USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume I > Part 38
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
in Lenawee county, as Washington was in his day, as the " father of his country." No . one man's influence was greater in propor- tion to his means, than Mr. Comstock's towards the projecting and building of the Erie and Kalamazoo railroad, from Toledo to Adrian. His influence was also felt in the early history and estab- lishment of the Michigan Southern railroad, which is now the great thoroughfare between the east and west. After Mr. Com- stock's death, his second wife lived with her daughter, Mrs. Dean, where she died in Adrian, the 25th of May, 1866. " Aunt Ann." as she was familiarly called, will ever be remembered by her neigh- bors, as one of the most noble and worthy women among the pio- neers of Lenawee county.
LIAB PARK was born in Manchester, Niagara county, New York, March 22d, 1817. His father, Erastus Park, was born in Queens county, New York, in 1783. When a young man, he went to Salt Point, Onondaga county, and engaged in the manufacture of salt, and owned a large salt block. He soon commenced the transportation of salt to the West, and established a transportation line from Salina, by way of Onondaga lake and Seneca river, to Oswego, where he loaded his vessels for Lewiston, on the Niagara river. From Lewiston he transported his salt to Schlosser, above the falls, by ox teams. Here he loaded the salt on flat boats, and transferred it to Buffalo, where he had his prin- cipal depot. He, with others, owned sailing vessels, which plied between Buffalo and all western ports on Lake Erie, which were employed in the salt trade. Salt, in those days, was worth from ten to fifteen dollars per barrel. During the war of 1812 his ves- sel was siezed by the government, and loaded with stores, at Buffalo, and dispatched to relieve a government fort, near Sandus- ky, Ohio. This was in the fall of the year, and during the voyage, the vessel was lost. At the burning of Buffalo, his large supply of salt stored there, was rolled into the creek, and he was financial- ly ruined, never receiving a cent from the government for his ves- sel or salt. June 18th, 1812 he was commissioned, by Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, Adjutant of the 163d Regiment of infantry, commanded by Col. Silas Hopkins. He was afterwards put in command of the Coast Guard, on Niagara river, and was taken prisoner and confined in Fort George. He had a brother, Shubael Park, who was a captain in the Canada militia, who, after a short time, secured for him a parole of honor, but he was subse-
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
quently exchanged. It was only a short time after this event, when Shubael Park was taken prisoner by an American scouting party, and was confined in Fort Niagara. He had been a prisoner there about a month before Erastus learned of it, when he imme- diately secured his release. After the war, he owned some property in Niagara county, until about the year 1828, when he sold out and went to Lockport, where he resided until 1835, when he came to Michigan, and settled on the w. } of the s. w. } of section 27, the farm now owned by H. H. Taber, in Adrian township. He lived on this farm until 1855. The last ten years of his life, he passed among his children and friends, and died in Walworth, Wayne county, New York, in 1864. About 1813 he married Mrs. Lucretia Mayo, daughter of Christopher Van Vleck, one of
the very first settlers of Salt Point, Onondaga county, New York, by whom he had eight children, five sons and three daughters, Eliab being the second child. Mrs. Lucretia Park was born at Salt Point, New York, in 1786, and died in Palmyra, this county, in April, 1857. Eliab Park lived with his father until he was twenty-one, and received very little schooling. At the age of twenty-one he commenced the carpenter's trade, and has followed that, together with farming, ever since. In December, 1857, he purchased the n. 5 of the e. } of the s. e. ¿ of section 28, in Adrian, where he now resides. In 1869 he was elected supervisor of the township of Adrian, and was re-elected to the same office six subsequent times. He has filled the office of justice of the peace four years, and township treasurer three years. December 25th, 1849, he married Miss Althea A. Howell, daughter of Anson and Charlotte Howell, of Adrian, by whom he has had four chil- dren, as follows : Lucretia, born in Palmyra, this county, June 6th, 1851, wife of J. J. Hornby, of Adrian ; Ella, born in Palmyra, January 21st, 1854; Francis, born in Adrian, September 29th, 1856 ; Mary, born in Adrian, August 8th, 1859, wife of Fred- erick Landon. Mrs. Altliea A. Park was born in Ontario county, New York, April 9th, 1824.
