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SOURCE: 
Centennial Edition of the Lapeer County Press and Lapeer County Clarion
dated Wednesday, August 19, 1931
Commemorating 100 Years of History and Progress
Lapeer  1831 - 1931

Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott
for the U.S. Data Repository  http://www.us-data.org/

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              HOME OF EARLY SETTLER NOW FORMS TWO LAPEER HOMES
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   Standing at 7 Park street is a   |  from A. N. Hart, one of the first
small cottage.  It is now occupied  |  settlers, and built there his own
by a Mrs. Glover.  Not so very far  |  shop.  This was located on the
distant, 110 Pine street, to be ex- |  exact site now occupied by the
act was a somewhat larger home      |  road office.  A blacksmith shop was
occupied by Mr. and Mrs. J. W.      |  also located there.
Higley.  These two places were at   |     Some few years later T. H. West
one time joined and joined the      |  died.  This was but a few months
home of Mr. and Mrs. T. H. West.    |  after the present Ed West was
and family who were early settlers  |  born.  The house in which the West
in Lapeer.                          |  family had lived was sold, the rear
   The oldest child of the West     |  half being moved to the place where
family was a girl.  She is Mary D.  |  it now stands on Park street, and
West, age 83, now living at 90 Park |  the front half was moved just a
street with her brother, T. Edward  |  few feet north on the site where
West, the youngest of the family,   |  it now stands. Both halves have
now 74 years old.  There were three |  been somewhat altered but the Pine
other children but all are dead now.|  street section has been changed the
        CAME HERE IN 1835           |  most.
   In telling about the family his- |     The West family lived in the Pine
tory, Miss West told of how her     |  street portion until about 50 years
mother's father, Ralph Gates, came  |  ago when they moved to the house
to Lapeer in 1835, four years after |  they now occupy on the corner of
Lapeer was founded.  Grandfather    |  Park and Washington streets.
Gates was a shoemaker, and soon     |           WAS POSTMASTER
after he settled here, established  |     Ed West for many years has
a tannery, conducting both line of  |  worked at various businesses. He
business for several years.  Pre-   |  at one time was postmaster in La-
vious to coming to Lapeer, Mr.      |  peer and has worked for the firm
Gates had married.  To this union   |  of Yorker & Keiser as a cabinet
were born five boys and three girls.|  maker and wood finisher.  A few
One of these daughters, Ann Cath-   |  years ago Mr. West became seri-
erine Gates, married T. H. West,    |  ously ill and never has quite re-
who came here some time after the   |  covered.  Today he does odd jobs
Gates family had been established.  |  of refinishing old pieces of furni-
These were the parents of Miss      |  ture and is considered a master
Mary West and Ed West now liv-      |  craftsman at this sort of work.  His
ing here.                           |  sister Mary keeps house for him.
   Miss West tells of living in a   |
house located on the rear of the    |
lot on the corner of Pine and Park  |
streets, where the County Road      |
Commission office is now located.   |
For a time T. H. West, Miss West's  |
father, worked for others as a wag- |
on maker but he soon decided to     |
establish a business for himself.   |
        BUYS HART LOT               |
This he did and bought a lot        |