History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume II, Part 22

Author: Whitney, William A., 1820-; Bonner, R. I. (Richard Illenden), b. 1838. 1n
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Adrian : W. Stearns & Co.
Number of Pages: 506


USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume II > Part 22


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).


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TEPHEN GALLOWAY was born in Cambridge, Wash- ington county, N. Y., April 8, 1827. He lived there un- til 1839, when he came to Michigan with his mother, who purchased eighty acres of land on section 34, in Raisin, which, af- ter Stephen was old enough, he cleared off, and in 1847 he built a house and barn on it, and lived there until 1851, when he pur- chased a farm on section 33, where he now resides. Since that time he has erected a brick house, good barns and outbuildings, set out an orchard, etc. Although Mr. Galloway was not one of the oldest settlers of his township, he fully realizes what the pioneers endured, and understands what it is to go into the woods of a new country, without railroads, saw mills, flouring mills, doctors or min- isters. Although when he came here, there were mills at Adrian, Tecumseh and Palmyra, and the settlers had become quite comfort- able, he can hardly realize the great change between then and now. The first houses still stood scattered about in the clearings, and all kinds of crops could be relied upon. The wolves had been mostly driven away, although no sheep were safe to be left unsheltered at night, but the squirrels were still the earliest and most industrious harvesters of wheat and corn. He knew most of the first settlers of Raisin, and from hearing them relate their experiences so often, it sometimes seems to him that he lived through it all. July 1, 1868, a postoffice was established at Raisin Center, and Mr. Gallo- way was appointed postmaster, which position he has held ever since. Stephen Galloway's father, William Galloway, was born in Rensselaer county, N. Y., April 8, 1775, whose parents came from Ireland about that time. He was brought up a farmer, and owned a farm in Cambridge, Washington county, N. Y., where he died in July, 1828. He was married three times, and was the father of fourteen children, eleven of whom lived to become men and women. His last marriage occurred December 1, 1824, when he was mar-


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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD


ried to Miss Jemimah Bowerman, daughter of Moses and Margaret Bowerman, of Providence, Saratoga county, N. Y., by whom he had one son, Stephen. Mrs. Jemimah Galloway was born in Prov- idence, Saratoga county, N. Y., in 1790, and died in Raisin, this county, in 1856. She was a sister of Moses Bowerman, of Raisin. Her ancesters were Quakers, as far back as she could ascertain. Stephen Galloway was married to Miss Maria S. Hoag, of Raisin, December 26, 1844, by whom he has had six children, as follows: Abner, born December 29, 1848, a farmer of Raisin; Jemimah Ann, born October 16, 1851, died in January, 1863; Lucinda Maria, born August 2, 1855, at home; Charity, born June 25, 1863, at home; Stephen, born October 24, 1865, at home. One son died in infancy. Mrs. Maria Galloway was born in Rensse- laerville, Schoharie county, N. Y., December 17, 1821, and came to Michigan with her parents in the spring of 1844, and settled in Raisin, this county. Her father was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., in 1792, and died in Raisin, this county, in 1855. He was the son of John Hoag, a Quaker, whose ancestors were English. Her mother was Miss Lucinda Barrager, daughter of William and Azubah Barrager, of Albany county, N. Y. She was born in 1789, and died in Raisin in 1866. Her father was of German, and her mother of English ancestors.


