Cady Family; of Wayne Michigan
a short biography



Samuel Pratt Cady migrated from New York to Michigan in the 1830's, bringing with him, his wife and six sons. Their name remains a part of the City of Wayne, and Old Nankin Township, with Cady Street and Cady Elementary School. The area at Wayne Road and Cherry Hill is still referred to as Cady's Corners.
Many of the Cady family's personal documents and articles are held in a museum collection at the Wayne Historical Museum. Some of them are the diary of Anna Cady Butler in 1893 , her scrapbook of clippings and one of her mother's , photographs, and other family items. In the museum are 22 separate exhibits. One holds a series of photographs of some of the people who settled in the area in the 1830's. Another exhibit is a pieced quilt made in the 1850's by Mary J. Hodgkinson, the daughter of Bradshaw Hodgkinson, and later wife of Charles H. Cady. A teaching certificate of Elizabeth Ann Curtiss, dated 1840, she later married Charles Howe Cady, in 1841. There are also two copies of Wayne School Newspapers dated 1863 and 1887, the earlier copy is tied with a ribbon and has an illustration of flowers on the cover. There are other photographs of local early office holders and some pieces of furniture.

The Cady name is preserved in many public records. They are among elected officials of Nankin Township before 1890. Samuel Pratt Cady was elected Constable in 1837. His father, David Cady, was a Revoluntionary War Soldier, born in 1754. Samuel was also elected Clerk in 1840 and 1842; Supervisor in 1841; Treasurer in 1843 and 1847; and Poor Director in 1850. His son, Charles Howe Cady was elected Township Clerk in 1849, Township Supervisor in 1850 and 1843, and again Clerk in 1854. Another son, David P. Cady was also elected as Highway Commissioner several times.

Samuel Pratt Cady was born in the late 1790's in New York, the son of David Cady who was born in 1754. Samuel married Betsey Howe, the daughter of a Baptist Minister, who was born in 1802 in Albany, New York. Betsey died in 1881. They had six sons:

1. Charles Howe Cady born in 1818. He married Elizabeth Ann Curtiss in 1841. Their son, Charles H. Cady was born in 1842 and was elected to a township office in 1869. He was a school teacher and farmer, and later operated several businesses. He was elected Township Treasurer in 1876, and was on the Village School Board, and was township Superintendent of Schools. Charles married in 1864 to Mary Jeannette Hodgkinson. He became a member of the local Masonic Lodge that same year. Charles and Mary (Hodgkinson) Cady had 3 children: Alice, Anna and Samuel Bradshaw Cady.

a. Aliceworked in the Wayne Post Office and later married to William Wain, and lived in both Milan, Michigan and Northville, Michigan.

b. Samuel Bradshaw left Michigan, and settled in Ohio, where he was first connected with a firm of marine lawyers, and later became secretary-treasurer of Franklin Steamshop Company. He retired and moved to Florida, where he died.
c. Anna Cady became a deaconess evangelist and served in Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Washington States in the early 1900's. In 1916, she became a licensed local Preaaacher, and probably the first in the Detroit Conference. She returned to Michigan in 1915, and attended business school in Detroit, and took a position in Wayne , at the Detroit Edison Office. In June of 1925 Anna married Nelson Butler, a member of another Wayne City pioneer family. He died in 1949. She continued as an active member of the Methodist Church until her death in 1958.

2. David P. Cady was the second son of Betsey (Howe) and Samuel Cady .

3. Jesse Cady, became a homeopathic physician, and practiced medicine in Niles, Michigan for several years, before returning to Wayne in 1883. Jesse was also interested in woodworking and made furniture for a hobby. He moved to Coldwater, Michigan in 1891, and sold his home on the corner of Norris and Elizabeth Streets, to his younger brother, Samuel Alonzo Cady. He died the following year.

4. Samuel Alonzo Cady was born about 1827. He was elected School Inspector in 1857 and in 1890 still held this same office. He was also a school teacher, and taught in the two-room school in Wayne, at the corner of Wayne Road and Main Street. Samuel also served as Justice of the Peace and Township Supervisor in 1872. He passed away in 1901.

5. Byron Cady settled in Ann Arborn, Michigan.

6. Cholet Cady the youngest son, became a farmer and school teacher. He was also elected County School Commissioner.

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