History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Avon township-John Sargent served from I812 to I817; was stationed for a long time at Fort Gratiot.
Brandon township-James Arnold from New York; Adam Drake,
who died in 1874, aged ninety-seven years.
Commerce township-Cornelius Austin.
Farmington township-A Mr. Burns.
Oakland township-Ezra Brewster, served in Captain Lacey's company of New York militia; also Josiah Dewey and James Coleman, in
the same command.
Oxford township-Peter Stroud, served in Captain Abraham Matteson's company of New York troops.
Pontiac township-Elizur Goodrich and Robert Parks, settled in Troy
in 1822-3; former afterward moved to Auburn for a time.
Troy township-Solomon Carswell and Captain Robert Parks.
Waterford township-Isaac Willets.
NAPOLEONIC SOLDIERS
It is known that at least two soldiers of Napoleon the Great have been
residents of Oakland county-Joseph Laubley, a native of the canton
of Berne, Switzerland, who settled in Groveland township in 1836 and
died in 1841; and John Oliver, who located in Rochester about I830 and
died there about I875.
EARLY MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS
Under territorial laws every man between the ages of seventeen and
forty-five was liable to be called upon for military service, and a regiment
was organized in Oakland county as early as I825. Among its earliest
commanders were Colonel David Stewart, Henry O. Bronson and Calvin
Hotchkiss. Within a few years the regiment grew so rapidly that it had
to be divided into what were known as the Rifle and the Militia (or Floodwood) regiments.
The first company organized in Pontiac was commanded by Calvin
Hotchkiss, who subsequently rose to the rank of general of the state
militia. A general muster occurred annually in the autumn and the company drills were of frequent occurrence. At the time of the celebrated
"Toledo war" great preparations were made by the Pontiac contingency
to cover itself with glory; but its efforts, as is well known, were fruitless. In I826 Almon Mack was elected ensign of Captain Hotchkiss'
company and T. J. Drake, lieutenant. Lieutenant Drake afterward resigned and G. O. Whittemore, formerly ensign, was promoted. Ensign
Mack was promoted lieutenant in the fall of 1827 and detailed as acting
adjutant the same year.
Governor Cass was present at the general muster in 1827 and made
an address to the regiment. The Governor was a strong Jackson man
and the regiment is said to have had three Jackson men in its ranks; so
that his really interested audience was very select.
Colonel Stephen Mack, so prominent in the early affairs of Pontiac,
received his military title in Vermont previous to removing to Michigan,