Peter Van Every

Peter Van Every (January 3, 1795 – December 20, 1859) was an American farmer, merchant, and politician who served in the Michigan House of Representatives in the first years of Michigan's statehood.

Peter Van Every
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the Wayne County district
In office
November 2, 1835 – January 1, 1837
Personal details
Born(1795 -01-03)January 3, 1795
near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
DiedDecember 20, 1859(1859-12-20) (aged 64)
Political party

Biography

Peter Van Every was born near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on January 3, 1795. His parents moved the family to Michigan when he was an infant. He served as a private during the War of 1812, and was promoted to the position of quartermaster of a regiment.[1] He was present when General William Hull surrendered Detroit to the British.[2] Following the war, Territorial Governor Lewis Cass commissioned him as a colonel in the militia.[1]

Van Every lived on a 400-acre (160 ha) farm in Hamtramck, Michigan,[1] where he engaged in the meat and hotel business. He served for several years on the Michigan Territorial Council.[2] He was a delegate to Michigan's first state constitutional convention in 1835, and was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives and served during its first session. He was a Democrat until 1837, when he switched parties and became first a Whig and later a Republican.[1]

In 1837, Van Every exchanged his Detroit property for land near Franklin, Michigan, the owner of which had been forced to give it up due to financial failures.[3] On his tract of 1,500 acres (610 ha), he farmed, built a grist mill, and carried on mercantile trade.[2] The grist mill was for two years was the only one in Oakland County where farmers could sell their wheat. He also built a distillery in 1837, and a potashery the next year.[3]

Van Every died on December 20, 1859, and is buried in Franklin Cemetery.[4]

Family

Van Every was married to Amy Deer, and they had 15 children: Peter, Polly, William, Martha, James, Andrew J., Susan, Amy, John, George, Louisa, Lavinia, Walter, and one who died as an infant.[5]

Notes
  1. Bingham 1888, p. 654.
  2. Chapman Bros. 1891, p. 619.
  3. Durant & Peirce 1877, p. 325.
  4. Find A Grave 2011.
  5. Chapman Bros. 1891, pp. 619–620.
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References
  • Bingham, Stephen D. (1888), Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators, Lansing: Thorp & Godfrey, retrieved 2018-11-30
  • Durant, S. W.; Peirce, H. B. (1877), History of Oakland County, Michigan, Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co., retrieved 2018-11-30
  • Michigan Manual (1877–78 ed.), Lansing: W. S. George & Co., 1877, retrieved 2018-11-30
  • Portrait and Biographical Album of Oakland County, Michigan, Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1891, retrieved 2018-11-30
  • "Tombstone of Peter Van Every", Find A Grave, May 25, 2011, retrieved 2018-11-30
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