USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > Illustrated history and biographical record of Lenawee County, Mich. > Part 11
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Hon. Joseph R. Bennett. "Uncle Joe."
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
1850, when fortune favored him, for he was again nominated for Sheriff by the Whigs, and was elected by a majority of only thirty- one, being the sole survivor of his party. He was re-elected two years after by a majority of 2,000. He served in all four terms as County Sheriff, being elected in 1856-8 on the Republican ticket. He was a consistent member of the Republican party in Michigan. In 1861 he was appointed Deputy United States Marshal. In the fall of 1862 he was made Assessor of Internal Revenue for the First Dis- trict of Michigan, and was removed by President " Andy" Johnson, because he would not endorse his policy. In 1869 President Grant appointed him United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan, which office he held by reappointment until 1877. In 1870 it became his duty as United States Marshal to supervise the census returns taken that year for his district. In 1850 he took the census of the south half of Lenawee County. Mr. Bennett was always an active member of his political party, always attending the county and state conventions, and was sincere and earnest in his advo- cacy of the policies and principles set forth. His record as a public officer was without a blemish, and no man in Lenawee County was re- garded with greater esteem by all parties. He always took a great interest in all public matters, and exerted a strong patri- otic sentiment for his city, his county and his country. He de- voted much time and money in gratuitous public service, and was always ready to lead or follow in any movement for the general good and enjoyment of the people. He was always active in all devotional exercises, celebrations and benevolent duties. To show his eminent popularity and activity in his declining years, we mention the fact that in 1900 he was a Presidential elector-at-large for Michigan on the Republican National ticket, and carried the returns to Washing- ton casting the vote of Michigan for McKinley and Roosevelt. He was a member of the Republican state convention in 1902, and was chairman of the Lenawee County delegation casting the solid vote of the county for the Hon. Geo. B. Horton, of Fruit Ridge, for Gov- ernor. He was president of the Lenawee County Savings Bank, which he helped to organize in 1869, succeeding the late Governor Charles M. Croswell, in 1887. He was a director of the bank from its organ- ization. His life was an eventful and successful one, and he enjoyed the beauties of the world and the triumphs of a well spent life in the highest degree. In April, 1839, Mr. Bennett married Miss Nancy J. Rowley, daughter of Caleb S. Rowley, of Hudson, this county, and two children were born to them, as follows: Helen M., born in Rollin, November 2d, 1841, married Maj. S. E. Graves Feb- ruary 20th, 1865, and died June 3d, 1883. She was the mother of one son, Walter J., born in Adrian, February 10th, 1870. Dora E., born in Adrian, November 2d, 1846. Mrs. Nancy J. Bennett was born in Elbridge, Onondaga County, N. Y., February 6th, 1821, and died in Adrian, April 18th, 1880. January 22d, 1903, "Uncle Joe " met with a severe accident while alighting from his buggy, in the
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evening, at his home. He slipped upon some ice and broke the cap of his left knee, which resulted in his death on the morning of February 19th following. No man in Lenawee County was more honored or respected than "Uncle Joe" Bennett.
SQUIRE JOHNSON was born in Bedford, Monroe County, Mich., July 27th, 1844. His father, Silas M. Johnson, was born in Palmyra, N. Y., April 3d, 1818, and was the son of James and Milli- cent (Dodge) Johnson, of Palmyra, N. Y., where he was a pioneer. James Johnson was a soldier in the war of 1812. He received a land warrant from the Government for his services. About the year 1835 he came to Michigan with his family, consisting of his wife and seven children, and settled near Lambertville, in the township of Bedford, Monroe County. He took up Government land, and made a good home. In the latter part of his life he became blind and died
Squire Johnson's Residence, Section 19, Palmyra Township.
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
there in 1857. His wife, Millicent, died about the year 1854. Silas Johnson was about eighteen years old when he came to Michigan with his parents. He was reared a farmer. He purchased a farm adjoining his father, in Bedford, where he resided until 1863, when he removed to Wauseon, Ohio, where he engaged in the mercantile business, and continued until 1866. At this time he went to Toledo and engaged in the market gardening. He purchased land west of Toledo, on Dorr street. He carried on this business successfully until his death, which occurred March 15th, 1891. In 1842 Silas M. Johnson married Miss Harriet Pomeroy, of Bedford, Monroe County, Mich., and they were the parents of three children, Squire being the oldest. Mrs. Harriet Johnson was born in Thompson, Lake County, Ohio, in June, 1821, came to Michigan with her parents about 1835, and died at the home of her son, in Palmyra, this county, August 9th, 1895. Squire Johnson, the subject of this sketch, was reared a farmer and lived with his parents until 1862, when, in July, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, as musician, and served in that capacity until the end of the great Rebellion, in 1865, when he was honorably discharged. Upon his return home he immediately went to work on a farm in Monroe County, and remained there until the winter of 1866. At that time he went to Toledo and engaged in market gardening with his father. He remained in Toledo in the same business until 1893, when he purchased land on section 19, in Palmyra, this county. Here he has made a specialty of celery growing, with market gardening as an adjunct. His suc- cess in the business is plainly shown by the accompanying engraving, showing his home and surroundings. He also owns a forty-acre farm on section 24, in Madison, where he is engaged in fruit culture. October 14th, 1865, Squire Johnson married Miss Sophia J. Miller, daughter of John Miller, of La Salle, Monroe County, Michigan, and they were the parents of four children, as follows: Fannie B., born in Toledo, July 3d, 1868, married John L. Arnold, and resides in Toledo ; Frederick T., born in Toledo, October 9th, 1870, married Miss Ella E. Turley. They have one son, Squire Donald, and reside in Toledo. Harriet, born in Toledo, January 24th, 1872, married Chas. H. Skinner. They have two children, Hermia and Morley, and reside in Adrian. Florence L., born in Toledo, September 28, 1873, a teacher in the Toledo public schools. Mrs. Sophia J. (Miller) Johnson was born in La Salle, Monroe County, Michigan, April 24, 1844, and died in Toledo, September 24, 1874. Her parents were early settlers of Monroe County, and were natives of Pennsyl- vania. January 20, 1876, Mr. Johnson married Miss Augusta A. Brigham, daughter of Winfield and Mary E. (White) Brigham, of Wauseon, Ohio, and they have four children, as follows : Erma C., born in Toledo, April 4, 1878, married Earl G. Kuney, and resides at Indianapolis, Ind .; Merle B., born in Toledo, December 27, 1881. a teacher in the Toledo public schools; Millicent M., born in Toledo, February 10, 1887, at home; Christine M., born in Toledo, August
9
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16, 1890, at home. Mrs. Augusta A. (Brigham) Johnson was born in Chatham Center, Medina County, Ohio, March 30, 1849. Her father was born in Augusta, Oneida County, N. Y., December 30, 1814. He removed to Medina County, Ohio, in 1836, and now resides in Bowling Green, Ohio. September 22, 1836, Winfield Brigham married Miss Mary E. White, daughter of James and Anna (Peebles) White, and they were the parents of eight children. Mrs. Mary E. (White) Brigham was born near Sheridan, N. Y., May 27, 1816, and died in Lena, Fulton County, Ohio, February 8, 1863. Her oldest son, Joseph H. Brigham (brother of Mrs. Squire Johnson), was a lieutenant-colonel of the Sixty-ninth Ohio Infantry during the Re- bellion, and afterwards master of the Ohio State Grange. He served one term as master of the National Grange, and was appointed by President Mckinley, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture.
DUSENBERRY J. FURMAN was born in Penfield, N. Y., May 7, 1827, and came to Michigan with his parents in 1835. His father, Robert Furman, was a native of the State of New York, and was born December 31, 1801. He was a pioneer of Western New
Mrs. Lydia J. Furman. Dusenberry J. Furman.
York, where he lived until 1835, when he emigrated with his wife and five children to Michigan, and settled on section 34, in Dover. His brother, Oliver, came at the same time, and they took up Gov- ernment land. They at once put up their log houses and moved in, but when the surveyor came along it was discovered they had built
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upon the wrong land. They tried it again, with the same result, and the third house was put up before they were permanently located. Mr. Furman, with his three rugged sons, soon made a farm out of the wilderness, and assisted many other settlers in making homes. He was active in the new set- tlement, and was ever ready to assist in making roads, build- ing bridges, raising buildings, etc., and never wavered in doing his duty and answering the call for assistance in the many misfortunes and inci- dents among his neighbors. He was a highly respected citizen, and died at the ripe old age of ninety years, in 1890. November 13, 1823, Robert Furman married Miss Jane Dusenberry, daughter of John Dusenberry, of Pen- field, N. Y., and they had five children, as follows: Eliza- beth, born in Penfield, N. Y., August 13, 1824, and died in Blissfield, this county, in 1894. Walter, born at the same place, December 6, 1825, resides in Hugh Tolford. Blissfield. Dusenberry, born May 7, 1827. Asa, born at the same place, March 22, 1829, resides in Dover. Mary, born at the same place, De- cember 14, 1831, married Chas. Middleton, and resides in Dover. Mrs. Robert Furman was born near the city of New York, April 5, 1805, and died in Dover, this county, in Feb- ruary, 1868. Dusenberry Fur- man, the subject of this sketch, came to Michigan when he was eight years old, and has resided in the township of Dover, this county, ever since. He lived with his parents until he was twenty-one, and was educated in the log school- houses of his neighborhood. Mrs. Hannah Tolford.
