USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume II > Part 17
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EVI JENNINGS was born in Milton, Saratoga county, N. Y., April 2, 1808. His father, Henry Jennings, was born in Boston, Mass., in 1777. He resided in and near Boston until he was about twenty-two years old, when he went to Saratoga county, N. Y., and resided until 1810. He then went to Penn-
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field, Ontario (now Monroe) county, where he purchased a farm and resided there until his death, which occurred at the age of thirty-nine years. About the year 1797 he married Meribah Dex- ter, of Boston, Mass., by whom he had seven children, Levi being the sixth son and child. Mrs. Meribah Jennings was born in the vicinity of Boston, Mass., August 16, 1770, and died in Pennfield, Monroe county, N. Y., aged ninety-three. Levi Jennings was only about six years old when his father died, and when he was seven years old he went to live with an uncle, and stayed with him until he was fifteen. He then went back home and with two other brothers carried on the farm until he was twenty. The farm was then sold, and Levi purchased a small farm near by, where he lived until 1834, when he sold out and came to Michigan. He arrived in Ypsilanti on the 8th of May, where he left his family until he could locate land. He looked around Ypsilanti for a day or two, but was not pleased with the country about there, and hav- ing heard of the "Bean creek country" in Lenawee county, he de- cided to come to Adrian and meet his brother-in-law, and then prospect along the creek in the western portion of the county. He finally located on section 22, in Rollin, where he has resided ever since. The only families then living in Rollin were William Beal, Joseph Beal, Warner Aylesworth, and Erastus Aldrich. During that spring and summer several families settled in the township. His nearest neighbor east was Nathan Chase, who lived in Rome, five miles distant. In 1836, just before harvest, he got out of flour, and went to Adrian with money to purchase some. Provisions were scarce and flour was worth fifteen dollars per barrel in Toledo. He could buy no flour in Adrian at any price, and when he got home and told his wife she felt discouraged, and remarked, "I always said we came to the Michigan woods to starve to death, and here we are already with only one loaf of bread in the house, and no flour in the country." But Mr. Jennings in a day or two after got about sixty pounds of flour of William Beal, and divided it with his brother-in-law, Jacob D. Foster. This lasted until after harvest. Some of the settlers lived on bran bread, which was rather light food to chop wood and clear land on. But they ate often, and managed to pass through "the famine," and those who are now living amid the wealth and plenty of the county, can but wonder at what has been accomplished since their first coming into the woods. Mr. Jennings being among the very first settlers of Rollin, and always taking an interest in its pro- gress and advancement, has always been active in all improve- ments. He assisted in cutting out the first roads, building the first bridges, organizing the first schools and churches, and in organiz-
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ing the township. He has served twenty-four years as justice of the peace, and has also been elected town clerk and highway com- missioner. January 22, 1829, Levi Jennings married Ann Crout, daughter of John and Phebe (Sickles) Crout, of Ontario, Ontario county, N. Y., by whom he had seven children, as follows: Phebe Ann, born in Pennfield, Monroe county, N. Y., August 17, 1831, now the wife of Charles Langdon, of Rollin; Clarissa, born in Rollin, April 25, 1835, now the wife of Orson Crandall, of Riley, Clinton county, Mich .; Mary Elizabeth, born same place, August 16, 1837, was the wife of George Peters, of Rollin, and died Sep- tember 3, 1880; Henry L., born same place, August 14, 1839, a farmer of Rollin ; Julia, born same place, September 1, 1842, now the wife of Arnold Bennett, of Bushnell, Montcalm county, Mich .; Sarah L., born same place, October 11, 1845, now a resident of Rollin; Harriet Deflora, born same place, December 19, 1849, now the wife of David Wooster, of Ontario, Wayne county, N. Y. Mrs. Ann Jennings was born February 25, 1811, and died in Rol- lin, April 17, 1852. March 29, 1859, Levi Jennings married Mrs. Catharine Ann Belcher, widow of Andrew Belcher, of Hud- son, and daughter of William V. and Catharine Ann (Petty) Dit- mars, of Hudson, by whom he has had two children, as follows : Ida Jane, born in Rollin, September 26, 1860, now the wife of William M. Clark, a farmer of Rollin ; Frank I., born in Rollin, May 30, 1864, at home. Mrs. Catharine Ann Jennings was born in Trenton, N. J., April 1, 1835, and came to Michigan with her parents in 1842, and settled in Hudson. Her parents were natives of New Jersey, her father being born March 4, 1810, and died in Hudson, October 5, 1865. Her mother was born February 2, 1811, and died in Hudson, July 30, 1876.
