USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume I > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
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FAN R. MILLER was born in Plattsburg, New York, Au- gust 29th, 1819. His father, John Miller, was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire, in 1783. He lived in New Hampshire until the breaking out of the war of 1812, when he enlisted as a soldier, and served as Orderly Sergeant until its close. After the war he went to Plattsburg, New York, where he lived a few years, subsequently working on the locks of the Erie canal, at Little Falls, until the completion of the work. He then moved to Albany and lived until 1850, when he came to Michigan, settling on section 36 in Raisin. He died in Raisin April 7th, 1857. In 1818 he married Miss Matilda Hilliard, daughter of Miner and Abigail Hilliard, of Danby, Rutland county, Vermont, by whom he had ten children, seven sons and three daughters, four of whom are now living. Mrs. Matilda Miller was born in Danby, Ver- mont, in 1795, and died in Raisin, Mich., August 24th, 1878. Van R. Miller left home when he was ten years old and com- menced to work on a farm, and has followed that avocation all his life. His parents moved to Albany county, New York, when he was about two years old, where he lived until he was eighteen,
when he went to Chautauqua county. He lived there about three years, and then went to Norwich, Canada. In the spring of 1844 he came to Michigan and settled on the n. ¿ of the s. e. Į of section 35 in Raisin, where he still resides. The land was then covered with a dense forest of heavy timber, and in the wet season was nearly under water. He has done a vast amount of work since his residence here, having assisted in opening most of the roads, and in building most of the bridges, and has performed his full share of labor and borne an equal expense in ditching and im-
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
proving the soil. He has served as highway commissioner of Raisin for fifteen consecutive years. November 28th, 1842, he married Miss Phebe West, daughter of Benjamin West, of Nor- wich, Canada, by whom he has had five children, as follows : John H., born October 26th, 1843, died in Nashville, Tennessee, De- cember 15th, 1863. He was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, a member of Company B., 18th Michigan Infantry, and died of the small-pox. Charles W., born June 4th, 1845, a farmer of Raisin; Emily M., born February 10th, 1847, now the wife of L. V. Judson, a farmer of Raisin; Hiram L., born February 27th, 1848, died of measles at Lexington, Kentucky, February 25th, 1864. He was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, and enlisted in the 11th Michigan cavalry, company C. Mary A., born July 19th, 1862, at home. Mrs. Phebe Miller was born March 7th, 1824, at Norwich, Canada. Her father was born in Dutchess county, New York, November 14th, 1782, and died in Raisin, this county, in November, 1858. Her mother was born in Elba, Green county, New York, September 27th, 1789, and died in Raisin in February, 1849. Van R. Miller's father was of Irish extraction, his ancestors coming from the north of Ireland in 1719, with a colony of over one hundred families, mostly Presbyterians, and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire. They introduced the foot spinning-wheel, the manufacture of linen, and the culture of potatoes. His mother belonged to a family of Revolutionary fame, being a cousin of General Putnam.
OL. SYLVESTER B. SMITH was born in Raisin, Lena- wee county, Michigan, September 19th, 1832. His father, Americus Smith, was a pioneer of this county, and took up land from the government in 1834. He came here in 1828, a young man, and married Miss Martha Beal, in 1830, by whom he had five children, three sons and two daughters. His father and mother were natives of New York. Americus Smith was a mem- ber of the first Methodist church organized in Adrian, when there were but five members. Sylvester went to Palmyra with his pa- rents when he was six months old. His father had taken up a farm there and lived in a shanty one and a half miles from Pal- myra village, and five miles from any other settler. A mill was improvised by hollowing out the top of an oak stump and
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
rigging a pestle on a spring pole, with which his father crushed corn into "samp" for food. Sylvester B. Smith lived with his father on his farm until he was sixteen years of age, when he went to learn the carpenter's trade ; he afterwards learned the cabinet maker's trade, which he followed at times until he was about twenty-two years old. He received a good common school education, and com- menced teaching school at the age of eighteen. In 1854 he went to Morenci, and acted as salesman and book-keeper for different firms, until the fall of 1861. During his residence in Morenci, he was three times elected clerk of the township of Seneca, and once elected justice of the peace. At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, he was active in raising recruits for the Union army, and went into the service in command of a company recruited in Morenci and Hudson, and was assigned to the 11th Michigan In- fantry, which was ordered to Bardstown, Kentucky, during the winter of 1861-2. He was commissioned Major in August, 1862. At the battle of Stone River he was badly wounded in the face and neck, being entirely disabled