USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan, Volume II > Part 38
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HARLES HUMPHREY was born at Canandaigua, N. Y., October 31, 1834, and moved with his parents to Michigan, and settled in the woods in the township of Wheatland, Hillsdale county, in 1837. He received a good common school
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
education, afterward teaching school winters, and working on his father's farm summers for several years. In 1858 he went to Carondelet, Mo., where he engaged in teaching school until 1861, when he came to Adrian and engaged as clerk for C. B. Ackley, and remained there nearly one year, and May 13, 1862, purchased J. D. Baker's stock of books and stationery, and has been in the same business in Adrian ever since. His business has been large and prosperous, and he now carries on the largest and most complete book and stationery store in Southern Michigan. Mr. Humphrey is the publisher of "Tiffany's Justice Guide " and " Tiffany's Crim- inal Law," having published four editions of the "Guide," and one of the "Criminal Law." October 9, 1863, he married Caro- line Riehl, daughter of Emil and Amelia Riehl, of St. Louis, Mo., by whom he has had three children, as follows: Willis L., born June 4, 1865, and died August 15, 1873; John C., born December 13, 1872; Caroline A., born November 17, 1874. Mrs. Caroline Humphrey was born in Carondelet township, St. Louis county, Mo., May 28, 1841. Her parents were natives of Alsace, then a province of France, and came to America and settled on a farm in Carondelet, in 1836, where her father died in 1851. Her mother is still living.
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RANCIS HILL was born in Ridgeway, Orleans county, N. Y., September 24, 1827. His father, Asa Hill, was born in Massachusetts, December 25, 1794, and when a boy moved with his parents, Luther and Mary Hill, to Farmington, Wayne county, N. Y. Subsequently the family moved to Ridgeway, Or- leans county, where a new farm was purchased. After Asa Hill was married he purchased a farm in the same township, and re- sided there nntil 1841, when he came to Michigan and settled on section 2, in Adrian township, this county. The land was cov - ered with heavy timber, no improvement ever having been made. He cleared eighty acres, built good buildings, and resided there until his death, which occurred August 25, 1874. September 10, 1822, Asa Hill married Rebecca Wilson, daughter of Levi Wil- son, by whom he had six children, as follows : Darius C., born October 6, 1823, died January 1, 1870; Francis W .; Asa J., born
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
May 26, 1827, a farmer of Adrian; Mercy M., born July 3, 1829, now the wife of William Slater, a farmer of Adrian; Mary M., born December 18, 1832, now the wife of William T. Thorp, of Tecumseh; Rebecca C., born January 15, 1835, now the wife of Henry Fowler, of Bethel, Branch county, Mich. Mrs. Rebecca Hill was born in Adams, Mass., March 26, 1799, and died in Adrian, November 10, 1875. Very little is known of Mrs. Hill's family history. Her father was a mechanic of Adams, and car- ried on business for himself. She had two brothers and one sister. One of her brothers went to sea and was never heard of after- wards. The other brother was an early settler of Wayne county, Mich., where he was murdered in 1844. Her sister died quite young. Francis Hill came to Michigan with his parents in 1841, and has ever since lived in Adrian, and occupies the old home- stead, with his brother, Asa J. The two brothers have always lived on this farm, and assisted in clearing and improving it. May 11, 1876, Francis Hill married Mary J. Lanning, daughter of Joseph and Betsey Lanning .. of Franklin. They have never had any children. Mrs. Mary J. Hill was born in Raisin, this county, September 4, 1844. Her father was born in Huntington, Sussex - county, N. J., in 1808, where he resided until 1844, when he came to . Michigan, and settled in Raisin, this county. He married Betsey Updyke, daughter of Samuel and Anna Updyke, of War- ren county, N. J. Joseph Updyke died in Raisin, November 20, 1874. Betsey Updyke is still living in Franklin, this county.
