USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume I > Part 24
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
neuralgia of the heart, while sitting at the breakfast table. Sep- tember 17th, 1837, he married Miss Sally F. Baker, daughter of Joseph and Sally Baker, of Rome, this county, and twin sister of Joseph F. Baker, now of Adrian, by whom he had seven child- ren, as follows ; Clarissa A., born June 14th, 1838, now the wife of Wesley Reynolds, of Rome; Marcelline R., born October 28th, 1840, died August 24th, 1845; Statira E, born April 12th, 1843, died August 15th 1845; Amanda S., born February 10th, 1845, for many years a teacher in the Adrian public schools ; Jefferson R., born May 15th, 1848, a farmer of Adrian ; Xara F., born June 30th, 1851, at home; Fred, born December 26th, 1854, works the home farm. Mrs. Sally F. Thomas was born in Manchester, Ontario county, New York, June 18th, 1819. She came to Mich- igan with her parents, in 1833. [For her family relation, see L. W. Baker's record.]
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HARLES M. WEAVER was born in North Adams, Hillsdale county, Michigan, October 24th, 1843. His
father, William Weaver, (see record, on another page,) came to Michigan in 1835, first settling in Madison, Lenawee county, but shortly afterwards purchased a farm in Somerset, Hillsdale county, where he resided until 1863, with the exception of a year or two, when he lived in North Adams. December 25th, 1821, he married Miss Mary Earl, daughter of Richard and Mercy Earl, of Ontario county, New York, by whom he had seven children, four sons and three daughters, Charles M. being the youngest of the family. Charles M. Weaver was reared on his father's farm, in Somerset, Hillsdale county, until the age of twenty. He received a rudimentary education, in the district schools of that township, an important part of his early instruction being received from his brother, Clement E. Weaver, who was at that time a prominent pedagogue of that vicinity. At the age of seventeen, he went Hillsdale college, where he spent in all, about two college years. He was a student of the first high school origanized in Hudson, under Prof. Frank Mcclellan, during the winter of 1862. After he left the farm, he taught school in Pittsford, Hillsdale county, and subsequently acted as a clerk, in the clothing store of Pierson & Weaver, of Hudson, the Mr. Weaver of the firm being
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
his brother Riley. He remained there about one year, and in the fall of 1865, went to Racine, Wisconsin, and acted as wholesale clerk in the large grocery house of George Bull & Co., of that city. He remained in Racine until the spring of 1866, when he came to Adrian, and commenced the study of law with his brother, C. E. Weaver. In September, 1869, he was admitted to the bar of Lenawee county, and remained in his brother's office until the fall of 1871, when, owing to poor health, he was obliged to leave the office. He then became the collecting agent for B. P. Howe, of New York, which position he held for about two years. In the fall of 1873 he formed a co-partnership with with Perry Shumway, of Hudson, for the practice of law. In the spring of 1874 he was elected recorder of the village of Hudson, and was re-elected in the spring of 1875. In the spring of 1875 he was also elected clerk of the township of Hudson. At the expiration of his co-partnership with Mr. Shumway, January 1st, 1875, he formed a co-partnership with John F. Welch, of Morenci, doing business in Hudson, until the following May, when they moved their office to Morenci, and continued the business for one year, when Mr. Weaver opened an office on his own account, and did a good law business until November, 1878. In the spring of 1876 he was elected justice of the peace of Leneca. About one month after he became a resident of Morenci, he was appointed village attorney, and the following spring he was elected village clerk. He held the office of attorney for nearly four years, and was clerk two years. After the death of Charles M. Walker, in October, 1878, he formed a co-partnership with his brother, C. E. Weaver, and in November he became the junior member of the law firm of Weaver & Weaver, of Adrian. March 3d, 1872, he married Miss Julia A. Osborn, daughter of V. R. J. and Ursula Osborn, of Adrian. Mrs. Weaver was born in the town of Royalton, Fulton county, Ohio, November 14th, 1852. [See record of her father, V. R. J. Osborn, on another page.]
