The
Highland Township Historical Society |
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Original Highland Township Landowner
James Curdy
E 1/2 of SE 1/4 of Section 28 SW 1/4 of SW 1/4 of Section 34
James Curdy (sometimes McCurdy) was born
May 17, 1782, at Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and grew to manhood in Vermont.
There he was married February 17, 1807, to his first wife, Cynthia Walton, by whom
he would have nine children. The family came to Michigan circa 1834 and settled in
Livingston County. Following the death of his first wife James Curdy married second,
September 12, 1841, Mary Roberts. He died on June 3, 1848, while his wife Mary
(Roberts) Curdy died September 29, 1856. Both are buried at Parshallville Cemetery,
Hartland Township, Livingston County.
It does not appear James Curdy ever actually settled on his property in Highland Township, Oakland County. His purchases, however, would form the nucleus of the farm later owned by his son, Thomas Clarence Curdy, who settled in Highland in 1843. Compare this 1872 map of Sections 28 and 33 showing Thomas C. Curdy's holdings with the maps showing the parcels bought by his father in 1836.