USA > Michigan > Macomb County > History of Macomb County, Michigan > Part 102
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121
JOHN HICKS, one of the old settlers of Macomb County, was born in Ontario County, town of Bristol. N. Y .. October 15. 1803; his father, Otis Hicks, was a native of Attle- boro, Mass .: his mother, Betsey Dunham, was a native of the same place. Otis Hicks be- came sixteen years of age just in time to enlist for the defense of the courts of his native town from the Hays men, who had banded to prevent the sitting of the courts. The family are descended from three brothers, who were Pilgrims, and arrived from England soon after the landing of the Mayflower; was engaged as a farmer in New York; moved to Michigan in 1836, arriving in Macomb in May of that year: the family arrived in the fol-
798
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
lowing autumn: started from Detroit the 12th day of October, with a team hired for the purpose, at the rate of $7 per day; the journey required three days, and, when within one- half mile of the end of the journey, the driver upset the wagon and left the goods in the woods, refusing to load them up again; the load consisted of the household effects of the family, the wife and three children, who went on foot most of the way. Mr. Hieks located on eighty acres of land on Seetion 35, in Richmond, one-half of which is now covered by the village of Richmond. He was married, December 1, 1835, to Catherine Emmons; she was born in Northumberland, Saratoga Co., N. Y., December 1, 1804; have had nine children, six of whom died young, and three-James M. Hieks, born August 17, 1830; Eliza A. Hancock, November 20, 1832; Ophelia Corbin, January 14, 1846. Mr. Hieks has lived in the village of Richmond sinee 1836, except eleven years spent in Armada Township; he has aided in the development of the county, and seen it emerge from the wil- derness to the fruitful land: was a member of the Christian Church in Bristol, and trans- ferred his relations from that to the same ehureh here; Democrat; voted first for Jackson. Mrs. Hieks died November 21, 1575.
JOHN M. JOHNSON was born in County York. Ontario, April 28, 1845, where his people were farmers; moved to Macomb County in March, 1868, and settled on a farm, March, 1869. Section 3, Richmond Township, known as the old Fenton farm, where he remained ten years; thenee to Richmond Village March 8. 1879, and engaged in the fur- niture and undertaking business, which he is still engaged in; was married. February 7. 1869, in Canada, to Mary A. Baker, who died May 20, 1877; was again married, May 6, 1879, to Josie S. Gilbert, daughter of Lines Gilbert, of Memphis: she was born Septem- ber 15, 1843; they had no children. Mr. Johnson is at Richmond, still in the same line of trade, and merits the patronage of the vicinity in which he lives; in polities, he is a Republican.
ALONZO M. KEELER, son of John and Mary M. (Fellows) Keeler, natives of Mon- roe County, N. Y., she of Schoharie County; the father was born March 16, 1802; the mother, November 8, 1806; they moved to Washington Township in 1826 and settled on Section 35; lived on his farm until 1854, then moved to Disco, where he still resides; they have been prominent in the development of the new country, and have been perhaps the only ones of the now settlers left to each other's company. Mr. Alonzo Keeler received the elements of his education in the schools of the neighborhood where he lived, which was further pursued at Rochester, Mieh., and at Oberlin. Ohio; at the age of twenty-one, he began life as a teacher; tanght his first school in the Brindle Schoolhouse, and after- ward took the Principalship of the Disco Academy from 1850 to 1856, then went to Roeh- ester and taught one year, when he returned and taught two years in Utica. Mr. Keeler taught the first school in the old brick school building in Utica Village, and then the last one, and also taught the first term in the new building. August 7, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Twenty-second Michigan Volunteer Infantry; raised a company of 115 men in five days, and took them into camp; on the mustering in, Mr. Keeler was elected Cap- tain, was taken prisoner at Chickamauga, and remained a prisoner at Libby and Macon, (fa., one and a half years: was one of the 600 under fire at Charleston: on release from prison, went to parole camp, and entered active service May 15, 1865; was promoted, Jan. 1, 1865, to Major, and afterward to brevet Lient. Colonel and brevet Colonel; was mustered out July 12, 1865; returned home and began teaching again; he was elected Register of Deeds for the county in 1868 one term; during this time and immediately afterward. he pre- pared an abstract of the connty-a costly and very valuable work; in April. 1875, he re- moved to the village of Richmond and engaged as the Principal of the Armada Publie School, in which place he has sinee been engaged. He was married. December 31, 1549, to Miss Imey A., daughter of Channeey Church; she was born in Vermont Mareh 7, 1831,
799
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
and they have had six children -- A. Martin, born December 19, 1850; Flora L., born April 12. 1852; John C., born February 22, 1859: Ezra Bruce, born December 25, 1860; Ella B., born November 6, 1862; Henry A , born November 4, 1867. Mr. Keeler and wife have been members of the M. E. Church for the past thirty-five years: he has been an officer in the same. a leader in the choir, and the Superintendent of the Sunday school, and Trustee in the society; was appointed Collector of the Fifth District under Andrew John- son, and would not subscribe to "my policy;" the nomination was not confirmed: has always been a Republican since the war, and was a Democrat before.
