My Genealogy Hound

ASAHEL D. NORTHROP, a prominent old settler of Cass County and a leading and successful farmer of Calvin Township, was born in Rutland County, Vt., February 13, 1822, and was the eldest in a family of nine children, there being seven sons and two daughters. The father, Amos Northrop, was born in Rutland County, Vt., January 4, 1799, and was the son of Samuel Northrop, a native of Connecticut and a member of an old Puritan family. Early in life he went to Vermont, and it is said that he served in the war for independence, but in what capacity we cannot state, probably as teamster. He was a farmer by occupation and passed his closing days in Vermont, where he died at a good old age. Politically, he was a Whig and opposed to slavery, while his religious connections were with the Baptist Church. His wife, the grandmother of our subject, was also a member of the Baptist Church. She came to Michigan with her son Amos in 1838, and died here a year later. The grandfather, died in 1827.

The mother of our subject, Electa Rudd, was born in Vermont, being the daughter of Berrick Rudd, a member of a large and prominent family of the Green Mountain State, who, after the death of his wife, went to New York State, where he died. A farmer by occupation, he was quite successful in his agricultural operations and accumulated a handsome property. He had nine children, and his sons were principally occupied as carpenters and farmers. In 1821 Amos Northrop and Electa Rudd were married. In 1836 he came to Michigan, and, being a man of some means, he purchased a large tract of land, partly in Calvin and partly in Penn Townships, a portion of which is included in the farm of our subject.

After purchasing this land, Amos Northrop returned to the East, and in 1838, accompanied by his family, he started West overland, but when they reached Buffalo they took a boat to Toledo and finally reached their new home in the then wilderness of Calvin Township. He was a hard-working man, possessing more than ordinary business ability, a much-esteemed citizen, and did his full share toward converting the wilderness into a prosperous farming community. At the place where he settled in 1838 he departed this life in 1883, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife’s demise preceded his own some ten years, it having occurred on the 3d of March, 1873.

So far as we have been able to gather at this late day from the survivors, this is the history of the pioneer family of Northrops, but though incomplete it is sufficient to show the sturdy old New England stock that helped to build up the great West. Of the nine children born to Amos and Electa Northrop, as stated above, A. D. was the eldest. William B., the second in order of birth, went forth to battle for his country in the Civil War, being a member of the First Michigan Sharp-shooters. He lost a limb at Petersburg and died in the hospital at Ft. Schuyler, N. Y., from the effects of the wound. He left a wife, three sons and two daughters to mourn his loss.

Amos F., the third son of this family, is now living in Calvin Township, where he is a prominent farmer. Spofford B. is a farmer in the northern part of Michigan. Serenus died in infancy. Cerena married John Thorp and died soon after the close of the late war. A. Judson was a soldier in the Civil War and was wounded in the early part of the battle of Stone River, but refused to leave the ranks. He was again struck by a rebel ball and instantly killed, finding an unknown grave on that bloody battlefield. He was an unmarried man and about twenty-five years of age at the time he was killed. Saraph was married to Thomas Shaw and died soon afterward. Marvin A. enlisted in the First Michigan Sharpshooters and was taken ill and died in a hospital in Chicago.

A. D. was about sixteen years of age when he came to Michigan with his parents in 1838. He grew to manhood on the home farm, his time being employed in a manner similar to other pioneer lads, and as he received the advantage of a fair education he utilized his knowledge by following the profession of a teacher for some years. He remained with his father until twenty-three years of age, when he married Harriet Sherrill, the ceremony which united their destinies being solemnized on the 17th of June, 1845. The family of which she was a member was early represented in Michigan, having come hither from New York, her native State. Of this union there were born two sons and two daughters. Ira D., the eldest, received a good education and learned telegraphy, which he followed for some years, but is now Clerk of Stafford County, Kan., where he has resided for some years. He married Josephine Hines and they have six children, of whom there are living one son and two daughters. Persis C. was for a time a teacher in the public schools, but died at the early age of nineteen years. Lora C. married Phineas Hull, at her death, which occurred in November, 1879, leaving one daughter. She had had a splendid musical education and was a proficient pianist, engaging for some years in teaching music. Frisby F., a farmer by occupation, married Genia Stage, and they have had three sons. The mother of these four children died August 31, 1858.

The second marriage of Mr. Northrop took place on the 29th of February, 1860, and united him with Miss Laura Lee, a native of Indiana and the daughter of Hiram and Lovina Lee. The Lee family was for many years quite prominent in the history of Tennessee and was represented in Indiana during the pioneer history of that State, whence removal was made to Michigan in 1835. Nathan Lee, the grandfather of Mrs. Northrop, was a leading Quaker and knew much of the workings of the “underground railroad” in slavery times, and many a poor runaway slave found in him a true friend.

Five children were born to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Northrop. Casus M. married, but is now a widower without children; Le Roy Judson married Hattie Stephens, and of that union one daughter was born; he died April 7, 1892, his wife having passed away in the November previous. Walter M. is a single man and a cabinet-maker by trade. J. C. is a graduate of the Cassopolis High School and a teacher by profession, now residing with his parents. Orley, the youngest child, is being educated in the common schools and is a promising youth.

In 1845 Mr. Northrop built a log house on the farm where he now lives. His farm is now one of the finest in Calvin Township, and its splendid improvements are almost entirely the work of his hands. During the fifty-five years he has lived in this township he has done much toward building up the county. He has served in numerous positions of trust, having been Township Clerk, member of the School Board and also filling other important positions. First a Whig, he joined the Republican party when it was organized, but of late years has been identified with the Prohibition party, having been a lifelong temperance man. He is doing all in his power to crush the liquor traffic and has accomplished not a little through his personal efforts. He has taken some interest in the Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance. He and his wife are exemplary members of the Free-will Baptist Church and are honorable, devoted Christians, proving by the nobility of their lives the depth of their religious belief. As he spends the evening of his days in his pleasant and happy home he can look back upon a long life that has been well spent in the service of his fellow-men.