for future service. He was con- missioned Lieutenant-Colonel immediately after the battle, but was obliged to resign, and came home in the spring of 1863. In April, 1863, just after returning from the army, he was elected supervisor of Seneca. In the fall of 1864 he was elected sheriff of Lenawee county, and was re-elected in 1866. In the fall of 1864 he moved to the city of Adrian, where he has resided ever since. In the fall of 1870 he was elected to the office of County Treasurer, and was re-elected in 1872. In 1872 he engaged in the hardware business with C. D. Todd, soon afterwards purchasing the well known store of F. J. Buck, and formed a company known as Todd, Smith & Jewell. In 1873 Mr. Todd retired, and Smith & Jewell continued the business until the fall of 1878, when Mr. Smith disposed of his interest to R. J. Jewell. In June, 1876, he was elected cashier of the Lenawee County Savings Bank, and served in that capacity until November, 1878, when he formed a partnership with Thomas J. Tobey, and engaged in the banking business as successors to W. H. Stone & Co., which business he is now engaged in. In Sep- tember, 1864, he married Miss Mary Norton, daughter of Salmon C. Norton, of the state of New York, by whom he had three chil- dren, as follows: the first, a daughter, Carrie, died an infant ; Ernest Norton ; Louis Clarence. Mrs. Smith died in May, 1874. In October, 1876, he married Mrs. Johanna C. Gambell, relict of Judge Gambell, of Kansas, and daughter of Silas and Martha Putnam, pioneers of Lenawee county. Mrs. Smith was born in Madison, this county, in 1839. In politics, Mr. Smith has always been a republican, and for four years after the death of Robert R.
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Beecher, he was chairman of the Republican county committee. He is an attendant of the Presbyterian church and is a member of the board of trustees. He is a prominent Mason, being a member of the Blue Lodge, Council, Chapter and Commandery, and has taken the 32d degree in the Scottish Rite. The Colonel has spent much time in travel and sight seeing, especially in the east and south. He has traveled through, at his leisure, over one-half of the states of the Union, as well as Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and has spent many pleasant days fishing in the At- lantic ocean, off the coast of Maine.
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EACON WILLIAM TEN BROOK was born in Elmira, Chemung county, New York, December 5th, 1800. His father, John Ten Brook, was born in New Jersey in 1763, where he lived until he was about twenty-one, which was about the time his father sold his large farm in New Jersey and took his pay in Continental money, of course losing everything. He purchased a farm in Tioga (now Chemung) county, New York, where he lived until his death, which occurred December 15th, 1843. About 1792 he married Miss Alice Lowe, daughter of William and Alice Lowe of New Jersey, by whom he had twelve children, William being the oldest son and fourth child. Mrs. Alice Ten Brook was born in New Jersey in 1766, and died in Elmira, New York, Sep- tember 16th, 1833. William Ten Brook lived at home and work- ed his father's farm until he was thirty-two years old. In the spring of 1832 he came to Michigan, arriving in Adrian about the middle of May. After looking around a few days, he located the n. part of the n. e. 4 of section 6, in Fairfield, where he now lives. He at once started for Detroit, on foot, to enter and pay for it, at the land office, spending about a week's time in making the trip. He immediately went to work putting up a log house, which he lived in for about two years, without windows or doors, except sheets or blankets. The floor was made of split timber, with a "chamber" floor made of bass wood bark, laid the flesh side down, with timbers laid across, to keep it from curling. During this time two other families of settlers stopped with him several weeks, while they were building on their land. Mr. Ten Brook says that among the greatest annoyances of his early settlement
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
were those almost unbearable pests, flies and mosquitoes. Some- times it seemed almost impossible to endure their fierce and con- stant biting and buzzing. He has often seen cattle run out of the woods, bellowing with pain and rage, and rush into the dense smoke of the burning log-heaps, to escape the flies. The roads were also most horrible for several years, and greatly interfered with the comfort and progress of the settlers. He never saw a bear or wolf in the woods, but often heard wolves howl after dark. He was appointed, by Gov. Stevens T. Mason, justice of the peace in 1834, and has been elected to fill the same office two terms since. In the spring of 1835 he was elected supervisor of Fairfield, and was re-elected to the same office in 1838. He has served as high- way commissioner, and was assessor under the old law. He has represented his township in county conventions, and has twice rep- resented the county in state conventions. In January, 1828, he married Miss Nancy Miller, daughter of Alexander Miller, of Elmira, New York. They had no children, but brought up a boy and a girl. William French was the name of the boy, who grew to manhood, becoming a dentist, and died in Morenci in Sep- tember, 1877. The girl, Mary Ten Brook, was but eleven months old when he adopted her. She is now the wife of Nelson D. Wilson, and heir of Mr. Ten Brook.
