USA > Michigan > Lenawee County > Illustrated history and biographical record of Lenawee County, Mich. > Part 37
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Texas, water works, and was consulting engineer during the construction, and the Ameri- can Water Works Company received $5,000 for his services. Mr. King remained with this company for four years, or until 1891, when, owing to the financial depression, the busi- ness was suspended and Mr. King returned to Adrian. Soon after his return home he again engaged in architecture, contracting and building. He erected the first steel building put up in Adrian, for the Lamb Fence Company. Feb- ruary 26, 1899, he accepted the position of superintendent and mechanical engineer of the Bond Steel Post Company, of Adrian, which position he still occupies. He is the inventor and patentee of the Rural Mail Box that is manufactured Capt. Henry N. King. by the company, and which has met with such a large sale throughout the United States. He is also the originator and patentee of the street signs and United States city letter box and letter box fastener, for attaching the letter box to the Bond post. April 4, 1864, while at home on a veteran furlough, Captain H. N. King married Miss Frances E. Bolles, daughter of Frederick E. and Sarah A. Bolles, of Chelsea, Washte- naw County, Mich., and they have had four children, as follows : Frederick E., born September 20, 1868, died February 13, 1896; Mary Adelaide, born March 27, 1871, died August 5, 1871; Harry R., born May 2, 1872, and resides in Chicago; Florence B., born February 8, 1880, at home. Mrs. Frances E. (Bolles) King was born in Chelsea, Mich., August 27, 1839. Her parents were pioneers of Washtenaw County, settling in the town of Sylvan in 1837.
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
DEACON OLIVER C. HOTCHKISS was among the first settlers of the Bean Creek Valley, settling in Medina with his par- ents in 1834. We are pleased to be able to show good portraits of
Mrs. Mary Hotchkiss.
Oliver C. Hotchkiss.
Mr. Hotchkiss and his worthy wife. For a full family history see Whitney & Bonner's History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Vol. 2, page 470.
WELLINGTON C. SMITH was born in Fairfield, Lenawee County, Mich., January 1, 1845. His father, Nelson Smith, was born in Macedon, Wayne County, N. Y., March 21, 1815. His father, Ezekiel Smith, a native of Acton, Mass., was born in 1779, being the son of Ezekiel Smith, who was born in 1756, and was an active patriot all through the Revolutionary period of the nation's struggle for liberty. October 5, 1841, Nelson Smith married Mrs. Delia (Morris) Dunn, widow of Jefferson Dunn, and they had three chil- dren, as follows: Mary E., born August 28, 1842, married Samuel D. Mckenzie, of Adrian ; Wellington C .; Fanny, born October 23, 1846, died October 3, 1865. [For full particulars of Mrs. Delia (Morris) Smith, who died July 26, 1895, at the home of her daugh- ter, in Adrian, at the age of 91 years, see Whitney & Bonner's His- tory and Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Vol. 2, pages
28
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
170-1-2, and Vol. 1, pages 472-3.] Wellington C. Smith has always resided in Fairfield township and now lives in the village of Weston. He was brought up a farmer, and still owns the farm he was born on in Section 6, now known as Fruit Ridge. His father being interested in horticulture and engaged to some extent in the nursery business, he early developed a taste for fruit and flower de- velopment. For many years he gave his attention largely to farm-
-
Mr. and Mrs. Wellington Smith, Weston.
ing, but in 1890 he moved to Weston, having in 1883 erected a cold storage building there for the purpose of handling and shipping fruit. In good fruit years he has shipped as many as 18,000 barrels. In years when the crop was short at home he has shipped in, either from New York or Missouri, as many as 10,000 barrels, to supply the home market. He has an orchard in Weston containing 800 apple trees, and 2,000 peach trees of the choicest varieties. In 1888 he erected at Weston a first-class fruit evaporator, which has been successfully carried on ever since. In 1891 he became interested in the manufacture of the Weston Windmill, which has proved eminently satisfactory to all patrons, and is still engaged in its manufac- ture. January 1, 1874, Wellington C. Smith married Miss Elizabeth A. Poucher, daughter of Abram and Laura A. (Mckenzie) Poucher, and they have five children, as follows: Fanny E., born May 26, 1877, married, August 27, 1894, William Younglove, and resides in Adrian, but are both engaged as teachers in the Industrial School at Lansing; Mary E., born February 27, 1879, married, June 29, 1898, Rev. Walter E. Burnett, of Detroit Conference M. E. church, and has one son; Laura D., born January 5, 1881, at home; Nelson,
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
born February 10, 1891, at home ; Morris A., born April 19, 1893, at home. Mrs. Elizabeth A. (Poucher) Smith was born in Seneca, Lenawee County, Mich., November 25, 1857. Her father was a na- tive of Claverock, Columbia County, N. Y., and was the son of An- drew and Elizabeth (Miller) Poucher. They came to Michigan in 1846 and settled in Adrian. [See Anthony Poucher's record in Vol. 2, Whitney & Bonner's History and Biographical Record of Lena- wee County.]
