James Thomas FINCH

                   Sources:
Cornelius Bus, 718 Wilson St., South Haven, Michigan 49090
Lenawee County History
1860 Census of Lenawee, Michigan, Rome township, Film #803551
Genealogy of Hill, Finch, Dean Families
Letter from Elizabeth Heath (Mrs. Frank Lansing Heath)
Will of James thomas Finch, 27 Jun 1892, Rome, Lenawee, Mich., Bk. B, p. 196
1850, 1860 Census of Rome, Lenawee, Michigan
Portrait & Biographical Album of Lenawee County, Michigan, pp. 621-622
Rose Cemetery Inscriptions
Marriage Certificate from Lucas county, Ohio

       The Finches were from Stanwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut tp Peekskill, New York.

JAMES T. FINCH:
      from Portrait and Biographical Album of Lenawee Co., Michigan, Chicago,
      Chapman Bros. 1888, p. 621

       James T. Finch. . .born 16 Jan 1814, Orange Co., NY. . .operated as a farmer twenty years in Adrian Twp. . .md. three times. . .The third wife of our subject, formerly Miss Abbie Cole, was born in New York State, and was the daughter of James cole, who removed from there to Ohio, and thence to Michigan, spending his last years in Adrian Twp., with our subject.  His death took place when he was 83 years of age.  Mrs. Abbie finch died Aug. 31, 1878.


JAMES FINCH:
       from History of Lenawee county, p. 621(complete entry missing)

       James T. Finch, who operated as a farmer twenty years in Adrian Township, is now retired from active labor, and occupying a pleasant home on section 13, where he busies himself in light employment when so disposed, and has ample time to devote to the society of his many friends and acquaintenances.  Among these he is a general favorite, being of a kind and obliging disposition, courteous in his manner, and of that temperment which invarable wins confidence and esteem.
       Mr Finch came to this county during its early settlement, and is numbered among the men who assisted in the development of its resources and the building up of its reputation as a desirable place of residence, both on account of its natural advantages and the intelligence of its people.
       Mr. Finch is a native of the Empire State, where he was born in Orange county, Jan. 16, 1814.  His father, Philetus finch, was a native of the same county, where he learned shoemaking, which he followed during his early manhood, and later invested his modest capital in a farm in Steuben county.  Of this he took possession in 1828, and remained there until his death, after he had attained to more than fourscore years.
       The mother of our subject, who in her girlhood was Miss Elizabeth Paddock, died in 1830, when but forty years of age.  the parented household included six sons and one daughter, the latter of whom died when quite young, and one son passed away in childhood.
       Our subject left the home roof soon after the death of his mother, and took up his abode with his uncle, in Yates County, N. Y., where he worked on a farm and availed himself of the instruction given in the district schools, during the winter season, until reaching his majority.
       He then commenced learning the cooper's trade, which he followed thereafter until forty-five years of age.  In the spring of 1836, he came to the Territory of Michigan, and after looking over the country, went back to New York after his family, and upon his return located in Rome township, upon eighty acres of wild land.
       Upon this there were no improvements whatever, and his first business, of course, was to provide shelter for his family.  He possessed the hardy resolution of the men of those times, and was prepared for every emergency.  He worked at his trade and cultivated the soil in the best manner he could, and in due time found himself on the high road to prosperity.
       About 1853 he sold his property and moved to a farm in Adrian Township, which he had purchased for his son, and where he now lives.
       The marriage of James T. Finch and Miss Emeline Halsted was celebrated at the home of his bride in Yates county, N.Y., in the spring of 1837.  This lady was the daughter of John Halsted, of New York State, who migrated to Michigan shortly after his daughter's marriage, and takng up his residence in Rome Township, continued there until his death when eighty-two years old.
       Mrs. Emeline Finch was born in New York State, Sept. 30, 1808 and departed this life at her home in Rome Township Jan. 22, 1846, at the old homestead.
       Of her union with our subject there are living the children whose record is as follows: Charles, born Autg. 30, 1838, is now a resident of this county; John was born March 5, 1840, and during the late war enlisted as a soldier in the Union army, from which he returned with life and health spared, and is now carrying on farming near Mt. Phillips, Kan.; Philetus was born Jan. 17, 1842, and enlisted in the service about the same time as his brother John; after returning home he decided to seek his fortune. . . (page missing with rest of biography)

Question - In the 1860 Census of Rome, Lenawee, Michigan, James Finch is listed as married to Aba within the year; Jerome is listed as married to Abbey.  Both of these wives are the same age. Could they both be the same Abigail?  It could only happen if she was married to Jerome with three children by perhaps another wife of his, then before the census taker arrived at the home of James Finch, she married him as it says they were married within the year.  If Jerome died, what happened to the three children living with them?  They were not in James Finch's household. A puzzle.

James Finch, his three wives and some of his children were all buried in the same plot: East Rome Cemetery, Lenawee, Michigan.