ON. WILLIAM SEWARD WILCOX, son of Austin and Clarissa Wilcox, was born in the town of Riga, Monroe county, New York, April 25th, 1819. When a child his parents moved into the town of Bergen, Genesee county, same state, where he lived on a farm, his father running a farmers' hotel,
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
stages, postoffice, etc., the subject of this sketch, living at home, and assisting. In the year 1836 he came west, to Milan, Ohio, where he was engaged as a clerk, in a dry goods store, for Mr. Ira Bid- well, where he remained for a short time, when he removed to Adrian, Michigan, arriving September 18th, 1836, and where he was still in the employ of Mr. Bidwell, who had moved his goods to Adrian. Remaining with him until the year 1840, Mr. Wilcox became a partner of Mr. Bidwell. The firm of Bidwell & Wilcox continued until January, 1844, when Mr. Wilcox sold his interest to Mr. Bidwell. In the spring of the same year Mr. Wilcox com- menced business for himself, with an entirely new stock of goods, continuing in the business until the year 1855, part of which time he had for partners, J. H. Bodwell and Wm. D. Tolford. That same year he sold his goods to Bodwell, Carey & Clay, the latter two being his clerks. In 1848 he was elected village treasurer, and held the office one year. Soon after selling out his dry goods, he started a hardware store, under the name of Wilcox & Chappell, which firm continued about eighteen months, when he, purchasing the interest of Chappell, continued the business alone, until 1867-8, when his brother Henry became his partner. This firm lasted some five years, under the name of Wilcox & Brother. The firm was then changed to Wilcox, Bro. & Co., when George, son of W. S. Wilcox, became a partner ; that is the name of the firm at this date. In 1864 he was elected to the legislature of Michigan, and held that office for two terms, acting on the ways and means com- mittee the second term, as its chairman. In the spring of 1865 he was elected mayor of Adrian, holding the office for one year. In the fall of 1870 he was chosen State senator, and held the office for one term, and was chairman of the finance committee. In the year 1869 he was appointed, by Gov. Baldwin, State Prison inspec- tor, and was immediately elected, by the board, president, which place he still holds. In the year 1866 he was elected president of the Michigan State Insurance Company, which position he still occupies. He was elected president of Oakwood Cemetery Associa- tion, in the year 1863, and still holds the same position. He became an active member of the Adrian fire department in 1841, and continued the same until the paid department was organized, being some twenty-one years a member. He was superintendent of the Baptist Sabbath school from 1839 to the present time, forty years, and is now instructing, in that school, the third generation. Mr. Wilcox was first married at Benton, Indiana, to Miss Sarah Frances Clay, daughter of Rev. Bradbury S. Clay, by whom three children were born, all boys, two of whom died in infancy, George A., the only remaining son, is partner in the firm of Wilcox, Bro.
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
& Co. Mrs. Wilcox died February 12th, 1852. His second marriage took place August 17th, 1854, to Miss Josephine South- worth, daughter of Dr. Wm. Southworth, of Avon Springs, New York. Mr Wilcox has been one of Adrian's most prominent and successful business men, and is now one of the firm of Whitney & Wilcox, bankers, Adrian.
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LMON C. GALLOWAY was born in Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, February 2d, 1816. His father, John Galloway, was born in Herkimer county, New York, December 2d, 1786. He only lived in that county a few years, when his father, Capt. James Galloway, moved to Wayne county, and settled in Palmyra, in company with two other pioneers, Gen. Swift and Gen. White. These three families were the first settlers of that town. John Galloway was then a small boy, and made the trip from Herkimer county to Palmyra in a bag, with an older sister. His parents took a large sack, and put his sister in one side and himself in the other, and hung them over the back of a horse, just as an old fashioned doctor did his saddle bags. He lived in Palmyra, with his parents, until he was married, when he purchased a large farm, and lived on it until the spring of 1824, when he emigrated to Michigan, sailing from Buffalo to Detroit on the first steamboat on the lake, and the first trip ever made by that boat-the " Pioneer "-arriving in Detroit about the 1st of May. He left his family in Detroit until he went to Pontiac, pur- chased a new farm and a yoke of oxen, and returned to Detroit and moved his family upon the land. He lived there about eleven years, when he sold out, went to Toledo, and bought a large farm, where he lived several years, when he again sold out, and purchas- ed another large farm, in Raisinville, Monroe county, where he lived until his death, October 14th, 1851. About the year 1805 he married Miss Elizabeth Cornell, of Palmyra, New York, by whom he had four sons, Almon C. being the youngest. Mrs. Elizabeth Galloway was born in New York, about the year 1787, and died in Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, March 17th, 1818. Almon C. Galloway was brought up a farmer, and lived with his father until he was about nineteen years old. He received a limited education, and has always been a farmer. In 1834 he went to Palmyra, New York, and remained there until
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
August, 1837, when he came back, and lived near Toledo about one year. In August, 1838, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of new land, on sections five and eight, in Adrian township. He was obliged to cut a road for half a mile to get to the land. He lived there for sixteen years, and cleared up one hundred acres, and fenced the entire place. He first built a log house and log barn, but afterwards built a good frame house and a large frame barn. He had a good orchard, which he raised from seed brought by his wife from New York. In the spring of 1854 he sold the farm to John D. Kaiser, and purchased one hundred and fifty acres, on section thirteen, in Adrian township, where he now lives. Since he purchased this farm he has erected a fine large brick house, with several barns and sheds. He has greatly improved the farm in every way, and has put in several miles of tile and drains, and it is now one of the best cultivated, and most product- ive farms in Lenawee county. March 16th, 1837, he married Miss Calista A. Knowles, daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Knowles, of Palmyra, New York, by whom he has had three children, as follows: David A., born in Toledo, Ohio, May 28th, 1838, a farmer of Adrian township; Elizabeth A., died in infancy ; Duane C., born in Adrian, January 29th, 1844, a farmer of Adrian township. Mrs. Calista A. Galloway was born in Orwell, Vermont, January 11th, 1816. Her parents were both born in New Hampshire, but were early settlers of Palmyra, New York, and came to Michigan in 1847. Mrs. Knowles died in February, and Mr. Knowles in August, 1851.
