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Below is a family biography included in Portrait and Biographical Record of Berrien and Cass Counties, Michigan published by Biographical Publishing Company in 1893.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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GEORGE E. BEDFORD. Energy and vigilance are among the essential qualifications for a successful agriculturist, and few men possess these good points in as great a degree as George E. Bedford, who now has a charming rural home on section 28, Silver Creek Township, Cass County, Mich. His estate now includes three hundred and sixty acres of land, most of it improved with buildings of the best construction and modern design. He is a son of the Empire State, and is of English ancestry on the father’s side, deriving much of his energy and foresight from that source. He was born in Onondaga County, February 5, 1837, to the marriage of George and Ann (Smith) Bedford.

The elder Mr. Bedford was reared on a farm in his native country, and early in life became familiar with all the duties required on the same. He was left fatherless when but a boy, but after his mother married again young Bedford found his stepfather, who was an overseer on a large farm, one of the best of men. His own father had been an English soldier and was present at the siege of Gibraltar. George Bedford, Sr., made his home with his mother until he had reached mature years, but at an early age began life’s battles for himself. As might naturally be supposed, he began his career as an agriculturist, and that continued to be his chief calling in life.

After his marriage to Miss Ann Smith, which occurred in his native country, he took passage for America and reached this country without disaster in the fall of 1835. Being without means and a stranger in a strange land, he went immediately to Syracuse, N. Y., and in Onondaga County found work as a farmer and gardener for about six years. Tempted by the rich promises held out by the then new State of Michigan, he moved his family there in the fall of 1841, and at the time of his death was one of the oldest residents of Silver Creek Township, Cass County. All his life was spent in the peaceful pursuit of farming, and he was well and favorably known throughout the county.

The eight children born to his marriage were in the order of their births as follows: George E., our subject; Hattie, wife of John Williams; Mariah, wife of Gilbert Conklin; John; Martha, wife of George Hawks; Edith, wife of Michael Garret; Jane, now deceased, the wife of John Hawks; and Alice, wife of Charles Conklin. The parents of these children were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and all their lives contributed generously to its support. He died on the 28th of February, 1889, and she too passed away a few days later.

George E. Bedford received his scholastic training in the district schools of Cass County, and as he was but four years of age when his parents settled in Michigan, all his recollections are of this State. He remembers distinctly the primitive log house in which his parents first settled, and how wild and unbroken the country was at that time. He remained with his parents until their deaths, and is now the owner of an excellent farm. He has never married. In politics he is a Democrat.

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This family biography is one of numerous biographies included in the Portrait and Biographical Record of Berrien and Cass Counties, Michigan published in 1893. 

View additional Cass County, Michigan family biographies here: Cass County, Michigan Biographies

View a map of 1911 Cass County, Michigan here: Cass County Michigan Map

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