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Submitted by Cheryl VanWormer

			HON. ADAM L. AND CLARISSA (KNOX) ROOF.*

	Hon. Adam L. Roof, of Lyons, Ionia Co., was born at Canajoharie, Montgomery Co., N. Y., 
Feb. 22, 1810.  His grandfather, Johannes Roof, was a captain under Gen. Herkimer; his uncle, 
John Roof, was colonel under the same commander, and fought with courage in the battle of 
Oriskany, near Fort Stanwix.(**)  The maternal grandfather of Judge Roof, Philip Van Alstine, was
an ardent patriot in the war of the Revolution.  His father built Fort Van Rensselaer on the 
east bank of Canajoharie Creek, where it may still be seen, having been little injured by the 
ravages of time.  He was a member of the State Legislature in 1798.  In 1828, Judge Roof entered 
Williams College, where he remained two years.  He then went to Hamilton College, from which he 
graduated in 1832.  The following year he was appointed division quartermaster, with the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel, on Maj.-Gen. Schemerhorn's staff, by Hon. William L. Marcy, then Governor of 
the State of New York.  He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the State of New York 
in august, 1836.
	In the same month he left his native residence, in company with his friend, A. F. Bell, 
to seek his fortune in the West.  They reached the city of Monroe, Mich., and were advised to go 
to Ionia, where the general government had established a land-office, which was about to be 
opened for the sale of public lands.  On the 28th of August they arrived at Jackson, then a 
village of about fifty inhabitants.  Here they ascertained, much to their disappointment, that 
there were no roads leading to the interior, the land between there and Ionia, a distance of 
eighty miles, being an unbroken wilderness.  They had a boat built, and on the morning of the 1st
of September launched it at the junction of Portage and Grand Rivers and continued their journey.  Three days after they camped on the west bank of Grand River, on section 16, where the city of Lansing now stands.  After suffering many perils and hardships they reached Portland, which then contained in all four log houses.  Here, aft!
er singing the <I>Te Deum<I> for their safe deliverance, they rested during the night.  The next 
day they proceeded to Lyons, a little village of three log houses.  This place was so inviting, 
its surroundings so beautiful, and its future prospects so encouraging that they concluded to 
make it their future home.  They suffered, however, many privations of pioneer life, being at one
time ten weeks without bread.  During the fall of 1836, Michigan was made a State.  The county of 
Ionia at that time contained about four hundred inhabitants, widely scattered over a large area, 
and little employment was to be had.  Judge Roof and Mr. Bell spent the first two years of their 
residence in the county in laying out cities, making State roads and public highways, and in 
private surveys.  In 1838 the county of Ionia was organized, and Judge Roof was elected the first
register of deeds.  In October of that year he married Clarissa, eldest daughter of Henry Knox, a 
general in the Revolutionary war, and was a direct descendant of John Knox, the Scotch Reformer.
	In 1840, Mr. Roof was appointed prosecuting attorney by Governor Barry.  In 1842 he was 
elected representative to the State Legislature by a large Democratic majority, although the 
district, which was composed of the counties of Kent, Ottawa, Ionia, and Clinton, had been for 
many years represented by the Whigs.  As the farmers of the upper counties had no means of 
shipping their produce, they were desirous to obtain an appropriation of public land sufficient 
to construct a canal around Grand Rapids, which would enable them to obtain cheap transportation 
by the river and upper lakes.  The people of the southern part of the State were working for the 
construction and extension of the Michigan Central Railroad, and, as they wanted all the public 
lands, vigorously opposed every effort to obtain grants elsewhere in the State.  Through the 
influence of Judge Roof, however, they were defeated, and a large appropriation of land was 
obtained for the canal and the Northern Railroad.
	In 1848, Judge Roof was elected State senator against the combined opposition of the 
Free-Soil and Whig parties.  The interest in politics ran high that years, and his election was 
hotly contested.  In 1852 he was made judge of Probate for a term of four years.  Entering upon 
the duties of his office, he found that the records of the court had not been fully kept, that 
the papers of the office were in a state of confusion, and that the cases were without proper 
forms and some without precedents.  In a short time he reduced all to order; he remodeled the old
forms and adopted new ones, all of which have since been ratified by his successors.  In 1859,
having been in poor health for many years, he retired from the practice of law and gave his 
attention to farming, which occupation he has since continued.
	During the late Rebellion he was a War Democrat; he made many speeches on the way, and 
inspired the people to such an extent that they contributed their money freely and no draft was 
found necessary in the township of Lyons.  Judge Roof has always taken pleasure in stating the 
fact that every requisition of the general government upon Lyons was promptly filled by 
volunteers.
	Judge Roof is slightly under medium size, and is well formed.  He has dark eyes, 
plentiful brown hair, a high forehead, and regular features; his movements are deliberate and 
dignified; he has a good constitution, and his habits have always been regular.  He is therefore,
both in body and mind, a well-preserved man.  He is a ripe scholar, possessing a classical taste.
His language is unusually correct and chaste, and his reasoning logical.  He is an excellent 
conversationalist.  Clear in his statements, ready in illustrations, candid, and earnest, he is 
an eloquent and effective speaker.  His counsel always commanded respect among the members of his
profession, and but for his undue modesty he might have risen to marked distinction.  As it was, 
during the period of his active practice he stood second to no lawyer in his county.  He is the 
first and oldest lawyer who settled permanently in Ionia County, and is highly esteemed.  The 
following persons, among others, studied law in his office, and from it were admitted to the bar:
A. F. Bell, H. Bartow, J. Toan, J. C. Blanchard, and his son, A. K. Roof.
	As a public officer, Judge Roof was ever at his post, correct, and incorruptible.  In 
business he has always been industrious and reliable, and now enjoys the results of his labor.  
He is a firm friend, whose advice and criticisms are of rare value.  In every public enterprise 
he has taken a deep interest, while the causes of education, temperance, morality, and religion 
have received from him substantial aid.  His opinions are formed after much thought, and adhered 
to accordingly.  His success in life is but the natural outgrowth of integrity, industry, and 
economy, governed by intelligence,--a combination of qualities well worthy of imitation.



* From "Representative Men of Michigan."

(**) See Stone's "History of the Campaign of General Burgoyne and Colonel Barry St. Leger," 
pp. 166, 196, 197.

This biography is taken from "HISTORY OF IONIA AND MONTCALM COUNTIES, MICHIGAN" 
by John S. Schenck. Philadelphia:  D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881.  Pages 263-264.  Lyons.