GEORGE WASHINGTON LARWILL, son of Jeremiah and Susanna Langdon Larwill, was born January 2, 1840, at Brixham-on- Tor-Bay, on the coast of Devonshire, England, one of the most beauti- ful and historic spots on the shores of the United Kingdom. On the jetty of the port today stands a massive lime-stone shaft bearing the words: "On or near this spot William, Prince of Orange, first put foot on English soil." The brief but bloody warfare that fol- lowed the debut of the Dutch adventurer is embalmed in history. The mother came of good old South of England ancestry. The pa- ternal predecessors were among the Huguenot refugees who flocked to England with the remnant of their fortunes, following the at- tempted massacres. The name will be recognized as an anglicized corruption of a prominent French Patronymic. Larwill Pere was a great admirer of American institutions, as the selection of our sub- ject's name will indicate. In 1850, after several previous visits, he emigrated with his family and settled in Brooklyn, N. Y. There were five children : John Clark, now of Cleveland ; Susie M. South- gate, San Francisco; George W., Adrian; Alfred Langdon, Brook- lyn, N. Y., and Clara A., now of Cleveland. George received such limited educational advantages as could be expected at his age, after a brief period spent in the common schools of two countries. At the age of 12 he absented himself one day without leave and took a position as boy in the press room of the Brooklyn Times. Here he remained eleven years, gradually advancing to the position of city editor. During this interval he mastered the art of short-hand, and by dili- gent use of the "midnight oil" remedied some of the deficiencies of his earlier education. From '61 to '63, he was associated with William Wood, a brilliant young English journalist, in the publica- tion of the Rome, N. Y., Sentinel, a paper which had been founded by Mr. Ralph Waldby. Here he formed a friendship with the late T. S. Applegate, which continued 30 years without interruption. In the fall of '63 the young men mentioned came to Adrian and asso- ciated themselves with the pioneer printer and publisher, R. W. Ingalls, in the issuance of the daily and weekly Watchtower, under the firm name of Larwill, Applegate & Co. A year later he sold out to his associates, to accept a responsible situation in St. Louis.
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
His profound and practical knowledge of the printing art and all the details of journalism made him too desirable a man to spare and he was induced to remain. This he has done through various rota- tions of management, and as he has jocularly expressed it, after con- tinuous service of forty years, he "expects to die in the harness." While making no sort of personal pretentions, Mr. Larwill is a man of more than average versatility. Besides being an expert in the printing art, he is a ready and graceful writer, a reliable reporter, a clever mechanician, a poet, composer and musician. Although pos- sessing no ambition for personal prominence, he has filled one or two local offices, and for a quarter of a century been an active figure in public affairs. In 1860, November 14, he was married in Brook- lyn, N. Y., to Annie I. Pickard, a native of Bedworth, Warwickshire, England. Her father was an extensive ribbon manufacturer, the first to utilize the Jacquard loom in Great Britain, in the face of bitter social and trade opposition. He conceived the idea of bringing that important industry to America. In 1850, with his family, a fine complement of machinery and a little company of his most expert workers, he embarked for New York, on the sailing ship Roscius. The voyage was one of the most tragic in trans-Atlantic history. Beset by storms, the vessel made very little headway. Ship fever broke out in the over-crowded craft, and for days in succes- sion each setting sun saw the burial of the dead at sea. Mr. and Mrs. Pickard and other members of the little industrial colony succumbed.
Residence of George W. Larwill, No. 11 Front Street, Adrian.
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
The captain, first and second mates, and ship's doctor followed their unfortunate charges. Water and provisions became short, and finally, after three months' struggle for preservation in the face of the most hopeless odds, the ill-starred ship was taken into New York by the third mate, a mere boy, aided by a passenger with some knowledge of navigation, and the survivors of the ship's crew. Can- non were fired and flags displayed when the weather-beaten barque sailed up New York bay. And this divergence marked the first practical attempt at ribbon-making in America. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Larwill: Minnie S., at Rome, N. Y., September 24, 1861; Harry L., at the same place, September 28, 1863; Isabel, at Adrian, February 13, 1868. Minnie became the wife of Maurice S. Knapp, September 17, 1890, and passed away one year later. Harry L. was elected Judge of Probate for the County of Lenawee, and assumed the responsibilities of his office January 1, 1901. On the third day of September, 1889, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Josephine Hardy. Two sons have come to complement the family circle, Langdon H. and George R. Isabel performs the duties incident to the office of Probate Register. All three were graduates of Adrian High School.