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ARON K. WALDRON was born in Romulus, Seneca county, New York, October 23d, 1823. His father, William Waldron, was born in New Jersey, June 12th, 1789, and emigrated to Seneca county, New York, when the country was new. He was a farmer and cleared up, improved and fenced a new farm there, where he died, November 14th, 1833. He married Miss Hester Mathews, daughter of Amasa and Rebecca Mathews, of Hector, New York, February 2d, 1814, by whom he had seven children, six sons and one daughter. Mrs. Hester Waldron was born in Seneca county, New York, July 2d, 1795, and died in Romulus in 1857. Aaron K. Waldron's father died when he (Aaron) was ten years old. He was then bound out to a farmer for seven years. He had a common school education and after he was twenty-one, went to the Ovid academy for six months. In the fall of 1845 he cmigrated to Michigan and arrived in Tecumseh on the 27th of October. The first work he
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
did was for Peter R. Adams, on his farm, where he stayed about one year. In the spring of 1846 he purchased eighty acres of land on section thirty-two, in Tecumseh township, one mile west of Tecumseh village, on the La Plaisance Bay turnpike. It was then a new farm, it having been in the hands of speculators for several years. He has lived on this farm ever since, clearing it up and erecting good buildings, fences, &c., and has added to it until now he has two hundred and thirty-four acres. He has always paid his attention to farming, never having held any office or public place, and never sought it. He was instru- mental in organizing the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of Lenawee county, and called the first meeting, which was held in Clinton, and was the second man to sign the original document of organization. He has, for many years, been a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, having joined in Lodi, Seneca county, New York, in 1841. September 19th, 1846, he married Miss Sarah M. Gunderman, daughter of Jacob Gunderman of Lodi, Seneca county, New York, by whom he has had six children, three sons and three daughters, as follows: Lewis M., born March 12th, 1848; William J., born December 19th, 1850 ; Charles A., born March 4th, 1854; Clara A., born April 19th, 1859; Adah E., born June 19th, 1864; Sarah H., born Septem- ber 12th, 1867; all of whom are living at home. Mrs. Sarah M. Waldron was born February 26th, 1826. Her father, Jacob Gunderman, was born in New Jersey, and died in Lodi, Seneca county, New York, in 1845. Her mother, Mrs. Clarissa Gunderman, was born in New Jersey, and died in Lodi, in the spring of 1874.
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ILLIAM B. FREEMAN was born in Attleborough, Massachusetts, August 28th, 1820. His father, William Freeman, was born in the same place, March 10th, 1796. He was brought up a farmer and lived in Massachusetts until 1842, when he came to Michigan and settled in Palmyra, where he lived until 1849, when he purchased a farm of Erastus White, on section seven, in Ogden, where he now resides. In 1818 he mar- ried Miss Betsey Thayer, daughter of Abiathar and Elizabeth Thayer, of Taunton, Bristol county, Massachusetts, by whom he had nine children, six sons and three daughters, William B. being
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
the oldest. Mrs. Betsey Freeman was born in Taunton, Massa- chusetts, May 5th, 1778, and died in Palmyra, Michigan, April 5th, 1848. In June, 1850, he married Mrs. Lydia Shumway, of Fairfield, this county, who died August 8th, 1871. William B. Freeman was brought up a farmer, and lived with his father until he was about twenty-eight years old. He had but very little school advantages, and most of his learning was obtained in mature years and by observation. He lived in Massachusetts until 1843, when he came to Michigan and settled in Palmyra, where he lived five years. In the fall of 1848 he went to Ogden, and since that time has lived on land on sections five and eight. The land was new when he went upon it, a part of it being "chopped over," but he has cleared and now has under a good state of cultivation, about one hundred acres, and has built a good frame house and two good barns. September 7th, 1848, he mar- ried Mrs. Nancy M. Harvey, widow of David S. Harvey, by whom he has had one daughter: Olive M., born November 9th, 1853, and died September 7th, 1868. Mrs. Freeman had two daughters by her first marriage, as follows: Phila C. Havery, born in Ogden, June 13th, 1839, at home; Nancy F. Harvey, born September 12th, 1843, at home. Mrs. Nancy M. Freeman was born in Bristol, Ontario county, New York, May 9th, 1818, and came to Michigan with her parents, Ephraim and Mercy Hicks, in June, 1835. She was married to David S. Harvey September, 6th, 1837. Mr. Harvey was born in Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, August 20th, 1811, and died in Ogden, July 27th, 1846.
