Legislator Details
Vital Records Information:
Marital Information:
Married
Number of Children: 0
Background
Education:
Biographical Sketch:
Son of Daniel and Cynthia Deming, Daniel Deming was born in Sharon, Connecticutt, September 25, 1804. Deming was brought up to be a farmer. He lived in Sharon until about the year 1829, when he went to Poughkeepsie, where Mr. Beecher, his brother-in-law, was engaged in the hotel business. Mr. Deming was employed as clerk in the hotel and remained there about two years. He then went to Canandaigua and acted as agent for a stage line for a time. In the spring of 1834 he came to Michigan and settled on section 26, in Dover, on the south bank of the lake which now bears his name. He was the first settler in that locality, his nearest neighbor being Samuel Warren, two miles east. He located 16o acres and cleared nearly 100 acres, built a log house and barn, and resided there until I86o. He then sold and purchased a farm on section 35, in Rome, where he resided until his death, which occurred April 7, 1871. During his residence in Dover he served the township for nine years as supervisor, besides holding the office of assessor one term and justice of the peace four years. In 1846 he was elected a member of the legislature, and during the controversy of 1847-48 in regard to the removal of the state capitol from Detroit to Lansing he took an active part, favoring the change, because, as he said, "the Detroit folks are controlling the state, and will continue to do so as long as the capitol remains there." He was re-elected in 1848 and was a member when the capitol at Lansing was dedicated. In later life, he often related his trip to Lansing to attend the first session there. He took a stage as far as Ypsilanti, engaging an ox team and sleigh to continue the journey and then walking the final distance into the village. During the session of 1848-49 he took up 16o acres of land, which is now mostly within the limits of the city of Lansing.
Notable Facts:
In the fall of 1846, while hunting deer with a party, he was shot, the ball passing through his body, a distance of eleven inches, but he recovered from the wound. In 1850 he was a candidate for state senator, and would have been elected had it not been for certain men in his own party (who had sought the nomination) bolting and working against him at the polls.