ALFRED EDWARDS was born in the city of Adrian, October 19, 1843. His father, Daniel S. Edwards, was born in Glenville, Schenectady County, N. Y., February 8, 1807, being the son of Henry, born April 24, 1768, and Sally (Baker) Edwards, born Au- gust 22, 1769, at East Hampton, Long Island, N. Y. The ancestors of the Edwards family were Welch. The ancestors of Sarah (Baker) Edwards came from England and settled on Long Island, New York. Daniel S. Edwards came to Michigan in 1837 and settled in Adrian. In his youth he learned the carpenter's trade in Ballston, N. Y., and followed that business in Adrian until 1850, when he purchased a farm on Section 30, in Adrian township, where he re- sided until 1872, when he went to Rome Center. He resided there for a few years, and removed to Adrian, where he lived until his death, May 14, 1885. He was a prominent citizen of his township, and filled many positions of trust. He served many years as Justice of the Peace and Notary Public. October 20, 1836, Daniel S. Ed- wards at Gorham, Ontario County, N. Y., married Miss Caroline A. Foskett, and they had five childen, Alfred being the third. Mrs. Caroline A. (Foskett) Edwards was born in Pompey, Onondaga County, N. Y., September 2, 1807, and died in Adrian, November 22, 1850. Her father, James Foskett, was a native of Connecticut, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Miss McClure, who was a native of Scotland, and became the mother of seven
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
children. Alfred Edwards, subject of this sketch, was about six years old when his father purchased the farm in Adrian township. He was educated in the country schools and about two terms at the Normal School at Ypsilanti. He has always been a farmer and now owns his father's homestead on Section 30, in Adrian. His resi- dence is a stone house, built by his father in 1857, and he has the most vivid recollection of picking up stone all over the farm and piling them up ready for use in the structure. Since Mr. Edwards arrived at manhood he has been active in public affairs, and has been a candidate for public office many times. He is a prominent
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Edwards, Adrian township.
Granger and was the first master of Adrian Grange. In 1897 the Patrons' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Lenawee County was organized, and Mr. Edwards was elected president, which position he still holds. He has been a successful farmer, and now owns 260 acres of land, having sold one farm in 1903. February 29, 1872, Alfred Edwards married Miss Julia Elizabeth Knight, daughter of William and Anna (Smead) Knight, of Adrian township, and six children, the first of whom died in infancy, have been born to them as follows: Gertrude Agnes, born August 13, 1876, graduated from Michigan University in June, 1901, and married, December 25, 1902, Lee Mighell, a lawyer of Aurora, Ill .; Merrick Knight, born June 25, 1880, just graduated from the Michigan University ; Sarah Elizabeth, born December 21, 1881, just graduated from the Michigan University; Mary Sophia, born September 23, 1884, student at Michigan Univer- sity ; Julia Caroline, born February 13, 1887, student at Adrian High School. Mrs. Julia Elizabeth (Knight) Edwards was born in Adrian
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
township, Lenawee County, January 2, 1845. She was a graduate under Prof. Estabrook, at Ypsilanti, and was a student at the Mich- igan University, she being the first lady freshman to be admitted. Her father, William Knight, was an early settler of Adrian town- ship, locating there in 1834. He first took up land in Rome, but afterwards exchanged for land on Section 18, in Adrian, which he owned until his death in November, 1901. He was a native of Mas- sachusetts, and was born at Northampton, January 17, 1807. He was the son of Erastus Knight, whose father, Joshua Knight, came from England and settled in Connecticut. William Knight was a prominent resident of Adrian township for over 67 years. December 24, 1834, William Knight married Miss Anna Smead, daughter of Rufus and Anna (Hawks) Smead, and they had seven children, Mrs. Edwards being the fourth child. Mrs. Anna (Smead) Knight was born September 14, 1810, and died July 4, 1885. She came to Michigan with her parents, from Massachusetts, in 1834. She was a pupil of Miss Mary Lyon before the founding of Mt. Holyoke Col- lege, at South Hadley, Mass.
JOHN I. KNAPP was born in Ridgeway, Orleans County, N. Y., November 24, 1825, and was the first white child to be born within the present limits of the village of Medina, N. Y. His father, John Knapp, was born in Mamaroneck, Westchester County, N. Y., August 22, 1785. He was the son of Peter and Dina (Guyon) Knapp, who were natives of Westchester County. Peter Knapp was born February 25, 1755, and married Dina Guyon, May 18, 1775. He was the direct descendant of Nicholas Knapp, an Englishman, who settled in Westchester County, N. Y., in 1630, and died there in April, 1670. Peter Knapp was a revolu- tionary soldier, and served in Captain Abram Mead's company, and marched to
John and Mamre Knapp.
.
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
the relief of Boston, being in the battle of Lexington. He was discharged from the service as Corporal, June 23, 1777. He afterwards became a private in the Westchester County Militia, Third Regiment, Captain Samuel Haight, becoming a "Minute Man," which carried with it land bounty rights, as shown in "New York in the War of the Revolution." About the year 1806 he re- moved to Onondaga County and took up land in Spafford township on his land warrant. Here his family grew up, and he died there April 13, 1839. His wife, Dina Guyon bore him twelve children, John Knapp being the fifth child. She was born May 7, 1757, and died October 17, 1835. John Knapp was raised a farmer, and first commenced in Onondaga County, but finally went to Ridgeway in Orleans County and purchased a farm. He resided there until May, 1834, when he came to Michigan, bringing his family of wife and three children, and all his possessions with his own horse team, and finally settled on the w 12 n e 14 of Section 2, in Medina, this county. He came in company with Cook Hotchkiss, his brother-in-law, and
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John I. Knapp's Family: No. 1, Mrs. Ellen (Willey) Knapp; No. 2, her daughter, M. Adella, nee Kedzie; No. 3, Hattie E., nee Lambie; No. 4, Frank W. Knapp.
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
they took up the n e 14 of Sec. 2. Mr. Knapp cleared up his farm, and lived there until 1841, when he sold out to the Medina Milling Com- pany, and removed to Fairfield, purchasing two hundred acres on Sections 19 and 20, where the village of Weston now stands. He resided there until 1870, when he became feeble in health, and went to Adrian to reside with his son, John I., where he died January 17, 1874. February 13, 1806, John Knapp married Miss Mamre Hotchkiss, daughter of John C. and Mary (Chittenden) Hotch- kiss, of Delhi, Delaware County, N. Y., and they were the parents of eight children, as follows: Mary C., born October 25, 1807, died August 13, 1826; Hannah I., born December 6, 1809. Still living, (1903) in Yates, Orleans County, N. Y., married John Gambel, and is the mother of nine children ; Amos S., born Febru- ary 24, 1812, died in Napa, Cal., January 15, 1898; Nancy C., born February 3, 1815, died October 11, 1830; Abigail, born April 18, 1817, married John D. Sutton, was the mother of nine children, and died May 9, 1896; Lauren H., born April 7, 1820, died August 2, 1822; Lauren H., Second, born February 26. 1823, died April 7, 1836, being the first death in the township of Medina; John I., as above. Mrs. Mamre (Hotchkiss) Knapp was born in Cheshire, Conn., May 30, 1786, and died in Adrian, July 27, 1877. John I. Knapp, subject of this sketch, lived with his parents on the farm in Fair- field, assisted in clearing up the land, and followed farming. In November, 1860, he was elected Treasurer of Lenawee County, and removed to the City of Adrian in January, 1861, to assume the duties of his office. He was re-elected in the campaigns of 1862 and 1864, serving six years in all. He followed different lines of business after retiring from office until 1870, when he entered the U. S. mail ser- vice, and for two years served as railway mail clerk. In 1873 he was promoted to the office of Postoffice Inspector at large, succeeding Charles Redfield, removed, no special field being assigned to him, and holding the office four years. During Mr. Knapp's service as special agent many important cases were entrusted to him. One in particular, where two postal clerks were dismissed from the service, being suspected of robbing the mail of registered letters. After a thorough investigation it was found that the thefts had been made in a certain important postoffice, and that the postmaster was the guilty party, who had at the same time robbed his office clerks of their stipend by false reports to the government. Through Mr. Knapp's efforts the suspected postal clerks were exonerated and re- instated, one of whom traveled several hundred miles to come to Adrian to thank Mr. Knapp for his efficient work on the case. Mr. Knapp's official career was one of fidelity and hard work, and was the means of breaking up many bad features in the mail service. The department at Washington recognized his salutary labors, and in acknowledgment of his services on one occasion he received the fol- lowing letter :
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENT, OFFICE CHIEF OF DIVISION, SPECIAL AGENTS AND MAIL DEPREDATIONS.
* *
*
*
*
WASHINGTON, August 5, 1873. * * *
I have also received the copy of "Doctor Young's Marriage Guide," which I shall place in the hands of Special Agent Comstock, of New York, whose especial business it is to attend to cases of that kind. You and he have rendered more efficient service in breaking up this kind of traffic than all the other agents for a few years past, and I trust your success will encourage you to persevere in break- ing up the establishments of all who are engaged in this immoral and debasing business. Very respectfully your obedient servant,
C. COCHRAN, JR., Chief Division.
In 1880 Mr. Knapp engaged in the mannfacture of brick and tile machinery with the late James Farrar and J. C. Mckenzie. In 1883, March 9, the factory then located on Winter street, Adrian, was en-
John I. Knapp.
Mrs. S. Viola (Wood) Knapp.
tirely destroyed by fire, the firm sustaining a loss of about $20,000. Immediately after this disastrous fire, which destroyed all patterns and machinery, steps were taken to rebuild, and during the summer of 1883 the large structure now known as the Brick and Tile Machine Works, was built and supplied with new machinery and appoint- ments. This is one of the largest foundery and machine shops in Southern Michigan, being 304x60 feet, two stories high, and 1,250,000
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RECORD OF LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
brick were used. Mr. Knapp remained in the business about eighteen years. Since 1897 Mr. Knapp has not been engaged in any line of business. In March, 1902, he commenced the arduous work, in connection with Mr. R. I. Bonner, of soliciting, compiling and publishing this volume, in commemoration of his long life as a citi- zen and pioneer of Lenawee County. He came to the county before he was nine years old, and has resided here, boy and man, ever since. He has outlived all of his business associates, and now, in his 79th year, is as rugged and ambitious as he was thirty years be- fore. Mr. Knapp has been a member of the Lenawee County Pio- neer Society since its organization, and has been the president of the society during the past four years. He is also a vice president of the State Pioneer Society. April 24, 1851, John I. Knapp married Miss Ellen Willey, daughter of Henrick and Lois (Harrison) Willey, of Blissfield, and they became the parents of five children, as follows : Mary C., born in Fairfield, March 10, 1852, and died July 29, 1856 ; M. Adella, born February 9, 1855, married George E. Kedzie April 12, 1881, and four children were born to them, as follows: Rose- mond H., born in Denver, Colorado, June 15, 1884; Malcolm K.,
Residence of John I. Knapp, No. 41 Maumee Street, Adrian.
.
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ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHICAL
born in Ouray, Col., August 26, 1888; Margaret A., born same place, September 21, 1889; Robert S., born in Durango, Mex., April 8, 1898, and resides in Lansing, Mich. Harriet E., born in same place, January 1, 1858, married John C. Lambie, January 10, 1883, and they had three children, as follows : Ellen J., born in Adrian, Mich., October 27, 1883; John K., born July 12, 1886; Josephine W., born May 3, 1889. John. C. Lambie died in Adrian, March 25, 1893 ; Herbert, born December 29, 1860, and died December 30, 1863; Frank W., born in Adrian, August 8, 1865, married Miss Maud Hotchkiss, has one daughter and resides in Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Ellen (Willey) Knapp was born at Potsdam, N. Y., July 30, 1829. She came to
Michigan with her parents in 1836, settling in Blissfield, this county She died while on a visit to her daughter, Mrs. Kedzie, in Chi- huahua, Colo. Her father, Henrick Willey, was born in 1788, and January 12, 1812, married Miss Lois Harrison, at North Adams, Mass., where she was born. They had nine children, as follows: Rich- ard H., born November 26, 1812, died in infancy ; Catherine D., born January 22, 1814, married Obed F. Worth, November 28, 1841, and died in Blissfield, November 30, 1845; Cornelia Maria, born Novem- ber 27, 1815, married Ormal Sackett, January 8, 1837, died in Bliss- field, July 20, 1848; George H., born December 31, 1817, married Maria Valentine in November, 1845, and died in Blissfield February 20, 1848 ; Job, born February 5, 1821, married Miss Rachel Worth, December 24, 1845, and died in Blissfield ; Almond, born October 28, 1823 ; died October 21, 1825; Jerusha, born September 11, 1827, died October 6, 1841, in Blissfield ; Ellen, as above ; Mary, born December 22, 1831, died February 25, 1835. Mrs. Lois (Harrison) Willey died in Blissfield, June 9, 1871. Henrick Willey died in Royalton, Ohio, in August, 1859. Job Willey was a merchant all his life, and was successful, amassing a large property, but in the latter part of his life met with heavy losses. He was an upright, exemplary man, be-
The Kedzie Family: Rosamond H., Malcolm K., Margaret A. and Robert S., grand- children of John I. and Ellen Knapp.
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