EWIS C. KNIGHT was born in Blissfield, Lenawee coun- ty, Michigan, December 5th, 1842. His father, Roswell W. Knight, was born in ('anaan, Connecticut, April 11th, 1792. He lived on a farm with his parents until he was about eighteen years old, when he went to Hornellsville, New York, where he worked in a store until 1812, when he enlisted as a drummer boy, 48
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
and served through the war. At the close of the war, he returned to Hornellsville, and established himself in the mercantile busi- ness, and run a grocery and provision store, carried on a saw-mill, and did an extensive shipping business for many years. In 1837 he came to Michigan, and settled in Blissfield. Shortly afterwards he took up forty acres of land, on section four, in Riga, on the north side of the Cottonwood swanıp, on the old State road, be- tween Toledo and Adrian. He built a log house, the first build- ing erected in the township-this was in 1839-and kept a hotel for several years. During this time, he took the contract of re- building the Erie and Kalamazoo railroad, between Sylvania and " Crane's Curve," west of the village of Palmyra. In 1853 he founded Knight's Station (now Riga), and Wood Station, three miles east. At Knight's Station he erected the first house, and estab- lished the first store, and made his son, A. J. Knight, a partner. At that time, he was known as the "King of the Cottonwood swamp," and was a friend and benefactor of every man who settled in the township. At Wood Station, he built side tracks and erected large sheds, which he donated to the railroad company. He afterwards furnished thousands of cords of wood to the company. Jolin Dings, a German, was the second settler, and now lives on the land he took up, in the south-west corner of the township. John Gordineer was the next settler, who took up land adjoining Mr. Dings. Lawrence Miner, a German, was the second man to settle in the present village of Riga; the next man to come in was Stephen A. Stoddard, who erected the first hotel-a log one-which is still standing. Mr. Knight gave the ground for all the churches and school houses in the village, and donated seven acres to Brad- bury and Wilkinson, for the purpose of erecting a saw-mill. He also gave seven acres of land to the railroad company, for station purposes. Up to 1850 the most of the township of Riga, especial- ly that portion of it comprising the Cottonwood swamp, was not considered worth anything, but shortly after that time, the " Riga ditch " was put through the center of the swamp, which has since been enlarged until it is now almost equal to a canal in size, which, with intersecting ditches, has drained the land completely. Since 1853, the township has been rapidly settled, mostly by Germans, and it is now a very productive portion of the county. Mr. Knight, at different times, owned six hundred and fifty seven acres of this swamp land, and was the instigator of the "big ditch," which made the land tillable. He was an enterprising, sagacious, honor- able man, and was greatly respected by all of the settlers. He was the first justice of the peace, and the first postmaster of Riga, and resided there until his death, which occurred March 12th,
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
1860; he was buried on the 14th, his funeral being the largest that ever took place in the eastern part of the county. May 20th, 1811, he married Miss Hannah Granger, by whom he had ten children. Mrs. Hannah Knight died in Riga, March 12th, 1830. June 19th, 1831, he married Miss Amanda Dake, of Panfield, New York, by whom he had nine children, Lewis being the fourth son and seventh child. Mrs. Amanda Knight was born in Mount Hope, Monroe county New York, and died in Riga, March 17th, 1869. Lewis C. Knight lived with his parents until the death of his father, when he went to farming on his own account, which he followed for about four years, when he worked a short time by the month, and finally went into the saw-mill, as engineer, which busi- ness he followed for fourteen years. In 1874 he purchased a store and stock of drugs, from W. P. Hopkins, which business he has followed ever since. He is deputy postmaster, and has charge of the postoffice, at Riga. September 29th, 1861, he married Miss Eliza J. Franks, of Riga, by whom he has had four children, as follows ; Lewis W., born March 31st, 1866; Charles W., born October 20th, 1868 ; John, born December 14th, 1872; Lydia A., born March 24th, 1877. All of the children were born in Riga.
