USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume I > Part 50
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493
OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
etta, Monroe county, New York. She was born May 25th, 1849. They have had four children, as follows: John, (died an infant ;) Mary F., Charles D., Leonard O.
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RANCIS R. STEBBINS was born at Williamstown, Ver- mont, October 26th, 1818. His father, Bliss Stebbins, was born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, December 12th, 1777, where he lived until about 1800, and in 1805 he settled in Wil- liamstown, Vermont, where he resided until his death, March 10th, 1826. His ancestors were English. November 17th, 1802, he married Miss Betsey Ruth Cossit, of Claremont, New Hampshire, by whom he had five children, Francis R. being the youngest child. Mrs. Betsey R. Stebbins was born in Claremont, April 21st, 1783, and died in Adrian, February 21st, 1870. Her ances- tors were French. Francis R. Stebbins lived with his parents un- til he was sixteen years old, when he commenced to learn the cabinet maker's trade, and has followed it ever since. He lived in Vermont until the fall of 1837, when he came to Michigan, and settled in Palmyra village, this county, and engaged in the cabinet business there, with his brother, C. B. Stebbins. In the fall of 1841 he came to Adrian, and started in the furniture business, and has continued in it ever since. In 1844 he, with his brother, pur- chased a lot on Maumee street, and in 1852, in connection with the Jermain Bros., built a four-story brick block, the only one then in the county. F. R. Stebbins still occupies a portion of this block with his extensive furniture business. He has served two years as alderman of the Second ward, and was the prime mover in the building of No. 1 engine house, on Church street, and the present city building, which was formerly used by old No. 2, as an engine house. He also advocated the laying out and fitting up of Monument Square, on East Maumee street. He has served six years as a member of the public school board, during which time, either as president, or chairman of the building committee, he had the leading charge of the erection of the present Central school building. The leading features of the plan of construction of this fine building were furnished by Mr. Stebbins, and adopted by the board. In 1842 he became a member of the old hook and ladder company, and served as an active member several years. He has passed through all the chairs in the I. O. O. F. Lodge of Adrian. He has always been an active man in the city, and has taken a lively interest in all enterprises that promised growth and prosper-
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL, RECORD
ity to Adrian. He was one of the original stockholders in the brass works, and made the plans, and superintended the construc- tion of the large building. He is also a stockholder in the opera house, and aided largely in its construction. He designed the plan of the base of the Soldiers' Monument, at Adrian, and in connec- tion with the rest of the committee, had charge of its erection. He was the editor of the Tri- Weekly and Weekly Expositor, of Adrian, from 1850 until 1860. In 1844 he purchased a lot on the corner of Comstock and Toledo streets, and erected a house, where he has resided ever since. Mr. Stebbins has spent many years at hard work, but of late he has contracted a habit of spending a portion of the summer at the club-house, at Grand Lake, Michigan, and a portion of the winter in Florida. This " habit," however, he largely enjoys, and no man can appreciate the pleasure more fully. August 3d, 1841, he married Miss Mary E. Myer, of Buffalo, New York, by whom he had three children, as follows : Francis Gil- bert, born April 23d, 1842, now with his father, in the furniture business ; Mary Lavinia, born October 31st, 1843, now the wife of Hervey A. Colvin, of Adrian ; Ellen Cornelia, born February 11th, 1850, died August 21st, 1855. Mrs. Mary E. Stebbins was born in Coxsackie, New York, June 15th, 1820, died in Adrian, April 16th, 1852. October 24th, 1853, he married Miss Sarah Louise Briggs, of Claremont, New Hampshire, by whom he has had three children, as follows : Lilla Louise, born November 1st, 1854, at home; Fred Briggs, born October 6th, 1856, with his father, in the store ; Edwin Joseph, born September 24th, 1867, at home. All of the children were born in Adrian. Mrs. Sarah Louise Stebbins was born at Charlestown, New Hampshire, Feb- ruary 25th, 1833. Her father, Joseph Gilman Briggs, was a native of New Hampshire, and was born in the town of Keene. Her mother was Miss Abigail Woods, who was also born in Keene. Her ancestors were English.