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TILLIAM E. DOTY was born in Durham, Greene county, N. Y., December 17, 1830. His father, Deacon Alvan Doty, was born in Saybrook, Conn., January 18, 1789, and moved to Durham, Greene county, N. Y., with his father, Benja- min Doty, who was a Revolutionary soldier in 1800. Alvan Doty lived in Durham, where he owned and carried on a farm until 1835, when he sold out and came to Michigan, arriving in Tecum- seh in May. He immediately located a farm on section 26, in Rai- sin, where he lived until his death, which occurred December 3,
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1866. When he purchased this land there had been but about three acres chopped off and a log shanty erected. He cleared up about ninety-five acres, erected a brick house, with barns, etc. From the very first he took an active interest in the development and growth of the country. He assisted in making roads, estab- lishing schools, organizing churches and society. He served as town treasurer for three years, and was for many years and until the office was abolished, overseer of the town poor. He was a prominent man, well and honorably known, and much respected, especially among the first settlers. He professed religion at the age of twenty, and was always a consistent Christian. He was made a deacon of the Raisin Congregational church in 1846. November 11, 1807, Alvan Doty was married to Melinda Vergil, daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Graves) Vergil, of Maryland, Delaware county, N. Y., by whom he had ten children, William E. being the ninth child. Mrs. Melinda Doty was born in Columbia county, N. Y., April 12, 1789. Her father was a sol- dier in the Revolutionary war, and was badly wounded at the bat- tle of Columbia Heights, Long Island. He was a clothmaker by trade, but after being wounded his mind was shattered at times. He was a native of Connecticut. Her mother was a native of New York, and died about the year 1809. Mrs. Doty is still living in Raisin, on the old homestead with her son, in her ninety- second year. William E. Doty came to Michigan with his parents in 1835, before he was five years old, and has resided in Raisin ever since. He was brought up a farmer, and received the most of his schooling in a log school-house. He has lived on one farm for forty-five years as child, boy and man, and now owns the old homestead (having purchased it from the heirs), where he will un- doubtedly spend his days. He also owns the farm that formerly belonged to his brother, Henry Doty, who carried on blacksmith- ing for several years at Holloway's Corners, but died June 22, 1851. April 16, 1856, William E. Doty was married to Miss Caroline M. Raymond, daughter of Daniel and Lucy Ann Ray- mond, of Raisin, by whom he has had seven children, as follows: Hattie V., born February 10, 1857, now the wife of George T. Haskell, of Olivet, Mich .; Henry R., born January 27, 1859, died September 11, 1860; Carrie L., born June 9, 1862, at home; Will- iam A., born January 19, 1868, died December 17, 1873; Stanley E., born July 27, 1869, at home; Sarah Melinda, born September 17, 1871, at home; Eva, born February 19, 1875, at home. Mrs. Caroline M. Doty was born in Cohocton, Steuben county, N. Y., April 29, 1829. [For her family relation see Hiram Raymond's record, in the first volume of this work.]
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F REDERICK AVERY was born in Rochester, N. Y., August 9, 1830. In 1842 he moved with his parents to Toledo, Ohio, where he went to school until the month of March, 1847. He then commenced railroading on the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad, and was installed as fireman of the old loco- motive "Toledo," Israel Scrantum engineer. This was the second locomotive that ever ran west of Lake Erie, and the second one purchased by the Erie & Kalamazoo company, the first one, the " Adrian," being disabled at that time. The "Toledo " weighed ten tons, her cylinders measuring 10x16. The frame was made of wood cased with iron. There was but one eccentric to work both motions, while the present locomotives have one for each motion. She was built by M. W. Baldwin, of Philadelphia, who was one of the first to engage in the manufacture of locomotives in this country. Mr. Avery ran on the "Toledo" fifteen months as fire- man, when he was promoted to the position of engineer This was when he was in his eighteenth year, and about two years after, he was given a new and larger engine. At that time there were no regular passenger or freight trains, nor time cards, except a mark of some kind, half way between each station, consisting of a certain stump, log or house, and the train that arrrived at this mark first, compelled the opposite train to back up to the side track. It made no difference whether the train forced to back up was a pas- senger or freight train. There were no pilots, headlights, steam gauges or heaters, and brakes were unknown in those days. When there were no passengers and the train consisted of freight cars, the engineer and fireman were the only human beings that accompanied it. All trains "run wild," and got to their destination as soon as possible. It was considered a good run to go from Adrian to Toledo in four hours, or eight miles per hour. It often took from six to ten hours to get over the road, a distance of thirty-two miles. At one time during the winter of 1847-8, after a fall of about fifteen inches of snow, he was eight days making the trip from Toledo to Adrian and back, with two locomotives and one car, and the locomotives were off the track twenty-two times during this trip. Cars never ran nights in those days, and when darkness came on trains were stopped until the following morning. Mr. Avery continued with the Erie & Kalamazoo company until the road was leased by the Michigan Southern company in 1849, and has continued with that company ever since. The extension of the road from Hillsdale west was commenced in 1849, and Mr. Avery run his engine as far west as South Bend, Ind., in 1851, when he was sent to Michigan City with a locomotive, and assisted in con- structing the road from that place to Chicago, and during the win-