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RANCIS A. DEWEY was born in Three Rivers, Lower Canada, February 25th, 1811. His father, Simeon Dewey, was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, October 7th, 1784, where he resided, with the exception of about one year, when he lived in Canada, until 1826. That year he moved to Buffalo, New York, where he resided until 1829, when he came to Michigan, and settled in Tecumseh. He purchased four hundred and eighty acres of land, about one mile west of the village, on sections twen- ty-nine and thirty-two. This was all new land, and the La Plaisance Bay turnpike was afterwards built through the center of the tract, on the section line, for about three-quarters of a mile, it being the only place on the entire line of the road, from Monroe to Cambridge Junction, where the road runs for any distance on the section lines. He resided in Tecumseh from 1829 up to within a short time of his death, which occurred in Brest, Monroe county, April 1st, 1863. In 1806 he married Miss Betsey Bigelow, daughter of William and Susannah N. Bigelow, of Hanover, New Hampshire, by whom he had seven children, Francis A. being the second son and third child. Mrs. Betsey Dewey
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, April 28th, 1783, and died in Cambridge, this county, May 3d, 1868. Her mother's name was Susannah Flagg. Francis A. Dewey lived with his parents until he was twenty-one. He went to a district school until he was fourteen, when he became a student in Moore's Academy, at Hanover, New Hampshire, and remained there two years. At Buffalo, in 1828, he attended Capt. McCay's Military school. He . was brought up a farmer, and during the summer of 1829, came to Michigan, and arrived in Tecumseh in September. In 1830 he engaged with Musgrove Evans, as mail carrier, between Tecumseh and Ypsilanti, which he continued for six months. During the winter of 1830-1 the mail was only carried once a week from Tecumseh to Ypsilanti, and only once a month between Detroit and Chicago. It was carried by a Frenchman, on an Indian pony. The pony would sometimes become almost exhausted, when the Frenchman would fire his pistol, which seemed to give the animal new life, and he would continue his journey with renewed vigor. In the spring of 1831 Mr. Dewey went to Detroit, and until the fall of 1833, drove stage, and carried the mail between that city and Ypsilanti, and Detroit and Monguagon. In June, 1834, he located one hundred and sixty acres of government land, on sec- tions seventeen and eighteen, in Cambridge. From the fall of 1833, until the fall of 1836, he drove stage between Tecumseh and Jonesville. During the fall of 1836 he built a log house on his land, in Cambridge, and on March 4th, 1837, he moved into it. He subsequently added to his farm, until he owned about seven hundred acres, and resided there twenty-eight years, building a large brick house, and good barns. He had nearly three hundred acres under improvement, and the entire tract was well fenced. In 1865 he sold two hundred acres. In 1864 he purchased the Walker farm, at Cambridge Junction, where he now resides. In 1830 he was appointed drum major of the 8th Regiment, Michigan Militia. In 1832 he went with the regiment through the Black Hawk war, in that capacity. He served for twelve years. He brought the first tenor drum into Lenawee county. He served as supervisor of Cambridge during the years 1840 and 1852. He was highway commissioner for four years, and justice of the peace twelve years. In 1861 he took an active interest in the suppres- sion of the Rebellion, and spent time and gave money to fill the quotas of his township. He subscribed $700, at one public meet- ing, and subsequently gave $300 more, for the purpose of enabling the committee to carry out its work. In 1874 he was elected president of the Lenawee county Pioneer Society, and has held the position ever since. In 1875 he was elected a member of the
