Re: John Near, 1816-1894
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In reply to:
Re: John Near, 1816-1894
10/05/01
Very likely!What I know about Pheobe Near Bingham is from reminiscences from her sister (my great great grandmother). Pheobe would have been the eldest daughter of John Near ad Sabrina Hotchkiss.My gggrandmother, born 2 years later than Pheobe, was born in York, Washtenaw Co., MI.John Near was a shoemaker by trade, supplying stores and most individuals in the area with their footwear.In May of 1847, the family (including Pheobe's gramndparents - I don't have names) moved 70 miles further north to "the forest of Michigan".There, with the help of willing neighbors, and an uncle who had preceeded them to the area a few months before, the men built a large log house for their family and a smaller one for the grandparents just fourteen feet away.A large barn was built and the family settled in to this farm 9 miles from Byron.John Near was appointed postmaster and served in that position until 1862.The family moved to Ft. Atkinson IA in May of 1867.John Near started a grocery and general merchandise store, and three years later, on July 4th 1870 sisters Pheobe and Hattie Near married brothers Eugene and Theron Bingham and settled on a nearby farm. The death date of Pheobe Near Bingham mentioned in these reminiscences in March 2nd 1882 in Ft. Atkinson.Close enough to March 4th (yours is probably correct - I'll make a note).I'll be happy to make copies of the six pages of GGGrandma's reminiscences of their life in Michigan, if you'd like - not much specific information, but interesting to get a feel of what their life was like!If you'd like to e-mail me your snail mail address, I'll send them your way.