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AMES A. EATON was born in Sutton, N. H., September 30, 1841, where he resided until he was seventeen years old. He attended Andover Academy for two terms, and in the spring of 1859 he came west and settled in Toledo, and clerked for his brother Frederick, who was engaged in the dry goods bus- iness. He remained in Toledo until 1863, when he went to Ft. Wayne, Ind., and went into business for himself, remaining there one year, when he sold out and went to Memphis, Ten- nessee, and opened a general store. He remained there for about two years, when he returned to Toledo, O., and again went into the employ of Eaton & Backus,
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
remaining with them until March 11, 1870, when he came to Adrian to close out the bankrupt goods of James Zwisler, which had been purchased by Eaton & Backus, only intending to stay long enough to close out the stock. He soon became acquainted, built up a good trade, and liked Adrian so well that he determined to remain, and put in a large stock of goods. In the spring of 1871 the firm of Eaton & Backus was dissolved, Frederick Eaton carrying on the business in Toledo, and the firm in Adrian be- came James A. Eaton & Co. The business increased, a larger store was needed, and in the spring of 1872 he removed from the Kinzel block to his present store in the Masonic Temple. Here a large and prosperous business has been done ever since, and in 1878 the store was again enlarged, by opening an archway, making nearly a double store. Since Mr. Eaton has done business in Adrian he has zealously striven to supply his customers with the best quality of goods at the lowest prices. His stock is always very large and varied, embracing the choicest and most desirable goods. It has always been a point with Mr. Eaton to employ competent and pleasant salesmen, who strive to please and satisfy. Mr. Eaton has liberally assisted all public enterprises that have promised growth or prosperity to Adrian, besides assisting many church and other enterprises throughout the county. In the spring of 1880 he purchased his present very desirable and pleas- ant home, on the corner of College avenne and Chandler street, in Adrian, and is now one of the prosperous business men and will- ing tax-pavers of the city. January 10, 1872, James A. Eaton married Francis J., youngest daughter of James J. and Johanna W. Newell, by whom he has had one child, Mary, born March 24, 1877. Mrs. Francis J. Eaton was born in Adrian, December 24, 1847. [For her family relation see James J. Newell's record, on another page of this volume. ] James A. Eaton's father, John Ea- ton, was born in Sutton, N. H., in 1796, was a farmer, and owned a farm of 1,800 acres. He married Jeannette Andrews, daughter of Nathan Andrews, of Sutton, by whom he had nine children, six sons and three daughters, eight of whom are now living. John Eaton intended that all his sons should be farmers, but signally failed in this respect, as not one of them is to-day a tiller of the soil. Mr. and Mrs. John Eaton both died on the farm at Sutton, he at the age of 77, and she at the age of 38. The old homestead farm is still retained by the children, and is visited each summer by them, during the heated term, when a family reunion occurs. The farm has been in the Eaton family over 100 years, where grandfather, father and sons have all been born. The oldest member of the present family is General John Eaton, Jr., who is
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now Commissioner of Education at Washington, D. C., through whose influence the entire family has been educated. Their father was an old-fashioned, sturdy, honest farmer, who believed in dig- ging and delving through life in the old-fashioned way, thinking education was unnecessary, and the money that it cost thrown away. The children, however, all became well educated, two, John and Lucien B., being graduates of Dartmouth College, and one, Mrs. Carrie Pennock, of Somerville, Mass., being a graduate of Mt. Holyoke Seminary.
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AVID BROOKS was born in Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y., November 26, 1822. He is the son of Bildad and Hannah Brooks, who lived in Phelps, where they resided until 1833. In the spring of 1833, Bildad Brooks sold his farm and came to Michigan and settled on section 7, in Tecumseh (now Clinton), this county. When Bildad Brooks was a young man he learned the carpenter and joiner's trade, and followed it most of the time until he came to Michigan, but carried on a farm at the same time. He was an active, energetic man, of good mind and judgment, and soon became a prominent man among the early set- tlers of Lenawee county. He held many offices of honor and trust, until his health failed him, in 1846, and he died January 18, 1848. He was born near Ballston Springs, Saratoga county, N. Y., in June, 1787, and was the son of Joseph Brooks, and it is said the ancestors of the family came from Ireland. In January, 1809, Bildad Brooks married Hannah Woodward, daughter of Ebenezer Woodward, of Manchester, Ontario county, N. Y., by whom he had eight children, David being the sixth child and third son. Mrs. Hannah Brooks was born in Manchester, Bennington county, Vt., September 20, 1790, and is now living in Michigan with her children, in good health and strength, and a wonderful instance of longevity. David Brooks came to Michigan with his parents when he was ten years old, in 1833, and has been a resi- dent of Lenawee county for forty-seven years. He was brought up a farmer, and has always followed it. He now resides on the farm that his father first purchased on section 7, about two miles west and south of Clinton village, and has scarcely any knowledge
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
of any other home. He assisted in clearing up the farm from a wilderness, and has never done much work on any other land. After the death of his father he took charge of the farm, and soon became identified with the interests of the township, and was active . in public affairs. A proposition was sent to the legislature by some of the leading men of Tecumseh to divide the old township of Tecumseh, making two townships, and calling the northern half Clinton, and in 1869 the act was passed. Danforth Keyes was the first supervisor of Clinton, and in 1871 David Brooks was elected supervisor, and served six years. He served as chairman of nearly all the important committees, and was one of the building commit- tee appointed to erect the present county jail. In the spring of 1877 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he is now filling. July 1, 1847, David Brooks married Olive Smith, daugh- ter of' Henry and Anna M. Smith, of Clinton, by whom he has had five children, as follows: Josephine; born November 18, 1848, and died January 15, 1853; Margie, born March 12, 1851, now the wife of R. B. Mills, of Clinton; Alonzo C., born in July, 1853, and died July 1, 1863; David M., born in May, 1856, and died in July, 1869; Lizzie M., born October 27, 1858, at home. Mrs. Olive Brooks was born in Clarence, Erie county, N. Y., June 7, 1824, came to Michigan with her parents in 1835, and set- tled on section 7, in Tecumseh (now Clinton). Her parents were natives of Caynga county, N. Y. , Her father was born in 1790, and died in Clinton, in October, 1865. Her mother was born in 1792, and died in Clinton, in January, 1877,
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AMES K. WHEELER was born in Ovid, Seneca county, N. Y., May 8, 1829. His father, Abraham Wheeler, was born in the same place, May 16, 1803, and was the son of James Wheeler, who was a native of New Jersey, and a farmer. After James Wheeler was married he moved to Seneca county, N. Y., and purchased a farm in Ovid, where he lived until the spring of 1833, when he came to Michigan and purchased 200 acres of land of Captain James Whitney, which was sitnated just west of the river Raisin, and now included in the city limits of Adrian. Abraham Wheeler came to Michigan in June, 1833, and purchased land on section 22, in Macon, where he resided until the spring of
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1840, when he traded for a farm on section 16, in the same town, and lived there until 1863, when he sold out and stopped active business, afterward living with his son, James K., until his death, which occurred January 6, 1872. He was twice married, first November 11, 1827, to Azuba Young, of Troy, N. Y., by whom he had three children-James K., John C. and Viletta, deceased. Mrs. Azuba Wheeler was a native of the State of New York, was born August 1, 1805, and died in Rome, this county, September 22, 1865. His second marriage occurred in 1868. when he mar- ried Mrs. Caroline Hicks, widow of Hubbard Hicks, of Rome, and is still living. Mr. Wheeler took an active interest in all public affairs when he settled in Macon in 1833, and soon became a prominent man in the township. He served the town as super- visor for several years, and was justice of the peace eight years. He was active in all public improvements, and shirked no respon- sibility that came upon the pioneer. He was for many years a member of the Presbyterian church, first uniting with the Adrian church. James K. Wheeler came to Michigan with his parents when he was about four years old, and has resided in Lenawee county ever since. He has always followed farming, and first pur- chased a farm on section 34, in Woodstock, in 1853, where he lived until 1865, when he sold out and purchased a farm on sec- tion 7, in Rome, where he now resides. His farm is a good one, pleasant, productive and desirable, with good buildings, orchard, etc. It is situated upon the old plank road, twelve miles west of Adrian. Mr. Wheeler has for many years been quite an active man, taking an interest in public matters, political, religious and educational. He is a member of the Second Baptist church of Rome, and has always been Democratic in politics. November 12, 1851, James K. Wheeler married Elenor Ann Miller, daughter of John A. and Elenor Miller, of Macon, this county, by whom he has had three children, as follows: Finetta, born in Macon, December 2, 1852, died July 5, 1861; John A., born in Wood- stock, January 30, 1858, a farmer of Rome; Herschel D., born October 28, 1860, at home. Mrs .. Elenor A. Wheeler was born in Lodi, Seneca county, N. Y., December 28, 1828, and came to Michigan with her parents in 1847, and settled in Macon. Her father, John A. Miller, was a native of New York, was born March 7, 1784, and died in Macon, this county, November 5, 1852. February 20, 1806, he married Elenor Sutphen, by whom he had seven children, Mrs. Wheeler being the youngest of the family. Mrs. Elenor Miller was born in Seneca county, N. Y., July 3, 1786, and died in Lodi, Seneca county, June 18, 1839. Mr. Miller afterward married Maria Breese.
