Jonas Andrew Secor

Johan Andrew Secor
Jonas Andrew Secor was born in Ramsey, Franklin Township, Bergen County, New Jersey the 14th and youngest child of Elias Secor (1778-1854) and Annie Gurnee born 1787. Jonas was a direct descendent of Ambriose Sicard who had immigrated from Mornac – Sur – Seudre France in 1688.

Jonas Secor was first married to Lydia Shuart on October 15, 1842 in Bergen County, New Jersey. Lydia Shuart was the 4th child of Isaac Shuart and Annatje (Hannah) Doremus of neighboring Masonicus, New Jersey. Together Jonas and Lydia had one son, Isaac Secor born in 1843 in Hohokus, Bergen County, New Jersey. Lydia Shuart subsequently died in 1845. Following the death of his first wife, Jonas Secor and Mary Jane Doremus were married on April 12, 1845.

Mary Jane Doremus
Mary Jane Doremus was born October 2, 1826 in Bergen County, New Jersey as the first of nine children born to Abraham Doremus and Magdalena Forshay. Her father, Abraham Doremus was a 6th generation descendent of Cornelius Doremus who had emigrated from the Netherlands in 1685.

At the time of her birth, the family of Mary Jane Doremus had lived within Bergen and Hudson counties in New Jersey for almost 200 years. Bergen and neighboring Hudson counties are located in the far northeast corner of the state of New Jersey. Directly to the east across the Hudson River is New York City. Primary entrances into NYC from the west pass through this area including the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. Today this area which is heavily industrialized forms part of the New York City Metropolitan area. However into the early 1800’s this was a largely rural area of small villages and farms.

Bergen and neighboring Hudson counties are located in the far northeast corner of the state of New Jersey. Directly to the east across the Hudson River is New York City. Primary entrances into NYC from the west pass through this area including the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. Today this area which is heavily industrialized forms part of the New York City Metropolitan area. However into the early 1800’s this was a largely rural area of small villages and farms.

Ramsey is a borough located in Bergen County, New Jersey. It is situated near the New York – New Jersey border, 20 miles northwest of the George Washington Bridge leading into New York City. During the time of Jonas Secor, it was a village situated on the Isen road which ran between the city of Paramus through the clove of the Ramapo Mountains at Suffern to the colonial era iron mines of Sterling Hill and Ringwood.

Marriage
Jonas Secor and Mary Jane Doremus were married on April 12, 1845. Jonas Secor and Mary Jane Doremus moved from Bergen County, New Jersey to Cass County, Michigan during 1856-1857. They followed a great migration into the recently opened new territory. They settled in the village of La Grange.

Settlement of southwestern Michigan had been triggered by the opening in 1846 of the Michigan Central Railroad Line between Detroit and Kalamazoo with linkage to Chicago in 1852. Growth rates within the area peaked between 1845 and 1860 influenced by better transportation and the appearance of diversified industries. Migration was principally from the New York and neighboring states.

Martin Whitman, who had originally platted the village of Whitmanville, now known as La Grange in 1834, operated a saw mill and grist mill dating to 1829. The Van Riper family from Spring Valley, Ramapo Township, Rockland County, New York settled in the area in the 1850s. Abraham Van Riper moved to the village of La Grange and built a new mill for the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods.

The village of La Grange is located on the Dowagiac Creek as it flows into La Grange Lake. It can be reached on Michigan State Highway M-62 which travels southeast from Dowagiac, Michigan. La Grange is located midway between Dowagiac and Cassopolis, Michigan.

Jonas Secor died on December 26, 1887 in Cass County, Michigan at age 65 years. Mary Jane Doremus died on April 12, 1917 at age 91, in Cass County, Michigan. Both Jonas and Mary Jane Secor, together with several of their children and other relatives, were buried in the Van Riper Cemetery, La Grange Township, Cass County, Michigan. The Van Riper Cemetery is located about ¼ mile south of La Grange, about half way between Dowagiac and Cassapolis, north of highway M-62. (SW of the NW ¼ of the SE corner of Section 10, La Grange Township). Jonas Secor and Mary Jane Doremus would be the parents of 13 children.

Children

 * Isaiah -	        1843.	 New Jersey.	Mother Lydia Shuart (1st wife of Jonas Secor)
 * Mary L. -	  May   1848.	 New Jersey.	Married Charles Wesley Boring, 1869
 * James D. -  June  1850.	 New Jersey.	Wife  Carrie
 * Anthony -  June  1853.	 New Jersey.	Married Ellie Spencer 01/15/1875, Married  Augusta Doop 03/01/1880
 * Ryer -	  April 1855.	 New Jersey.     Married	 Margaret
 * Eliza Jane      1857.	 Michigan.	Married Robert Wilson
 * Joseph	-  July  1860.	 Michigan.	Married Phoebe Moore 01/01/1880
 * George D. -	 1861.	 Michigan.	Married Anna Jenkins 11/12/1888
 * Jacob -    July  1864.	 Michigan.	Wife Alice
 * Hannah	-  July  1864.	 Michigan.	Married John Van Nordstran 12/13/1902
 * Grace -    June	 1867.	 Michigan.	Died 1870 at age 3 years
 * Isaac M. - June  1867.	 Michigan.	Married Gertrude D. Dimon 4/10/1906
 * Ezra -	  Sept  1869.	 Michigan.	Married Mabel Allshouse 04/13/1907