"Mug books" are collections of biographical sketches usually found within county histories of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, particularly in the United States. On Mondays, I'm highlighting ancestors or relatives who were featured in these mug books.
Ethan Allen WESTBROOK was the seventh of the eight children of my fifth-great-grandparents, Peter and Fannie (MARBLE) WESTBROOK, and a brother of my fourth-great-grandmother, Amanda (WESTBROOK) KIMBALL.
He was a Civil War soldier whom I featured in my Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Series in 2008.
"E. A. Westbrook, farmer, section 16, Dayton Township, is a son of Peter and Fannie (Marble) Westbrook, and was born in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, March 29, 1837. His parents were natives of New Jersey and New York, respectively. They came to Michigan in an early day and settled in Kalamazoo County, where they were engaged in farming, and where they died.
"Mr. Westbrook was only one year old when his parents came to Michigan. He remained at home until the death of his father, since which time he has been obliged to care for himself. He came from Kalamazoo County to Newaygo County in the fall of 1867 and bought 80 acres of school land on section 16, Dayton Township, where he has since lived and now has 50 acres in cultivation.
"Dec. 31, 1865, in Kalamazoo, he married Cinderella J., daughter of Myron and Rachel Harrington, who was born in Kalamazoo County, Nov. 7, 1843. Her parents were natives of the State of New York and came to Kalamazoo County in the fall of 1843. Mr. Westbrook enlisted Oct. 10, 1861, in the 13th Mich. Inf., and served until the close of the war. He was in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Corinth, Chickamauga, Bentonville, N. C., and numerous others. He was wounded in the arm at the battle of Chickamauga, and again in the thigh at the battle of Bentonville. On account of his first wound he was unable to do service for three months, and was laid up four months by reason of the second wound. He was honorably discharged at Detroit, Mich. Since that time he has followed farming, excepting two years, when he was engaged in teaming. He receives a pension. Politically he is a Republican.
"His children, by his present wife, are: James W., born Dec. 8, 1869; Amanda L., April 6, 1875; Laura M., Dec. 12, 1876; Mabel A., April 12, 1882. Myron D. died at the age of 18 months. Mr. Westbrook had one child by a previous marriage, William P., born March 14, 1860."
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The "school land" mentioned in the second paragraph refers to the Homestead Act of 1862 in which the sale of land in Section 16 of each township was used to fund public education in that township.
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This biographical sketch was taken from Portrait and Biographical Album of Newaygo County, Michigan: Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of all the Governors of Michigan and of the Presidents of the United States. Also Containing a Complete History of the County, From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, published in Chicago by Chapman Bros., 1884. Ethan's biographical sketch was found on page 280. This county history, along with many other ones, can be found at the Internet Archive.