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E DWARD A. JORDAN was born in Brookland, Kent, Eng- land, December 8, 1816. He is the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Jordan, who resided in Brookland Parish, Kent, England. Thomas Jordan, who was born at Old Rumney, Kent, was a shoemaker by trade, and lived in Brookland until 1824. He came America in 1826, and settled in Strasburgh, Lancaster county, Penn., where he opened a shop and carried on the boot and shoe business for about one year, when he moved to New York city and engaged in the baking business with his brother John. About the year 1831 he went to Albany and carried on a bakery for four or five years, when he sold out and afterward went to Verona, Oneida county, N. Y., where he followed the boot and shoe business until his death, which occurred December 23, 1869. About the year 1815 Thomas Jordan married Elizabeth Austin,


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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


daughter of James and Elizabeth Austin, of Lydd, Kent, Eng- land, by whom he had three children, Edward A. being the oldest. Mrs. Jordan was born in Lydd, and died in Brookland in 1824. Mr. Jordan afterward married Elizabeth Robson, of Brensett, Kent, by whom he had eight children, five of whom (daughters) are now living. Edward A. Jordan came to America with his father in 1826, and the same year, after running away from home a time or two, his father bound him to a farmer named John Geiger, of Lampeter, Lancaster county, Pa., until he was eighteen years old. In 1835 he went to 'Albany, N. Y., when his father again indented him to learn the carpenter's trade, and he remained in Albany until the fall of 1848. . That year he came to Michigan and settled in Ogden, this county, on section 30. He was the first settler on the section, cutting the first tree and plowing the first ground. The land was covered with a heavy growth of sugar maple, oak, hickory and ash, with some walnut, beach and bass- wood. He cut a road through to his land and put up a small log house, and lived in it for several months without doors or windows. Mr. Jordan being a carpenter, had a little advantage over other settlers, and would often work a day at his trade for two day's work at chopping and clearing. He built houses, coffins, bed- steads and tables, in fact was a very handy man to have in a new country, for he was ready with tools, and of a very obliging turn. He has cleared nearly fifty acres of land, built a good frame house, barns, etc., and is now enjoying a good home and the comforts of life. He has served fifteen years as justice of the peace, and has also filled the office of township drain commissioner, and high way commissioner. Mr. Jordan was first elected justice of the peace to fill a vacancy. His neighbor, David Becker, was justice at that time, and strenuously opposed any other man being elected in the south end of the township, as he had built up a good trade in the marrying line. The license law of Ohio sent many a couple clandestinely over the line to get married, and, as Mr. Becker had enjoyed this patronage for several years, he was opposed to Mr. Jordan's election, and afterwards, it was said, was inclined to out- wit him in qualifying. Some neighbor hinted to Mr. Jordan that the time was up when he could qualify, and if he did not attend to it at once, Mr. Becker would win the day after all. On the morn- ing of the last day of grace it rained very hard, but Mr. Jordan started on foot for Adrian, but after a hard march through the woods and water, and emptying his boots of water, wringing out his stockings, he appeared at the clerk's office with credentials and bonds, and was sworn in. He afterward did some of the marry- ing himself. May 13, 1840, Edward A. Jordan married Laura A.


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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD


Heermance, daughter of Cornelius I. and Anna Heermance, of Albany, N. Y., by whom he has had two children, as follows: Elizabeth A., born in Albany, N. Y., April 17, 1841; William E., born same place, February 2, 1843, a farmer of Douglas county, Oregon. He was a soldier in the war of the rebellion, and was a member of Company A, Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, was discharged for disability, but afterward recovered and enlisted in the Eleventh Michigan Cavalry, Company H, and served until the close of the war. He was wounded at Saltville and receives a pension. Ida Adella, an adopted daughter, born at Lockport, N. Y., July 29, 1859, is the wife of John G. Patterson, of Fair- field. Mrs. Laura A. Jordan was born in Chatham, Rensselaer county, N. Y., March 10, 1819. Her father was born in Red Hook, Dutchess county, N. Y., in January, 1793, and died Sep- tember 5, 1867. He was a resident of the city of Albany, for about fifty years. September 8, 1816, he married Anna Maria Bame, of Nassau, Rensselaer county, N. Y., by whom he had eleven children, Mrs. Jordan being the second child. Mrs. Anna Maria Heermance was born at Kinderhook, N. Y., September 8, 1806, and died in Albany, January 12, 1867. Soon after his marriage Mr. Jordan and his wife visited his birthplace in Eng- land, and spent a few very pleasant months.