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AMES OSBURN was born in Dutchess county, New York, February 11th, 1810. His father, Sturgis Osburn, was born in Dutchess county, August 5th, 1773, and moved to Seneca county, in 1812. He was a shoemaker by trade and manufactured boots and shoes for his neighbors. He died in Ontario county, New York, July 23d, 1837. February 28th, 1803, he married Miss Chloe Nickerson, of Dutchess county, New York, by whom he had nine children, James being the fourth. Mrs. Chloe Osburn died April 25th, 1861, in Flowerfield, St. Joseph county, Michigan. James Osburn lived with his father until he was twenty-four, and has always been a farmer. He came to Michigan in 1832 and
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
located land on section one, in Adrian township, and in 1834 settled on the land, living there ever since. His first purchase was 1662 acres, which he has improved from the wilderness. It is beautifully located, the house and other buildings standing on a high spot of ground, overlooking a vast expanse of country. He can see the smoke of the cars as they go in and out of the depot east of Adrian; has a fine view for four miles north, two or three miles west, and can see Tecumseh from the upper windows of his house, which looks over the woods in that direction. He also owns eighty acres adjoining in the town of Franklin, eighty acres in Rome, and an interest in a farm near Tecumseh. February 12th, 1834, he married Miss Abbey Crane, daughter of John Crane, of Romulus, Seneca county, New York, by whom he had nine children, as fol- lows: Angeline, born December 11th, 1834, wife of the late Jackson Stitt, of Tecumseh; John C., born October 4th, 1836, a farmer of Hillsdale county; May, born July 31st, 1839, died September 14th, 1862; Emery, born September 3d, 1841, of Carlton, Monroe county; Elizabeth, born March 1st, 1844, at home; Emma Jane, born September 11th, 1847, wife of William Jay, of Adrian; James S., born April 21st, 1850, of Rome; Stephen, born September 14th, 1852, of Franklin; Charles E., born March 17, 1856, at home. Mrs. Abigail Osburn was born in Romulus, Seneca county, New York, July 31st, 1814, and died in Adrian, July 29th, 1856. December 15th, 1858, he married Miss Eliza A. Wheeler, daughter of Thomas and Sally Wheeler, of Cambridge, this county. She was born September 6th, 1809, in Armenia, Dutchess county, New York, and came to Michigan in 1833, with her parents, who settled in Cambridge on govern- ment land. Her mother died June 15th, 1842, and her father died January 25th, 1871.
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ELCOME V. FISK was born in York, Livingston county, New York, June 29th, 1823. His father, Benjamin B. Fisk, was born in East Killingly, Connecticut, in 1794, where he lived and carried on a blacksmith shop until 1823, when he moved to York, Livingston county New York, where he car- ried on a blacksmith shop until 1830. He then came to Michigan, arriving in Clinton, from Detroit, at 12 o'clock at night, May 24th. He opened and carried on the first blacksmith shop in Clinton
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
that spring. He did all the work for the stage company between Ypsilanti and Jonesville, up to the time of his death, which occur- red September 28th, 1832. This was the first death in the village. He was buried in what is now known as the old cemetery. In 1815 he married Miss Lydia Aldrich, of Killingly, Connecticut, by whom he had six sons, Welcome V. being the third. Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, of New York, was their son. Benjamin W. Fisk, also their son, was the first child born in the village of Clinton, in 1830. Mrs. Lydia Fisk was born in Killingly, Con- necticut, in 1795, and died in Clinton, this county, March 5th, 1879. After the death of her first husband she was twice married, and died the widow of Elder Powell, a Baptist minister of Bridge- water, Washtenaw county. She probably passed through as many hardships and experiences as any pioneer woman in Michigan. Being left a widow in a new country, with a large family, without any means of support, except what her own efforts could secure, she finally raised her family and educated them, and to-day her children are among the best men in the communities where they reside. But her old age was passed in comfort and plenty ; her children fully appreciating her early efforts and experiences, made her happy and grateful. Welcome V. Fisk is a self-made man, having commenced for himself when he was eight years old. At that time he went to live with Dennis Lancaster, a farmer of Bridgewater, Washtenaw county. At the age of eleven he com- menced to learn the mason's trade with Simeon Spencer of Clinton. He followed this business until 1847, when he engaged as clerk in the general store of Snow & Keyes, of Clinton. In 1856 he opened a general store in Clinton, in company with his broth- er, Gen. C. B. Fisk, and continued the business for a period of three years, when his health failed him. The store was then closed out, and since that time he has been engaged in the general pro- duce business, handling everything that the farmers have to dis- pose of. He was the first man to make the village of Clinton a cash market for farmers' produce, and has paid out thousands of dollars yearly. He has made some money and lost some, still his courage is good, and he will continue to do business as long he is spared good health. March 13th, 1850, he married Miss Amanda M. Vaughan, daughter of William and Hannah Vaughan, of Varysburgh, New York, by whom he had four children, as follows: Leander D., born March 22d, 1851, died August 7th, 1852; Leander D., born August 21st; 1853, now a promi- nent young man of San Francisco, California, employed in the U. S. mint. Frank, born October 24th, 1855, now a business man of Newton, Iowa; Grace A., born February 14th, 1858, now
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the wife of Porter. C. Smith, a merchant of Clinton. All of the children were born in Clinton, Mich. Mrs. Amanda M. Fisk was born in Varysburgh, New York, February 28th, 1831, and came to Michigan with her mother. She died March 14th, 1866. September 13th, 1866, he married Mrs. Mary C. Vaughan, daugh- ter of Benjamin K. and Julia A. Felton, of Clinton. She was the widow of Henry M. Vaughan, of Detroit, by whom she had two daughters, as follows : Mary E., born in Clinton, September 8th, 1850, now the wife of W. G. Mann, of Newton, Iowa; Eva C. born in Detroit, June 24th, 1854, now the wife of Charles M. Hinsdale, of Chicago.
