10/16/2025
This is quite a story of the Romeo & Washington Michigan history. As I have been writing upon both villages, this is a combination of the two.
It starts in New York State. Now many of Michigan’s early inhabitants came from the East, and New York has brought to us many of our ancestors.
This story starts in Coburkille, New York in 1799 with the birth of Abner Knapp. (I haven’t found Coburkille on a map.) But in 1802 lad Abner move with his family to Hopewell, Ontario County, NY., which is halfway between Buffalo and Syracuse, New York.
Betsy Archer is born about 1803, and Abner & Betsy attend school together. The two married in Hopewell in 1819. They had three children in Hopeville, Harriet, Stephen & Jane. (In my research I read they had 10 children, though one had passed. Longevity seemed to part of their lifestyle. As Abner & Betsy were both alive just before their 75th anniversary, which I believe would have been 1894, Christmas Day. (I may research this a bit more.)
Abner came to Michigan territory following the Erie Canal & Lake Erie. He sailed 7 days from Buffalo to the then small town of Detroit with scattered houses on the river.
He travelled to the small hamlet of Pontiac. This seemed like quite a journey (back then of course). He went east toward Rochester & Mr. Knapp purchased 160 acres in ‘section 7 township 3 north of range 11 Avon ‘(I haven’t figured out exactly where this is yet.)
He bought 160 acres and eventually would clear 50 acres.
In 1826 he brought the family on the Henry Clay Steamer, the second steamer on Lake Erie from Buffalo to Detroit. It took them four days.
At the time the Detroit & Saginaw Turnpike had progressed to Pontiac. Young son, Stephen said it was a mudhole from Detroit to Royal Oak, (a close suburb to Detroit). Roads in 19th century Michigan (and America) were often in very poor shape, something that auto pioneers Henry Ford and others would have to see were overcome. (It took more than the development of the internal combustion engine to create a transportation system, that we marvel at today.)
The family bought a cow for $7 and hired an oxen team to work their land. Their Indian (Native Americans) neighbors outnumbered them 25 to 1.
Their first year they found a log home on Galaway Lake 2 ½ miles east of Pontiac.
The following spring they moved to their own land whereas I mentioned they cleared 50 acres, and they lived on it for 10 years. (It was in Oakland County I believe, near Rochester Hills, Michigan, though as of this edit, I’m not quite sure where. (Input from you the readers are most encouraged.)
Now the story takes a turn. And this was a 100 year old mystery in 1922 when an article I read in the Minden City Herald retold the details to collaborate the story in the Detroit Free Press of Sunday February 25, 1894.
A messenger from Romeo, Michigan told Mr. Knapp that his sister’s youngest son, Alanson Finch was lost. Abner joined the search for a week.
But the boy was never found!
The Finches had learned that an Indian (Native American) had carried him away. Mr. & Mrs. Finch died within a year of Alanson missing.
Now from my added research, this has added mystery.
Now the story continues with the Minden City Herald article of Friday, July 14, 1922. ‘Missing For More Than A Hundred Years, The Fate of Alanson Finch Is a Secret Which Only The Aged Trees Of The Michigan Forests Ever Can Unravel.’
Questions, was Alanson Finch kidnapped by the Indians (Native Americans), did he fall prey to wild animals. (Yes, in Romeo & Washington, Michigan there were bears, wolves and other dangerous animals to pioneer families.) Or did he drown?
In the early 1800s Albert Finch and his family moved to the wild peninsula of Michigan and settled in Washington Township of Macomb Country.
Albert Finch cleared his small property and planted corn, a staple of the pioneers to use in their food. He lived in a log cabin he and neighbors built. He and his wife raised his two small boys.
The Native Americans were plentiful but seemed peaceful. “It was later that the “firewater” of the traders began ruining their dispositions, finally costing them their domain.”
One Native American a Redman called “Kanobe” frequently visited. He took more than a casual interest in the two children. He often took young Alanson on his knee and told him ‘queer’ legends of the forests and early days and odd tales of the wind spirits and other beings.
He often talked to Alanson in the Indian language, and the boy was able to use Indian words and understand them. Alanson was apt at both Native American and the American paleface language.
Kanobe made bows and arrow for him, brought him moccasins decorated with quills of porcupines.
Then that April 1828 day, Alanson disappears. The story told by the older boy was that the two lads had gone to the sugar bush of the father some distance from the homestead clearing and were returning home. When they were about a quarter mile away, the elder boy proposed they should take different paths to see who reached home first.
Alanson presumably was delighted and was given the shortest route by his older brother and even with the shorter legs his older brother thought Alanson would beat him home.
But the elder son was puzzled. For the next half hour, the brother and mom didn’t fret. But as the hours passed the father at his sugar bush was notified and with several other residents of the vicinity started searching.
The search continued the next day(s), though it never stopped during the night.
The search party employed Native Americans to help, learned in the lore of the woods, but failed to find the lad.
Because of Kanobe’s affection he became a suspect, but he denied all knowledge of the little fellow.
Finally, the Finch and his wife had to give up the search and mourn the child lost. Later years hopes were raised ‘in their breasts’ only to be wrong.
And then in 1844, 16 years later there seemed hope! A young 20 year old man visited Romeo, Michigan near the said and said he was Alanson Finch.
He told a story about being captured and raised by Indians (Native Americans). His story seemed believable, but the mother instant in Mrs. Finch seemed to tell the mother that this man was not her son, but a stranger.
The stranger was put through a rigid cross-examination and he messed up ‘relation of a number of particulars’ and branded as an imposter. No real clue ever came from this.
Now from the Detroit Free Press article a boy’s skull had been found near the area years later. But of course in 1800s Michigan DNA or advanced forensics was unknown.
The other mysterious thing is the Detroit Free Press article mentioned that Mr. & Mrs. Finch passed away within a year after Alanson’s disappearance.
So this remains a mystery and the discrepancies in the stories that maybe just the Aged Trees of Michigan do know the real story!
