John ⁶ Bigelow, Miller of Big Rapids MI

16A43.5    John ⁶ BIGELOW, son of Moses ⁵( Moses ⁴ , Ebenezer ³, Joshua², John¹), and ___ (WING) BIGELOW, was born 15 June 1813 Steadham, Upper Canada;

Late in life, John ⁶ Bigelow of Big Rapids, Michigan wrote to G.B. Howe, Bigelow genealogist, that his "father's name was Moses, and grandfather was also Moses." The grandfather had been killed at Quebec, and the father raised by a man surnamed Arnold in Rhode Island. The father married a Miss Wing, and had a family of five sons, and possibly daughters unmentioned by John Bigelow.

The sons identified by John were Hardin, first Mayor of Sacramento, CA; Horace of Berkshire, VT; Stephen of Sutton, Quebec; Ward of Lewis county, NY, and John of Big Rapids, MI. Birthdates for these brothers are tentative, but judging from censuses, John was born about 1814 in Vermont. His first wife Eliza Davis, was born about 1820' in England, and she died in the 1860's, place unknown.

John and family are on the 1840 census at Ypsilanti, Michigan, but before 1850 they had settled in Emmett township, Calhoun county (near Battle Creek). In 1866 John took up several small parcels of land on the outskirts of Big Rapids, Mecosta county, MI. One of the deeds was a government grant signed by Pres. Andrew Johnson.

In April 1866 John and his partner, William Van Loo. Constructed a grist and flouring mill on Mitchell creek, which ran through their property. In 1868 Bigelow bought out Van Loo. For some years the mill was one of the most prominent points in Mecosta county. In 1878 John sold the mill, and a succession of owners operated it. No trace of the mill remains today.

Land deeds note a contract between John Bigelow and Stewart Ives to erect and maintain a chute through the dam on Rayn creek for the use of running logs, intimating that Bigelow had other interests besides flour-milling. The last deeds in John's name are dated 1878, about which time Albion Methodist College was named as grantee in a quit deed. Most of the transactions refer to John Bigelow as "widower" until early 1870's, when he married Lucetta Decker, whose name then joins John's on the land deeds.

In his later years, John retired to Grand Rapids, a city 60 miles south. Whether his wife was then living is not known. John died 12 March 1898 in Grand Rapids, but is interred in Highland View cemetery Big Rapids.

Few civil records have been found to verify the family of John ⁶ (Moses ⁵, Moses ⁴, Ebenezer ³, Joshua ², John ¹) Bigelow.

Following is such family as can be proved:

BFN	Name	Information
16A43.51+	Myron Taylor	born 9 Dec 1836 NY; died 4 Mar 1912 Grand Rapids, Kent co, MI; married, unknown date, Mary Elizabeth Gilbert. 1 son.
16A43.52+	Stephen E.	born 4 Mar 1838 NY; died 31 May 1903 Big Rapids, Mecosta co, MI; married, unknown date, Mary E. Varney. 4 children.
16A43.53	Phebe A	born ca 1842 Ypsilanti, Washtenaw co I MI; unknown deathdate; Married (1) French, and (2) 3 Nov 1886 Moses Abbey. Phebe was a physician and practiced medicine in Big Rapids, MI.
16A43.54	Eunice E.	born ca 1844 MI; living 1850; probably died young.
16A43.55+	William Harrison	born 2 May 1847 Battle Creek, Calhoun co, MI; died 4 Mar 1940 Grand Rapids, MI; married 7 Mar 1894 Minnie I. Cross. 4 children.
16A43.56	Martha M.	born Feb 1850 Emmett twp, Calhoun co, MI; died young.
16A43.57	Fred	no dates available; moved to California and lost from family records.
16A43.58	John	child of second wife, born 1874 Big Rapids; living 1880.

Sources:
Howe, Bigelow Family;
censuses & civil records MI,VT, & NY;
booklet "Big Rapids MI,1906, Printed by Water Co.Biq Rapids;
research by Alan Bigelow, Las Vegas, NV,and Carl Wabron, Register of Deeds, Mecosta county, MI.;
BIGELOW Family Genealogy VOL. I Pages 352/353
http://bigelowsociety.com/rod/joh6a435.htm