George A. Mitchell

George A. Mitchell (January 8, 1824 – August 5, 1878) was an American businessman, merchant, railwayman, lumber baron, and real estate developer. In the 1870s he bought 2000 acres of land in Michigan, sold it on in lots and established the village of Clam Lake. This later changed its name to Cadillac, with Mitchell being its founder and its first mayor.

Mitchell was born January 8, 1824, in Root, New York. He was the youngest member of a family of twelve children. His father was Charles Mitchell, a merchant-farmer of Montgomery County, New York. Mitchell's paternal grandfather, Andrew Mitchell, was a major in the American Revolutionary war. His mother, whose maiden name was Lydia Brown, was a descendant of Robert Barclay of the Barclay clan. Barclay was a governor of the East Jersey colony in North America in the 1680s. Mitchell grew up as a child to staying at home until he was nineteen years old before moving out.

Mitchell left home in 1843 and went to Sprakers, New York, and began clerking in a store. He accepted a similar position in 1850 in a retail store at Canajoharie, New York. Mitchell was there for several years and later engaged in the tanning business at Black Lake, New York. His business partner was Austin Strong. In 1861 he sold his interest in this enterprise to his partner and moved to northern Indiana, settling at Kendallville, Indiana. An older brother, William Mitchell had already moved there before from Root, New York.

Mitchell was made a paymaster in the army at the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. He was based in St. Louis, Missouri. Mitchell developed out his accounting and business skills and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In this capacity he was put in charge at Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee at different times. He was also the pay department manager during the Vicksburg Campaign and had additional responsibilities there besides. He often had charge of 5 to 20 subordinate paymasters handling millions of dollars in payrolls. After 6 years in the military he was mustered out at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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