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Page [unnumbered] REV. WOLCOTT B. WILLIAMS
Page I THE PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY, MICHIGAN HISTORICALLY TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MANY OF ITS LEADING AND PROMINENT CITIZENS AND ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD ILLUSTRATED THE MICHIGAN HISTORICAL PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION LANSING, MICHIGAN /i //J- ()
Page II HAMMOND PRESS W. B. CONKEY COMPANY OHIGAQO
Page III f7 7 ^ CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. GEOLOGICAL FORMATION................................................ 1 II. PHYSICAL FEATURES.................................................... 5 Rivers.................................................... 5 Lakes................................................ 5 Sw am p Lands.................................................... 5 III. NATIVE FAUNA...................................................... 8 Game and Carnivorous Animals..................................... 8 Snakes.......................................................... 12 IV. PREHISTORIC RACES................................................... 12 V. THE INDIANS........................................ 13 The Relations of the Indians and the White Settlers............... 13 Removal of the Indians.......................................... 18 V I. EARLY H ISTORY...................................................... 20 French R egim e................................................... 20 English Occupation................................................ 20 Indian Territory................................ 21 Territory of Michigan............................................ 21 Creation of Eaton County....................................... 22 V II. LOCAL H ISTORY....................................................... 23 Early Settlements................................................ 23 Emigration of 1835-36............................................. 24 A Colonization Scheme................................. 25 Genesis of "The Union Colony".................................... 27 Rules and Regulations of Union Colony............................. 28 Code of Laws for the Colony....................................... 29 Names of the Colonists............................... 30 Considerations................................... 30 The Prospecting Party............................................. 31 Planting the Colony...................32......................... 32 The Village Plat 33 The Village Plat................................................. 33 The First Blows Struck........................................... 34 Early Experience and Growth................................. 35 Getting In and Out.................................3..... 36 Organizing the Church............................................. 37 The School and Academy........................................ 38 YIII. LOCAL HISTORY.................................. 39 "The Strenuous Life"................................. 39 Personal Reminiscences............................... L 41 iii 9 Y
Page IV iv CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE IX. PRIMITIVE ARCHITECTURE...........................................48 Log Shanties..................................................... 48 Log H ouses...................................................... 49 Log Schoolhouses............................................... 50 X. EDUCATION........................................................... 51 Prim itive Schools................................................. 51 Evolution of the Present System.............................. 55 Genesis of the Academies........................................... 59 Olivet College............................................... 61 XI. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS............................................... 74 Early Churches................................................... 74 Congregational Churches........................................... 75 Methodist Episcopal Churches....................................... 77 Camp Meeting Grounds....................................:..... 78 Baptist Churches..................................................78 United Brethren................................................... 79 Catholic Churches................................................. 79 Episcopal Churches...................................... 79 The German Brethren Church...................................... 80 Churches and Houses of Worship................................ 80 XII. THE COUNTY PRESS..........................................81 The Eaton County Gazette........................................ 81 The Eaton Bugle............................................... 81 The Eaton County Republican.................................. 81 The Charlotte Leader.............................................. 82 The Grand Ledge Times........................................ 82 The Potterville Press.............................................. 83 The Dimondale News...................................... 83 The Sunfield Sentinel.............................................. 83 The Eaton Rapids Journal.......................................... 83 The Grand Ledge Independent...................................... 83 The M ulliken News........................................... 83 The Bellevue Gazette.............................................. 84 The Charlotte Tribune............................................ 84 The Echo................................................... 84 The Vermontville Echo............................................ 84 The Olivet Echo.................................................. 84 XIII. PUBLIC LANDS, BUILDINGS, INSTITUTIONS AND WORKS.................... 85 O ffer of Bostwick............................................ 85 The County Jail................................................... 85 The First Court H ouse............................................ 87 O ld Eagle H otel............................................... 87 The New Court House............................................. 89 Cost of the Court House........................................... 89 Eaton Rapids Library............................................ 91
Page V CONTENTS v CHAPTER PAGE C ounty F arm..................................................... 93 C em eteries............................................. 93 D rain s........................................................... 95 XIV. LEGAL HISTORY.................9....................... 95 Elections............................................. 95 Circuit Courts................................. '6......... )6 P robate C ourt................................................... 101 The Liquor Traffic.................................................101 X V. SOCIETIES........................................................... 108 The Pioneer Society..................................... 103 Eaton County AM edical Society..................................... 1() Dentists.................................... 1(5 Eaton County Agricultural Society........................ 105 Receipts.................................................... 10G Disbursements............................................ 10( The Charlotte Library Association.....................7............. 10 The Masonic Temple, Charlotte.................................... 107 X VI. M ILITARY H ISTORY................................................... 108 Sixth M ichigan.....1 8.................................... 108 T hirteenth Infantr................................................ 112 Tw entieth Infantry.............................................. 113 Second Cavalry..................................... 11(; Seventh Cavalry.............................................. 117 Provision for Soldiers' Families..................................... 11. Soldiers' Monuments........................................... 10 XVII. RAILROADS...................................................... Grand River Valley Railroad........................................ 121 Peninsular Railroad............................................... 122 Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad..................................12 Northern Central Michigan Railroad............................... 128 Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad.......................... Grand Rapids, Lansing & Detroit Railroad........................... 123 Coldwater & Marshall Railway...................................... 1 XVIII. BANKS AND MANUFACTURES..........................1.............2 15&4 XIX. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS................................................. 131 C yclones........................................................ 131 XX. PROMINENT MEN AND WOMEN......................................... 135 XXI. CONCLUSION.................................... 149 PERSONAL AND GENEALOGICAL......................................... 1
Page VI ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Rev. Wolcott B. Williams............................................... Frontispiece City Schools of Charlotte................................................... 52 Public School Building, Olivet.................................................. 54 School Building, Grand Ledge...............e................................ 56 Vermontville High School............................................... 58 Burrage Hall Library, Olivet College...........................6............... 62 -Shipherd Hall, Olivet College................................................ 64 M ather H all, Olivet College.................................................... 66 Parsons Hall, Olivet College............................................. 68 Eaton Rapids Churches.................................................... 76 Old Eagle H otel, Charlotte................................................... 88 Eaton County Court H ouse..................................................... 90 City Water Works and Fire Department, Charlotte............................. 92 Homer G. Barber............................................................ 169 Ransom Milo Bascom, Charles Milo Bascom and Elliott Milo Bascom............. 177 W m. M. Beekm an................................................... 185 M r. and M rs. Charles W. Beers................................................. 189 L. A. B elcher................................................................ 193 C has. B ennett................................................................ 199 M r. and M rs. Deloss Bishop..................................................... 206 Irving D. Brackett............................................................. 218 Earl T. Church...................2.......................................... 240 W m. A. Davis, M. D...................................26') Edwin N. E ly................................................................. 298 M r. and M rs. George R. Gardner............................................... 318 Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Garinger............................................... 321 Jam es L. G reen.............................................................. 331 Theodorus D. Green and W m. Phelps........................................... 336 Cornelius A. Hallenbeck.................................................... 348 Jonathan N. H awkins......................................................... 361 M r. and M rs. M ann Jackson.................................................... 392 M arinthia and Cynthia Kinne................................................... 407 Lawrence B. M attice....................................................... 424 Mr. and Mrs. Nelson 0. Merritt................................................ 437 Mr. and Mrs. Chas. A. Norton........................................... 467 P. H. Nye and Family......................................................... 470 Hollis Y. Patterson and Family................................................ 483 George N. Potter........................................................... 494 vi
Page VII ILLUSTRATIONS vii PAGE M r. and M rs. I. N. Reynolds................................................... 5 M r. and M rs. Josiah J. Reynolds................................................ 11 Clinton E. Rogers and Fam ily.................................................. 519 M r. and M rs. Pearl Rogers.................................................... 523 Sarah G. and Sally B. Sarles.................................................. 532 John M. C. Sm ith........................................................... 558 Chas. D. Spafford................................................ 568 John A. Spaulding............................................................. 572 Mr. and Mrs. Chas. W. Strong.................................................. 589 John V an H outen............................................................. 612 Frederick G. W arren....................................................... 621 Mr. and Mrs. Aaron W. Webster and Mr. and Mrs. Hiram P. Webster. 625 W illiam R. W ells.............................................................. 637 John T. W ilson........................... 651
Page VIII PREFACE The greatest of English historians (Macaulay) and one of the most brilliant writers of the present century has said, "The history of a country is best toll in the record of the lives of its people." In conformity with this idea, the Past and Present of Eaton County has been prepared. Through the able assistance of Rev. Wolcott B. Williams an extensive review of the county has been written. We have also been assisted by an able and capable corps of special writers, who have gone personally to the people-the men and women who have by their enterprise and industry brought the county to rank second to none among those composing the great commonwealth of Michigan. From their lips has the story of their life struggles been told. No more interesting or instructive work could be presented to an intelligent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy of emulation and imitation by future generations. It tells how many, commencing life in poverty, by industry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing education, have become learned men and women, whose influence has been felt throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen. It tells of those in every walk of life who have striven, and records how success has crowned their efforts. It also tells of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued the even tenor of their ways, content with the thought that they have acted well their part in life. It tells how many in the pride and strength of their young manhood left the plow in the furrow, the anvil in the shop, the lawyer's office and the counting room, put aside trade and profession and at their country's call went forth bravely to do or die that the Union might be preserved and peace restored to a distracted country. Coming generations will appreciate the volume and preserve it as sacred, from the fact that it contains so much that would never have found its way into public records and that would otherwise have been lost to such future generations. Great care has been taken in compiling this work, and every possible opportunity has been given those represented herein to insure correctness in what has been written, in consequence of which the publishers congratulate themselves that they are able to give to their readers a work with few errors. The biographies of some will be missed in this volume; for this the publishers cannot he held accountable. Not having a proper conception of the work, some have refused to give the information necessary to complete a sketch, while others have been seemingly indifferent. Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition, the support of the interested party would be withheld. In a few instances, the assistant editors were unable to find the subjects, though making repeated calls at their residences or places of business. In conclusion, we feel assured that our efforts will be appreciated by the many, and that even the skeptical will feel repaid for their cooperation. THE PUBLISHERS. viii
Page 1 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY, MICHIGAN CHAPTER I GEOLOGICAL FORMATION It is a comparatively easy matter to write a tolerably accurate history of the men that have lived in the county during the last hundred years, but who can write a history of the ground that furnishes standing room for the forests, the men, and the beasts that dwell upon it? Its structure shows that it has gone through several stages of development. None but a geologist can write this history, and he but in part, for no geologist was here to make a record of these changes. If he had been he could have found no place from which to make his observations, for the whole state was once under water. If one could go through the dim ages of the past, to the very beginning of things, and tell us whether the elements that enter into the structure of the earth were created separately or in combination, and could tell us what were their original positions, and by what forces they were made to assume their present situation, and could measure for us the years required to bring about these changes, he would write a history that would be read with interest the wide world over. But the best the geologist can do is to describe the ground of the county as he finds it today, and from the marks which it bears, decide through what changes it must have gone during the past ages. This the state geologists have been doing since the early settlement of Michigan. From the re ports of Douglass, Winchell, Rominger and Lane, we gather the following account: From a very early day lower Michigan was an arn of the sea, surrounded by land, and the depression was gradually filled in. The center of the basin thus formed by the old sea is somewhere near Midland, and we judge by comparison of the wells at Assyria, Charlotte and Lansing, that the oldest strata known, reached at a depth of 2,000 or 2,209 feet, in the Charlotte well, dip at the rate of about eight feet per mile. This is the bottom of the Devonian strata. These were at the beginning limestone, then largely black shale, and at the end of that Devonian. There was probably a short time when the waters retired, and, re-advancing, the Berea sandstone was laid down. Above and below this belt of black shale, accumulations of oil and gas are not uncommon. Then the Carboniferous began with the slow settling of the land or rising of the water, allowing a deposition of over 1,300 feet of strata, mainly blue shale. Gradually the shore line drew nearer and the formation more sandy. Then a period of dry climate probably followed, during which there may have been more or less elevation of the land, or at least the Michigan sea was only in cut off basins, in which gypsum, such as is found at Grand Rapids, was laid down by evaporation. While some of this gypsum
Page 2 2 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY _. appears near Assyria it is probable that the most of Eaton county was dry land at this time. Then there was a depression of land while the climate remained dry. The open sea extended as far as Bayport and deposited the limestone of that place, and also that of Bellevue and Grand Rapids. A complete analysis of this limestone is given in the annual report for 1903, page 174. This limestone is quite free from magnesia but contains more or less silica and sulphur. After this limestone was laid down the land was once more elevated and eroded somewhat, and the next time the water gained on the land it seems to have been nearly fresh or brackish. The kind of shore line was that characteristic of sinking shores, such as we find off Cape Hatteras and the southern shore of Lake Michigan,.with many lakes and inlets separated from the main body of water by sandstone bars. In these lakes and inlets there are deposits of coal and shale as well as sandstone. The pit of the Sewer Pipe Co., at Grand Ledge, furnishes an excellent section of the bed of coal measures, and Grand river throughout most of its course is not far below the surface of bed rock. After the deposition of the coal measures the surface of the county was elevated and remained out of water probably for a very long time, during which rivers cut channels in the surface of the bed rock formations. Then a great sheet of ice spread over, first from the northwest and later from the northeast, its front advancing and retiring according to the changes of climate, but at its greatest extent reaching the Ohio river. As it came on, deposits of sand, gravel and lake clay filled up some of the depressions in the bed rock surface. Underneath and in front of it were laid down deposits of all grades and coarseness of material, from the finest clay to large boulders. Such mixed deposits are called till. As finally the climate grew milder, or in some way the melting of the ice became greater than its increase, the ice front retired; though an occasional group of cold or snowy winters might cause its readvance for a short time. These readvances caused moraines of recession which run across the county diagonally from southeast to northwest. They are cut across by great channels which carried off the floods of water from the melting ice. One of the most marked of these is followed by the railroad from Charlotte to Battle Creek. The same streams of water then cut channels in, on, but especially under, the ice, and gravel was then deposited in them in lines which are irregularly at right angles to the ice front. When the ice was melted away this gravel lay in long lines, known as eskers or hogsbacks. There is a very well marked line on going from Lansing to Mason, and there are others near Charlotte. The gravel of which they are composed is valuable for road metal, ballast, concrete, etc. Besides these long lines of gravel there is more or-less gravel washed out in broad sheets parallel to the ice front, which are known as over-wash gravel plains. The surface of the county thus left by the ice was quite irregular and poorly drained, and as a natural result there were lakes and swamps in many of the abandoned channels and old hollows. These are being filled up by sedges, forming peat, and by lake weed, or chara, forming marl-both of which occur quite extensively in the county. At Bellevue in Eaton county the carboniferotis limestone outcrops, or is covered only by a shallow drift, over a space of six square miles. The lowest beds expose a greenishwhite sand-rock, of tolerably fine grain, partly soft and friable, but sometimes firmly cemented by abundance of sparry calcareous material. Its constitutional elements are, quartz, sixtynine per cent; carbonate of lime, thirty per cent. The composition of the higher beds is nearly pure limestone, as the appended analysis shows. Carbonate of lime............ Carbonate of magnesia........ Hydrate of iron oxide......... Insoluble residue............. 96. 1. 0.5 1.5 99. The formation is sometimes in a brecciated
Page 3 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 3 condition, and shows abundant fossils. The higher strata are of a purer, light-colored stone, breaking with a conchoidal fracture, in beds of variable thickness, interlaminated with seams of limestone. Fossils are not generally abundant in these beds, but certain seams abound with them. Above these lighter-colored beds is a stratum of brown ferruginous dolomite, or magnesium limestone, about two feet in thickness, and next above is a bed of light-colored limestone, three to four feet thick, and identical with some of the lower beds. Above this again is a bed of brown, ferruginous dolomite, a foot in thickness, either in continuous layers, wedge-shaped at both ends, or in seams of irregular shaped septaria, surrounded by calcareous shale. The uppermost layers are thin bedded, light-colored limeston e. The coml)osition of the brown dolomite is, Carbonate of lime............. Carbonate of magnesia........ Iron oxide hydrate, with alumina Siliceous resilue.............. 5(. 23. 5.5 9. feet; hard black shales, slate-like, and enclosing thin seams of coal, six to eight feet; whitish, fine grained sand-rock, containing fossil coal plants, seven feet; whitish, plastic fire clay, thirty feet; [this is thought to be an error in type as the fire clay in this region is seldom over four feet in thickness]. Black shales with pyrites, thirty feet; white fire clay, with hard ferruginous bands at bottom of bore. "The most instructive natural section through the coal formations which we have in the state is seen at Grand Ledge, in the valley of (rand river, ten miles below Lansing. The river has carved its bed to the depth of about sixty feet below the general surface level of the country. The upper part of the hills bordering the valley is formed of drift; the lower presents a section through the rock beds of the coal measures. The village of Grand Ledge is locatedl in the center of the outcrop, which continlues ul) and do1wn the river for about a mile. The strata rise and sink in undulations, which bring the ulpper and lower beds to repeated outcrops on the same level..... "The upper part of the formation is a coarse-grained( sand-rock, of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet in thickness..... The sand-rock ledges form a compact body with only insignificant, intermediate seamls of shale, or an occasional coal seam of a few inches thickiiess wedged in. Calamites and other vegetable imprints, besides concretions of kidney ore and seams of iron pyrites and conglomerate, are usually found inclosed in the rock mass. In grain and hardness it resembles the upler sand stones of Jackson; its color, however, is a somewhat darker yellowish shade. A part of the brown rock is coarsely conglomerate.."Next below this sand-rock, which overlies the river in vertical cliffs for nearly a mile, we find blue shales of arenaceous character, interlaminat with other layers of sand-rock, all amounting to a thickness of about fifteen or twenty feet. Under these is a coal seam, two and a half feet in thickness, and of a very good bituminous quality. It wedges out in places or changes into a black carbonaceous shale. The total thickness of rock at Bellevue is stated by Professor Rominger at from fifty to sixty feet. Tle trend of the formation is to the southeast. At Eaton Rapids, XMr. Frost's well penetrates a thin coal seam at the depth of 120 feet. In tlhe banks of Grand river, two miles above Eaton Rapids, are rock cliffs, twelve to fifteen feet in height, composed of darkish blue colored shale, and sand-rock, interstratified. A mile and a half above Lansing, on the river, the upper coal sand-stone comes near the surface and has been quarried on a small scale. In a boring at Charlotte of 130 feet, a thin sand-rock of the coal measures was penetrated at a depth of fifty- feet under drift, and, immediately below, thin seams of coal were found. In the township of Chester, a seam three feet in thickness outcrops on little Thornapple creek under black shale beds. The coal in this locality is near the surface, and has been eroded and swept off by drift action. "Record of boring in Chester: Drift, eight
Page 4 4 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY This seam is worked by single workmen as a temporary occupation when they have little else to do. The coal seam rests on a gray, argillaceous, laminated sand-rock, with soft shaley seams which enclose a large quantity of coaly vegetable remains. The thickness of the beds is about five feet. "Lower comes a fine-grained, whitish sand-rock, in even, compact beds, eight feet in thickness. Directly under this sand-rock is a fifteen-inch bed of good bituminous coal. Lowest in the outcrop are about twenty-five feet of additional strata, principally sand-rock ledges, with some intermediate shale seams. In the bed of the river at this spot large, hard, sand-rock slabs of very even bedding, and from two to three inches in thickness, are laid open, which would make very good flag-stones for walks. "The aggregate thickness of the given section is about ninety feet. It begins with the centre of the synclinal depression, and is followed downward with the stream. Up-stream a rise of the strata is seen, but the next lower strata to the upper sand-rock deposits are not uncovered as plainly as at the lower end of the depression. After passing a covered interval of about sixty steps in going up-stream, the following descending section is observed: Feet Drift up to the plateau of the hill sides... 30 Blue, soft shales with kidney ore........15 Sand-rock with stigmaria.............. Thin, laminated sand-rock.............. 4 Black, carbonaceous shale, or coal....... 1 Sand-rock with stigmaria............... 2 Blue, arenaceous shales, containing kidney ore........................... 7 Black shale, or coal, several inches. Sand-rock with stigmaria.............. 2 Blue shale........................... 2 White, ripple-marked sand-rock........ 4 Nodular sand-rock....................20 Fire-clay............................. 5 W hite sand-rock.....................40 C oal................................ 1 3 Carbonaceous shale................... 4 Light colored shale.................... 12 "At eighty feet below the surface a conglomerate sand-rock is struck from which a copious stream of water rises to the surface. The sand-rock continues to a depth of 105 feet, where another water stream is struck. This water has an agreeable mineral taste. "A good section through this formation can be observed in the ravines of a creek entering Grand river from the south a short distance west of the village (Grand Ledge), and another in the cliffs just below it. Highest in the latter, under a few feet of drift, are fifteen feet of arenaceous shales with seams of coal. Beneath follow eight feet of fine-grained, greenish white sandstone, in thick, even beds, identical with the sand-rock found in the first section, intermediate between the two coal seams. "This rock is quarried and is worked into cut stone and window and door sills. It is of fine quality,-better than any of the coal measure rocks I had seen before. The beds at one end of the quarry are much thicker than at the other, and seem to wedge out. Under the quarry stone a foot or two of arenaceous shales, laminated by black, coaly seams, follows, and then a coal bed fifteen inches thick. The coal is of very good quality, even for blacksmiths' use, and is occasionally obtained by working the quarry for the sand-rock. The coal seam rests on bluish, arenaceous shales, and, lower, beds of sand-rock form the base of the bluff and the bed of the river...... "The surface of this county bears distinct evidence of glacial action, numerous rocks are found that have evidently been abraded by tremendous pressure upon immovable rocks beneath. The drift deposits of glacial and post glacial days cover the peninsula to depths varying from a few inches to many hundred feet. In a few localities fixed rock appears upon the surface, but nearly the whole region is buried under the accumulated boulders, sands, and clays of the ice period. "The materials of these accumulations have been produced by erosions of the early rocks, and the masses heaped and strewn over the county have been deposited by some irresistible force moving in a direction nearly south. Were this drift removed, the entire rock sur
Page 5 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY face, except where modified by recent causes, would probably exhibit astonishing effects produced by this enormous force. It would appear as if planed down by some gigantic instrument, and in places would be deeply grooved and scored as if by an immense plow or gouge. "In the town of Benton is a lateral moraine trending in a southeasterly direction, several miles in length." CHAPTER II PHYSICAL FEATURES-RIVERS-LAKES -SWAMP LANDS RIVERS The county is drained by three principal streams, Grand river, Thornapple and Battle creeks. Grand river enters the county from the southeast, about four miles north of its southeast corner, and its general course is northwest to Eaton Rapids, and there it turns an almost right angle and flows to the northeast, and leaves the county about six miles north of the point where it entered; once more it turns to the northwest and re-enters the county about three miles further north, and flows northwest to Dimondale. It delights in right angles, for here it makes another, and turns to the northeast, leaving the county six miles north of its point of re-entrance. But it loves Eaton county and is loath to take final leave of it; and so, after visiting Lansing, it returns once more to the county, entering it about a mile and a half south of its northeast corner, and flows westerly about eight miles, through Delta and Grand Ledge, where it makes its final exit and passes out to the north, on its way to Lake Michigan. Nearly all the central part of the county is drained by the Thornapple and its numerous branches, the main stream leaving the county about the middle of its western border, and finding its way to the Grand river some six miles east of Grand Rapids. Battle creek, which drains the southern part of the county, rises in Calhoun county and enters Eaton near the middle of its south line; thence flows northward to Charlotte and then turns southwest and leaves the county a mile beyond Bellevue; uniting with the Kalamazoo river at the city of Battle Creek. Before the coming of the white man, the dense forests and the numerous swamps and marshes served as reservoirs and fed the waters to the rivers with a steady flow, so that they ran bank full nearly all the time. But the forests have been cleared up and the swamps have been drained, so that the falling rain is soon dried by the sun or hastens through the artificial channels, and when one visits one of these streams after an absence of fifteen or twenty years, he is surprised to find the grass growing in the river bed and that the river has dwindled to a small rivulet. LAKES The lakes in the county are very few and small; there is a group in the northwestern part of Sunfield; one very small one in the southern part of the town, another in the northern part of Vermontville, and still another in the northwestern part of Roxand. Pine lake is in the southwest corner of Walton and Narrows lake in the southern part of Brookfield. There are also two small lakes in the southern part of Hamlin, and one in the northwest corner of Eaton township. SWAMP LANDS Such was Michigan supposed to be at an
Page 6 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY early day. The interior of the state was for many years deemed almost useless for agricultural purposes. On November 30, 1815, Edward Tiffin, surveyor-general at Chilicothe, wrote to General Meigs, commissioner of the land office at Washington, "that in the whole of Michigan territory there was not one acre in a hundred, if there would be in a thousand, that would in any case admit of cultivation. It is all swampy and sandy." On December 11, he again wrote: "Subsequent reports confirm the statements, and make the country out worse, if possible, than I had represented it to be." But the first white men that came to this county found it for the most part heavily timbered, and where the city of Charlotte now stands was a small prairie, about a mile across. Small spots here and there, destitute of trees, had apparently been used by the Indians as cornfields. There were burr oak plains near Beilevue, and farther east, oak openings. C)ak openings were also found east of Eaton Rapids, and there were also several large swamps, covered with a dense growth of tamarack. Most of the county was heavily timbered with whitewood, cherry, black walnut, bass-wood, white and black ash, hard maple, beech, ironwood, boxwood, elm and oak, many of which were of enormous size. The largest tree in the county, and so far as known, the largest in the state, grew in the town of Kalamo, it being a gigantic sycamore, hollow nearly its whole length, and seventeen feet in diameter by actual measurement, inside the hollow. A door was cut through into the hollow, and it is said that horses measuring sixteen hands high had been ridden into it and turned around. The tree was finally cut down for the purpose of taking a section of it to Marshall, to be used as a grocery, but it was found that the labor of moving it would be too great and the project was abandoned. Black walnut trees of very great size were found. Edward Barber says that when a young man he took a load of black walnut boards to Marshall, each one of which was three feet wide, and sold them to a cabinetmaker there for twelve dollars a thousand. This kind of wood seems to be almost wholly free from the attacks of borers and other insects, and is very durable. When the first settlers came they found a little north of Charlotte the prostrate form of an old and apparently rotten tree, covered with moss. After it had lain there several years longer, a man struck his ax into it and was surprised to find that only the sap was rotten, and the heart was perfectly sound. Some farms were fenced largely with black-walnut rails, but with the advent of railroads, these rails were sought out and converted into furniture. Edward Barber had a tree of this kind that he sold for $110. A few years ago George N. Potter, of Benton, cut an old dead black walnut tree, hollow at the butt, from which he realized over $1,200. This tree had a peculiar knot, or gnarl, which was the same from the ends of the roots to the tip end of the branches. Even the stumps and the roots were dug out and worked into veneering for musical instruments. The saw-dust and bark of such trees are now ground up and mixed with some ingredient and pressed into moulds, forming knobs, handles, and the like. Mr. Potter had sold the land on which this tree stood to a settler. He thought there was some value in the tree, and intended to reserve it, but forgot to do so. As time passed he remembered the tree, and as the inquiry for such lumber increased, he thought he would try to secure it. HIe went to the owner of the land and selected a quantity of timber standing in its vicinity, and bought it at a low figure; but one condition that the seller made was that he should clear off that old dead tree. This seemed to be a hard condition, but Mr. Potter finally con-, sented, and the first work he did was to cut and draw out this "old nuisance." In about a week he began to receive letters and visits from dealers, and offers of $1,000 and upwards was made for the tree. His faithfulness to the performance of his contract extended to the digging out of the stump and roots. The woods generally abounded in beautiful straight
Page 7 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 7 black and white ash trees; these at first ruthlessly slaughtered and burned, were later used for rails and fencing, and still later for handles of rakes, hoes, shovels, forks, wagon-tongues and oars. They were shipped to many foreign countries, some going as far as Australia. HIe who passes through the county today cannot realize the change that has come over it, since the first white man built his shanty here, seventy-five years ago. In the broad acres not a vestige remains of the dense forests which had to be cleared up before any crop could be raised. The markets for wood and lumber were so remote, and the facilities for reaching them were so poor that the only available way for disposing of the timber was to burn it. The wood-chopper can always make a tree fall in one of two opposite directions. So when a clearing was to be made, the chopper cut a row of trees so that their bodies fell in a straight line. Then similar rows were cut parallel to it and a few rods distant from each other, when the trees between these rows were cut so as to fall across the first rows, thus making immense hedges of fallen trees. When the chopping was done in mid-winter these wind-rows would become so dry in August that they would burn quite readily, and wherever one tree fell across another it would almost inevitably burn off. When after a few days the fire went out and the coals cooled off, several men came with a yoke of cattle, a long chain and handspikes and piled the logs up, and where they had not been burned short enough to be handled, they were cut in two wTith an ax, and these log piles were then set on fire and burned. In the oak openings there was usually but little undergrowth, and the oak trees were girdled by cutting through the bark all around them. They soon died after this treatment, and the ground could be at once plowed and crops put in, and the trees could be disposed of at the leisure of the farmer. In a very hot summer the peat became so dry in the tamarack swamps that it burned readily several inches deep, exposing the roots of the trees so that they fell over, and in the next hot summer the fire consumed them. The fire would smoulder in those peat beds for several weeks, and through several hard rains. Thus the tamarack swamps were transformed into wet prairies. In a short time these prairies were covered with a dense growth of yellow flowers, so that they appeared like one great sea of gold. These passed away, and at this date bushes are springing up over the ground that is not under cultivation, so that in time it may revert to its original condition of swamp. The farmers of today realize how much of the original wealth of the country laid in the beautiful whitewood, cherry, black walnut and ash forests their fathers reduced to ashes. In spite of the original verdict there is probably not an acre of ground in this county that has not a fertile soil and would not repay the farmer liberally for cultivation.
Page 8 8 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY CHAPTER III NATIVE FAUNA-GAME-CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS-SNAKES GAME AND CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. The early settlers found an abundance of game in the woods. Many bears were to be seen, but no instance is on record in which any one was hurt by them, yet their visits were very interesting, as will appear from the following narratives of the early settlers: Mr. Howell, the guest of his daughter, Mrs. Bullock, of Vermontville, being something of a hunter succeeded one day in bringing down a deer. It was not far from the house, and as Mr. Bullock went in answer to his call, he saw three bears coming down from a large leaning tree, evidently attracted by the scent of blood. He tried to stop them by pounding on the tree with a club until Mr. Howell should come with the gun. Bruin, not to be foiled, loosed his hold and dropped like a ball, nearly knocking Mr. Bullock over. He in turn dealt the bear such a heavy blow that the club broke. and losing his balance he fell on the bear. It was a complete surprise party-such a scrambling, whooping and yelling as followed, made both man and beast willing to leave instanter. Mr. Howell soon came up and they succeeded in killing the other two bears. The bears hunted singly and devoured such small animals as they could capture. They were fond of wild fruit, berries of different kinds, wild honey and green corn, but seemed to like nothing better than fresh pork of their own killing. They were great travelers and were occasionally seen in the older settlements of the state. Simon Darling, of Eaton Rapids, tells this story: Bears were quite plentiful and we used to tell the children to make all the noise they could, while going to and from school, to frighten the bears. After the Indians left we were much troubled bv the bears that killed our hogs that were feeding in the woods. A man named Grovenburgh had a very large steel trap that weighed nearly eighty pounds, that would hold a bear. He would come and set the trap in a place that was marked; and if the trap were gone we would at once start for this man, who would come with his gun and track the bear and kill it. A bear would often drag this great trap several miles. At one time, Mr. Darling says, he saw five bears feeding on acorns. In the fall of 1839 the men and boys of Vermontville turned out to hunt a bear that had made great havoc among the hogs of the colony. He was finally killed after a severe struggle, and his skin was sold for four dollars, which was used to buy books to start a Sunday school library. Edward Barber tells the story thus: "The most toothsome morsel for bruin was a young porker, and to steal a pig from a pen he would take great risks from dogs and rifles. From time to time pigs disappeared, and tracks showed that the taking them away must have been the work of a bear. "Forays were made upon the pig-pen of R. W. Griswold, who lived nearly a half a mile north of the east end of the village, his house facing miles of unbroken forest to the eastward. In these woods and a swamp not far away this depredator seemed to have his lair. One day, in 1839, he came out of the woods into the main street at the east end of the village. Mrs. Cochrane, the minister's wife, saw him coming down the hill where the old cheese factory now stands, and going towards the log house in which W. R. Martin then lived. Out in the road in front of the house she saw Henry J. Martin, a young boy, playing by himself as unconcernedly as if there were no bears in Ver
Page 9 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 9 I montville. The bear was making towards him and Henry thought it was a dog. Mrs. Cochrane screamed, which startled the beast, and Mrs. Martin, looking out the door, saw the impending danger to her boy, ran out into the road, caught him up in her arms and carried him into the house. For boy or man this was the closest known call among the first settlers. The depredations of this animal were so frequent and numerous that finally a bear hunt was organized for his capture. Rev. S. Cochrane was selected for captain, and all the men, boys, dogs and guns of the colony were mustered into the service. This was the most exciting of any early incident. A night or two before the hunt was determined upon the bear had made a successful raid upon R. W. Griswold's pig-pen. It was known where he crossed the road and plunged into the woods. About a section of woods 'was surrounded, men with dogs and guns were stationed at nearly uniform distances apart, and at a given signal, which was passed along the line, all were to march towards -a common center. Soon the bear broke through the line, and men and boys and dogs gave chase. W. J. Squires' big mastif, Bonaparte-called 'Bone' for brevity-was one of the first to overtake the fleeing bear and give fight. Smaller dogs would snap at his hind legs, but 'Bone' tackled him at close quarters. When John Wager and Arthur W. Squier arrived the dog was getting the worst of the battle. Wager had W. S. Fairfield's musket of the Revolutionary pattern, and he jammed the butt of it into the bear's mouth to loosen his hold on the dog. The marks of the bear's teeth in the stock of the musket were evidence of the closeness of the conflict. The dogs were so excited that it was difficult to get a shot at the bear, but finally Reuben Sanford gave him a bullet from a rifle, and two more shots ended his career. Loaded on poles, a procession was formed, and the hunters marched to the public square, about a mile, where the bear was dressed, the carcass cut into as many pieces as there were families, and Daniel Barber, being blindfolded in the name of Justice, as each piece of meat was touched by the minister called out the name of the person who should have it. "The bear had fed well and the meat was good. It had the flavor of the forest. The skin was sold, but the authorities do not agree as to the price. One says four dollars, another seven dollars, and Mrs. Browning-Griswold, of Battle Creek-the only surviving head of a family of that time who now lives in Michigan,-who was present, says the skin sold for eight dollars. All agree, however, that the money, probably seven dollars, was used to purchase the first installment of Sunday-school books that was brought into the village. Back to this bear, the Sunday-school library of Vermontville can trace its financial origin." Johrn E. Clark, while hoeing corn one day in the town of Hamlin, heard a hog squeal, and went to see what was the matter. He found the hog in the embrace of a large bear, which on seeing Mr. Clark dropped the hog and ran, but soon turned upon his pursuer, who sprang into a small tree, kicking the bear on the nose as he caught a limb, and he climbed into the tree while the bear attended to his nose. Clark then shouted to his hired man, who came with a rifle and shot the brute. Bruin, who was only wounded, ran off, and Clark came down from his perch. A few days later he heard a hog squeal again, and taking down his rifle, he went out and killed the bear, whose love for fresh pork had led him to run into dlanger again. It proved to be the same that had treed Mr. Clark. He was an old one; his head was gray and his teeth were dull. Jesse Hart, of Brookfield, says: "The second night after we moved into our new house, at about twelve o'clock, my wife woke me up and said she heard a hog squeal. I got up, took my gun and ran over to where the hogs slept, and I found that a bear had caught the old sow and was about killing her; when I came near enough so I thought I could hit him, I fired and he let go of the hog and ran into the woods. It was so very dark that I could not tell whether I had hit him. The
Page 10 10 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY next morning I went out and found the bear dead, and the hog alive. Though badly bitten, she recovered." Again he says: "In the fall of 1841 I had built a large hog-pen, about eighty rods from the house, and male a lane west from the hogpen to the woods, about forty rods distant. My cattle lay in the lane west of the hogpen. About midnight I heard a hog give a short squeal, and then the bells on the cattle began to rattle. I got up and heard something running in the lane west to the woods, and it was not more than a minute before I heard a hog squeal in the edge of the woods at the end of the lane. It seemed that the bear had caught the hog near the pen and the cattle had driven him off; then he chased him in the lane west to the woods before he caught him again. My rifle being loaded I caught it and ran to save my hog, just as I was. "When I reached the end of the lane I saw he had caught the hog under some fallen tree tops. I got onto the topmost one to see if I could not shoot him in that way, but, as I started, my dog ran under and began barking at him; then the bear took the hog and started for the woods with him. I ran as fast as I could in the dark and the brush, and went some twenty or twenty-five rods before I got so near that I thought I could hit him, and when within ten or twelve feet of him I shot at a dark spot, which was all I could see. When the gun went off he dropped the hog and ran three or four rods, and then all was still. I loaded my rifle again but could not hear anything of the bear; I' was so near him I knew if he stirred in the dry leaves I should hear him, so I concluded he was sitting up and looking at me, or I had killed him. So to find out I told the dog to take him. The dog went to where he was and began growling and snuffing round, but I could not hear anything of the bear; so concluded that he was dead. I went to the spot where the dog was, and there lay a monstrous black bear, dead enough. When I went back I met my wife in the lane, coming with an ax, as she was afraid I had got into trouble." Wolves, unlike bears, hunt in companies. Singly they are not formidable, but in packs or companies they are to be feared. One afternoon, in the fall of 1836, Roger Griswold started to drive a team from Vermontville to Bellevue. Night overtook him while still in the woods, and he found it impossible to follow the track. He thought he was not far from Bellevue, ventured to halloo, and was quickly answered by a wolf. He called again and other wolves answered in different directions. -le then unharnessed his team, tied them to his wagon, and seating himself in it, with gun in hand, he quietly waited, and listened to the increasing number of performers, until their howls culminated in a grand wolf chorus, more awe-inspiring, more soul-stirring, more thrilling to him, than would have been the grand anvil chorus of the famous peace jubilee. The wolves showed their sympathy for him by cheering the whole gloomy hours of the night, with their hideous, thrilling music. VWhen there was a crust on the snow, the legs of the deer would cut through so that they could not run well, and the wolves would easily run them down and kill them. The remains of deer that had been thus killed were frequently seen. Mr. Brown, of Delta, had numerous adventures in his forest home. One evening, while on his way home after a day's work as highway commissioner, he was chased by a pack of wolves, and at the end of his race surprised his wife by falling at full length on the floor of his cabin. He was safe, however, but by examining the tracks the next morning, he was satisfied that "forty such Browns" would not have satisfied the hunger of that pack of wolves. In the fall of 1837, William Wall, Chauncey Freeman, James Pixley, and George and James Southworth went on a deer hunt in the north part of the township, on a branch of the Thornapple river. James Southworth stationed himself on the run-way, while the others separated for the purpose of driving in the deer. Ere long they heard the report of
Page 11 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 11 James Southworth's rifle, followed quickly by a second, and next they heard him call. They returned and found him beset by two large gray wolves. He had seen three passing and shot one, whereupon the others turned and came close up to him, one on each side, before he had time to reload. As one of the animals stepped back a little, Mr. Southworth poured some powder into his rifle and rolled a bullet down, and then shot the brute in the neck, but did not kill him. At that juncture William Wall appeared and the wounded wolf went into a thicket. Messrs. Pixley, Freeman and Wall followed to drive him out, while the two Southworths stood ready to shoot. Mr. Freeman coming upon the wolf lying down, and looking him in the face, forgot to shoot. The animal ran out of the thicket and George Southworth shot him. Mr. Wall, who was a tall man, said the wolf was the largest he ever saw, standing as high as his waist. The wolves would not probably have come nearer to James Southworth if he had refrained from shooting. His temerity cost him a good scare, for he was "white as a sheet," said Mr. Wall, "vwhen I got to him." In the fall of 1838, William Wall, of the town of Eaton, had a narrow escape from falling a victim to that terrible disease known as hydrophobia. A large rabid wolf passed through from the north during the night, biting every animal that was within its reach. It bit a hog on the Childs place, in Eaton, belonging to Benjamin Claflin and next a hog belonging to James Pixley, for which he had paid twenty dollars. The wolf then visited William Wall's place about midnight and bit three hogs belonging to him. Mr. Wall, not suspecting the wolf was rabid, put his valuable dog on its track for pursuit. The dog was one that he valued at fifty dollars. He followed with an axe and soon found the dog and wolf engaged in a terrific encounter. Mr. Wall took the wolf by the tail, preparatory to dealing him a blow with the axe, but the wolf instantly let go his hold of the dog and turned furiously to bite Mr. Wall. This compelled him to drop his axe and give both hands to the business of holding the animal by the tail. This rendered necessary a series of rapid evolutions, such a backing, twisting, jerking, straightening upl, and swinging the monster round and round, sustaining him in the air by centrifugal force. Finally the dlog caught the wolf again by the head, and Mr. Wall, retaining his hold, moved the combatants along within reach of his axe and dealt the animal a finishing blow. Fortunately Mr. Wall did not receive a scratch from his fatal teeth, although lie spent an hour in the struggle. Mr. I'ixley's hog went nlad in about a week and after that Mr. Wall's hogs and the clog all lad to be killed. Mr. Wall received a bounty of eight dollars for the wolf's scalp, in exchange for about one hundred dollars' worth of property lost. Twenty years after the first settlers came, (leer were found here in great number. Anlrew I ines, of Charlotte, shot forty during the winter of '55 and '56. On Sunday afternoon two were seen running through the village on about what is now the track of the Grand Trunk railroad and the next morning (leer tracks were seen in the snow on the public square of the city. It is said that Mrs. R. T. Cogswell, in the town of Windsor once, during the absence of her husband, saw a large buck near her house, and, taking down a rifle, took deliberate aim and shot him (lead in his tracks, without a symptom of "buck fever." Turkeys were also very numerous. Mr. Hines killed three at one shot, and at another time called up and shot five in one place. After the Peninsula (now Grand Trunk) railway was completed, and cars were running to Lansing, on one occasion, a few miles east of Charlote, a flock of wild turkeys undertook to fly across the track just ahead of a train, but were not quick enough, and one was struck by the smokestack of the locomotive and crippled so that the train hands captured it. Countless numbers of wild pigeons were here, flocks passing for nearly an hour at a time. They sought the same roosting place at night and would gather in such numbers
Page 12 12 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY as to break down the branches of the trees. They were very fond of beech nuts and acorns, and it was surprising to see what large acorns they could swallow. Many swarms of bees were found in the hollow trees, and raccoons, squirrels, minks, otters, foxes, ducks and quails abounded. SNAKES One pioneer says there were numerous black snakes, twelve to fourteen feet long, and the angry "bizz" of the rattle-snake was occasionally heard. We cannot help wondering if this pioneer had not been drinking when he saw black snakes ten to twelve feet long, but there can be no doubt as to the number of rattle-snakes. One of the professors in Olivet college has made a collection of thirteen different kinds of snakes that have their home in this county, of which three (blue racer, common or black water-snake, and garter or streaked snake) are very common, three (ribbon snake, massasauga or swamp rattle-snake, and the olive water-snake) are common in suitable places. Five (short-mouth-snake, little brown snake, red-bellied black snake, green or grass snake, and the milk snake or spotted adder) are uncommon, and two (ring necked snake and pilot snake) are very rare. He found many of them very good eating, and would occasionally treat his friends to snake sandwiches. CHAPTER IV PREHISTORIC RACES There is reason to believe that the Indians were not the first inhabitants of the county. In the southern tier of counties in the state there are many ruins of the works of the Mound Builders to be seen at the present time. One of their mounds is visible on the public square in Kalamazoo. And in the woods a little east of Union City, in Branch county, is a large circular fortification, with parallel embankments leading down to the river, apparently built to protect the occupants of the fort when they went to the river for water. There is evidence also that they worked the copper mines near Lake Superior. These works appear to have been first discovered in 1847 by the agent of the Minnesota Mining Company. He reports that by following up the indications of a continuous depression in the soil, he came at length to a cavern, where he found several porcupines had fixed their quarters for the winter; but detecting evidences of artificial excavation, he proceeded to clear out the accumulated soil, and not only exposed to view a vein of copper, but found in the rubbish, numerous stone mauls and hammers of the ancient workmen. Subsequent excavations brought to light ancient diggings of great extent, frequently from twenty-five to thirty feet deep, and scattered over an area of several miles. The rubbish taken from these is piled up in mounds along side; while the trenches have been gradually filled with the soil and decaying matter gathered through the long centuries since their desertion; and over all, the giants of the forests have grown, and died and fallen to decay. Mr. Knapp, the agent of the Minnesota Mining Company, counted three hundred and ninety-five annular rings on a hemlock tree, which grew on a mound of earth thrown out of the ancient mines.. Mr. Foster also notes the great size and age of a pine stump, which must have grown, flourished, and died since the works were deserted; and Mr. C. Whittle
Page 13 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY c, sey not only refers to living trees now flourishing in the gathered soil upwards of three hundred years old, but adds: "On the same spot there are the decayed trunks of a preceding generation, or generations, of trees that have arrived at maturity and fallen down from old age." According to the same writer, these ancient works extend over a tract of land 100 to 150 miles in length, along the southern shore of the lake. In another excavation was found a detached mass of copper, weighing upwards of six tons. It rested on an artificial cradle of black oak, partly preserved by immersion in water. Various implements and tools of the same metal were found near it. The commonest tools are the stone mauls or hammers, of which from one place were taken ten cart-loads. With these were "stone axes of large size, made of greenstone, and shaped to receive withe-handles. Some large greenstone masses, that had apparently been used for sledges, were also found. They had round holes bored in them to a depth of several inches, which seem to have been designed for wooden plugs, to which withe-handles might be attached, so that several men could swing them with sufficient force to break the rock and the projecting masses of copper." Dwight Bracket, of Bellevue, has quite a collection of their stone axes, mauls and other implements that were found in that vicinity. One of their mounds is to be seen in the woods on the north side of the Grand Trunk railway, a little distance southwest of Pine lake. These things lead to the conclusion that the Mound Builders once occupied this county. CHAPTER V THE INDIANS-THE RELATIONS OF THE INDIANS AND THE WHITE SETTLERS-TIlE REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS TIE RELATIONS OF THE INDIANS AND THE WHITE SETTLERS From a paper by E. A. Foote, and incidents related by other of the pioneers, we glean the following facts in regard to the relations that existed between the early settlers and their Indian neighbors. Mr. Foote says: "The whites who settled here previous to 1840, found the country inhabited by some of the Pottawattomie and Chippewa-or, properly-Ojibewa tribes. There Were two Pottawattomie villages about ten miles south of Charlotte, on territory that is now the township of Walton. The oak-opening land in the south part of the county seemed better adapted to the Indian mode of life than the dark and heavily-timbered forests north of there. Signs of an Indian cornfield-rows of corn hills overgrown with turf-could be seen at an early day on this prairie where Charlotte now stands. "Their wigwams were usually built of elm bark and flag-mats. During the sugar-making season they would move into the heavy timber and camp among the great sugar-maples. After this they would come out and remain in the oak-openings, in the southern part of the county, cultivating corn and pumpkins, and gathering berries. In Walton they had an hundred acres, in scattered patches, under cultivation. Editor Johnson, in the Eaton 'Bugle,' says that this prairie upon which Charlotte is built gave evidence of having been an Indian cornfield. They had one village in Walton, on section 18 near the Indian Creek: another, a large village, with a burying ground for their dead, on section 28 in Walton on or near the Burroughs farm. To protect their
Page 14 OF E~ATONV COUNVTY 14 PAST AND PRESENT corn patches they hoppled their ponies with bark, and surrounded the patch with a fence of bark strings tied to trees and stakes. "Indian trails, well beaten and apparently quite old, traversed the county nearly in the same direction as our two railroads, and the proposed route of the Mansfield & Coldwater road. One trail from the southwest-Bellevue,-ran through Walton, crossing the Battle creek about forty rods east of the bridge, near the water-works, and crossing the fair ground in a northeasterly direction. A trail which seems to have been a continuation of this, crossed Butternut creek above the dam near the cemetery, and ran northeast to the Hovey settlement, in Benton; from thence through Oneida, near Samuel Preston's postoffice, and from there to Grand river. Just east of our prairie this trail crossed another large pony trail which came up from Duck lake, and the 'huckle-berry' swamps south of us. This Duck lake trail crossed our prairie near where the Pythian temple stands, passing off in a northwesterly direction towards Grand Rapids by the way of. Fish creek, following the route of the Grand River Valley railroad. It was known as the Grand Rapids trail. As late as 1854, the writer walked in this trail across land owned by him in the northwestern part of the corporate limits of Charlotte. It was smoothly and deeply worn, deepest in the center and rounding tiu at the sides, running straight as an arrow off into the dim, shadowy vista of the forest trees, rendering it a cool and pleasant walk. "The Indians were civil, submissive, and kind to the settlers. They nearly always looked in at the'window before entering at the door. Without the warning snap of a twig, they would appear unexpectedly close beside you in the woods. They never would help themselves to a pumpkin or a potato without leave. They never stole anything from their friends. Barnes' potato hole was relieved of its contents here on Willow prairie, but Stephen Kinnie says if that was the work of Indians, it was the only instance he ever knew of their stealing. They had a way of locking up the doors of their wigwams when leaving them, which the settlers adopted for the protection of their own log shanties. This lock was simply two sticks leaning across the doorway so that they formed an 'X.' An Indian would never enter a doorway where he saw this cross placed to guard it. "Benjamin Shumway, of Walton, had borrowed some steel-traps of an Indian, and was ready to return them. The Indian went for them, quite a distance, to M1r. Shumway's house, but found that the family was absent, and the door locked with the crossed sticks. He looked in at the window and saw his traps, but that cross forbade his entering to take even his own. He went one mile from there, found Capt. Hickok, and stated to him the difficulty. The captain went to the house and delivered the traps, but even then, the Indian could not be induced to enter. "Isaac E. C. Hickok, Esq., the first white male child born in the county, while yet young enough to wear frock and aprons, received instructions in the art of shooting with a bow and arrow, from an old Indian whose hair was as white as snow, and who was very fond of visiting aroundl the house of Captain Hickok, in Walton, near the Indian villages. The old Indian made for little Isaac a perfectly formed bow and arrows and would spend hours in teaching him how to shoot. The pupil, to show his gratitude to his preceptor, would go into the house and step down cellar, and, taking a few potatoes in his apron, would go out to the Indian and say, 'nc-tos pcn-ny-ax' (I give you potatoes.) The schoolmaster, taking the potatoes, would place his hand upon Isaac's head and say, impressively, 'ne-chim chc-mtoko-mnan pappoose,' which means 'good white man's pappoose.' "Nearly all the Indian ponies wore small bells, so that their whereabouts could be traced while wandering in the bushes. A drove of them would come in the night under a back window of the Captain's house, where dishwater had been thrown out, and it was tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, all night long, notwithstanding the yelling and throwing of boots at them.
