Alexander Bain

1835 - 1920  (85 years)

• Name	Alexander Bain  [1, 2]
  Birth	1835	Canada   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1920	Deerfield Township, MI   [1, 2]
  Person ID	I0185	MyTree
  Last Modified	14 Mar 2018

  
  

  Father	William Bain,   b. 6 Feb 1809, Scotland, United Kingdom d. 18 Jul 1875, Deerfield, Livingston, MI, USA (Age 66 years)
  Mother	Janet Anderson,   b. 15 May 1815, Scotland, United Kingdom d. 29 May 1899, Center, Emmet, MI, USA (Age 84 years)
  Family ID	F0423	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Jennette C.,   b. 1847, Michigan d. 1922 (Age 75 years)
  Children	1. Albert Bain,   b. 1878, Michigan d. 1926 (Age 48 years)   2. Elverson Bain,   b. Abt 1871, Michigan   3. Mary Bain,   b. Abt 1877, Michigan   4. Katie Bain,   b. Abt 1882, Michigan   5. William A Bain,   b. Abt 1866, Michigan
  Family ID	F0435	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Mar 2018

  
  

• Notes

  According to History of Livingston County, Michigan. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers. Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885, the first post office in Deerfield Township was established in 1837-38. The intention was to call it "Deerfield" but since there was an established post office by the same name in Lenawee County, Alfred Holmes, the first postmaster applied for the name "Deer Creek" and it was granted. He kept the post office in his blacksmith shop a little south of the west quarter post of section 17. In 1843 the office was transferred to John How who moved it to his house in section 6 where it remained for 17 years. When Mr. How died in 1848 he was succeeded first by his son William until his own death in 1864 when it was transferred to his widow for a few months and then it was transferred again to a Darius Lewis who for "private reasons" kept it on his front stoop. His successor was Alexander Bain, who kept it at his ashery. Bain was succeed by William Henderson in 1879 where the post office was kept in his store. An ashery is a factory that converts hardwood ashes into lye, potash, or pearlash. Asheries were common in newly-settled areas of North America during the late 18th century and much of the 19th century, when excess wood was available as settlers cleared their land for farming. Hardwood ashes contain abundant levels of potassium carbonate and potassium hydroxide, the principle components of the products being produced. Lye was produced by soaking ashes in hot water, filtering out the ashes, and repeating with fresh ashes as necessary to obtain the desired alkalinity in the resulting liquid. This liquid, commonly called lye could then be mixed with fats to produce soft soap, or it could be evaporated (often by boiling) to produce pot ash or black salts which still contained dark carbon impurities. The potash could then be baked in a kiln to further refine the substance into a pearly white material called pearl ash, pearl-ash or pearlash. The lye and potash stages were commonly performed on site by the settlers themselves, and the asheries only performed the final step and most difficut step of converting the black salts to pearlash. The product was often shipped to Great Britain where it was used in the production of glass and ceramic wares.

  
  

• Sources

  [S0087] Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees, (Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;;), Database online. Record for William Bain [S0087] Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees, (Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;;), Database online. Record for Alexander Bain