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AVID WALTERMIRE, Jr., was born in Stanford, Dutchess county, N. Y., December 9, 1807. His father, David Waltermire, Sr., who was born December 30, 1763, was an extensive farmer of Dutchess county, owning about 900 acres of land, and was also a native of that county, where he al- ways lived, and was one of the prominent men of the county. His parents came from Germany, and settled in Dutchess county. The name was then spelled Waldenmire, but the descendants now spell it Waltermire, which, it is claimed, is the English of the name. He married Miss Amelia Cash, who was also a native of Dutchess county, by whom he had seven children, David Jr., being the youngest. Mrs. Amelia Waltermire was born Nov. 6, 1770, and died January 24, 1833. David Waltermire, Sr., died May 10, 1855. David Waltermire, Jr., lived with his parents until he was


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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


twenty-one, when he purchased a farm in Red Hook, in the same county, where he lived until 1850. He then returned to the old homestead, in Stanford, and made it his home until 1855, when he came to Michigan and settled in Adrian. He resided in Adrian about one year, when he went to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he invested quite largely in real estate, and engaged in the banking business with Henry Hart, Abel Whitney, and D. K. Underwood, all of whom were residents of Adrian. Mr. Waltermire did not like the country, and after a residence there of about ten months, he returned to Adrian, and subsequently purchased a farm in Mad- ison, just south of the city limits, on section 12, where he now re- sides. Since that time he has paid his attention to farming exclu- sively. January 29, 1829, David Waltermire, Jr., was married to Miss Ann Eliza Canfield, daughter of Jehiel and Bethiah (Clark) Canfield, of Stanford, by whom he has had seven children, as follows : Amelia Bethiah, born December 17, 1831, died August 30, 1838 ; Cordelia Emogene, born in Red Hook, Dutchess county, N. Y., July 18, 1834, now the wife of William C. Butts, of Valley Falls, Kansas; Catharine Albertini, born in same place, September 11, 1830, now the wife of William S. Canfield, of Ypsilanti, Mich .; George A., born in the same place, October 23, 1841, was a soldier in the war of the rebellion, a member of Company C., 18th Mich. Infantry, and was killed at Athens, Alabama, September 24, 1864; David U., born in same place, January 28, 1845, at home; William J., born in same place, September 20, 1847, a farmer of Madison. Mrs. Ann Eliza Waltermire was born in Stanford, Dutchess county, N. Y., December 25, 1808. Her father was a native of West- chester county, N. Y., and died in Stanford about the year 1840. Her mother was Miss Bethiah Clark, who was born in Westchester county, and died in Stanford about the year 1822.


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OHN PAWSON was born in Denton, Yorkshire, England, January 2, 1806. He is the fourth son and fifth child of William and Ann Pawson, who were farmers of Denton. John Pawson lived with his parents and followed farming until he was twenty-two years old, when his sister and her husband, Thomas Burkby, were coming to America, and John made up his mind to come also, and in March, 1828, they sailed from Hull in the ship