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AVID JERRELLS, of Rome, was born in Trumbull, Fair- field county, Connecticut, July 18th, 1806. His father, Ebenezer Jerrells, was born in Connecticut, and when a young man he learned the carpenter's trade, and always followed it more or less. In 1814 he moved to Perinton, Monroe county, New York, where he purchased a new farm and lived until his death. For several years he was the only man in the township that knew anything about undertaking, and he manufactured large
495
OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
numbers of coffins. It was very sickly there when he first moved in, and, in 1821, he was attacked with typhoid fever and died. When he was a young man he worked some time at ship-building in New York, and afterwards went to St. Catharine's Island, on the coast of Georgia, and manufactured cotton-gins one winter. About the year 1804, he married Miss Nancy Rowell, of Trumbull, Connecticut, by whom he had eight children, David being the oldest. Mrs. Nancy Jerrells was born in Trumbull, Fairfield county, Connecticut, in 1786, and died in Perinton, New York, in 1865. David Jerrells lived with his mother's family until he was about twenty-six years old. He received a common school education in Perinton. In the fall of 1831 he came to Michigan on a prospecting tour. He landed at Detroit, and came through Wayne and Washtenaw counties, finally passing through Tecumseh and Adrian, and stopped with Samuel Keyes, his brother-in-law, who lived in Madison, about two miles south of Adrian. He stayed there through the winter, chopping and hunting. In the spring of 1832 he returned to the State of New York, through Canada, on foot and alone, averaging thirty-five miles per day the entire distance. That fall, after he had harvested his crop of wheat and sold it, he returned to Michigan and located eighty acres of land, on section twenty-one in Rome. The following spring he located an adjoining eighty acres, and has resided there ever since. In the fall of 1834, Mr. Jerrells raised his first crop of corn among the stumps and logs, and had cut and shocked it. He went visiting among the settlers for a few days, and upon his return found that the squirrels had carried off nearly every ear of his corn. While he was looking for land, in the spring of 1833, night overtook him in the woods near where the village of Hudson now stands. He slept in a hollow log, and during the night a pack of wolves came along and saluted him with their hideous howls. He has cleared one hundred and thirty acres of land since that time, built a large frame house, with good barns and sheds, and he has to-day, one of the best cultivated and most productive farms in Rome. It is well watered and fenced, with a good orch- ard. He has a young orchard of about two hundred and eighty trees, which he believes to be the best in the county. He was present at the meeting at J. B. Schureman's, in 1834, when the township was organized, and voted to name it Rome. He was elected the first clerk of the township, and was the first man mar- ried within the present limits of Rome, Job Comstock, of Adrian, being the officiating justice. Mr. Jerrells assisted in raising nearly all of the first houses in Rome. September 28th, 1834, he mar- ried Miss Alice Luther, daughter of William and Eunice Luther,
496
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
of Rome, by whom he has had seven children, as follows : Mary E., born August 2d, 1836; Phebe J., born May 4th, 1838 ; Franklin L., born August 6th, 1841 ; Harvey E., born July 22d, 1843; George E., born January 29th, 1848, died January 31st, 1849; Alice A., born August 29th, 1850 ; Charles H., born March 6th, 1855. Mrs. Alice Jerrells was born in Plattsburg, New York, July 2d, 1812. [For her family connection see Theodorick Luther's record ]
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HARLES H. DEWEY was born in Concord, New Hamp- shire, July 25th, 1823. 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 centre 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, Charles H. being the third son and seventh child. Mrs. Betsey Dewey was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, April 28th, 1783, and died in Cambridge, this county, May 3d, 1868. Her mother's name was Susannah Flagg. Charles H. Dewey lived with his parents until he was twenty years old. He attended a district school in Han- over, New Hampshire, a select school in Buffalo, and graduated from Perley Bills' academic school in Tecumseh, during the winter of 1838-9. He read law with the Hon. C. A. Stacy, in Tecumseh, for about two years, but was never admitted to the bar. In the spring of 1840, he went to Virgil, Cortland county, New York, where he spent nearly a year in looking after property belonging to his father. In 1841 he returned to Tecumseh, where he remained until 1843. That year he purchased a farm on sec- tion seven in Cambridge, and lived there eighteen years. In 1861
.497
OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
he sold out and purchased another farm at Cambridge Junction, where he 'now resides. In 1869 he opened a general store at Cambridge Junction, and is still there engaged in business. In 1844 he was elected school inspector of Cambridge, and held the office continuously for nineteen years. In 1857 he was elected supervisor of Cambridge, and held the office fourteen consecutive years. In 1864-5 he was president of the Lenawee County Agri- cultural Society. He was postmaster at Cambridge Junction for ten years. In 1864 he was the candidate of the Democratic party for the State Senate, and in 1868-78, was a candidate for Representative in the Legislature, but owing to his party being in the minority, was defeated. In August, 1861, Mr. Dewey was appointed by Governor Austin Blair, general recruiting officer for the Army, with the rank of Lieutenant, and during the following three and one-half years, he put into the United States service one hundred and eleven men, at a cost for bounties of $21,475, travel- ing more than 8,000 miles in procuring the men. March 30th, 1843, he married Miss Elvira Moulton, daughter of Dr. Arba N. and Patience Moulton, of Cambridge, by whom he has had five children, as follows: Malinda P., born January 16th, 1844, at home; Ander S., born September 29th, 1845, a resident of Cam- bridge; Warren C., born June 18th, 1850, now an attorney at law in New York City ; Eliza M., born January 30th, 1853, at home ; Charles A., born August 31st, 1857, at home. Mrs. Elvira Dewey was born in Union, Broome county, New York, October 1st, 1820, and came to Michigan with her parents in 1835, and lived in Manhattan, on Maumee Bay, one year, when owing to sickness, they moved to Cambridge, this county, and settled on section seven. Her father was born in Greene county, New York, (where his father, Nathaniel Moulton, was a farmer,) July 2d, 1793, and died in South Haven, Michigan, June 8th, 1869. His father was Eng- lish, and his mother was Betsey Grant, whose father came from Scotland. Mrs. Dewey's mother was Patience Virgil, and was born in Greene county, New York, January 8th, 1800.