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DWIN G. WILSON was born in Palmyra, Lenawee county, Michigan, February 15th, 1836. His father, Thomas Wilson, was born in Yorkshire, England, Novem- ber 9th, 1809. He commenced, when he was thirteen years old, working on a farın for five dollars per year and his board, and after he grew to manhood, the largest wages he ever received there was fifty dollars per year and his board. He came to America in 1831, and went to Pultneyville, Wayne county, New York, where he worked by the month for about three years, when he purchased a farm. He held this farm two years, when he sold it and came to Michigan, in June, 1836, and settled on the e. } of the n. e. } of section 12, in Palmyra, now owned by Horatio Pope. He lived there until 1853, when he sold it. In the spring of 1852 he became superintendent of the Raisin Valley seminary, where he remained for two years. In the spring of 1855 he went through the States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, prospecting for a farm, but after a thorough search, he returned to Lenawee county, satisfied that there was no better farming land in the United States than can be found here,. and he purchased the e. }, of the n. e. ¿ of section 29, in Raisin, where he still resides, a venerable old man, bowed down with age and stricken with paralysis, but of good mind and spirit, and alive to the welfare of the public weal and family ties. April 12th 1835, he married Miss Lydia Hoag, daughter of William Hoag, of Macedon, Wayne county, New York, by whom he had two children, one son and one daughter, as follows: Edwin G .; Frances E., born May 23d, 1848, in Palmyra, Michigan, wife of
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
Charles E. Bowerman, of Raisin, this county. Mrs. Lydia B. Wilson was born in Macedon, New York, December 8th, 1810, and died in Raisin, this county, September 1st, 1853. July 19th, 1865, he married Mrs. Rachel Hoag, daughter of James and Sophia Collins, of Macon, this county. She was born in Stafford, Monmouth county, New Jersey, April 25th, 1811. She came to Michigan with her parents in the fall of 1832. Edwin G. Wilson was brought up a farmer, only receiving a common school educa- tion. He has always lived with his father, and has carried on the farm since he was twenty-one, adding forty acres to the old farm. During the past fifteen years he has been engaged, to a considera- ble extent, in buying and selling cattle, hogs, and sheep, but has carried on the farin at the same time. September 27th, 1857, he married Miss Elvira Bowerman, daughter of Samuel Bowerman, of Raisin this county, by whom he had three children, all daughters, as follows: Cora E., born in Raisin, December 18th, 1860, died May 16th, 1873; Eva A., born June 7th, 1862, at home; one died an infant. Mrs. Elvira Wilson was born in Raisin, Lenawee county, Michigan, November 15th, 1840, and died June 2d, 1862. September 10th, 1876, he married Miss Mary A. West, daughter of Briggs West, of Raisin, by whom he has had two children, as follows : Archie T., born in Raisin, June 13th, 1877, and one son, not named, born June 15th, 1879. Mrs. Mary A. Wilson was born Norwich, Canada, May 2d, 1844. Her father, Briggs West, was born in New York, November 7th, 1812, and came to Lenawee county in 1844, and resides in Raisin. Her mother, Polly West, died in Raisin. Mr. Wilson was in the droving business with Benjamin Kelly for about four years, and during that time their business averaged at least fifty thousand dollars per year. During the past few years he has dealt almost exclusively in sheep, selling them mostly at home.
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