MySource:Welltester/The Stucks Come To Michigan

On Page 796 in the Biographical Sketch for William H. Belcher:

The wife of our subject, to whom he was married April 17, 1873, was formerly Miss Mary Stuck, who was born in Wright Township, March 16, 1849. Her parents were Samuel and Eliza (Silvernail) Stuck, who came to this township in its pioneer days. Samuel Stuck was born in Seneca County, N.Y., March 10, 1815, and was the son of Michael Stuck, a native of Pennsylvania. The paternal great-grandfather of Mrs. Belcher was a native of Germany, whence he emigrated when a young man, and located in Pennsylvania, where he lived a few years, then took up his residence among the pioneer settlers of Seneca County, N.Y. He secured a large tract of timber land in Fayette Township, and improved a farm, upon which he spent the remainder of his life.

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Belcher was but a boy when his parents removed from Pennsylvania to New York, where he grew to manhood, was married in Seneca county, and settled in Fayette Township. Like his father before him, he cleared a farm from the wilderness and lived there until 1837. Then resolving to go West he came to Pittsford Township, this county, and purchasing forty acres of land, here spent his last days, his death taking place about Feb. 20, 1888.

Mrs. Susan (Smith) Stuck, the paternal grandmother of Mrs. Belcher, was also a native of Pennsylvania, and spent her last years in Pittsford Township. The father of Mrs. B. was reared in his native town, and resided there with his parents until 1836. That year he first visited the Territory of Michigan, and maintained himself by taking jobs at chopping and clearing land. In the fall of that year he returned to New York State, where he spent the winter, and early in the spring following came back to Michigan, accompanied by his parents, besides a brother and two sisters. They made the journey via the Erie Canal and steamer to Detroit, and thence overland with an ox-team to this county, and located in Pittsford Township. Mr. Stuck here entered forty acres of land, but being unmarried continued making his home with his parents. He employed himself as before, working for different parties, chopping and clearing land until his marriage. Soon afterward he had occasion to go to Lanesville, now Hudson, Lenawee County, and started on his return home after nightfall. He soon found the wolves upon his track, and sought shelter in a vacant log cabin upon a high beam, upon which he crawled and sat there all night. The wolves, in the meantime, there being no means of keeping them out of the cabin, sat on the ground looking wistfully at him, but being unable to reach him, remained until daylight, and then "silently stole away."

At the time of his marriage Mr. Stuck settled in Wright township, in the midst of a timber tract of forty acres on section 4, where he built a log cabin and commenced housekeeping. Deer and wild turkeys were plentiful, also wolves. Mr. Stuck still secured his hard cash by working out for his neighbors, and put in all his leisure time clearing his own land and preparing the soil for cultivation. In 1845 he had about twenty acres in productive condition, then sold out, and purchased the homestead which his widow now occupies. There his death took place Feb. 10, 1888. He had in the meantime cleared the greater part of this latter farm, and provided it with a good set of frame buildings, besides planting an orchard and trees of the smaller fruits.

The mother of Mrs. Belcher, who in her girlhood was Miss Eliza Silvernail, became the wife of Samuel Stuck on the 20th of July 1840. She was born in Ontario County, N.Y., June 26, 1821, and although approching the sunset of life, is in the enjoyment of good health and all her mental faculties unimpaired. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTES: In the bolded part of paragraph 3, I believe that one of the sisters was Juliann (Stuck) Wilson since Samuel Stuck was one of her younger brothers. From three different diverse sources, I calculate that the Richard Wilson family came to Michigan in 1837. So if Juliann was one of the "sisters", she would not come without her husband and two small sons that they had at that time, Michael and Elijah. Now whether they ever spent any time in Pittsford Township or Hillsdale County, I do not know because the first record of him in Michigan is the 1845 Michigan Census where he is shown in Raisin township, Lenawee County.