ROBERT KNIGHT. He is the son of Edward and Elizabeth, daughter of L. Worth, of New Hampshire: was born in Stafford. N. H., June I, 1806; moved at an early age to Vermont, where he lived until the death of his parents, when he removed to Orleans County, N. Y., where he was married. in 1928, to Cloe Wage, of Saratoga County, N. Y .: they have one son, Charles S. Mrs. Knight died in Orleans County in August, 1834; married again, April 14, 1835. to Miss Lois R. Chase, of Addison County. Vt .. born De- cember 2, 1815. Soon after the second marriage, Mr. Knight took his wife and son. and, in company with a brother and brother-in-law and their families, removed to Michigan, arriving in Macomb County in the fall of 1835, and located a farm in Chesterfield Town- ship. ou Section 15; built a log shanty, with shake roof and split basswood for a floor, and a guilt for door and windows, and thus began life in the new county; he sold this farm and bought another near by which he still owns, and on which a son is still living. In 1873, Mr. Knight left the farm and removed to the village of Richmond, where he still resides: has had a family of eight children, four of whom are living in the county. Mr. Knight was an officer in the early history of Chesterfield, active in building roads and in the improvement of the place; first a Whig, and afterward a Republican.
CHARLES KNIGHT, son of Robert Knight, a native of New Hampshire, and Cloe Wage Knight, of New York, was born in Orleans County in April. 1829; removed with his father's family to Macomb County in 1535: lived with his father's family until mar- riage, which took place May 4, 1859, to Miss Helen C. Haskin; she was born August 26. 1840, and died November 17, 1866; they had one child, Mary E., born July 29, 1862; mar- ried again. May 7, 1868, to Mrs. Maggie G. Hotchkiss; she was born October 26, 1834, and died October 2, 1873: their children are Addie L., born February 27, 1869, died April 13, 1871: Gleason C., September 22, 1873, died November 12, 1873; married again. February 18. 1875, to Abbie J. Crittenden; she was born November 17. 1836; she is the danghter of Levi Crittenden, of Massachusetts, who moved to Oakland County in an early day: her grandfather was a participant of the Revolution. After marriage, Mr. Knight engaged in farming until 1865, when he removed to Richmond Village and engaged in merchandise at that village and at White Lake, Oakland Co., Mich., where he remained two years: he engaged in this business, together with the stave and heading business, with Cooper some years; in 1879, sold this store and engaged in the butter and egg business. under the firm name of Freeman & Knight, in which he is at present engaged. Mr. Knight has been a member of the Congregational Church eleven years, and is now Deacon of the church of that faith in Richmond Village; is also Superintendent of the Sabbath school, and was an officer of the township of Chesterfield; always been a Republican.
SETH LATHROP. son of Edward and Emma Andrews Lathrop, was born July 1, 1518, at West Springfield, Mass. ; arrived in Macomb County in 1837: lived in Armada until 1842, where he was engaged in farm labor principally until 1846. then built the Lathrop store; in company with Charles, engaged in the mercantile business until 1862. when he moved to Richmond and engaged in the same business, in which he is still en- gaged. He was married. December 24. 1849, to Polly, daughter of Richard Walker; she was born in New York April 1, 1827, and died July 18. 1854; they had two children-
800
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
died in infancy. He was married again. in 1856. to Lydia C. McAllister, daughter of George McAllister, of New Hampshire; she was born in Rockingham County, N. H., March 13. 1832: Alice E., born March 27. 1859; Seth D., born February 3, 1861: an infant. September 28, 1861; Emma J., January 20, 1868: Clarence Engene, March 7. 1870, died March S. 1878; Mary E., October 1, 1873. Mr. Lathrop was for many years a prominent member of the Congregational Church and the Superintendent of the Sunday school at Armada Village, and, after moving to Richmond. took a prominent position in the Congregational society at that place. Mrs. Lathrop is a leader in the temperance cause. and belongs to the Sabbath school of the place. Mr. Lathrop owns a large farm just at the outskirts of the village, and has erected a fine residence on Main street. He is a Republican. Mrs. Lathrop's relatives were engaged in the war of the Revolution.