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
UTHER McROBERT was born in Rome, Lenawee county, Mich,, December 31, 1836. His father, Daniel MeRobert, was born in Springfield, Rutland county, Vt., October 27, 1798, where he lived until 1801, when he removed to Champlain, Clinton county, N. Y., with his parents. His father, William MeRobert, owned a farm there, and Daniel resided in that county, where he followed carpentering, lumbering and farm- ing until the spring of 1833, when he started with his family, with a team, and came to Michigan, passing through Ohio and Pennsylvania, arriving in Adrian early in June, after a journey of five weeks. He located eighty acres of land on seetion 27, in Rome, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying December 1, 1877. He cleared eighty acres of land, built a frame house and barns, and purchased an additional eighty acres. He was one of the first, if not the first to settle in his locality, and cut a road through from the west line of Adrian township, a distanec of two miles. He was a prominent and respected citizen of Rome, and held the office of justice of the peace for eight years, besides being entrusted with other minor offices. He was a soldier in the Toledo war under General Brown. He was a captain of the State militia, and served through the war in that capacity. January 21, 1821, he married Bathsheba Luther, daughter of William and Eunice Luther, of Plattsburgh, N. Y., by whom he had four children, Luther being the youngest. Mrs. Bathsheba McRobert was born in Vermont, December 26, 1800, and came to Michigan in 1833 with her husband. She still survives her husband, and is living in Rome, in her eightieth year, with good mind, and relates the important events of the past seventy-five years with remarkable clearness. Luther McRobert has always lived in Rome, on one farm, and now owns a part of the old homestead. He has grown up with the township, and is more or less acquainted with every carly resident. He has never held any office in the township for the reason, perhaps, that his party has been in the minority for many years. Rome was one of the first townships in the county to become converted to the Republican faith, and, as Mr. McRob- ert has always been an earnest Democrat, he has been compelled to submit to the rule of that party. February 19, 1861, Luther McRobert married Martha Ann Parker, daughter of William K. and Jane Parker, by whom he has had two children, as follows: Mary Jane, born in Rome, December 24, 1863: George P., born in Rome, February 27, 1872. Mrs. Martha Ann MeRobert was born in La Porte, Ind., February 2, 1841, and came to Lenawee county in 1843. She was left an orphan when she was two years old, was brought up by her grand parents, James and Martha
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Fleming, of Rome. She knows but very little of her parents, and never remembers seeing them. Her mother was Jane Fleming, who was born in Romulus, N. Y., June 12, 1812, and died in La Porte, Ind., July 26, 1843.
ON. ANTHONY McKEY was born in Delhi, Delaware county, N. Y., January 3, 1800. Alex McKey, the father of the subject of this sketch, emigrated with his parents to America, from Gallowayshire, Scotland, and landed at Albany, N. Y., in the year 1774. His father, anxious to become a land owner, removed to Harpersfield, and settled in a neighborhood of Tories (he being a Whig), against the earnest remonstrances of his son Alex, then a lad of sixteen, who remained in Albany. The result of this removal was that the family, consisting of his par- ents, an uncle, two aunts, and several children, were massacred. and their house burned by the Indians. Alex continued to reside in Albany until 1788, when he married Elizabeth Milroy, who emigrated from the southern highlands of Scotland, in 1775. He soon after removed to Delhi, Delaware county, N. Y., where An- thony was born, he being the third son and seventh child of the ten children of his father's family, as follows: Jane, born Octo- ber 10, 1789, married John McMillan, came to Deerfield in the spring of 1839, and died October 26, 1877; Elizabeth, born July 23, 1791, died in October, 1802; Mary, born March 18, 1793, married William Stewart, after whose death she removed to Deer- field, and she is still living with her youngest daughter, Marga- ret, the wife of Alfred Wilkinson, of Dundee; John A., born September 23, 1794, died October 8, 1873; Anna, born March 9, 1796, died December 3, 1865; Alex W., born April 6, 1798, a physician of great note, practicing with eminent success for over forty years, at Candor, Tioga county, N. Y. In 1863 he joined his children in Illinois, and died at the residence of his son, W. J. McKey, at Troy Grove, April 5, 1876; Margaret, born Septem- ber 18, 1801, died in Deerfield, in September, 1865, never mar- ried; Peter, born August 6, 1803, still living in Pennsylvania; Nancy, born July 5, 1806, still living in Chemung county, N. Y. When about nine years of age his father removed to Che-
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OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