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He worked by the month for about three years, when, in 1851, he purchased land on section 34, in Dover. In 1854 he sold his first purchase and bought land where he now resides, on section 25. This was new land, but he soon made a most productive farm, and by close application to his own affairs he has been successful, and has added to his first purchase until he now owns 214 acres. He has erected good buildings, and is surrounded with comfort and plenty. For more than forty years Mr. Furman has been active in church work, and has been a sin- cere member of the Free Will Baptist Church. He has assisted in erecting three church edifices, one at Baker's Corners, in Fair- field ; one at Stockwell's Corners, in Dover; one at Sand Creek, in Dover, and also a Methodist Church at Deming's Lake. He was one of the founders of the church at Sand Creek, which was erected in 1892. Novem- ber 9th, 1851, Dusenberry J. Fur- man married Miss Lydia J. Tol- ford, daughter of Hugh and Hannah Tolford, of Dover, and they have four children, as fol- lows: Edgar T., born in Dover, February 14, 1854, married Miss Maria Inman, August 3, 1875. Robert Furman. They have one daughter, and re- side at Cadmus. Lydia M., born at the same place, January 9, 1857, married John B. Wilson, May 28, 1876. She is the mother of three children, and resides in Madison. Gillman B., born in the same place, November 9, 1865, married Miss Hattie Wilkinson, November 14, 1888. They have two children, and reside in Dover. Hervey B., born in the same place, December 17, 1872, married Miss Julia Roberts, March 23, 1892, has two children, and resides in Dover. Mrs. Hannah (Tolford) Furman was born in Danbury, N. H., September 10, 1833. For her family connection, see John Tolford's record in this volume.
SAMUEL CUTLER BALDWIN was born in Windsor, Berk- shire County, Mass., September 13, 1829, and came to Michigan with his parents in 1835. (See 1874 atlas for his father's record. ) Samuel C. Baldwin had but little education, as schools were not
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regularly established in the county when he was of school age. He was the "oldest boy," and his services were required in assisting his father in making a home and producing food for the family. He always followed farming, and lived with his parents until he was over twenty-four years old. He has always lived on the farm he now owns, consisting of 225 acres, on section 6, town 9, in Seneca, and sections 7 and 8, in the town of Chesterfield, Fulton County, Ohio. The most of his farm is in Ohio, but his residence is in Morenci. His entire life has been passed in working on his farm, although he has served two years as village trustee. January 8, 1854, Samuel C. Baldwin married Miss Maria J. Schoonover, daughter of Thomas and Ellen Schoonover, of Chesterfield, Ohio, and they had five children, two of whom died in infancy : Olive L., born in Morenci, August 23, 1858, married James Fuller, has two children, and resides in Cedar Falls, Iowa; Vernon E., born November 19, 1865, married Miss Jennie Marvin, has two children, and resides in Morenci ; Jessie N., born August 23, 1873, married October 18, 1893, Herbert L. Baker, has one child, and resides in Whitecastle, La. Mrs. Maria J. Baldwin was born at Northampton, Summit County, Ohio, July 8, 1835, and died in Morenci, October 3, 1892. Her parents were early settlers in Summit County, Ohio, and her father was a native of the State of New York. April 4, 1894, Mr. Baldwin mar- ried Mrs. Susan (Gehring) Stevenson, of Wauseon, Ohio. She was a native of Switzerland, born December 17, 1843, and came to this country with her parents in 1848.