THOMAS A. LEACH, son of Capt. Thomas Leach and Electa (Abbot) Leach: his father was a wealthy Captain on the lakes; he owned vessels on Lake Ontario, one of which he was Master of several years; he at last left the scenes of the lakes and returned to a farm in Oakville, Ontario, where he died in 1848. His mother was born in Toronto, whose ancestors were pioneers of the city of Toronto, Canada, and whose farm is now in- closed in the city limits; she is still living in this county. The subject of this sketch was born in Oakville, Ontario, November 14, 1847; attended the schools of his native town, and removed thence to Buffalo, N. Y .; at the age of eighteen, had a position as clerk in a retail store in that city, where he remained two years; while in this store, he was asso- ciated with first-class business, where he received a thorough business education; then purchased a store and embarked in the same line of trade for himself, in which he met with remarkable success for eight years; he sold his entire stock and removed to the village of Richmond. Macomb County, where he established himself in the produce and commis- sion business, being the first to establish a cash market for all kinds of produce, dealing heavily in all kinds of fruit, potatoes, butter, eggs, etc .; this was continued two years, then adding to the business the grocery trade, including the stock purchased of Burgess Bros .; he soon found his trade too large for his rooms; he purchased the large stock of grocery and crockery ware of Cooper & Son, and entered into business in the store known as Cooper Block: remained at the place one and a half years, then sold his entire stock, in- tending to go out of the grocery trade; soon after, changing his purpose, he bought the stock of S. H. Heath, and added to it fine groceries, crockery and glassware, in which he still continued, together with the produce business. He was married, April 16, 1878, to Emily J. Day, daughter of Capt. Augustus Day and Julia A. (Miner), of Detroit, Mich. ; she was born in Detroit October 16, 1849; attended the public schools of that city until 1861, then entered the Detroit Female Seminary and remained until 1871, graduating with high honors; one child, Norwood A., born February 27, ISSO. Previous to his marriage, Mr. Leach had purchased a house and lot in the village, and, soon after, bought a farm of forty acres near the village, which his mother now occupies; he is an energetic, ag- gressive man, and is gaining a very extensive trade; he is a member of the Knights of Honor, and also Free and Accepted Masons, and has held all the offices conferable by the lodge: he is a Republican in politics; he was elected Trustee of the village by a large majority, which office he now holds.
RICHARD MELLENS.
THEODORE MILLER, son of Caleb Miller and Almica Whitcomb, was born in 1842, July 11. Orleans County, N. Y .; his father arrived in 1846, bought a farm on Sec- tion 34, in Richmond, which he kept one year, then moved to Section 20, on the Ridge, and bought a farm now owned by the family; in 1860, built a foundry and plor factory, in which he gained a wide reputation; in 1868, added a grist-mill, run by steam-power; in 1874, moved the foundry to Richmond Village; in 1878, sold the mill, when the busi
801
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
ness was all taken to the village. Mr Miller died at the farm, in July, 1878. The sub- ject of this sketch was married, October 5. IS6S, to Ellen, daughter of Shephard Smith. who was born June 20, 1838. Mr. Theodore Miller removed to the village of Richmond in August, 1873. and engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements; erected his house. and. in 1575, erected one-third of the Cooper Block, and placed there a complete stock of hardware -- the best-furnished stock in the place, with which his brother is in company; the following season, in company with James W. Cooper, built the Cooper & Miller Block, on the west side of Main street, in which he, with B. F. Daty, have a cloth- ing store; the manufacture of implements is still carried on, and is an important branch of industry in the village. He has three children-Adelbert, thirteen years: Nellie, eleven years: and Annie, eight years.
JOHN A. PATON, son of John and Margaret Wilson l'aton, natives of Scotland, was born near Amherstburg, Ontario, March 12, 1849; came to Macomb County with his parents when fifteen years old: they settled on Section 12, Armada Township: he worked rented land mostly for about seven years after attaining his majority, and, in the spring of 1876, he bought the farm he now occupies, on Section 32, Richmond Township. and afterward added to it. Mr. Paton was married. March 26, 1878, to Maggie A .. daughter of David Paton, of Lapeer County: they have two children Charlotte, born January 17, 1879; and Florence E., born October 13, 1881. Mr. Paton is a farmer of great energy and has made the raising of fine cattle and draught horses a prominent branch of his busi- ness; he has also a large flock of sheep. and will in the future enlarge upon this branch; he has also fifteen acres of apple orchard of the most choice varieties. Mr. Paton and wife are members of the Congregational Church. He is a Republican, and votes for hon- est temperance men.