ARNER M. COMSTOCK was born in the old town of Palmyra, Ontario (now Wayne) county, New York, Sep- tember 8th, 1802, His father, John Comstock, was born in Massachusetts, in 1774, and was brought up a farmer, his father, Nathan Comstock, being one of the first settlers of Ontario county,
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
New York, having settled in Farmington, in 1788. John Comstock was educated in Canandaigua, New York, and afterwards studied law with Judge Howell, of that village. He afterwards practiced law in that county for several years, and in 1830 he emigrated to Adrian, Michigan, with his family. He took up a part of the land now known as Oakwood Cemetery. He afterwards took up one hundred and sixty acres in Pahnyra. He afterwards sold this farm, and purchased a small place in Raisin, near the " Valley," where he died, in June, 1851. He was one of the very first set- tlers of Lockport, taking up, in company with his nephew, Zeno Comstock, the land upon which nearly all of that city now stands. He was a brother of Darius Comstock, and followed him here, being one of the active and prominent pioneers of this coun- ty. He never practiced law after he came to Michigan. In 1801 he married Miss Rowene Bradish, daughter of Col. John and Hannah Bradish, of Palmyra, New York, by whom he had nine children, Warner M. being the oldest. Mrs. Rowene Comstock was born in Cumington, Massachusetts, September 30th, 1786, and died in Raisin, this county, February 8th, 1870. Warner M. Comstock lived with his father until he was nineteen years old. He received a very good education at a Quaker school, at New Salem, Ontario county, New York. He was afterwards assistant engineer over a section of the Erie canal, between Brockport and Albion, and was employed there until the water was let in as far as Lockport. He afterwards went into the grocery business at the locks, and furnished supplies to the boats. He remained in the mercantile business there until the spring of 1835, when he came to Michigan, and settled in Palmyra village, bringing a stock of goods with him, and run a store there for one year. He then moved to Adrian, and purchased a building and lot where the Masonic Temple now stands, and run a store there for several years. He was appointed the first station agent at Adrian, of the Michi- gan Southern railroad, which then ran from Monroe to Adrian. He was appointed deputy postmaster of Adrian, by Addison J. Comstock, and did all the business of the office, and took its pro- ceeds for several years. He was appointed postmaster by Millard Fillmore, and served four years. He has always been an active business man, and has been engaged in mercantile pursuits for many years in Adrian, until 1852, when he purchased a farm in Raisin, on section thirty, where he has resided ever since. Feb- ruary 7th, 1825, he married Miss Mary M. Perry, daughter of Capt. Williams and Miriam Perry, of Holly, Orleans county, New York, by whom he has had six children, one son and five daugh- ters, as follows : Horace W., born in Lockport, New York, De-
499
OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
cember 19th, 1825, now of Indianapolis, Indiana ; Mariam B., born in Lockport, New York, September 28th, 1829, wife of Hon. Jerome B. Chaffee, of Colorado, died in Adrian, November 11th, 1857; Ellen R., born in Lockport, New York, December 26th, 1832, wife of Jonathan F. Seymour, of Adrian; Almira S., born in Lockport, New York, January 1st, 1835, wife of Alfred H. Wood, of Adrian ; two daughters died in infancy. Mrs. Mary M. Comstock was born in Canada, July 28th, 1805, died in Adrian January 14th, 1876, having lived with her husband fifty years, with the exception of about fourteen days. June 3d, 1877, he married Miss Louisa Sheldon, of Adrian, with whom he is now living.
