Yesterday I shared the remarkable recollections of my 4X great grand uncle, Adin Manly, who wrote in his own words about the hardships he and his wife, Miriam, endured as early settlers of western New York. Among the details of his long life, Adin wrote proudly that he and Miriam had raised ten children, all of whom had lived to adulthood.

One of those children was their son, Nathan Manly.

Born in Clarkson, Monroe County, New York in 1831, Nathan grew up in a world his parents had struggled so hard to build. He received his early education at Brockport Seminary and married Ellen Webster in October 1853. Then in April 1854, less than one year after their marriage, Nathan and Ellen did something strikingly similar to what Adin himself had done as a young man nearly 40 years earlier.

They went west.

The destination was Michigan, where Nathan and Ellen settled in Deerfield Township, Lenawee County. There the pioneer’s son would spend more than half a century building a life of his own – as a farmer, teacher, wagon maker, township clerk, justice of the peace, postmaster, church musician, and longtime Mason.

More than a century after Nathan’s death, I found his grave here in Michigan, less than half an hour from my home. At the time, I knew exactly who he was and how he fit into my Manly/Manley tree.

However, after spending this week immersed in the words of his father, Adin, I find myself looking at that old photograph of Nathan’s stone a little differently.

This is what became of one of Adin and Miriam (Dewing) Manly’s ten children.

Also buried in Deerfield, Michigan in the Manly plot is Nathan’s wife, Ellen (Webster) Manly and their granddaughter, adopted daughter of their son, Dr. Ora Manly, Leola H. Manly. Leola died from ‘appendicitis and blood poisoning’ at the age of 15.

It should be noted that the surname ‘Manly’ and ‘Manley’ are used interchangeably in my lineage. It seems like, for the most part, the descendants of Adin Manly omitted the ‘E’ while the descendants of his older brother, Howard Manley (my 4X great grandfather) used the ‘E’ in future generations.