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Westmoreland, and landed at Quebec after a rough voyage of seven weeks and four days. They went immediately to Ogdensburgh, N. Y., where John found employment with Dr. J. W. Smith, and re- mained with him until thespring of 1831, when he came to Michigan. In the fall of 1830 his mother, two brothers and two sisters came to this country, and all came to Michigan with John in 1831, who purchased forty acres of land at Springville, in Cambridge, this county. He resided there until 1840, when he traded with his brother Samuel for a farm on section 18, in Franklin, where he now resides. When he first settled here he was not much encour- aged with the country. There were very few settlers, teams and tools were scarce, wheat was nearly half smut, and the bread was nearly black. Millers at that time had no "smut machines." Pork was very high and very poor, wolves were very plenty and hungry, while Indians were numerous, familiar and continually begging. John got very homesick, and had it not been for his mother and sisters he would probably have returned to Ogdens- burgh. One of the settlers, who was quite a wag, heard of his despondency, and called on him one day and told him to come over to his cabin and "look over his girls," having three bouncing daughters. He got over his "sickness" after a year or two, when several new settlers came in, and more were coming every day, and things began to liven up and look prosperous. There were only three or four settlers in Cambridge when he first settled there, and he assisted in all the first improvements. November 23, 1835, John Pawson married Charlotte Card, daughter of William and Martha Card, of Franklin, by whom he had six children, as fol- lows: William J., born in Cambridge, September 5, 1836, a farmer of Franklin; Harriet C., born same place, May 29, 1838, now the wife of John Joseph, a farmer of Franklin; Charles A., born same place, December 28, 1840, was a soldier in the war of the rebellion, and member of the Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, now a farmer of Franklin; Martha A., born same place, April 21, 1842, now the wife of Selah Raymond, of Rollin; James R., born same place, December 2, 1843, a farmer of Franklin; Christopher C., born in Franklin, December 26, 1847, a resident of Franklin. Mrs. Charlotte Pawson was born in Westbury, Somersetshire, England, April 20, 1815, and came to America with her parents and settled in Franklin in 1833, and died in Franklin, September 8, 1854. November 27, 1856, John Pawson married Mrs. Ann Duckett, widow of Michael Duckett, of Napoleon, Jackson county, Mich., and daughter of James and Ann Bunn, of Napoleon, by whom he has had seven children, as follows: Effie E., born December 24, 1857, now the wife of Clarence Cook, a farmer of


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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


Franklin; Lillia Ann, born June 10, 1860, and died May 5, 1873; Sarah M., born November 28, 1862; Orson J., born Jan- uary 26, 1865; Elizabeth M., born January 19, 1867; Isabella R., born May 29, 1869; Lillia R., born May 26, 1873; all born in Franklin. Mrs. Ann Pawson was born in Newtown, Somerset- shire, England, April 6, 1829, and came to America with her parents in 1848 and settled in Napoleon, Jackson county, Mich. Her father was born in Newtown, Somersetshire, England, in 1801, and died in Napoleon, Jackson county, Mich., in 1854. Her mother was Ann Moore, and was born in Westbury, Somersetshire, England, in 1805, and died in Grass Lake, Mich., November 10, 1864.


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ORNELIUS WARD was born in the Parish of Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, February 11, 1821. His father, Anthony Ward, was born in the same place, followed farming, and always lived there. He died in 1860, aged seventy- two years. About the year 1820 he married Margaret Muir, who was born in the same place, by whom he had seven children, Cor- nelius being the oldest. Mrs. Margaret Ward came to America in 1866, and died in Deerfield, this county, in 1873. She could trace her ancestors back to William Muir, who fought under Prince Charlie Stuart, at the battle of Coludon. Cornelius Ward lived with his parents until he was twenty-nine years old, and followed farming. During the last few years of his residence in Scotland he visited many places of traditional and sacred memory to every true Scot. He was born on the banks of the historical Dee.


" Flow on lovely Dee, Flow on thou sweet river ; Thy banks, purest stream, Shall be dear to me ever."


Its very surroundings are enough to fill the romantic Scotch youth with fervor and love, and nothing can be more dear to a Scotchman than to listen to the thousands of legends everywhere to be heard of the sublime bravery and prowess of the old chief- tains. And how his heart softens and the tear of pure sympathy moistens his eyes when he listens to the tales of love and devotion