Page 15 PAST AND PRESENT 'Confound them,' says the Captain, 'I would find in the morning that it would take nearly a wagon load of dirt to fill the hole they had gnawedi in the ground to get the salt that was in the dishwater.' "The earliest legal proceedings that I can find any trace of in this county was an Indian trial for murder, held in 183(;, inll Walton, near tile Shmlway farm. An Indian, called Neemah, was charged with the killing of his squaw with a hatchet. The In(lians miet in grand council. There was a great chief and several smaller chiefs-answering, probably, to our gran(l and petit juries. Neemah was fotlnd guilty, and the sentence was that he should never, (luring life, own a rifle or a pony. It is said by somne that lie obeyed the sentence (luring the remainder of his (lays; that he mlade for hinmself a large andl powerful bow, and woul(d patiently pursue (leer for a great (listance until he would get within bow-shot. The other In(dians (lesl)ise(l and shunne(l him, and wotld not assist him to food, though ever so htungry. Even his brother Sanbar turne(l against him anli said, 'Neeimah was no goodl Indian.' I'litting, oturselves in an Indlian's place, we can realize that this sentence was equivalent to the sentence of a white ilau, to solitary iliprisonment for life. I ain informed by Captain Ilickok that, after the trial of Neeniah was over, the Inlialis ha(l a drunken pow-wow, which lasted three (lays. "It is not sur)rising that after this we shoul(l be told that on one occasion some squaws found himn ly ing ill a (Iruinken sleep, and covere(l him with (lrv grass and set it on fire, with the intention of roasting him. He escaped, though nearly burned to death. Tle was the only Indian in that vicinity with whoim the settlers ever experience(l trouble. "In 1838 and 1839 Neeniah had his wigwamn over on the other side of Battle creek, not far from the water works. One day while lie was absent hunting, two white men went to his wigwam and carried away four venison hams. One of the men took two of them home and hid them in the corn-crib under the corn. OF EATON COUNTY 1. 5 The other man put his two hams in a bag and miadle tracks for home, along the road rutitinsouth from here, past Amos IKinne's, where Stephen an(l Amos were engage(l in makinig an ox-sle(l. It had( been customiary for this man to stop and have long talks, but now he seeme(l to be iin great haste. Sooni Neemah came along, indlig-nantly following the big 'chemnokeman's' tracks, an(l holdinoi out two fingers on each han(d to show hlow mainy hams had been stolenl. 'he terriblv broken profanity that Neenlah indlulge(l in how lie followed those laroge tracks to a house some eight miles away, ani( stalked( in, and( how terribly he looked, when lie pointed into the spider on the cookstove. where somle of the venison was then cooking; how lihe afterwar(Is miet that m11an alone iln the Nwoods, one Sunilda nlorning, alnd how near Neenimah came to having, another niur(ler trial on his hailds, and the rescue by another white mlan, with xllhom I have talkedl, -I have not the tinie now to relate. '"\\hen the governlmenlt attelmpte(l to rcmove the Indialls from the state there were several smiall scatterel banl(ds that escapedl. ()nhe banl( of these ELaton county P'ottawattoillies nia(le tlheir escape into Cania(da, ti(ler the lead of Tuckaiiiill. li-e had fought on the si(le of the I ritish llnder T'ectuiseh, at the battle of the lThames, ai(l very naturally took a ban(l of followers an(l x-cit to Canada. Neenall, the \vife killer, went xvith him. Not an Ill(lial of this trilbe was agrain seenl in this county until ill April, 18w1, when three or four of the Cala(lian refugees camie to fBellevule to see their old friends amionl tile whites. ()iie day I saw one of themi visiting with AMr. lucas, in the kitchen, engaged ill an animate(l conversation in broken EIglish an(i Indiain. A (lescriIption of him will aniswer for the tribe: With a large knife, which lie had taken fromi its sheath, lie was picking a large ham bone, anl occasionally cutting slices from a loaf of bread which lay in his lap. Upon his head lie wore a large bright cotton handkerchief, folded into a towering turban. High tip in the back part of each ear hung rings of white metal. Hiis d(ress consisted of a blanket
Page 16 16 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY overcoat, a dark calico shirt, and leathern belt, a pair of leggings wrapped around his slender legs. and well-worn moccasins upon his feet. He made a great many gestures, and kept his knife and ham-bone constantly flourishing to express his meaning. Mr. Lucas asked him what had become of Neemah, who went with him to Canada. The reply as interpreted to me was, in substance, that Neemah had eaten too much corn, and killed himself. It must have been green corn of which he ate too much." Mr. Montgomery, a pioneer of Hamlin, says: "Deer, wolves and Indians were plentiful and seen almost every day." With his Indian neighbors he got along well, and through constant intercourse he became able to talk with them to some extent in their own language. He never gave them liquor, and if an undesirable customer came along, the words, "Quick, marchee, Ca-win-nich-enobby" sent the red man on his way, without loss of time. Robert Nixon says: "The Grand River Indians, as they called themselves, were quite numerous in Oneida until in the summer of 1839, when most of them were removed farther west. Their 'big wigwam' was on the farm of John Nixon in the township of Delta. From this rendezvous they used to spread over the genial forest, hunting, trapping, making sugar, and fishing in Grand river. At one or two tents in Delta they had over a thousand bark sap-buckets, made in the Indian manner of sewing the bark of the ash and elm together at the ends. Their trail from Grand river to the Thornapple was a little east of the present road, running south from Grand Ledge. They were civil in their intercourse with the settlers, but all of them most persistent beggars." Their chief was the celebrated Okemos, so well known to all the early settlers. In the spring of 1878, a discovery was made on the farm of E. L. Chamberlain, in the town of Chester, that throws some light on the former inhabitants of the township. A number of stones had for a long time been noticed standing upright in the woods, and on digging be tween them there were found a number of copper and brass kettles, tin pails, axes, hoes, dishes, spoons and forks, powder cans, gun ornaments, etc. The kettles and axes were of patterns that had not been in use for at least fifty years. It seems improbable that tin utensils would have lasted so long, but it would not have been singular to have found those of the other materials. The writer says: "The place is supposed to have been the site of an old sugar camp." But is it not much more probable that they are the spoils of an Indian foray and were here hidden? The spoons and forks would seem to be the utensils of white men, and their hiding would indicate that the possessor was not the lawful owner. Captain Fitzgerald, the first settler in Bellevue, found numerous wigwams standing near his home, covered with elm bark, and as the Indians were gone, he thought they would not need them any more, and took off some of the bark and roofed his barn with it. The red men returned, however, and were very indignant at what he had done. To pacify them it was necessary to send to Marshall for an interpreter, who explained matters, and the gift of provisions calmed their anger. The Captain had unwittingly been a trespasser, but it took some time and a long argument to convince them that such was the case. The burial ground of the Indians was at the western boundary of the present corporation of Bellevue, and within recent years boys have made excavations and found numerous trinkets that had been buried with the dead warriors. The plain on which Beilevue stands was used by them as a planting ground, and traces of their corn-hills were seen for a number of years after the coming of the white man. When Jonathan Dean, Sr., settled in Kalamo, some fifty or a hundred Indians camped in the northwest part of the township, every winter, and went away every spring to do their planting. The nearest grist-mill at the time was at Marshall, twenty-five miles distant, and settlers were obliged to go there to have their grinding done. Mr. Dean discov
Page 17 PAST AND PRESENT E77 * A n T^ / T T rT7- 7r ered one day, at the Indian camp, a squaw pounding corn in the end of a log that had been hollowed out, and then said he knew how to pound up corn and not have to go to the mill. He therefore hollowed out a pair of ash blocks, bound them together with iron hoops, and rigged up a large pestle, thus completing his "corn-cracker," which was the wonder of the settlers, and caused them to give the name of "Pestle Hill" to the locality. People from the Canada settlement, in Oneida, and from other places equally distant, stopped often at Mr. Dean's, and "Pestle Hill" was well known among the settlers, far and near. Mr. Dean's horses, which were allowed to run at large, acquired the habit of mingling with the Indian ponies, and the last time the Indians went away a valuable mare followed them, and did not return. But very few Indians were seen in the locality again. The mare was afterwards ridden into Marshall by an Indian who had some huckleberries for sale, and a man who recognized her spoke to the Indian, saying: "You have white man's horse." The noble red man did not stay to sell his berries, but fled. Mr. Dean received twenty-five, dollars from the government as pay for the horse, this sum being deducted from the amount that was to be paid to the Indians. William Dean, the eldest son of Jonathan, was quite a hunter, but was not always successful in hunting deer. One day he asked a young Indian, named Pe-Ton-wan, how he hunted. The Indian said: "Come on, William; me show you how to hunt deer." One morning the two went off in company and soon started a deer. The Indian exclaimed: "Come on, William," and began to run in the direction the deer had taken. William followed, and finally asked if that was the way the Indians hunted deer. "Yes," the Indian replied, "him get tired putty quick; then when he turn round to look, we shoot." William saw at once the joke the Indian was trying to play on him, and as he was the fleetest runner in the settlement, and had great endurance, he did not propose to be beaten, so kept on without a word. They leaped over streams 2 Jr rZiI Ui L. (Ui\ Y 17 and logs when they came to them, and the red-skin, after a time, began to look somewhat surprised as well as considerably tired. He asked several times, "William tired?" "Oh, no," was the answer, "run two days." The Indian finally, after leading young Dean away into Barry county, turned around, saying, "No catch 'im deer today," and started on the return. Dean now proposed to play a joke himself, and taking the lead bounded off at a lively pace, jumping over logs and clearing streams with as much ease as though he had not run a rod. The plucky Indian, though badly blown, continued to follow, but finally in attempting to jump a stream, which Dean had easily cleared, fell short and alighted in the mud and cold water up to his middle. William led the way straight to the Indian camp, where the squaws and all the Indians laughed loudly at the young brave'for having been beaten at his own game, and coming home in such a plight. The next day he saw William and asked him if he wanted to hunt, and on receiving an affirmative answer, said: "Me plenty sick here," placing his hands on his legs; "no hunt deer today." He was badly used up, and it is not likely that he ever again tried the same experiment with William Dean. Dea. S. S. Church, of Vermontville, says: "The Indians from whom our people used to obtain venison, fish, etc., by exchanging provisions for them, lived in our vicinity much of the time for several years. They were never troublesome. Several families of Indians came from Canada and stopped in our town, where they spent about a year. They were much more civilized than the natives. In their dress and habits they imitated the whites. They could talk good English, and hunted and trapped during the hunting season; at other times they chopped and cleared many acres of timber. The squaws were neatly dressed, and showed much skill in needle-work. Most of them were very devoted Christians, held Sabbath and weekly meetings, and frequently attended our church on the Sabbath. During their stay here a squaw died. One of their
Page 18 18 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY... - men made a coffin, and they desired a Christian burial. It so happened that Rev. Mr. Day, a Methodist preacher, who had been a missionary in the Mackinaw region, was laboring with the Methodist church in this town at the time. He was sent for and came to our church, and with the aid of an interpreter, preached the funeral sermon. Several of the native Indians attended. Our people went with their sleighs to the wigwams and brought the corpse to our church, and after the sermon carried the friends and remains to our burying ground and assisted in the burial. The corpse was clothed in a very nice white shroud, handsomely worked, with scalloped edges." Although Deacon Church says the Indians were never troublesome, they had some habits that were not altogether agreeable to the whites; some of them, like bad boys, liked to frighten people. A Pottawattomie chief, by the name of Sawby, Swaby or Saaba (for his name is spelled in different ways), lived in the town of Sunfield, not far from Vermontville and from him "Sobby" lake in that town took its name. E. W. Barber says of him that he was very shrewd, and was well known by all the settlers. Probably there was not a house he did not visit. He picked up all the slang and vulgarity that was in circulation, and often used the unseemly words and phrases in the presence of ladies. All English seemed to be the same to him, wherever picked up and whatever the meaning, and he (lid not improve on acquaintance. As he was in Vermontville often he became enamored with a bright young lady and made proposals of marriage to her father, but rather after the manner of politicians than of lovers. He proposed to buy rather than to woo, and offered to give four ponies and twenty-five dollars for her, or five ponies and no money. When she objected to such a deal, he said with disgust, "You no think me handsome." He was, however, very much in earnest and fears were expressed that he might attempt an abduction, but they were groundless. As the "white maiden" still lives and is unmarried it cannot I....... be said as an excuse that she never had an offer, and probably she has never had reason to think that she made a mistake in her decision. Sawby was not a good Indian. He had a disagreeable habit of visiting houses when the men were away, and frightening the women into giving him the best there was in the house to eat. He thus made hmiself a terror and a pest to the settlers, and does not seem to have been remarkable for anything else. Mrs. Cupp, one of the very early settlers in Sunfield, was much afraid of the Indians, who would come to the house when she was alone, wanting bread, etc., and would give the Indian whoop to frighten her. She had not forgotten the tales of Indian outrages in her own state, and the horrors of Wyoming were fresh in her mind, rendering the very name of Indian a synonym for all that was terrible. The Indians of Sunfield belonged to the band of the old chief Sawby, and were encamped on the shores of the lake that bears his name. They were no exception to the general rule among Indians, and would frequently fill themselves with "fire-water," paint themselves in fantastic fashion, and made a greater noise than a pack of hungry wolves on the trail of a wounded deer. Some liquor had been taken to their camp on one occasion, and every one was soon drunk-Sawby with the rest. Daniel Hagar visited the camp at the time, and the chief, who was extremely ill-tempered when under the influence of stimulants, proposed to "whip him." He choked and twisted him in a fury of delight, until he was recognized by Sawby's squaw, who told the chief who he was, and he was at once released, much the worse for the treatment he had received. Sometimes, after frightening a woman, the Indian would say: "White squaw much plenty fraid." REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS In 1840 the government of the United States removed the Pottawattomies from Michigan, beyond the Mississippi river. Gov
Page 19 PAST 'AND PRESENT - ernment agents and soldiers, under the superintendence of General Brady, were scouring the woods to collect and remove them. David Lucas, of Bellevue, was a great friend of the Indians, and saw them in council just west of Bellevue. They had received word that the troops were after them. Mounted on the backs of their ponies, huddled together as closely as they could stand, with the heads of their ponies all towards a common center, their wisest men were in deep and anxious consultation. Soon they scattered like a flock of blackbirds. One company fled north far into the forest. They had with them a sick squaw, which impeded their travel. They were overtaken and sought refuge in a dense swamp, which was surrounded by the cavalry, and, after two or three days' siege, they were brought out from their hiding place and taken to Marshall, the place of rendezvous for those taken in this part of the state. From thence they were taken to their place of banishment, beyond the Mississippi river. I am informed that, during the last night of their stay, the moans and lamentations were heart-rending. Those squaws were leaving their corn-fields, where they had worked so hard, their burialgrounds, their hunting and camping grounds, their homes. They were women, and all women love home. They were going to a strange land, where they had been told corn would grow only knee high, and pumpkins no larger than potatoes. The men wrapped themselves up in their blankets and bore their griefs in silence. The government would not let them have a single drop of whiskey to drown their sorrow. Even at that early date Uncle Sam had discovered that it was a great offense to sell whiskey to an Indian, and severely punished it. After the removal of the Indians from the county, the woods seemed lonely. Captain Hickok says that, "they had not been gone six months before we wished them all back., They helped us hunt and keep track of our cattle. If we lost an animal and described it to an Indian, he was sure to bring us information where it could be found. When we had visitors, the Indians would furnish us OF EATON COUNTY 19 with turkey or venison. The regular price for a deer, large or small, was one dollar in silver. They would as soon take a chip as paper money. A few Chippewas were left in the country, but their headquaters were at the Chimnecon mission, just over the north line of the county." The government might almost as easily have attempted to remove the squirrels from the state as to remove the Indians, for they were scattered all through the woods in small bands and individual families. According to the last census there are very nearly seven thousand Indians in the state todav. Several reservations of land were made for them in different parts of the state, which they held under different conditions. The government meant to furnish every Indian family with a homestead, and yet nearly all the land in these reservations has now passed into the hands of white men. The larger part of Isabella county was embraced in a reservation, and nearly all of this is now owned by white men. From Mr. Elias, a missionary Indian preacher, the following facts have been gleaned in regard to the Indians in the state. There are two or three hundred Chippewa Indians in Isabella county, about sixty near Kawkawlin, their chief being James Cloud. There are perhaps an hundred Chippewas near St. Charles, William Turner being chief and preacher; there are some sixty of them at Pinconning, and a hundred at Sagannin. Peter Sagatoo is chief and his wife is a refined lady from Massachusetts, who has cast her lot with the Indians to do them good, in which effort she has been quite successful, her husband too being a well-educated man. There are four or five hundred Tawas Indians in Oceana county, and about six hundred of this tribe at Cross Village, who are mostly Catholics. There are about 400 Pottawattomies near Pokagon and about an hundred more of them are supposed to be in Isabella county. At Mt. Pleasant, in Isabella county, is an industrial school for Indian children. At the
Page 20 20 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY presenttime there are there about three hundred Indian pupils are just as eager as white chiland forty children, who have come from all dren for an education. We are told that of parts of the state, the pupils being boarded and late there is a general desire on the part of clothed by the United States government. The Indian parents to have their children educated. CHAPTER VI EARLY HISTORY-THE FRENCH REGIME, 1629-1760-THE ENGLISH OCCUPATION, 1760 -1784-THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY, INDIANA TERRITORY, MICHIGAN TERRITORYCREATION OF,EATON COUNTY FRENCH REGIME In the year 1629, all the possessions of France in America fell into the hands of the English, who held them for about three years, when they were restored to France by a treaty of peace between the two countries. In 1668 Claude Allouez, Claude Dablon, and James Marquette established the first permanent mission and settlement within the bounds of Michigan, at the Sault Ste. Marie. French priests and traders settled soon after at Detroit and on the rivers Raisin and St. Joseph. The priests devoted themselves to the conversion of the Indians, and the traders to the buying of their furs. The traders frequently married the Indian women and sinking down to a lower level, made little progress in clearing up and settling the country. By virtue of prior occupancy, the whole country was regarded as under the sovereignty of France. In 1760 the whole French-Canadian possessions were surrendered to the British. Thus ended the sovereignty which France had held over a large part of this continent for over an hundred years. ENGLISH OCCUPATION One result of the Revolutionary war was that "under the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, signed at Paris, September 3, 1783, and ratified by congress, January 14, 1784, Michigan became a part of the American Union; but for various reasons the British government retained possession of Detroit and several other towns until July 12, 1796, when it was permanently yielded to the United States," and the starspangled banner was for the first time unfurled from its ramparts. In September of the same year, Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the Northwest territory, went to Detroit and organized the county of Wayne, named in honor of General Wayne, which included within its limits all of the lower peninsula of Michigan and portions of what are now the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, with Detroit as the county seat. The new county was entitled to three members of the territorial legislature, which held its sessions at Chillicothe, Ohio. This was the first civil organization within what is now the state of Michigan. Detroit then, according to Weld, contained about three hundred houses, and probably 1,500 inhabitants. This state was at one time under the jurisdiction of the state of Virginia. That state claimed it by virtue of a grant made to it by the English government many years before the Revolutionary war. The legislature of Virginia, however, by an act passed in 1783, authorized Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, to convey to the government of the United States all that part of the Virginia commonwealth, "lying f
Page 21 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 21 I and being to the northwest of the River Ohio." This included the great part of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. In accordance with this act these gentlemen made the conveyance on the first of March, 1784. INDIANA TERRITORY May 7, 1800, Congress passed an act dividing the Northwest Territory by a line located a short distance east of that which now constitutes the boundary between Ohio and Indiana, and extending thence north until it intersected the national boundary between Canada and the United States. It divided what is now the county of Eaton nearly in the middle, leaving about eight congressional townships in the old Northwest Territory and the county of Wayne, which latter, as then organized, was also bisected by it; and the remainder, a little more than eight townships, became a part of Indiana Territory. Ohio was admitted to the union as a sovereign state November 29, 1802, and from that date the whole of Michigan became a part of Indiana Territory and so remained until it was erected into a separate territory. The capital was fixed at Vincennes, Ind., and William Henry Harrison was appointed governor. TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN The act creating the Territory of Michigan was passed by congress on January 11, 1805, and took effect from and after June 30 of the same year. The governor and judges were appointed by the president of the United States and were endowed with legislative power. The territorial officers were nominated by the president on February 26, 1805. Gen. William Hull, an officer of the Revolution, was nominated for governor, and Hon. A. B. Woodward for presiding judge. The nominations were confirmed by the senate, and Judge Woodward arrived in Detroit on June 29, and Governor Hull on the first day of July. The territorial government of Michigan went into operation July 2, 1805. It included then only the lower peninsula, the remaining portions being attached to the Indiana and Illinois territories, respectively, until the latter was erected into a state, in 1818, when the region now constituting the state of Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan was attached to the Michigan territory; and in 1834 the territory now constituting the states of Iowa and Minnesota was annexed for temporary purposes. In 1823 a legislative council for the territory was granted, to consist of nine members, and to be appointed by the president of the United States. In 1825 the number was increased to thirteen, and they were made elective by the people. In the same year, also, all county officers, excepting those belonging to the judiciary, were made elective by the people, and the appointments remaining in the hands of the executive were made subject to the approval of the council. The governor and council were also authorized to divide the territory into townships and incorporate them, and to provide for the election of officers. The right of appeal from the territorial to the United States Supreme Court was also granted in the same year. In 1827 the electors of the territory were authorized to choose a number of persons corresponding with the council, and these, together with the original council, constituted a "territorial legislature," which was empowered to enact any necessary laws, provided they did not conflict with the Ordinance of 1787. A judiciary system was also established, and the militia was organized. In 1834 the people of Michigan took the preliminary steps for admission to the Union. The territorial legislature, on September 6, of that year, passed an act directing a census to be taken. This was carried out, and the returns showed a white population of 87,273. At the session of the council, in January, 1835, an act was passed authorizing a convention to be held in Detroit, on the second of May following,' for the purpose of framing a state constitution. This convention was composed of eighty-nine delegates, who met on the day specified, and continued in session until June 24. A constitution was framed and submitted
Page 22 22 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY -- to the people in October following, and it was adopted by a vote of 6,399 to 1,359. At the same time a full set of state officers and a legislature were elected to act under the,constitution. Hon. Stevens T. Mason, secretary and acting governor, was chosen governor of the new state. About this time there was a contention between this state and Ohio in regard to the boundary line between the two states, and Toledo was in the disputed territory. July 1, 1836, congress passed) an act admitting the state on condition that it would yield to Ohio its claim and accept in lieu of it the upper peninsula. This condition was reluctantly accepted, and the state was finally and fully admitted to the Union by an act of congress passed January 26, 1837. It is stated as a curious fact that from November, 1835, to January, 1837, Michigan had both a territorial and state government in full operation. CREATION OF EATON COUNTY The county of Eaton was created by an act of the legislative council of the territory of Michigan, passed October 29, 1829, which reads as follows: "That as much of the country as is included within the following limits, viz., north of the base line and south of the line between townships four and five north of the base line, and east of the line between ranges six and seven west of the meridian, and west of the line between ranges two and three west of the meridian, be and the same is set off into a separate county, and the name thereof shall be Eaton." The county was named in honor of Gen. John H. Eaton, secretary of war in the cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. On November 4, 1829, the territorial council of Michigan enacted, "That the county of Eaton shall be attached to and compose a part of the county of St. Joseph." The next day, November 5, 1829, the same council passed a law that the counties of Eaton, Branch and Calhoun, and all the country north attached to Eaton be set off into a township by the name of Eaton, and it was ordered that the first town meeting should be held at the house of Jabez Bronson, who lived on the site of the present village of Bronson in Branch county. This was no hardship, for there was not at that time a single white settler within the bounds of Eaton county. On July 30, 1830, the territorial council attached Eaton to Kalamazoo county for judicial purposes. This attachment lasted for nearly five years, but on March 17, 1835, the territorial council enacted: "That the county of Eaton shall be a township of 'Belleville,' and the first township meeting shall be held at such place as the sheriff of Calhoun county shall appoint in said county of Eaton, and shall be attached to the county of Eaton for all judicial purposes." The final act which gave Eaton county an independent existence was passed by the state legislature, 'December 29, 1837. It provided "that the county of Eaton be and the same is hereby organized, and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which by law the inhabitants of other counties of this state are entitled." While the name "Belleville" was given to the first organized township, 'including the whole county, it does not appear to have been used in any official documents. The second place where the name of the township is mentioned in a legislative enactment is in the session laws of 1837, March 17, where it appears under the name of "Bellevue." Official business has always been transacted under the latter name, and yet there is no known law showing that the name has ever been legally changed from "Belleville." The first division of the town of Bellevue occurred March 11, 1837, when Eaton and Vermontville were organized. The four northwestern townships, now Vermontville, Chester, Roxand, and Sunfield, were set off as a township, and named Vermontville; while the four southeastern townships, now Eaton, Eaton Rapids, Hamlin, and Brookfield were organized as the township of Eaton. This left the four northeastern towns, Ben
Page 23 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 23 ton, Oneida, Delta, and Windsor, and the four remaining towns, Bellevue, Kalamo, Carmel, and Walton, cornering at the geographical center of the county in a single organized township known as Bellevue. But on March 6, 1838, the northeast quarter of the county was detached from Bellevue and formed the town of Oneida. As early as 1832, George W. Barnes, a surveyor, found the beautiful prairie near the center of Eaton county, on which the city of Charlotte is located, and bought the land of the government; and on March 21, 1833, before the county contained a single white settler, he made application to Gov. George B. Porter for the appointment of commissioners to locate the seat of justice, making affidavit, "that in the month of May last he put up in three public places in the county of Kalamazoo notices that application would be made to the governor of the territory of Michigan to appoint commissioners to locate a seat of justice for Eaton county, agreeably to the law in such cases made and provided." Thereupon on April 29, 1833, Charles C. Hascall, Stillman Blanchard, and John W. Strong were appointed such commissioners. On June 5, of the same year, they reported to Governor Porter that they met "at Prairie Round (Ronde) in the county of Kalamazoo, on the 27th day of May, 1833, and on June 4, located the county seat on land which is owned by George W. Barnes;" and they added, "the point selected for the seat of justice in this county is on a beautiful prairie, about one mile square, near two and a half miles south of the center of the county, and about one mile north of the Battle creek, the nearest point to the center of the county where water can be obtained for hydraulic purposes." CHAPTER VII LOCAL HISTORY-EARLY SETTLEMENTS-EMIGRATION OF 1835-36-A COLONIZATION SCHEME EARLY SETTLEMENTS The first actual settlement in the county was made by Capt. Reuben Fitzgerald in July, 1833, in what is now the township of Bellevue. His daughter, Sarah Fitzgerald, whose birth occurred November 12, 1834, was the first white child born in Eaton county. The first white male child born in the county was Isaac E. Crary Hickok, son of Capt. James Hickok. His birth occurred September 7, 1836. Captain Hickok was the first settler in the town of Walton, but his son was born in Bellevue. On December 26, 1855, Sarah Fitzgerald was married to John Spaulding by Rev. G. W. Hoag. The first birth of a white child in the east part of the county was probably that of Phoebe K. Sarles, daughter of Samuel Sarles, a pioneer of Charlotte. She was born August 7, 1836, and became the wife of Jacob W. Rogers. Her death occurred May 28, 1875. The first death of a white person in the county, as stated by John T. Hayt in a historical sketch of Bellevue, written in 1869, was that of a man named Baker, who was killed by the caving in of the walls of a limestone pit that he was excavating. His death occurred in the summer of 1835. It frequently occurred that settlers moving into one part of a township, would live for years without knowing that there was any other family in another part. Sometimes their introduction to their neighbors came about through the straying of cattle in the woods. This was the experience of Samuel Sarles, on Sarles street, two miles northeast of the
Page 24 24 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY court house, and William Wall, five miles east of him, both in the town of Eaton. It is said that it was two years before they learned of each other's presence. Edward Foote gives the following facts in regard to the first settlers in the county: "There was a settlement in the northeast corner of Brookfield, commenced in 1837 by the Moes and Boodys, called Moetown. During the same fall, Jesse Hart came into the northwest corner of the same township, built his log shanty and shingled it with bass-wood troughs, and lived a long while ignorant of the existence of Moetown. In Oneida the first settler was Solomon Russell, who came in the fall of 1836. Erastus Ingersoll found his way into Delta in the summer of the same year. In Roxand the first settlers were Orrin Rowland and Henry Clark, who located in December, 1837. Andrew Nickle settled on the first day of January, 1838, having previously entered his land. In what is now Windsor, the first settlers were Orange Towslee and his family, who found their way into the township October 1, 1837. They were followed, October 6, by Oramel D., John D. and William P. Skinner. The first settler in Benton was Japhat Fisher, who, through a mistake, located his land six miles farther north than he intended, having calculated to settle on section 30 in the township of Eaton. He arrived in the town of Benton in February, 1837, and built an eightby-ten shanty. In Walton township the first settler was Capt. James W. Hickok, who came to the county in February, 1836, and moved in with his family the same year. His residence was on section 19. Vermontville was settled in 1836 by a colony from western Vermont, who gave it the name it bears in honor of the Green Mountain state. Samuel S. Hoyt and Peter Kinne were the first settlers in the town of Sunfield, having come in the fall of 1836. The first house in the township of Chester was built in September, 1836, by H. and 0. Williams, but they did not occupy it until June, 1837. Messrs. Wheaton and Fuller came in about October or November, 1836, and were the first families that settled in the township. Mr. Bouton followed in March, 1837. Two miles east of Eaton Rapids, on the county line, a settlement was made January 1, 1836, by John Montgomery, whose house was built in what is now Hamlin township, while his land lay in both Hamlin and Eaton Rapids townships. Mr. Montgomery claims to have been the first settler in the east part of the county, but by the statement of William Wall, of Eaton, and of the members of the Sarles family, it appears that Samuel Sarles settled on Sarles street, in the town of Eaton, in the fall of 1835. William Wall, of Wall's settlement, came to the same township, in company with James F. Pixley, in June, 1836. In what is now Eaton Rapids township, the first settler was Johnson Montgomery (brother to John), who located on section 36, in September, 1836. In Carmel township the first settlers were Platt Morey and Nathan Brooks, who came in the winter of 1837-38. The first actual resident of Kalamo was Martin Leech, in the fall of 1836. Very soon after came P. S. Spaulding and Daniel B. and Hiram Bowen." EMIGRATION OF 1835-36 During these years there seemed to be a spontaneous and widespread migratory spirit developed throughout the western part of New England. This migration was to Michigan, Northern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Edward W. Barber, who has given some thought and study to the subject, accounts for this movement as follows: "The migration from New England to the middle west began before 1836, and culminated soon after that year. At an early day the Erie canal was contemptuously called 'Clinton's Ditch.' This was opened in 1825 from the Hudson to Lake Erie. This afforded cheap transportation. The earliest movement was to western New York, that began soon after the canal was opened. Two of my uncles moved from Benson or Orwell, Vt., before I can remember. In 1832 another uncle moved to northern Ohio, and another one to Illinois, and a year or two later, still another went to Illinois. In 1835 Rev. Syl
Page 25 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 25 I vester Cochran came to Michigan, and on his return to Vermont set about organizing the Vermontville colony, that purchased land in 1836. The history of the Barber family is similar to that of many others. "Soon after the opening of the canal, the survey of land in Michigan commenced. In 1829 the first settler came to Jackson from New York. The land there had at that time been surveyed. It was land that tile early settlers wanted. It has been the habit of Americans to seek new land, exhaust its original fertility, and then move to newer regions. In Vermont the land was worn out, the Erie canal opened a cheap waterway to several states, many had large families, and the migratory spirit was active. Times were fairly good, money plenty, but the panic of 1837 came-caused, I think, by Jackson's war on the United States bank, and his specie circular. After 1837 times were hard, and after 1839 migration was small. "The New England migration was largely from Vermont, western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and some from New Hampshire. Maine did not send its contingent until our pine forests were brought into market, and here and there a Rhode Islander came. Connecticut filled up northern Ohio. The principal motive was farm homes in a more fertile region than among the New England hills." In 1836 the parents of the writer, in company with others, moved from Connecticut to northern Indiana. One of the characteristic features of that migration was that it was composed mostly of young married men, in the prime of life. In attending church or any large gathering of people one would seldom see a gray-haired person, and one when found was treated with very great veneration. Again, land was not specially desirable for men whose children were mostly daughters, and they did not generally migrate; but when the families were mostly boys, fathers could not afford to buy farms for them in New England, and came west where land was cheap. In the schools it was very noticeable that the boys outnumbered the girls nearly two to one. This inequality had a marked effect on the social relation of the sexes. The young women were exceedingly independent and almost scornful to the young men. On going to Ohio some years later, where the sexes were more equally balanced, the demeanor of the young women was in marked contrast to that of those further west. (The social effects are not best where one sex far outnumbers the other. An old Scotchman, in speaking of working once where the young men far outnumbered the young women, said: "The young women there were the sassiest he ever saw." It could not well be otherwise.) A COLONIZATION SCHEME The decade between 1830 and 1840 was prolific in schemes by Christian men for settling the newer parts of our country by colonies of families of kindred religious sympathies, who should go prepared at once to organize churches and establish schools for the educational and religious welfare of their own families, and that of the neighboring settlers. It was in 1832 that Rev. John J. Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart conceived the plan of the Oberlin colony, manual labor school and college. In 1835 the Rev. George W. Gale started in Illinois the town and colony named in his honor, Galesburg, and Knox college is the result. College building seemed to be a light task, and in 1836 the colony and college at Oberlin seemed to be so thoroughly established that the founder could pass on to establish other colleges. From Leonard's history of Oberlin, and a historical paper prepared in 1869 by Erastus S. Ingersoll, and another paper in 1876 by Mrs. Ingersoll, of Delta, Michigan, the following facts are chiefly gleaned: "In 1835 Father Shipherd was pastor of the church in Oberlin, and Rev. Elihu P. Ingersoll was professor of music in the college there, and also principal of its preparatory department; while an older brother, Erastus Ingersoll, who sympathized with the Oberlin experiment, and was living in Farmington, Oakland county, in Michigan, determined to
Page 26 26 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY -- push into the wilderness and make a new home. He thought that the time was not distant when the capital of the state would be moved from Detroit to a point nearer the center of the state. With the intention of locating near the future capital he purchased in the northeast corner of Eaton county, six contiguous eighty-acre lots of wild land, midway between Detroit and Lake Michigan. How well he judged, is shown by the fact that twelve years later the capital was located where it now is, six miles from his purchase. In the spring of 1836 he built a log house upon the land into which he moved his family, and thus he became the first settler in the township of Delta. "In April, 1836, George Whipple, a member of the first class in theology at Oberlin, but later a secretary of the American missionary association, was apparently prompted by some of the wealthy men in New York who had made large promises to Oberlin, to write to Mr. Shipherd a letter, which shows in detail how this colonizing business was to be managed and we here present a part of the letter: "'Three or four of the brethren will furnish the money needed to purchase a township six miles square containing 23,040 acres, whenever a suitable location can be selected. This tract will be divided into 36 sections, of which the central one, containing 640 acres, will be reserved for the college, to be used for buildings, houses for the professors, etc., as well as for the production of vegetables, small fruits, etc. Two roads, crossing each other at right angles, will cut this section into quarters, and at the point of meeting a park will be laid out, within which the colonial chapel will stand. Also further away, to the north, south, east and west, the college will possess four additional sections, upon which grass and the larger grains will be grown, making a total of 32,000 acres. The charge for village lots will be $75 to $300, and for farms from $4 to $10 an acre, according to location. The total cash value of the township is figured at $185,035. Of this sum they are ready to donate $10,000 to Oberlin, of the first money received to help her out of her financial troubles, and $80,000 for the endowment of the Illinois institution. Cannot you (M[r. Shipherd) or somebody else, go soon to Illinois, and make choice of an eligible tract, or at least come here to get the details of the undertaking proposed? After that some one should proceed to sell the lots, either to such as will remove to the township, or to those who are willing by making a purchase, to aid in founding a seminary in the far West. A profit of two hundred per cent will accrue to the investors. The New York brethren do not propose to put a dollar in their own pockets, but as soon as the township is sold, will purchase another and another, continuing until the whole western country is supplied with the means of obtaining a good Christian education. " 'Is not this feasible? Is not this the way to secure a right influence in that great valley? Is not this the way in which God means to keep it out of the hands of The Man of Sin, and to convert it to the true faith? Will not this hope warrant you in coming here to mature the plan and then at once set about pushing it forward? The location should be fixed immediately, for the most desirable sections will soon be appropriated.' [We cannot learn that this attractive scheme was ever carried out in detail, but it shows the main features which the originators wished to emphasize.] "It is impossible to tell how much influence this letter had upon Mr. Shipherd, but in June of that year he resigned the pastorate of the Oberlin church, giving as one reason, that he could do more good in supplying the church with 'effective laborers through the Oberlin institute and kindred seminaries, which under God he might aid in building.' "Very soon after his resignation, apparently in company with Mr. Elihu P. Ingersoll and some gentlemen from Massachusetts, he visited the land purchased the preceding year by Mr. Erastus Ingersoll. Those who are familiar with frontier hospitality and the elastic properties of log houses, will not find it difficult to believe the statement of Mrs. Ingersoll, that during the visit of these gentlemen their log cabin furnished lodging and entertainment for twenty-six persons.
Page 27 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTTY 27 "Mr. Shipherd was much pleased with Mr. Ingersoll's purchase and proposed to establish there a manual labor school to be called 'The Grand River Seminary.' Accordingly Grand River city was platted, lying partly in Delta township in Eaton county, and partly in Watertown, in Clinton county. About the middle of the track, and in Watertown, Mr. Ingersoll set apart forty acres known on the maps as 'Franklin Square,' for the use of the college. The first work to be done was to clear the square of the timber, and Mr. Shipherd tried to make arrangements to have this work begun at once, and Rev. E. P. Ingersoll went to the eastern states, and spent the fall of 1836 and the winter following in soliciting funds for the enterprise. He was received with so much favor in the form of subscriptions, 'that a large building for the accomnmolation of ptpils was formally commenced.' In the early part of June, 1837, Dr. Isaac Jennings, of Oberlin, visited Grand River city, but the bare fact of the visit is all that is known of it. Franklin Square lies about six miles northwest of the capitol in Lansing, but Grand River city was surveyed and platted ten years before the capital of the State was located in the woods, where it now is. It appears to have been laid out somewhat in accord with the letter of Mr. \Vhipple. Various documents establish the fact that about three years were consumed by Revs. Ingersoll and Shipherd in securing a site for the seminary, and in a canvass for funds and settlers with which the foundations could be laid. Things went on swimmingly for about a year. More than $10,000 had been subscribed, but it was the intention to keep on until $30,000 were promised, and fifty families were ready to go as pioneers to occupy land already secured. Moreover, an indebtedness of $3,000 had been incurred, 'money advanced by friends to buy a part of Grand River City.' But the crash of 1837 came and checked the work; no more money could be had, though for a year longer, subscriptions, that is, promises to pay some time, were secured. By May, 1839, however, all prospect of immediate success vanished. A circular was therefore published and sent to all subscribers, reporting what had been done, and explaining the existing situation. It bore the signatures of J. J. Shipherd, Isaac Jennings and E. P. Ingersoll, 'executive committee of Grand River Seminary.' The whole amount pledged was $10,488.91. The amount collected $3,779.77; 'expended to pay our loan, $1,448.97; traveling expenses, $480.10; agent's salary for three years, $736.08; expended in improvements, $1,123.62; a total expenditure equal to the receipts. We wish our patrons distinctly to understand that we intend to resume operations just as soon as their ability and willingness will permit us to do so.' The resumption, however, never took place, and 'Grand River City' is now known as 'Delta Mills,' and besides the Mills has a Methodist and a Congregational church, a school house, two or three stores, and perhaps forty or fifty houses. The Vermontville settlement was the most thoroughly organized colonNy in the county and we reproduce at length the sketch of it from the pen of Mr. Edward Barber." GENESIS OF "TIIE UNION COLONY" In the fall of 1835 Rev. Sylvester Cochrane, a Congregational minister of East Poultney, Vermont, came to IMichigan with a view to making a permanent location. He was the father of Lyman Cochrane, a prominent attornev of Detroit and a valuable member of the legislature, who died a few years ago. Mr. Cochrane found settlements so few and the inhabitants so widely scattered that it was impossible for them, except when gathered in villages, to have schools and enjoy religious privileges. Education and religion were needed-at the start as essential to the orderly development of civilized society. He returned to Vermont, thought out the plan of a colony and began preparations for the execution of his project. The prevalence of the "Michigan fever," easily increased by accounts of the great lakes in the heart of the continent, the oak openings, the beautiful prairies and the vast wilderness of the wonderful peninsula,
Page 28 28 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I where the wild Indians still had happy hunting grounds, made it an easy matter to arouse among enterprising Vermonters the hereditary tendency of members of the Aryan race to move westward. A strong and earnest man, full of missionary zeal, he visited different places in Vermont and met and conferred with those who desired to emigrate. Early in the winter of 1835-6 a meeting was held in East Poultney, which was attended by a number of persons who had caught the western fever. The plan proposed by Mr. Cochrane was discussed, approved and the initiatory steps taken to carry it into effect. Subsequent meetings were held in Castleton, Vermont, and on the 27th day of March, 1836, the constitution of "The Union Colony" was formally adopted. This being an unusual and unique inception of a colony for the settlement of a Michigan village and town, the document is worthy of preservation. That it might not be lost to posterity it is recorded in the office of the register of deeds of Eaton county. This fundamental declaration of principles and polity, with religion, education and association as its leading ideas carefully drawn, is styled, RULES AND REGULATIONS OF UNION COLONY "WHEREAS, The enjoyment of the ordinances and institutions of the Gospel is in a great measure unknown in many parts of the western country; and "WHEREAS, We believe that a pious and devoted emigration is to be one of the most efficient means, in the hands of God, in removing the moral darkness which hangs over a great portion of the valley of the Mississippi; and "WHEREAS, We believe that a removal to the west may be a means of promoting our temporal interest, and we trust be made subservient to the advancement of Christ's kingdom; "We do therefore, Form ourselves into an association or colony with the design of removing into some parts of the western country which shall hereafter be designated, and agree to bind ourselves to observe the following rules: "1. The association or colony shall be known by the appellation or name of 'The Union Colony.' "2. The Colony shall consist of those only who shall be admitted through a committee appointed for that purpose, and will subscribe their names to the articles and compact adopted by the colony. "3. We hereby agree to make our arrangements for a removal as soon as our circumstances will permit-if possible, some time during the summer or fall of the present year, 1836. "4. We agree, when we have arrived in the western country, to locate ourselves, if possible, in the same neighborhood with each other, and to form ourselves into such a community as will enable us to enjoy the same social and religious privileges which we leave behind. "5. In order to accomplish this object, we solemnly pledge ourselves to do all that is in our power to carry with us the institutions of the Gospel, to support them with the means which God has given us, and to hand them down to our children. "6. We do also agree that, for the benefit of our children and the rising generation, we will endeavor, so far as possible, to carry with and perpetuate among us the same literary privileges that we are permitted here to enjoy. "7. We do also pledge ourselves that we will strictly and rigidly observe the holy Sabbath, neither laboring ourselves, nor permitting our children, or workmen, or beasts to desecrate this day of rest by any kind of labor or recreation. "8. As ardent spirits have invariably proved the bane of every community into which they have been introduced, we solemnly pledge ourselves that we will neither buy, nor sell, nor use this article, except for medical purposes, and we will use all lawful means to keep it utterly out of the settlement. "9. As we must necessarily endure many
Page 29 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 29 I - of those trials and privations which are incident to a settlement in a new country, we agree that we will do all in our power to befriend each other; we will esteem it not only a duty, but a privilege to sympathize with each other under all our trials, to do good and lend, hoping for nothing again, and to assist each other on all necessary occasions." The above fundamental declarations, in the nature of a constitution, clearly set forth the secular and religious purposes of the Vermontville colonists, and they indicate the dominant New England ideas of sixty years ago. They are distinctively Puritan in character. Minister Cochrane was the leader of the flock into the western wilderness and, no doubt, they were drafted by him. But a plan of operations was needed to carry into effect these declarations, and hence a series of rules and regulations was adopted as a practical mode of procedure in purchasing and distributing the needed land among the colonists. This plan is set forth in a series of votes and resolutions herewith presented in full, which may be properly designated as a CODE OF LAWS FOR THE COLONY "The following votes and resolutions have been passed at the regular meetings of the colony, and are binding upon its members: "1. Voted, That a committee of two be appointed, whose duty it shall be to make inquiry concerning the character of individuals who may Wish to unite with the colony, and no person shall be admitted without the consent of this committee. (S. Cochrane and I. C. Culver were appointed a committee for this purpose.) "2. Voted, That three agents be appointed to go into the western country and select a suitable location for the use of the colony, and purchase the same. (Col. J. B. Scovill of Orwell, Deacon S. S. Church of Sudbury, and Wm. G. Henry of Bennington, were appointed a standing committee for this purpose.) "3. Voted, That we hereby authorize our agents to purchase for the use of the colony three miles square, or 5,760 acres, and as much more as they may have funds to purchase. "4. Voted, That the land, when purchased, be laid out by the agents so as to conform as nearly as the location and other circumstances will permit to the schedule adopted by the colony. "5. Voted, That no individual member oi the colony shall be allowed to take more than one farm lot of 160 acres, and one village lot of ten acres, within the limits of the settlement. "6. Voted, That the agents be authorized to take a duplicate or certificate of the purchased lands in the name of the committee for raising funds;' and the said committee shall hold the said lands in their possession until the first Monday in October, 1836, at which time the land shall be distributed among the settlers, according to some plan on which they may then agree; the village lots, however, may be taken up by the settlers when they first arrive, each one taking his choice of the unoccupied lots. "7. Voted, That each individual shall be obligated to settle the lot which he takes by the first of October, 1837, and in case of delinquency in this respect both the village and the farm lot may be sold to some other person. in which case the purchase money shall be refunded by the agents of the colony, with interest from the time it was paid. "8. Voted, That each of the settlers, when he unites with the colony, shall advance $212.50, for which he shall be entitled to a farm lot of 160 acres and a village lot of ten acres, to be assigned to him according to the rules of the colony; and if any settler shall find himself unable to advance this sum, he may pay $106.25, for which he shall be entitled to a farm lot of eighty acres and onehalf of a village lot; and in case no money is paid before the departure of the agents, those who are delinquent shall give a note to the committee for raising funds, payable on the 25th day of June next, with interest for three months. "9. Voted, That each settler, when he re
Page 30 30' PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY ceives a deed of his village lot, shall give a note to the agents of the colony, payable in two years from the first of September, 1836, for the sum of twenty-five dollars, and this sum shall be appropriated towards defraying the expenses of building a meeting-house for the use of the colony. "10. Voted, That an eighty-acre lot be reserved for a parsonage, out of the purchase, to be selected by the agents. "11. Voted, That our agents keep a regular bill of their necessary expenses, from the time they start until they have made a purchase and surveyed the village lots, and the colony pay one-half of said expenses. "We, whose names are hereto annexed, do hereby pledge ourselves that we will willingly conform to all the articles and votes of the colony as contained above. "The above and foregoing finally adopted March 28, 1836, at Castleton, Vt." NAMES OF THE COLONISTS The signatures of forty-two persons are affixed to the foregoing compact, but we give the names of only the twenty-two who became actual residents of the village and town of Vermontville, with the former residence and occupation of each when stated, in the order they appear. Except where otherwise noted they were citizens of Vermont, from Addison, Bennington and Rutland counties: Rev. Sylvester Cochrane, Poultney, clergyman. Hiram J. Mears, Poultney, wheelwright. Levi Merrill, Jr., Poultney, farmer. Simon S. Church, Sudbury, farmer. Jacob Fuller, Bennington, cooper. Oren Dickinson, West Haven, farmer. Elijah S. Mead, West Rutland, farmer. Wait J. Squier, New Haven, farmer. Stephen D. Scovell, Orwell, farmer. Simeon McCotter, Orwell, cabinet-maker. Walter S. Fairfield, Castleton, printer. Sidney B. Gates, Brandon, farmer. Daniel Barber, Benson, merchant. Jay Hawkins, Castleton, farmer. Martin S. Norton, Bennington, blacksmith. Dewey H. Robinson, Bennington, physician. Bazaleel Taft, Bennington, machinist. Roger W. Griswold, Benson, farmer. Edward H. Barber, Benson, farmer. Wells R. Martin, Bennington, surveyor. Charles Imus, Dorset, Vermont. Willard Davis, Bellevue, Michigan. George S. Browning, Bellevue, Michigan. Oliver J. Stiles, Bellevue, Michigan. Twelve different towns and eleven different trades or occupations are represented, but not a lawyer appears among them. Of these pioneer settlers Dr. Oliver J. Stiles settled in the village, remained but a short time and removed to New York; Charles Imus settled on the farm now owned by Chauncey H. Dwight, four miles from the village, commenced an improvement, sold out in two or three years and moved away; Bazaleel Taft settled on his village lot, remained there about two years, then moved to. a farm in the town of Kalamo, where he lived many years until his death; and Elijah S. Mead built a log house on his village lot and lived there a short time until his wife died in April, 1837, when he left never to return. The rest of those named became permanent settlers and were identified with the growth, progress and character of Vermontville. CONSIDERATIONS Among the miscellaneous papers preserved by S. S. Church and now in the possession of his son, E. P. Church, superintendent of the Michigan School for the Blind, is one which sets forth the "Considerations for locating a colony," probably prepared by Rev. Sylvester Cochrane. It also contains the names of thirty-two of the colonists and the sum contributed by each towards the purchase money of the land-in all $5,792.50. At the outset of these "Considerations" the charge of Moses to the delegates from the twelve tribes of Israel who were sent to search the land of Canaan is referred to-Numbers 13, 17-20, namely: "And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this
Page 31 PAST AND PRESENT L I Ac "7 on It. -._ _ way southward, and go up into the mountain: "And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many: "And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strongholds: "And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein or not; and be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land." Of course the Vermonters were not freebooters like the ancient Israelites referred to, as they had put up the money to buy the land they wanted, and their faces, like those oftheir Aryan ancestors for forty centuries, were directed westward instead of southward; but their agents were asked to have in view, in selecting a location-"first consideration, a healthy place, with good water, realizing that life depends upon this; second, a rich and fertile soil, well watered, interspersed with wood and prairie if practicable; third, to be located on or near a water fall is of great service to a colony; fourth, consider the country around -is there a prospect of its being speedily settled-is it capable of supporting a dense population-is it where produce can be got to market-is the soil qualified for various productions, not only for grain of different kinds and fruits, but for the mulberry, cattle, horses and sheep; fifth a situation where a canal or railroad may cross, or in the center of a county, will greatly increase the value of real estate; sixth, let it be near some navigable water, not compel one hundred and fifty souls to make a journey of one hundred and fifty miles through intolerable roads and get homesick before they see the place." THE PROSPECTING PARTY April 2, 1836, S. S. Church and William G. Henry, members of the purchasing committee, left Vermont, met by appointment at Troy, New York, and started by stage for Michigan. Their first Sunday was spent in Auburn. In western New York Wait J. Squier, one of ur /IT OUV COUNTY 31 the colonists, joined them. These three pioneers to spy out the land went to Lewiston, near the mouth of Niagara river, intending to go through Canada to Detroit, but were advised not to make the attempt on account of the badness of the roads. Accepting this advice they went to Buffalo with the intention of taking a steamboat, but the harbor and lower end of Lake Erie being covered with ice, they continued their journey by stage to Erie, Pennsylvania. Arriving there they found the south shore of the lake was free from ice and that a boat would leave for Detroit in a day or two, on -which they took passage. At Detroit they waited twenty-four hours for the stage to leave. It was an open wagon, the roads were horrible, and, besides paying fare, they worked their passage, carrying fence rails to pry the wagon out of the mud where the holes were deepest. Their objective point was the United States land office at Kalamazoo. Mr. Church stopped at Battle Creek, where his brothers-in-law, Judge Tolman W. and Moses Hall resided, for a much needed rest. Soon afterwards the committee met at Kalamazoo and began their search for a contiguous body of government land that would answer the purpose of the colonists. Failing to find such a tract as was wanted, Mr. Church returned to Battle Creek, procured a guide, and with one or two other colonists who had arrived there, set out on an exploring tour; while Messrs. Squier and Henry went to Grand Rapids to look for a location in that part of the territory. The Church party explored Barry county as far as Middleville and from there passed up the Thornapple river some distance east of Hastings, without finding what they wanted, namely: a tract of government land of the quality and quantity needed in a solid body, unbroken by swamps or marshes and free from "catholes." The original intention to obtain a location in the oak openings was found to be impossible, as all the desirable land had been entered by settlers and speculators. In 1836 the fever of speculation in Michigan real estate was at its height, and dreams of rapidly acquired
Page 32 32 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY wealth by land-grabbers were abundant. They continued until the collapse of the bubble a year or two later. It was also the wild-cat money era. The outlook for the committee was discouraging. With the money of over thirty persons in their possession to be wisely invested, with the ideals of the colony uppermost and with each one of the investors interested in obtaining as good a quarter-section farm lot and ten-acre village lot as any of their fellow colonists, it is not surprising that the committee began to despair of success. Returning again to Battle Creek Mr. Church, who was always on the alert for information, met Col. Barnes of Gull Prairie, who had helped survey Eaton county and was one of the original proprietors of Charlotte. From him he learned that the amount of land needed, if not taken within a short time, might be found in town 3 north of range 6 west. The next day by appointment they met at the Kalamazoo land office and obtained a plat which showed that only one parcel had been purchased in the township. A letter from Messrs. Squier and Henry stated that they were prospecting in the southwest part of Ionia county, with headquarters at Middleville. They had not found a desirable location on government land. Events began to focus on Vermontville. PLANTING THE COLONY The committee were faithful to the trust reposed in them. They knew what they wanted, but thus far had failed to find it. In a narrative of the further steps taken to locate the colony, written by Mr. Church and printed in the Charlotte Republican several years ago, he says: "I repaired to Middleville and our company came in. They examined my plat and we concluded to go to Eaton county. The next morning I made out an application for land enough to cover the amount we wanted, sent one of our number to the land office with my application, while the rest of us went to Battle Creek to make arrangements to explore the town. Here we found two or three more of the newly arrived colonists. We were nearly two days procuring an outfit and getting to our destination. The third day we explored the town, running nearly every section line. All were satisfied with the land. We then went to Kalamazoo and on the 27th of May, 1836, I took up the amount of the colony purchase, also about twenty lots over and above that for members of the colony and others. We then returned to the purchase and selected the south half of section 21 for the village. W. J. Squier had his surveying implements with him, so that we were enabled to lay out the villlage, which we did agreeably to instructions. Those of us who were present selected our village lots and marked them on our plat." The village was platted one mile and forty rods long east and west by half a mile north and south and was sub-divided into thirty-six lots, fronting twenty rods in width on the east and west street, extending eighty rods north and south and containing ten acres each. The east and west street became the leading highway from Charlotte to Hastings, and later, after the location of the State capitol at Lansing, a part of the Lansing and Allegan State road. The farm lots were located around the village in all directions. By adopting this plan of settlement the colonists became near neighbors and enjoyed the benefits of society, school and religious meetings from the start. Among the colonists were a clergyman, two physicians and a blacksmith. West, in, Castleton, just over the town line, a shoemaker, Joseph Rasey, had settled on a wild eighty acres, and to him with a side of sole leather and enough upper leather to shoe the family the boys would go every fall, after the frost had begun to bite, and have a pair of cowhide boots made for winter, going barefoot and enjoying an occasional stonebruise having been the summer custom; while north of the village three and a half miles, in the edge of Sunfield, lived 0. M. Wells, a tailor, who brought his trade with him from New York, and to him the cloth for making Sunday clothes would be taken and cut into garments to be made up by a seamstress in the
Page 33 PAST AND PRESENT house. The nearest place to get a pound of saleratus or green tea was at Bellevue, also the post office, fourteen miles away, and most of the trading was done at Marshall, twentyeight miles distant, C. P. Dibble & Co. being the favorite merchants. The nearest grist mill was at Bellevue and the nearest saw mill, owned by Oliver M. Hyde, afterwards a prominent citizen of Detroit and mayor of the city, was in Kalamo, seven miles distant. From there W. J. Squier drew the lumber to build the first frame house erected in the village or town in 1837-8. While William G. Henry was a member of the committee that selected the location and was one of the original members of the colony, signing its constitution and by-laws at Castleton, Vermont, he did not settle in Vermontville, but in Grand Rapids, where he was for many years a prominent and highly esteemed citizen. He married Huldana Squier, sister of Wait J. Squier, who, as the record shows, was a leading colonist. Mr. and MI\s. Henry's oldest daughter, Annette Henry, married Gen. Russell A. Alger, a prominent citizen of Detroit and of Michigan. As Mr. Henry was instrumental in locating the Vermontville colony, gave his counsel and advice to its organization, and selected a village lot. although not one of its pioneer settlers, he is justly entitled to special and honorable mention. OF EATON COUNTY 33 THE VILLAGE PLA\T The Marshall and Ionia road parsed through the center of the village from south to north and became the first weekly mail route from Bellevue to Ionia, through the western part of Eaton county. A post office was established in 1840 with Dr. Dewey H. Robinson as the first postmaster. From each of the four central village lots about an acre was taken and set apart for a public square. In the original conveyance from the trustees who located the land one-thirty-second part of this square was deeded to each colonist. By common consent the northwest quarter of the square was used as a site for the first leg school house and a few years later for the academy building, the southwest quarter for the Congregational church, the northeast quarter for a Methodist church, and the southeast quarter was occupied for some years by hay scales and has been quite a place of resort for Canada thistles, which were introduced in 1837 in the Vermont rye straw used by W. J. Squier to pack his household goods for moving. With very few exceptions the original settlers have passed away, bI:t the thistles still survive them. The following diagram, with the nalme of the original selectors of village lots as of record in the office of the Eaton county register of deeds, gives a better idea of the plat Than words can convey: North. 18 2 p, 18 17 0 v) D. 17 16 0 5, o P, 16 15 "C 0 15 14 o, to 1o 14 13 td w, Ip 12 P, or 3' 0 12 11 2. 11 10 9 oh - 0 ri Public square 10 9 Z a 10 9 8 cl 8n _: 8 7 _-. 11 6 93 0 5 0 y I, g C0;r o, 5 sC r 4 s: rD P) n, vn 3 w td 0o 3 CL 2 - 0.p 0. n ft 4 4 0 o 0? 7 6 Cl( ) (*) (0 n ) p 0 a o 5, - 3 SC 'C ~ - 3 -. a~" C ab C 5 4 3 2 1 13 3 S 3 South.
Page 34 34 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Thus the "Union Colony" was planted. The actual fell far short of the ideal. Youthful imagination was disillusionized when living in the woods and clearing away the forests commenced. But few of the pastoral "considerations" presented in imitation of the ancient Hebrew example were realized. Barring the indigenous ague and fever, it was a healthy place; the water was good, the soil was rich and fertile but covered with heavy hardwood timber; there was no waterfall, only the sluggish Thornapple and Scipio winding through broad and miry bottom lands, with suckers, red horse and pickerel; all forest and no prairie; far away from the desired center of a county and from markets-fourteen miles from Charlotte, fourteen miles from Hastings, twenty-eight miles from Marshall and twentysix miles from Ionia; no navigable water nearer than Lake Michigan and the surveyed Clinton and Kalamazoo canal that never materialized; never a mulberry, but wild grapes, plums and cranberries and the most horrible and roughest roads-roots, stumps, corduroys and mud of great depth and adhesivenessthat mortals ever traveled through this vale of tears. The panic of 1837 came; the Michigan fever abated; there was no sale for land at any price; and with a good deal of heroism these early settlers commenced the work of making homes in the wilderness. THE FIRST BLOWS STRUCK Some of the colonists who went with the first prospecting party to spy out the land, among whom the names of W. J. Squier, W. S. Fairfield and Levi Merrill are mentioned, remained in the woods, and the latter part of May, 1836, went to work felling the forest trees, building log houses and shanties and clearing for crops a few acres of land. The first potatoes and corn were grown among the stumps and logs. Sometimes potatoes were cooked in the hot ashes of a burning log heap and green corn roasted by its live coals. No portion of southern Michigan was more heavily timbered, mostly beech and maple, with ash, oak, elm, cherry, basswood and black walnut interspersed. The winter of 1835-6 was the last one of centuries of savage solitude. Prior to the advent of these first settlers, except an occasional blow struck by some hunter, surveyor or nomadic Indian, no sound of a civilizing axe had disturbed the silence or awakened an echo in the forest. So in May, 1836, the work of transformation from an unknown and prehistoric past of wild animals and men to the known present and to a future, the nature of which none of us can guess, actually commenced. The era of the bark shanty and pole and brush wigwam of the Indian ended there and then. Log houses were built that summer by those who remained for themselves and their coming families, and a colony house was erected to shelter other settlers as they arrived. Log house raisings were frequent and all turned out to help each other without expecting or desiring pay for the labor. Each house raising was a thank offering to the new and always welcome settler. During that summer, 1836, Bazaleel Taft came with his family and settled on his village lot, but he moved to the town of Kalamo in a year or two and resided there the remainder of his life. Reuben Sanford, having purchased eighty acres of land adjoining the colony, also moved in that summer with his wife and only child, a daughter, living for a while in an unoccupied shanty on the Colver village lot until his own log house was built, and though not a member of the colony, became the first permanent settler in the town. Soon after their arrival, while living in the shanty, a son, Henry Sanford, was born, and was the first white child born in Vermontville. Twenty-five years later, when the civil war came, he was one of the first of the Vermontville boys to enlist as a soldier, and he died in the service. During the fall Jacob Fuller and wife, Elijah S. Mead and wife, Jay Hawkins and wife with one child, Horace Hawkins, who still resides on a farm his father located, and W. S. Fairfield, arrived. March 24, 1837, Mrs. Elijah S. Mead died after a brief illness, at the age of 22 years, the first
Page 35 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 35 death in the colony. There was no physician to be had; womanly kindness and care did all that was possible for her, but in vain; and, disheartened, Mr. Mead moved back to Vermont. Besides these families, several of the men who belonged to the colony came that year to inspect the purchase and make up their minds about moving. On the first Monday of October, the third day of the month, a large number assembled at the colony house. and after a prayer by Rev. Mr. Cochrane, proceeded to distribute the farm lands by lot, agreeably to the plan set forth in the articles of association adopted at Castleton, Vermont, the previous March. To meet the expenses incurred by the agents for locating the land a committee was appointed to make an assessment upon the farm lots which, because of their location, were the most desirable. This was agreed to and the sum of $400 raised for that purpose. When it was voted to make the distribution by lot, and quoting S. S. Church again, "each one drew and was satisfied." In addition to the families already mentioned, several of the men who came in the fall remained, among them Oren Dickinson with two hired men, to make preparation for bringing their families the coming year. S. S. Church and W. J. Squier returned to Vermont that autumn for their families. About the middle of November, 1836, Mr. Church arrived in Battle Creek with his wife and six children, it having taken nine days to reach there from Detroit by wagon, and in January, 1837, they all moved to Vermontville and commenced housekeeping in the colony house. Mr. Squier returned with his family in April, 1837. In the fall of that year several colonists had arrived, and among them Rev. Sylvester Cochrane with his wife and two children-Lyman Cochrane and Sarah Cochrane. EARLY EXPERIENCE AND GROWTH The work of founding a new colony in the wilderness was begun. Only those who have had experience of pioneer life know what it means. After a few acres of land were cleared by each settler there was always enough to eat. At first provisions were scarce, and there was no certainty as to where a supply would come from. R. W. Griswold, soon after his arrival, started out to find something to eat with the horse team and wagon owned by Oren Dickinson. He drove to Climax, Kalamazoo county, where he found and purchased a load of wheat, had it ground in a grist mill at Verona, a few miles northeast of Battle Creek, and after a week's absence returned to the colony with the first load of flour, shorts and bran for the anxious pioneers. But the women and men of that early period did not live by bread alone. Physically they needed food, shelter and raiment, but mentally they were sustained by an earnest purpose. Intelligent, courageous and devoted, deprived of many familiar comforts, yet willing to endure privations and hardships for the sake of an idea and to make life better worth living for their children, still they belonged to their time, were firmly established in their inherited political and religious opinions, and did not think the thoughts that women and men think today. Transplanted to the west with its broader horizons, even they slowly yet steadily outgrew themselves and their New England prejudices. In after years, as they went back to make their old Vermont homes a visit, they lost all desire to return. The old life and environments they had forsaken seemed pinched and narrower to them. Thus the west has uniformly brought an expansion and liberalization of American ideas. Men cannot separate themselves wholly from the traditions of the past, but amid new surroundings these traditions grow weaker with the lapse of time. They were fully up to their time, but it was a slow-moving era, and( thoughts ran in wagon ruts instead of along electric wires. Bv wagon road, canal and lake, and such horrid highways as Michigan then afforded, guided through the woods by blazed trees, it took three weeks to make the journey from Vermont to Vermontville if no time was lost,
Page 36 36 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY -- - now made in thirty hours, yet fewer making it now than then; the postage on a letter was twenty-five cents; telegraphs and telephones were not invented; railroads were just beginning to revolutionize industrial and social conditions; nevertheless life, for the sake of home, family, virtue, morality, intelligence, kindness and love, and the refining influence of society, was no less worth living then than it is now; although, knowing the present, humanity could find but little external satisfaction in the past of our immediate ancestors. Words cannot convey an accurate impression of the labor of the days that antedate reapers and mowers, when the sickle and the grain cradle, the scythe and the handrake were the implements of the harvest and hay fields-the days that antedate railroads, telegraphs and telephones, before steam and electricity became agencies for doing the world's work. To those of us who knew something of that early period it seems like a dream. GETTING IN AND OUT Roads wvere horrible; sometimes impassable; when not raised eighteen inches to two feet above the surface by hauling logs across the driveway and rolling them close together, called corduroy, they were two feet below the surface in the mire, and even then not very solid. Often, as "In the days of Shamgar. the son of Anath in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through the bye-ways." From Bellevue, through the woods for fourteen miles to the nearest postoffice, the road was of such a character as to make the last installment of the journey from New England to the colony the hardest part of the trip. It was merely underbrushed, trees on each side blazed with an axe to guide the traveler, and passing over many low and wet places, they soon became quagmires by being cut up by passing teams. A mile an hour was good time over them. Some families, when moving in, were compelled to camp out in the woods over night, and to accommodate them a shanty was built near a brook for shelter. From this fact the stream got the name of Shanty Brook, by which it is still known. In October, 1839, when my father, Edward H. Barber, moved in, with his wife, four boys, an ox team, wagon and cow, we left Bellevue a clear and frosty morning, before the sun was up, stopped long enough in the woods to eat a lunch, feed the oxen and extract some milk from the brindle cow, and about nine o'clock in the evening arrived at the top of the hill in Vermontville. a rain storm having set in after dark at the close of the day and of Indian summer. The first log house at the top of the hill was owned by Sidney B. Gates, and he came out with an old-fashioned tin lantern and tallow dip to light and guide us to our destination, the house of Oren Dickinson, three-quarters of a mile distant. For a mile or two north of Bellevue the road had been chopped out four rods wide, and also for half a mile or so south of Vermontville. The rest of the way the track was through the woods, and sometimes hard to find on account of the fallen leaves. But we made a mile an hour that last one of eight days from Detroit, and three weeks from Benson, Vermont, and reached our stumpy Canaan at last.. In the spring the Thornapple river about a mile south of the village overflowed its broad bottom land, rendering it impassable for teams. In April, 1837, W. J. Squier arrived at the south bank of the river with his family just at night. The water was so high they could not cross. Learning of their arrival and knowing the situation, R. W. Griswold and W. S. Fairfield waded across with provisions and took them to an Indian wigwam not far away, where they stayed over night. The next morning Mr. Griswold ferried Mrs. Squier and their youngest child across in a small dugout, or log canoe, a distance of about eighty rods. During the day the team and household goods were got over. To go to Bellevue to mill and return always required two days: Such incidents, not being able to make fourteen miles by daylight with a pair of horses and a wagon, show better than words can de
Page 37 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNrTY scribe the character of the roads the first settlers traveled over. In a few years they were improved so that the trip to Marshall, where most of the settlers sold their products and did their trading, could be made comfortably in a day, going there one day and returning the next, though when goods were to be purchased for the winter outfit for the family the trip and trade would consume three days. While Michigan roads are not the best in the world all the year round, the soil being too good and the frost sinking too deep to permit making firm and solid roadbeds at a cost rural communities can stand, yet they have improved greatly and should be improved more. The first settlers did a great deal of gratuitous work on them in the way of chopping bees to cut down the timber for the four rods width of the highways and letting the sun in to dry out the soil. Even then the wagon track was for several years a line of curves to avoid big stumps. A vast amount of labor was involved in making them passable evidences of civilization, for, as Dr. Bushnell says: "The road is the physical sign or symbol by which you will best understand any age or people. If they have no roads they are savages, for the road is a creation of man and a type of civilization." Almost every year during the spring freshets the low lands along the Thornapple were overflowed and impassable. The river channel ran close to the high bank on the south side, and north of it to high land again, towards the village, was about eighty roads of bottom and in some places almost bottomless. Sometimes cattle would wade to the bridge and cross over to the south side to feed during the day, returning at night. One morning they went across, among them a cow belonging to W. S. Fairfield. Towards night they crossed the bridge, homeward bound, and commenced traveling in single file over the log causeway. The water had risen so much during the day that some of the logs were afloat. As the cattle stepped on them they were easily displaced and those in the rear found it difficult to make the passage. The last one was Fairfield's milch cow. She struggled along, plunging into the water, swimming in deep places and here and there finding logs that had not floated, succeeded in making slow progress, until she was nearly exhausted. About half way across were two big oak logs, nearly four feet in diameter, in the causeway, which were higher than the others and did float. The cow gained a position on these logs and would go no further. Poles were placed around her to keep her from falling off, feed and bedding were taken to her in a boat, she was miilked twice a day and remained on these logs for several days until the water subsided. ORGANIZING THE CHIURCHI Although much isolated from the rest of the world, these colonists had the advantage of good society and they provided themselves with religious privileges and a school for their children from the start. In February, 1837, a Congregational church with sixteen members was organized by Rev. S. Cochrane, its first pastor, and his duties extended over a period of five years. It would have been slim picking for the minister, no doubt, but for his working the land as did all the rest and some aid from the Home Missionary Society. We have an original subscription paper, dated Sept. 24, 1838, which says: "We, the subscribers, being desirous to sustain the preached gospel in this place, agree to pay the several sums annexed to our names respectively, to the support of the Rev'd S. Cochrane as our minister. Said sums to be paid in labor in chopping or clearing off his land, in cash or produce, as may best suit the subscribers, and as they may agree with the said Mr. Cochrane, two-thirds of said subscription to be paid by the fifteenth day of May next, and the other third by the first day of October, 1839." The names, conditions of payment, and amounts on this paper are: S. S. Church, paid, $10; Warren Gray, in labor and team work, $6; H. J. Mears, in labor, $6; Jay Hawkins, in labor with team, $6; Jacob Fuller, in labor or cooperage, $5; Wait J. Squier in labor and team work, $10; S. D. Scovell, $10; Reuben Sanford, in produce, $5; Alexander
Page 38 38 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY and William Clark, $5; Martin & Robinson, in goods,.$15; William P. Wilkinson, $T; M. S. Norton, $5; Sidney B. Gates, $5; George S. Browning, $8; Oren Dickinson, $10; Levi Merrill, $5; Oliver J. Stiles, $10; Samuel S. Hoyt, $5; Roger W. Griswold, $5; W. S. Fairfield, $5; Charles Imus, in shoemaking, $5; F. Hawkins, $1; Win. B,. Fuller, $1.25; Joshua Blake, in work, $1; Peter Kinne, $1; E. O. Smith, $1. Of these subscribers Samuel S. Hoyt and E. O. Smith resided in what afterwards became the town of Sunfield. Mr. Hoyt lived six miles north and his nearest neighbors in 1837 were in Vermontville. S. S. Church, in a sketch of the early settlements, says: "During this season, Samuel S. Hoyt, who lived six miles from any white inhabitant, and whose wife had not seen a white woman for several months at a time, brought his wife on an oxsled to the colony, and after two or three weeks returned home, rejoicing in the possession of a fine daughter to cheer the loneliness of his forest home. Nor was this an isolated case. One from Chester occurred the same season, and not long after one from a remote part of our town." THE SCHOOL AND ACADEMY In the summer of 1838 the first school was taught in a private house. In the fall of that year a log school house was erected on the northwest quarter of the public square, in which schools were regularly taught and the scholars uniformly whipped from three to four months in summer by a female teacher, and for three months in the winter by a male teacher. A rate bill was prepared by the school officers to raise the money to pay the teacher, and the wood was furnished pro rata by the patrons of the school. The teachers boarded around at the homes of the pupils, the length of time at each place determined by the number of scholars in the family. When there were but two rooms in a log house, one down stairs and the other up stairs, with hardly a spare corner, sleeping a teacher was more difficult than feeding him or her. An aristocratic log house would have two rooms on the ground floor, and that made matters pleasanter. However, all got along very well, and the petty annoyances were soon forgotten. In 1843 an academical association was formed, the money raised by subscription and the materials procured to build an academy, the building to answer the double purpose of a school and meeting house. Finding it best to have a legal existence, the Vermontville Academical Association, with W. U. Benedict, Oren Dickinson, S. S. Church, Daniel Barber, W. J. Squier, M. S. Norton, D. H. Robinson and Levi Merrill for the first board of trustees, was incorporated by act of the State legislature April 28, 1846, and vested with "power to establish at or near the village of Vermontville, in the county of Eaton, an institution for the instruction and education of young persons." Nine trustees were provided for and the capital stock of ten thousand dollars was divided into one thousand shares of ten dollars each. Prior to this act of incorporation, in the fall of 1844, the upper story of the academy building was completed, and Rev. W. U. Benedict, pastor of the church, taught for four months of the winter of 1844-5 the higher English branches and the languages. Mr. Benedict continued to teach in the academy for several successive winters and gave general satisfaction. The district school was also continued summer and winter until both were merged into a union school with two departments. In 1870 the present union school building was erected at a cost of about $12,000. The old academy was a well conducted and popular institution while under charge of Mr. Benedict, and scholars attended it from various parts of Eaton county and from Battle Creek for several winters. A handbill for the winter term of 1849 has been preserved and is worth reproducing entire: "VERMONTVILLE ACADEMY!! - The Winter term of this Institution will commence October 9th, 1849, and continue 20 weeks under the superintendence of Rev. W. U. BENEDICT. Mr. B.'s success as a Teacher hith
Page 39 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUN TY 39 I erto, and the location of this Institution, removed from everything that tends to divert the student's mind and draw off his attention from his studies, render this a desirable Institution for those who wish to make improvement. The terms of tuition are: Per quarter "For common English branches....... $2.50 For Higher English branches......... 3.00 For Languages....................... 3.00 With a small charge for incidental expenses. Board can be obtained at from $1.00 to $1.25 a week. By order of the Trustees. S. S. CHURCH, Clerk. VERMONTVILLE, Aug. 10, '49." In the winter of 1846-7 George N. Potter of the town of Benton, sheriff of the county for four years and recently state senator, was one of the scholars, and he paid his board by slashing down the timber on several acres of land just north of the academy for W. S. Fairfield. A full account of the colony that settled Olivet will be found elsewhere. These three colonies, Delta, Vermontville and Olivet, are believed to be the only strictly colonizing efforts that were made in the county; yet it frequently happened that several families who were acquainted in the eastern states would settle near each other. This was true at Dimondale, and may have been of other places. In 1836, six or eight young families, by the names of Nichols and Nixon, came into the state from near London, in Canada, and settled in the southeastern corner of the township of Oneida. They were soon followed by several other families from the same vicinity in Canada, so that the settlement was soon called "The Canada Settlement." CHAPTER VIII LOCAL HISTORY-"THE STRENUOUS LIFE"-PERSONAL REMINISCENCES "THE STRENUOUS LIFE" Unless a man has had some experience in clearing up a new country he cannot realize under what great disadvantage all work is done. When a man had paid for his land, moved his family onto his lot, had secured a yoke of oxen, a lumber wagon, a cow, a dog and a rifle, and had ten dollars in his pocket it might be thought that he was pretty well fixed to begin the world; but he found that everything needed to be done, and done at once. The cattle were turned loose to get their living in the woods, but they were in a strange place and he could not tell where they would wander, and when wanted he must spend half the forenoon wading through the wet grass and weeds before he could find them. The first necessities for cooking are fire and water, but the wood must first be cut and the water brought from some spring or stream, possibly half a mile or a mile away, and this must be done day after day until his house or shanty was finished. For help in digging his well, he must change work with some neighbor. By the time the house was built, his well dug, his money has been used up for provisions, and he was obliged to go to the older settlements and work several weeks in order to get a further supply of food. If he secured grain, he must go twenty miles to mill, and the roads were so bad that it took him three or four days. Roads needed to be cut out and worked at once; the heavy timber must be cut and burned before he could put in any crops, and after the ground was cleared the fields must be fenced in order to save the growing crops. When his first crop of wheat was raised it must be stacked outside, for he has no barn in which to store it, and had to be threshed by laying the sheaves on the ground and driving his cattle round-and-round upon it, and then cleaned by the wind, and this was a very wasteful way of securing the crop. Very likely
Page 40 40 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY by that time he had broken a chain or lost a bolt from his wagon, and the nearest blacksmith who could repair the loss was eight or ten miles away. He might find the blacksmith ready to do his work but out of iron-which occasioned further vexatious delay-for he had to go six or eight miles in another direction to a country store that carried a small stock of iron, to get ten cents' worth of iron, and it took him a whole day to get twenty-five cents' worth of blacksmithing done. Then there were hundreds of little things, that at the old home were thought to be of so little value as not to be worth taking to the new home, that were sorely missed. In case of sickness the doctor was many miles away. In the clearing up of every new country there is more or less of ague to be encountered and few diseases are more vexatious and discouraging to the pioneer than the ague which hangs on and on, week after week and month after month. A man may be able to do a little work one day and will be flat on his back the next, while his work is of necessity neglected. In these circumstances many men determined that as soon as they could they would sell out and go back to the east; but after having "worn out the ague" they changed their conclusions. It is an interesting inquiry what food the pioneers found ready to their hand on coming into the woods. From what has been said in regard to game it will be seen that if a man had a good rifle he could provide for his family a fair supply of meat from the deer, turkeys, squirrels, raccoons, bears and pigeons. Fishes were also to be had in the lakes and streams. There was quite a variety of wild fruits, plums, crab-apples, huckleberries, raspberries of different kinds, blackberries, strawberries, and elderberries. There was also a great variety of nuts, acorns, beechnuts, hazel-nuts, butter-nuts, black walnuts and hickory-nuts. Hogs would get quite fat on the nuts, and when fattened exclusively upon' them, the lard was so soft that it would scarcely harden in the coldest weather, and was frequently used for lighting purposes, sometimes in lamps and at others placed in a saucer with a wick laid over the edge and set on fire. Occasionally a tree was found that contained a swarm of bees, where they had worked for years and laid up quite a stock of honey. But the chief source of sweetening was the sugar maple. The Indians had obtained a great deal in this way, but were so untidy in their habits that few white folks wished to patronize them. But the early settlers made very large troughs from the whitewood trees, capable of holding several barrels of sap, and used them to store it in until it could be boiled down. The sap as it flowed from the trees was caught in smaller troughs, made from basswood or whitewood trees about eighteen inches in diameter, cut into three-foot lengths, then split and each half hollowed out to make the trough. And when not in its legitimate use was frequently found to be a convenient cradle for the baby. This county abounded in sugar maples, and as long as cane sugar was sold at ten and twelve cents a pound the manufacture of maple sugar was a profitable industry; but since the best cane sugar is sold for five or six cents little maple sugar is made, and the farmers are cutting down their sugar bushes. In 1874 a census was taken and it was found that 322 tons of maple sugar had been manufactured in the county. This was nearly twice as much as was manufactured in any other county in the state. It was two or three years before the pioneer could raise sufficient food for his family, and in addition there were family supplies needed, such as clothing, boots and shoes. About 1836 prices of all these things were quite high, wheat being $1.25 a bushel and pork a shilling a pound. Some paid as high as two and three dollars a bushel for wheat and $40 per hundred for pork. Simon Darling, of Eaton, says: "All fabrics for clothing were sold at high prices. Prints, poorest kind, were eighteen cents per yard, and thin cotton cloth eighteen or twenty cents. Six yards of prints would make my wife a dress of ample proportions, but I think she did not put on many flounces. We men would buy buck-skins of the Indians and make them up
Page 41 PAST AND PRESENT into breeches. They were very durable and would have given satisfaction, had it not been for some peculiarities of the buckskin. To illustrate: A good neighbor had a pair and was working in the woods in a soft snow, when he found that his pants had grown so long that they hindered him in his work. To obviate the trouble he cut them off. In the evening, as he was sitting before a blazing fire, they shrunk up beyond all account, and his worthy helpmeet, upon learning the facts in the case, made him go to the woods and find what he had cut off, and the pants were spliced and once more gained their original length." While all family supplies were very high there was but little that the pioneer could sell for money. There was no market for the fine timber that they were burning, and they obtained only black salt that they made from the ashes; neither was there a market for the maple sugar, and the hides and furs of the animals they killed. In 1837-8, as they began to have some produce to sell, the hard times came on and prices dropped. Wheat would bring but forty to seventy-five cents a bushel, and a very peculiar scale regulated the price of pork; if a hog weighed only a hundred pounds, it was sold for a dollar a hundred; if it weighed 200 it brought $2.00 a hundred; if it weighed 300 it brought $3.00 a hundred. What rendered the. situation more stringent was the fact that very many of the settlers had borrowed money from friends in the east in order to get a start, and as fast as any money was to be had it was sent east to pay these debts, so there was scarcely any money left in the state. Until nearly the breaking out of the civil war there seemed to be very little money in circulation in these parts. In November and December men began to hoard up money to pay their taxes. After the first of January it would ease up a little, and if a farmer had a fat cow to sell in midwinter he was thought to be very forehanded. Those were indeed close times in monev matters. It was with the utmost difficulty that people met their cash engagements. They were ready to pay in work, or dicker in mak OF E7ATON COUNTY 41 ing terms, but money absolutely out of the question. The first years on a heavily timbered farm, with all the money paid on the land, with nothing but an ox-team and an axe to work with, with no money to pay taxes, and the greater portion of the family down with the ague, were years of close economy and strenuous toil. Had it not been for the black salts and maple sugar, it is difficult to tell how taxes could have been paid. Five or ten dollars in a man's pocket in those days created a sensation. Everybody knew of it and respected the possessor; there were various schemes to borrow it for a few days; to sell him a watch or a rifle, or get up a trade which would bring a little boot-money. Those were slow times-slow in building frame houses; slower still in finishing them off and paying up; very slow in making money. But there was neighborly sympathy and kindness and promptness in going to the bedside of the sick. There were strong and willing arms to roll up the logs for a newcomer's shanty, and the social life gathered about the welcome events of a wedding or a dance. PERSONAL REMINISCENCES In order that coming generations may knowr something of the difficulties encountered by the pioneers in making a beginning in the woods, we insert the experience of a few of the earliest settlers as they were afterwards related by them and published in the papers of the day. After one or two families had settled in a town it was much easier for those who came later, for the well-known hospitality of the pioneers led them to shelter the new-comers until they had time to erect houses or shanties for themselves. Edward A. Foote, at the meeting of the Eaton county pioneer society in 1877, presented the following sketch of the incoming of Jonathan and Samuel Sarles, who found their way through from Bellevue in October, 1835. They left Mrs. Samuel Sarles at Bellevue until they could cut a track through for a team. They worked five days cutting this track, and then hired a team to bring Mrs. Sarles and
Page 42 42 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I the household goods through. This track followed.the Indian trail from Bellevue to the Indian village in Walton, and then followed the ridge along the south side of Battle Creek until it reached the section line running south from Charlotte. This was for a long time the only passable route between here and Bellevue. For one year after they came Jonathan and Samuel had no team with which to work and by their own unaided strength they had to cut and move the logs for Samuel Sarles' house, and then raise those logs to their places on the building. When those two men rolled up those logs alone there was not another house or family within eight miles. In this house twelve or fifteen persons lived at one time, after people began to come in. But these two men worked alone,,bare-handed, laying the foundation of the city, until the first day of February, 1837, when Japhet Fisher came in by the way of Bellevue, leaving his trunk there, and hired out to Samuel and Jonathan Sarles and went to work chopping for them. He was there at "Uncle Samuel's" in June, when Ruth Sarles, wife of Samuel, died of quick consumption, leaving an infant eight or nine months old.' But by that time another family had come-Stephen Kinne and his wife and Amos, his brother, who had come through on the first day of January, 1837, from Gull Prairie, by way of Bellevue, following the track cut out in 1835 by the two Sarles. The nearest house to this place was Mr. Shumway's, in Walton, two miles southwest of the ground where Olivet now stands. Stephen and Amos Kinne built a log house sixteen-by-sixteen, about a mile south of this point. Mrs. Sarles died about sundown. No one was in the house when she breathed her last. Japhet Fisher, little Isaac Parish (an adopted child), Jonathan, and Samuel, the husband, were all out at work. They came in and found that her spirit had fled. Stephen Kinne and wife, crossing Battle Creek on a fallen tree, and going northeast across what is now the fair grciind, reached the house of mourning about dark and remained there all night. As no coffin was to be had there, the body had to be taken to Bellevue, sixteen or eighteen miles away, for a decent burial. Before daylight Japhet Fisher started for Bellevue to prepare for the funeral. They put bedding into the box of the lumber wagon (or as some say of the sled), upon which they laid the lifeless form, and Samuel and Jonathan, with their oxen drawing it along the rough roads, and fording creeks, went on to Bellevue, while Stephen Kinne and wife remained to take care of the children. Samuel was very badly dressed for such an occasion. He had worn out all his clothes, working hard to build a home for his wife. His corduroy pants were in tatters, his "wa'mus'" was very ragged and a fragment of an old woolen cap was on his head. But Japhet Fisher sent his' trunk of clothes by David Kinne, then on his route here, to meet Samuel on the way. They met at the Indian village in Walton, and Samuel dressed in a becoming manner for the funeral. The hearts of the Bellevue people responded quickly to the call of Japhet Fisher. They turned out to meet the ox-team. The women took charge and laid the body tenderly in a coffin, and the next day the last rites were performed. Although Samuel had to take the young babe back to New York, and although his home and hopes were blasted, he did not give up. He brought back his sister Julia to keep house for him. They had built a house for Jonathan farther west, on Sarles street (as the Eaton Rapids road, on which the Sarles brothers lived, was then known). Jonathan went east and brought back his wife, Sally Sarles, in November, 1837; on their way from Bellevue they staid over night at Captain Hickok's, in Walton. It was this log house of Jonathan's that became for a time the headquarters of the county. They held caucusses and conventions and county canvasses there. They usually staid over night, and "Aunt Sally" served and waited on them. She did the county cooking for years. "We had a great deal of men's company in those days," she said, "but we seldom saw a woman."