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ter of 1851-2 he had the honor of running the first locomotive that ever ran into that city from the east. The first passenger train from Toledo to Chicago arrived in the latter city in June, 1852. Mr. Avery served the road as engineer until October, 1863, serving about sixteen years in that capacity, and met with but one accident during the entire time. The 1st of October, 1863, he commenced running from Toledo to Detroit as conductor, and since that time he has served in that capacity. The 1st of No- vember, 1864, he moved to Adrian, and has been a resident of that city ever since. He ran on the Detroit division about seven years, and the Michigan division about nine years. He was one of the conductors selected to run the "fast mail" from Toledo to Chicago during the time the government kept up that branch of the mail service. With the exception of Mr. A. F. Stow, now having charge of the car inspector's department in Toledo, who, in 1847, was the only carpenter the road employed, Mr. Avery is the oldest employe of the company, having been in constant service for about thirty-four years. In 1858 Mr. Avery was married to Mary J. Garey, daughter of George and Sarah Garey, of Adrian, by whom he has had three children, as follows: George E., born in Michi- gan City, Ind., November 16, 1858, a resident of Adrian; Fred- erick, died in infancy ; Edward G., born in Adrian, May 11, 1873, at home. Mrs. Mary J. Avery was born in Pennfield, Monroe county, N. Y., September 12, 1841. Frederick Avery's father, Edwin Avery, was born near New London, Conn., in 1802. He moved to Rochester, N. Y., about the year 1824, and went to Toledo in 1842. His wife, Mrs. Emily Avery, was born in Parma, N. Y., in 1814, and is now a resident of Toledo. Her maiden name was Emily Schofield.
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LBERT B. HICKOK was born in Monroe City, Mich., December 25, 1828. His father, Albert K. Hickok, was born in Norwalk, Conn., July 25, 1799, where he resided until he was eighteen years old. In 1817 his parents, Jesse and Emeline Hickok, moved to Scipio, Cayuga county, N. Y., and pur- chased a farm. Albert K. remained there until 1821, when he came to Michigan and settled at Monroe City. At one time he
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carried on a brick-yard there, and afterwards manufactured the first brick ever made in Toledo. He carried on a meat market in Mon- roe, and was also engaged with a surveying party in laying out roads between Detroit and the Grand river. In 1834 he came to Lenawee county, and after working a farm four years he took up 200 acres of land on sections 9 and 15, in Blissfield (now Deer- field), where he resided until his death, which occurred November 26, 1874. In 1819 Albert K. Hickok married Sarah Ann Stew- art, daughter of Joseph and Jemima Stewart, of Scipio, N. Y., by whom he had seven children, Albert B. being the second son and fourth child. Mrs Sarah Hickok was born in Connecticut, in January, 1805, and died in Deerfield, this county, July 17, 1876. The ancestors of the Stewart family came from Scotland, and set- tled in Connecticut. The ancestors of the Hickoks came from England, and during the Revolutionary war one of them served as an officer under General Putnam. Albert B. Hickok lived with his parents until he was fifteen years old, when he commenced for himself by working on a farm for three years. During the sum- mer of 1843 Mr. Hickok went to Monroe, where he resided about seven years, during which time he learned the blacksmith's trade, and followed it until 1850. April 1st that year he started for Cal- ifornia, overland, with a party of six persons from Blissfield. The entire outfit for the journey was secured in Blissfield, and after a continuous and tedious march of four months, they arrived in Hangtown (now Placerville), Eldorado county, Cal. He remained there, following mining and his trade until June, 1854, when he returned home by the Panama route, a much wiser, if not a wealthier man. In July, 1854, he went into the employ of the Mich- igan Southern Railroad company, on the pier at Monroe, where he remained until 1855, when he went to Adrian as night yardmaster. In 1856 he was put in charge of a construction train, which posi- tion he held for nearly eleven years. He also had charge for a time of the wrecking car. In September, 1867, he gave up rail- roading and turned his attention to farming, and moved on to the old homestead in Deerfield, where his parents were then living, but too old and feeble to longer look after the farm. Since that time he has added more land to his farm, built a good frame house, three barns, and made many other improvements. He now has 165 acres of good land, with about 120 acres under cultivation. November 13, 1864, Albert B. Hickok married Mary Sands, daughter of William and Esther Sands, by whom he has had one daughter, Anna Elizabeth, born October 26, 1865. Mrs. Mary Hickok was born in the County Down, Ireland, August 9, 1833, and came to America in 1855. She resided in New York city