BARTLETT PERKINS, son of George and Rebecca S. (Goddard) Perkins, was born at Albany, N. Y., January S. 1828; came to Macomb with parents in May, 1831, and lo- cated at Romeo, where he worked for N. D. Taylor: he moved to Richmond Township February S, 1836, where his father died. Bartlett Perkins resided on a portion of the homestead lands until 1879, when he moved to the village of Richmond. He was married, in January, 1853. to Amanda A. Ellenwood, of Jefferson County. N. Y. : two children were born to them-Franklin L .. October 29, 1853, died February 3. 1865; and Eddie B., born September 13, 1860. Mrs. Perkins died July 10. 1870. Mr. Perkins married Mrs. J. L. Barnard (Sutton). born at Stratford, N. Y .. September 23, 1833, to whom three children were born, one of whom is living. Mr. Perkins has always been a successful farmer, and a member of the Republican party.
CHARLES H. PERKINS. son of George and Rebecca S. Goddard Perkins, was born in Richmond Township, Section 28, May 25, 1840: the parents were natives of Plymouth, Mass. : came to Macomb County in May, 1831. stopping in Romeo for five years; he bought eighty acres of land west of the village; also built a house and shop. where he carried on the cooper's trade: from the village of Romeo he moved to the Township of Richmond and bought land on Section 28, where Charles now resides: their house was two miles from the neighbors, and several of the elections were held there. The father died Angust 20, 1876, at the homestead; the mother still lives, at the age of eighty-one years. Mr. Charles H. Perkins has always lived on his farm, and was married. January 5, 1860. to Miss Adelaide Selleck, daughter of Ira Selleck, of New York State: they have four chil- dren, viz. : Emma J., born November 15, 1860; Mary E., born July 21, 1862; Nora L., born August 6. 1866; Hiram A .. born March 6. 1869. All are living at home. The fam- ily have always been Methodist in form of worship, the mother having been a member of that church for many years. Mr. Perkins has made the raising of fruit a specialty, in
G
802
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
which he has met with remarkable success. apples, peaches and strawberries being of ex- traordinary size and excellence.
REV. DANIEL A. PERRIN, A. B., Pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Richmond Village, was born near Brantford, Ontario, March 21, 1839: his father, Col. Thomas Perrin, was a native of Pittsburgh, Penn., who emigrated to Canada in 1804, and carried on general merchant and milling business for many years in the village of Mt. Vernon, Ontario; he died in 1870. His mother, Mary A. Peet, was a native of Ahnira, N. Y., who emigrated to Canada in 1810; she died near Brantford, Ontario, January 10, 1860. The subject of this sketch received his early education at the Central School, Galt, and at the Mt. Pleasant Academy; at the age of seventeen, he entered the university of Victoria College, Coburg, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in May, 1861; in 1859, while a student, he entered the ministry of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, in which body he remained eleven years, filling important positions; in 1869, he severed his con- nection with the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Canada, and removed to the State of Kansas, United States, and entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where he remained, in connection with the Kansas and South Kansas Conference, eight years, filling both literary and ministerial positions; in 1878, he was received into the De- troit Conference, and has been successively stationed at Hamburg, Washington and Rich- mond. Macomb County, where he still remains. He was married, June 23, 1863, to Miss Annabella Tyler, of Erin, Ontario, who was born July 12, 1840, in Lockport, N. Y., and died in Kansas November 23, 1876; the issue of this marriage were Hedley V., bern De- cember 16, 1864, and died August 7, 1865; and Frederick Tyler, born September 2, 1866. He was again married, to Miss Achsah R. Perrin, Mistress of English Literature and graduate of Bordentown Female College, June 11, 1879; she is the daughter of James W. Perrin, of Freehold, N. J., and was born March 1, 1849; by this marriage he has one son, Willard Scott, born April 19, 1880. The father of Mr. Perrin was a Captain in the militia of Canada in 1837, and was afterward promoted to be Colonel, which honor he wore till the day of his death. Mr. Perrin is an acceptable Pastor of his church, and a Republican in polities.