Page 43 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY' 43 ------------ I The oldest building now standing in Charlotte, and the first frame house erected in the place, is one which was built, in 1840, by Simeon Harding, then county treasurer. It is at present the wing on the boarding house of Mrs. Barr on Lawrence avenue, on the corner west of the Congregational church. In 1837 or 1838 a log house was built on the south side of the same avenue, east of the Methodist church. This was the first building erected on the prairie, as the house of Jonathan Sarles, was built in the edge of the timber, at the southeast corner of the prairie. In July, 1833, Reuben Fitzgerald moved into Bellevue and built a bark shanty, or wigwam, living in his wagon while it was being built. The bark used was claimed by the Indians, who were then encamped where the village of Bellevue now stands, and they strenuously objected to having their old wigwams turned into a white man's residence. In the fall of that year (1833), with lumber and material bought in Marshall, Mr. Fitzgerald built on the site of the present residence of Hiram M. Allen, the first frame house erected in Eaton county. At the same time he built one for Mr. Hunsiker, who had taken up land at the same time with him, but who did not move in until the following year. Mr. Fitzgerald had reached the new home with but little means, and he built the house and broke up land for his more fortunate neighbor, Mr. Hunsiker, to obtain money to buy material for his own, and for the use of a team to break up his own land. Mr. Fitzgerald moved into his house before it was completed. Mrs. Fitzgerald was sick at the time, but they could not choose the time of moving. A severe storm came on before the roof was on, and Mr. Fitzgerald and another man held a buffalo robe over the sick-bed of Mrs. Fitzgerald during the storm. In the little house thus built he lived many years, adding to it from time to time, as the increasing wants of his family required. In October, 1836, Sylvester Day sold his farm in Orleans county, in the state of New York, and with his wife moved into Bellevue, coming all the way with an ox-team. They at once erected a shanty, in which they slept the second night after their arrival, though it had no cover, their bed being a couple of planks split out of a log. The roof was made out of troughs dug out of basswood, their floor of plank split out of the same wood. In this shanty they lived eighteen months. All hands turned in and began at once to clear the land. The feed for their cattle the first winter was corn and browse. The following spring was a very wet one, so that they found it impossible to burn the logs, and the brush was cleared away and corn planted among the, logs. The crop which bade fair to be a good, one was cut off by an early frost while it was, yet green, thus adding to the hard times al-. ready felt. The next fall they sowed seven acres of wheat, which was a good crop, and from that time life began to look brighter, and prosperous times commenced. Until the first wheat was harvested times were very hard. Their means were exhausted. Flour was twenty-five dollars per barrel, and they often saw hunger and want staring them in the face. His oldest son, Sylvester, obtained the first flour for the family. With a yoke of oxen he went to Marengo, in Calhoun county, a distance of thirty miles, bought ten bushels of wheat, paying three dollars per bushel, and took it to Marshall to be ground. He asked the miller if he could have his wheat ground. The answer was: "Yes, in about six weeks." He said: "What am I to do? I am twenty-five miles from home, and my family is entirely out of bread." The miller replied that a great many said the same thing, and the best he could do was to let him have a little flour he had on hand. In six weeks Mr. Day returned for his flour, which was ready for him the next morning, and he returned home rejoicing. Linus Potter was the first settler on the land where Potterville now stands. He lost his property by financial reverses, in Saline, Washtenaw county, and instead of giving up he with his family of seven children pushed boldly into, the woods, determined on making a new start. This, by the way, is the history
Page 44 44 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY.... of some of our best pioneers and best blood. From wealth and luxury they passed through poverty and affliction and came here determined to work. Linus Potter came in 1844; his son, George N. Potter, was then eighteen years of age. They came in by way of the Pray settlement, in Windsor, from which they cut a road through, four miles, to his location on section 23, the present site of Potterville. They had but just settled in their log house when all the seven children were taken severely sick with the measles-all in one room, with no physician or near neighbors. Eighteen months after moving in Linus Potter died, leaving his widow and seven children (five boys and two girls) upon a wild one hundred and twenty acres of heavily-timbered land. With the well-known energy and courage of the Potter family, the boys went to work, cleared up the land and brought success out of apparent disaster. Jesse Hart, of Brookfield, thus relates his experience: "I was born in the township of Springfield, Portage (now Summit) county, Ohio, April 27, 1814, and lived there with my father until I was twenty-three years of age. I then married Rachel Richards, July 16, 1837, and about the tenth day of the next October we started for Michigan with two yokes of oxen and one wagon. We got along well until we got to what was called the 'Black Swamp,' then of all the roads I ever saw or traveled over, that road through that swamp was the worst. Suffice it to say I worked hard for eight days to get thirty-two miles. We arried at Joseph Bosworth's on the sixth day of November following; he lived then in what is now the town of Walton, in Eaton county, Michigan. He had moved two or three weeks before, and had built a shanty right in the woods. My land was four miles northeast of there in what is now the town of Brookfield. As Mr. Bosworth was the nearest one to my land, I made arrangements to stay with him until I could build a shanty and cut a road to it, and I got him to help me. We got the body of the shanty up, three-fourths of the roof on, and the door cut out, but had neither door nor floor; then we moved in. It was here in this partly built shanty that, on the 12th day of November, 1837, my wife and I first began;keeping house. It was four miles to the nearest neighbor, with no road but a crooked track I had cut through the woods, and the whole county an almost unbroken wilderness. The screech of the owl and the howl of the wolf was our music by night, and the Indians our callers by day. The first night we made our bed on some split pieces of basswood in one corner of the shanty, built a fire in another, hung up a blanket for a door and some on the walls around the bed, and it seemed quite like home, and we had a good night's rest. I soon made a pole bedstead, hewed out and put down a puncheon floor, built a stone back and stick chimney in one corner, made a clay hearth, and the shanty was finished, without a nail, except what were in the door. We lived in that shanty nearly two years-yes, the happiest two years of my life were spent in that shanty. There was something grand and romantic about it, which I very much enjoyed. The grand old forest yielded up for our support of its wild fruits, its honey, and its venison. It was in this shanty that our first child was born, cradled and rocked in a sap trough." But among all the hardships there were some amusing incidents. J. C. Sherman thus tells the story of one; A wedding occurred while Palmer Rose was justice of the peace, which occasioned no little fun at the time, and is well remembered by some of the first settlers. It seems that a man by the name of Wickware was cruelly wounded by one of Cupid's darts sent from the witching eyes of one Margaret Boody. The bridegroom being destitute of hat, coat, or boots suitable for the emergency, applied to Cyrenus Kintner for the loan of a wedding garment; but Kintner was, as we are informed, nearly as destitute as himself, and had nothing to offer him but an old pair of slipshod shoes, and a dilapidated chip hat. Wickware said he thought it was a poor town where a man could not borrow clothes to get married in. However, the matter was somehow
Page 45 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 45 arranged, and Esquire Rose was called upon to perform the ceremony. At first he declined on account of inexperience; but after some urging by his wife, who, like all good wives, was anxious that her husband should make his mark in the world, he very reluctantly consented, and at the appointed time was on the spot. But little preparation was necessary to prepare the happy couple for their nuptials, and they were very soon face to face with the bashful justice. This being his first attempt at tying the nuptial knot, he found himself in quite a dilemma; for however well he may have arranged the form in his own mind, all idea of a suitable marriage ceremony had left him when the eventful time had come, and he could only turn red, then pale, stammer a little, tremble a good deal, and finally entirely breaking down, he told the groom he could not do it and he would have to get some one else. But the undaunted bridegroom had no notion of giving up so, nor of leaving his blushing bride to go in search of another justice; so he said he would tell him what to say, and if he would repeat the ceremony after him it would do just as well. This was finally done, and so overjoyed was the bride at the favorable turn of events that she threw her arms around the neck of the frightened justice and gave him a good smack to pay as she said "for doing it so nicely." The first marriage in the town of Delta occurred in the summer of 1838, when Addison H-ayden and Miss Mary Chadwick were united in matrimonial bonds at Grand River City, by Samuel Preston, Esquire, at the house of the bride's father. An incident occurred in connection with this event that is worth preserving, and is related by the wife of Esquire Preston, as follows: "Mr. Hayden called and inquired for the 'Squire.' I told him he was gone to Mr. Nichols'. By and by he came home and told me Mr. Hayden wanted him to marry him. 'Well,' I said, 'you can't go, for your clothes are too ragged.' But the boys came to the rescue and brought out their clothes, and Mr. Preston tried them on. One could supply a coat, another pants, another vest, and the outfit was complete excepting a hat. Jason was a pretty spruce young man, and had a fur hat which he kindly loaned. This put on the finishing touch. On his way to the house Mr. Preston thought of another dilemma, worse than the first. He was not a praying man, and how could he perform the marriage ceremony without prayer? After a time he hit upon a plan; he would invite E. S. Ingersoll to assist in the services. All passed off pleasantly, no one suspecting the perplexities the justice had labored under." Erastus S. Ingersoll relates the following incidents in connection with the early settlement in Delta: "On the 27th day of February, 1837, I moved my own family to Delta, having contracted to work for my father, Erastus Ingersoll. We came in from Farmington by way of Shiawassee and De Witt with sleigh and horses. We occupied the log house, Mrs. Erastus S. Ingersoll being duly installed 'mistress of the mansion' and maid of all work. Our supplies were transported by ox-teams from Detroit. The price of provisions necessarily ruled high, pork being worth forty and flour fourteen dollars a hundred. We were totally deprived of all vegetable supplies until the opening of the spring. Fortunately for us a Mr. Butterfield came down the river in the early spring with a boat load of potatoes. My father bought both the boat and its cargo, paying forty dollars for the boat and two dollars per bushel for the potatoes-seventy bushels in all. "About the first of June, 1837, my father, his brother, the Rev. E. P. Ingersoll, Dr. Jennings, of Oberlin, Ohio, two Messrs. Bradley, their two sons, a Mr. Lyman and son from Massachusetts, and two hired men came through from Howell, bringing with them two yokes of oxen and four cows. In this journey of forty miles, through the dense forests, they cut their own roads, built bridges, dug down hillsides, and removed numerous obstructions, experiencing many embarrassments, and encountering many trying delays. At the approach of Saturday night the party encamped on the bank of Cedar river, spending the day as a day
Page 46 46 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY of rest and religious worship. On the arrival of this party Mr. Ingersoll's family was increased to eighteen in number. "Two weeks after the arrival of the above named party, myself and Edward Ingersoll, with two wagons, two yokes of oxen, and a span of horses, freighted with the household goods of Thomas Chadwick, followed the afore mentioned winding path from Howell to Delta. In our company were Samuel Chadwick, brother of Thomas and Daniel Chadwick, Thomas Chadwick and wife, Sally Chadwick, afterwards the wife of D. S. Ingersoll, and my brother Egbert. Towards night of the first day after entering this new and tortuous route we came to an open marsh, and, after having carefully examined the strength of its turf, it was decided that the horses should be the first to try it. But when a little more than half way over away went the treacherous covering, and down went the horses in the mire. By prompt and well applied efforts we at length released the sinking animals from the wagon, when they went ashore on the opposite side of this mischievous slough of despond. After selecting a new route we put our good oxen on their trial for a crossing. But before reaching even the middle of this soft meadow our second wagon was resting on its axles squarely upon its unstable surface. So, losing our oxen, they went also to the opposite shore, leaving both wagons fully installed, far out in this untrodden sea of mire, with Mrs. Chadwick, an aged lady of unusual lustiness, occupying the last one of our intrenched vehicles. 'Now,' exclaimed this lady, 'how am I to get ashore?' -a question we thought more easily asked than answered. This aged matron dared not trust her weight on the flimsy turf, and here we were, surrounded by a dreary, inhospitable wilderness, deeply involved in an implacable morass, and not a little puzzled with a dilemma which seemed likely to be too much either for our patience, our ingenuity or our endurance. Our sympathies for the good Mrs. Chadwick were at their highest pitch, and we were not a little perplexed by our novel and distressing condition. At length Edmund said: 'Mother, let me carry you ashore on my back.' 'All right,' said the old lady, 'back up here, boy.' No sooner said than done, and thereupon we had the ludicrous scene of seeing what good service a strong and resolute young man could do for age and helplessness. Trying as our condition was we could not repress our mirth while watching our hero as he staggered through the deep mire, bearing his precious, ponderous charge safely to the welcome shore. We soon had evidence that this trial had not wholly dissipated the ready stock of Mother Chadwick's characteristic humor, exclaiming as she did on alighting from her bearer's back, 'There, that is the first time I ever rode a jackass.' Having finished our laugh over Mother Chadwick's comical ride, our attention was brought to the more serious business of getting our wagons out of the mire. Having carried everything we could handle to the nearest shore, we cut several long poles, and having fastened them together with ropes and chains and attached them to the end of each wagon tongue, and with our teams drew them on to hard ground. This long job lasted till dark and we were compelled to make our beds in the presence of this loathsome slough, amid the roar of rollicking frogs and marauding mosquitoes. The next day one of our horses gave out and we were compelled to leave a portion of our load in the wilderness and drag along with impaired teams as best we could, encamping for the second time on the banks of Cedar river. While at dinner on this day we were unexpectedly visited by John Stanley, of Canada settlement, looking for lost oxen. By him we sent advice of our necessity for more provisions, and were happy to find, through the faithfulness of this kind messenger, a goodly supply of pork and beans sent on the next day, brought through on the back of a man sent by Mrs. Ingersoll. We got through to Delta Mills at night of the third day after leaving Howell, and all found room to eat and to lie down in the spacious log house. The log cabins of those days had a wonderful capacity for sheltering and feeding hungry adventurers.
Page 47 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 47 "Our family now numbered twenty-six persons, besides occasional land-lookers and other rambling adventurers, and such as had decided to make their homes in this new region. About the 20th of March in this year, as our large family were at supper, we were startled by the sound of several voices down at the river side, and soon heard the call of some person at our door. We hastened down to the shore in the twilight, and found here a company of men, women, and children, with teams standing on the ice some distance from the river bank, quite anxious about their perilous situation, as the ice had melted away from the north shore of the river, and left an open space of deep water about ten feet wide. So we all went to work to build a bridge from the ice to the shore, and soon led the teams across, and found by so doing we had rescued the persons and property of two worthy emigrants, who had traveled from Eaton Rapids on the ice, and told us of the many dangers they had encountered on the way down. "One morning in April following we heard a loud call from the south side of the river. A boat was sent across and soon returned, bringing four young men who had remained all night in the woods, without food, fire or covering, through a violent storm and upon a heavy depth of snow. So thoroughly drenched were they that when they reached our fireside the water was freely wrung from every part of their garments." Johnson Montgomery settled in Eaton Rapids in September, 1836, and says: "It is hardly necessary to go through a long detail of events connected with the hardships and discouragements of settling a new country, but briefly to say it is hard enough cutting roads, building bridges across mire-holes, prying cattle out of the mire, going sixty miles to mill, paying very high prices for provisions, sometimes going several miles to help a neighbor raise a building, and cleaning out our millpond, which we did with a very good will, expecting to reap benefit from it at some future time-and which I did, for I got my wheat floured and took it east to Troy, N. Y., several years, where I received a reasonable price; here we could get only 44 cents per bushel, and not cash at that. Corn was about 15 cents, buckwheat 1212 cents, pork 1>2 cents per pound. This was mostly on account of the falling off of emigration, and although the people had made improvements and were raising a surplus, there was no home market. It is well known that in plowing up a new country the decaying vegetable substances produce sickness, and but very few were fortunate enough to escape the fever and ague. We could generally tell how long a man had been in the state; the second year he was obliged to wear his best coat every day, and the third year he was obliged to cut off his coat-tail to mend the sleeves. It was often said the first settlers wore themselves out to prepare the way for corporate bodies, speculators and loungers. At this time we found ourselves in a new country without any school district or school house, so a few of us joined and built a small shanty and supported a school without any public aid. It was four or five years before we had a district organized and a school house built. Our schools were then mostly supported by rate bills, with the aid of a little public money, and having a large family of children it cost me considerable. My children all received a good common school education." In February, 1837, Samuel Preston, with two other men, began cutting a road to his land in the township of Oneida, and Mr. Preston gives his experience as follows: "Night coming on we clustered ourselves in a cave dug in the snow, after giving our team a supper of tree-tops. Here in the depths of a snow bank, surrounded by almost interminable forests, we cooked, ate, and finally retired to our beds. It is easier to speak of the occupation of such a position as was ours than to endure it. Cut loose from any earthly home, deeply involved in the dreary, wintry forest, dependent upon the capriciousness and uncertainty of circumstances, reflections must and did arise of no very pleasant nature. And now in these better years, it is difficult to realize how this, as
Page 48 48 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I many of the succeeding trials of life in a new country, were so well endured. About ten o'clock of the second day from Mr. Fuller's we reached the site of which we were in quest and after clearing away the deep snow, some logs and underbrush, began the work of building a log cabin. To myself this was an entirely new experience, but with the skilful aid of my kind new neighbor, I succeeded in putting up a fourteen-by-eighteen habitation, which proved to be the second white man's abode in the wilderness of Oneida. After this feat, of course, we had the honor of its first occupatiot over night. Some time during this eventful night it commenced snowing, and before two o'clock the next day we had an addition of another foot of snow. Judging it to be a matter of prudence to seek some safer asylum, and leaving our implements in the newly made cabin, we began our retreat. Mr. Fuller's home was full seven miles distant and it was still snowing. When within about two miles of his place the snow rose so high above our floundering sled that we were compelled to abandon it altogether, and trust to our weary legs for the rest of the way, arriving at the house of my kind friend, Mr. Fuller, at night fall. As soon as the snow had settled, which took several days, by the help of my good Chester neighbors, I completed my cabin, excepting those very essential parts, floors, doors, windows and chimney. In this unfinished condition we all went into it-self, wife, and a brace of little ones —on the fourth day of March, 1837. This event, though infinitely less notable, we deemed of far greater importance to us than that parallel event then transpiring beneath the dome of our national capitol. About one year after our first settlement Mrs. Preston attended a funeral at the Canada settlement, walking and carrying a young child in her arms, a distance of three or four miles. On her return home the next day she missed her way, taking a deer-trail, supposing it to be the right path. Being myself out the next day at about three o'clock P. M., for the purpose of driving in my cattle, they took a sudden fright at some unusual object when about two miles from home, and looking for the cause I saw my wandering wife, still bearing her babe in her arms. Which party was the most frightened-myself or the cattle-it would be difficult to say." The foregoing are only a few out of many of the trying experiences of the pioneers in this county. CHAPTER IX PRIMITIVE ARCHITECTURE-LOG SHANTIES AND HOUSES-LOG SCHOOLHOUSES LOG SHANTIES The most primitive dwellings of the pioneers were log shanties. They were eight by ten or twelve feet square, made by piling up small logs, cob-house fashion, notching them at the corners so the logs would come close together, and filing up the spaces between them with split pieces of wood two or three feet long, and plastering the outside with mud, unless the weather was so cold as to freeze the mud. The fire-place was made in one corner, by pounding in earth against the logs about a foot thick to make a chimney back and keep the logs from burning. The roof slanted in only one way, and was made of troughs from small basswood trees. They were cut the right length, split in the middle and hollowed out with the ax, and laid close together; then other similar troughs were made and turned bottom up over the edges of those already laid so as to make a fairly tight roof which protected from rain; but was not proof against snow. In
Page 49 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 0 49 I this way a man could in a very few days, knock up a pretty comfortable shelter, and so at once begin to live on his land, while making a small clearing and putting up the more pretentious log house. LOG HOUSES The day is not far distant when a description of the log houses and school houses, where the children of the early settlers lived and where they received their education, will seem like a story from a foreign land. Those of a later generation may find the following description of them of interest. They were of different sizes, but a common size about twenty by thirty feet. Logs sufficient for the walls of the house were cut and drawn to the spot selected for the house; neighbors, if there were any, were then invited to the raising. Two logs were laid parallel to each other and the right distance apart, saddles were made with the ax on the upper end of each log and shaped like the ridge of a house, logs were then rolled up on these ends and notches cut in them to fit the saddles on the logs below; when these logs were placed, saddles were made on top of their ends, and then other logs were rolled across. One man was stationed with an ax at each corner to make the saddles and notches, as the logs were rolled up. When these walls were seven or eight feet high, hewn joists were put across to support the chamber floor. Three or four tier of logs were laid above these, then the side logs were drawn in so as to make the right slant for the roof. This was made of "shakes" or shingles, three feet long, and held in place by long poles laid across them. The floor was made of "puncheons," or slabs split out of logs, five or six feet long and hewed on one side to smooth them and take out the "twist." A fire-place was made at one end, by pounding in next to the logs a layer of moist earth, or clay, ten or twelve inches thick to make a chimney back, and protect the logs from the fire. The chimney itself was built up of sticks split like laths and plastered with mud. The spaces between the logs in the wall were filled as closely as 4 possible with split sticks of basswood, and then these spaces were plastered on the outside with mud. Occasionally a man had outside doors opposite each other, one on each side of the fire-place, so he could hitch a horse to a log and let the horse come in at one door drawing the log and pass out the opposite door. Thus a good-sized back log could easily be put in place. The logs were, of course, cut down for the doors, the latch was of wood, perhaps 18 inches long and so heavy it would fall of its own weight. A leather string was attached to it and passed through a hole in the door so the latch could be raised from the outside, and when the door was to be fastened for the night all that was necessary was to pull in the latch-string, and it was securely bolted. So it came about when a man wished to assure a friend that he would be welcome at his house at all times he would say, "Come when you will, you will find the latch string out." As time went on, and more room was required, another similar house was built, standing end-to-end with this and about 12 feet distant, and the intervening space was roofed over and was used for the storage of axes, hoes, scythes, rakes, forks, saddles and harnesses, and the smaller agricultural implements. This cool hall also furnished a comfortable lounging place while taking a nooning on a hot summer's day. In this way one house became the kitchen and work-shop and the other the parlor and sitting room, and place for social enjoyment. At first the settler was fortunate if he had a large dry-goods box that his wife could use for a closet and table, while she cooked the meals beside a green stump outside. The bedstead was made by putting one end of a pole between the logs and supporting the other in a forked stick, which was driven into the ground between the puncheons of the floor,.and then placing other poles so one end would rest on this one, and the other inserted in the space between the logs around the corner or the room. On these were placed such other bedding as was at hand, either small brush or ticks filled with leaves or hay. There were
Page 50 50 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY some advantages in this primitive way of living. There was no woodwork to be cleaned and only six lights in the window to be washed, and if the room was swept across the puncheons, the dirt all disappeared between the cracks in the floor. But with the coming of other settlers, and the building of a sawmill, luxuries began to appear; a board floor was found to be better than one of puncheons, and a board table was better than a dry goods box. A regular bedstead superseded the poles, the posts of which had mortises in them, and the side pieces had tenons on their ends to fit the mortises; these side pieces had holes bored through them, about eight inches apart, and a long "bed cord" was drawn lengthwise and then crosswise and tightened with a winch, and thus a good support was made for the bed. Underneath this was another smaller one on castors that was drawn out at night for the children. This was the "trundle-bed." In the other back corner of the room was another bed, for the use of the school-master or any other guest, and a cheerful fire lighted the room the greater part of the night. A ladder in one corner led to the one chamber above. Here were sleeping accommodations for 10 or 12 persons, in beds arranged round the outside of the room. It was at times quite a shock to eastern ladies to find that they must occupy the same lodging room with the male members of the family. Occasionally a "tenderfoot" would find his way into the settlement, who thought the whole family must go out-doors while he undressed and went to bed, but he soon learned to remove modestly his shoes and stockings, collar, coat and vest in the presence of company, and, seating himself on the edge of the bed, lift the corner of the bed covering and throw it over his nether limbs, and under this protection withdraw his pants and wheel around into bed. The women would stand up in the bed and quietly slip down out of their clothing into the bed. Not many of the pioneers in those days indulged in the luxury of night shirts. LOG SCHOOLHOUSES The schoolhouses were built much like the common dwelling, but differed in some respects. The floor in the one where the writer studied was several inches higher in the back part of the room than it was near the fireplace, as it was thought that in this way it would be warmer there. The desks for the larger pupils were made by boring holes in the logs on the side of the room and driving in pins about a foot long, and on these a board was nailed. There was no seasoned lumber to be had, so the board was green and the plane of the carpenter left it rather rough. For a window a log was cut out nearly the whole length, and a row of panes of glass was inserted in its place. A long green slab served for a seat; holes were bored in it for the legs, which for our discomfort projected about a half or three-quarters of an inch above the upper surface of the slab. The schoolhouse had no chair, and to our further annoyance the builders misjudged the height of chairs and made the benches so high that we could only touch the floor by sitting on the extreme edge of the slab. The smaller children had similar low slab seats in the middle of the room, but none of the seats had any backs to them. The school room was minus a water-pail, and when thirsty we went to the pond and cut a hole in the ice with our knives and drank our fill.
Page 51 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 51 CHAPTER X EDUCATION-PRIMITIVE SCHOOLS-EVOLUTION OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM-GENESIS OF TIHE ACADEMY-OLIVET COLLEGE PI M1 TIVE SC 1 OO()S. It used to be thought that a man was not qualified to teach a winter school unless he could whip any pupil in school. Women taught the summer schools when only small children came, and it was thought to be a very hazardous business when one undertook to teach a winter school. The wages were princely; the first school taught by the writer paid $11 per month and board. The second winter he taught in the same school and received $14 per month and board. A man must have an extra good reputation to command $20 and board. The price paid female teachers was $1.25 a week and board. The system of "boarding around" was quite interesting. It was expected that every family would board the teacher, in proportion to the number of pupils it sent to school. There was always a strong temptation to lengthen one's time in some families and to cut it short in others. A little preparation was generally made beforehand, when the teacher was expected. The writer well remembers his first experience in "boarding 'round"; he thought he would begin with the place farthest from the schoolhouse, while the roads were good, and take those nearer in stormy weather, and the roads were bad. The first place was about two miles distant and there were six children in the family. The children reached home a little before he did, so all were on the "qui vive" to see the schoolmaster. He was shown the family wash basin, and then the family towel, which, presumably, was once white, but had apparently been used to wipe off the boots and shoes of the family. The teacher made but slight use of it and finished off with his pocket handkerchief. He was seventeen years of age. hut when he reached the supper-table he had lost his appetite. Being something of a philosopher, he concluded he would not eat much until he was hungry. But "hunger is a good kind of sauce," and in the course of a week the writer had reached a point where he could relish anything unless it had been skimmed out of the swill-pail. There were two young women in the family, about sixteen or eighteen years of age, and the amount of news that those girls would pick up at school every day was amazing. And every evening, after the dishes were put away and the family seated, the mother would question them, to learn who had made soap, who had not finished spinning, who had been coloring yarn, who was weaving a web of cloth, and whose children had the measles, etc. The teacher often wished he was a stenographer and could take down some of these dialogues. When sleeping accommodations were limited, sometimes one of the juveniles would be slipped into the bed with the school-master. (f course when the children were inclined to be friendly and had the itch it was not so pleasant, but by frequent careful washing the teacher escaped that contagion. Every patron of the school was expected to furnish his share of wood and although it cost only the labor of getting it, it was usually green and was only brought as fast as it was needed. In later times a thrifty school director would induce the patrons to get a year's supply early enough to have it seasoned when required for use. A teacher who studied while occupying the position of school-master was held in light esteem and was considered incompetent to fill his office.
Page 52 CITY SCHOOLS OF CHARLOTTE
Page 53 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 53 Blackboards were unknown in the earlier schools and when the writer introduced one into his school it was with great difficulty that he could get the large boys to use it. The rough soft-wood boards, of which the desks were made, were a strong temptation for the boys to use their jack-knives, to cut their initials, or to excavate small chambers over which a piece of glass could be fitted, and then used as a prison for the captured flies. In every country school house it was easy to tell by these engravings where the boys sat, the girls were less skilful in the art of wood-carving. When it was first proposed to put nicely polished and varnished desks in the school room it was deemed absurd, for it was thought to be impossible to keep the boys from cutting them. Different kinds of torture were invented as a punishment for unruly boys. One of the mildest punishments was to make a boy go and sit among the girls, to shame him; this, however, proved to be a very agreeable form of punishment for some of them. The original orthodox form of punishment, that by the rod, came down from Solomon, but he probably knew nothing about the ferule that was applied to the open palm of the hand. Sometimes a boy was made to toe a crack in the floor, and, stooping over, put his finger on a nailhead in the board in front of him, and stand in this bent position until it seemed as though his back would break. At another time he was required to hold a heavy book at arm's length, until he could not possibly hold it any longer. The teacher was expected to go to the school house early in the morning to sweep the room, and to build the fire, so it would be warm when the children came. He spent any leisure time that remained in ruling the copy books, for the paper was not ruled as it is today. A favorite way was to have a round ruler about an inch in diameter, and this was rolled down the page and the lines were marked with a "plummet" (a piece of soft lead shaped like a small knife blade). Then the copies must be set. "Fear God and keep his commandments," "Command you may your mind from play," etc. The pupils frequently brought ink of domestic manufacture, made from the bark of the soft maple, but it was of such a sticky nature that it would not dry during the whole winter. The pens were made from the quills of the goose or turkey; the teacher carried a very small and sharp knife with which to mend them. Gold and steel pens were unknown. The settlers had come from many different localities, and brought with them the books in use where they formerly lived. They were.too poor to throw away these half-worn books and buy new ones, so it was almost impossible to classify the pupils. Webster's spelling book was in use almost everywhere, and so was the New Testament and the English reader. Thus the large pupils could be classified in reading and spelling. Once a day the pupils would read around two verses each from the new testament, and once a day they read around in the English reader. Few persons of the present day have ever seen a copy of the old "English reader." It contained selections from the pens of the most classic writers of English literature; but many of these selections were beyond the comprehension of the pupil, and few were of any interest to him. Webster's spelling book provided reading lessons for the younger children, in the form of disconnected sentences after each spelling lesson, and containing some of the words found in the preceding lesson and defining them. These sentences were destitute of interest for the child. On one occasion the writer was mending pens for his pupils and to improve the time he had an awkward boy on the floor reading one of these sentence lessons, and this is what he heard: "Pulland-dress-your-flax-on-the-strengthof a-future-judgment." He did not remember ever to have seen that sentence, and went to see what the boy had gotten hold of, and this is what he found: "Paul addressed Felix on the subject of a future judgment." We had in school Daboll's, Smith's, and Adams' arithmetics. Some teachers required the pupils to learn the rules and others were.
Page 54 a ir v I;t I -i PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, OLIVET
Page 55 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 55 I not careful about this. Some required the pupil to work out a few problems under each rule to see how it was done. If he found one too hard for him, the pupil called on the teacher for help, and the inquiry was, "Well, what does your rule say?" but no attempt was made to show why such a rule was given. In grammars we had Murray's, Brown's, and Kirkham's. In grammar and geography, as well as in arithmetic, the pupils would recite separately, and when ready would call out, "Got a lesson,' and the teacher would hear it. In those days the spelling school was a great institution, and was held in the evening of about every other week. Pupils would come in from the surrounding districts. Two captains would choose sides and the words were given to the sides alternately, and if a word was missed on one and spelt by the other the speller was allowed to choose one from the side that missed. Eventually all the pupils would be ranged on one side and at the close all would stand up and "spell down," as when one missed a word he sat down. The one who spelled the last one down was quite renowned, and would often stand quite a while alone before missing a word. Frequently the exercises were enlivened by a dialogue. Evening singing schools were quite in vogue. It was a semi-social function to which the young man who had a nice horse, cutter and harness, would take his best girl, and on their way home would find that a couple of sons of Belial, mounted on horses, had each taken the end of a rail, and one on each side of the road would carry that rail just before the nose of that horse at a snail's pace for miles, which, of course, did not awaken any pious feelings in the breasts of the occupants of the cutter. The branches usually taught in the district schools were, reading and spelling, writing, arithmetic, geography, and grammar; but in most schools there were some pupils who wished to pursue higher branches. In New England this want was met by the establish ment of academies, where Latin and Greek, intellectual and moral philosophy, logic, rhetoric, and algebra were taught, and students were fitted for college. If a young woman had taken the studies in the district school, and could have two or three terms in a good academy she was thought to be highly educated. The first school ever opened in the county of Eaton was started in 1835 and the teacher was Willard Davis, later for many years a resident of Vermontville. John B. Hayt says the first district school was taught in 1836 by Hepsebeth Hutchinson and the next year, 1837, it was taught by Willard Davis. He may have taught the first school in the county in '35 and Miss Hutchinson the first "district" school. But the old log schoolhouse has passed away; there is not one in use in the county today, and the old school master also has gone. EVOLUTION OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM The process by which this change came about is thus described by Prof. Charles McKinney: "For a quarter of a century the schools of Eaton county increased more in number than in efficiency. The wages paid offered no inducement for young men and women to educate themselves for the profession of teaching. School apparatus was limited to an ill-assorted lot of books in the hands of pupils, a square yard of blackboard, made of matched lumber, cubes of chalk an inch square, purchased in many instances by the children that used them, and erasers made by covering one side of a block of wood with a piece of sheepskin with the wool on. Occasionally charts illustrating penmanship adorned the walls, but were never used. The branches taught were reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic and geography, and commonly grammar; occasionally a class in algebra would be formed. History, physiology and civil government were practically unknown. Grammar was largely a girl's study, for they could attend school during the summer, while the boys, who, after the age of twelve were kept at
Page 56 0 & z:4 0 -( 0 a u
Page 57 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 57 home to work, devoted the three or four months of the winter term to the "three R's." Until 1867 the licensing of teachers was done by a township board, consisting of the township board and two school inspectors. The board elected one of its members "visitor," whose duty it was to visit each school in the township at least once a term, to examine the work of the teacher, and to test results by examining the pupils. If capable men could have been chosen, such a system would have yielded fair results; but too frequently such was not the case. Loose supervisioned and unprogressive schools were the net product. Nor does this statement impeach the general intelligence and faithfulness of the officers of that day. It simply implies that a man who only occasionally interests himself in educational affairs, and whose main thought is given to other matters, cannot in the very nature of the case, do efficient work in school supervision, which requires technical knowledge." In 1867 the law creating the office of county superintendent of schools went into force, and F. A. Hooker, a young lawyer, now a member of the supreme court of Michigan, was elected superintendent. In reply to a question concerning the condition of the schools at the passage of the law and the work accomplished by him, Mr. Hooker writes: "The law of 1867, providing for county superintendents of schools was a radical departure from existing conditions. Three school inspectors had previously granted certificates, and established and altered the boundaries of districts. So far as I have discovered they seldom did more, though occasionally a man would be found among them who visited schools. The qualifications necessary to obtain a certificate differed in the different localities. In the villages and more advanced townships they were higher than in others. In the townships, especially the newer ones, when log schoolhouses abounded, the granting of certificates was largely a matter of expediency, and depended on the character of the school to be taught. They were usually secured after the school was engaged, and often the wishes of the school board went farther than the attainments of the teacher. "Methods of teaching were individual, of necessity, each teacher having his own. As a rule they were very primitive. One or two schools had maps, none had globes or other apparatus. My first attempt was to raise the standard of examinations. Manifestly a uniform standard was the result of a single examiner, but the result was consternation on the part of the patrons and teachers. The first examination did not produce enough teachers to teach half of the schools, but by holding private examinations, and granting discretionary and short term certificates, all were provided for the first summer, and the community settled down to peace and quiet. It had been badly disturbed and the office was Vrery unpopular. "By fall the examination showed the result of work on the part of the teachers, and each successive examination gave better results, though two years was too short a time to accomplish very great improvement. I worked persistently to introduce maps, globes, and a few other things, but I was not able to accomplish much in this direction. During the two years I held the office, I devoted my energies to raising the standard of teachers, and felt that a marked improvement was discernible. That seemed to me to be the first step, and was a necessary foundation for other improvements in methods of instruction which would invariably follow." The work so well inaugurated by Mr. Hooker, was carried on by his successors, Superintendents Townsend, Evans, and Shoop; but the office was unpopular throughout the state, and after eight years of trial it was abolished. In place of a county superintendent there was elected a superintendent for each township. Unity of plan at once disappeared, and the work accomplished by county supervision was gradually undone. The utter failure of township supervision may be judged from the fact that in 1880 only fifteen schools in the county had prescribed courses of study, but nineteen were classified, and there were
Page 58 58 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY only ten that did not change teachers during the year. A demand for better schools led, in 1881, to the creation of a county board of school examiners, to be composed of three members, whose duty it was to examine and license candidates; the secretary of the board should visit schools when occasion demanded. Prof. J. Estabrook, J. L. Wagner, and K. Kittredge were members of the first board. From that day to this the schools have gradually improved. By the law of 1889, the secretary of VERMONTVILLE HIGH SCHOOL the board was to give his whole time to supervision with the title of "County Secretary of Schools." It was the good fortune of Eaton county to have for secretary Orr Schurtz, whose efficiency and zeal made her schools second to none in the state. In 1891 Mr. Schurtz resigned to accept an important position in the schools of Grand Rapids, and was succeeded by J. L. Wagner, the present commissioner, who had been a member of the examining board since its creation. Under the supervision of Mr. Wagner the schools have been efficient and progressive. In 1891 the name of the officer was chanped from Without counting college buildings, there are in the county, at the present time, one hundred and fifty-three public school buildings, forty of which are built of brick, and the remainder are frame buildings; of these, one hundred and thirty-seven have only one room, and sixteen have two or more rooms each. There are six high schools in the county. All the schools are graded on the same plan, and the common district schools usually carry the pupils to the close of the eighth grade. Nearly all the schools are now furnished with the modern patent and finely finished desks, and each pupil is expected to be the only occupant of a desk. And the boys no more think of using their knives on these desks than they would upon nice furniture at home. The schools are now well equipped with maps, charts, and blackboards, though the blackboards are now being replaced with large slates. Of the one hlundred and thirty-seven rural schools, ninetynine have libraries. A great deal of care is taken to plant trees around the school houses in most districts, and to keep the grounds in a neat and tidy condition. The business of teaching has fallen largely into the hands of women. Of two hundred and forty-three teachers in the public schools of the county, only twenty-six are men. The female teachers receive from $25 to $45 per month and board themselves. Board, including fuel and lights, costs from $1.50 to $2.00 per week, thus giving them from $4.75 to $8.75 per week for services that, sixty years ago, young women were glad to render for from $1.25 to $2.00 per week. Young men who are employed as principals of village schools receive about $500 for the ten months school year. The highest paid teacher in the public schools of the county is the superintendent of the city schools in Charlotte, who receives $1,500 per annum, and the county school commissioner, who is obliged to keep a horse to visit the schools of the county, receives for his services only $1,200 per annum. Teachers' examination papers are prepared in the office of the state superintendent of public instruction, and, in 1891, only ten county secretary to commissioner of schools.
Page 59 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 59 I candidates took the examination for eighth grade certificates; but in May, 1905, 200 took this examination. The first teachers' institute ever held in the county was conducted by the writer, Rev. W. B. Williams, in the brick school house now used as a blacksmith's shop in the rear of the hardware store just vacated by Mr. Munger. It was convened and held in accordance with the following: "CIRCULAR. "DEAR SIR: "A TEACHERS' INSTITUTE will be held at the brick schoolhouse in the village of Charlotte, commencing on Monday, Oct. 20th, at 9 o'clock A. M., and will continue during the week. "Tuition for the time will be gratuitous, and board also, for at least thirty of those who attend from abroad; ladies having the preference. "Lectures upon educational or scientific topics may be expected every evening in the week. "Anl effort will be mlade to secure the assistance of the present State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and also that of his preldecessor in office. "We, therefore, invite all to attend, and especially those who propose teaching in the County during the coming year; and we would earnestly request the School Inspectors to use their influence to induce the Teachers of their respective towns to attend the same. "School Directors, desirous of employing teachers, will doubtless find it to their advantage to be present during the session. T. W. Loring, ) E. F. M. Torrey, Committee O. Hosford, of W. B. Williams, Arrangements." H. Robinson, Charlotte, 1856. About forty teachers responded to this invitation. Instruction was given by Profs. E. N. Bartlet, T. W. Loring, John Morris, W. B. Williams, John M. Gregory, and a Mr. Bottsford. Evening lectures were given by Professors Hosford and Bartlett and Dr. Thompson of Olivet, also by State Superintendent Ira Mayhew, and ex-Supt. John M. Gregory. The writer is supposed to be the only survivor of the nine men who were connected with that first teachers' institute. During the year 1904, there were thirteen teachers' institutes held in the county, but the session continued only one day. During the present year (1905) it is intended to have fewer and to hold them three days. A discussion is now going on in the county with reference to having a high school in every township that has not one already, to be located at some central point, to which the children shall be carried from the primary school buildings and be brought home at night. There are two townships in the county where it seemed as if this plan would be feasible, and it was submitted to the voters in those townships at the spring election of 1905, but failed of a(loption. "Race suicide" seems to have been responsihle for the (lislbad(ling of some half dozen districts in the county. Many years ago there were a goodly number of children in those districts, but the number has so fallen off that it has been thought best to disband the districts and send the few remaining children to ad — joining districts. GENESIS OF THE ACADEMIES. Soon after the settlement of the county began, there was a movement for academies. Of the one in Vermontville, Deacon Church writes as follows: "In 1843 the population had so increased that an academical association was organized, and materials procured for a building, to answer the double purpose of academy and church. This building was thirty by forty feet square and two stories high. In the fall of 1844 the upper story was completed, and Rev. W. U. Benedict, the pastor of the church, taught a school during four months, in which the higher English branches and also the languages were taught. He continued to teach
Page 60 60 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY for several successive winters, so that, notwithstanding our isolation from thoroughfares and the bustle and business of the world, our children and youth were better educated and better qualified for business, both mentally and morally, than those of many of the villages of the state, as their subsequent lives have abundantly proved. With the exception of one or two seasons the academy school was kept up for several months of the year, until about 1866, when the academy and district school were united, with two departments, occupying both rooms in the building. The academy, though organized in 1843, was not legally incorporated until April 28th, 1846." An account more in detail has been given elsewhere. The origin of the Charlotte academy, as given by E. A. Foote, was in this wise: "William Johnston, who started and published the famous 'Eaton Bugle,' besides being an editor was also a printer, a teacher, a lawyer, a political stump-speaker by occupation, and an Irishman by descent. He was called 'Printer' Johnston, to distinguish him from 'Iron' Johnson, and 'Wooden' Johnson (N. A.), here on the prairie, 'Rhode Island' Johnson and 'Quarter Post' Johnson, out in Carmel, and 'Tailor' Johnson who came here some years later. 'Printer' Johnston established a high school here in 1845 or 1846, and was himself the teacher. The Eaton Bugle sounded its notes over the prairie and through the forests, from the back end of a little wooden building, fronting the public square, and standing just east of Dr. Rand's office. In the front of this building was kept the Charlotte high school. "The two sensations each week were the coming out of The Bugle, well spiced with squibs, puffs, lampoons and local verse, and the gathering in the school-room of the villagers to hear the declamations of the boys, and particularly the compositions of the girls. These compositions usually furnished food for mirth and wrath during a whole week. The editor seldom spared criticism in his paper, and wherever he discovered among his young women pupils a talent for irony or sarcasm, he carefully developed and fostered it, even at the expense of the young men, from whose ranks subjects for dissection were generally chosen; yet everything malevolent or bitter was carefully pruned away. These girls loved to take a shining mark for their arrows, and the best looking, best dressed, and the most pretentious of the young men was likely to find himself shot full of them. This drew in visitors, gave might to the pen, and kept the attention of the little community nervously fixed upon education, and especially upon the importance of learning how to write, which seemed to be an art of self-defense more necessary than boxing. This naturally culminated in a school exhibition, which drew in all there was of the surrounding country, for ten miles away, and nearly filled the court house. Many came even from the Vermont colony. This compliment was in due time returned by Mr. Johnston taking his entire school up to Vermontville one winter evening to attend an exhibition there. "From this germ of a school finally sprouted and took root the ambitious project of organizing a joint stock company and incorporating the Charlotte academy. Stock was not only liberally subscribed here but also in all the adjoining townships. Mr. McComb, a land-owner, donated the academy ground and bell. Nathan A. Johnson was the fortunate bidder who got the job of putting up the building and of collecting the subscriptions for his pay. The work was begun about 1846 and for years was patiently prosecuted by Mr. Johnson alone. When 'Printer' Johnston suspended his Bugle and went back to Ohio to reside the academy enterprise languished, the subscription got cold, and Nate found academy building uphill work. Just then people began to find fault because he was so slow in finishing off the academy." I have a recollection of going down to that building one cold forenoon, during the winter of 1848 and '49, after it was roofed and sided up. I remember of climbing in, with no plank to walk upon, and of seeing windows boarded
Page 61 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 61 up with long boards to save the lumber from spoiling. Joists, sleepers, and studding were all bare. There were just boards enough for the bench to stand upon in the middle of the lower room. All was silent save a long shaving hitched to a sliver by the side of a crevice, streaming and fluttering in the wind. There, all alone, sat the academy builder, Johnson, on the work bench, besides his empty nail-box, his coat buttoned up to his chin, his purple hand clinching the handle of his hammer. There was not much sunshine in his countenance, and he found some fault because the subscribers were so slow in paying. He had been dunning away at them for weeks without raising a dollar. "Not a board," said he, "not a nail, not a sash, not a pane of glass, nothing to work with, and those d d fools all the while grumbling because I do not finish off this academy." This was "Wooden" Johnson. "Printer" Johnston, the instigator of the scheme, had deserted us and gone back to Ohio. Somewhere, about 1850, the academy was finished. Several professors were inveigled there at different times to teach, and found it up-hill work to collect their tuition. Professor Wallace stood it as long as he could, and then went to railroading out west and got killed. Miss C. A. Dickson, a graduate of Oberlin, had charge of the school during the winter of '52 and '53 and was followed by E. F. M. Torrey, who tried it for awhile and then he too went west and died. T. W. Loring and his wife taught a few pupils, and boarded themselves in a frugal way in a small room up stairs in the academy, until they starved out and went to farming over in Eaton, where he soon died. Prof. O. S. Ingham, who seemed expressly constituted for such work, browsed in this field of thorns and thistles, until the organization of the Union school gave him a salary. Later he became a newspaper editor in Nebraska. The academy was finished, but in time the underpinning on the south side tumbled out and let the hogs under to rest and squeal there, and let in gusts of southwest wind to whistle up through the cracks in the shrunken floor, while pupils, in shawls and overcoats, were shivering over their studies. The building learned toward the south like a doughface in the days of slavery. It used to shake so, during high winds, that pupils in the upper story would rush out and come tumbling pell-mell down the narrow steep stairs at the risk of their necks. Boys, during the long vacations, used to throw stones through the windows, more particularly the front ones. And when, for the sake of severe and secluded study, they took their books and climbed into the belfry, they would pass the time in removing the long thin slats from the belfry blinds, and sending them sailing down upon the wind into neighboring fields and gardens. Soon after the organization of the Union school, the academy building was sold and moved out to Main street and converted into a dwelling, and has since been enlarged and is known- as the Peninsula House. OLIVET COLLEGE No. history of schools of Eaton county would( be complete that did not speak of the founding and building up of the college in Olivet. In 1833, Rev. John J. Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart founded a college, which they named Oberlin, in the dense unbroken forests of Northern Ohio. In ten years the institution seemed to be thoroughly established, with an attendance of five hundred pupils. Mr. Shipherd then felt that his services were no longer needed there, and that it was his mission to establish other colleges in the new countries on the same plan. His idea was to secure a tract of unoccupied land and gather upon it a number of Christian families, who would be in full sympathy with the school, and thus surround the students with a good moral influence. The early success of the experiment at Oberlin may have led him to think that a similar result could be attained as readily elsewhere. The college at Oberlin had acquired an interest in the land where Dimondale is located, and Mr. Shipherd came up to look after it. On his way north from Marshall he passed through the town of Walton. The hill on
Page 62 BURRAGE HALL LIBRARY, OLIVET COLLEGE
Page 63 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY' 63 which the college now stands was covered with a dense growth of young oak trees and he lost his way in them; but when on the hill, near the residence of the late Professor Hosford, he saw, off to the southeast, the log house of Mr. Burroughs, and he went there to inquire his way and spend the night. In the morning they directed him to go round the foot of the hill, and he would see where the track turned to the right and went to the center of the county; but so few teams had been over the track that he did not notice it, and he soon found himself back where he started. This he did once or twice before he discovered the road; having finally found it he went on his way, and also found the land and examined it. It would seem that he visited Vermontville also, for E. P. Church remembers that Mr. Shipherd spent the night at his father's house and talked about the prospective college with him. The land around Vermontville was at that time all taken up, so there was no opening for a college there. Moreover, in his wandering around the hill in Walton, he had been impressed with the beauty of the spot and thought that the providential indications were that the Lord would have him plant the college there. On his return to Oberlin he at once set about securing colonists for his work. He had already interested William Hosford, familiarly known as "Father Hosford," and his wife. It was to them that Mr. Shipherd first disclosed his plans. Mr. Hosford had in the meantime enlisted Carlo' Reed in the enterprise, and the latter was a sturdy, resolute man, not easily discouraged in anything he undertook. To these three families were added those of Willson C. Edsell, Hiram Pease, George Andrus and Phineas Pease, together with four young men-Albertus L. Green, Phineas Hagar, Joseph Bancroft, and Chauncey Cady -all of whom came as students of the embryo college. These, with Reuben Hatch and 6ramel Hosford, who had just graduated from Oberlin college, met frequently for consultation and prayer. These meetings were always I led by Mr. Shipherd. At that time the college vacation at Oberlin, three months long, occurred in the winter, and it was decided that the colony should proceed to Olivet in the early spring and erect dwellings and a school-house, while the teachers, Messrs. Hatch and Hosford, were to follow and open the school during the next winter vacation. Mr. Hatch was twenty-nine years of age and Mr. Hosford was twenty-three and both were in excellent health and full of hope and courage. Three young women-Julia Edsell, Alice Green, and Abby Carter-and two hired laborers accompanied the colony. The whole number of those who undertook the founding of the college, including fourteen children and youth, was thirty-nine. Wednesday morning, February 14, 1844, the main colony began their journey, in their own conveyances, with farm wagons and ox-teams, driving their flocks and herds before them. The colony spent the Sabbath together at Woodville, in the Black Swamp, and Father Shipherd preached in the school-house there. Messrs. Cady and Bancroft, as well as the young women, were very fine singers, so they had good music. The company passed through Marshall on the way, and the people there laughed at the old man who had gone off into the woods to start a college. The main colony reached its destination Saturday afternoon, February 24. There were two or three small clearings, and as many log houses that had been abandoned by their former owners. Upon the outskirts were four or five dwellings. These earlier settlers gave the newcomers a most cordial and enthusiastic welcome. Mr. Shipherd and others were sheltered at the house of Mr. Shumway, who generously vacated his own dwelling for their use, and gave them free access to the stores of his cellar and barn. Log houses are supposed to be capable of endless expansion, and a bed was improvised by bringing in hay and spreading it the whole length of the floor. The neighbors, much to the surprise of Mr. Shipherd, had, during the winter, nearly completed a long log house for his use. A loose
Page 64 m SHIPHERD HALL, OLIVET COLLEGE
Page 65 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 65 board partition was put up across the middle of it. On Sunday these boards were taken down and made into seats, for on that day the house served as a church. Some of the families found shelter in the abandoned log houses of the former owners of the land, and others were lodged with the few earlier settles until they could build houses of their own. Work went bravely on until autumn, when fever and ague, so prevalent in most new countries, prostrated nearly every one of the colonists. Mr. Shipherd came down with it, but was supposed to be getting better when, one evening soon after retiring, he was stricken with apoplexy, as Mrs. Shipherd supposes, and died in a few hours without regaining consciousness. This was like the falling overboard of the captain of a ship in the midst of a storm and led some of the more timid ones to abandon the enterprise and return to their old homes in Oberlin. The question was seriously debated whether the whole scheme should not be given up; but health came with the winter's cold, and a school building was erected about twenty-six by forty feet, and two stories high. It was not yet completed when, some shavings having been put into the stove, the fire followed one out and fell through a crack in the floor among shavings below, and in a very few minutes the whole structure was in ashes. February 17, just three days after the fire, the frame of another school building was erected on the foundations of the former one, and this was so nearly completed in June that the public exercises of the school were held in it. The upper story was designed for a chapel and the lower story was finished off into two recitation rooms. It is easy to start a colony in the woods, but to start a college without buildings, money or students, requires faith, courage, self-denial, and hard work. This first completed building served the college but a very few years, when it caught fire from a burning dwelling and was itself consumed. The success of the institution, so far as human agency was concerned, depended upon the ability of its founders to enlist the assistance of enough other 5 persons to carry on the work, for it had not the endorsement of any religious or political body. The New England principle is that a college is a power in itself, and not an appendage to any other body, political or ecclesiastical. While its teaching and its influence also should be decidedly Christian, no student, teacher or trustee should be required to assent to any creed. A majority of the patrons, teachers and trustees of this institution have been Presbyterians, or Congregationalists, and it is usually called a Congregational college, but it is only so in the same sense that an agricultural society would be a Congregational society if the greater part of its members chanced to be of that faith. But the difficulties the founders encountered were not all found in Olivet. Rev. John D. Pierce, the first state superintendent of public instruction, and the organizer of our most excellent system of education, including the university, feared that if the legislature granted charters to other colleges the different denominations would start colleges of their own, and thus the support of the Christian people of the state would be withdrawn from the university, and it would be ruined. To cut off all occasion for the denominational college, the course of study in the university was made to embrace as much Christian instruction as was found in the most thoroughly Christian colleges in the land. If anyone objected upon the ground that the state could not teach religion, he was met with the fact that the state was doing it, and if they could do it then, no reason could be given why they might not continue to teach it in all time to come. Moreover, the Presbyterians, more generally than any other denomination, committed themselves to the university, indeed as one of them said: "The Presbyterians seemed to be the whole thing." So there seemed to be no call for a Christian college. Thus it was sixteen years before the legislature would grant a charter to any college and by that time the university was thought to be so thoroughly established that it might safely be done. For years these colleges were dubbed
Page 66 .z MATHER HALL, OLIVET COLLEGE
Page 67 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 67 "sectarian," and were looked upon with contempt by many people. It was for a long time difficult for a representative of the college to get a hearing before the state association of Congregational ministers and churches, and when he did, you might see a contemptuous smile play upon the faces of many in the audience. The first time that the college received a really cordial hearing by the state association of Congregational churches was at its meeting in Jackson, in 1866, after it had been in operation twenty-two years. After a presentation of its work and needs, by Prof. Oramel Hosford, the association unanimously passed the following preamble and resolutions: "Whereas, God in his providence has graciously been pleased to enlarge the usefulness of the college at Olivet, rendering an increase of accommodation for students an imperative necessity; therefore "Resol'ed, That we most cordially commend to the favorable regard of the benevolent in our churches, the effort now being made for that purpose by its friends and guardians." In 1867 the Presbyterian synod of the state resolved "That the synod has heard with pleasure the statements of President Morrison concerning Olivet College, its facilities for furnishing an excellent education and its religious character, and they rejoice in its success." For several successive years the synod appointed committees to visit the college and make a report. In 1881 Witter J. Baxter, of Jonesville, was on the committee, and in closing his report he says: "The college is worthy the entire confidence and hearty patronage of Christian parents, and of the cordial endorsement and approval of this synod." The association and synod, in thus cordially commending the college to the churches, did not assume any responsibility for its support or management. It was not until the school had been in existence more than a score of years that these bodies were willing to recom mend it to their churches. It was also many years before the public were assured of its permanent existence, and men do not like to put large sums of money into an institution that may ultimately fail. Its continued existence is no longer doubtful. It has of late greatly enlarged its borders and sphere of influence, and is not a mere Olivet affair. The college has now ten buildings, viz.: the library building of mottled Ionia sandstone, one hundred and ten feet in length by fifty-two feet in breadth, having a capacity for 100,000 volumes. Some thirty thousand volumes are now on the shelves, with an equal number of pamphlets, and its reading room is regularly supplied with one hundred and fifty periodicals and leading journals of news, politics, religion, science, literature, education and art. Mather Hall is a brick building erected at a cost of about $25,000, and devoted to the cabinet and the various laboratories. The cabinet is one of the largest in the state and has the largest collection of shells. Parsons Hall, named after Philo Parsons, of Detroit, who gave largely for its construction, is a brick building, one hundred and twelve feet in length, four stories high, and has the art rooms, six recitation rooms, and dormitories for sixty young men. Shipherd Hall contains rooms for the dean, assistant teachers and matron, together with accommodations for fifty young women. This is of brick and has a spacious dining room, also kitchen and laundry, and a commodious gymnasium for the young women. The college chapel, conservatory of music and the young men's gymnasium, are well equipped frame buildings. The musical department of Olivet college is equipped with twenty pianos and two pipe organs. The one placed in the chapel is a two-manual organ with sixteen registers. The one built in the church is a three-manual organ of thirty full registers, and twenty mechanical appliances, couplers, combination pedals, etc. The musical library contains more than six thousand numbers, including music for piano,
Page 68 "I PARSONS HALL, OLIVET COLLEGE
Page 69 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 69 I organ, voice, orchestra, chorus, and various combinations of instruments and voice. The young men's literary societies, "The Adelphic" and the "Phi Alpha Pi," have each an elegant stone building erected at a cost of $15,000 or $20,000 each. The young women have fitted up rooms for their literary society, "The Soronian," in the upper story of Shipherd Hall, and are raising money to erect a building of their own. The meeting house is an elegant stone structure, containing a very large and fine organ, and is the joint property of the church and college, and cost about $30,000. The entire college plant is valued at $400,000. It has an enrollment of two hundred and eighty students, and a faculty numbering twenty-five. It has sent out six hundred graduates, and among them are four college presidents, two principals of normal schools, and a multitude of ministers, lawyers, physicians and teachers. But the college is still in its infancy, and plans are under consideration for greatly enlarging it. Henry D. Wild was a graduate of Williams College and was for a time professor of Latin in Olivet College and while there became acquainted with Miss Ada Goodwin, who became his wife. He was so successful a teacher that he was called to the same professorship in his Alma Mater, at Williamstown, Massachusetts. Herman C. Bumpus was a graduate of Brown University at Providence, Rhode Island. He laid the foundations of the department of Biology in Olivet College, and reduced chaos to cosmos, having had a genius for classification. Besides his splendid work as a teacher, he arranged the museum, which stands to-day a monument to his skill and labor. He was recalled to Brown University as professor of biology and later to New York City as curator of the Museum of Natural History. George W. Chadwick began his work as a teacher of music in Olivet, where he remained but two years. He early showed talent as a musical composer, and has constantly grown in this, his favorite line of work, until his fame is world-wide. His reputation as a teacher has also increased until he is known everywhere to-day as the director of the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston, Massachusetts. George W. Howard was professor of music much longer at Olivet and has since resided in Boston, where for some years he maintained a private school of music, where he is still teaching. Hubert L. Clark has been for some years a most successful teacher of biology in Olivet, and has just accepted a position for scientific research in the Agassiz Museum at Harvard University. Few people are aware of the wide influence exerted by many of the young people who have been educated at the small college located in this county. We present a brief sketch of the work that has been done by a few of the six hundred graduates that have gone out from its halls. Willis E. Parsons was born in Keokuk, Iowa, October 26, 1857. When fourteen years of age he went to Olivet and spent three years of study in the preparatory department and was graduated from the classical course of the college with the class of 1881. His theological studies were taken in the Princeton Seminary. His first pastorate of nine years was at Albion in this state, his second at Danville, Illinois, where he was pastor of the Presbyterian church for eleven years. He was called to the presidency of Parsons College, which was founded by his grandfather at Fairfield, Iowa, his native state. George N. Ellis was born of sterling New England ancestry, near Alexandria Bay, New York, April 28, 1853. His parents came to Michigan in 1855 and located' at Albion. In 1866 they moved on to a new farm in the wilderness not far from Olivet, where father and son proceeded to make a home. Mr. Ellis entered Olivet College in 1871 and was graduated in 1878 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. More of this class than of any other have become teachers in their Alma Mater.
Page 70 -I1n i 70 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Since graduation Mr. Ellis has given himself wholly to educational work. At Talledega, Alabama, he organized the preparatory department of the college, was at the head of the normal department, and was successful in raising considerable money for the college. For about twenty years he has been in Olivet acting variously as instructor, principal of the preparatory department, advertising agent and field secretary. No other alumnus has been in the employ of the college so long. He was the first regularly appointed instructor in Latin and brought that department to a high degree of efficiency. As field secretary he went through the state, preaching, lecturing, addressing high schools, and presenting the financial needs of the college, the result being a large increase of a superior class of students and in part the addition of $100,000 to the endowment fund. In July, 1903, Mr. Ellis was unanimously elected president of Tabor College in Iowa, and at once assumed charge. Both attendance and endowment have been enlarged. Newv departments have been created and courses strengthened and the prospects of the college are bright. In September, 1879, Mr. Ellis married Mliss Lou M. Brown, who has proved to be a most efficient helpmate in all his work. Into their home have come four children: Mabel Brown, Paul Victor, Edith Margarita, and Ralph Edward. James L. Kellogg was born in Kewanee, Illinois, September 15, 1866, and was graduated from Olivet in the class of 1888, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then studied at John Hopkins University, taking the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1892 and was at once appointed professor of biology and geology in Olivet College, which position he held from 1892 to 1899, when he was offered the professorship of biology in Williams College in Massachusetts, in which capacity he is acting at the present time. He was for three summers instructor in the marine biological laboratory at "Woods Hole" in Massachusetts, and was for three summers in the employ of the United States Fish Commission as an investigator of mollusks. He conducted investigations on marine food animals for the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Louisiana. His publications have been mainly upon mollusks,-their development, life, history, anatomy, relationships, growth, distribution, environment, artificial culture, etc., etc. He married his classmate, Ida Archamblault. Irwin Shepard was born July 5, 1843, on a farm in Skaneateles township, New York. In 1856 the family removed to a farm near Chelsea in this state, and in 1862 while Mr. Shepard was attending the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, he enlisted in the Seventeenth Regiment, Michigan Volunteers, and served nearly three years, winning a congressional medal of honor for special service at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1863. He entered the preparatory department of Olivet College in 1866 and was graduated from the classical course of the college in the class of 1871. Soon after graduation he was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Elmer and in September of that year went to Charles City, Iowa, as superintendent of schools. In 1875 he became principal of the high school in Winona, Minnesota, serving three years in that position and one year as superintendent of schools. In 1879 he was elected president of the State Normal School in Winona, which position he held nineteen years, resigning in 1898 to accept the permanent secretaryship of the National Educational Association, which office he still retains. He has received from Olivet College the degrees of A. B., A. M. and Ph. D. Charles McKinne was born near Dimondale in this county, September 5, 1860. In 1865 the family moved to Lansing, where he attended school for the next six years, after which for two years he lived with a sister in Ingham county. He then spent four years in the family of Esek Pray in Windsor, working on the farm during the summer and attending district schools in the winter. In September, 1877, he entered the Agricultural College, from which he was graduated in 1881 with the degree of
Page 71 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 71 L Bachelor of Science. As he wished a more complete education he entered Olivet College in 1887, graduating two years later with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in the year 1892 the college conferring upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He taught in the district schools for three winters while attending the Agricultural College, and taught the eighth grade in the Charlotte public schools in 1882-5, was principal of Vermontville schools 1885-7, was instructor in Olivet 1889-95, professor of history in Olivet 1895-6, was elected principal of the Central State Normal School at Mt. Pleasant in July, 1896 and held the office until April, 1900, when he was offered the presidency of the State Normal School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which position'he accepted and still holds. He was a member of the board of school examiners in Eaton county from 1885 to 1896. In 1893 he was chosen secretary of the Michigan State Teachers' Association and was president of the same in 1894-5. He is at this time president of the Council of Normal School Presidents of the North Central States. He married Minnie E. Alderman, of Vermontville. J. F. Loba was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1846; in 1853, his father and mother having been converted to the Mormon faith, they, with five children, left Switzerland for the United States, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel and landing in New Orleans, from whence they took a steamer to St. Louis, where they spent the winter. In May they went up the river as far as Fort Leavenworth and from that point started across the plains with ox-teams. Soon after they left cholera broke out among them and the mother and several others of the company died when only about fifteen miles from the Missouri River. After great hardships the company reached Salt Lake City about the first of October, where his father married again. After three years he found the moral conditions so insupportable that he and his wife in April, 1857, escaped on foot, leaving the children behind. These, eight in number, were some time later conducted by a brother of their stepmother northward from Salt Lake City over the mountains covered with snow and thus, by a long detour, they joined their parents, who were waiting for them at Fort Laramie. Two of the younger children died and the family, after great hardship and losing everything they had, reached Leavenworth City in the spring of 1858. Here four of the children found work and became self-supporting. From this time until the autumn of 1854 our subject struggled on with various hardships. During the summer of that year he was employed as a newsboy on the train between St. Louis and Cincinnati. In the autumn he enlisted at St. Louis in the Thirteenth Missouri Infantry and served in the Southwest and the extreme West about Denver until the spring of 1866, when he was mustered out. While in Leavenworth he made the acquaintance of some Christian friends, through whose influence he was led to come to Olivet in this county. Here he spent seven years and was graduated with the class of 1873. He then for two years taught Greek in Knox College, Illinois, after which he visited his old home in Switzerland and studied one year in the University of Bale. On returning to this country he spent a year in the divinity school at Yale and a part of a year in the Chicago Theological Seminary. He was a pastor in Kankakee, Illinois, for a year and four months, and was in Kewaunee four years, from whence he came to Olivet and taught in the college for six years, serving also as associate pastor of the church. From 1888 to 1891 he was pastor of the Presbyterian church in Kalamazoo, and in the latter year was invited to go to Paris to become the successor of Dr. McCall in his great mission in France, which he accepted. During that year he delivered three hundred sermons and addresses in Paris -and in other cities of France. At the close of the year he was invited to the pastorate of the First Congregational Church of Evanston, Illinois, which he accepted and still retains. In 1901 he was one of a deputation sent by the American Board of Missions
Page 72 72 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY to visit and advise their missionaries in India and Ceylon. Hamilton King was born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, June 10, 1852, and was graduated from the classical course at Olivet with the class of 1878. He spent a year in study at the Chicago Theological Seminary and was then recalled to Olivet to the principalship of the preparatory department and served in this capacity from 1879 to 1898. He devoted his energies unsparingly to the improvement of the preparatory course in its organization and scholarship and was the author of a Greek Reader and Outlines of United States History. He devised an extensive scheme of advertising the college so that the attendance became the largest that the college has ever had, was interested in athletics and it was through his influence that the gymnasium was equipped. In the years 1883 and 1884 he studied at the university in Leipsic, Germany, and in 1884 spent some time at the American School at Athens, Greece. He was an eloquent speaker and was a frequent lecturer at teachers' institutes in this and other counties in the state. In 1896 he became much interested in politics and made many speeches in the interest of the Republican party, and was a delegate to the national republican convention that nominated William McKinley for the presidency. Soon after the election of Mr. McKinley he was appointed consul general at Bangkok in Siam. He held this office for seven years and performed his duties so satisfactorily that he has now been made minister plenipotentiary. In 1883 he made the acquaintance of Cora Lee Seward, connected with the well-known family of that name in the state of New York, whom he married. Three daughters who are now studying in Europe have gladdened their home. His familiarity with educational matters has enabled him to aid the king of Siam in promoting the educational interests of the kingdom. He secured from the king a good site for a mission school building and a generous donation of money toward the erection of the same. Alexander Tison was born in St. Louis coun I ty, Missouri, December 23, 1857, and lived there until September, 1872, when he came to Olivet, Michigan, to prepare for college. Olivet was his home for eleven years. He here completed the preparatory course in two years and entering the classical course of the college in 1874 graduated with the class of 1878. He taught Latin and was the college librarian from 1878 to 1883 inclusive. In October, 1883, he entered the Harvard Law School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he spent three years and received the degree of Master of Arts and also that of Bachelor of Laws. In July of that year he went to New York city and entered a law office. In the autumn of 1885 he was admitted to the bar of this state by the supreme court at Lansing, while he was admitted to the bar of New York in 1887, after spending one year as a student in the office of the late James C. Carter, Esq. He continued in general practice in the city until February, 1889, when the Japanese government, through President Elliott, of Harvard, called him to become the professor of English and American law in the Imperial University of Japan at Tokio. He accepted and remained from March, 1889, until January, 1894, lecturing in English to five successive classes of Japanese students in law and political science. These were in large part picked men and came from all parts of the empire. As graduates they have made their mark in all departments of the national life of Japan. Some of them he numbers among his warmest personal friends. Because of the existence at that time of what was called ex-territorial rights in favor of the various treaty powers having diplomatic relations with Japan, he had, during his residence in Tokio, the opportunity to practice his profession as well as teaching it. He practiced as a lawyer in the United States Consular courts in Yokohama and Kobe and, through the kindness of Her Brittanic Majesty's Judge for Japan, was granted the status and privileges of a British barrister, which enabled him to have a part as counsel in the practice of the British courts throughout the country. This
Page 73 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 73 I practice in the foreign courts of Japan was varied, interesting, and profitable, while at the same time it helped to keep him proficient while away from his office in New York. In January, 1894, he left Japan for New York, by way of China, India, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and England. He was nearly a year on the way and reached America late in 1894. Soon after his return he was married in New York to Annie H. Stevens, of Boston, Massachusetts, and they have three children, two sons and a daughter. Since his return he has lived in New York City and practiced his profession there. His practice is general in its nature and has led him to make four visits to Japan upon legal business within the past eight years. If he has any specialty in his practice it may be said to grow out of his knowledge of Japanese persons and conditions by reason of which he has been put into pleasant relations with the great merchants in Japan and some of the most progressive capitalists of New York. For his work at the Imperial University at Tokio and his subsequent association with the investment of American capital in Japanese business enterprises, it has pleased the Emperor of Japan to confer upon him two decorations, the first being the "Order of the Sacred Treasure" and the second the "Order of the Rising Sun." John Henry Barrows was born in a log cabin about five miles from Medina in Lenawee county, Michigan, July 11, 1847. In 1860 the family moved to Olivet, his father being made professor of natural science and his mother the matron of the boarding hall. The next seven years of his life were spent in study there, where he was graduated from the classical course in 1867, in the first class of men graduated from the college. He spent a year in study at the divinity school at Yale, another year at the Union Theological Seminary in New York and finally finished his theological course at Andover. In 1869 the family moved to Arvonia, Kansas, where he devoted some time to farming, while he preached and lec tured in the village and adjoining towns. He started a literary society, secured a course of lectures and wrote articles on educational topics for the papers. In 1871 he was elected superintendent of schools of Osage county. The population was gathered from all parts of this and many foreign countries, making his experience with all these classes very amusing. In 1872 he supplied for a time the pulpit in Springfield, Illinois, but his health failed and he made a voyage to Europe, sailing July 21, 1873, remaining six months. This was the first of several trips to Europe. On the voyage out he made the acquaintance of Miss' Sarah Eleanor Mole, of Williamstown, Massachusetts, who subsequently became his wife. During his European trips he became acquainted with many of the leading preachers and teachers in England, France, and Germany. On his return he was ordained in Lawrence, Massachusetts, April 29, 1875. His first pastorate was over the Elliott church in Lawrence and continued five years. He then accepted a call to the Maverick church in East Boston but had not been there a year before he was called to the First Presbyterian church in Chicago. The Maverick church was unwilling to let him go as they were in debt $33,000 but the Chicago church offered $5,000 toward paying the debt and with this leverage the debt was soon raised and he accepted the call to Chicago and began a pastorate of seventeen busy years. During this time he delivered seventy addresses before twenty different colleges. Fourteen of his addresses were published in pamphlet form. In 1890 he was made chairman of a committee on which representatives of fifteen different denominations were found, to make arrangements for a parliament of religions to be held in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition. The leading object of this parliament was to bring together in conference, for the first time in history, the leading representatives of the great historic religions of the world, the Brahman, Buddhist, Confucian, Parsee, Mohammedan, Jewish and other faiths, and of the different denominations of Christians. It was no small task to secure harmony
Page 74 74 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY among men of such a variety of opinions. In speaking of it afterwards he says: "I had to toil for an unprecedented achievement with the General Assembly of my own church, forty infallible religious editors, the Sultan of Turkey, and the Archbishop of Canterbury pulling hard on my clerical coat tails." But the parliament was a success and moved off with hardly a jar. Dr. Barrows was the author of seven books. The parliament of religions awakened so much interest that a member of his congregation (Mrs. Caroline E. Haskell), was led to give to the University of Chicago $20,000 to found a lectureship on comparative religion. Her design was to have the income from this sum devoted from time to time to sending talented lecturers to India to deliver six or more lectures on the Christian religion in Calcutta and if deemed best in Bombay, Madras or other prominent city of India. Dr. Barrows was the first lecturer to go to India on this foundation. He and Mrs. Barrows arrived in Bombay December 16, 1896 and received a most cordial welcome from Hindus, Jains, Parsees, Brahmos, and Christians. lie delivered several lectures in Benares, twenty-two addresses in Calcutta, and had several long conversations with prominent men. He also visited several mission stations and gave addresses there On his return to this country he was invited to the presidency of Oberlin College, which he accepted and was the inspiration of a movement that resulted in adding $600,000 to the endowment of the college, together with some new buildings. His work there lasted but three and a half years, when he was taken with pleuro-pneumonia and other complications. He died June 3, 1902, in his fifty-fifth year. CHAPTER XI RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS-EARLY CHURCHES-CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES-METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES-CAMP-MEETING GROUJNDS-BAPTIST CHURCHES-UNITED BRETHREN CHURCHCATHOLIC CHURCH-ISCOPAL CHURCH-GERMAN BRETHREN OR DUNKARD CHURCH EARLY CHURCHES The larger log houses of the early settlers, with extemporaneous seats of boards and chairs, were the first places of worship in the county. A log shanty in Bellevue is said to have been the first meeting-house built in.the county and this also served the purpose of school-house and town hall. When log schoolhouses were built, services were held in them. When the farms were cleared and the settlers had secured homes for themselves, good house. of worship were erected that cost no small amount of labor and self-denial. The ministers who, through the years between 1835 and 1850, threaded their way through the forests of this county on foot or on horseback, fording the streams to meet their appointments, many miles apart, have nearly all gone to their reward. In 1833, at the house of Reuben Fitzgerald, in Bellevue, Rev. John D. Pierce, a Congregational minister from Marshall, delivered the first sermon ever heard in Eaton county. Mr. Pierce was the first superintendent of public instruction in the state, and we are more indebted to him than to anyone else in the state for shaping our excellent system of public schools; also for outlining the work of the university. A full-length portrait of him adorns the walls of the reading room of Olivet college. In 1834 the Methodists organized the first church in the county. The second was organized by the Congregationalists in Vermontville, February 28, 1838, and was fol
Page 75 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 75 lowed, October 7, in the same year, by the Griffith Methodist Episcopal church, on the south line of Hamlin township. In 1840 the Methodists of Eaton Rapids organized the fourth church in the county. A brief review of the several denominations of the county follows, but inability to obtain the facts in regard to some of them prevents in those cases extended notice. CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES The Congregational church in Vermontville was organized February 28, 1838, by Rev. Sylvanus Cochrane, one of the leading colonists of Vermontville. He preached for a time in the large log house of Deacon Church. When a log school-house was built the congregation met there for worship. In 1844 a two story frame building was erected for an academy, the upper story being fitted up for a chapel, and the building is still used for the latter purpose. The present house of worship was built in 1864, during the pastorate of Rev. O. H. Spoor. During the pastorate of Rev. David Beaton, in 1886, a lot was purchased and a commodious parsonage was erected upon it at a cost of $2,000. It is the oldest Congregational church in the county. The Eaton Rapids Congregational church was organized July 13, 1843, by Rev. Joseph Smith, who was pastor for only about two years, but lived in Eaton Rapids until his death, in 1867. After the close of his pastorate, for about ten years, the church had only occasional services. In 1855 Rev. John S. Kidder became pastor, and the church has ever since steadily maintained its church life. It occupied a small unfinished house of worship of its own for the first time, October 30, 1846. It stood about three blocks south of its present location. In 1855 the building was completed, and in 1860 it was removed to its present site and greatly enlarged and improved. But on the night of January 6, 1877, it was burned down and the present neat brick edifice was erected on the ground where it stood. The Congregational church in Olivet was organized with seventeen members by a council that convened at the house of George Andrus in Olivet, March 20, 1845. At first its services were held in private houses. When the first college building was erected, the upper story was fitted up for a chapel and the church worshiped there. The next place of worship was in a chapel across the east end of Colonial Hall, the building now used for a gymnasium, and which stood about the middle of the college campus and opposite Shipherd Hall. In 1852 it united with the college in building a house of worship, which, in 1865, was enlarged by adding several feet to the length and putting under the whole a basement story. In 1894 college and church united in the erection of a beautiful house of worship of field stone, containing some five hundred sittings. The very superior organ within cost $5,000. In 1851 a man, named Joseph Dunton, made his appearance in the county, lecturing upon mesmerism and preaching. Some religious interest was awakened in the western part of the town of Carmel, which resulted in the organization of a church with seven members, and it was called "The Congregational church of Christ in Carmel." It met for worship in the Ellis school-house, situated a few rods north of the present Congregational church in Carmel. It had occasional preaching by Prof. E. N. Bartlett, of Olivet college, and Rev. W. U. Benedict, of Vermontville. In 1852 it changed its place of worship to the court house in Charlotte, and its name to the "First Congregational church of Charlotte." On New Year's day, 1854, Wolcott B. Williams, a recent graduate of Oberlin college, began his ministry here, and was ordained by a council that convened in the old court house February 3, 1854; he remained pastor for thirteen years. In 1856 the society erected, at the south end of Bostwick avenue on the lot now occupied by the residence of J. M. C. Smith, a frame house of worship at an expense of $1,275, for house and lot. It had two hundred and fifty sittings, and was innocent of vestibule, bell and steeple. By outsiders it was
Page 76 BAPTIST CHURCH, EATON RAPIDS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, EATON RAPIDS M. E. CHURCH, EATON RAPIDS M. P. CHURCH, EATON RAPIDS
Page 77 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY dubbed "The Basswood Church." It was, however, the first house of worship in Charlotte, and at the time there was no other one within ten miles. In 1873 the society erected its present house of worship, which was not fully completed until 1881, and which cost about $35,000, exclusive of organ and bell. The Congregational church of Grand Ledge was not organized until 1864. Rev. W. P. Esler was the organizer and the church had four original members. It now reports one hundred and seventy members, with one hundred and twenty-five in the Sunday-school. It built a meeting house in 1866, with two hundred sittings, at a cost of $2,000. In 1904 a new church was erected at a cost of $6,000. METIODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES The Griffith Methodist Episcopal church, in H-amlin, although a country church, in a remote part of the county and but little known, is really one of the oldest religious organizations in the county. The first religious meetings held il the neighborhood were conducted by local preachers at the house of Stephen Reynolds. Those were days of boundless hospitality, and Mr. Reynolds seems to have kept a veritable "minister's tavern." At one time he had three local preachers and their families living in his house, viz.: Revs. William Crane, Truman Barr, and Turner. It is said that thirty-two persons lodged at Mr. Reynolds' at one time. It is not strange that such a household should have felt the need of religious services at least once a week, nor that, with so many preachers on hand, Mr. Reynolds should have been able to secure them. In 1836 the Michigan conference was held in Mansfield, Ohio, and it sent a missionary by the name of Kinnean into these parts. In 1839, the conference met in Detroit and sent, as a missionary, Rev. Washington Jackson, who moved into his field with his family and lived in the house with the Blodgetts, where three families had been living before their arrival. Mr. Jackson preached at different houses in the Griffith neighborhood. The ser vice was fortnightly, alternating with Grand Rapids, some eighty miles distant. He went to his appointments on foot and held meetings at intermediate points on the way. His first station west of Griffith's seems to have been the house of Jonathan Sarles, two miles southeast of Charlotte. In 1838 the conference sent David Thomas as preacher, who, on October 7 of that year, organized a class of fourteen members, and about the same time another class of seven members was organized at Truman Barr's; these two classes were soon after merged into one. In 1840 meetings were held in a school-house. In February, 1855, the society had the pleasure of worshiping in their own sanctuary. In 1838, Rev. E. H. Pilcher was presiding elder, and with the exception of Bellevue, the Methodist work in Eaton county was known as "The Ingham Mission Belonging to the Marshall District." This mission embraced the west half of Ingham county. Rev. Washington Jackson was preacher, and conducted services at the house of Jonathan Sarles. In 18;9f' Rev. Isaac Bennett was pastor and held services in the new court-room in the hewn log tavern, known as "The Eagle Hotel," that stood where the Phenix now" stands. It is supposed that he performed the first marriage ceremony in Charlotte, the parties being Rollo Cushing and Susan Sarles. In 1841 Rev. Levi Warner was preacher, and the meetings were transferred to a hewn log building, sixteen by twenty feet, that stood just east of the Pythian Temple, and which, according to the exigency of the times, did service as a school-house, printing office, chapel, and dwelling. In that year a class was organized with David Darwin Hughes, who later became a distinguished lawyer, as leader. The next place of meeting was in a block school-house on the corner, just east of the boarding house of Mr. Bush. In 1846 the court house was built, and for some thirteen years the people met there for worship. In 1859 the society erected a brick church, forty by sixty feet. During the pastorate of Rev. C. S' Fox this building was enlarged by putting a transept
Page 78 78 PAST AND PRESENT across the south end and carrying out a vestibule and a steeple in front. In 1904 the present beautiful structure was erected at a cost of about $40,000. It is the most expensive and beautiful church in the county. In 1840 Rev. Isaac Bennett was pastor in charge and organized a class in Eaton Rapids with nine members. During the pastorate of Rev. W. E. Bigelow, in 1845, the church erected a small frame building there for a meeting house; it was not finished, however, until 1855. In 1882 the society erected its present and beautiful house of worship at the expense of about $15,000. The first Methodist meeting in Grand Ledge was held in 1851 by Rev. John Clayton, an earnest local preacher. The meeting was at the house of one Adam Smith. In 1852, the present Grand Ledge charge belonged to the Ionia circuit, and 0. Whitmore and A. R. Bartlett were preachers. No record shows the number in class at that date. Its house of worship, built of brick, is furnished with a town clock. CAMP MEETING GROUNDS Eaton Rapids has the only camp meeting ground in the county. It consists of thirtythree acres lying on the right bank of Grand river, a short distance above the city, and is owned by the Methodists. The ground was originally covered with oak and other timber and many of the trees are still left standing. Near the entrance is an office; there is also a hotel of two stories, twenty by forty feet, with two wings, each twenty by sixty feet, and a dormitory twenty by thirty feet, also two stories high. The auditorium will seat about one thousand persons and by. opening the sides about as many more can hear from the outside. The Epworth League has a chapel, twenty by fifty feet square. There are about sixty cottages on the ground owned by private parties. The camp meeting lasts about ten days. Some of the cottagers occupy the grounds a few days before the meeting opens and about one-half of the cottages are occu OF EATON COUNTY I. --- —-- pied who mer who for several weeks afterward by families find it a pleasant place to take their sumouting. Boats are furnished for those wish to go boating and fishing. BAPTIST CHURCHES February 22, 1845, Calvin Race, Ann Race, Henry R. Jeffries, Mary L. Jeffries, Timothy Wheeler, Asenath Wheeler, Ann Arnold and Samuel Ferris, met and organized themselves into the First Baptist church of Eaton Rapids, by adopting articles of faith and entering into covenant with each other. On the 17th of the following April it was recognized by council. For three years the church was supplied by different ministers, among them Rev. J. C. Post and Elder Hill. The first building occupied by the church is the present upright part of the old Dr. S. M. Wilkins house, next to the present edifice. In 1859, under the pastorate of Rev. H. G. Mosher, a frame meetinc-house was erected on the present site. This was extensively repaired in 1878, under the supervision of Rev. J. M. Titterington. It was again enlarged and remodeled in 1890, under the pastorate of Rev. J. P. Farmer. In 1851, Mrs. Esther Sarles, Julia Pierce, and lMary Rager, were, so far as known, the only Baptists living in the vicinity of Charlotte, and in 1852 they secured a visit from Elder John Tampkins, who preached in the old log building known as the Ells schoolhouse, in Carmel, and then and there were recognized as the Baptist conference of Carmel. In 1855 they changed their )lace of meeting to the court house in Charlotte, seven new members being added to their number, and these ten were recognized as the first Baptist church in Charlotte; and the services of Elder Tampkins were secured for one-half of the time. For several years, services were held in the old court house, the Congregational church and in Carmel Hall. In 1869 a frame building was erected for a house of worship. In 1882 it was enlarged, veneered with brick and a spire added, and more recently it has been still further improved and decorated.
Page 79 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 79 The Baptist church of Grand Ledge was organized in the Johnson settlement, four miles west of Grand Ledge, by Rev. S. A. Cusner, in 1851 (one authority says 1863). There was also a small society of the same faith in Eagle, in Ionia county, and in 1871 these united and changed their place of meeting to Grand Ledge and built a meeting house there. UNITED BRETHREN The first United Brethren church of Eaton county was organized in Walton by Rev. Ross. It had five members. In 1877 they built a church at a cost of $800. It has a seating capacity for 200 persons. They have also a $400 parsonage. In 1864 those of that faith organized a church in Charlotte. Their present edifice, a neat brick structure, was built in 1874, largely by the efforts of Elder Titus, at a cost of $3,000. In 18i72 the United Brethren attempted to build a small brick church in Potterville, and laid the Toundations and gathered some materials, but the leader became discouraged and called on Rev. W. B. Williams, then superintendent of missions, and requested him to organize a Congregational church and take the foundation and materials on the ground and go forward and complete the edifice, and this was done. Since then they have rallied and built a brick meeting house in Potterville. In 1885 the United Brethren built a brick house of worship in Mulliken, but before it was paid for dissensions arose and the building was advertised for sale to pay debts incurred in its erection; and Rev. Leroy Warren, then superintendent of missions, was invited to organize a Congregational church in Mulliken and take the meeting house, on condition of settling all claims against the property. This he did, organizing a church of eleven members, and, securing a liberal grant from the Congregational church building society, he became personally responsible for the balance of the claims. CATHOLIC CHURCHES In 1851 there were, so far as known, not more than a half-dozen Catholic families in Eaton county, and only two or three in Charlotte, and for several years thereafter no services were held in Charlotte; but during the time Patrick McDonald and wife went once a year to Marshall to attend worship, and they finally persuaded Rev. P. C. Koopmans to visit Charlotte occasionally and celebrate mass in Mr. McDonald's house. The building of the Chicago & Grand Trunk railroad brought many more Catholics to the town, and, in 1868, Rev. C. M. Frain, with the assistance of Mr. McDonald, raised money to erect, upon a lot donated by the priest and situated on the high ground in the northern outskirts of the city, a modest edifice, with a seating capacity of two hundred. In this effort they were generously aided by the Protestants. In 1892 Rev. F. Broegger, of Hastings, was in charge of the parish, and raised monev to purchase the site upon which the present church was built, in 1893, through the agency of Rev. P. Langhorn. In this effort also they gratefully acknowledge the liberal aid of the Protestants. In the spring of 1891, the Catholics of Eaton Ralpids, under the lead of Rev. Francis Broegger, of Hastings, bought the property of the Episcopal society in Eaton Rapids, put it in repair and furnished it, and in September of that year it was consecrated by Bishop Foley, of Detroit. EPISCOPAL CHIURCHES In 1846 Rev. Luman Foote began holding the services of the Protestant Episcopal church in the old court house in Charlotte, and continued them for six years. Then, for twenty years, there were only occasional services. In 1872 a mission was organized under the name of St. John's mission of Charlotte, subject to the visitation of Bishop Samuel McCoskry, of Detroit, and occasional services were held by Rev. G. P. Schetky and Rev. G. E. Peters. In 1873 a wing of the old court house was bought and fitted up for a chapel. The Rev. J. L.
Page 80 80 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Taylor took charge of the mission as permanent rector, in the spring of 1874, and continued services in Charlotte and Eaton Rapids four years. In 1877 Bishop Gillespie changed the name of the mission to that of "Grace Mission, Charlotte." On the retirement of Mr. Taylor services were suspended for several years, but, in 1887, they were renewed by Rev. J. W. Bancroft and for two years were held by him and Orr Schurtz, a lay reader. In 1889 the present house of worship was built and Rev. Van Antwerp served as rector for one year. Rev. M. H. Martin served as rector from 1891 to 1894. THE GERMAN BRETHREN CHURCH This church, located in Sunfield and sometimes known as the Dunkard church, is the only one of this denomination in the county. One of the peculiar tenets of this organization is its opposition to a salaried pastor. They are also opposed to recording the statistics of churches, as they think it savors of pride. During the past year the church has made several contributions for benevolent objects, of which no record has been kept. The denomination supports missions in Canada, India, Denmark. Sweden, and Germany. Ever since 1853 there has been occasional liberal preaching in Charlotte by Unitarian and Universalist clergymen. For some months Rev. J. Pardee, a Unitarian minister, held services here regularly. In I870 a Universal ist society was organized. Rev. James Gorton was the first resident Universalist minister. He began his ministry in Charlotte in 1881. In 1889 the society was reorganized with seventy members. CHURCHES AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP The foregoing are some of the pioneer efforts of the different denominations in the county. Our scope does not permit us to go into an account of every church organization. There are seventy-four houses of worship in the county, and the following list shows how they are distributed among the different denominations. Methodist Episcopal.....................21 Congregational........................13 United Brethren........................11 Free Methodist......................... 5 A dventist.............................. ' Baptist................................ 4 Protestant Methodist.................... 4 Universalist.......................... 3 Union Churches........................ 2 Protestant Episcopal.................... 1 Dunkard............................... 1 Presbyterian..........................2 Catholic............................... 2 T otal............................... 74 The town of Sunfield has eleven church edifices, which is more than there is in any other township in the county.
Page 81 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 81 -- CHAPTER XII THE COUNTY PRESS-EATON COUNTY GAZETTE-EATON BUGLE-EATON REPUBLICANCHARLOTTE LEADER-GRAND LEDGE TIMES-POTTERVILLE PRESS-DIMONDALE NEWSSUNFIELD SENTINAL-EATON RAPIDS JOURNAL-GRAND LEDGE INDEPENDENT-MULLIKEN NEWS-BELLEVUE GAZETTE-CHARLOTTE TRIBUNE THE EATON COUNTY GAZETTE The first paper published in the county was called the Eaton'County Gazette, established by Warren Isham and the first number was issued January 1, 1843. It was a five column folio, sixteen by twenty-four inches. The subscription price was $1.50 per annum. The office was in the old Eagle Hotel. It contained nothing whatever of local news, and the patronage, which was exceedingly limited, came mostly from Bellevue. After struggling for an existence for about six months it was discontinued. THE EATON BUGLE The venture was not, however, discouraging to others for on March 26, 1845, a second paper known as The Eaton Bugle, neutral only in politics, made its appearance, published by William Johnston, Esq., a lawyer from Richland county, Ohio. Mr. Johnston was a fluent speaker, and lectured through Eaton county on temperance. His paper was ably conducted, but succumbed to circumstances a year after its first number was issued, and Mr. Johnston returned to Ohio, where he became distinguished as an eloquent campaigner. It is said that after The Bugle was discontinued, probably in 1846, William Martin, of Marshall, started a small sheet here known as The Eaton County Democrat, which was very short lived. THE EATON COUNTY REPUBLICAN, In 1847, a paper called The Eaton Democrat, was started in Eaton Rapids by L. W. McKinney and was afterwards published by Judge Ezra D. Burr. The election of 1854 6 was very gratifying to the republicans, and they agreed to raise $200 to aid the parties who should establish a party organ in the county. The office of The Eaton Democrat was purchased and the press and material removed to Charlotte; a rude board shanty was erected in the midst of winter, and the printing office was established in it. The weather was so severe, and the wood so green that it was almost impossible to work, but January 6, 1855, the- first number was issued, to the gratification of patrons and proprietors. It was called The Eaton County Republican, and Mr. Edward A. Foote was the choice of the republicans for editor and he was regarded as its founder. His associate was Mr. Mark H. Marsh, a practical printer, afterwards connected with the Evening News of Detroit. Mr. Foote conducted the paper through four volumes and seven numbers and sold it February 12, 1859, to Joseph Saunders, who relates his experience as editor in the following language: "During the first few years of my connection with the paper it was hard work for me, but my wife greatly assisted me, going to Jackson, Marshall, and Battle Creek to procure advertisements and secure pay for them, which met the wants of a growing family. The white paper came from Detroit to Marshall by railroad, and from thence to Charlette by "Force's express." Occasionally there was a failure to connect, and then a journey must be made to Marshall with a horse and buggy to procure paper for the coming issue. On one occasion I rode all night to procure five quires of paper rather than to disappoint
Page 82 82 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I my subscribers. The legal advertising was the main dependence for money, many of the subscribers paying in produce. We always had a plenty of wood and maple sugar. The wood was reckoned at five shillings per cord and the sugar cost from six to seven cents per pound. The first payment made to me on The Republican, was by a blink-eyed man, who lived on or beyond the 'island.' It was a cord of white beech, and when I split it up for the stove, it was found that the liquids in it had frozen to ice. My wife declared that the cooking could never be done with such icicles, but the farmers of Eaton county were generous with what they had, and very frequently presented the editor with the best products of their farms. At the closing of the agricultural fairs it took a good sized wagon to carry home the fruits, vegetables, etc., presented." Five years after taking charge of the paper, Mr. Saunders wisely adopted the advance payment rule, owing to losses he sustained on the credit system. His subscription list was materially reduced by the change, but soon began to increase and the business was prosperous. Two new presses were purchased to print the enlarged paper, and finally a steam power press was procured to lessen the labor of printing the large edition. Mr. Saunders was appointed postmaster under President Lincoln's administration, and the income from both establishments enabled him to make extensive improvements. During his connection with the paper, Mr. Saunders was associated with numerous parties in its publication, it being conducted by Saunders and Holmes, Joseph Saunders & Co., and Capt. W. S. Trask had an interest in it at one time. Mr. Saunders finally sold to K. Kittredge, who continued it two years and in 1877 sold to D. B. Ainger, who afterward received an appointment to a postmastership at Washington, D. C. The paper then passed into the hands of S. J. Tomlinson who about two years later sold to L. B. Bissell, who after conducting it for five years sold to R. L. Warren. Four years later it passed into the hands of H. T. McGrath, the present proprietor, who has had it for-the last three years. THE CHARLOTTE LEADER It is a little uncertain whether a Mr. Sanford or C. C. Chatfield was the first editor of The Charlotte Leader. It was a Democratic sheet published at Eaton Rapids under the name of The Eaton County Argus. It was moved to Charlotte in 1860, at which time F. W. Higby was its editor and Thornton Brothers the publishers. Ten months later William Saunders took possession of the office, and continued its publication until 1865, when D. F. Webber became the proprietor. He changed its name to The Charlotte Argus, and in the spring of 1868 sold to W. S. Thornton, who in June of that year admitted J. V. Johnson as a partner in the business. The latter, after four months, purchased Thornton's interest, and remained as manager until January 1, 1875, when Frank A. Ells became its publisher and changed its name to The Charlotte Leader. J. V. Johnson bought it back July 27, 1880. He had it about two years when it came back to Ells. In 1884 it was sold to W. G. Blymer of Defiance, Ohio, who on account of ill health sold it in 1886 to Capt. G. C. Bragdon, who conducted it about three years. At that time the Bryan Bros. became the proprietors and published it until October, 1895, when it was again sold to its present owner and publisher, Frank A. Ells. THE GRAND LEDGE TIMES In 1886 a stock company was formed to publish The Vidette, a Greenback organ of which James Winnie was the political editor. It ran under this management for two years, when it was sold to Charles P. Warner, who changed its name to The Graphic. Soon after acquiring control, Mr. Warner took in as partner M. L. Phares, who later bought out Warner's interest and became sole owner. About seventeen years ago M. H. Gunsenhouser bought out Mr. Phares and the name was again changed to The Republican, when the
Page 83 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 83 sheet espoused the cause of the party its name indicated. During this period it enjoyed the distinction of being aggressive and original, but was carelessly made up and edited. July 1, 1902, the paper again changed name and owner. C. W. Waring being the purchaser, and the paper thereafter being known as The Grand Ledge Times. The paper is now a seven column quarto in size and enjoys a much greater degree of prosperity than in its earlier years. It is independent in politics. TIHE POTTERVILLE PRESS The Potterville Press was established in October, 1897, by Len W. Feighner. The editor was W. O. Hullinger, until October 5, 1899, when George C. Higdon took charge. Tune 27, 1901, he was relieved by Lloyd C. Feighner, brother of the owner, who edited the paper six weeks. July 26, 1901, the plant was purchased by W. E. Warner, the present owner and editor. It is now in its ninth year. THE DIMONDALE NEWS This paper was established October 1, 1897, by E. C. Sibley, and has enjoyed a steady growth ever since, under the same ownership. THE SUNFIELD SENTINEL The Sunfield Sentinel was established in 1888 by J. C. Rounds and at that time was called The Sun. The Sun was sold to W. J. Jenkins who was burned out in 1896. Soon after the fire M. L. Phares and C. J. Strang bought The Sun's subscription list and started the paper anew, changing the name to The Sunfield Sentinel, the first issue being March 12, 1896. The partnership of Phares and Strang continued but a short time, Phares selling out to Strang. C. J. Strang continued the publication of the paper until November, 1898, when he leased it to J. T. Mansil, who afterwards bought it, and in 1900 sold to James H. Cramer. The latter published The Sentinel until January 30, 1905, when he sold to Frank M. Merritt, who has continued publishing the paper up to the present time. It is a five col umn quarto published on Thursday of each week. THE EATON RAPIDS JOURNAL The Eaton Rapids Journal was founded by J. B. Teneyck in November, 1865, and sold to Frank C. Cully, in 1869, who, in 1874, changed the name to The Saturday Journal. From 1876 to January 1, 1879, E. O. Brien was the publisher and the paper resumed its old name. It then passed into the hands of Kendall Kittridge, who made many changes and improvements in the looks of the sheet and brought it to the front rank of county papers; he sold to Prof. Orr Schurtz. After that the paper changed owners quite frequently; C. WV. Stevens, Hendee & Fairfield, Charles T. Fairfield, E. Goodnow, O. E. Hawkins, and J. B. Hendee, being owners in the order named. Later it came into the hands of the present owner, J. Sumner Hamlin, a former school teacher, who has kept it up to a very excellent standard. THE GRAND LEDGE INDEPENDENT The Grand Ledge Independent was established, in 1869, by B. F. Saunders, son of Joseph Saunders, one of the earlier publishers of The Charlotte Republican. He induced W. C. Westland, in February, 1894, to take a half interest in the business, and for a period of three years the paper was published by the firm of Saunders & Westland. The firm was dissolved the following May, the junior member becoming the sole proprietor. For a time it was difficult to make the paper pay expenses, but the business men and other citizens rallied to its support and it has prospered. THE MULLIKEN NEWS The Mulliken News was established in July, 1897, with S. J. Jacob as editor and W. J. Fish, publisher. At the expiration of nine months, the paper and plant were purchased by W. J. Fish, who has managed it ever since. It is a seven column sheet with from four to six pages, well filled with advertising matter, and has a good circulation in the northern part of the county.
Page 84 84 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY THE BELLEVUE GAZETTE The Bellevue Gazette was established June 9, 1871, by Alfred Rindge, on May 29, 1873, it was bought by E. S. Hoskins, who conducted it until May 27, 1882, when G. W. Perry became owner and editor. April 26, 1892, Willard E. Holt, its present owner, became editor and publisher. The Gazette editors appear to be in the way of promotion; Hoskins was made secretary of the Michigan state senate, and later had a fine position at Washington, D. C. Perry was deputy revenue collector and secretary of the Michigan press association, and Holt is postmaster and president of the Michigan postmasters' association. THE CHARLOTTE TRIBUNE Upon the failure of The Potterville Enterprise, in 1887, Francis M. Potter, formerly of The Vermontville Hawk (now Echo), bought the plant, removed it to Charlotte, and, on August 17, 1887, issued the first copy of The Charlotte Tribune. On December 1, 1887, Mr. George A. Perry bought a half interest. The old Washington hand press was exchanged for a Prouty, this since giving way to a Cottrell. From January 1, 1888, to May 1, 1888, Warren F. Pattison held an interest, the firm name being Perry, Potter & Pattison. Mr. Potter retired July 1, 1889, and two months later Harry T. McGrath bought a half interest, the partnership continuing to April 1, 1904, at which time Mr. McGrath exchanged his interest in The Tribune for Mr. Perry's interest in The Republican, which they had bought in May, 1903. After resuming full ownership of The Tribune, Mr. Perry changed the firm name to Perry & Perry, thus recognizing Mrs. Perry's work on the paper, which has always been much more than her own "Good Cheer" or "Home" page, a prominent feature of the paper from the first. The Tribune has always held patriotism above partisanship and stood for the best for all as the editor saw it. It takes front rank in the country press of the state and is recognized as one of the leading newspapers in Michigan in this field. THE ECHO The Olivet college paper, "The Echo," was founded by the students in 1888. Its object was to give a record of current events in the college and town, of special interest, and to be a medium through which, graduate and former students, might gain information concerning the college and each other. It is first of all a college newspaper but it also endeavors to maintain a high literary standard and welcomes within the limits if its pages the best work of the students in prose or verse and special papers from graduates, faculty, and friends. In the fall of 1892, after four years as a monthly, "The Echo," was published bi-weekly and has so continued under a system that so far as we know is unique in the management of college papers. The editor-in-chief is given credit for a course in English for his work on the "Echo," and is held responsible to the head of the English department. This arrangement gives the editor time to devote to the paper and insures a high grade of work. THE VERMONTVILLE ECHO The Vermontville Echo was founded in 1874 by J. C. Worcester, under the name of "The Vermontville Enterprise." He was followed by G. W. Hoskins for a short time, who sold it to Kendall Kitridge. He sold to F. M. Potter who changed the name to "The Hawk." The paper then passed into the hands of Holt and Knox who changed the name to "The Vermontville Echo" and ran it for a number of years when J. C. Sherman bought out Knox and the firm became Holt and Sherman. Then Mr. Holt sold to H. B. Sherman and the firm became J. C. Sherman & Son. H. B. Sherman sold out to his father and J. C. Sherman ran the paper a year alone when he sold to Henry Curtis the present owner who took possession January 1, 1903. It is an eight page paper of six columns and is independent in politics. THE OLIVET ECHO The Olivet Optic was founded April 13, 1889, by Mrs. Stella Marie Warner, on the nineteenth of the following October it was
Page 85 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 85 bought by the present owner, Frank N. Green, connection with the paper is one of the finest whd also edits it. It is an eight page, five job offices in the county. All the college column paper and is all printed in Olivet. In printing is done there. CHAPTER XIII PUBLIC LANDS, BUILDINGS, INSTITUTIONS AND WORKS-PROPOSITION OF BOSTWICK-THE COUNTY JAIL-THE FIRST COURT HOUSE-THE NEW COURT HOUSE-THE COUNTY FARM-CEMETERIES-DRAINS OFFER OF BOSTWICK On the 8th of June, 1840, Edmund B. Bostwick conveyed to the county commissioners of this county by a warranty deed the public square described by metes and bounds, and containing about an acre of ground, and the deed contains this provision, "to be used for county buildings and for no other purposes." There is no other clause in the deed to indicate that the square would revert to Mr. Bostwick, or his heirs if the property was used for any other purpose than for county buildings. Twenty-eight years later, on the fourth day of September, 1868, Mrs. Charlotte Bostwick, as executrix and devisee of Bostwick, by a quit claim deed conveyed to H. I. Lawrence all the interest her husband, Edmund Bostwick, devised to her. It was in this way that Mr. Lawrence acquired a residuary interest in our public square. THE COUNTY JAIL The early settlers were not all saints. Some black sheep got in among the flock at an early day, or some unable to withstand temptation, and it was occasionally found necessary to exercise restraint. Bellevue at an early date was practically the county seat of the county. Some of the settlers, who were boys in those days, tell us that a man from that place who was sent to buy goods skipped out with the money, but was pursued, brought back and was con-, fined to a room in a large building called "The Arsenal." The window was grated, but was not regarded as very strong, so an iron band was fastened around the waist of the prisoner, to which a strong chain was attached, and the other end made secure. The boys used to go to the barred window and look in to see the prisoner in chains. He was on hand, however, when wanted for trial. This was the initial movement in the community in the handling of the criminal class. The county commissioners at their session in 1841 passed the following: "Resolved to allow William Stoddard twenty-five dollars per year, for five years, from the 15th day of May next, as rent for two rooms, each fifteen feet by twelve square, with sufficient fireplaces or stoves to warm the same; said rooms to be sufficiently secure for a jail; that when the county shall have no use for said rooms as a prison or jail, said Stoddard shall have the use of said rooms gratis; provided said rooms are ready for use by the first day of the circuit court for the county of Eaton next. And the commissioners further resolve, that twenty-five dollars of said rent is to be paid to said Stoddard in advance, as soon as he shall have the body of said building erected." But during the year 1842 it became evident that some more secure place must be provided for prisoners, and in September the supervisors appointed William Stoddard, Alonzo Baker, and A. D. Shaw a committee to draft a plan for a jail, and receive proposals for building the same, and submit them to the board for approval. In January, 1843, the sub
Page 86 86 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I ject was again taken up, and it was finally resolved to submit the question to the people at their coming town meetings. Before the session closed, the sum of four dollars was allowed to W. S. Fairfield for building. a temporary jail, which must indeed have been an imposing affair. In July, 1843, William Stoddard was allowed five dollars for furnishing jail. At this time Austin Blair, afterwards governor of the state, was clerk of the board. In the fall of 1846 the committee presented plans for a "jail of hewn timber," and it was resolved that the county proceed to build one after the plans submitted, out of funds due the treasurer and not otherwise appropriated, and the building was to be ready by September 1. 1847. This jail was a long two story building, the jail proper being in the eastern end. while the western end was the sheriff's residence. The jail part was made of hewn hardwood timber about ten inches square, set on end and fastened together with dowell pins, the floors and ceiling were made of the same materials and fastened in the same manner. There were two cells about ten by fifteen feet square, with a hallway between them and above them was a single cell designed for women, but which appears not to have been very popular as it was little used. The building was small and cost but a few hundred dollars; it stood very nearly on the ground occupied by the present jail and was used tuntil it was entirely unfit for its purpose. In 1867 at the January session of the supervisors, they resolved to submit to the voters of the county, on the first Monday of the following April, a proposition to raise eight thousand dollars for the purpose of building a jail and a house for the jailer, one-half to be raised in the year 1867 and the other half in the year 1868. The voters refused to sanction the tax. A month later at the October session of the supervisors in 1868 Mr. Lawrence presented to them a diagram of the public square and proposed that they release to him the public square on which the court house stands, and the lot on which the brick office of Dr. Rand and the commissioner of the poor now stands, and in return he would deed to the county residuary interest in the lots marked on the diagram "jail lot," and "court house lot," and the buildings thereon, and also that he would give the county the sum of $8,000 towards the erection of a new court house with county offices attached to be located on the aforesaid square, $4,000 to be paid without interest, when such building or buildings are half completed, and $4,000 without interest, when such building or buildings are entirely conpleted, said building or buildings to cost not less than $8,000. This diagram has disappeared, and the offer was not accepted, for in 1871, Mr. Lawrence offered to release to the county his interest in the west half of the public square, and pay the county the sum of $12,000; provided the county transferred to him its interest in the east half of the said square, and the lot four in block 24 on which the offices of the county treasurer and register of deeds are located. This offer was accepted by the supervisors; provided the preliminaries could be satisfactorily adjusted. A committee consisting of Osmun Chappell, Earl T. Church, and John Dow, was appointed to negotiate and make the sale, on certain conditions, which cover more than a page of the records. From the fact that among these conditions is one that provides that two alleys twenty feet in width shall be reserved, one from the middle of the square on Harris avenue and the other from the middle of the square on Bostwick avenue to intersect each other in the center of the square, we conclude that Mr. Lawrence's first offer was to give $8,000 for three quarters of the square and the lot on which Dr. Rand's office stands, and he would transfer to the county his residuary interest in the northwest quarter of the square. As we find no further record of his second proposition, we conclude that the preliminaries could not be satisfactorily adjusted. and the whole fell through. At the January session in 1870, the supervisors resolved that the proposition for raising by tax, fifteen thousand dollars for the
Page 87 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 87 I purpose of building a jail and jailer's residence for the county of Eaton, be submitted to the voters on the first Monday in the following April. The result showed that the voters did not approve of this tax. There was evidently some misunderstanding and confusion in the votes cast, therefore the supervisors resolved to submit the proposition to the voters again in April, 1871. This time the proposition was carried by a majority of one thousand five hundred and fifty-two of the electors. E. T. Church, E. S. Lacey and A. D. Shaw were appointed a committee to secure plans and specifications for the jail and jailer's residence. These gentlemen were subsequently made the building committee, and under their supervision the present commodious and elegant building was erected. It was completed in 1873. It is built of red brick in tasteful style, and the first cost was about $16,000. A few years later, a steel lining was put on the inside of the walls. A year ago a steel cage about ten by sixteen feet square was built in the upper story of the jail. In it were placed bunks for four prisoners and it was thought to be secure. The first night it was used three men were put in and all were outside the jail in the morning; since then two have been put in and they were out before morning. THE FIRST COURT HOUSE The first court house built in the county was a small building twenty by twenty-four feet erected and still standing in Bellevue. The courts were held in it for several years, but in 1840 the county business was removed from Bellevue to the house of William Stoddard in Charlotte (the old Eagle Hotel). The old building in Bellevue was enlarged by erecting in front of it another building of the same size and the whole was converted into a two-roomed school house. OLD EAGLE HOTEL In October, 1844, the supervisors appropriated $500 toward building a court house, which was to be located two rods east of the west line of the public square, and in the center from north to south, and was to be built according to a plan presented by Millett & Scout. The dimensions were to be twenty-four by forty-two feet, with ten feet posts and the ceiling of the room was to be arched; there were to be also two wings eighteen by fourteen feet to be used for jury rooms. The whole must not exceed in cost $750. The finishing of the building was delayed for a year or two. According to the Eaton Bugle the entire cost proved to be nearly $1,000. Shortly before the court house was completed, John P. Reznor, of Ohio, purchased a bell and sent it on at an expense of over $200, donating it to the county if they would hang it on the building. A motion was made by some member of the board of supervisors, in October, 1845, to construct a belfrey on the house and hang the bell therein; this proposition was rejected by the board in a vote of nine to seven. Some of those who voted against it actually gave as a reason for so doing that their constituents were too far away to hear the bell ring, and it would benefit no place but Charlotte. William Johnston, the editor of the Bugle, became indignant, and through his paper soundly rated the supervisors for their action. It was not until after much discussion by the board that the belfrey was built and the bell hung. The final resolution to add the belfrey was adopted January 6, 1846, by a vote of nine to six. A vote of thanks was also tendered to Mr. Reznor for his donation, and to S. E. Millett for the interest taken by him in securing to this county the bell proffered by J. P. Reznor. The old court house was used until 1867 when it was moved to the east side of Cochran avenue, and converted into an Episcopal chapel. It has since been removed to the rear of the residence of F. Z. Hamilton and used for a store room, shop and stable. In January, 1867, the supervisors made arrangements to hold the sessions of the circuit court in Sampson Hall while the new court house was in build
Page 88 1 I OLD EAGLE HOTEL, CHARLOTTE, BURNED IN 1862
Page 89 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 89 ing. The old bell is now stored in the basement of the public library building. THE NEW COURT HOUSE In January, 1882, the supervisors voted to submit the question of building a court house to the electors of the county if the city of Charlotte will give a bonus of $5,000 toward it. The next day $5,000 was stricken out and a "reasonable amount" substituted. This action was undoubtedly prompted by an informal offer of citizens of Eaton Rapids to put up and give to the county the court house if that town was made the county seat. Judge F. A. Hooker, Amos Munson, and Gary Fox were made a committee to secure plans for a new court house. The supervisors also submitted to the electors the question whether they would raise $40,000 to put up the building. At the election in April, 1882, there was a decided majority in favor of raising that amount for the purpose, and the supervisors authorized the building of a court house at a cost not exceeding $40,000. A. K. Warren, Frank A. Hooker, James Gallery, Charles Hull and George N. Potter, were appointed a building committee. It soon became evident that $40,000 would not be sufficient to complete the building according to the plan adopted, and the supervisors voted not to confine the committee to the $40,000 voted, and the treasurer was authorized to draw on the general fund after the building fund was exhausted, and $6,000 was appropriated for furnishing the building. On the fourth of July, 1894, when the firemen were on an excursion to another town, painters were at work on the cornice of the court house, and using a lamp to burn off the old paint. At five o'clock in the afternoon the building was found to be on fire: the flames made rapid progress, and the dome, tower clock and bell came down with a crash. The woodwork was burned, and the spectators saw fireworks on a scale that had not been anticipated. The walls suffered but little injury, and the occupants of the several offices had plenty of time to put their records and important papers into their vaults, where they were uninjured, temporary roofs were erected over them and business went on as usual. Miss Josephine Johnson, one of our poets, describes the burning thus: From its place in the beautiful court house tower, Where it patiently noted the minute and hour, With its tick, tick, tock,, — Through the summer and winter by night and by day, Going steadily on in its roundabout way, Its hands chasing each other like children at play, Lighted up in the night, like a pumpkin-man gay, Looked the fine old clock. Ah! how little we dreamed that this steady old friend, Was to have such a sad, such a tragical end, By the terrible fire. Like a sneaking assassin the tiny flames creep, And ere long out of ambush they cautiously creep, Then more rapidly growing, right onward they sweep, And soon under full headway they hungrily leap, Upward, higher and higher. In an instant the crowd, on a holiday gay, With alarm cry aloud, or are dumb with dismay; While the clock never tires, But as steady as ever, its hands their course take, And not wishing its record of honor to break, Though the fierce flames around it a holocaust make, Like a faithful old martyr who sung at the stake, It strikes six and expires. 'Tis a lesson for us in these troublesome days, Asking help of the Lord, let each vote as he prays, And together unite'Mid the fires of class hatred that threaten our land, With the strikers so bold, and the anarchist band, Satan quick to give work to the unemployed hand, With true courage and hope, like the clock let us stand, And strike for the right. It is needless to say that by the aid of the insurance the building was promptly repaired. While it was being repaired as well as while it was in building, courts were held in Sampson Hall. COST OF THE COURT HOUSE In 1885, at the October session of the board of supervisors, Judge Hooker in behalf of the building committee, made a final report of the cost of building and furnishing the new court house, as follows:
Page 90 : EATON COUNTY COURT HOUSE
Page 91 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 91 Cost of court house.............$49,739.39 Architect................ 2,816.85 Electric bells................... 156.00 Repairing same................ 25.00 Clock and bell.................. 2,354.49 Electric clocks................. 112.50 Furnishing........$5,474.86 P. Ihling on boxes, $14.45...... 5,489.31 Plumbing...................... 2,192.00 Heating court house and jail.... 4,014.29 Finishing basement.............. 3,206.63 Bath tub, etc., at jail......... 178.45 Yard grading, etc............... 1,011.55 Cleaning (paid Fullerton)....... 10.00 Treasurer's receipt................33 $71,306.79 Some eight pages of the records of the supervisors are taken up with more full explanations of the several items. The citizens of Charlotte, by private subscril)tion, raised the money to buy the clock and bell for the court house that was burned. At the meeting of the supervisors January 8, 1884. they voted "that the court house building committee be authorized to use so muchl of the amount collected on subscriptions to court house fund from citizens of Charlotte as may be necessary to purchase a bell and clock for the court house, but the committee shall not be authorized to make such purchase until a sufficient amount has been collected to defray the whole expense of the same." Supervisor Warren moved that the old bell on Saml)son Hall be taken down at the expense of the county and placed in the care of the Charlotte library association, to be kept by them in their vault in the court house, and that it be properly labeled as a souvenir of the county. Motion prevailed. EATON RAPIDS LIBRARY The project for establishing a library for the benefit of the citizens of Eaton Rapids was first suggested publicly in the Red Ribbon Club in the year 1880 but two years passed before any thing was done about it. At a meeting of the club held February 3, 1882, the subject was introduced by Rev. D. P. Breed, and after a long discussion of different plans a committee of five, consisting of Rev. D. P. Breed, C. S. Cobb, J. M. Corbin, Orr Schurtz and Rev. H. L. Field, was appointed to take the subject under consideration and to report some plan for the accomplishment of the object. This committee made a report February 17, 1882, recommending that a committee be appointed to lay the whole matter before the common council of the city, and request the council to take immediate steps for the establishment of a public library and free reading room in accordance with the provision of the act of the legislature, No. 164, of the public acts of Michigan for the year 1877, and that the Red Ribbon Club, as an inducement to such action, offer to give at once the sum of fifty dollars for the purchase of temperance literature for the said library to duplicate this (lonation at the end of six months and again at the end of one year. The report of the committee was adopted and the committee continued to carry out the plan. The overture above referred to was promptly made to the council and the desired action was taken by that body on February 28, 1882. Two weeks later MIavor H. H. Hamilton nominated the following persons as a board of directors for the Library, John M. Corbin. K. Kittredge, D. Pavson Breed. H. F. Reynolds, H. A. Shaw, Joseph Carr, E. C. Osborn, H. L. Field and Orr Schurtz. The board was organized in due time and entered upon its duties. The library opened with a small number of books donated chiefly by citizens. At first it was kept in news rooms or stores and a fee of five cents a week was charged for the use of books but later it was made free. In September 1899 a store building was bought and the books were removed to the new room, Miss Florence Harris was appointed librarian and the Dewey system of cataloguing was adopted. The library is supported by appropriations made from time to time by the common council, this year the amount being $700 and the rent of the opera house, and that of a part of the building in which the library is located. There are now about three thousand volumes on its shelves.
Page 92 CITY WATER WORKS, CHARLOTTE, MICH. CHARLOTTE FIRE DEPARTMENT
Page 93 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY9 ----- 1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 93 COUNTY FARM A history of the county farm for the poor was published a few years ago and from it we gather many of the following facts: The manner in which the poor of the county should be cared for was for a number of years a matter of considerable discussion, and preliminary steps toward purchasing a farm to be used as a county poor farm were taken on numerous occasions. The first legislation of this nature appears in the minutes of the session of the board of supervisors in October, I847, at which time the county superintendents of the poor were directed to ascertain the expense of purchasing a farm, and of providing for the support of the county poor with or without a farm. Their report was made a year later, but it was thought impracticable to build a poor house at that time, and the sum of $125 was voted for the support of the poor. Agreeable to an act passed March 1, 1849, the board in that year, by a two-thirds vote, reinstated the rule for the maintenance of the poor as it existed February 28, 1846. In January, 1852, it was resolved to appropriate $700, out of moneys due from the state, to purchase a county farm and erect buildings thereon; but it seems this also shared the fate, of previous efforts, for in June, 1856, a committee was appointed to "examine the terms, price, and location of a wild eighty-acre lot for the purposes of a county farm for the benefit and uses of the county poor," and report at the next session of the board. No purchase was yet made, but $800 was raised toward supporting the poor. In January, 1857, Harvey Williams was appointed a committee to purchase for the county a farm containing from eighty to one hundred and sixty acres, and pay ten dollars an acre for the same, but there is no record of such a purchase having been made. In January, 1858, a motion to postpone indefinitely all further action concerning a poor farm was lost, and another committee was appointed with a similar object, and the farm they should purchase must have not less than twenty acres improved. Again the project failed, but finally, in January, 1859, a committee was intrusted with the business, and the result was the purchase of one hundred and sixty acres in the township of Chester (southwest quarter of section thirty-six) from John Turner and wife, for four thousand dollars. In October following the sum of eight hundred dollars was appropriated to erect and furnish a suitable building on the poor-farm. The contract for erecting the building was let to Stephen Tuttle, of Charlotte, in December, 1859, for six hundred dollars, and the house was completed in June, 1860. In October, 1863, the board of supervisors appropriated six hundred dollars with which to construct a suitable addition to the poor-house to keep insane persons dependent upon the county. A tax of eight thousand dollars was voted in 1873 to erect a new poorhouse, and it was accordingly built the next year. It is three stories high, including basement, and is built of brick. It is a fine building and a credit to the county. In October, 1878, a further sum of three hundred dollars was appropriated to build hog-pens, boiler room, ice-house, etc. In 1888 and 1889 another building of brick three stories high and thirty by sixty feet on the ground, was erected for men. Steam heat was put in in 1890, and a frame barn forty by eighty feet built in 1901. CEMETERIES In olden time the burying grounds were the most neglected and God-forsaken pieces of ground to be found anywhere, frequently suffered to grow up with bushes and briers. But during the last seventy-five years a great change has come about. There are in this county forty-six cemeteries, and with few exceptions they are very well kept, some of them being places of great beauty. The first burying ground in Vermontville was on the south side of the road, about three-fourths of a mile west of the village. In 1874 another beautiful spot was selected about a mile and a half a little to the northwest of the village on the banks of the "Terpo" diversified by hill and dale and was surveyed and neatly laid out by
Page 94 94 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY the late Frank Davis. The surviving friends of many who were buried in the old ground have removed the remains of their cherished dead to the new cemetery. Many, however, still remain in the old ground, and their friends having died or moved away, the grounds are neglected and many of the gravestones have fallen. There is but one tomb in the new cemetery and that bears the inscription: "SQUIER I899. VAUGHN." The cemetery at Bellevue is the oldest in the county, and it is on a plain in the southwestern outskirts of the village. The first white man buried in it was a Mr. Baker, who was killed by the caving in of a lime-pit, in which he was digging. This was in 1835. The cemetery at Grand Ledge lies near the village, on the northeast. It has no tomb, but it has a soldiers' monument, elsewhere described. The small cemetery at Dimondale lies a little west of the village and is noted for having the most expensive monument in the county. Dr. Tyler Hull, a well-known citizen and most highly esteemed, a physician and lawyer, had spent nearly all his life in that town and had accumulated a handsome property. He had no children and made provision in his will for expending $10,000 for a suitable monument. The material is the gray Barre granite. The statue of Dr. Hull is of heroic size. The cemeteries at Eaton Rapids and Hamlin adjoin each other, being separated by an interval of low land, about twenty rods in width. The land is slightly rolling, and there is a very tasteful entrance to the grounds, which are laid out with winding walks. The original burying ground at Charlotte was what is now the city park, lying on the corner of Clinton and Seminary streets. In 1868 it became evident that larger grounds were required and a location more remote from the rush of traffic. An eighty-acre lot was chosen on the Lansing road, where E. T. Church now lives. It was surveyed and platted and roadways were staked out and plowed, when a series of articles appeared in the "Republican," urging a change to the present site and the consequent discussion resulted in the change being made in 1869. The present site embraces eighty acres of ground, lying a mile and a quarter northeast of the courthouse, adjoining the right of way of the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railway on the northwest, and eight hundred feet from the state road to Lansing. It embraces a group of small hills, that were originally covered with heavy timber. About five acres of this, in the northwest part of the grounds, have been spared, and only the oldest trees are from time to time removed. Around the northwest corner, near the railroad, is a strip of low ground through which Butternut creek winds its way. A dam was built across the stream at this point at an early day and a saw-mill erected, familiarly known as "The Mud Mill." The dam now furnishes a very convenient roadway. Near the stream is a large flowing spring, and on the bank a small building has been erected, in which is a gasoline engine that forces water from the spring to a tank or tower, twenty feet in height and ten feet in diameter, with a capacity of holding over eleven thousand gallons of water. From this tank water is carried in pipes to all parts of the ground. There are two natural grassy basins on the ground, the one on the west side of the ground being about one hundred feet in diameter, and the one on the east side about one hundred and fifty feet across. Both are about six feet deep and have fountains in them. A large receiving vault has been constructed, with shelves for holding twenty-four caskets. Lot owners have the privilege of depositing bodies here during severe weather in winter, and those who have no lots are expected to pay a small fee for the privilege. There are seven other vaults on the grounds, erected by private parties. There is only one other vault in the county, and that is at Vermontville. The cemetery is designed to present the appearance of a beautiful landscape, hence the enclosing of the lots with fences, hedges or curbing is discouraged, and the roadways are made to gracefully fol
Page 95 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 95 - -- low the natural pathways. Much variety is exhibited in the selection of monuments. A house for the sexton stands at the entrance to the grounds. DRAINS While nearly every acre of ground in the county has a fertile soil, that of the swamps being especially rich, the settlers found much of it too wet for cultivation. There is so much clay in the soil of the upland that water collected in depressions of the surface, often preventing cultivation. In order to redeem this useless land extensive drains have been planned and excavated at great expense. There have been from five hundred to six hundred miles of these public drains dug in the county, and they vary in width from a few inches to forty feet. Aside from these, a thousand or more miles of tile drains have been put in by private parties. If the surveyors could get a fall of four feet to the mile they were well satisfied, but in several instances they could get only a foot or a foot and a half to the mile. About sixty miles of the larger drains have been excavated by dredges, run by steam. The cost of dredge work depends upon the amount of earth to be moved but has usually been between five and six cents per cubic yard. It is a curious fact that the muck or peat in some places in the tamarac swamp settles when the water is drawn off so that in a few years the drains have to be sunk still deeper. In one place on the farm of Mr. Charles Chappell, the subsidence has been about four feet. The drains have been pretty evenly divided among the several towns of the county. But Bellevue and Vermontville have less than the other towns. The entire cost of several of the larger drains is given below: Battle Creek drain.................$ 73,710 Big Thornapple drain.............. 42,000 Big Thornapple extension.......... 31,000 Little Thornapple.................. 7,800 Huber drain..................... 2,200 Shanty Brook drain............... 11,000 Sebewa drain.................... 29,500 Collier drain...................... 11,600 Total...........................208,810 The expense has been great, but many thousands of acres of land that were unfit for cultivation on account of water have been converted by them into profitable meadows and to arable lands. CHAPTER XIV LEGAL HISTORY-ELECTIONS RCUIT COURT-PROBATE CRTLEGISLATION ON THE LIQUOR QUESTION ELECTIONS The first election ever held in this county was held at Bellevue in 1835. Bellevue, at that time, embraced the whole county. There were then only four men in the entire county whose residence entitled them to the privileges of legal voters; they were Capt. Reuben Fitzgerald, Sylvanus Hunsiker, Calvin Phelps and John T. Hayt. The first three named were the election board, and they chose Mr. Hayt clerk of this election, to perform the difficult task of keeping the poll list as the voters from five hundred and seventy-six square miles of territory came in to vote. The election was held in a log shanty, which they called "the meeting-house." When the officers of election had taken their seats, Calvin Phelps was ordered to proclaim the polls opened, which he promptly did. Stepping to the door, with his hat off, he proclaimed in a loud voice: "The
Page 96 96 PAST AND. PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY polls of this election are now opened," and warned all men, under the penalty of the law, to keep the peace, which created a hearty laugh in the board. These four voters were then triumphantly elected to all the best offices in the gift of the people, unanimously taking two or three of the best offices apiece. There were too many offices to go around. They gave the minor ones to the outsiders who had not been residents long enough to be legal voters. In strict accordance with law they sat all day, until the legal hour for closing the polls, and then counted up and ascertained the result. Not one of the men who took part in this election is now living. After the spring election, in 1838, the board of county canvassers met at Mr. Sarles' house to canvass the votes and decide who were elected. It was a question in their minds whether his house was properly at the county seat, and, "to make assurance doubly sure," they adjourned to the prairie and met in the small log building, afterwards used as a schoolhouse, which stood on the block north of the Methodist Church, and there went through the formality of determining who had been elected. The day was cold and stormy and the cabin was "unchinked," but they braved all difficulties that their proceedings might be strictly legal. They then returned to the house of Mr. Sarles and transacted other and less important business. The first election in the town of Carmel was held at the house of Robert Dunn. A. D. Shaw tells the story thus: "The settlement in which I lived contained only five men and one woman, to wit: R. T. Cushing, S. N. Dunton, John Dunton, H. Woods, myself and my wife. When the day of the annual township meeting came, I thought that we all ought to attend election; they thought so too, and early in the morning we all started for what was then called 'Hyde's Mills,' a place seven miles distant, in the town of Kalamo. When we got there we were told that we did not belong there any longer; that our town had been set off and organized into a town by itself. We were then in a dilemma. We did not know the name of our town nor the place where we were to hold our first meeting. We knew that Mr. Daniel Barber, of Vermontville, was our representative in the legislature, and we clubbed together and raised a dollar, and hired a boy by the name of Charles Herring to go to Vermontville and see Mr. Barber. Said boy, anxious to get the dollar, pulled off his coat and hat, shoes and stockings, and with head up started on a run through the woods, and after about two hours returned with a line from Mr. Barber, stating that our town had been organized into a township by the name of Carmel, and that the first election was to be held at the house of Robert Dunn. We knew where that was, for we had passed it, only a few hours before, and we turned our faces in that direction. When we arrived we found it to be a small shanty, shingled with hollow logs split in two and laid on so as to turn the water off. I had to get on the tallest side of the shanty before I could stand erect. We then and there made our nominations and prepared our ballots; made a ballot box, and organized our board of inspectors. Between two and three o'clock in the afternoon we began voting. Every elector in town voted-eighteen in all. We closed the polls at the hour of four o'clock' p. m., canvassed the votes and made statements, as required by statute. We got home late in the evening and found my wife anxiously awaiting our arrival; she had called the dog into the house with her and fastened the door-the only entrance to the house. The politics of our town was largely Whig-only three Democrats in town. I was with the majority." CIRCUIT COURT We are indebted to Edward A. Foote for the greater part of the history of the courts of this county. The first terms of the circuit court in this county were held at Bellevue. The circuit court journal opens with the following entry: "The circuit court for the county of Eaton having been opened in pursuance of law by the sheriff of said county on the 31st day of May, 1838, at five o'clock p. m., there not appearing a
Page 97 PAST AND PRESENT Of EATON COUNTY 97 I quorum of judges, S. S. Church, one of the associate judges being present, adjourned said court to the next day at ten o'clock a. m., W. R. Carpenter, deputy clerk." Upon the next day, June 1, 1838, the entry is more formal, showing that the court was opened at the court house in the village of Bellevue, in said county, and that Epaphroditus Ransom, circuit judge, and S. S. Church, associate judge, were present. The entry then recites the return of the first venire issued for a grand jury and the calling of the jurors. The following persons appeared and answered to their names: James W. Hickok, Eliel Bond, Ruloff Butler, Samuel Higgins, Reuben Haskell, Reuben Fitzgerald, Andrew W. Rogers, George S. Browning, Wait J. Squier, John T. Ellis, Ephraim Follett, David Judson, Isaac Dubois, Nathan G. Hedges, James Kimberly, Aaron White, John B. Crary, Timothy Haskell, Norman S. Booth, Charles Hunsiker, Christopher Parsons, Bezaleel Taft, Abner Carpenter, Jr., all -good and lawful men of the county of Eaton. Reuben Fitzgerald was appointed by the court foreman of the grand jury, and authorized to issue subpoenas for and administer oaths to witnesses. The grand jury, being sworn and charged by the court "to inquire in and for the body of the county of Eaton, retired to consider the business appertaining to them." The grand jury system, though not yet abolished, has nearly fallen into disuse. The bill of indictment found by a grand jury against an accused person formerly took the place of the information which is now filed by the prosecuting attorney upon preliminary examination before a magistrate. The sessions of the grand jury were in private. Each juror was:sworn to secrecy, and "to present no person for envy, hatred or malice, and not to leave any person unpresented for love, fear, favor, affection, or hope of reward." They were usually instructed carefully and -cautioned as to their duties in a somewhat lengthy and impressive charge by the court before retiring. It was the duty of the pros'ecuting attorney to attend before them when 7 requested by the foreman, to assist in drawing indictments, or in the examination of witnesses. Any person wishing to make complaint of any offense against the law was admitted before this body, and permitted to tell his story under oath. Any of the jurors could ask questions. After hearing the complaint the complainant was requested to withdraw. The jury then discussed and decided whether they would proceed further with the inquiry. If a majority desired further investigation witnesses were brought in one by one and separately examined as to their knowledge of the matter of which complaint was made. After hearing the testimony of which minutes were kept by one of their number who acted as clerk, txelve of their number if they concurred, could find a bill of indictment, upon which document the foreman certified that it was a "true bill." It was not permissible for even the prosecuting attorney to be present while the jurors were expressing their opinions so that it could not be known by the outside world which of the jurors favored or opposed the indictment. The drawing of the indictment required not a little legal skill and readiness, for the presentation of this bill was usually followed, after arraignment, by a motion to quash by the attorney for the defendant. When one or more indictments were ready for presentation to the court the entire jury were escorted by an officer into the courtroom. All other business in court was at once suspended, silence prevailed, and every eye was fixed upon this formidable array of inquisitors. The court deferentially asked the foreman if the jury had any business to present to the court; when that personage, if he had business, arose and handed some papers to the clerk, who took them, and without looking at them to see whether he himself was indicted, at once handed them to the judge, who, upon looking and finding that the clerk was not indicted, handed them back to that officer, who took them and carefully locked them up, informing no one who was indicted until the defendant, by virtue of a bench warrant, had been arrested and safely lodged in
Page 98 98 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I jail to await his arraignment and trial, or placed under bonds for his appearance at the next term of court. After the arrest of the defendant the indictment was placed on file, and became a public record, open to the inspection of all persons interested. As this grand jury system belongs to the past it is properly a matter of history, says Mr. Foote. Still a grand jury may be called whenever the judge thinks it best, and within the last few years one was called by a circuit judge, Clement Smith, to take testimony in regard to the illegal sale of ardent spirits in this county. Upon the first page of the court journal we find the appointment of Stephen H. Preston to act as district attorney for the county of Eaton during this term. This is the first mention made of an attorney. He then resided in Marshall. The journal also shows that the grand jury came into court and presented sundry indictments, and there appearing to be no further business for them they were discharged by the court. The November term, 1839, was the last held at Bellevue. While the terms were held there, the name of Martin S. Bracket is signed one time as clerk, and at another as deputy clerk. He afterwards became one of the most prominent members of the Eaton county bar. The old Eagle Hotel, which stood on the corner now occupied by the Phoenix House in Charlotte, was originally designed for a steam grist mill, but the promise of having the terms of court held at the county seat as soon as there could be a court-room and jail ready for occupation induced the mill proprietors to change their original plan, and convert the mill building into one which would answer for a hotel, jail and court room. The building was made of smoothly hewed timbers laid one upon the other, and dove-tailed at the corners. The court-room was upon the second floor, and for a time answered for courts, dancing parties, and public worship. Esquire Stoddard acted as landlord and jailer. The last session of the circuit court was held at Bellevue on November 28 and 29, 1839. The journal entries are very short and informal. The following are samples: "The People of the State of Michigan vs. William Henderson. "The defendant being arraigned pleads not guilty. Plea of not guilty withdrawn and pleads guilty." The next day we find an entry in the same case as follows: "In this case the court assesses a fine upon the respondent of five dollars, and that he stand committed until said fine and costs are paid." The above is all that appears of the case. I surmise from the size of the fine that the defendant had been indicted by the grand jury for selling liquor to the Indians. At the previous term there is a similar entry against Christopher Darling, with a fine of five dollars and the addition of "indictment for selling spirituous liquor to the Indians." The journal next shows the court in session for the first time in Charlotte, on May 19, 1840. Epaphroditus Ransom, circuit judge, Simeon S. Church and Amos Spicer, associate judges, are present. A grand jury appears and answers to the call of their names, and are sworn and charged. Among the names of these jurors we find those of Roger W. Griswold, Alonzo Baker, Asa Fuller, Bezaleel Taft, Simeon Harding (the first county treasurer and builder of the first frame house in Charlotte), Oramel D. Skinner, Phineas S. Spaulding, Aaron Bonton, Zebulon Wheaton, George Y. Cowan, and other well known pioneers. There being no district attorney, the court appointed John Willard for that term. The journal entries are as short and informal as in previous terms. The name of Charles T. Moffitt appears as a litigant defendant in about ten suits and also the case of Alonzo Baker, plaintiff, against Erastus Ingersoll, defendant. Phineas Ferrand, Abner Pratt, Gibbs & Sandford, and E. Bradley appear from the journal entries to be the attorneys who con
Page 99 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 99 I ducted the business. One Henry Hewitt applied for admission to practice. Messrs. A. Pratt, Bradley, and Van Arman were appointed an examining committee. Nothing further appears in regard to this application. Whether examined and admitted, or rejected, the journal does not state. November 16, 1842, Judge Ransom's name appears for the last time on the journal. According to the opinion of all who knew him, he was a good man and an upright judge. His charges to the jury were so clear and free from technical terms that a boy twelve years old could understand them. Judge Ransom was appointed one of the judges of the supreme court of Michigan in 1836, and in 1843 became chief justice, in which position he remained until 1848. He was governor of the state for two years, beginning January 1, 1848. He is described as a man of commanding presence, in height over six feet, in weight, exceeding two hundred pounds, with massive head, and a powerful voice. When off the bench it was his pride to mingle with the people, and talk with them about their farms and mechanical employments, carefully noting their experiences and profiting thereby. Judge Ransom was succeeded by Hon. Alpheus Felch, who opened his first term in our county September 6, 1843. Presiding with him as associate judges were S. S. Church of Vermontville, and James McQueen of Eaton Rapids. Austin Blair, since governor of the state, was clerk but acting by his deputy, F. F. White. In those days the statute provided for the election of two associate judges in each county for four years. The circuit judges were justices of the supreme court, and presided together at Detroit, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, and Pontiac at times fixed by law. They were nominated by the governor, by and with the advice of the senate-one from each of the four judicial circuits-and held office four years. Besides presiding together to form a supreme court, each justice was required to hold circuit courts in the several counties of his circuit, and he, with one or two of the associate judges, elected in each county, constituted the circuit court. The two associate judges could together hold the court, but one alone could only adjourn from day to day. The justice of the supreme court could preside with one or two of his associates. The legislature afterwards changed this system by providing for a county court to be held on the first day of each month. A county court judge was elected to preside for four years, and also a second judge to preside in the absence or disability of the county judge. When the county court was established, its two judges presided without the presence of the circuit judge, and the circuit judge presided alone in the circuit. Litigants in the county courts could, by an entry upon the record, remove their cases from the county court to the circuit, and there have them tried before the circuit court. The first county court appears to have opened June 7, 1847, with N. S. Booth of Ilellevue as presiding judge, A. D. Shaw as clerk.. A. L. Jordan of Chester had been elected second judge. The county court was a short-lived institution. The attorneys did not at all times manifest the respect due to a court, and managed to prolong trials beyond endurance. The last county judge was Charles E. Beardsley, Esquire, of Bellevue, a lawyer who had practiced in the courts of Canada, where an attorney was not recognized by the court, unless he was properly arrayed in his black gown. Judge Beardsley was hardly prepared for the rough ways of a back-woods bar, and the attorneys, knowing his ideas of judicial decorum, determined to give him a surprise. The journal of November 11, 1851, shows bad feeling on the part of the bar toward the judge, by the continuance by consent of nearly all the cases on the calendar. This is followed by a large number of elections to remove the cases to the circuit court for trial. Several pages of the journal are filled with these elections, until hardly a case is left pending in the county court. Finally on November 13 is an
Page 100 100 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - entry in the handwriting of T. D. Green, clerk. as follows: "It is hereby ordered and adjudged that Henry A. Shaw be and is fined five dollars for contemptuous language used to the court, to wit: 'I will pay the court for sitting here if he thinks he is not paid already,' in answer to a remark of court. Charles Beardsley, County Judge." The grand jury came in with indictments and were discharged. The next day, November 14, 1851, was the last of the county court. It ended in open rebellion against the judge. When the judge ordered Mr. Shaw to pay a fine of five dollars Mr. Shaw is said to have retorted, "Fine and be d-d." For this the judge ordered him imprisoned for five days, and the sheriff was ordered to arrest him. John Van Arman, Henry A. Shaw, Martin S. Bracket, C. C. Chatfield, and quite a number of other attorneys stood up in battle array, some with their coats off and shirt sleeves rolled up (instead of having their black gowns on), and gave the judge and sheriff to understand that not one of their number could be taken out of that bar. The sheriff stood hesitating at the entrance, when some of them in friendly tones assured him that he had better not try to come in there. He probably saw at a glance that the caution was given him for his good. They were many of them men whom it would be difficult to handle. M. S. Bracket bore tlie reputation of being physically the most powerful man in the county. Spectators say that as he bared his arms muscles and tendons rose up like whip-cords. Mr. Shaw was tall, quick and powerful-he had nearly broken the neck of an antagonist by kicking him under the chin while standing before him. John Van Arman had been a soldier in the Mexican war and looked as if he would rather fight than eat. No arrest was made. A jury of twelve men sat looking on. Some of them afterwards censured the sheriff for not calling on them for help. At the time calling for help was not thought of. The judge, finding himself powerless, adjourned court and put on his hat and cloak and started across the square for the Eagle Hotel. Mr. Bracket accompanied him with a raw-hide in his hand, with which he beat, not the judge, but time for the judge. They reached the hotel together, and Mr. Bracket, still beating time, escorted the judge upstairs to his room, but did not strike him a blow. Thus ended the county court. Some litigation followed between the judge and Mr. Shiaw, but without serious results. Judge Beardsley was a highly educated gentleman and in the Canada courts, where he had practiced, he was known as a lawyer of good standing. His great mistake here was probably in endeavoring to act the part of a dignified judge in such a place as a county court. Another mistake was in resenting some want of courtesy on the part of Mr. Brackett by giving utterance to a severe tirade of invectives, during which he must have lost his selfcontrol. He afterwards retired from practice, and entered the ministry of the Episcopal church. The judges who have administered justice in this county are: Epaphroditus Ransom, AIpheus Felch, Warner Wing, George Miles, Edward Mundy, George Martin, Abner Pratt, Edward H. C. Wilson, Benjamin F. Graves. Flavius J. Littlejohn, George Woodruff, Philip T. Van Zile, Frank A. Hooker and the present incumbent, Clement Smith. Many of them very able and all upright men. Few of the present generation can remember the list farther back than Judge Abner Pratt. "Several of the attorneys who practiced in Eaton county during early days have since either become distinguished as attorneys or have obtained to high office. Among these may be mentioned ex-Governor Austin Blair, who during the war of the rebellion, when Michigan furnished 90,000 men, was considered one of the ablest of that brilliant galaxy of loyal governors and pure statesmen who clustered around the great Lincoln." One hundred and seven applicants have been admitted to the bar in this county since March, 1845. On April 1, 1906, the following attorneys numbering twenty-seven were residing in Eaton county and practicing law in the courts.
Page 101 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 101.. George Huggett................ Charlotte J. M. C. Smith................. Garry C. Fox................... " Lyman H. McCall.............. " Alvin G. Fleury................. John C. Nichols................. H. S. M aynard.................. " George L. Hauser............... " W. F. Stine..................... " Lewis J. Dann................... Frank A. Dean.................. " Ernest Davids................... " Russell R. McPeek............... Emerson Boyles................. " G. D. Blasier................... " Hugh Sykes.................... Bellevue Fred Slayton.................Eaton Rapids Carl O. Markham.............. " A. M. Nelson................ " J. B. Hendee................. " " S. J. Humeston............... " " Elmer Peters................ " " George W. Irish..............Grand Ledge W. R. Clarke................ " Cassius Alexander........... " " B. T. Jones................. " " R. A. Latting............... " " Eaton county at an early day was attached to Calhoun county and the lawyers practicing here were admitted to the bar in what is now Calhoun county, but the first lawyer admitted to the bar in this county after its separate organization was Chester C. Chatfield who was admitted March 26, 1845. PROBATE COURT The first estate administered in the county was that of Worcester B. Woodruff of the township of Oneida. Sylvanus Hunsiker, the first judge of probate for the county, appointed Addison Hayden as administrator on December 13, 1838. The goods and chattels of Mr. Woodruff inventoried $336.39, according to the estimate of the appraisers who were Moses Ingersoll and Daniel Chadwick and later, Eliel Ingersoll and Erastus Ingersoll. The administrator made his final report February 5, 1847. During a number of years after the county was organized the probate court was held in the township in which the deceased had lived, and thus we find it held in Oneida, Eaton, Bellevue, etc. December 14, 1838, Judge Hunsiker appointed David Barr and Rebecca Fowler administrators of the estate of Simeon Fowler, deceased. This estate inventoried $1,078.64. No other estate was administered upon until 1840. On the third day of October in that year Judge Hunsiker appointed Jeremiah P. Woodbury administrator of the estate of Stephen Woodbury, Jr., deceased. The latter was a shoemaker by trade. His effects were a rifle valued at twelve dollars, a silver watch worth forty dollars, a set of shoemaker's tools, village and farm lots, and inventoried $617.06. During the time the second judge of probate, Osmyn Childs, was in office, the business increased largely. Robert Le Conte, of Charlotte, a promising young lawyer, who died in the winter of 1841-42, left a considerable amount of personal property. His administrator was William Stoddard, landlord of the old "Eagle Hotel." The entire number of cases administered upon since the organization of the county and up to June, 1880, is about one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five. These include estates of minors, incompetent persons, etc. From August, 1879, to June, 1880, the number of cases was about ninety. Judge G. B. Allen has (at this date, January 1, 1906) been in office about three years and two months, and has had in that time about seven hundred and fifty cases. About four hundred and fifty of these were in the settlement of the estates of deceased persons. On an average about two hundred estates are probated annually. TIlE LIQUOR TRAFFIC In 1853, the legislature of this state enacted a law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, with this provision: "The township board of every organized township, or a majority of them, and the village board or common council of any incorporated city or village, on the first Monday in October annually, or as soon thereafter as may be convenient, may appoint some suitable person as
Page 102 102 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY the agent of said township, city or village, to sell at some central or convenient place, within said township, city or village, spirits, wines, or other intoxicating liquors, to be used for mechanical and medicinal purposes, and no other. And said agent shall receive such compensation for his services, as the said board or legal authority appointing him shall prescribe." The act also provided for submission to the electors of the state for their approval or disapproval, on the third Monday in June, 1853, a law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors in the state. It is worthy of note that the legislature that enacted this law was Democratic and the governor, Robert McClelland, was also a Democrat. The law still further provided that if a majority of the electors approved the law, it was to go into effect on the first day of December, 1853, if a majority disapproved it, it should not go into effect until the first of March, 1870. In 1854, at the January term of the supreme court, the judges were unanimous in the opinion, "that the power of enacting general laws cannot be delegated by the legislative body even to the people." When the law was submitted to the electors of the state it was approved by a majority of 20,000 of the voters. The vote, however, revealed the wishes of the people, and the next legislature, that of 1855, was Republican, and so was the governor, Kinsley S. Bingham. This legislature enacted a prohibitory law unconditionally, and repealed the former law. It was supposed by many that the law of '55 would almost entirely put an end to the evils of intemperance, but after a trial of twenty years it was found that he law would not enforce itself. Jurors were very apt to disagree, and a great amount, of evidence was required in order to secure a conviction. Meantime public sentiment was tending strongly in favor of a license law, as a better way of dealing with the liquor evil, but there were a great many people who were appalled at the thought of "licensing" a crime or sin. The legislature of 1875 repealed the prohibitory law of '55, an enacted instead one taxing "the business of manufacturing, selling, or keeping for sale, distilled or malt liquors." This law was meant to avoid the licensing of an evil, and to compel the traffic to pay the expenses entailed by it upon the public in the punishment of criminals, and the support of paupers ma(le such by the sale of intoxicants. In the year 1887 at the spring election the question was submitted to the voters of the state, whether a prohibitory amendment should be inserted in the constitution of the state. The proposition was defeated by a majority of the voters in the state, amounting to 5,835. The vote in Eaton county stowed that out of 7,406 votes cast there were 5,318 for it and 2,088 against it, showing a majority for it in the county of 3,230 in favor of the amendment. All state laws were operative in this county as well as in the other counties of the state and thus have place in a history of the county. But the legislature of 1887 enacted a local option law, giving to the voters in every county the privilege to decide whether the manufacture and sale of intoxicating drinks should be prohibited in the county. In accordance with this law, a petition asking the board of supervisors to submit the question with the requisite number of voters' names attached, was handed to the county clerk who called a special meeting of the supervisors to take action on the petition, on the 16th of January, 1892. In accordance with the petition a special election was held on February 29, 1892. But the voters took but little interest in the election as only 3,745 votes were polled, of these 52 were blank and rejected, 2,654- were in favor of prohibition and 1,039 were against it, so there was a majority of 1,615 in favor of prohibition. In 1895 the question was again submitted. Greater interest was felt in this election and 6,705 votes were polled, 58 were blank or rejected, and 4,975 were for prohibition and 2,372 against it. A majority of 1,903 in favor of it. The question was submitted in 1899 and
Page 103 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 103 ---- there were 7,039 ballots cast, 3,332 for it and 3,666 against it, 41 were blank, so that it was lost by a majority of 334. The amount of taxes collected from the liquor dealers in that year was $5,666.68. It was again submitted in 1902, and the whole number of votes cast was 7,()33; of these 107 were blank and rejected, 3,893 for prohibition and 3,633 against it, so it was carried by a majority of 260 votes. It was submitted again in 1904, when 7,961 were polled, of which 3,334 were for prohibition and 3,827 were against it, showing a majority of 493 against prohibition, so that we are now trying the "high license system." The liquor tax collected in 1886 showed there were 21 dealers and $5,875 taxes. The liquor tax collected in 1887 showed that there were 23 dealers and $6,650 taxes. The liquor tax collected in 1888 showed that there were 14 dealers and $5,633.37 taxes. The liquor tax collected in 1889 showed that there were 16 dealers and $7,225.22 taxes. The liquor tax collected in 1890 showed that there were 16 dealers and $7,158.33 taxes. The liquor tax collected in 1891 showed that there were 17 dealers and $7,791.60 taxes. In the years from 1892 to 1898, inclusive, the county prohibited the sale of liquor and there were no taxes collected. The liquor tax collected in 1899 showed 15 dealers and $5,666.68 taxes. The liquor tax collected in 1900 showed 22 dealers andl $9,858.68 taxes. The liquor tax collected in 1901 showed 19 dealers and $9,065.00 taxes. In the years 1902-3 the county prohibited the sale of liquor and there were no taxes. The liquor taxes collected in 1904 showed 21 dealers and $10,320.04 taxes. The liquor taxes collected in 1905 showed 23 dealers and $10,976.88 taxes. CHAPTER XV SOCIETIES —THE PIONEER SOCIETY-THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY-BENCH AND BARMEDICAL SOCIETY-THE MASONIC TEMPLE TIlE PIONEER SOCIETY Pursuant to a call signed by several citizens, a meeting was held on January 6, 1872, at the office of Henry A. Shaw, in Eaton Rapids, for the purpose of organizing a pioneer society. The following persons were present, viz.: George W. Bentley, Henry A. Shaw, John Montgomery, Johnson Montgomery, John E. Clark, J. W. Toles, Calvin Hale, David B. Hale, Lorin Harwood, James H. Arnold, Samuel Ferris, Tillison Wood, Nelson Wood, G. W. Knight, H. P. Onderdonk, Joel Latson, Parker Taylor, N. J. Seelye, Aldro Atwood, Simon Darling, Benjamin L. Bentley, Russell D. Mead, Zadock Beebe, Nathaniel Taylor, Oliver L. Powers, and David Sterling, of whom, December 9, 1905, only David B. Hale is living. Hon. John Montgomery was elected chairman, and G. W. Knight secretary of the meeting. On motion of Henry A. Shaw it was "Rcsol'cd, That we, the old residents of Eaton county, will organize an old settlers' society an(l meet once a year." HI. A. Shaw, Joel Latson, and J. W. Toles were appointed a committee to make arrangements for the first meeting, to be held at Eaton Rapids, February 22, 1872. Other necessary business was transacted, and the meeting adjourned. On the day appointed the society met at the Vaughn House, in Eaton Rapids, and after the appointment of a chairman, Rev. W. U. Benedict of Vermontville, the first resident minister of the gospel in Eaton county, made the opening prayer. The committee on constitution made its report, which was ac
Page 104 104 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I cepted and adopted. The opening clauses of the constitution are as follows: "Whereas, We, the pioneers and early settlers of Eaton and Ingham counties, desiring for our mutual benefit and social enjoyment, to form a society and to meet at stated intervals, and renew the memories and associations connected with the early settlements of this portion of our state, therefore we do, for the purpose of promoting the object contemplated by this preamble, constitute and adopt for the government of this society the following constitution: "This association shall be known as the Pioneer Society of Eaton and Ingham counties. Its object shall be to renew old acquaintances, and continue the friendly and social relations of its members," etc. Any person having resided twenty-five years in the state, and being at the time of application a citizen of either of the counties named, is eligible to membership. A small admission fee is charged to male members. The annual day of meeting was first set on February 22, or the Monday following, should the day be Saturday or Sunday. The second annual meeting was held at Charlotte, February 24, 1873. A historical committee of Joseph Saunders, H. A. Shaw and W. U. Benedict, was appointed to receive sketches of history and personal reminiscences. Speeches were made by H. A. Shaw, M. S. Brackett, Jesse Hart and others, and many recollections of pioneer days were revived. The third annual meeting was held at the Vaughn House in Eaton Rapids, February 25, 1874. Hon. Austin Blair was present, and gave an interesting account of his experiences in the early days of the county, which was followed by an address by C. C. Darling. At this meeting the constitution was amended so as to provide for holding meetings in June instead of February. Two meetings were held in 1874-the second in Vermontville, June 25. The fourth annual meeting was held in Charlotte, on the fair grounds, June 10, 1875, and that has been the place at which all subsequent meetings have been held. At the fifth annual meeting, held in 1876, a most enjoyable day was had, and short histories of several townships were read by persons chosen by the executive committee to prepare them. At the subsequent meetings numerous interesting speeches were made, and historical papers read. It has been the custom to have at each meeting, an address by some pioneer who has been designated beforehand. With few exceptions this custom has continued until the present time. Occasionally the speaker has been unable on account of ill health to fill his place on the program, and the time has been spent in brief incidents related by those who were present. The addresses delivered or a synopsis of them has been printed in some of the city papers and a copy preserved in the records of the society. The following is a list of the speakers who have given the principal addresses at these meetings: In 1878, Edward W. Barber; 1879, H. A. Shaw; 1880, P. A. Durant; 1881, Homer G. Barber; 1882, Austin Blair; 1883, E. S. Lacey; the records of the meeting of 1884 have so faded as to be illegible; 1885, W. B. Williams; 1886, Homer G. Barber; 1887, Hiram M. Allen; 1888, P. T. Van Zile; 1889, Frank Dean; 1890, Jacob L. McPeek; 1891, George Huggett; 1892, Hon. Thomas Palmer was engaged but a business meeting of the managers of the World's Fair compelled him to be absent, although in anticipation of his presence there was a very large gathering; 1893, Gov. John T. Rich gave the address; 1894, Daniel Strange; 1895, Edward W. Barber; 1896, Jacob L. McPeek; 1897, Mrs. Nancy Ward read a paper on "Pioneer Mothers," and, was followed by Mrs. G. Barnum with one on "Pioneer Daughters"; in 1898, recitations and short speeches took the place of the regular address. The orator for 1899, was Frank A. Dean, but for some reason he was unable to be present; in 1900, the time was taken up with miscellaneous papers; 1901 the address was by C. D. Spafford; in 1902, H. F. Pennington was to speak but was detained on account of sickness, and Daniel Strange was pressed into service, and ill-health
Page 105 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 105 " kept Mr. Pennington away from the meeting in 1903 also; he gave the address, however, in 1904. The address in 1905 was given by Rev. T. R. McRoberts. EATON COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY There have been two or three medical societies formed in the county but they have not lived many years. The present Eaton County Medlical Society was organized September 25, 1909. Every physician residing and practicing in the county, and legally registering as such, and who is in good professional standing is eligible for membership. They are not required to adopt the same system of therapeutics. Dr. Gardner T. Rand is supposed to have been the first homeopathic physician in the county and he began practicing about 1848. In 1880 there were eleven physicians in the county who practiced in this school, and at the present time there are fifteen. There is one eclectic and one osteopathic physician in the county. About the year 1900 Dr. F. H. Villiams, an osteopathic physician of Lansing, opened an office in Charlotte, and for several months came two or three times a week. He was followed by Dr. S. W. Vallier who remained only two or three months. In June 1904, Dr. Edward C. Skinner, a graduate of the S. S. Stille Medical College at Des Moines, Iowa, opened an office and is still engaged in practice. The Eaton County Medical society has at the present time about eighty members, and meetings are held quarterly. DENTISTS Dr. A. B. Winslow, a dental surgeon, opened an office in Charlotte about 1855, and after practicing a few years left the town for a time and then returned, and for a short time was in partnership with Dr. M. S. Phillips who came here from the state of New York in the spring of 1866, and continued in practice until his death, July 23, 1895. Dr. Winslow is supposed to have been the first dentist in the county; there are now fifteen but they have no county dental society. EATON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY January 3, 1855, pursuant to notice, a meeting of the citizens of the county was held in the court house in the village of Charlotte, for the purpose of organizing a county agricultural society. Willard Davis of Vermontville was chosen chairman of the meeting, and L. H. Ion, secretary. A resolution was adopted to organize the Eaton county agricultural society, whereupon a committee of three, consisting of Harvey Williams, J. C. Spencer, and L. H. Ion, were appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws for the society, and the meeting then adjourned until the twelfth of February following. A second meeting was held on the day appointed, the committee reported and their report was accepted. At a session of the board of supervisors, held in the following October, they voted to appropriate $229.56 for the use of the society and the clerk was directed to draw an order for that amount. The first officers of the society were W. U. Benedict, of Vermontville, president; L. H. Ion of Charlotte, secretary, and Harvey Williams of Charlotte, treasurer. The first fair was held in the village of Charlotte, October 11 and 12, 1855, the citizens of Charlotte furnishing the grounds, buildings and fences free of cost to the society.' The total amount of premiums awarded that year was $194. In the following May, the society bought eight acres of ground at a cost of $700, which was enclosed and buildings were erected for the use of exhibitors. The amount of premiums awarded for the year 1856 was $230.25. Annual fairs have been held ever since with increasing success, showing by the larger number and quality of articles and animals exhibited the interest taken by farmers and mechanics in the success of the society, and its influence in encouraging and developing the resources of the county. In the year 1868 it became evident that'the society needed more room, and arrangements were made to sell the old grounds and buy others in a more suitable location. The grounds that the society had used were sold June 19, 1868, for $3,000. The present
Page 106 106 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I I grpunds, comprising thirty-five acres, were bought at a cost of $3,875; and a half mile track, buildings and fences have been constructed at an expense of about $5,500. The new location is in the southern part of the city of Charlotte. In the eastern part of the grounds is a natural grove of about ten acres, free from all bushes and undergrowth. Winding walks and drive-ways have been laid out and the Battle creek runs through a corner of it, making a convenient watering-place for teams. In the purchasing and fitting up these grounds the society became involved in debt to the amount of $3,285 which bore interest at the rate of 10% per annum, and for several years all available means were spent in improvements. A stringency in the money market came on and it was difficult for the society to meet its obligations. The debt was however, gradually reduced, until on December 31, 1878, the net indebtedness was $2,042. In 1878 the total number of entries was one thousand six hundred and seventy-four, and the total amount of premiums awarded was $900.50, aside from those offered by private parties. The above facts are taken from a historical sketch prepared by the late Seth Ketcham. Changes have been gradually introduced in the management of the society and its fairs. For several years, in its early history, it was the custom to have an address delivered in the afternoon of the last day of the fair, just before the announcement of the premiums. For many years past this has been omitted. A large typical log house has been erected on the grounds as a reminder of the olden times and a monument to the pioneers. Every town in the county was requested to contribute a log to the building and nearly every one did so. It is an object of interest to the children and strangers who never saw a log house. The society has found it impossible to secure a full attendance through the three days of the fair, if the only attractions were an exhibition of animals, vegetable productions and machinery. They have therefore introduced many novel amusements and entertainments. Balloon ascensions, ropewalking, feats in bicycle riding, acrobatic performances, games and other attractions, and by these means, and a different program each day, a large attendance has been secured. In this way the debt was gradually wiped out, and at the annual meeting of the society, held February 19, 1891, the secretary announced the debts all paid and $7v921 in the treasury. The following is the annual report of the Treasurer of the Eaton County Agricultural Society for 1905: RECEIPTS Cash on hand Jan. 19, 1905........$ 16.59 Membership Tickets.............. 1,527.00 Single Admission................ 2,485.25 Grand Stand................... 679.65 Vehicle Tickets.................. 449.00 Privileges....................... 783.50 Races................. 480.00 Horse Stalls........... 44.70 Cattle Stalls..................... 9.45 Swine Pens.................... 3.80 Sheep Pens...................... 3.00 Hay and Straw.................. 51.75 From all other Sources............ 119.50 $6,653.19 DISBURSEMENTS American Trotting Association....$ 30.00 Dredge Tax.................... 49.90 Water Tax...................... 25.00 Telephone and Telegraph......... 10.14 Institute........................ 8.00 Hay, Grain and Straw........... 94.05 Printing and Advertising.......... 590.10 Lumber and rent of Tent.......... 112.36 Starting Judges and Clerk.......... 42.50 Police and Gate.................. 179.50 Sprinkling...................... 10.00 Labor with Team................ 84.75 Repairs on Grounds............... 311.13 Insurance...................... 18.80 Officers, Judges, Supts. and Assists.. 785.64 Entertainment................... 540.00 Races........................... 1,555.00 Premiums....................... 1,586.28 $6,033.75 Cash on Hand................. 619.44 $6,653.19
Page 107 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 107 ----- THE CHARLOTTE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION This association was organized in December, 1870, under the general laws of the state, and in less than two years, the library contained five hundred volumes. Joseph Saunders, at that time editor and publisher of The Republican, was the prime mover in this organization, as he thought it would have a most beneficial influence upon the young people of the village. His printing office was over what is now Bryan's drug store, which building he erected, and he neatly fitted up the two front rooms of that story for library and reading rooms. His plan was not as successful as he hopeI(. The association was too poor to employ a librarian to have charge of the rooms, and they became a "trysting place" for the eoung people. The men who formed the association were too busy to give it proper attention, and a meeting was called to see what should be done. On inquiry it was found that very few men ever drew books, and that the women were its chief patrons, and the association voted to turn its management over to the women, which was done. A subsidiary association of women was formed who elected a board of managers. It was found best to give up the rooms that had been occupied, and the books were kept for a few years in the studio of Mr. Whalen, a photographer. When the new court house was built, the supervisors allowed the library board to occupy the northwest rooms of the basement if they would plaster and finish the rooms. The public library and reading rooms were established by an ordinance passed on November 19, 1894-, at a meeting of the common council. At this meeting the mayor, Frank Merritt, appointed, with the approval of the council, the following electors as a board of directors,-Frank S. Belcher, Frank A. Ells, Horace Maynard, Philo D. Patterson, A. D. lIaughman, George Huggett, George H. Spencer, Herbert F. Reynolds, and Charles J. Hall. After the organization of the board, a room was hired of F. G. Warren on the east side of Main street in the block just south of Lovett street. Miss Sarah N. Williams was appointed librarian at a salary of $12.50 per month and the first list of nine hundred and eleven volumes for the library selected. Besides these five hundred and eighty-nine were added from the public school library, making a well selected library of fifteen hundred volumes. In January, 1901, the library was removed to the Piper building on Lawrence avenue next door east of the brick office of Dr. Rand. In January, 1902, a committee was appointed to learn from MIr. Carnegie what steps must be taken to secure from him ten thousand dollars for a library building. It was learned ten per cent of the amount which he gave, must be raised by the city annually for the support of the library. On these conditions, the common council accepted his offer. The new library building was erected during the years 1902-3. The library was moved into the new building in December, 1903. About the year 1898 the supervisors wanted for the use of the drain commissioners, the rooms that had been occupied by the library association in the basement of the court house, no other room being available, and it was deemed best to place its books, over fifteen hundred in number, upon the shelves of the public library; so that April 1, 1905, the public library had upon its shelves the catalogued number of six thousand one hundred and ninety volumes. The erection of the new building created a new interest in the library, and during the year ending April 1, 1904, fourteen thousand six hundred and fiftythree books were drawn and the year ending April 1, 1905, thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-six. THE MASONIC TEMPLE, CHARLOTTE This building was erected in 1904, at a cost of $35,000. It is fifty-one by one hundred and twenty-six feet on the ground, and five stories high. It is faced with paving brick, trimmed with stone, has a large auditorium with stage, is heated with steam, equipped with both electric and gas systems for lighting, and has one of the finest and best furnished lodge rooms in the state. The building is devoted entirely to the use of the Masonic order.
Page 108 108 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY --- CHAPTER XVI MILITARY HISTORY-THE SIXTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY-THE THIRTEENTH INFANTRYTHE TWENTIETH INFANTRY-THE SECOND CAVALRY-THE SEVENTH CAVALRY-PROVISIONS FOR SOLDIERS' FAMILIES-SOLDIERS' MONUMENTS SIXTH MICHIGAN Eaton county furnished one thousand seven hundred and forty-one soldiers for the union armies in the Civil war. They were found in a great number of organizations in numbers from one to one hundred and fifty. The larger number were found in Company H, Sixth Michigan infantry, and in Company D of the Seventh cavalry. Space will not allow us to mention the doings of each soldier, but we may speak briefly of the history of the two regiments in which the greater number of our men were found. The Sixth Michigan was raised at Kalamazoo by Col. Frederick W. Curtenius, and had about two hundred men from Eaton and Ingham counties, the greater part from Eaton being in Company H. On June 19, 1861, the officers and non-commissioned officers went to Fort Wayne in this state for drill. August 3, the officers came' home, and August 20, the company, one hundred and eleven strong, left Charlotte to join the regiment at Kalamazoo. It left that place on the thirtieth of the same month for Camp McKim, in Baltimore, with nine hundred and fortyfour men on its rolls. Here the company found pleasant quarters. November 14, it went on board the steamer Georgianna and formed a part of an expedition in command of Gen. Lockwood to the eastern shore of Virginia, for the purpose of driving out a rebel force under Gen. Henry A. Wise, who were fortifying a point on the Potomac. Upon the approach of the Union soldiers they hurriedly dispersed, leaving considerable ammunition and small arms. There was no fighting, and the march through Accomac and Northampton counties, was greatly enjoyed by the men, who after destroying the rebel works returned to Baltimore. While the regiment lay in Baltimore, it was presented by the Union ladies of that city, with a handsome silk flag. It was presented on behalf of the ladies by a prominent lawyer of 'that city, and a suitable response was made by Col. Curtenius. The Sixth left Baltimore, February 22, 1862, by steamer for Fortress Monroe, arriving there the next day and went into camp at Newport News. The Congress and Cumberland were anchored there, just before their contest with the Merrimac, which occurred March 8, 1862. March 4, the regiment embarked with the Fourth Wisconsin and the Twenty-first Indiana on the transport steamer "Constitution," and going to sea passed under fire of rebel batteries on Sewall's Point, and encountered a severe storm off Cape Hatteras, but the run clown the coast of Florida was very pleasant. The command disemribarked on Ship Island, Mississippi, March 13, where it remained until April 14, when the three regiments went on board of the transport ship "Great Republic," the largest sailing vessel at that time in our mercantile navy, and in tow of a steamer proceeded to the mouth of the Mississippi, to form a part of the attacking force, on the expedition against New Orleans. The troops began landing in Black Bay, in rear of Fort St. Philip, with the intention of attacking that point, but while in the act, news was received that both Forts Jackson and St. Philip had surrendered and consequently the expedition ended. After the destruction of a bridge in that vicinity, they went to the mouth of the Mississippi, thence up that river by boats to New Orleans, where they arrived May
Page 109 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 109 -_ _ 2, just after the surrender of the city to Farragut and Butler, and took possession of the United States mint, and being one of the first regiments to occupy that city after its capture by the Union troops. On May 9, the regiment embarked on the "Laurel Hill" and went about thirty-seven miles up the river. They landed. started inland, marching all night through a cypress swamp, in water so deep that the rations were all destroyed, and it required great effort to save the ammunition. The object of this expedition was the capture of a train of cars on the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad, and to cut the road and destroy bridges, which being successfully accomplished, the force returned, arriving at Kenner May 10, and embarking on steamers, went to Baton Rouge, and thence up the river on a reconnoi-.ance. as far as Warrenton, five miles below V'icksburg. On the return trip, they were fired into by a light battery at Grand Gulf. The force landed and drove the enemy inland about two miles, and returning, continued the trip (down the river, and arrived at Baton Rouge NMay 29, and went into pleasant quarters at the barracks. The long confinement on the transports had been under unfavorable conditions: sickness broke out, and nine of the Company H died there. Soon after the arrival of the regiment at Baton Rouge, and while it was comfortably situated in barracks, an order was given by the general commanding, to Col. T. S. Clark, then in command of the regiment, to move out and bivouac in the adjoining woods, without tents or any other shelter to make room for the Ninth Connecticut, a regiment having tents, while the use of these tents which belonged to the United States, was denied the Michigan regiment. Against this order the officers protested, and on refusing to obey it, the field officers and several of the line officers were placed under arrest, but finally reluctantly complied with the order. The regiment, under the order of a captain, marched out into the woods where it remained, without shelter, and suffering much from exposure until after the battle, which soon occurred. This was a most unaccounta ble proceeding on the part of the commander, as the regiment had not deserved so unreasonable a test of discipline, nor such a discrimination against it in favor of another regiment. and it is presumed that had he lived but a short time longer the gallantry of the regiment in battle would have secured a more favorable consideration at his hands. The officers arrested were sent to New Orleans for trial, but were released on the order of General Butler. We are indebted to Capt. Trask for the following account of this battle: "While in Baton Rouge we suffered much from sickness as a result of our long confinement on transports, and nine of our number were buried there. We left our pleasant quarters very reluctantly, and went out July 28, to bivouac in the woods. Here it was that the morning of the fifth of Augiust found us, when we marched out for the first time to try the realities of the battle-field. "It was a day to be remembered, for, though overshadowed by other battles where greater numbers were engaged, few excel it in desperate fighting, or the importance of the results determined by the issue of the fight. It was the first effort of the enemy to win back the mastery of the river below Vicksburg, won from them by the heroism of Farragut. The cal)ture of Baton Rouge was not merely for the )ossession of the place, the few sickly troops stationed there and their supplies and munitions of war; it was to reestablish their communication with the west by three important lines. For this purpose Gen. Breckenridge advanced on the place with three brigades, numbering nearly or quite twice our effective force. Our numbers and the sickly condition of our troops were well known to the enemy, for their friends in the city not only kept them well posted as to our condition and numbers, but had actually prepared food for their breakfast after the brief morning exercise of whipping the 'Yanks.' Before making the assault, Breckenridge, in an address to his troops, assured them that the place was garrisoned by a few sickly regiments only, and promised that if they would only make one vigorous dash they should breakfast at the State House.
