Individual Details

Harriet was the daughter of Andrew Westbrook and his wife Nancy Thorn. Nancy Thorn was a daughter of the Capt. William Thorn who served as pilot in the unfortunate expedition against Fort Mackinac in 1814.

Fort Mackinac was an island and important American trading post in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It was captured by the British on 18 Jul 1812 and they kept a secure hold on the Island - they also held Detroit at that time. On 10 Sep 1813, the Americans recovered Detroit, but it was too late in the year to recover the fort before the winter freeze. They finally arrived off Mackinac on 26 Jul 1814 and ineffectively bombarded the fort for two days. A dense fog kept them offshore for a week. On 4 Aug they attempted a land assault but suffered heavy casualties and retreated to their ships, leaving the fort in British possession until the end of the war.

From the That Noble Country by Dorothy M. Mitts of Port Huron MI, Published by Dorance and Co. Phil, 1968
Chapter XXIX: ANCIENT MARINERS AND HEROINES OF THE LAKES
"William Thorne, Pilot of Pre-Revolutionary Days"
At the time Fenerao Anthony Wayne was routing the Indians in the Battle of Fallen Timbers of 1794, Captain William Thorne was already a veteran pilot of the little sloops and schooners active in the fur trade running between Detroit and Mackinac, and later in the transportation of men, guns, and supplies between Detroit and other British posts after the outbreak the war of 1812.
Captain Thorn, born in Providence, R.I. in 1743, came west before 1770, and after living in Detroit for some time settled on the St. Claire River at Cotterville, about 1780. He was the father of John Thorn, who plotted the land on the north side of black River known as the Village of Gratlot (one of the plats that formed the town of Port Huron in 1837), and the father in law of James Fulton, who bought and plotted the first land in the City of Saint Clair.
.....Probably one of the most dramatic incidents of Captain Thorn's life was the time he piloted the Croghan-Sinclair expedition on its unsuccessful attempt to retake Fort Mackinaw from the British. At that time Thorn was living at his farm and was lame because of a dislocated hip, so he was taken aboard in a chair just above Robert's landing at Cotterville. Later, as a low fog settled over the district, Thorn, who was unable to climb a ladder, had himself strapped to a chair and hoisted with pulleys to the masthead and from there piloted the fleet safely on its way to Mackinaw.

Birth	30 May 1821
Marriage	30 Mar 1836	Port Huron, Saint Clair County, Michigan - Alfred Comstock
Death	19 May 1890	Port Huron, Saint Clair County, Michigan

Spouse	Alfred Comstock (1806 - 1897)
Child	Andrew Westbrook Comstock (1838 - 1908)
Child	Helen Eugenia Comstock (1840 - 1925)
Child	William Baker Comstock (1842 - 1905)
Child	Clift Comstock (1844 - 1844)
Child	Maria Louisa Comstock (1845 - 1874)
Child	George Beal Comstock (1847 - 1880)
Child	Albert Clift Comstock (1850 - 1866)
Child	Ada E. Comstock (1851 - 1862)
Child	Charles Frederick Comstock (1852 - 1880)
Child	Alfred Morrison Comstock (1856 - 1905)
Child	Euphemia Comstock (1858 - 1888)
Child	Joseph Baker Comstock (1860 - 1894)

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