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AMES PAGE was born in Huntingtonshire, in the village of Somersham, England, in the year 1833. His father, Samuel Page, was a farmer, and managed a large estate for a clergyman of the English church, named Brown, for eighteen years. His mother was Miss Mary Lenton, of Somersham, where she is still living. James Page never had the advantage of an education, except what he received at night schools. His father raised eleven children, all of whom are still living, three residing in this city, and one in Des Moines, Iowa. He lived in England until he was nineteen years old, and came to America in 1853, coming direct to Adrian. He learned the trade of brick layer and
235
OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
plasterer, with Nathaniel Shurtliff, which business he has always followed. In 1855 he married Miss Frances Holloway, daughter of Martin Holloway, of Adrian, by whom he has had three daugh- ters, all of whom are living. In 1856 he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and in 1857 went to Monticello, Arkansas, where he work- ed at his trade until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he was conscripted into the rebel army, where he served about nine months, until the memorable battle of Corinth, Mississippi, where he gave himself up as a prisoner to Gen. Grant's army. He re- mained a prisoner about one month, when he was parolled and passed through the lines, when, under the most trying circum- stances, he returned to Arkansas, to look after his family. He suffered a very severe fit of sickness, but upon recovery, decid- ed to make his escape North, and after evading a detachment of Southerners sent after him, he finally succeeded, and arrived at Adrian with his family, in the latter part of June, 1863, complete- ly wrecked in health, and stripped of all earthly possessions. But Mr. Page is a man of courage and nerve, and immediately set himself to work to retrieve his lost fortunes, and is to-day a fore- handed, competent and worthy citizen, holding the confidence and respect of all. He has given his children all the advantages of our best schools, and one, Miss Julia Page, is now a competent teacher in this county.
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SAIAH LOWE was born in Big Flats, Chemung county, New York, July 15th, 1811. His father, Abraham Lowe, was born in New Jersey, November 2d, 1777. He was brought up on a farm. He moved to Big Flats, New York, previous to the year 1800, where he purchased a farm, and lived until 1823, when he sold out and moved to Genesee county, (now Orleans,) where he died, in May, 1834. April 18th, 1802, he married Miss Mary Atwood, daughter of Benjamin and Deborah Atwood, of Big Flats, New York, by whom he had five children, Isaiah being the oldest son and fourth child. Mrs. Mary Lowe was born in Canada, near Mon- treal, December 13th, 1779, and died in Fairfield, this county, September 4th, 1865. Isaiah Lowe lived with his parents until his twentieth year, and received a very limited education. When
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
a young man he worked at the carpenter's trade, and followed that business, together with farming, in Orleans county, until 1832, when he came to Michigan, and arrived in Adrian May 20th, 1832. He at once took up the w. ¿ of the n. e. ¿ of section 21, in Adrian township. About two years later he took up the n. e. 4 of the n. e. ¿ of section 20. He lived there until 1836, when he sold to Cornelius Bogart. He then purchased the e. ¿ of the s. w. } of section 14; also the e. } of the n. w. ¿ of section 23, in Fairfield. This was all new land, which he commenced improving, and lived there until the spring of 1846, when he moved to the village of Adrian, where he built a house, and lived until the fall of 1847. He then traded his village property for a farm in Fairfield, and moved back to Fair- field, on the old farm, where he lived until 1874, when he moved to Jasper. In 1873 he built a steam saw-mill at Jasper, and in 1876 he, with J. C. Mabee, built the Jasper flouring mill, which they are now running, doing an extensive business. In 1851 he went to California, but only remained there about five months. During his residence in Adrian township he served as highway commissioner, and filled the same office in Fairfield, where he has been elected justice of the peace for four terms. March 20th, 1831, he married Miss Eleanor Older, daughter of William and Caroline Older, of Shelby, Orleans county, New York, by whom he has had five children, as follows: Lydia Ann, born in Adrian, August 14th, 1832, wife James A. Dunbar, of Fairfield ; Jerusha S., born in Adrian, April 3d, 1834, wife of H. S. White, of Fair- field ; Abraham, born in Adrian, August 20th, 1836, a farmer of Fairfield ; Caroline M., born in Fairfield, December 20th, 1845, wife of J. C. Mabee, a miller of Jasper, this county ; William F. O., born in Fairfield, May 1st, 1853, of Jasper, this county. Mrs. Eleanor Lowe was born in Seneca county, New York, August 4th, 1812. [For her family relation, see William Older's record.]
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AMES K. WEBB was born in Lockport, Niagara county, New York, February 3d, 1825. His father, Dr. Ezekiel Webb, was born in New Paltz, Ulster county, New York, June 29th, 1782, and was the oldest of six children. His father, who was a captain in the Revolutionary war, died when he was
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
but fourteen years of age, and the care of the family devolved upon him. At the age of about fifteen he commenced teaching school for the family support, and at about the same time com- menced the study of medicine, and soon after became a student in the office of Dr. Oliver, a celebrated physician of Kingston, Ulster county, New York. He stayed with Dr. Oliver until he was competent to practice, when he opened an office and did business until about the year 1808. June 2d, 1808, he married Miss Fanny Hall, daughter of Samuel Hall, of Kingston, by whom he had ten children, four sons and six daughters, as follows : Emeline, wife of Amos Hoag, of Carthage, Missouri; Julia Maria, wife of Joseph Chittenden, Jr., died January 12th, 1863; Adelia, wife of Nathan H. Bassett, of Adrian township; Nathan H. died April 11th, 1838 ; Charlotte H., married Albert L. Vail, May 25th, 1837, and went to Texas in 1841, where she lived for thirty years; she died in Raisin, October 4th, 1879, leaving a son and a daughter. Ezekiel D., a prominent citizen of Hesper, Iowa; Catharine H., wife of the Rev. F. B. Banks, of the M. E. church, and died at Mason, Michigan, July 5th, 1875; Edwin L., a merchant of Adrian, where he has lived for many years; Louisa F., of Tecum- seh, widow of the late George W. Ketcham, of Tecumseh, who died January 31st, 1875. Mrs. Fanny Webb was born in Con- necticut, June 22d, 1791, and went to Kingston, New York, with her parents in 1800. She was a member of the society of Friends, and died at her home in Raisin, August 30th, 1853. Immediately after his marriage, Dr. Webb moved to Hackensack, New Jersey, where he lived four years, and in 1825 he emigrated to Michigan, and settled in Farmington, Oakland county, where he lived until January, 1832, when he purchased a farm in Raisin, where he lived until his death, May 20th, 1867. He early joined the society of Friends, but in the latter part of his life was a Methodist. James K. Webb has always been a farmer, and came to Michigan with his parents in 1825, when he was about three months old. He now owns and resides upon the old homestead in Raisin. May 16th, 1855, he married Mrs. John Boyden, of Ann Arbor, Michi- gan, by whom he has had four children, as follows : Carrie L., at home ; Hattie A., at home ; Ralph D., at home ; Charles E., died at the age of five years. Mrs. James K. Webb was born in Moravia, New York, August 11th, 1823, and came to Michigan in 1840. She is the daughter of John F. Day, a merchant of Moravia, New York. October 25th, 1848, she married John Boyden, of Webster, Washtenaw county, by whom she had one daughter, Fanny R., now the wife of O. L. Gridley, of Minneapo- lis, Minnesota. Mr. Boyden died in California in 1854. Mrs.
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
Webb is a niece of Francis H. Root, of the late firm of Jewett & Root, the celebrated stove manufacturers, of Buffalo, New York.
