History of Halfmoon, (Saratoga County) New York United States of America

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Biographies:

John Farmer, cartographer, was born in Half Moon, Saratoga county, N.Y., Feb. 9, 1798; son of John and Catherine Jacokes (Stoutenburgh) Farmer, and a descendant of Paul Farmer. He attended school near Albany, N.Y., and for a time had charge of a Lancasterian school there. In 1821 he removed to Detroit, Mich., where he first taught school and then engaged in surveying. He drew the first published map of Michigan and subsequent to 1825 published twelve different maps of Lake Superior, Detroit, Michigan and Wisconsin, engraving nearly all of them himself. In 1831 he drew the first map of Detroit, Mich., for the governor and judges of the state. This map was submitted to congress and afterward published in the American state papers. He filled city offices in Detroit and published the first Gazetteer of Michigan (1830). He died in Detroit, Mich., March 24, 1859.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Michael Hoffman, representative, was born at Half Moon, Saratoga county, N.Y., Oct. 11, 1787. His father was born in Germany and his mother was an American of Protestant-Irish parentage. He was educated as a physician, receiving his diploma of M.D. in 1810, but afterward studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1813, and removed to Herkimer, N.Y., where he became the law partner of Aaron Hackley in 1816. In 1819 he went to Waterloo, Seneca county, where he was district attorney, 1823-25. He was a representative in the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22d congresses, serving, 1825-33. During a part of the the he was chairman of the committee on naval affairs. He was judge of Seneca county, 1830-33, and canal commissioner for New York state, 1833-36, and while holding the office prepared several able reports. In 1836 he was elected district attorney of the county, but in the same year he removed to Saginaw, Ill., where he was register of the land-office. He soon returned to Herkimer, N.Y., and was a member of the state assembly in 1841, 1842 and 1844, where he opposed the public improvement and financial policy of Governor Seward. He also opposed the annexation of Texas, but gave his support to James K. Polk in 1844. He was a delegate from Herkimer county to the New York state constitutional convention in 1846, and served as U.S. naval officer at the port of New York, 1845-48. He died in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sept. 27, 1848.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor