My Genealogy Hound

JESSE S. EAST, the owner of a highly cultivated farm situated within the corporate limits of Buchanan, was born in Richmond, Wayne County, Ind., June 2, 1829. The ancestry of the family is traced to England, whence some of its representatives emigrated to America in an early day and located in Virginia. In that State Grandfather William East was born. That State was also the birthplace of James East, father of our subject, who removed thence to Tennessee and made settlement in Blount County.

Anna Jones was the maiden name of the mother of our subject; she was born in Tennessee, and removed thence in her girlhood to Richmond, Ind. Her father, Jesse Jones, was, it is supposed, a native of Tennessee, and was of Welsh descent. The parents of our subject were married in Wayne County, Ind., where they located on a farm and resided about seven years. Thence they came to Cass County, Mich., and settled on a farm in Calvin Township, the deed to which was signed by President Jackson. On that place the father died in 1888, when in his eighty-fourth year. The wife and mother still lives on the old homestead, which she owns. Although now (1893) in her eighty-ninth year, she still retains full possession of her mental faculties, and is in fair health.

In the family of James and Anna East there were four daughters and six sons. The sons attained to manhood, but two of the daughters died when young. In this family our subject is the third in order of birth. At the age of three years he was brought to Michigan, where he acquired his education in the subscription schools of the district. He was about twenty-one years old when, in 1850, he married Anna B. Osborn. This lady is the daughter of the well-known Charles Osborn, who was born in North Carolina, became a preacher in the Society of Friends and won renown as the publisher of the first anti-slavery paper in the United States. The mother of Mrs. East was Hannah (Swain) Osborn, who was born in Tennessee. Mr. Osborn was twice married, becoming the father of eight children by his first, and nine children by his second union, and of that number Anna B. was the youngest. One of her nephews is ten years older than she, and others are about her own age.

Immediately following his marriage, our subject located in Cass County, Mich., and cultivated a farm in Calvin Township. Afterward he removed to Vandalia, in the same county, and engaged in the milling business, being for a time employed on a salary and later becoming one of the proprietors. Upon moving to Niles, Mich., in 1868, he found employment in a flouring-mill. Returning to Cass County in 1884, he bought a farm and cultivated it for six months, when he removed to Vandalia, in the same county, and resided in that village for two years. He came to Buchanan in 1887 and bought the sixteen-acre tract where he now lives. He and his wife are the parents of three sons; Charles A., James F. and William W., the two first-named residing in Buchanan, and the latter being in business in Chicago.

In addition to the property which he occupies, Mr. East owns a substantial and commodious residence in Buchanan, and has money loaned at interest. His financial position, therefore, is one of independence and importance. In his social affiliations, he is a Mason, and is identified with the Blue Lodge in Cass County. While he is not a member of any religious organization, he is generous in his support of denominational work, and contributes liberally to the various enterprises originated by the Presbyterian Church. In politics, he is a Republican, and has served as Township Treasurer and School Director in Cass County.