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.

288

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Mack; and, as was the custom of the times, they freely circulated the
flowing bowl.
COLONELS MACK, FATHER AND SON
In I820 Mr. Conant retired from the firm of Mack, Conant & Sibley,
and the two remaining partners continued the business until the Colonel's
death in 1826. About 1823 Colonel Mack built a distillery, which was
run in connection with the flour mill and in I824 also erected and
operated a small woolen mill. The latter contained one set of machinery,
for carding, spinning and weaving, and in its day did quite a business.
In the meantime Almon Mack, the son of the Colonel, had come to
Pontiac (1822), had taken charge of the mill business and become his
father's active manager. A daughter of the Colonel also came on to
keep house for her father. These, with an adopted daughter, occupied
what was known as the company's building, which was used both as a
dwelling and an office. Miss Lovina Mack, the daughter mentioned,
died September 2, 1823, and this is believed to have been the first death
of an adult white woman in Oakland county. The father died in November, I826, and was buried near his daughter on land which he owned on
the east side of the river south of Pike street. The bodies were afterward disinterred and buried in Oak Hill cemetery.
Colonel Mack raised a family of twelve children. Joseph Smith, the
Mormon prophet, was a cousin of the Macks, and visited Oakland county
several times previous to his removal to Illinois. Almira, one of the
Colonel's nine daughters, joined the Mormons at an early day and followed their fortunes to Utah. About 1846 Mrs. Colonel Mack joined
this daughter at Salt Lake and remained with her until her death ten
years later.
Almon Mack, the third son of the Colonel, became quite prominent
in business and military matters. In his earlier years he had received
a military training at the Vermont Military College, Norwich, and eventually became a colonel in the Michigan state militia; so that both father
and son were legitimate "colonels."
SETTLERS OF 1822-I836
The same year of Almon Mack's arrival also saw the coming of S.
L. Millis, Joseph Morris, Asa Murray and Capt. Joseph Bancroft.
Among others who became settlers of Pontiac and vicinity prior to
1837, the year of its incorporation, may be mentioned the following:
1823-John Southard, Ira Goodrich, Chester Webster and Joseph
Harris.
I824-E. B. Comstock, Francis J. Smith, Merritt Ferry, Henry W.
Thomas, Deacon Jacob N. Voorheis, John Powell and Hon. Thomas J.
Drake.
I825-D. C. Buckland, S. T. Murray and H. W. McDonald.
1826-Laban Smith and Ira Stowell, Sr.
I827-Origen D. Richardson.
1828-Luke Phillips.