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of the bonnie lassies of those whilom days. Mr. Ward has stood among the ruins of Douglass Castle, which is surrounded by the Dee, and many other of the most celebrated castles and abbeys in the land. He shed a tear over the tomb of Bobby Burns in Dumfries, and left his native land with all her sad past, long struggling and unfortunate history, for America, sailing from Kirk- cudbright, at the mouth of the river Dee, in the steamer Countess of Galloway, March 28, 1850, for Liverpool. He sailed from Liverpool for New York, April 11, 1850, on the ship Kate Howe, of Boston, Captain Norcross. The first time he ever saw the American flag was from the mast-head of this ship. He landed in New York, May 13th, after a very pleasant voyage. He went to Yates county and worked two years at Benton Centre. In 1853 he came west as far as Toledo, where he found employment on the Michigan Southern railroad, and dumped the first load of dirt on the middle ground, where the Island House now stands. He had charge of a gang of men there until the work was completed. He afterward assisted in the construction of the Air-line railroad from Toledo to Elkhart, Ind. In 1861 he was made station and ticket agent at Deerfield, and sold the first ticket at that station. He has remained there in that capacity ever since, and there is per- haps no man on the line better or more favorably known. In 1856 Cornelius Ward married Catharine Cargett, of Toledo, by whom he has had one daughter, Maggie, born in Butler, Ind., August 21, 1859. Mrs. Catharine Ward was born in Switzerland, and came to America with her parents when she was a little child. Her parents settled in Toledo, where they died many years ago.


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ENNIS DECAMP was born in Rahway, Middleset coun- ty, New Jersey, July 12, 1796. He was the son of Ben- jamin and Elizabeth (Cole) DeCamp, who were farmers, and owned a good farm in Essex county, New Jersey. The an- cestors of the DeCamp's were French, and of the Cole's were Scotch. Dennis DeCamp was reared a farmer, and lived in New Jersey until after he was married, and about the year 1825 he went to Palmyra, Wayne county, N. Y., afterward going to Macedon, where he worked a farm until the spring of 1834, when he came to Michigan. He came to Palmyra, this county,


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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


and settled on land he had purchased the year previous, on sec- tion 10, cleared it up, built buildings, and set out a large or- chard, which is now quite profitable. He resided there until his death, which occurred while on a visit to his son. James DeCamp, October 13, 1857. January 14, 1817, Dennis DeCamp married Prudence Ayers, daughter of James and Hannah Ayers, of Essex county, New Jersey, by whom he had six children, as follows: James A., born in Rahway, New Jersey, September 7, 1818, now a farmer of DeWitt, Clinton county, Mich .; Phebe W., born in same place, June 16, 1821; Usual M., born same place, November 4, 1823, a farmer of Alaiedon, Ingham county, Mich .; Hannah M., born in Palmyra, Wayne county, N.Y., June 26, 1826, now the wife of John DeCamp, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Elizabeth C., born same place, January 30, 1828, died in Palmyra, this county, March 11, 1848; Lydia A., born same place, December 6, 1829, was the wife of A. B. Calkins, of Pal- myra, and died July 23, 1849. Mrs. Prudence DeCamp was born in Plainfield, Middleset county, New Jersey, October 19, 1795, and died in Palmyra, this county, July 3, 1852. Phebe M. DeCamp, oldest daughter and second child of Dennis and Prudence DeCamp, was married to Clinton S. Randall, October 19, 1843. There were three children by this marriage, as follows: James C., born in Palmyra village, April 24, 1845, died in Toledo, of cholera, July 3, 1854; Maria, born December 17, 1855, died in infancy ; George C., born in Palmyra, this county, August 1, 1859, now a farmer of Palmyra. Clinton S. Randall was born near Saratoga, N. Y. He was a painter, and learned his trade in Ithaca, N. Y., and af- terward lived in Buffalo, but subsequently went to Canada, and finally, in 1836, came to Michigan and settled in Palmyra village, where he carried on his business until about 1850, when he went to Toledo in the employ of Volney Spaulding, in the lumber busi- ness, acting as salesman for a time, and finally opened a grocery and provision store. In 1854 he returned to Palmyra, and in De- cember, 1855, he purchased a farm on section 9, in Palmyra, which he owned at the time of his death, which occurred January 9, 1873. Previous to his death he added to his first purchase until he owned 105 acres of land, which is now owned by his widow. Since his death Mrs. Randall has erected a good frame house, and otherwise greatly improved the farm. Mr. Randall was quite a prominent man in Palmyra, and was much respected by all who knew him. He was an earnest temperance man, and an active tive worker in all moral reforms. He took an active interest in educational matters, and did all he could for the schools in his township.