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Executive Committee of the State Pioneer Society, and in 1876, visited the Centennial, at Philadelphia, as one of three delegates of the society. October 25th, 1836, he married Miss Mary Ann Smith, daughter of Isaac and Mary Smith, of Woodstock, by whom he has had six children, as follows : Jane S., born August 7th, 1837, died February 10th, 1855; George H., born January 10th, 1839, a farmer, of Cambridge; John W., born March 17th, 1841, a farmer, and lives on the old homestead ; Albert F., born April 15th, 1843, a farmer, of Cambridge; Franklin S., born March 27th, 1845, a graduate of the Michigan University, and resides in Alpena, where, for eight years, he was superintendent of the public schools ; Isaac S., born April 8th, 1848, a farmer, of Cambridge. Mrs. Mary Ann Dewey was born in Paris, Oneida county, New York, September 24th, 1815, and died in Cambridge, September 15th, 1852. January 27th, 1853, he married Mrs. Maria S. Smith, daughter of Cornelius and Anna Hoxie, of Mace- don, Wayne county, New York. She died September 14th, 1862, without issue. January 15th, 1863, he married Miss Harriet Smith, daughter of Isaac and Mary Smith, of Woodstock, by whom he has had three children, as follows : Mary J., born Decem- ber 10th, 1863, at home; Lyster H., born March 14th, 1865 ; Irving A., born March 31st, 1870. Mrs. Harriet Dewey was born in Paris, Oneida county, New York, July 26th, 1827, and came to Michigan with her parents in 1835. [For her family connection, see the record of her brother, Alonzo L. Smith.]
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RS. HESTER A. HALE, widow of James Hale, was born in Fort Stanwix, (now. Rome) New York, May 29th, 1792, and was the daughter of William and Hester Colbath. Her father was born in Dublin, Ireland, where he received a col- legiate education. He came to America before the Revolutionary war, and served as lieutenant in that memorable struggle, and was afterwards promoted to colonel. He served with distinction throughout the war, and at the close received an honorable dis- charge from the service. During the war he was married to Miss Hester VanDusen, of Albany, New York. Soon after the close of the war, he was appointed Indian Agent, with headquarters at Rome. He held that position some ten years. He was afterwards elected sheriff of Herkimer county, New York, and held that
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
office about ten or twelve years. Before he was elected sheriff, he was a member of the New York Legislature. He died in the year 1799. Mrs. Hale, the subject of this sketch, was married Febru- ary 16th, 1815, to James Hale, a merchant of Fredonia, New York. He soon after moved to Buffalo, where he continued in the dry goods trade for about five years, when he returned to Fredonia and remained some four years, when he sold his interest there. He then formed a co-partnership with his brother, John Hale, and came to Detroit, Michigan, in 1822. They immediately commenced the dry goods business, which they con- tinued for some fifteen years. About the year 1827, they started a branch store at Monroe. While residing at Detroit, the two Hale brothers purchased what is now known as the Hamtramck farm, besides other property in Detroit. After continuing the dry goods business at Monroe for some time, the brothers dissolved partnership, John remaining at Detroit, and James continuing the business at Monroe some fifteen years longer, when he sold out. Mr. Hale died in Louisville, Kentucky, about the year 1865, and his remains were brought to Monroe and buried. By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hale, nine children were born, all of whom lived to become men and women, five of whom are now dead. At the present writing, Dec. 8th, 1879, four are living as follows: Eliza Ann, widow of Nelson Monroe, now lives in Toledo, Ohio. Fannie, widow of Charles Marvin, lives in Hudson, Michigan. Henry is a widower and railroad man, and lives in Toledo. Hen- rietta is the wife of Mr. G. D. Russell, and they reside in Adrian. Mrs. Hale has a vivid recollection of the war of 1812, at which time she lived with her mother, in what was called the Black River country, or at Watertown, New York, where she was well acquainted with Gen. Jacob Brown, Commander-in-chief of the United States Army, and Joseph W. Brown, and all the Brown family then living at Brownville, Jefferson county. Mrs. Hale remembers Colonel Pike, and saw him, with other officers, the day before he started for Toronto, Canada, where he was killed in battle. She remembers Mrs. Jacob Brown as a most excellent lady. She further recollects that Mrs. W. H. Cleveland's grand- mother acted as brides-maid when Mr. and Mrs. Gen. Jacob Brown were married. Mrs. Hale well remembers when the father of Gen. Jacob and Joseph W. Brown died, and also of attending his funeral. She was in Buffalo the next year after it was burned by the British. There was but one small dwelling left standing, it being owned by a widow lady named St. John, who was very wealthy. She owned a large property, which was burned by the British and Indians, who came over from Canada, crossing the river on the ice, to burn
