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Eaton County Michigan EATON COUNTY
MEMORIAL REPORT
In May, 1829, in company with the late
Jonathan Dayton and David Embury, he
started for Grand Blanc, in this county,
traveling by canal boat from Rochester to
Buffalo, and thence to Detroit by the steamer
"William Penn. " From Detroit to Grand
Blanc they came by team. At that time Genesee
county contained but forty-seven
inhabitants. He bought of the government
eighty acres of wild land in the township of
Grand Blanc, settled upon and commenced its
improvement. The next fall he went back to
New York State, and resumed through the
winter his previous occupation of teaching
school. In February, 1830, he returned to
Grand Blanc to remain, this time coming
through Canada, with his own conveyance—an ox
team. He now set vigorously at work to clear
up his farm, to which he added from time to
time, until he owned 400 acres. In 1856 he
was instrumental in agitating the project of
a plank road from Holly to Grand Blanc, by
his perseverance and energy brought it to a
head, took the contract to build it, and lost
several thousand dollars in completing his
job. But his loss was the people's gain, as
the road was the means of ultimately securing
to Grand Blanc a railroad, which has been of
incalculable value to not only its people,
but to those of Holly and the surrounding
country. While engaged on this project (and
one of the causes of his loss, by depriving
him of the power to personally manage its
business) Mr. Thompson was struck down with
rheumatism, which finally resulted in his
becoming a helpless invalid. For twenty-five
years preceding his death he was not able to
get out of his chair nor turn over in bed
without assistance.
Michigan 1883
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