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ONATHAN HOWLAND, Jr., was born in Manchester, Ontario county, N. Y., September 5, 1832. His father, Jon- athan Howland, Sr., was born in North Adams, Mass., Feb- ruary 6, 1789, where he resided until 1800, when his father, Gil- bert Howland, moved to Ontario county, and took up government land near where the present village of Manchester now stands. The county was then a wilderness, with but very few settlers. Mr. Howland was one of the very first settlers in his vicinity, and by the time the county began to be settled up, he had considerable land cleared, and was raising quite extensive crops, and rendered great assistance to the pioneers in furnishing them with flour and seed. Jonathan Howland, Sr., was raised in that county, and grew up with it, living with his parents until 1816, when he purchased a farm in the same township, where he resided until 1849. Dur- ing the fall of 1848 he came to Michigan to visit his children, who had settled in this and Hillsdale counties, and while here he traded farms with a distant relative, Thomas Howland. This was quite a . peculiar trade, as it involved not only the farms, but all the stock, implements, and some of the household furniture. To save the expense and trouble of transportation, the horses, sheep, cattle, hogs, poultry, tools and implements were exchanged, and each party was to make garden, draw out manure, and also do a certain amount of plowing the following spring. All the conditions were complied with, and the families moved according to contract, in May, 1849. Jonathan Howland, Sr., lived on his farm on sections 14 and 15, in Adrian, until his death, which occurred May 11, 1871. His ancestors came from Wales. In 1812 Jonathan How- land, Sr., married Miss Mary Sprague, daughter of Michael and Mary (Harris) Sprague, of Manchester, Ontario county, N. Y., by whom he had eight children, Jonathan Jr., being the youngest. Mrs. Mary Howland was born in Providence, Rhode Island, May 4, 1794, and died in Adrian, September 28, 1849. Her parents were natives of Rhode Island, their ancestors coming from Eng- land. Jonathan Howland, Sr., provided well for his children. He had three sons and three daughters, who lived to become men and women. To his two oldest sons he gave 160 acres of land each, and to each of his daughters he gave 80 acres, with household furni- , ture. As Jonathan Jr., was the youngest child, he came into pos- session of the homestead as his equal share with the other children. Jonathan Jr., always lived at home and provided well for his father in his declining years. He has always followed farming, and has made it a successful pursuit. November 15, 1855, Jonathan Howland, Jr., married Miss Emeline A. Snediker, daughter of James J. and Phebe Snediker, of Adrian township, by whom he


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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


has had four sons, as follows: David L., born March 13, 1856, a farmer of Adrian; Nicholas A., born December 24, 1858, a farmer of Adrian; Frank A., born April 11, 1866; Fred J., born December 24, 1871. Mrs. Emeline A. Howland was born in Adrian, February 20, 1838. Her father came to Michigan in 1828, and was a car- penter by trade. He finally turned his attention to farming, pur- chasing a farm on section 15, in Adrian, where he lived until his death, which occurred February 10, 1875. February 14, 1834, he married Miss Phebe Van Aken, daughter of Benjamin and Rachel Van Aken, of Fairfield, this county, by whom he had four children, Mrs. Amelia A. Howland being the oldest. Mrs. Phebe Snediker is still living on the old homestead in Adrian. She was born in Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y., February 14, 1814, and came to Michigan in 1831, and was of German ancestors. James J. Snediker was born in Freehold, New Jersey, June 30, 1802. He was the son of James and Rachel Snediker. James Snediker was for many years a judge of Monmouth county, and was a prominent citizen and strict churchman. His ancestors were soldiers of the revolution, and originally came from Germany.




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