History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 132

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co.
Number of Pages: 1434

USA > Michigan > Kent County > History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 132

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).

Alexander H. Clark was born in Trenton, Hunterdon Co., N. J., May 21, 1804. His parents, Benjamin and Mary Clark, were natives of Trenton, descended from New England parents. The senior Clark was a soldier of the war of 1812, and

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his father was a Revolutionary patriot. Mr. Clark came to this State in 1828, and settled in what is now Wayne county, buying 40 acres of land, and a year later sold it and went to Plymouth, and bought 40 acres, and again sold out, going to Superior, Washtenaw Co Three years after, he sett ed in Paris; and in 1836 bought 160 acres on sec. 14. A year later he sold his claim, and bought 160 acres on secs. 8 and 9. He was the first white settler in the tp. He lived in Gaines about 30 years, and returned to Paris, buying 106 acres on sec. 30. He has disposed of most of the original purchase. Oct. 18, 1823, he married Catherine Goodwin, of Ovid, Seneca Co., N. Y. Following is the record of their children : Emeline, born Aug. 9, 1824; Richard S., Sept. - , 1826, died Sept. 25, 1855; Sally A., Nov. 8, 1828, died Nov 15, 1828; Elizabeth, Jan. 14, 1831 ; Benjamin, Aug. 1, 1833, died May 1, 1850; Sexton, Mar. 7, 1843, died Oct. 7, 1869; Sarah, Dec. 10, 1836; John W., Oct. 7, 1839; Cordelia, Aug. 27, 1846 ; Matilda, Mar. 18, 1848; and Julia E., Dec. 1, 1850. Mrs. Clark was born in New York, Nov. 18, 1805, and died in Paris, Jan. 6, 1879. She was a Methodist in religious belief. Mr. Clark adheres to Greenback doctrines politically, and has been Justice of the Peace 14 years, Town Clerk three years, and Supervisor three years. P. O., Fisher Sta- tion.

Isaac D. Davis was born in Oswego Co., N. Y., Dec. 27, 1818. He is son of John S. and Charlotte Davis. His father was born in New Jersey, and his mother in New York, in 1793 (died in 1825). Both were of Welsh ancestry. They set- tled in Oakland county in 1820, and the same year his father was elected Sheriff. The latter died the following year, and his wife and son returned to New York. In 1836 Mr. Davis came with bis uncle to Grand Rapids, then a hamlet with 18 houses. At 21 he bought 80 acres of land in what is now Paris tp., sec. 3, and 10 years later sold out, and purchased 80 acres on sec. 29, his present home, to which he has added 160 acres, all choice land, and valued at $70 per acre. He was married Jan. 14, 1843, to Sophia Reed, of Grand Rapids. They had eight chil- dren, six of whom are living. Mrs. Davis died Dec. 7, 1863. Mr. Davis was married a second time, Jan. 8, 1866, to Mrs. Louisa M. Barr, daughter of Samuel and Matilda Cane, of Oneida Co., N. Y., born Oct. 29, 1824. They have one child, John L, born May 15, 1868. From the earliest history of our country Mr. Davis' family have made a worthy record of patriotism and devotion to its interests. His maternal grandfather was an aid on the staff of Gen. Washington, and his son, Thomas Davis, died in the Union service June 1, 1864. Mrs. Davis' son, Charles H. Barr, was a soldier during the last three years of the war of the Rebel- lion. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Davis was born Jan. 24, 1764, died in 1845; the grandmother was born April 14, 1769, died Sept. 20, 1856. Mr. D. has been Supervisor since '77, and Town Clerk two years. He is a conservative Democrat.

Stephen B. Davis was born in Burford, Canada, Jan. 25, 1814. He is son of Daniel and Delia Davis, and came to Michigan in the fall of 1850. He bought 80 acres of land on sec. 26, to which he has added until his farm includes 161 acres, valued at $60 per acre. He was married May 31, 1833, to Lovina Quack- enboss, of Canada. They have five sons and five daughters, born in the subse- quent order : Elizabeth A., June 19, 1839; Truman, Feb. 9, 1842; Daniel, Aug. 7, 1844; Abraham, Jan. 3, 1847; Anna, June 24, 1849; Delia, Aug. 22, 1852; Stephen, May 1, 1855 ; Joseph, May 20, 1858; Edith L., Mar. 25, 1861 ; Altha L , Nov. 30, 1863. All have grown to maturity. The father of Mrs. Davis was born in 1800, and died in 1872; her mother was born in Dunham, Canada, in 1804. Mr. Davis is a Republican.

