George Anson Starkweather

Who is George Anson Starkweather?

George Anson Starkweather was an American merchant, schoolteacher, lawyer, farmer, greenhouse owner, banker, Plymouth Village President, Plymouth Township Supervisor, philanthropist, leading community member and firm believer in education who, during the 1850s, served one term in the Michigan Legislature, representing Plymouth.

Described as the first non-Native American born in what is now known as the city of Plymouth in Michigan's Wayne County, George Anson Starkweather, who is not to be confused with his uncle, a New York political figure named George Anson Starkweather, or several other distant cousins also named George Anson Starkweather, was a first cousin to John Converse Starkweather and a descendant of Robert Starkweather who came from the British Isles in 1641 and settled the area referred to as the Cornhill Section of Boston.

Having studied law in New York, he returned home to Plymouth, established himself as a pillar of the community and helped to bring a railroad route to Plymouth, through what is now known as "Old Village" or "Lower Town".