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ARON NORCROSS JR, was born in Groveland, Living- ston county, New York, April 23d, 1812. His father, Aaron Norcross Sr., was born in Northumberland, Pennsyl- vania. He was the first child born in Northumberland village, and resided there until he was about twenty-one. He learned the hatter's trade with his father, and afterwards moved to Geneseo, Livingston county, New York, where he carried on the hat busi- ness for several years, when he purchased a farm in Groveland, and resided there until 1828. He then came to Michigan, and landed at Monroe in May, and purchased a farm on the banks of the river Raisin, seven miles above Monroe. He lived there one year when he sold his farm and came to Tecumseh in the spring of 1829, and immediately purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section twenty-six in Tecumseh, where he lived until his death. His father, John Norcross, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and participated in the battles of Bunker Hill, Monmouth, &c., and was badly wounded, afterwards receiving a pension. About the year 1805, Aaron Norcross Sr., married Miss Mary Kelley, daughter of Daniel and Mary Kelley, of Geneseo, New York, by whom he had six children, Aaron Jr., being the fourth child and second son. Mrs. Mary Norcross was born in Pennsylvania and died at Monroe, Michigan, in 1828. Aaron Norcross Jr., the subject of this sketch, came to Michigan with his parents in 1828. He was brought up a farmer, receiving a good common school education and lived with his father until his death, although, in 1829, he took up one hundred and twenty acres of land on section one in the present town of Clinton, and forty acres in Macon. He
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
cleared and improved this land, and in 1844, he went there to reside, and remained until 1856, when he sold out and purchased a farm on section twenty-seven in Franklin, where he now resides. Mr. Norcross has always been a hard-working man, and has assisted in cutting out and improving as many roads as, perhaps, any man now living in the county. April 23d, 1844, he married Miss Helen M. Allen, daughter of Benjamin F. and Cynthia Allen, of Tecumseh, by whom he had two sons, as follows: Eugene C., born in Tecumseh, February 24th, 1845, a farmer of Franklin ; Benjamin F., born in Tecumseh, July 1st, 1849, works the home farm. Mrs. Helen Norcross was born in Burlington, Vermont, March 22d, 1824, and died in Franklin, July 23d, 1876. She came to Michigan with her parents in 1836.
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HEODORICK LUTHER was born in South Hero, Chit- tenden county, Vermont, March 23d, 1799. His father, William Luther, was born in Bennington, Bristol county, Rhode Island, September 28th, 1774, and moved with his parents, when a child, to New Hampshire, afterwards going to Vermont, where he lived until about the year 1800. He then moved to Plattsburgh, New York, where he purchased a farm, and lived un- til 1832, when he came to Michigan, and took up the n. e. ¿ of section 27, in Rome. He possessed quite a sum of money when he came in, and could have purchased a large tract of land, but preferred to have neighbors. He was one of the earliest settlers in the township, and was active in doing all he could for its growth and development. He was ever ready to assist and encourage the new settlers as they came in, and lived to see the entire township settled up, and many fine farms and buildings wrought out of the forest. He died in Rome, October 2d, 1841. About the year 1798 he married Miss Eunice Allen, daughter of Col. Ebenezer and Lydia Allen, and cousin of Ethan Allen, both of Revolution- ary fame, by whom he had ten children, Theodorick being the old- est. Mrs. Eunice Luther was born in Tinmouth, Bennington county, Vermont, April 7th, 1779, and died in Rome, this county, January 24th, 1852. Theodorick Luther lived with his parents until he was twenty-one, and was brought up a farmer, and receiv- ed a common school education in the State of New York. He lived in Plattsburgh until 1831, and during the last ten years of his residence there, he followed some kind of mechanical business, such as building barns, houses, boats, wagons, sleighs, etc. In
501
OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
August, 1831, he came to Michigan, and settled in Superior, Washtenaw county, where he lived three years, and sold out, and came to Lenawee county, and located land adjoining his father's on the west, in Rome, where he has resided ever since. During the winter of 1834-5 he, with his father, built a saw-mill on the Raisin, which ran through their land, and sawed lumber to build their own houses and barns, and did considerable sawing for neigh- bors and new settlers. In 1847 Theodorick built a steam saw- mill, and for many years " Luther's mill" was well and favorably known throughout the south-eastern part of the township. The mill is still in operation, and is owned by his son, G. W. A.