Charles W. Garfield was born in Wauwaukee, Wis., Mar. 14, 1848. He is son of Samuel M. and Harriet E. (Brown) Garfield. He accompanied his parents to Kent county in 1858, and passed the next seven years of his life in alternate farm labor and study, and at 17 years of age entered upon the duties of teach- ing, which he designed as a profession. He taught school four terms, and attended the High School at Grand Rapids a year, meanwhile working on the farm at intervals, until the spring of 1868, when he entered the Agricultural College and completed a course of study, graduating in November, 1870. Uncertain health precluded the pursuit of teaching, and he turned his attention to practical horti- culture, and spent a year with the nursery firm of Storrs, Harrison & Co., of Painesville, O. On his return to Grand Rapids he engaged in the same enterprise, as a member of the firm of Rockwell & Garfield, a relation which terminated in 1873, owing to the disastrous cold of the previous winter. Mr. Garfield accepted

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a call to a position in the Horticultural Department of the Agricultural College, where he remained till late in the year 1877. He had charge of the Farm Department of the Detroit Free Press four years. In 1876 he was elected Secretary of the State Horticultural Society, in which position he has since been, and is still, acting. He has published four complete and most satisfactory volumes of the transactions of the society, and is completing a fifth. His home is most pleasantly situated three miles from Grand Rapids. He is a studious, scholarly man, seeking no eminence in public affairs; but in 1880 he received the nomina- tion for Representative of his district as the Republican candidate. He received 2,412 against 1,958 for William P. Whitney, Fusion candidate.

Samuel M. Garfield was born at Pembroke, Genesee Co., N. Y., June 23, 1816. His paternal ancestors were New Englanders, of English lineage, who settled in Connecticut about the time of the establishment of Yale College. The Marshalls, from whom his mother descended, were, many of them, prominent in American politics. Mr. Garfield was married in 1841 to Harriet E. Brown, whose mother was a member of the celebrated Hale family of New England. Soon after the marriage Mr. Garfield went to Milwaukee, Wis., and engaged in farming, grow- ing up with the country, and later adding lumbering to his vocation. In 1858 he removed to Paris, Kent Co., where he purchased a portion of the old Burton farm, where the family still reside. He was Supervisor a number of years, and was elected three times to represent the second district of Kent county, in the State Legislature, the last time without opposition. He died in January, 1876, after a long illness, during which he became partially paralyzed. The Garfield home- stead is on the site of the first clearing made by Barney Burton, probably the first improvement made in the tp. Three larch trees standing at the entrance to the grounds, and a line of walnuts along the front planted by Mrs. Burton's own hands, still testify to the labors of the Burton family. In the orchard are a few seedling trees grown from seeds planted by Mr. Burton when he first made his clearing. The place faces north, and is at the end of Jefferson avenue extension.

Charles. W. Hurd was born Aug. 28, 1824, in Dutchess Co., N. Y. His parents, Allen and Cornelia Hurd, were both natives of Dutchess Co., N. Y., of German descent. His father was born June 11, 1799, and died June 30, 1864; his mother was born in February, 1798, and died Aug. 5, 1858. The parents settled in Paris in 1843 on 80 acres, sec. 10, previously purchased. Charles Hurd was married Dec. 18, 1849, to Philinda, daughter of Silas and Rhoda Darling, of Paris. Her grandfathers were both Revolutionary patriots.

Everett Hurd (brother of the above) was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., Dec. 19, 1826, and was married to Lydia M. Westlake, of Grand Rapids, Aug. 28, 1853. They have one child, Mary C., born Sept. 16, 1858. She was married Dec. 11, 1877, to Charles W. Porter, of Paris, born in Ossian, Livingston Co., N. Y., Oct. 30, 1843. They have one child, Bessie, born Feb. 18, 1879. Everett Hurd is present Tp. Treasurer, an office he has filled 10 years; he also took the tenth U. S. census of the town. Their father's estate of 80 acres is equally divided between the brothers. Both are Republicans, and with their wives, are members of the Methodist Church. Postoffice, Grand Rapids.

Andrew J. Impson, born in New York Feb 27, 1834, is son of Samuel and Martha Impson, natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born Aug. 25, 1801, and the mother in December, 1803; both are living. In 1851 Mr. Impson settled in Pine Grove, Van Buren Co., and in 1875 on sec. 33, this tp., where he now lives. He was married in April, 1855, to Mary Story, a native of this State. They had five children: Thomas N., born Nov. 21, 1857; William, July 6, 1861; An- drew S., Aug. 27, 1864; Chancey Freddy, Oct. 7, 1867, and Mark, Oct. 3, 1870. Their mother died Oct. 13, 1870. Mr. Impson was married Dec. 25, 1872, to Elizabeth, daughter of Charles and Harriet Golland, of Pine Grove. They have four children-Bertha M., born Oct. 11, 1874; Aldora, Feb. 27, 1876; Grace Ann, July 5, 1878, and Lyman A., Dec. 1, 1880. Politically Mr. Impson subscribes to the Greenback doctrines, and is connected with the Masonic order. P. O., Bowen Station.

Mrs. Orpha Ingraham was born Jan. 12, 1821, in Sennet, Cayuga Co, N. Y. Her father, Dwight Francisco, was a native of Massachusetts, born in 1798, and died in 1857. Her mother was born Jan. 1, 1806, in New Jersey, and died in New York Sept. 5, 1856. The first marriage of Mrs. Ingraham was to Henry E. Keyes, of Sennet, N. Y. The marriage took place May 26, 1841. Mr. Keyes was born in Burlington, Vt., March 27, 1808. His father, Elnathan Keyes, was a native of

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Massachusetts. He was cousin to Theodore Peck, of Burlington, Vt., and be- longed to one of the oldest and best families in Chittenden county. Mr. and Mrs. Keyes went, immediately after their marriage, to Perington, Monroe Co., N. Y., and remained a year, going thence to Brighton, then three miles from the city of Rochester, and now on the city borders. They lived in Brighton 14 years, and in 1858 Mr. Keyes came to this county, and the next spring the family settled on 40 acres of land in Paris. The place was a wilderness at that period. Mr. and Mrs. Keyes had three children-Charlotte A., born Sept. 5, 1843 (drowned when six years old); Orpha Elizabeth, May. 26, 1851, and Henry D., March 14, 1847. Mr. Keyes died in Paris, June 8, 1865. Mrs. Keyes was married in 1867 to Isaac Ingraham. She has kept and managed the estate of her first husband. Her daughter is married and lives at home, and her son is engaged on the street railroad of Grand Rapids.

Charles Kellogg was born Oct. 15, 1322, in Caledonia, Livingston Co., N. Y. His grandparents were natives of Connecticut, and his parents, Horace and Abigail Kellogg, were born in the same State. Mr. Kellogg came to this State in the fall of 1843 and settled in Vergennes, where he bought 240 acres of land and sold it four years after, when he purchased 80 acres on sec. 4 in Paris. He lived on it five years and sold it, going to Illinois, where he resided three years, and returned to Paris. He bought 80 acres on sec. 2, where he now resides. He spent the summer of 1859 at Pike's Peak, Col. He was married May 15, 1853, to Nancy E., daughter of Silas and Rhoda Darling, of Paris, born Aug. 3, 1834, in Oneida Co., N. Y. Her father was a native of Rhode Island, her mother of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg have had six children, but have only one living-Mary I., born Dec. 4, 1859. The wife and daughter are members of the Methodist Church. Mr. Kellogg is a Republican and a member of the Grange.

Abby A. Parsons was born Aug. 8, 1826, in Moretown, Washington Co., Vt. Her parents, James and Loretta Fisk, were natives respectively of Massachusetts and Vermont. Mrs. Parsons came to Grand Rapids with friends in 1847, and to this tp. in the same year. She was married April 5, 1853, to William S. Parsons, a native of Dover, Me., son of Job and Sarah Parsons. He came to this State in 1837 and to Paris in 1844, where he purchased 80 acres of land on sec. 5, where the family still reside. Mr. Parsons increased his real estate from time to time, by purchase, until, at the time of his death, he owned 200 acres; 160 in home farm and 40 in choice timber on sec. 9. He died Aug. 2, 1877, leaving four children -Orvil'e James, born July 19, 1857; Walter S., March 21, 1861; Belle, Aug. 15, 1863; Lorette M., Jan. 9, 1867. The eldest child, May, was born Sept. 19, 1854, and died March 1, 1870. Mr. Parsons had two sons by a former marriage-Will- iam G., born Nov. 6, 1843, died April 7, 1881, in Paris, and Milo A., born May 20, 1846. Mr. Parsons was a Democrat and active in all public matters in his town, especially in school interests; was Supervisor several terms. He and Mrs. Parsons were charter members of Burton, now Paris, Grange. All the children are living with their mother on the homestead; Orville has charge of the man- agement, and is a Democrat in politics.

Miner Patterson was born June 9, 1819, in Wayne, Steuben Co., N. Y. He is son of Robert and Rachel Patterson, who came to Washtenaw county in 1828, where his father died in 1831. His mother, with five boys to bring up and edu- cate, and fit for the responsibilities of the future, proved equal to the emergency, and continued the management of the homestead six years, when she came with her family to Kent county, and bought 40 acres of land on sec. 13, this tp., where she spent her life. The first two years after her removal to this county she her- self labored for wages. Her energy was wonderful, and her perseverance indom- itable, and with the aid of her sons she paid for her land and spread its borders until the tract in the possession of the family included 350 acres Her sons all settled near her, and she was to the end of her life, March 1, 1864, their wise counsellor and most judicious friend. At her death Mr. Patterson, of this sketch, came in possession of the ho nestead, to which he has added until lie owns 320 acres of first-class land. When he first began his struggle with the world he owned two dollars, an ax and a gun, and three months' provisions. They cleared five acres the first winter, and look back to that time as one of promise and not of difficulty. Mr. Patterson was married July 4, 1848, to Sally A., daughter of Orle ins and Sally Spaulding, of Paris, born in New York in 1826. They have five children, three sons and two daughters, all residing in this county. Mr. and Mrs Patterson are members of the Congregational Church.

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John W. Pennell was born April 21, 1832, in Richmond, Ontario Co, N. Y. His parents, John and Sally Pennell, are both living; the former was born in Massachusetts April 14, 1796, the latter in Vermont in 1804. His father's father was born in Coleraine, Mass., in 1773. Mr. Pennell came to Michigan in the fall of 1856, and the following winter bought 147 acres of land on sec. 18, in Paris, since which he has added 70 acres more, all. choice land, situated two miles from the city of Grand Rapids. He was married March 29, 1855, to Zelia D. , daughter of Isaac D. and Susan (McCrossen) Hazen, born Jan. 2, 1836, in Ontario Co., N. Y. Their six children were born as follows-John W., Feb. 17, 1856; Hattie H., July 31, 1858; James H., June 14, 1860; Jessie E., Jan. 26, 1863; Charles G., April 31, 1866, and Don H., Sept. 26, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Pennell are members of the Universalist Church, and of the Paris Grange. Mr. Pennell belongs to the National party. P. O., Grand Rapids.

Jerome E. Phillips, farmer, was born Dec. 30, 1838, in Newfane, Niagara Co., N. Y. He is the son of Abram and Betsey Phillips, both natives of Vermont. His father was born in 1794 and died in 1865; he was a soldier of 1812, and his father was a patriot of the Revolution. Mr. Phillips, of this sketch, was engaged in farming in his native State until 1868, when he purchased 150 acres of land on sec. 19, where he now resides and follows the vocation to which he was bred. He was married Oct. 4, 1870, to Mary A., daughter of Hiram and Aurilla Allen, born April 13, 1844. They have two children-Aurilla, born Oct. 16, 1871, and Everett A., Sept. 25, 1877. Mrs. Phillips' parents were both natives of the Green Mountain State. Mr. Phillips has been School Moderator three years, Supervisor of Paris one year, and holds the office of Justice of the Peace at present. He is connected with the Masonic fraternity, and his wife belongs to St. Mark's Episco- pal Church, Grand Rapids. He is independent in politics. . P. O., Grand Rapids.

George W. Prescott, son of Price H. and Rebecca W. Prescott, was born Sept. 20, 1836, in Otsego Co., N. Y. His parents were natives of New York, of English ancestry. Col. Prescott, of Bunker Hill fame, was uncle of the senior Prescott. The latter came to Grand Rapids in 1844 and settled on sec. 36. Mr. Prescott, of this sketch, bought 80 acres of land on sec. 1, in this tp., April 13, 1866, and he has since been engaged as a farmer and a gardenor, raising all kinds of garden and · field seeds. In the culture of the latter Mr. Prescott exercises the utmost care, and in every case warrants his seeds true to name. He enlisted in the war of the Rebellion in Co. A, 3d Reg. Mich. Inf., and was in the service two years, during which time he was engaged in nine battles and skirmishes; was dis- charged in March, 1863. He was married Nov. 27, 1867, to Agnes C., daughter of Peter and Melinda Pouley, of Grand Rapids, born May 5, 1846, at Brooklyn, N. Y. They have had three children-Ada C., born March 3, 1869; Jennie A., born Nov. 6, 1872, and John B., born Sept. 26, 1874, died in March, 1875.

Hugo B. Rathbun was born Nov. 30, 1841, in Owasco, Cayuga Co. N. Y. Heis son of Charles and Ann (Kniffin) Rathbun. His parents came to Michigan in 1844, and he remained with them until 1851, when he came to Paris. He enlisted in the war for the Union Sept. 11, 1861, in Co. D., 2d Mich. Cav., and at the expira- tion of his period of enlistment-three years-was honorably discharged, and re-enlisted the same day as a veteran, and was commissioned Lieut. of Vols. He was ultimately discharged in February, 1865. He was married Mar. 4, 1869, to Leversa V. Wright, daughter of Wm. D. and Sophia C. Wright, of Chicago, born in Addison, Steuben Co., N. Y., Oct. 7, 1848. They have six children living- Charles B., born Feb. 13, 1870; Geo. A., Dec. 5, 1871; Frank H., Jan. 19, 1874; Eugene W., Feb. 15, 1877; Louise V. and Leversa V. (twins), May 30, 1879. In March, 1869, Mr. Rathbun commenced working his father's farm on shares, which he continued until 1875, when his father gave him 100 acres of the homestead property, and he purchased 47 acres adjoining. His estate is a valuable one, situated on sec. 16. Politically Mr. Rathbun is a Republican; he is School Di- rector, and has acted as Town Treasurer one year ; has been Secretary of the Paris Detective Association from its organization, and is a member of the Masonic order. Postoffice, Grand Rapids.

L. K. Rathbun was born Sept. 1, 1824, in Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. Y. His parents, Charles and Ann Rathbun, came to Michigan in 1844, and after a resi- dence of seven years at Grand Rapids they bought a farm on sec. 16, tp. of Paris. His father was born April 18. 1796, and died at the Rapids Nov. 13, 1875. His mother was born April 28, 1798, and died Oct. 8, 1855, in Martin, Allegan Co., having started on a journey East, and being taken sick when but 30 miles from

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home. Mr. Rathbun of this sketchi was brought up at home, and remained with his parents until 1856, when he bought 80 acres of land on sec. 17, where he built his residence. He was married Feb. 18, 1851, to Sally Ann Pratt, of Wyoming. They have two children-Charles, born Aug. 26, 1853, and Anna, Nov. 24, 1871. Frankie M. is an adopted daughter, born Oct. 8, 1850. Mrs. Rathbun was born April 3, 1829, and is daughter of Asa and Betsey Pratt. Mr. Rathbun is a Demo. crat, and a member of the Paris Detective Association. His maternal grand- father-Benjamin Kniffin-was a soldier of the war of the Revolution, and the gun he carried is in Mr. Rathbun's possession. He was born Mar. 22, 1763, and died Oct. 17, 1791. Mr. Rathbun's paternal grandsire was born Jan. 31, 1762, and died Sept. 22, 1823. His father, Charles Rathbun, built the Rathbun House at Grand Rapids, and managed it seven years. He owned it until 1871.

Horace H. Richards was born May 13, 1830, in Tioga Co., Pa. His father, Simeon Richards, was born Mar. 12, 1787, at Poultney, Vt., and died in this tp. Dec. 10, 1837. His mother, Phebe Richards, was born July 3, 1791, and died at Bronson, O., in 1833. The father of Simeon Richards was a Revolutionary soldier. Mr. Richards was in Ohio during the years of his early youth, and came to this tp. in 1854, buying 60 acres of land, which he has since increased to 100, located on secs. 2 and 11. The farm is estimated as worth $7,500. He was married Jan. 28, 1852, to Elizabeth F., daughter of Lester and Sarah E. Dodge, born in Wilson, Niagara Co., N. Y., Nov. 6, 1834. They have had three children-Lester, born May 3, 1856; Burton A., Jan. 8, 1859, died Aug. 31, 1875; Ida V., Mar. 28, 1865; Wallace W., May 1, 1874. Mr. Richards is a member of the Paris Grange. Politically he is a Republican, and is acting Justice of the Peace. He was a Lieutenant in Co. H., 6th Mich. Cavalry.

James Robinson was born in January, 1815, in Cumberland Co, Eng., of Scotch parents. He came to America in the ship "Osprey," and reached New York in 1833. After a stay of nine months at Greenbush, he settled near Schenectady, N. Y., where he lived about 11 years, and then went to Plymouth, Wayne Co., and a year later, in company with his brother John and father, went to George- town, Ottawa Co., and there bought 80 acres of land, on which he lived one year, and sold it to purchase 80 acres of Government land in Allendale, Ottawa Co. After a stay of two years he again sold and bought 80 acres in Paris, on sec. 27, where he now resides. He values his land at $70 per acre. By a first mar- riage Mr. Robinson had two children-Ann, born Sept. 1, 1846, and Eliza, March 1, 1849. He was married a second time in 1853 to Christie McArthur, of Grand Rapids, born Dec. 11, 1819, in Perthshire, Scotland. Mr. Robinso ; is engaged in general farming; is Republican in politics, and has been Constable two years. Himself and wife belong to the Presbyterian Church. P. O., Bowen Station.

John Robinson was born July 17, 1818, in Cumberland Co, Eng., of Scotch parents. In 1833 he landed in New York, and in April, 1844, came to Plymouth, Wayne Co., Mich., where he lived one year. Meantime his father had purchased before leaving New York 160 acres in Georgetown, Ottawa Co., and, joining his son, they came on together through the woods with four yokes of oxen. After two years the father bought 160 acres, sec. 17, tp. of Paris, and four years later he also bought 160 acres in Allendale, Ottawa Co. He continued his purchases of land at various points until his possessions amounted to 800 acres, which he distributed among his sons. In 1856 Mr. Robinson, of this sketch, bought 160 acres on sec. 22, this tp., which he holds at $11,200. He was married April 23, 1836, to Mary Stevens, of Glenville, N. Y. They have five children living, born as follows: Moses S., April 21, 1847; William James, Aug. 6, 1849; John Martin, Feb. 9, 1852; Mary E., April 3, 1854; Emma Ann, July 14, 1856. They have buried five children. Politically Mr. Robinson belongs to the National party. Himself and wife are Methodists in religious faitlı. P. O., Bowen Station.

Richard A. Rounds is a native of Leyden, Mass. His parents went to New York when he was six years of age and engaged in farming near Cortland. Mr. Rounds was educated at the academy in that place, and varied the occupations of his early manhood by teaching in the district schools thereabouts. When 30 years of age he removed to Taunton, near Boston, and embarked a snug fortune in the manufacture of sashes, blinds and doors, and succeeded-in losing it. He sold out his interest and, with the remains of what had been a competence, he purchased a fa. m about three miles from Grand Rapids, which he still cultivates, aided by an adopted son. He has two daughters, Mary (Mrs. Milo Parsons), re-

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sides near her parents; Alice (Mrs. Thomas Calhoun) lives in Thetford, Pr. of Ontario, where her husband is a merchant. From a genealogical record in his possession. Mr. Rounds traces a lineal descent through a long line of English ancestors to the year 1190, in the reign of the first Richard. When the American colonies were settled, they were among the first to come; one branch of the family settling in Virginia, and the other in Charlestown, Mass. Of Mr. Rounds' ancestors, 21 served in the old French war, 71 in the war of the Revolu- tion, 81 in the war of 1812, and in the war of the Rebellion 225 of the family rallied to the defense of their country's flag. Hezekiah Rounds, his grandfather, lived to the age of 100, hale and vigorous to the last. Mrs. Melissa Rounds is of Scotch ancestry on the mother's side, and of English on the father's. Two brothers, the last of their name and race, who had espoused the cause of Charles First, fled to this country on the disastrous defeat of that monarch, leaving large estates to be confiscated by the Cromwellian government. They settled near Salem, Mass , and their descendants are diffused throughout New England. Mrs. Rounds' grandfather, Luke Roberts, entered the service in the Revolution as a drummer boy when 14 years of age, and subsequently became Major. He mar- ried and settled in Vermont, and reared a family of 12 children. Roswell Roberts, Mrs. Rounds' father, was a minute man of 1812. His grave in the Green Moun- tain State is marked by a monument erected to his memory by the members of the Sunday-school over which he presided for 25 years, a deserved tribute to a long and well-spent life. He had no sons, but six stalwart grandsons perished in the war of the Rebellion. Mrs. Rounds was a teacher several years before and after marriage, and was one of the sketch writers for the New York Weekly; and at present is an occasional contributor to the literature of the day.

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History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 132

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co. Number of Pages: 1434

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co.
Number of Pages: 1434