EDWARD RANDALL. son of Felix and Maria Ingraham Randall, born in Rich- mond August 3, 1849, lived on the homestead and attended the public schools of he town- ship until 1876; he then purchased the old village place on Clay street, where he has since resided. He was married. February 26, 1876, to Miss Etta, daughter of Hiram Goodar; the children of this marriage are Ethel E., born April 25, 1878; Arthur M., born January 16. 1SSI; and Anna D., born November 18, 1876, died August 24, 1878. Mr. Randall is a farmer and breeder of fine sheep, having purchased of J. C. Thompson, in 1879, twenty ewes of his best breeding; afterward bought of the same party six in addition; in January, 1882, he purchased of Taylor & Chapman, of Middlebury, Vt., ten ewes, all registered in the Vermont Sheep Registry; he also bought of Thompson, in 1881, a ram- Pathfinder, recorded in Vermont Registry, grandson of Bismarek, who took the sweep, stake prize at the Centennial Exposition, and yields twenty-five pounds of wool; he believes in raising the best sheep only; together with this in ustry, he cultivates a farm of eighty aeres.
FELIX RANDALL, son of John and Sarah Smith Randall, natives of Orange County, N. Y., was born at that place October 8. 1812; at the age of eight years, his parents moved to Canada. where they remained for thirteen years; they removed from Canada to Ohio in 1833, where the father died in 1858, aged sixty-seven years; the mother died in Illinois, in 1873. aged eighty-four years. Felix Randall arrived in Macomb in the winter of 1837; he had visited the county two years previously and located 120 acres of land on Sections 31 and 32, Richmond, on which he now resides; he moved from Talmage Town-
803
HISTORY OF MACOMB COUNTY.
ship, Portage Co., Ohio, with an ox team and wagon, with a chest of tools, clothes, and a barrel of pork; married. June 1, 1838, Maria, daughter of Asa Ingraham, of Canada: she was born in Canada April 13, 18IS; their children are as follows: Climenia, born June 7, 1839, now Mrs. Harris, of Richmond Township; Sarah M., born October 23. 1841, married Mr. Abbey, now of Iowa; Rhoda M., born December 17. 1843, married Mr. Hodges, of Richmond; Robert A .. born May 5, 1847, married and lives in Lenox Township: Edward, born August 3, 1849, lives in Richmond Township; Phoebe, born April 1, 1842, married Marion P. Bates, now a resident of Richmond; Helen, born No- vember 17, 1855. died at home March 22, 1856; Arthur F., born November 3, 1858. mar- ried and living on the homestead. Mr. Randall has always lived on the land first taken from the Government; he redeemed it from the wilderness, and has made it a fertile farm: he has taken a prominent part in all the advancements of society, as an officer of the township and a strong temperance man; by industry and economy, he has acquired a com- petency for his declining years. The mother of Mrs. Randall died February 1. 1859, at the farm in Richmond; her father died at Mt. Clemens in 1864, at the age of eighty-three. Politically, Mr. Randall is a Republican.
ORL RIX, a native of Vermont, was born at Royalton August 1, 1804; his father was a native of the same State; his mother also; both removed to Genesee County, N. Y., where she died some forty years ago; he died in Memphis, in April, 1867. Mr. Orl Rix removed to Romeo in 1835 and engaged in the mercantile trade; this lasted about five years, when he sold out and went to Memphis and established himself as a miller, buikdl- ng first a saw mill, and soon after a grist-mill, now occupied and run by S. G. & A. D. Taylor, from 1856 to 1859; the family removed to Romeo, and then returned to the vil- lage of Memphis. He was married, in 1836, to Lydia, daughter of Noah Sage, of Ver- mont; she was born at Shaftsbury, Vt., in 1814; they had a family of five children, three of whom are still living-Mrs. East. Mrs. Taylor and George H. Rix, of Lawton, Van Bu- ren Co., Mich. Mrs. Rix died in Kalamazoo, and was buried in Memphis, in 1877. Mr. Rix died September 8, 1880; he was a member of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Legislature.
MRS. WILLIAM P. RUSSELL (Miss Lucinda G. Stevens), daughter of Deacon O. S. Stevens, of Clinton, Lenawee Co., Mich .. was born in Livingston County, N. Y., May 16, 1831; removed to Clinton May 16, 1836; educated in the public schools of that place. and afterward under the tuition of Prof. Estabrook, now of the Olivette College; she be- gan to teach in the public schools of the State at the age of twenty-two, which she fol- lowed for three years. She was married, August 27, 1874, to the Rev. W. P. Russell. of Memphis, Mich., and still lives at that place; her father was born at Claremont, N. H., and moved to Michigan in an early day, and has spent his active life in this State; he now lives with his daughter, Mrs. Russell, and is in good health, at the age of eighty-five years; her mother died March 16, 1866, at Clinton, Mich .; her maiden name was Matilda Goss: she became a member of the Congregational Church, then Presbyterian, of Clinton, Mich., at the age of eighteen years, which membership was transferred to the church at Mem- phis, and she is still an active member, a Clerk of the church, and a faithful worker in the Sabbath school.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.