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the town. The next day after the burning of Buffalo, her hus- band's aunt, a Mrs. Lovejoy, was massacred. Mrs. Hale, since the death of her husband, has lived with her children in Monroe, Toledo, and Hudson, and is now living with her daughter, Mrs. G. D. Russell, in Adrian. In the year 1818, Mr. and Mrs. Hale were in Ogdensburg, and she remembers going down the St. Law- rence river, over the rapids, in a boat in company with Martin Van Buren, Gov. Tompkins, and Judge Ogden, the latter living upon an island in the St. Lawrence river. The old Frenchman who conducted the craft over the rapids, a distance of nine miles, made the run in eighteen minutes, after which he remarked that Mrs. Hale was the fourth Yankee woman that ever rode over the rapids, he being the first man that ever conducted a boat over the same. She knew, while living in Detroit, Gen. Cass, Gen. Brady, Col. Newberry, Major Roland, Mr. Hunt, a brother-in-law of Gen. Cass, and their families, and many old and respected French fami- lies, with whom Mr. and Mrs. Hale were on the most friendly terms. Mrs. Hale is now drawing a pension in consequence of the loss of a son in the late Rebellion. She is also one of the nearest descendants of Anneke Jans, and is an heir to that great estate in New York city. Mrs. Hale is certainly a remarkable lady. She talks of the early history of Michigan with much satisfaction, and enjoys the fact that she was one of the pioneers. She has a great memory, converses readily and intelligently. and now, at the age of ninety years, enjoys remarkably good health, and thinks she may live to be one hundred years old.
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OLLIN ROBINSON, of Palmyra, was born in Macedon, Wayne county, New York, June 3d, 1810. His father, Dr. Gain Robinson, was born on Clark's Island, Massachusetts, January 24th, 1771. His mother was born at Hardwick, Massa- chusetts, April 1st, 1775. Rollin Robinson lived on a farm until he was about fifteen years old, when his parents moved to Palmyra village, where he went to school and carried the Wayne Weekly Sentinel to village subscribers. He also learned to set type in the office, and at the age of seventeen, went into the office as an ap- prentice. He stayed there only about two years, during which time he assisted in the printing of the first edition of the " Book of Mormon," or Gold Bible, for the Prophet Joseph Smith, who
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
was " backed " by Martin Harris, a wealthy farmer of Palmyra township, and one of the original " three apostles." Mr. Robinson was well acquainted with Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormon- ism, and its first Prophet, his father's family being a neighbor. In the fall of 1832 Mr. Robinson came to Michigan, and arrived in Palmyra, November 16th, following his brother Caius C. and brother-in-law, Judge A. R. Tiffany, who came a few months pre- vious. The first work he did in Michigan was digging a head race for a saw mill, built by his brother and Judge Tiffany at Palmyra. He afterwards run the mill for some time. In 1836 he commenced work for the Palmyra Flouring Mill Company, under the direction of George E. Pomeroy. He got out the tim- ber for the mill, and the logs that made the lumber. In 1836 the Lenawee County Bank was established at Palmyra, and Mr. Robinson had the honor of being one of the directors. He lived in Palmyra, working at jobs and clearing land until 1841, when he went to Buffalo, and engaged in the forwarding and commission business with his brother, E. D. Robinson. In the fall of 1842 he returned to Michigan, and went to Adrian and purchased wheat from farmers, and solicited freight for the American Transportation