Ezra Pritchard is my th great-grandfather. He lived alone on an island in a lake near Roscommon, Michigan. The exact reason Pritchard decided to lives as a recluse are unknown, but there are rumors that he was a wanted man. Some said he accidentally killed his wife. Others say he was a "bounty jumper" and deserter during the Civil War.
Israel(or Ezra) Porter Pritchard was born in New York about 1828, by Canandaigua Lake. He was apprenticed to a blacksmith by the name of Joseph Boswell around 1850.
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| 1850 Census of Canandaigua, New York |
He met and married Susanna Fox sometime soon after and their first three children were born in New York, Edwin(1856), William George(1858) and a newborn infant son(1860).
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| 1860 Census of Bristol, New York |
In 1862, on the 29th of August, Ezra enlisted in the Union army during the Civil War. A bounty jumper would accept the bounty which was paid by the different states to enlist and then desert, only to enlist again in another state and collect the bounty for that state as well. Rumor has it that Pritchard managed to collect bounties in seven states! He deserted the army May 20, 1963 at David's Mill, Virginia; so if he wasn't a bounty jumper, he was still a deserter and that would have made him a fugitive of the law!
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| New York Civil War Muster Roll 1862 |
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| 1890 Veterans Schedules for Roscommon, Mich. |
Regardless, Ezra Pritchard was granted 160 acres of bounty land on November 5th, 1878. Civil War veterans could claim double the land in land grant areas than other people were allowed (160 acres as opposed to 80 acres).
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| U.S. Land Office Records, Deed of 160 acres |
In the years following the Civil War, Ezra settled on his land in Falmouth, Michigan and started farming. He had more children, Houghton(1869).
July 11, 1873 Ezra Pritchard was sitting in his doorway with a loaded shotgun in his hands, he pulled back the hammer, which, for some reason or other, wouldn't stand cocked, and slipping from his hands, the gun was discharged, and the load of fine shot with which it was loaded took effect in his wife's leg, between the knee and ankle, inflicting a severe wound. What adds greatly to the severity of the accident is that the extreme pain caused her to be delivered of a pair of twins, both of whom are dead. The doctors amputated her limb, in hopes of her recovery, but she died Monday morning at three o'clock, nearly four hours after the operation was performed. Mrs Pritchard was formerly a resident of Evart, and moved to Falmouth with her husband sometime last summer.
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| 1900 Census of Norwich(Moorestown), Mich. |
Ezra Pritchard was a tall, spare man with a full beard and long scraggly hair, but he had a kindly manner and kind eyes. He lived in a small one room cabin that was first built on the island by Mr. Felix Flynn. Many used to row over to the island to see the hermit, for all were curious about him. His children and family were well-respected and wealthy, but none could persuade him to leave the island. In the summer of 1900, a local boy, Lloyd L Harmon, visited the island and found Pritchard ill. He brought him food and medicine. The following season, Lloyd attempted to bring him blankets and food, but found him dead.
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| Times Herald Port Huron, Aug. 16, 1902 |
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