Background
Mack was born in New London, Connecticut, and was a sailor as a young man, having sailed around the world three times.
Mack was born in New London, Connecticut, and was a sailor as a young man, having sailed around the world three times.
In 1804, he drove a herd of merino sheep that he had purchased in Spain westward to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he established a wool factory and a hotel. He ran for Mayor of Cincinnati in the spring of 1829, but lost to the incumbent Isaac G. Burnet. President Andrew Jackson appointed him to become customs collector for in 1829, a post he held for ten years.
Upon his arrival in the Michigan Territory, he became involved with the local militia and gained the appellation "Colonel".
In 1831, Sheldon McKnight established the Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer (it eventually was renamed to the Free Press in 1866) and less than a year later, the newspaper was purchased by a consortium of citizens, one of whom was Mack. That group owned the business until 1837.
Mayor Charles Christopher Trowbridge was elected in early 1834 during a cholera epidemic, but abruptly resigned. In the general election the following year, Mack ran for re-election, but lost.
He tried again in 1837, but also was unsuccessful.
In 1839, he represented Wayne County in the state legislature. lieutenant is sometimes believed that Mack Avenue in is named after Andrew Mack, but that was actually named after John M. Mack, who was a supervisor of Hamtramck. Mack moved to Saint Clair County in the 1840s.
He purchased a sawmill, and the creek next to which it sat became known as Mack"s Creek.
He also set up a general store and a wood refueling station to serve the steamships sailing on the Great Lakes Waterway. This stop, known as "Mack"s Place", became popular enough to warrant its own post office, and Mack served as its postmaster until his death.
A model of Mack"s home can be found at the Historical Museum in Park. The house and mill were taken over by George West. Carleton and the creek subsequently became known as Carleton Creek, a name it still bears today.
The post office moved to nearby Vicksburg, which was renamed in 1859 to avoid confusion with Vicksburg in Kalamazoo County.
In the War of 1812, he was the captain of a military company and subsequently served as member of the Cincinnati City Council and as a state senator in the Ohio General Assembly.