ISAIAH W. ROBERTSON was born in Preston County, West Virginia, April 11, 1842, and was the fifth son of his parents, whose family consisted of twelve children, ten of whom are now living. (For family history, see sketch of James Robertson.) Isaiah W. Robertson was brought up a farmer, and has always followed that avocation in life. He was educated in the district schools of his neighborhood. He came to Michigan with his parents when he was thirteen years old, and until he was twenty-one assisted his father in clearing and ditching his land, and fully realizes what it means to make a farm out of the dense forest and flat lands of Ogden. But he was not discouraged, and dutifully assisted in the strenuous labor until August 4, 1862, when he enlisted in Company B, Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, and served as a soldier until the close of the great Rebellion, being honorably discharged at Nashville, Tenn., June 26, 1865. Upon his return home he again assumed his old duties, and went to work on his father's farm, coming back as he had entered the ranks of the victorious army, a patriotic, law-abiding, industrious citizen. He worked for his father by the month until
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1867, when he, with his brother, rented his father's farm for three years, at the expiration of which time he purchased- forty acres, where he now resides, on section 15. By his courage, industry and attention to his own affairs, he now owns a magnificent farm of 330 acres, with fine buildings and all the conveniences, tools, etc., that progressive farmers enjoy. Besides general farming, he is largely engaged in stock raising and feeding for market. Mr. Robertson is a prominent man in his township, and has filled several public offices. He has always been interested in the public schools, and served nine years as School Director, and afterwards as School
Isaiah W. Robertson, Ogden.
Mrs. Amanda Robertson.
Assessor. He was for twenty-one years Highway Commissioner, and the good roads in Ogden show the efficiency of his work. He has also served as Treasurer of his township. He is of a social nature, being a member of David Becker Post No. 25, G. A. R .; Blissfield Lodge No. 114, F. & A. M .; Adrian Chapter No. 10, and Adrian Commandery No. 4, Knights Templar. March 17, 1867, Isaiah W. Robertson married Miss Amanda Packard, daughter of Nathaniel B. and Mary (Potter ) Packard, of Seneca, this county, and they are the parents of one son, Joseph Nathaniel, born in Ogden, December 13, 1867, who married Miss Louisa Burk, December 18, 1889. They have three children, as follows: Forest P., born March 17, 1891; Sylvia A., born September 30, 1894; Isaiah R., born February 6,
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1897,-all born in Ogden, this county. Mrs. Amanda (Packard) Robertson was born in Amboy, Fulton County, Ohio, February 21, 1848. Her father, Nathaniel B. Packard, was born in Madison, Wayne County, N. Y., May 22, 1817. He came to Michigan with his parents in 1833, and settled in Madison township, this county. He married Miss Helen Johnson in 1843, and she died in 1845. De- cember 28, 1847, he married Miss Mary Potter, daughter of Morey S. and Minerva (Jones) Potter, and they had three children, Mrs. Amanda Robertson being the first child. Mrs. Mary (Potter) Packard was born in Richfield, Herkimer County, N. Y., May 22, 1829. She moved to Ohio with her parents in 1844, and lives in Weston, this county.
DR. DANIEL KINGSLEY UNDERWOOD was born in En- field, Mass., June 15, 1803, the son of Kingsley and Elizabeth Allen Underwood, and died at Adrian, Mich., May 6, 1875, nearly seventy- two years of age. His family on both sides was of English origin, the Underwoods emigrating in 1636 to Massachusetts from that part of England which still best preserves among its people the evidences of their Saxon origin. His mother's family came from the south coast of England six years earlier, or in 1830. Dr. Underwood was educated in the common schools of Enfield, his native town, and then prepared for college at Amherst Academy. Graduating there, he entered as freshman William College, in the class of 1827. Here he remained two years, and then took up the study of medicine, graduating with honor at the medical school of Dartmouth College, then one of the most noted medical schools in New England. After this, he Dr. Daniel K. Underwood, started in the practice of his pro- fession at Yarmouth, on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, but remained only about two years, and then settled for a short time in Quincy, Mass., but after a short residence returned to Amherst and entered into partnership with Dr. Gridly, one of the best known physicians and surgeons of Central Massachusetts. His object in choosing