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nearly seven years, and in 1862 she came to Adrian, where she had a brother, John Sands, residing: One day in January, 1843, Mr. Hickok and George Blivin, who in, those days considered them- selves hunters, started out with Hickok's dog, well known throughout the settlements as "Old Buck," for a coon hunt. They went into the cottonwood swamp. They had not long to wait be- fore the sport commenced, for they heard Buck having a tussel with an animal some distance off. They followed the tracks and blood until they came upon the dog, who stood guarding a hollow log. They chopped into the log and discovered a full grown, black wolf. The first thought that came into their minds was the bounty offered by the town and State. The next thought was, " What town were they in," and they resolved to capture the fellow and carry him home alive. They stripped a basswood tree of bark, with which, by carefully pulling his legs through the small holes cut in the log with the axe, they securely tied, run a long pole be- tween his legs, split the log open, and succeeded in carrying him to the village alive. When the people saw the wolf they could hardly believe their own eyes, as it did not seem possible that so large a one could be caught. "Old Buck " was a wonderfully sagacious dog, and was considered the best coon dog ever in the county. He never saw a bear that he did not tree, and often would wound one so that he could be tracked by the blood.
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ILLIAM S. LUM was born in Venice, Cayuga county, N. .Y., August 28, 1828. When William was a small child his father, Sherman Lum, moved to Medina, Medina county, Ohio, and lived there until 1836, when he came to Michi- gan and settled in Palmyra village that fall. Sherman Lum was a shoemaker, and immediately commenced work at his trade in the village. It was the fashion in those days for shoemakers to tie their tools up in their aprons and go around among the settlers (who furnished their own leather), and make the winter supply of boots and shoes. This was called by the waxwainers "whipping the cat." Mr. Lum at one time run a shoe shop in Palmyra, and died of consumption in 1853. He left no family record of any
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kind, and, as his mother died when William S. Lum was very young, he now knows nothing of her history. William S. Lum came to Palmyra with his father in 1836, which has been his home ever since. In 1846 he went to Adrian and learned the blacksmith trade with Andrew Clement, serving an apprenticeship of three years. In the fall of 1849 he went to Blissfield and worked at his trade until the following spring, when he started a shop of his own, but during that summer he sold out and again went to Adrian and worked for Francis Hurlbut. He remained in Adrian until the fall of 1850, when he purchased a shop and commenced business in Palmyra, where he has resided and carried on business every year but one since. Mr. Lum is the oldest settler now living in Palmyra village. He has witnessed the rise and fall of the old town, and distinctly remembers the old Palmyra bank, with its wild-cat currency, the building of the old mill, and the erection of Pomeroy's hotel. The old strap rail was being laid on the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad the year he came to Michigan, and his father assisted in the work. He remembers the building of the old wooden railroad from Palmyra to Tecumseh, and also remembers that an excursion took place one day from Palmyra to Tecumseh, and there were so many passengers that the horses could not pull the train, and a locomotive, the only one probably that ever ran over the road, was procured from the Erie & Kalamazoo company. When the train arrived at the high bridge which crosses the Raisin near Asa Sutton's, in Raisin township, the passengers were afraid to cross the bridge, and got off the train and walked over. At that time F. R. Stebbins, now of Adrian, and his brother, C. B. Stebbins, of Lansing, were carrying on the furniture business in the village, which contained more buildings and probably more people then than it does to-day. April 6, 1856, William S. Lum married Miss Sarah De Graff, daughter of Cornelius and Mary C. De Graff, of Palmyra, by whom he has had seven children, as fol- lows: Louise, born May 16, 1857, died in infancy ; Eber G., born January 3, 1859; Elowise, born September 26, 1862; Maggie, born April 9, 1865; Lorene, born April 28, 1869, died in infancy ; Cassius, born June 4, 1873, died in infancy; Bessie Letha, born September 26, 1878. Mrs. Sarah Lum was born in Old Paltz, Ulster county, N. Y., November 25, 1838, and came to Michigan with her parents in 1846. Her father was born in Old Paltz, Ulster county, N. Y., April 22, 1814, and died in Palmyra, Mich., October 22, 1872. Her mother was Miss Mary C. Van Wey, daughter of Henry and Elsie Van Wey, of Old Paltz. She was born there December 6, 1811, and still lives in Palmyra.
