By Staff
NILES – As with so many of the stories those who rest in Silverbrook tell us, the story of Kneeland Sweet is larger than the small raised stone designating his final resting place might suggest.
His heritage introduces us to a number of interesting places both as specific locations and in time.
Kneeland Sweet, son of Timothy, was born in Pompey, New York, Feb. 5, 1794.
The town of his birth had its own notoriety, as it was also the birthplace of Lady Randolph Churchill (Jan. 9, 1884), the adventurous mother of Sir Winston Churchill, and William George Fargo (May 20, 1818), founder of the Wells-Fargo Company and later mayor of Buffalo, N.Y. and President of the American Express company.
In the family history it states, "he received the best education attainable in that day, being sent by his father to Johnstown Academy for the Polish. In 1820 he came in possession of the "Old Homestead," about 300 acres of land, and heavily stocked with horses, sheep and cattle, and implements of every kind, the most complete in town."
In 1819, he married Julia Ann Kennedy of Marcellus, also in Onondaga County, N.Y. and about 1833 they moved to nearby Manlius. Then in 1842, they moved to Mason, Mich.
Mrs. Sweet died in 1866 in Granby, Mo., where they moved in 1842. Their children are listed as: "Warren G., a farmer at Granby, Mo., Loren, a farmer and merchant at Mason, J. Frances who married the Hon. James A. Chase and resided at Buffalo, William G., a farmer at Mason, Isabel, who married the Hon. Jerome B. Fitzgerald, Edgar B. and Andalusia, who died young and Frederick K., who became a druggist at Lockport, N.Y."
It seems that Sweet came to live with daughter Isabel, after her husband returned to Niles in 1864 following his retirement from a New York City law practice that he had run for the previous 14 years. Prior to that Fitzgerald had been a State Senator in 1847 and '48.
And so it is that the story of Kneeland Sweet is more about his relatives than of any great feats of his own. Perhaps most interesting of these was his father, Timothy.
Timothy Sweet was born in East Greenwich, R.I., Oct 24, 1753. Of his early life we know nothing, but at the dawn of the Revolutionary War, he enlisted under Col. Seth Warren, and was at the taking of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point.
In the autumn of 1775, he was captured at "the cedars" in the expedition against St. Johns, Canada and was taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia and afterwards to New York, and placed in the Sugar House Prison.
An Internet seaarch revealed that during the British occupation of New York (1776-1783), the Rhinelander Sugar House was turned into a notorious prison.
The story that accompanies a picture of the one-time prison says "this was a brick warehouse into which American prisoners of war and private citizens, suspected of helping the patriots, were thrown. Sanitary conditions were frightful and starvation was a constant threat, so that its evil reputation was well earned, and its death toll unbelievably high."
It is no wonder then that the family history says of father Timothy: "here he lay for years, and in the fear of death from the inhumanity of his keepers, he enlisted into the British army as a servant to Captain Miles. As soon as health and strength permitted, he escaped from Long Island to the Connecticut shore, but not daring to join the Continental army for fear of a recapture, he visited Salisbury, Conn.; where in Sept 1780, he married Eunice Woodworth."
They emigrated to Saratoga, were within the sound of the great battle, and Eunice personally saw the surrender of Burgoyne. They emigrated to Pompey in 1794 from Salisbury, reaching what was referred to earlier as the "Old Homestead," on the 28th day of January, where within eight days, Kneeland was born.
There seems a great likelihood that his father's days in the Sugar House Prison may have continued to haunt him. In the family history they note that about the time he distributed his land among his children, he retired from active life at 65, in full health and active faculties. However, it seemed that "the giving up of all activity and responsibility in wordly affairs, was a sudden start in the down-hill of life, which he descended rapidly, and 20 years that might have been usefully spent, was absolutely squandered, and the last few of them in mental darkness. He died March 7, 1837."
Do some hints of the life of the man buried in Silverbrook remain in what we do know?
His father was a great farmer according to all records and reportedly raised some prize cattle. There are clues that suggest Kneeland was also involved in agriculture.
Records of the State Agricultural Society of Michigan show him as a member of the "Awarding Committee" for cattle at the Third Annual Fair of Ingham County's Agricultural Society in 1857. It seems that four of five sons who lived into adulthood were also farmers.
Did Kneeland follow his father's footsteps, for a time, as a soldier? The Niles Daily Mirror of July 13, 1881 following his death stated, "He was in the War of 1812 and drew a pension."
This is further verified by a small line in the listing of an "Index Of Awards On Claims Of The Soldiers Of The War Of 1812" that has Kneeland Sweet of Ingraham, N.Y. as the recipient of $68.
Porter B Fitzgerald of Chicago, grandson of Kneeland, was later listed on the "National Register of the Sons of the Revolution" indicating a pride in a family history of service passed down to the next generations.
He was perhaps a religious man. A record simply entitled "Pompey Reunion" shows him as the largest contributor, $130, to construction of a Protestant Episcopal Church which "may be applied on payment to the purchase of a pew."
There is an inkling of social standing as well. In "Pioneer Times in the Onondaga County" by Carroll Earll Smith and Charles Carroll Smith; this entry: "New Years ball at the house of Kneeland Sweet in Pompey, Jan. 2, 1821. To participate in the pleasures of a social ball come and trip it as you go on the light fantastic toe."
This journey into history through the lives of those buried in Silverbrook Cemetery is one you can be part of. If you are interested in joining the efforts in caring for the local history of Silverbrook Cemetery, contact: Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery c/o 508 E. Main St. Niles MI 49120, Tim and Candace Skalla at 684-2455, wskalla@sbcglobal.net or contact Ginny Tyler at 684-3687, SPHINX1974@aol.com.