mung county, N. Y., and settled upon a farm, where Anthony re- mained at work with his brothers until he was abont eighteen years old, when he commenced teaching school. In 1826 he came to Michigan, taught school for a time in Monroe, and in 1828 settled on section 12, in Blissfield (now Deerfield), was married soon after to Jane Clark, daughter of Dr. Robert Clark, an emi- nent physician of Monroe. Mrs. McKey was born in Argyle, Washington county, N. Y., March 23, 1802, and died at her home in Deerfield, December 18, 1836. [For a more extended account, see history of D. H. Clark, in this work.] November 26, 1828, Mr. McKey was appointed postmaster at Kedzie's Grove (now Deerfield), and held the office without interruption to the time of his death, which occurred at his homestead, January 26, 1849. In 1831 he traveled extensively through the northern portion of the State, often on foot, and sometimes hiring the In- dians to transport him from place to place with their ponics or canoes, as cirenmstances would require, often camping in the woods, with only his compass and trusty rifle for companions. Being postmaster, and not liable to military duty, in 1832 he vol- unteered to fight Black Hawk, and served until the troops were disbanded. Wolves and bears were numerous in those days, and the old bell cow, by shaking her head and rattling her bell, has often called him from his bed to drive the intruders away from his pigs and young calves. The Indians were his friends, and knew his latch-string was always out, and on cold and stormy nights, when belated in their hunting excursions, dusky forms were often seen wrapped in their blankets, reposing before his gen- erous fire in the old log house, on the banks of the historie Rai- sin. The Indian women, carrying huge loads of painted baskets, with their babies strapped on boards and flung over their backs, were also often warmed and fed by the good wife, and never was a wayfaring man turned away without substantial aid if in need, with a word of good cheer. He was an extensive reader, and was well informed upon all the topies of the day ; was elected supervi- sor in 1829, re-elected in 1830, 31, 32, and 33, was again elected in 1844, and served a part of the year 1848. In the fall of 1836 he was cleeted State Senator, and took his seat January 1, 1837, and was re-elected the following term. He was earnestly in favor, and helped to secure the passage of the charter for the Michigan Southern Railroad, and was a prominent contractor and surveyor, and assisted in its location and construction to Hillsdale. He was a warm friend of Governor Barry, and rode to Jackson on horse- back as a delegate to the convention that nominated him for Gov- ernor of the State. In 1842 he was appointed by Governor Barry,
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in company with Mr. Higgins, of Detroit, to select land ceded by the general government to the State, under act of Congress, ap- proved September 4, 1841, and entered 33,411 acres of land in the Land office at Flint. He was an ardent friend and supporter of Governor Robert McClelland, who often was his guest while looking after his political interests in this part of the State. He was also a warm friend and admirer of General Cass, and was the President of the immense mass meeting at Adrian, in 1848, when General Cass was the principal speaker. . He was one of the com- missioners and the surveyor appointed by the general government to locate and build the Port Lawrence (now Toledo) and Adrian wagon road ; also was one of the surveyors of what is known as the Chicago road, and of the Vistula & Indiana road. In 1844 he married his second wife, Harriet L. Dryer, only daughter of Horatio and Mary Dryer, of Palmyra, this county. She was born at Stockbridge, Berkshire county, Mass., March 6, 1823, and died at the residence of her son, in the city of Detroit, March 27, 1877. She was a woman of rare attractions. Being an extensive reader, her mind was richly stored with the choicest literature of the day. She was endowed to a remarkable degree with conversational powers and great goodness of heart. Her life was largely lived for the happiness of others. She was an affectionate wife, a de- voted mother and a faithful friend. It can be truly said that in her was portrayed the fairest type of a true and noble woman. In politics Mr. McKey was a Democrat, upheld the Mexican war, and was in favor of the admission of Texas. In religion he was a Presbyterian, active in the church and Sabbath school, and at the time of his death, and for years previous, an elder of the church. In the cause of temperance he was radical, opposing the use of liquor or tobacco in any form. Being a practical surveyor, and extensively acquainted, he was of great service in the early settle- ment of the country, always knowing where the best locations could be made. He was always the poor man's friend, and would give his time and often material aid, to the pioneers in their strug- gle for a home in the wilderness. He was a man of strong im- pulses, easily moved to tears or roused to anger; a man of strong points, kindly to what appeared just and right, but severe to whatever opposed him. He was a man of fine person, tall and well formed, and of great dignity of bearing, unmistakably typical of the Scotch gentleman of culture. The death of this good man, occurring as it did in early life, and in the midst of his great use- fulness, was a severe blow to his young family and to the commu- nity in which he lived. He left four sons, Wallace A., born De- cember 25, 1830, a surveyor and civil engineer of large experience and
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