Company. In the spring of 1843, he was appointed, by the State of Michigan, Agent of the Michigan Southern railroad, at Adrian, which office he filled until the State sold the road in 1847. He then went to Buffalo, and with his brother, Erasmus D. pur- chased a line of boats on the Erie canal. In 1848 he lived in Albany, for the purpose of looking after his boating interests, and witnessed the great fire there that year. In 1849 he went to Buffalo, where he remained until 1854. In the spring of 1854 he went to Chicago, where he was appointed the Agent of the Con- solidated American Transportation Company. In the spring of 1855 he took the agency of the Consolidated Western Transporta- tion Company, which position he held until 1860, when, on ac- count of ill health, he again returned to Palmyra, this county, since which time he has resided on his farm there. He was the first constable and collector of Palmyra after its organization as a town- ship, and was elected supervisor in the years 1837-8, and also in 1864-5. He has held the office of justice of the peace for two terms, and is now serving his third term. February 12th, 1835, he married Miss Celestia Ann Corbet, daughter of Ziba and Emma Corbet, of Palmyra, this county, by whom he has had one child, Margaret S., who died in Adrian at the age of four years. Mr. Celestia Ann Robinson was born in Villanova, Chautauqua county, New York, April 3d, 1814. [For her family connection see Wm. M. Corbet's record.]
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ICHOLAS A. PAGE was born in the city of New York, June 23d, 1817. His father, Dobson Page, was born in New London, Connecticut, about the year 1780. He resid- ed in New London until he was seventeen years old, when he moved with his father, Jeremiah Page, to Columbus, Chenango county, New York, where he resided until he was twenty-one. He then went to New York city, and engaged in boating, on the Hudson river, from Albany to New York. He continued in that business for about eighteen years. In 1819 he went back to Che- nango county, and purchased a farm. In 1821 he moved to Albany, and resided there about two years. In 1823 he moved to Avon, Livingston county, and purchased a farm. In 1825 he moved to Parma, Ontario county, and purchased a farm, and lived two years. In 1827 he moved to Shelby, Orleans county, where he lived until 1834. In the spring of 1834 he came to Michigan, and located the e. ¿ of the n. e. 4 of section 20, in Rome. In the fall of 1835 he sold out, and located the w. } of the n. e. } of sec- tion 28, in Rollin, where he lived until his death, in 1847. In 1812 he married Miss Evalina L. Hall, daughter of Prince B. and Abby T. Hall, of New York city, by whom he had two children, Nicholas A., being the oldest. Mrs. Evalina Page was born at St. Albans, Vermont, June 7th, 1797, and died in Rollin, in October, 1875. Nicholas A. Page made it his home with his par- ents until he was twenty-four years old. June 21st, 1838, he commenced for himself, by cutting the first tree on his present farm. Since that time. he has cleared one hundred and sixty acres of heavy timber, erected a large brick house, splendid barns, sheds, and all necessary conveniences. His farm is described as the w. } of the s. e. 4 of section 28, and the e. ¿ of the n. e. Į of section 33, and the n. w. 4 of the n. e. ¿ of section 33. He also owns twenty acres adjoining the village of Rollin. Mr. Page has always been employed with his own affairs, and quietly carried on his farm, on the most intelligent and improved systems. He is a prominent and well-to-do citizen, with thrift and industry for his motto, and prosperity as its result. Mr. Page has written the history of Rol- lin township for publication, and gives several of the first events as follows : The village of Rollin was founded by Addison J. Comstock, in 1835. That year he engaged William Beal to erect a saw and flouring-mill. Levi Thompson was the first settler in the township, in 1833. The first death occurred in June, 1834- the wife of John Upton. The first white child born in the town- ship was Mary Vosburg, August 27th, 1834, daughter of Salem and Lydia Vosburg, and who still resides on the old homestead. The first wedding occurred in 1834, at the house of William Beal.
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