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OHN KNAPP was born in Stamford, Fairfield county, Conn., August 22, 1785. His father was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and after its termination removed to Dela- ware county, N. Y., when the subject of this sketch was only two years old. John lived with his parents on a farm until the year 1800, when his father removed to Spafford, Onondaga county, N. Y., taking the family with him: John assisted his father in clear- ing up a new farm in Onondaga, and remained at home until his marriage with Mamre Hotchkiss, which took place February 13, 1806. A short time previous to her marriage Miss Hotchkiss had come from Cheshire, Conn., where she was born May 30, 1786. John immediately went to work clearing up a new farm for him- self, and erected a log house in the wilderness, which at that time was in the "far west." He lived on his farm until 1820, when he moved to what was then known as the Holland Purchase, and set- tled in the town of Ridgeway, Orleans county. The county was then an unbroken wilderness, and John Knapp cleared the first acre of land where the village of Medina now stands. He lived in Ridgeway until 1834, when in company with Cook Hotchkiss he came to Michigan on foot, and located land on Bean Creek, in Fairfield. The township was soon after divided, however, and Seneca was organized, but Seneca was subsequently subdivided and the town of Medina was formed out of the western portion, ex- tending to the county line. He cut out what is now known as the Bean Creek road, from the old Warren place in Dover, to Bean Creek, a distance of about nine miles. He was elected the first Highway Commissioner of Seneca. The village of Medina was laid out on Mr. Knapp's land, and both the township and village was named by him, after the village from which he came in New York. A log house 20x26 was erected in the fall of 1834, near where now stands the hotel. The logs for the house were hewed and sized on the ground before being rolled up. The rolling up was done with an ox team, with the aid of skids and chains, with two men to manage the logs, and a boy not quite ten years old-John I. Knapp-to drive the oxen. Here Mr. Knapp and his family lived until 1838, when he sold out and purchased on the opposite side of the creek, where he lived until the summer of 1841. This year he again sold out. He then went into Fairfield, purchased another new farm and cleared it up. The village of Weston stands upon the land that was embraced in this farm. His youngest son, John I., was the only child remaining under the paternal roof after leaving Medina, and he continued to live at home until he was elected treasurer of Lenawee county in 1860, when he removed to the city of Adrian, and purchased a residence on Dennis street,
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where he now resides. His aged parents shortly afterward went to live with him and close their earthly career. John Knapp died July 16, 1874, aged nearly 89 years. His wife followed him July 29, 1877, in her 92d year. This aged couple lived together happi- ly over 68 years, and about the same number of years were mem- bers of the Baptist church. A remarkable event, rivaling Dr. Tanner's long fast, occurred two years before Mr. Knapp's death. From weakness of mind, or some such cause, he refused to take any nourishment, stimulant, or any medicine, taking nothing but water for 35 days, and was able to have his clothes put on him and walk across the room for four weeks, after which time he kept his bed. By compulsion and persuasion he ate about a common spoon full of rice on the 35th day, when he again fasted for fourteen days without any nourishment. At this time he had become very much emaciated, and his death was hourly expected. On the 49th day, however, he commenced to take nourishment again, and in a short time his flesh returned, and he attained unusual weight for him. But with the return of flesh his mind entirely left him, and before he died he did not know his wife or children. He remained in this helpless condition over two years previous to his death. His family consisted of eight children, four sons and four daughters, three of whom died and were buried in Shelby, Orleans county, N. Y. One son died April 7, 1836, aged 13 years and 2 months, at, Medina, in this county, which was the first death in that town. The family not only sustained the first loss by death, but also was the one to celebrate the first marriage, that of John D. Sutton and Abigail Knapp, September 13, 1837. Amos, the oldest son, was the first Superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School of Adrian city, in 1832. He married Sarah Frary, January 27, 1835, and now lives in Napa City, California. Hannah, the second daugh- ter, married John Gambell, in February, 1827, and removed to Yates, Orleans county, and has lived on the same farm ever since.
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