Luther, of Adrian. April 29th, 1823, he married Miss Amelia Hall, daughter of Nathaniel and Belinda Hall, of Isle-a-Moote, Grand Isle county, Vermont, by whom he had eight children, as fol- lows : Maria, born in Chazy, Clinton county, New York, February 20th, 1822, now the wife of William Codding, of St. Joseph county, Michigan ; George W. A., born in Chazy, New York, September 20th, 1823, a farmer of Adrian ; Charlotte, born in Chazy, New York, November 11th, 1825, now the wife of Edwin Lamoreaux, of Rome; Eunice, born in Chazy, New York, February 3d, 1828, died September 22d, 1837; Amelia, born in Chazy, New York, April 7th, 1830, now the wife of Seth S. Walker, of Fairfield ; Mary, born in Superior, Washtenaw county, Michigan, April 27th, 1832, wife of Lyman Chaffee, of Rome. She died July 10th, 1860; Alvira, born in Rome, this county, May 11th, 1838, wife of Ransom Cerow, of Dover. She died August 6th, 1860; Diana T., born in Rome, June 16th, 1842, now the wife of P. H. Dowl- ing, of Rome. Mrs. Amelia Luther was born in Lower Canada, April 29th, 1801. She died in Rome, this county, January 24th, 1875. September 12th, 1875, he married Mrs. Lucinda Arm- strong, widow of Almarin K. Armstrong, of Rome. She is the mother of two children, as follows: James Armstrong, born in Perinton, Monroe county, New York, August 10th, 1838, a farmer of Rome; Carrie L. Armstrong, born in Rome, March 18th, 1859. Mrs. Lucinda Luther was born in Perinton, Monroe county, New York, August 4th, 1818, and came to Michigan in 1845.
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ON. DAVIS D. BENNETT was born in Catharine, Tioga (now Chemung) county, New York, March 25th, 1808. His father, Deacon Matthew Bennett, was born in Orange county, New York, in 1778. When he was about fourteen years 64
502
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
old his father moved to Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania. About 1805 Matthew moved from Pennsylvania to Tioga county, New York, where he purchased a new farm. In 1816 he moved to Genesee (now Orleans) county, where he again purchased a new farm. In 1826 he sold out, and purchased another new farm on the Tona- wanda Reservation, in Genesee county. In 1832 he sold out, and came to Michigan, and located two hundred and forty acres of government land on section twenty-three, in Rollin, where he lived until the last few years of his life. He died in Fairfield in 1863. In 1790 he married Miss Nancy Brace, of Wilkesbarre, Pennsyl- vania, by whom he had ten children, Davis D. being the second son and third child. Mrs. Nancy Bennett was born in Saratoga coun- ty, New York, and died in Rollin, this county. Davis D. Bennett left his parents at the age of sixteen, and worked on a farm and at lumbering until the fall of 1828, when he came to Michigan. He resided in Adrian until the fall of 1829, when he went back to Or- leans county, where he was married. In the spring of 1830 he came back to Michigan, and located eighty acres of land on section thirty-three, in Adrian township. He lived there one year, when he sold out to Harry Wood. In 1831 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section twenty-nine, in Adrian township. In 1837 he sold to John Raymond. That year he purchased two hundred and twenty acres on sections ten and sixteen, in Fairfield, where he resided until 1868, when he sold out to his son, Stillman W. Bennett, and since that time has resided in Fairfield village. Since his residence in Fairfield he has held many offices of honor and trust. He has been elected supervisor four times, justice of the peace four times, and town clerk about fifteen times. In 1848-9 he was a member of the Michigan Legislature, and was present at the dedication of the first capitol building, at Lansing. In 1869, just thirty years afterwards, his son, Stillman, was a member of the same Legislature, and was present at the dedication of the new capitol building. September 5th, 1829, he married Miss Melinda Hagaman, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Hagaman, of Shelby, Orleans county, New York, by whom he had ten children, as fol- lows : Elizabeth H., born in the city of Adrian, October 27th, 1830, wife of John T. Mead of Fairfield; Nancy, born in Adrian, May 21st, 1832, wife of Cornelius Quick, of Fairfield ; Catharine E., born in Adrian, November 30th, 1833, wife of George W. Rose, of Chesterfield, Fulton county, Ohio; Mary E., born in Adrian, September 7th, 1835, now the wife of Hervey Quick, of Girard, Kansas ; Elvira, born in Fairfield, January 13th, 1838, wife of Hervey Quick, died February 21st, 1869; Andrew J., born in Fairfield, May 6th, 1840, a soldier in the war of the Re-
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