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Amherst was largely influenced by its proximity to his native place. His parents were becoming advanced in years; his favorite sister was in delicate health, and the family all felt that Kingsley should be near to them, particularly to the sister. Amherst, after Dr. Underwood left the academy and prior to his going there to live, had become the seat of Amherst College, which rapidly took rank among the educational institutions of New England. The young doctor's office became the resort of the more serious-minded and thoughtful of the students, and many were the discussions of the problems of nature, science and of life which took place there. The late Rev- erend Henry Ward Beecher was a constant frequenter during his four years at college at Amherst, and he, on several occasions, said to the writer, "I believe I owe more to your father's companionship, and the discussions we had in his office, than to any other one thing connected with my college course." In 1834, the husband of Dr. Un- derwood's youngest sister felt a call to become a missionary in what was then the western wilderness, and taking his wife and three children, he went to Michigan and took up a farm (all forest of the heaviest kind) at what was afterwards called "Keene," about two miles due north of the present city of Hudson. Who there was to be a missionary to no one ever discovered. The Indians had, except for a few stragglers, entirely gone from the country. The whites had not yet come in, but there he settled. Mails were slow; communi- cations were infrequent. There were no complaints in the few letters which came, but the family at home were uneasy. The hus- band was thought to be impracticable and entirely incapable of a pioneer life. During the spring and summer of 1836, no letters came, and it was decided that Kingsley should go and see and help, if necessary. So the latter part of the summer of 1836, Dr. Under- wood started for Michigan, taking a stage to Northampton, Mass., thence another stage to Albany, N. Y., and thence by another to Schenectady ; from there a packet on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and from there the steamer "Daniel Webster" carried him to Detroit in a week's time. Here, with two fellow passengers, they engaged a wagon, and in two days more reached Adrian, arriving about the first of September. The three left most of their luggage at the old red mill on North Main street, the owner of which was known to one of them, and then drove to the tavern called the "Adrian House," situated nearly where there has been for many years a drug store, on the northwest corner of Main and Maumee streets. The tavern was kept by the late Pomeroy Stone, assisted by his son, the late William H. Stone, then a bright-faced lad of some ten years of age. The next morning Dr. Underwood started to find his sister. There was no road except the winding path used by ox teams, and Dr. Under- wood walked. During the day he passed one house on what has since been called the "Jake Jackson Place," and at nightfall came upon a second house belonging to the late John Colwell, near the township line between Dover and Hudson. Here he remained over
1
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night, being most hospitably treated, and the next morning pursued his journey, arriving at his destination about noon. He found his gloomiest anticipations realized-the husband and father sick, the mother also, the children just able to be about. Malarial fever, or ague they called it then, was the pest of the country. There were hardly any provisions in the house, and after some necessary med- ical attendance, Dr. Underwood started for one of the nearest neighbors, of whom he had heard from Colwell, as being likely to have provisions to sell. It was nine miles through the woods toward the southeast corner of Medina. There he procured as much pro- visions as he could carry back on his shoulders, and returned, and after doing what was possible for his sister and family, went back to Adrian and sent out a wagon-load of necessaries. He finally made up his mind to settle in this neighborhood and had heard of Toledo as a town of much promise, so he went down there, and thought the same thing. He therefore rented a store which was in process of erection and nearly complete, and went East to get a stock of goods shipped in before the winter closed the canal and lakes. He bought a stock of drugs, medicines, groceries, paints, oils, etc., in New York, and returned with it to Toledo by the last boat of the season, only to find that the owner of the store he had rented, finding an opportunity to sell at large profit, had sold the building and lot in his absence, and the new owner was in possession. No room was to be had in Toledo, and he must sell his goods during the winter to pay what he owed for them in the spring, so he transported his goods to Adrian by wagon and opened business on the west side of North Main street, eight or ten doors north of the corner, afterwards buying the building. The building and stock were afterwards destroyed by fire, but he rebuilt and finally bought the ground and built a build- ing on the southwest corner of Main and Maumee streets, afterwards occupied by Hart & Shaw. He never practiced medicine except in the families of one or two friends after coming to Michigan, but he carried on his drug business until about 1850, when, having been severely ill for some time and despairing of ultimate recovery, he sold out to the late Samuel E. Hart, who had been a clerk for him for several years. Then for several years he gave his attention to his books, his fruit and his garden until his death in 1875, except that for two or three years he was engaged with the late Abel Whit- ney, under the name of D. K. Underwood & Company, in a private banking business in Adrian. Among those employed by Dr. Under- wood, probably the following will be best remembered by their co- temporaries : The late Fayette Hooker, of Chicago; Paul Raymond, D. B. Spooner (a cousin of the present Senator Spooner, of Wiscon- sin), and the late Samuel E. Hart. Dr. Underwood was an exceed- ingly shy man. He had a very humble opinion of himself. Appar- ently he was reserved, and to a certain extent that was true, but to those who knew him well he was the most charming companion. I met a college friend the other day whom I had not seen for more
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