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EORGE W. GOODRICH was born in the township of Tecumseh, (now Clinton,) August 28th, 1827. His father, Deacon Ira Goodrich, was born in Jefferson county, New York, July 10th, 1795, where he resided until the spring of 1824, when he came to Michigan with Gen. J. W. Brown, and a party of thirteen other men, which comprised the first settlers of Lena- wee county. Soon after his arrival he located one hundred and sixty acres of land, being described in the original deed as the "s. w. ¿ of section 8, in town 5 south, range 4 east." The land is situated in the present township of Clinton, about two miles south- west of the village. After remaining here a short time, he went back to the state of New York, and in the fall returned with his family, consisting of his wife and three children. He immediate- ly erected a log house on his land, and moved his family into it. The land was covered with very heavy oak, beech, maple and black walnut timber, and was very hard land to clear off and sub- due, but constant labor, from year to year, finally conquered, and he lived until the stumps were all removed from one hundred and fifty acres of it. The country where he had always lived, in the state of New York, was heavy soil, and timbered land, and when he came to Michigan he thought he must have the same quality ; hence his selection in the timbered land. He had his choice of all the land in the county at that time, and if he had taken up a farm on the openings, south of Tecumseh, he might have been a rich man before he got his timbered land cleared up, but he thought the land that such small scrubby trees (burr oak) grew upon, was good for nothing. About the year 1827 he erected a saw-mill, on the Raisin, at a point now known as Newburg, and carried it on for several years. During the first two years of his residence here he was obliged to go to Monroe to mill and procure provisions. This trip usually consumed about seven days time. The heaviest load he was able to draw through the mud, was about nine hun- dred pounds. Upon one of these trips, while on the way home, one of his wagon wheels was torn off by a log hidden in the mud, the axle being drawn under the root of a stump. This root was some two feet under water and mud, and it was impossible to get the
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
axle out without cutting it off. He had no ax, and finally got into the mud and cut the root, which was about four inches in diameter, with his pocket-knife, after the most severe labor. He came from Sackets Harbor to Detroit on a sail vessel, which he afterwards learned had been condemned by the authorities, being twenty-one days making the trip. During the voyage terrific storms occurred, the vessel only escaping destruction, as it was then claimed, by a miracle. Thomas Goodrich, father of Ira Goodrich, came to Lenawee county in the fall of 1824, and located a farm in Newburg, Clinton township. He was the first justice of the peace in the county, marrying the first couple, in 1827, Theodore Bissell and Miss C. M. Spofford. Since that time the descendants of Thomas Goodrich number 179, all of whom made it their home in Michigan. Before Ira Goodrich came to Michigan, he assisted his father, Thomas Goodrich, in clearing two hundred acres of heavy timbered land. He was a genuine pioneer, and gloried in lending assistance and giving information to settlers. In 1835, he and Elder Powell, of Bridgewater, Washtenaw county, built the first Baptist church in the village of Clinton. Mr. Goodrich was always an active member and liberal supporter of that church. About the year 1845 he engaged as colporteur for the American Tract Society, visiting nearly every house in the county, adminis- tering to the moral and spiritual wants of the people, often pray- ing with the sick, unfortunate or ardent christian. He lived upon his farm in Clinton, from his first settlement, in 1824, to the time of his death, which occurred February 18th, 1866. September 24th, 1815, he married Miss Sally Benson, of LeRay, Jefferson coun- ty, New York, by whom he had seven children, George W. being the second son and fifth child. Mrs. Sally Goodrich was born in LeRay, Jefferson county, New York, September 19th, 1800, and died in Clinton, December 12th, 1867. George W. Goodrich always lived with his parents, and was educated in the district schools of his township. He was the first male child born in the county, and has always lived on the farm where he was born. He now owns and resides upon the old home farm, and cherishes it with a love and veneration equal to mother-love. Within the past few years he has erected a new and very comfortable frame house; he also keeps the farm up to its best in production. He knows nothing of any other place, and has no desire to change his location or invest in any theoretical or visionary undertakings. It is his purpose to live and die as his father did, a prosperous, thrifty far- mer. July 5th, 1848, he married Miss Charlotte Poucher, daugh- ter of Anthony and Sally Poucher, of Bridgewater, Washtenaw county, by whom he has had four children, as follows : Leslie M.,
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
born January 25th, 1852, now a practicing physician of Corunna, Mich .; Deliteure L., born May 4th, 1858, at home; Sandford B., born September 24th, 1862, at home; David S., born December 5th, 1867, at home. All were born in Clinton. Mrs. Charlotte Goodrich was born in Claverick, Columbia county, New York, September 6th, 1820, and came to Michigan with her parents in 1827, settling in Bridgewater, Washtenaw county. Her father was born in Claverick, Columbia county, New York, in 1804, and died in Bridgewater, Mich., in 1870. Her mother was born in the same place, in 1807, and is still living in Bridgewater.
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