Joseph P. Shoemaker A Former Mohawk Resident Makes Good
Joseph P. Shoemaker's biography was submitted by Paul Horvat,
a Van Allen family researcher. From "History of Ionia & Montcalm Counties, MI, with
Illustrations," pages 457 and 458, Fair Plains Twp.

Biography taken from History of "Ionia & Montcalm Counties, MI, with
Illustrations," pages 457 and 458, Fair Plains Twp.
Joseph P. Shoemaker was born at Mohawk, NY, Aug. 30, 1820. He attended the
district school until 1837, when the family removed to Joliet, IL, where he
attended select school, such as the country afforded at that early day. In 1840
he joined his brother at Sandusky, OH, who was chief engineer of the Mad River
and Lake Erie and the Little Miami Railroads, then in course of construction, and
remained with him one year; was with the engineers in locating the road.
In 1842 he was engaged in merchandise and buying grain at Republic, OH, and in
1852 went to Covington, KY and engaged in the manufacture of iron, having charge
of a rolling-mill. In 1855 he came to Michigan and engaged in farming at
Jackson. In 1859 was appointed postmaster at Jackson, which office he held until
1861, when he removed to Fair Plains, Montcalm County, and engaged in farming and
lumbering. Having purchased a half-interest in sixteen hundred acres of land
with Martin P. Follett, upon which there was a saw-mill, they at once erected a
grist-mill. In 1863, Mr. Shoemaker purchased Mr. Follett's interest in the
property, and continued the improvements until he now has two hundred acres under
a good state of cultivation. In 1867, Mr. Shoemaker laid out the village of
"Amsden," had a post-office established there and a number of buildings erected.
In 1872 he built a large mill for the manufacture of lumber, which was destroyed
by fire in 1877, together with a large quantity of lumber. This was a heavy loss
to Mr. Shoemaker, and a severe blow to the small village, yet the enterprising
founder continues in the even tenor of his way.
Politically, Mr. Shoemaker was a Democrat until 1878, when he joined the
Greenback party, was nominated and elected to the State Senate, and discharged
the duties of that office to the satisfaction of all. In all local affairs of
the town Mr. Shoemaker takes an active part, his name usually appearing in the
roll of officers.
He was married in 1845 to Sarah A. Amsden, daughter of T.G. Amsden, and early
settler of Bellevue, OH. To them have been born seven children, five of whom are
now living, three sons and two daughters. The oldest daughter married G.W.
Cummings, and lives in California; Thomas is a farmer in Macomb County; Elizabeth
lives at home; Robert is a railroad man, and lives in Kentucky; Randolph is in
California.
Mr. Shoemaker is one of the substantial citizens of the county. He bears an
unblemished reputation, and a character for unimpeachable integrity, and is
respected by all who know him.
October 17, 2003: Found (while browsing through my many in-progress, and "lost/ dangling/ dropped ball" project files and 2,000+
site visitor and volunteer emails stored on 4 computers), was this
letter from Paul Horvath from November 2002, regarding the bio of Joseph P. Shoemaker, b. Aug. 30, 1820:
"I about fell over when I saw that this couple moved to Joliet, IL, my home town.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I checked the IGI (International Genealogical Index) and Ancestral
File to see if I could find his ancestry. Through the IGI, I determined that he was the son of Robert Shoemaker and Catherine Meyer. Their children were:
Maria Catharina, bp. Dec. 3, 1809 Ref. Protestant Dutch Church, Herkimer, NY
Matthew, b. Nov. 16, 1813, German Flatts, NY
Robert Myers, b. Oct. 21, 1815, German Flatts, NY
Michael, b. Apr. 6, 1818, German Flatts, NY
Joseph Peter, b. Aug. 30, 1820, German Flatts, NY
Elizabeth, b. Jan. 20, 1823, German Flatts, NY
Margaret, b. May 21, 1825, German Flatts, NY
Gertrude Herkimer, Mar. 6, 1828. Another source says her name was Gertrude Helmer and gives her birth date as May 3, 1828.
Robert Shoemaker, according to the submission in the Ancestral File, was the son of John Joseph
Shoemaker, b. Aug. 29, 1747 in German Flatts, NY, md. 1771 to Mary Polly Smith, b. May 26, 1753 in
England. John Joseph d. 1800 and his wife, Mary, d. July 21, 1825 at Herkimer. John Joseph was the son
of Rudolph Shoemaker and Gertrude Herkimer. Rudolph was the son of Thomas Schumacher and Dorothea Hess.
I saw an entry in the Herkimer County guest book that said Thomas' wife was Anna Dorothea Korsing.
The source for the information submitted into the Ancestral File was:
Rex E. Stevenson, Jr.
116 Riverlake Drive
Woodstock, GA 30188-3220
Was this the founder of the Herkimer County genweb site? [Yes. Rex passed away in early 1997. The ancestry of
Mary "Polly" Smith was one of Rex's brick walls.]
I hope this information helps someone."
Paul
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