he was born Sep- tember 1st, 1802. His father, Benjamin F. BeDell, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and never lived with his wife after the war. When Burr BeDell was about twelve years old, he was bound to his grandfather, William BeDell, and lived with him until he was twenty-one. His education was limited, as he always worked in a saw-mill with his grandfather. After his twenty-first year, he went to Plattsburg, where he owned a saw-mill. He lived there until 1834, when he emigrated to Seneca county, Ohio, where he com- menced farming. In 1838 he came to Michigan and purchased 132 acres of land on section one, in Hudson, this county. He did not move his family on this land until 1842, when he settled there and lived until his death, which occurred July 26th, 1876. His ancestors came from France in the last century. February 22d, 1827, he married Miss Almira Brand, daughter of James S. and Fanny Brand, of Plattsburgh, New York, by whom he had six sons and two daughters, Amos B. being the third child. Mrs. Almira BeDell was born in Plattsburg, New York, January 31st, 1810. Her parents were natives of Vermont, and were among the early settlers of Plattsburgh. Mrs. BeDell is still living, in Hudson, this county, on the old homestead. Amos B. BeDell lived with his father until he was seventeen years old, and only received a common school education. In the fall of 1849 he com- menced to learn the machinist's trade in the railroad shops at Adrian, under Thomas McClellan, then master mechanic. He served as an apprentice there four years and five months; he then went on the road as fireman of a locomotive, for about three months, when he was promoted to engineer, and run a locomotive between Toledo and White Pigeon for about three years. He afterwards went on the Wabash railroad, and acted as foreman
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
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