Page 110 110 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY How well I remember in the early twilight the scattering shots here and there, followed by the heavier voices of the cannon that awoke many that morning to summon them to a deeper slumber ere night fell. I can hear as then, the shouts of "Fall in, fall in," and the tumultuous rattle of the drums beating the long roll, I can see now, as I saw then, the mist rising from the ground in the balmy morning air, and the blue smoke that came stealing through the woods from the scene of conflict. The firing had ceased, the Fourteenth Maine had been driven from their camp in an exposed condition, the pickets were coming in and the enemy was advancing. I remember the first and only time I saw a smile on the face of Gen. Williams as he complimented us on the force we mustered for battle, for many of us weak from sickness, were staggering under the weight of our arms, and were fitter for the hospital than the fight. It was the first pleasant words that I had ever heard from his lips,and in my mind atoned for much of his severity in the past. I remember the hearty and cheerful salutations of the Indiana officers as we filed into a line on their right in a fog of mingled vapor and smoke, so dense that one could see but a short distance in advance. We were in a line along the edge of a wood fronting the Magnolia cemetery. Our right rested on a road where a section of artillery was posted. W;e were hardly in line when we were ordered to lie down, and again the firing commenced and a few cannon shots flew over us. It was the prelude to the enemy's charge. A confused yelling was heard in our front. It was the much talked-of rebel vell. They charged up to the cemetery fence, only separated from us by a narrow road. We were expecting the retreat of our skirmishers and reserved our fire, not being able to distinguish friend from foe. The battery on our right opened and then came the entire storm of rebel lead. We were then lying almost under the muzzles of their guns, and the tempest that went over us was simply terrific. 'Fire' rang along our line, and we fired as we lay. There was no chance to overshoot. It was like a blast from the destroying angel, and the living went back faster than they came. Their spirit was broken, and Gen. Williams, a few moments before his death said, 'Give the Michigan regiment the praise of checking the enemy.' Other advances were made, but the delusive hope of an easy victory was gone, and they were easily repelled by the artillery. Such was the battle of Baton Rouge as I saw it." During the battle the ranking officers were in arrest, and the regiment was divided into detachments, commanded by Captains Corden, Spitzer, and Soule. The loss of the regiment was twenty killed, forty-three wounded and six missing. Gen. Williams was killed in the engagement while mounted, and while saying to the Twenty-first Indiana, "Boys, your field officers are all gone, I will lead you." If the rebel attack had been successful they would have captured a large part of the Union artillery, and gained the superior advantage of securing a complete flanking position. The importance of the repulse of the principal attack of the Confederates on that day by the Sixth Michigan was fully acknowledged by Gen. Butler in his congratulatory order issued soon after. August 20, the regiment under the command of Col. T. S. Clark, was recalled from Baton Rouge and stationed at Mettarie Ridge, guarding one of the approaches to New Orleans. Owing to the unhealthy locality in which the regiment was stationed, the number fit for duty when it moved to New Orleans, Deceml)er 6, was only one hundred and ninety-one out of an aggregate of seven hundred and fifty-five. January 14, 1863, the regiment participated in the expedition under Gen. Weitzel, to Bayou Tesche, which destroyed the rebel gunboat, Cotton. Returning to New Orleans, the regiment, February 6, was stationed at Camp Parapet and at Kennersville, 18 miles from the city. From this point they made a long march of twenty-seven miles from Kennersville to Manchac Pass, twelve of it over trestle work. This march was not only difficult but dangerous, as many men had to fall out in consequence of being injured by falling
Page 111 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Ill through the trestle-work. March 24, the regiment, on the advance upon Ponchatoula, had a brilliant skirmish with an equal force of cavalry in the pine woods, and defeated them without the loss of a man on the part of the Sixth. From March 24 until May 19, they were, encamped at Manchac Pass, in the gloomy cypress swamp, with no camping ground except a narrow railway embankment, and no drinking water but that of the swamp or the tepid waters of the lake. Under these circumstances it was surprising that in general they were.in nearly as good health as usual. The regiment was also engaged with the enemy at Amite river, April 7, 1863, at Tickfaw river on April 12, and again at Amite river on May 12. On the last date, the Sixth made a raid up the Jackson railroad, destroying the enemy's camp at Pangipaho, capturing sixty prisoners, burning two bridges, a large gun-carriage factory, a shoe factory, and a tannery, used by the Confederate authorities. The value of this property was estimated at upwards of $400,000. The loss of the regiment in this affair was only one wounded. The Sixth then returned to New Orleans, and on May 21 went on board the "Creole" bound for Port Hudson, disembarking at Springfield Landing the next day. The regiment was at once placed in the most advanced position and held it until the surrender. The twenty-seventh of May was a bloody day. In the assault of this day the regiment led the division of Gen. T. W. Sherman. Captain P. D. Montgomery led a forlorn hope of two hundred volunteers mostly from Company H, and the regiment lost more than one-third of the men engaged. The storm of shot and shell against which it advanced was something terrific. Gen. Sherman of Buena Vista fame said he had never seen anything like it before. As it tore through our columns one could hear the crash as it struck the bodies of the men, and the fresh earth thrown in the air by the ricochetting shot was so dense that one could see but a short distance before him. The assault was repulsed, Captain Montgomery fell with a ball through his body and was left for dead, but finally recovered and is still living. Another assault was made on June 14, when the Sixth, then commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bacon. advanced by detachment. The leading detachment was commanded by Captain John Cordon, one by Captain Stark following, with the balance of the regiment bringing up the rear. This assault also failed. June 29, the regiment, then commanded by Captain Cordon, again advanced to the assault, when thirtyfive of the regiment, composing a forlorn hope, assailed the enemy's works at a point known as the citadel. The party succeeded in gaining the ditch, but were overpowered and driven back, with a loss of eight killed and nine wounded. Mr. Greeley in his "American Conflict" says of these assaults, "Never was fighting more heroic than that of our army, assailing nearly equal numbers, behind strong defenses, approached through almost impassable abatis, swept by rebel shell and grape. If valor could have triumphed over such odds, they would have carried the works; but only abject cowardice or pitiable imbecility could have lost such a positon to so small an army; and the rebels fought well." On the ninth of July Port Hudson surrendered to our forces. After its fall the regiment received the thanks of General Banks for gallant and efficient service during the siege, and was by his order, on July 10, converted into a regiment of heavy artillery, on account of faithiul and valuable services, "to retain, until otherwise designated, its infantry number, and to have the organization, pay, clothing, and equipment prescribed by law, and regulations for troops of the artillery arm;" and on July 30 this order was approved by the secretary of war. The regiment was stationed at Port Hudson until March 11, 1864, where two hundred and forty-seven re-enlisted, being a sufficient number of veterans to preserve its organization. It started for Michigan, in command of Colonel Edward Bacon. The regiment arrived at Kalamazoo, where it was furloughed for thirty days. Having again assembled at Kalamazoo, it returned to Port Hudson where it arrived May 11, with a very large number of
Page 112 112 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY recruits, enlisted while in Michigan. On June 6, the regiment was ordered to Morganzia to serve as infantry, where it remained until June 24. From Morganzia it went to Vicksburg, Miss., where it served with the engineer brigade. July 23 the company H left Vicksburg on the ill-fated steamer "Clara Bell" bound for the White river, thence to St. Charles. The boat was destroyed by a rebel battery, and Company H lost everything but their arms and the clothes they wore. The stay at St. Charles was very short, and on returning they went to New Orleans, and were sent immediately to Mobile Bay, to take part in the reduction of the forts. The regiment arrived at Fort Gaines in time to witness the bombardment of Fort Morgan and its surrender. From this time until the following July, 1865, Fort Gaines was their very comfortable home, with the exception of a short expedition to Pascagoula, and at no time in their four years' service did they enjoy better quarters or maintain a more efficient discipline than on Dauphine Island at the mouth of Mobilc Bay. On the ninth of July the regiment took steamers for New Orleans, with orders to report to Major General Sheridan. It arrived on the eleventh and encamped at Greenville, four miles from the city. There it was furnished with new camp equipage and wagon train, and put in condition for service in Texas, but on August 5, orders were received for its muster out which was accomplisherl August 20, just four years to a day from their muster in at Kalamazoo. On August 23, the regiment started for Michigan, going by steamer to Cairo, where it arrived on the twenty-eighth, and thence by rail to Jackson, Michigan, arriving there on the thirtieth, and on the fifth of September it was paid off and discharged. The total enrollment of the Sixth was one thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven officers and men, its losses being five hundred and forty-two, of which two officers and fortythree men were killed in action, twenty-one died of wounds, and of disease six officers and four hundred and seventy men, making a total loss of five hundred and forty-two men. The soldiers were in far more deadly peril in the camp than on the battle field. We can see now the wisdom of the Japanese in their sanitary measures for the preservation of health in their army. It is said that the Sixth Michigan lost more soldiers than any other regiment from this state. THIRTEENTH INFANTRY From an earlier history of Eaton and Ingham counties we glean the following facts in regard' to the part the men of Eaton county took in the Civil war. The Thirteenth Infantry was recruited at Kalamazoo by Hon. Charles E. Stewart, who held the commission of colonel from October 3, 1 61, to January 28, 1862, when he resigned and was succeeded by Col. Michael Shoemaker. It was largely composed of men from Kalamazoo county, but it included about one hundred men from Eaton and Ingham counties, the majority being from the former. The regiment left Kalamazoo on the twelfth of February with nine hundred and twenty-five names on its muster rolls, and proceeded to the army on the Tennessee by way of Bowling Green and Nashville. By a forced march it reached Pittsburg Landing late in the afternoon of April 7, in time to see the last of the battle of Shiloh. From that date until the evacuation of Corinth, Mississippi, by the rebel army under General Beauregard, it was engaged in picket and fatigue duty. When the army under General Buell fell back towards Louisville it was the last to leave northern Alabama, and in October it took part in the pursuit of Bragg's army. It was actively engaged in the great battles around MIurfreesboro, in the last days of 1862 and the first days of 1863. In the battle of Stone River its losses were twenty-five killed, sixty-two wounded, and eight missing out of a total of two hundred and twenty-four men engaged, equivalent to more than forty per cent. On December 31 it recaptured with the bayonet, two guns that had been taken by the enemy. It was employed upon the fortifications at Murfreesboro until the latter part of
Page 113 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 113 I June. 1863, when it moved with Rosecrans' army upon Tullahoma, and advanced as far as Pelham, at the foot of the mountains, from which point it returned and encamped at Hillsboro until August 16. It joined in the movement upon Chattanooga, and the division was in the advance when approaching that city which it entered September 8. In the great battle of Chickamauga, September 19 and 20,1863, it bore an active part under Col. J. B. Culver, and sustained a loss of fourteen killed, sixtyeight wounded, and twenty-five missing, making a total one hundred and seven out of two hundred and seventeen officers and men who went into action,-nearly fifty per cent. Its losses during the year were: fifty-one men died in action or of wounds; sixty-six died of disease; one hundred and sixty-six discharged, nearly all for disability; seventy-seven deserted or dropped from the rolls; fifteen missing in action; thirty-two taken prisoners; ninetythree wounded in action, making a total of five hundred. On November 5, 1863, the Thirteenth was assigned to duty at Chattanooga. From the twenty-second to the twenty-fifth of the same month the Thirteenth took part in the battles for the possession of Chattanooga. In January, 1864, a large number of the men re-enlisted as veterans, and on the fifth of February left for Michigan, arriving at Kalamnazoo on the twelfth, where they were furloughed for thirty days. At the end of that time the regiment assembled at the rendezvous, and on March 26, left Kalamazoo for the seat of war with four hundred recruits in its ranks. It reached Chattanooga on April 20, and from that date until September 25 was stationed on Lookout Mountain, employed in erecting hospitals. On November 7, it joined the army of Sherman, at Kingston, Georgia, and miade the great march to the sea, arriving in the front of Savannah on December 16. The command followed the fortunes of the army in the movement north, through South and North Carolina, and was engaged on the CatawNba River, South Carolina, February 28, 1865; at Averysboro, North Carolina. March 8 16; and at Bentonville, North Carolina, March 19. In the last action it was fiercely engaged, and lost one hundred and ten men killed, wounded, and missing, and among the killed was its commander, Col. W. G. Eaton, a brave and efficient officer. It moved with the army upon Raleigh, in pursuit of General Johnston, and, during the negotiations between that commander and General Sherman, was stationed on the Cape Fear river about thirty miles south of Raleigh. On April 30, it moved north, and reached Washington on May 19. On the twenty-fourth it participated in the grand review of Sherman's army, and later encamped near the city, where it remained until June 9, when it was ordered to Louisville, Kentucky. It was mustered out of the service on July 25, and paid and disbanded at Jackson, Michigan, on July 25, 1865. TWENTIETH INFANTRY There were about an hundred men from Eaton county in Company G of the Twentieth Infantry. The regiment left Jackson for Washington, September 1, 1862, under command of Col. Adolphus W. Williams, with one thousand and twelve names on its rolls. At the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, it crossed the river and was slightly engaged, losing eleven men wounded. In the camp at Falmouth the regiment suffered severely from sickness, and on the nineteenth of March it was sent to Kentucky. May 9 a detachment of one hundred men was sent out to break up-a guerrilla force, and on its return was attacked by the advance of General Morgan's Confederate army, and driven back with considerable loss. On the following morning Morgan's whole force attacked the position held by the Twentieth at Horse-shoe Bend on the Cumberland river. The action continued throughout the day and resulted in the complete defeat of the enemy, who retreated from the ground with a loss of about four hundred mer. The Twentieth lost twenty-nine men killed, wounded and missing. June 3, the regiment received orders to proceed with the Ninth Army corps to Vicksburg,
Page 114 114 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Mississippi. It was cantoned about Haynes' Bluff during the siege, and after the surrender of the place formed a portion of the force under Sherman sent to operate against Johnston, at Jackson. July 24 it returned to Haynes' Bluff. The heat was excessive during these operations, and the army suffered greatly from sickness. During its stay in Mississippi the regiment lost twenty men by disease, and there were times when nearly half the command was disabled by sickness. August 3, the Ninth Army corps returned to Kentucky, and in September the Twentieth participated in the movement upon Knoxville. Tennessee, going via Cumberland Gap. October 10, the regiment was engaged at Blue Springs, losing three men killed and wounded. During the year, eight died of wounds; ninety of disease; one hundred and forty-eight discharged; ten deserted; seven missing in action; four taken prisoners; twenty-one wounded; nine officers resigned; one transferred, making a total of 298. November 14, 1863, the regiment was ordered to Hough's Ferry to check the advance of Longstreet's army, now rapidly approaching Knoxville from the Chickamauga field. The regiment was compelled to fall back to Lenoir, covering the retreat of the force sent out, and held the Loudon road through the night. On the sixteenth Burnside's army continued its movement on Knoxville, the Twentieth, with the Second and Seventeenth Michigan infantry, constituting the rear guard. The enemy followed vigorously, and attacked the rear at Turkey Creek, near Campbell's station, but they were held at bay until the rear guard was re-inforced. The losses in the Twentieth amounted to thirty-three men. Among the killed was Lieut.-Col. W. Huntington Smith, who commanded the regiment. The rear-guard arrived at Knoxville on the morning of the seventeenth, after a heavy night's march over bad roads, and having been three nights without rest. On the same day Longstreet's army sat down to the siege of Knoxville, which was continued with unabated vigor until December 5, when, hearing that Sherman's army was rapidly approaching by forced marches, the rebel commander raised the siege and retreated swiftly towards Virginia. The sufferings of Burnside's army during the siege were severe, and the Twentieth bore its full share of privations. The distress was so severe that many soldiers were without shoes, overcoats, or under-clothing, and the weather was intensely cold. March 21, 1864, the regiment marched from Knoxville to Nicholasville, Kentucky, and went thence by rail to Annapolis, Maryland, and on the fourth of May the Twentieth crossed the Rappahannock, and the Rapidan at Germania Ford on the fifth. It was engaged in the battle of the Wilderness on the sixth in which it lost eight killed, wounded and missing. On the ninth it was under fire on the Ny River, and on the twelfth participated in the battle at Spottsylvania Court-house, losing thirty killed, eighty-two wounded, and thirtyone missing. July 30, it participated in the severe fighting which followed the great explosion in front of Petersburg, on which occasion it charged and planted its colors on the Confederate works. The casualties in the command during the year were very heavy, as follows: eleven commissioned officers died in action or of wounds, ten wounded, and two taken prisoners, and the total loss was five hundred and fortyeight. During the year seventy-six recruits joined the regiment. On the twenty-eighth it moved with the division to the extreme right, east of Petersburg, and took position in the trenches, occupying Battery Nine near the river where it relieved a portion of the Second corps. The enemy's sharpshooters annoyed the command exceedingly during the night and killed a number of the men. In this position the regiment continued through the winter, exposed more or less to a heavy fire from the batteries of the enemy in front, and to a flanking fire from heavy batteries across the river, composed of Whitworth and other rifled guns. It was the
Page 115 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNYI'l' 115 I enemy's custom to open fire at intervals of from three to four days, and the first gun was the signal for every man to take shelter in the works. The picket lines in front of the Twentieth were only about two hunderd yards apart, and the fire from the rebel lines was at times severe. February 15, Capt. H. F. Robinson was killed by a Confederate sharpshooter while riding along the lines. The men also suffered from lack of fuel and the insufficiency of shelter, but they bore up under every privation, never flinching for a moment from the work set before them. As the spring advanced there were signs of important movements, and about March 1 the rebels were observed strengthening their lines as if expecting an assault. March 13 the regiment was in line of battle prepared for any emergency, and on the fifteenth orders were received to be in readiness to move at a moment's notice. The sick were sent to City Point, and the men were required to sleep on their arms at night. On the morning of the twenty-fifth before it was fairly light, the whole line at this point was aroused by the sudden cry, from one of the sentinels, "A charge," and in a moment the troops were in line along the works, peering out into the darkness towards the ominous looking works in front of them, anxiously watching for the rushing gray lines of the enemy. Firing was heard to the left, and it was shortly ascertained that the enemy had taken Fort Steadman by a sudden rush in force, and were now deploying in the rear of the troops with a determination to capture the whole right of the line. It was a critical moment for a panic meant that all would be lost. But men who have trod the battle-field for three long years are not easily demoralized, and the gallant rank and file of the Twentieth Michigan infantry, who held the line immediately to the right of Fort Steadman were equal to the emergency. All the guns which the enemy could bring to bear, including those in the captured fort, were turned upon the position held by the Twentieth and the Second Michigan. The rebels were pouring masses of men through the broken line, and sweeping triumphantly toward the right; and such was the tremendous force of the charge that the Second Michigan was forced back into Battery Nine, with considerable loss in prisoners. The gray lines of the Confederate infantry were also massing for a charge in front, and the situation was desperate. At this moment the Seventeenth Michigan came forward rapidly from its division head-quarters and charged the swarming enemy, but was compelled to fall back before vastly superior nunbers. Reforming, the gallant regiment again charged into the thickest of the advancing enemy, and this time supported by the Twentieth and Second Michigan, who swept down upon the right, covered by the guns of Fort McGilvery. The onset was terrific, and seeing the utter hopelessness of persisting in their advance, the rebel columns at once became demoralized and broke in great disorder for the rear. The Twentieth was thrown forward along the picket line, where about three hundred and fifty of the retreating enemy were taken prisoners and brought in by the regiment. The loss of the Twentieth in this desperate affair was light compared with the magnitude of the conflict,-only nine men wounded, three mortally. From this time there was constant alarm, and the regiment was under arms almost the whole time until the final collapse of the rebellion. On the third of April at three A. M. it was ordered to the right to support the Michigan Sharpshooters, which charged the enemy's lines and entered Petersburg. It captured a number of prisoners and munitions, and at 4.10 A. M. hoisted its colors on the courthouse, being the first regiment to enter the city. April 20, the regiment was ordered to City Point, arriving there on the twenty-second, and immediately embarked for Alexandria, where it arrived on the twenty-fourth and went into camp at Fort Lyon. On the twenty-eighth it marched over the Long Bridge and through Washington and Georgetown to a camp about four miles from the latter place, where it remained until the 30th. May 23 it participated in
Page 116 116 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNT'Y the grand review of the Potomac army, and was mustered out of service on the thirtieth. SECOND CAVALRY There were many men from Eaton county in the Second and the Seventh cavalry. The movements of the cavalry were far more rapid than those of the infantry, and space will not permit us to trace their movements in detail. The Second regiment was raised and organized at Grand Rapids by Hon. F. W. Kellogg. in the fall of 1861. The command left the Rapids on the 14th of November with one thousand one hundred and sixty-three names on its rolls, and went to St. Louis, Missouri, where it was assigned to duty at Benton Barracks, and remained there until March, 1862, when it formed a part of General Pope's command, operating against Island No. 10 and New Madrid. During the latter part of the year and the first part of 1862 it was actively employed in Kentucky and Tennessee. On the thirty-first of October it had 794 men on its rolls. On the twenty-fifth of March, 1863, it made a gallant fight with a large force under Stearns and Forrest, in which the enemy suffered severely, losing, besides killed and wounded, fifty-two prisoners and a great amount of munitions and baggage. The losses of the regiment were: one died of wounds, six wounded, and two missing. On the fourth of June, while moving from Triune to Franklin, it had another sharp skirmish, in which it lost two killed, and three wounded. The casualties in the regiment from October, 1862, to October, 1863, were: eight died in action or of wounds; twenty-three of disease; one hundred and eighty-three discharged mostly for disability; seventy deserted; thirty-one missing in action; eight wounded in action; ten officers resigned; total three hundred and thirty-eight. Aggregate on the rolls, November, 1863, six hundred and sixty-two. Early in January, 1864, the regiment went on a foraging expedition to Fayetteville, where it gathered in four hundred bushels of wheat, sixty-five head of cattle, from five hundred to six hundred head of sheep and a number of mules and horses. August 30, it moved from Nashville in pursuit of General Wheeler, in command of a large cavalry force of Confederates. He was encountered about twelve miles from Nashville, and driven back several miles; and from this time until September 8 the command was in pursuit of the enemy, skirmishing near Campbellville on the fifth. On September 7 it was at Florence, Alabama, and on the twelfth it reached Franklin, Tennessee. During the remainder of the month the regiment was engaged in fighting, and in obstructing the advance of Hood's army. Its losses for the year, during which it had marched nearly fourteen hundred miles were as follows: died in action or of wounds, twentyfive, died of disease fifty-seven, discharged for disability one hundred and eighty-five, transferred to other commands thirty-three, missing in action twenty-two,-total three hundred and twenty-two, re-enlisted as veterans, three hundred and twenty-eight. On the thirtieth of November it took part in Schofield's great battle at Franklin and lost twentyone men,-one killed, seventeen wounded, and three missing. On the first of December it fell back to within a few miles of Nashville, and remained in line of battle during the night. On the fifteenth the regiment advanced two miles, and skirmished during the continuance of operations around Nashville. Hood's army was completely broken to pieces by the veterans under the indomitable Thomas, and its scattered fragments sent flying in utter rout towards the Tennessee. On the first of April the command crossed the Black Warrior river, at Johnston's Ferry, swimming their horses, and had a skirmish with the enemy on the second at Triune, arriving at Tuscaloosa on the third, where they surprised the pickets and captured the city, together with three guns and a considerable number of prisoners. The public stores and buildings and the bridge over the river were destroyed, and the regiment proceeded to Bridgeville, where, on the sixth, the Confederates made a sudden attack, but after a sharp engagement were handsomely repulsed with
Page 117 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COU7'NTY 117 I a loss to the regiment of three wounded. The command reached Macon, Georgia, on the first of May. At this point it remained encamped until July 17, when the regiment was broken into detachments, and sent to garrison Perry, Thomaston, Barnesville, Forsyth, and Milledgeville, two companies and the headquarters remaining at Macon. It was mustered out August 17, reached Michigan on the twenty-sixth, and was immediately paid and disbanded at Jackson. SEVENTH CAVALRY The Seventh cavalry was also recruited at Grand Rapids, and went into the service in detachments. The first two battalions left that place for the front February 20, 1863, and the remainder of the regiment in May. Although they took the field late in the war they saw a great deal of hard fighting. There were no very definite returns for the first year, but they participated in seventeen engagements during the year, one of which was that on the third of July at Gettysburg in which the regiment lost sixteen killed, forty-one wounded, and twenty-four missing and prisoners. During the year up to November 1, 1863, its losses in killed, wounded, prisoners, missing, deserted, and discharged for various causes were three hundred and twenty-eight men. On November 7, 1863, the regiment accompanied the advance of the Army of the Potomac into Virginia, crossing the Rappahannock near Morton's Ford, and capturing a number of prisoners from the enemy's rear. From this time until the last of February it was on picket duty. On the twenty-eight of that month it started on the Kilpatrick raid, and on the following day reached Beaver Dam on the Virginia railroad, after a 20 hours' march. At this point the station and track were destroyed. On the afternoon of the 30th it reached the vicinity of Richmond, and while on picket the following night was attacked by a superior force of the enemy, and, after a desperate fight, compelled to fall back with the loss of forty-four men missing, among them Lieut. Col. A. C. Litchfield. The command moved rapidly from the vicinity of the Confederate capital to Yorktown, from whence it went to Alexandria by transports, and marched to its former camp near Stevensburg. On the 17th of March the brigade was transferred to the First cavalry division and removed its camp to Culpepper. Upon the opening of the great campaign of 1864 it crossed the Rapidan on the fifth of May and on the sixth and seventh encountered the enemy at Todd's Tavern, losing three men, wounded. On the ninth it formed a part of the force under General Sheridan which made a raid on the enemy's communications. The South Anna river was crossed on May 10, and on the eleventh was fought the battle of Yellow Tavern, where the Seventh charged the Confederate cavalry and assisted in driving them from the field. In this engagement the Seventh lost three killed, fifteen wounded, and thirteen missing; among the dead was Maj. Henry WV. Granger, commanding the regiment. On the twelfth the regiment was engaged at Meadow Bridge and Mechanicsville, losing one man wounded. On the fourteenth it was at Malvern Hill, and soon after joined the army at M1ilford. On the twenty-seventh the Confederate cavalry in its front were driven several miles, and the Seventh captured fortyone prisoners and a large number of horses. In the cavalry action at Hawes' Shop, on the twenty-eighth, it took an active part, losing seventeen men killed, wounded and missing On the 29th it had a skirimsh at Baltimore Cross-Roads, where it lost two men wounded; and the next day participated in the attack upon the Confederate works at Cold Harbor. It was attacked by a strong force of infantry, but held its position until relieved. Its loss was four killed and wounded. In the raid toward Gordonsville it was warmly engaged at Trevillian Station on June 11 and 12. On the eleventh a portion of the command recaptured from the enemy a piece of artillery which they had taken from the Union forces. During these last engagements the regiment lost two men killed, twenty-seven wounded, and forty-eight missing. From the
Page 118 118 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I White House it moved forward to the James river and encamped until the latter part of July, when it was ordered to Washington and from thence to the Shenandoah valley. On August 11, the Sixth and Seventh Michigan cavalry repelled an assault of the enemy near Winchester. On the sixteenth the Seventh took part in the battle of Crooked Run, where a battalion routed a brigade of rebel cavalry, and captured about an hundred prisoners, with horses and equipments. It lost in the affair one killed, eleven wounded, and seven missing. On the 25th during a reconnoisance, it had a sharp action near Shepardstown, losing six men, wounded and missing. Being cut off from the main army the brigade crossed the Potomac near Sharpsburg, and from thence returned by way of Harper's Ferry to the south side of the river. On the 29th the cavalry division to which it belonged was attacked by a heavy force of infantry, and compelled to retreat, the Seventh covering the rear and losing two killed and fourteen wounded. The division fell back to Smithfield. September 3, during a reconnoisance to White Post, it was shelled by a rebel battery and lost four men, killed and wounded. It participated on the nineteenth in the battle at Opequan creek, where it charged across the stream, drove the enemy and pushed on to Winchester, where it again charged, and drove them through the place. During these movements it lost four men killed, nineteen wounded, and two missing. Lieut. Col. Melvin Brewer, commanding the regiment, was mortally wounded. At Luray on the twenty-fourth, the command captured sixty prisoners and several horses, losing three men wounded. From the twenty-sixth to the twenty-eighth it was skirmishing near Port Republic; and on the eighth and ninth of October was engaged with the corps near Woodstock, where the new cavalry general, Rosser, was completely routed and driven up the valley. In these actions it lost three men wounded. At Cedar Creek, October 19, it was attacked while on picket duty, but escaped without loss. Later in the day it was in the decisive movement by which the enemy were routed. The Seventh captured one hundred prisoners. Its own loss was four wounded and twenty-nine missing. During the year its losses from all causes were four hundred and fifty-seven. In the same period its recruits were two hundred and forty-eight. The regiment was in winter-quarters at Camp Russell near Winchester, Virginia, until the last of February, when it left camp and proceeded with the cavalry command towards Staunton, Virginia, which was the opening of General Sheridan's raid to the James River. February 8, the Seventh was engaged with Rosser's cavalry near Louisa Court House, routed them, captured the place, and destroyed a large amount of property. The regiment was employed during the movement in destroying property along the Lynchburg and Gordonsville railroad, and on the James River canal, where the locks, aqueducts, mills, etc., were destroyed or rendered useless. March 30 the Seventh was engaged at Five Forks with the Confederate cavalry, which was driven within its works. On the fourth there was fighting at Duck Pond mills, and two (lays later at Sailor's Creek; and on the eighth and ninth the Seventh cavalry saw the last of it at Appomattox Court house. Following Gen. Lee's surrender, the regiment marched with the cavalry corps to Petersburg where it remained a short time and then it was sent into North Carolina, from whence it was soon ordered to Washington, D. C. It participated in the review of the army of the Potomac, May 23, and soon after, in company with the Michigan Cavalry brigade, proceeded west, via the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, to St. Louis, Mo., where it took steamer and went to Leavenworth, Kan. At that point it was learned that its destination was Colorado, where it was to operate against the hostile Indians, who were making trouble along the various lines of travel. There was much dissatisfaction expressed when these
Page 119 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I___ _ ___ _____ - - - -- -- ------ - ----- - ---- ~ ~ j - ~ ----- ~ ~~ -' -----—.-* 119 facts were known to the command, but, remembering their former untarnished record, the men, like good soldiers, fell in and obeyed orders. The regiment marched across the plains and reached Camp Collins, seventy miles west of Denver, at the base of the mountains, July 26, having traveled seven hundred miles since leaving Leavenworth. It was immediately assigned to duty along the overland stage route, which was greatly infested with Indians. Here it continued guarding United States mails, and giving protection to 'immigrants until November 1, 1865, when an order was received to transfer all the men rlhose term of service extended beyond March 1, 1866, to the First Michigan cavalry, and then report at Denver to be mustered out of service. This order transferred about two hundred and fifty men who were recruited in the winter of 1864. From Denver the regiment was ordered to Fort Leavenworth. All its horses were orlered to be turned over to the quartermaster's department at Denver, and the command was left to march on foot over the plains or make its way to Leavenworth as best it could. It was a harsh and unreasonable proceeding of the government, and the men justly complained of their treatment. A statement was made to General Upton commanding that department, but he declined to make any arrangements for transportation. The men, however, were finally granted permission to hire their passage in mule trains, returning to the east, and most of them availed themselves of this means, paying twenty-five dollars each, for the privilege of riding in a heavy wagon. The journey was made in twenty-six days, and on arriving at Leavenworth, the command was mustered out and ordered to Michigan. It arrived at Jackson on December 20, and was paid and disbanded six days later. PROVISION FOR SOLDIERS' FAMILIES June 12, 1861, the board of supervisors authorized the supervisors of the several townships to afford such relief as might be required by the families of volunteers (agreeable to an act of the legislature, passed May 10, 1861), and draw their orders for amounts thus raised on the general fund of the county. Each supervisor was subsequently ordered to open and keep an accurate account with each family to whom such relief should be afforded in his township, and the clerk was directed to procure and furnish blank volunteer relief orders. In 1861 the total number of familes aided was eighty-five, and the amount thus expended was $1,469.14. In October, 1862, a report was made to the board by a special committee appointed at a citizens' meeting, held in Charlotte July 29!, 1862, to collect, take charge of, an(l pay a bounty of twenty-five dollars to each soldier enlisted in Company G, Twentieth Michigan infantry. This report was accepted by the board. At the same session the county treasurer was authorized to pay orders drawn on the Volunteer Relief fund, and pay interest on the same at a rate not to exceed ten per cent per annum. The clerk was at the same time authorized to draw orders in favor of subscribers to the bounty fund of the above mentioned company for the amount subscribed; and it was also voted that $8,000 of the total tax raised in the county should belong to the Volunteer relief fund. In June, 1863, the report of a committee was adopted in respect to relief given out of this fund, the terms of which were as follows: claimants for relief were divided into four classes,-viz.: class first, consisting of families wholly without support; class second. families able to furnish one-fourth of their support; class third, families able to furnish one-half of their support; and class fourth, those able to furnish three-fourths of their own support. These classes were paid at the following rates per month: class one, four dollars to head of family and two dollars for each child; class two, three dollars to head of family and one and a half dollars to each child; class three, two dollars to head of family and one dollar to each child; class four, one dollar to head of family and half a dollar to each child. Able-bodied children, male or female, over sixteen years of age were not to be considered as proper subjects for support, unless
Page 120 120 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY their services were in absolute demand in their families. The sum apportioned from the taxes for 1864 to the Volunteer Relief fund was seventeen thousand dollars, voted in October, 1863. A year later it was resolved that the fund should be twenty-one thousand dollars. In February, 1865, it was resolved to issue bonds in the sums of fifty and one hundred dollars each, for the payment of bounties to volunteers, agreeable to an act of February 4, 1865, entitled "An act to provide for the payment of volunteers in the military and naval service of the United States." The board also passed a resolution requesting the legislature so to amend this act that the bounties could be paid to persons furnishing substitutes under the last call, and so that said local and state bounties could be paid to drafted persons who should afterwards enlist to the credit of their respective townships. In October, 1865, the supervisors authorized that the sum of $13,695.13 should be appropriated from the tax next to be raised in the county for the Soldiers' Relief fund, and in October, 1866, the sum of $300 only was appropriated, with directions that no supervisor should furnish relief to the 'family of any deceased soldier after the first day of January, 1867. SOLDIERS' MONUMENTS There are but two soldiers' monuments in the county. In the cemetery at Eaton Rapids is a small but very tasteful soldiers' monument of granite about eight feet in height. It is surrounded by an iron railing, and is defended by a large cannon facing the entrance. No soldiers' names appear upon it, but upon one side are the words "OUR FALLEN HEROES" Grand Ledge has a soldiers' monument, six by ten feet square, built of granite blocks, and about five feet high. It is surmounted by a seven inch rifled cannon, and four cannon balls are stacked on each corner. The lot is surrounded by a cement walk. The Soldiers and Patriotic Citizens of the township of Sunfield have adopted a novel way to perpetuate the memory of the services of the soldiers from that town. They have erected a G. A. R. Hall, a frame building, twenty by forty feet on the ground in which are stored the flags and other relics of the war. In front of it stands a steel skeleton tower that carries a flag staff. On each side of the entrance stands a stone pillar four by seven feet square and two feet high. These pillars are each surmounted by a flag-stone on which is mounted a large cannon with seven inch bore. Every soldier was invited to contribute a stone to one of these columns or pillars and was permitted to have his name and rank in the army chiseled on the stone.
Page 121 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 121 CHAPTER XVII RAILROADS-GRAND RIVER VALLEY RAILROAD-PENINSULAR RAILROAD-CHICAGO AND GRAND TRUNK RAILROAD-NORTHERN CENTRAL MICHIGAN RAILROAD-DETROIT, LANSING AND NORTHERN RAILROAD-COLDWATER AND MARSHALL RAILROAD GRAND RIVER VALLEY RAILROAD The Grand River Valley Railroad Company was incorporated in 1846, and the incorporators were Amos Root, Harvey Williams, Benjamin Porter, Benjamin Knight, Ephraim B. Danforth, Abram V. Berry, Ira C. Backus, John Sumner, Amasa B. Gibson, Allen Bennett, Jr. William P. Kassick, Amos Roberts, Philo M. Everett, John Garrow and Lewis Bascom, with a capital of $1,000,000 and 20,000 shares of $50 each. The act of incorporation seems to have remained in a state of "innocuous desuetude" for the space of sixteen years, for in 1862 a new board of directors was chosen and officers elected, with a view to commence the work of building the road. In 1894 pursuant to a general act of the legislature, the company reorganized under the general railroad law of MXichigan, with a capital stock of $1,000,000 and 10,000 shares of $100 each. The policy of the state was to have all the railroads operate under the general railroad law, and hence the legislation authorizing the change, the legislature going so far as to repeal some if not all the special charters. In 1864 the legislature held a special session, and by an act approved February 5, 1864, and amended in 1865, it was made lawful for the county of Eaton to loan to the Grand River Valley Railroad Company a sum not exceeding $75,000, to build a road between Jackson and Grand Rapids, and passing through said county. This was only one of a dozen similar laws enacted at the same session, authorizing different cities and counties to aid in the construction of other railroads. In accordance with the provisions of this law, the supervisors submitted to the electors of this county the question whether such loan should be made. The election was held April 29, 1865, and resulted in favor of making such loan. The township of Salem in Washtenaw county, voted thus to aid the Detroit and Howell Railroad Company to build a road from the vicinity of Detroit to Howell, but the township officers refused to issue the bonds voted on the ground that the law was unconstitutional, and the railroad company applied to the supreme court to issue a "mandamus" requiring them to issue the bonds. The supreme court decided that the law was unconstitutional and refused to issue the "mandants."' The decision affected all the other similar special laws, and then the question was raised whether the bonds already issued under these laws were valid and must be paid. The question was submitted to the United States circuit court held in Grand Rapids, and the decision was that the bonds were valid and must be paid. When this decision was rendered the supervisors of this county ordered the county treasurer to pay the principal and interest on these bonds as fast as they matured, and they levied taxes to enable him to (lo so. The county paid the last of these bonds in 1880. The company commenced building without any spare cash on hand, the officers paid their own expenses, and it held its own all the time so far as money was concerned. Subscriptions to the stock and municipal aid were the sole dependence. It was apparent that the bonds of the company would need to be endorsed and guaranteed by some established railroad company. Representatives of the Michigan Southern and
Page 122 122 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Northern Indiana railroad gave the company to understand that that company would endorse their bonds and make the Grand River Valley one of their permanent tributary lines, but when they put their proposition in writing it was found to be so one sided that the Grand River Valley Company could not accept it. The company at once made an arrangement with James F. Joy, then president of the Michigan Central railroad, by which the latter road agreed to guarantee the bonds and complete the road to Grand Rapids, and take practically a permanent lease of the road. The rental paid by the Michigan Central is five per cent annually on the full paid capital stock of $491,200, and this has been paid to the Grand River Valley stockholders ever since January 1, 1872, two and one-half per cent in January and two and one half per cent in July of each year. The lease to the Michigan Central brought matters out all right. At this time more than half of the distance had been graded, ties procured, and bridges and culverts built by private subscriptions and the aid of municipal bodies. In the fall of 1867 the line was opened to Onondaga; in July, 1868, to Eaton Rapids; in October, 1868, to Charlotte; in April, 1869, to Hastings; and it was finally completed into Grand Rapids by the Michigan Central in March, 1870. The lease for 999 years did not go into effect until the reorganization in 1894, that being the lifetime of the corporation under the general railroad law. Before the reorganization the term of the lease was during the existence of the corporation, the organization prolonged that existence 999 years. When the Grand River Valley Railroad Company determined in 1862 to build the road from Jackson to Grand Rapids, the plan of its projectors and promoters was to form a connection with the Jackson branch of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana and have a through line from Grand Rapids to Toledo. But that plan fell through. The Michigan Central and Michigan Southern are now controlled by the same parties, and on June 18, 1905, for the first time trains began running direct between Grand Rapids and Toledo, a train leaving each terminal every morning, and thus after a delay of forty years the original plan is carried out, and the connection with Detroit by the Michigan Central at the same time remains undisturbed. PENINSULAR RAILROAD The articles of association of the Peninsular railroad were filed in the office of the secretary of state in Lansing, October 3, 1865. From these it appears that the corporation was to continue 10,000 years, the road was to extend from Battle Creek to Lansing, forty-four miles, that stock to the amount of $500,000 had been subscribed. The names of sixtyseven stockholders are given who had taken 10,000 shares at $50 each of which five per cent had been paid in. The first ten directors were Leonidas D. Dibble, Joseph M. Ward, Elijah W. Pendill, William Wallace, Martin S. Brackett, Reuben Fitzgerald, Joseph Musgrave, Sumner P. Webber, Cyrus Cummings and George N. Potter. The following five, Alonzo Noble, Edwin C. Nichols, John Evans, Elisha Shepherd and Silas E. Millett were appointed commissioners to open books of subscription to the stock. May 1, 1869, it was mortgaged to the Union Trust Company for $1,800,000 in order to purchase iron and roll-. ing stock. On December 1, 1879, it was sold by Addison Randall, master commissioner, to Joseph Hickson et al., who were the highest bidders, for $300,000. Hickson sold it March 13, 1880, to the Michigan Railroad Company for $2,089,500. The following statement from records in the office of the commissioner of railroads, shows how the Michigan railway (including the Peninsular) became a part of the Grand Trunk system. CHICAGO & GRAND TRUNK RAILROAD This road extends from Chicago, Ill., to Fort Gratiot, Mich., and was formed by the consolidation of five other companies. Articles were filed April 6, 1880, and amended October 7, 1887. (P. 18, Corn. Report, 1880.) The five other companies are:
Page 123 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY' 123 _ (1) Grand Trunk Railway extending from Chicago to Valparaiso. (2) Indiana Railway extending from Valparaiso to Michigan state line. (3) Michigan Railway extending from state line to Lansing. This company filed articles January 7, 1880, and bought at mortgage sale that part of the Chicago & Lake Huron Railroad which was formerly owned by the Peninsular Railroad. The Chicago & Lake Huron railway was a consolidation of two roads, articles filed August 15, 1873. (a) Port Huron & Lake Michigan Railroad. (b) Peninsular Railroad, articles of consolidation filed April 30, 1870. (1) Peninsular Railroad of Illinois. (2) Peninsular Railroad of Indiana. (3) Peninsular Railroad of Michigan, articles of consolidation filed February 17, 1868. (a) Peninsular Railroad, articles filed October 3, 1865. (b) Peninsular Railroad Extension Company, articles filed January 3, 1868. (4) Chicago & Northeastern Railroad, extending from Lansing to Flint, articles filed August 12, 1874. (5) Northeastern Grand Trunk Railroad, extending from Flint to Port Huron, articles filed January 7, 1880. This company bought that part of the Chicago & Lake Huron Railroad formerly owned by the Port Huron and Lake Michigan Railroad. (See Michigan Railway above.) NORTIHERN CENTRAL MICHIGAN RAILROAD This company filed articles Nov. 2, 1866, and amended the same Oct. 2, 1868. The Amboy, Lansing & Traverse Bay Railroad Company made an assignment of all its rights and franchises to this company, the minutes of which was filed with the secretary of state, January 14, 1867. The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway advanced the entire sum for the construction of this road and owns the entire capital stock. The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail way Company built this road in 1872, advancing the entire sum required ($1,347,495), and receiving therefor the entire issue of stock ($610,000), and bonds ($1,525,000). This road is operated as a branch (called the "Lansing Division") of the L. S. & M. S. Ry., and extends from Albion to Lansing. Its earnings, expenses and all other statistics are included in the general annual report of that company. Work began on this road at an early day, was delayed for many years until it came under the control of the Lake Shore Railroad Company. It was familiarly known as "The Ram's Horn." DETROIT, LANSING & NORTHERN RAILROAD This company filed articles Dec. 7, 1876, and amended the same Dec. 8, 1879, and bought at mortgage sale the Detroit, Lansing & Lake Michigan Railroad, and also consolidated later with the Ionia, Stanton & Northern Railroad, which filed articles Dec. 11, 1 870. The Detroit. Lansing & Lake Michigan Railroad was a consolidation of two other roads, articles of consolidation filed April 11, 1871, the two roads are: (1) Ionia & Lansing Railroad, filed articles Feb. 26, 1866, and amended the same Feb. 5, 1869. (2) Detroit, Howell & Lansing Railroad filed articles of consolidation April 11, 1870, and was composed of the following two roads: (a) Detroit & Howell Railroad, articles filed Sept. 21, 1864. (b) Howell & Lansing Railroad, articles filed June 23, 1868. This road now extends from West Detroit to Howard City. GRAND RAPIDS, LANSING & DETROIT RAILROAD This company filed articles May 17, 1887, and has been leased and operated by the Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad since its completion (p. 20, Com. Report, 1889). The road extends from Grand Ledge to Grand Rapids, passing through the northern tier of towns of the county, and now forms a part of the "Pere Marquette" system.
Page 124 124 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY COLDWATER & MARSHALL RAILWAY This road, although not yet in operation, has quite a history. It was incorporated September 22, 1870, and the first board of directors were A. L. Green, F. V. Smith, J. G. Parkhurst, M. V. Wagoner, H. I. Perrin, George Ingersoll, C. S. Crane, C. P. Dibble, P. A. Spicer, Joseph Fisk, and Henry C. Lewis. On Dec. 22, 1874, the name of the road was changed to Coldwater & Mackinaw Company, and on Oct. 22, 1884, it was sold to the Toledo, Marshall & Northern Company. The right of way with few exceptions had been secured from Coldwater to Elm Hall in the northwestern part of Gratiot county, and the road had been graded the greater part of the way, and for some distance culverts had been put in, bridges built, and ties secured. The president of the road, Mr. Albertus L. Green, died October 21, 1875; work ceased soon after, and nothing more was done on the road for thirty years. On Jan. 16, 1905, it was mortgaged to the Knickerbocker Trust Company for $4,000,000, and The Detroit Free Press of November 21 has this announcement: "Marshall, Mich., Nov. 20.-A meeting of the stockholders of the Marshall, Toledo & Northern Railroad Company was held at the company's offices here today. It was decided to raise the capital stock of the company from $800,000 to $2,000,000. One of the stockholders stated that this was necessary in order to float the company's bonds in New York. The failure to commence work as early as was expected is said to be due to the big insurance upheaval in New York, which has made it very difficult for new companies to float bonds. The officers state that the road will surely be built." This is the present state of affairs. There is no electric road in the county, although a company has been formed to build one from Battle Creek to Lansing through Bellevue, Olivet and Charlotte. CHAPTER XVIII BANKS AND MANUFACTURES In January, 1862, Messrs. Musgrave and Lacey established a banking house in Charlotte, to do a general banking business. On the second of January, 1871, the First National Bank of Charlotte was organized, with a capital of $100,000, of which $50,000 was paid in. The officers were: Joseph Musgrave, President; E. S. Lacey, Cashier; A. J. Ives, Vice President; Joseph Musgrave, E. S. Lacey, A. J. Ives, E. W. Barber, Ellzey Hayden, Directors. Mr. Ives had been the bookkeeper in the private bank. Mr. Musgrave continued its president until his death in April 1880. He was followed in the presidency by Ellzey Hayden, whose death occurred a few years later, and Mr. E. S. Lacey became President. He was followed by Frank Belcher, who died in office, and John M. C. Smith was chosen and continues in office at the present time. F. H. Pollard is the Cashier. The bank has now a capital and surplus amounting to $100,000, and deposits of $420,000. In 1899 it opened a savings department for the accommodation of the public. The bank of Homer G. Barber, of Vermontville, established in 1862, was reorganized in 1887. William Alsover is Cashier. Banking in Olivet has been conducted since 1892 by George W. Keyes & Son, succeeding George W. Keyes, who began an exchange business in 1872. It is a private institution with a capital of $6,000. Karl D.
Page 125 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY1 125 I Keyes, the junior member of the firm, manages its affairs. The First National Bank of Eaton Rapids commenced business September first, 1877, with a capital of $50,000 with the following officers:-A. J. Bowne, President; F. H. De Golia, Cashier. The following constituted the Board of Directors:-A. J. Bowne, George E. Goodyear, F. H. De Golia, Daniel Stryker, A. C. Dutton, Philip Leonard, and Allen Crawford. Allen Crawford and F. H. De Golia are the only members of the original board that are now living. The bank has now a surplus of $10,000. The present Board of Directors are Marshal Wood, E. E. Horner, F. H. De Golia, A. Osborn, J. H. Gallery, M. D. Crawford, and Allen Crawford. At the present time Marshal Wood is President; E. E. Horner, Vice President; F. H. De Golia, Cashier; and A. Osborn, Assistant Cashier. Its deposits are about $200,000. The Bellevue Bank was opened in June, 1883, by Longyear & Klockstein, of Lansing. About the year 1884 the partnership was dissolved and H. Longyear became manager. In December, 1890, the bank was sold to George Neasmith and C. Mason. Mr. Neasmith died in August. 1892, and in the following October Hiram M. Allen was called into the bank as President, with E. J. Frost as Cashier. The present officers are H. M. Allen, President; E. W. Stevens, of the firm of Brown, Stevens & Carger, and Charles Dyer, capitalist, are the Vice Presidents; and C. D. Kimberly is Cashier. The present capital is $15,000 with a surplus of $2,000. Its deposits amount to $100,000. The volume of business transacted has doubled under the present management. The Merchants' National Bank of Charlotte was organized in the summer of 1883, largely through the efforts of George M. Ely, and was opened for business October 1 of that vear with a paid up capital of $50,000. The first officers were Phineas Spaulding, President; A. D. Baughman, Vice President, and George M. Ely, Cashier. These officers, with Frank A. Ells, Frank Merritt, John T. Wilson and John M. Corbin constituted the first board of directors. One of the primary causes leading up to the organization of the Merchants' National Bank was to furnish the citizens of Charlotte and vicinity with facilities in banking, and financial lines, which up to that time had never been afforded them. The need of this institution at that time and the appreciation of it by the community at large is best shown by the steady growth the bank has always enjoyed, until at this writing it has deposits of over $300,000, and in addition to its capital of $50,000 has accumulated a surplus fund of over $60,000 besides having paid its stockholders satisfactory dividends. The late Earl T. Church was president of the bank from October 1, 1884, until his death in February, 1906. During his administration, the bank, in 1902, erected the most commodious and complete banking house in central Michigan. In 1904 it was designated a United States depository and has since carried a deposit of public funds. Early in 1906 the State Treasurer also selected the Merchants' National Bank as one of the depositories for the funds of the state. The Michigan State Bank of Eaton Rapids was organized in July, 1884, with a capital of $50,000, which was the next year increased to $75,000. The first President was H. H. Cobb, who was succeeded in July, 1890, by John Corbin. The first Cashier was Charles S. Cobb, who was succeeded by the present Cashier, H. H. Hamilton. The first Vice President was C. W. Stevens, and the second, H. P. Webster. The bank has a surplus of $20,000 and deposits to the amount of $250,000. The directors are Joseph Carr, John Corbin, H. P. Webster, I. N. Reynolds, E. F. Knapp, H. C. Minnie. F. S. Leighton, H. H. Hamilton and E. F. Harris, who is also Assistant Cashier. The Loan and Deposit Bank of Grand Ledge is a private bank, George N. Berry, Proprietor and President; E. M. Briggs, Cashier; and Fred L. Berry, Assistant Cashier. It began business in 1891. The Exchange Bank of Dimondale is a pri
Page 126 126 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I vate bank with a capital of $8,000. It opened its doors in 1897. It is owned and managed by B. S. Harris. The Sunfield Banking Company began business in 1897. It is a private bank owned by P. S. Shelly, of Toledo, who is the President. H. S. Reames is the Cashier. It has a responsibility of $100,000, and its deposits average $50,000. The Bank of Mulliken is a private bank owned by Reed & Berry. It commenced business in 1898, with M. E. Reed acting as cashier and manager. It has a very neat banking office. In 1899 the directors of the Merchants National Bank, believing that the best interests of the community could be better conserved by increasing the banking capital in Charlotte, and that in the form of a savings bank, accordingly organized, and in August of that year opened the Eaton County Savings Bank, with a capital of $,25,000. This effort met with a ready response, and the need seemed so urgent that the capital of the bank has been twice increased,-in March, 1903, to $50,000, and in September, 1905, to $100,000, which with its surplus of $25,000, today makes it the strongest capitalized bank in the county. It is the only savings bank in the county. The officers of the Merchants' National Bank and the Eaton County Savings Bank are A. D. Baughman, President; Homer G. Barber, Vice President; H. K. Jennings, Cashier. These officers with the following gentlemen constitute the board of directors of the two banks: Edwin N. Ely, Judge W. F. Stine, W. B. Otto, Albert Murray and George H. Spencer. The Citizens Bank of Bellevue is a private institution, opened in 1902, with a responsibility of $150,000. C. E. Scott is President, F. M. Mulvany and J. R. Hall Vice Presidents, and B. D. Vaughan Cashier. The Potterville Exchange is a private bank opened in May, 1903, by F. J. McConnell & Co. On February 23, 1896, their interests were purchased by Dwight and C. J. Backus, who expect soon to increase the capital to $50,000. Dwight Backus is the cashier and manager. The Grand Ledge State Bank has a capital of $25,000 and began business May 16, 1905. W. R. Clarke is President; S. C. Schumaker, First Vice President; A. R. Gillies, Second Vice President; and B. R. Moore, Cashier. The following gentlemen are Directors:-A. R. Gillies, W. R. Howe, A. B. Schumaker, Danford Shadduck, Dudley E. Waters, W. R. Clarke, A. T. Slaght, Dr. J. E. Hinkson, and M. T. Vanderbosch. It has on deposit $78,475. In the vicinity of Grand Ledge clay is found of a superior quality for the manufacture of stone ware, sewer pipe and tiling, and the only place in the county where sewer pipe is maile on a large scale is located in the western part of that village. The clay is hauled in heavy wagons to the factory where it is placed in what is called the "drying pan," which has a capacity of 100 tons a (lay. Here the clay is ground and conveyed to a revolving screen where it is thoroughly sifted. It is then thrown into a large bin which is directly over two wet pans, and from the bin is dropped into the pans and mixed with water to give the proper temper for moulding. It is then carried on an elevator to an endless belt, which delivers the tempered clay into the presses where it is niade into pipe and tile. The largest press turns out all pipe from three to twenty-four inches; the second press is smaller and is used for sizes two and one-half inches to twelve inches. Flue chimneys, chimney pipes, wall coping, and all styles, sizes and lengths of building blocks are also made. The plant is equipped with twelve kilns, each one thirty feet in diameter, and has a capacity of several carloads; one of these is drawn and set each day. The loading facilities are excellent, so that 15 or 20 cars can be loaded daily. The Crawford Chair Company has this year erected at Grand Ledge a fine building of cream-white brick, 60 by 160 feet square, five stories in height above the basement, and sur
Page 127 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 127 mounted by a cupola. It has but recently begun work; will make a specialty of dining tables, and when running at its full capacity, expects to employ two hundred hands. The most famous summer resort in the county is at Grand Ledge. The steep, rocky banks of the river and the group of seven islands form a romantic scenery. A hotel and several other buildings have been erected on the islands for the accommodation of visitors, and boats are supplied in abundance. It is frequently patronized by families and parties from Lansing, Charlotte and other neighboring towns, for a picnic or for an outing of a few days. From The Independent the information is obtained that E. A. Turnbull,' the proprietor of this concern, assumed control about a dozen years ago, and at the same time added several improvements and installed new machinery which doubled the capacity of the business. The reputation of this institution extends all over the United States, and its product has the reputation of being the finest grade of chair furniture in the market. The factory makes a specialty of high grade chairs, dining room, library, office, parlor and also den furniture. This concern is equipped with all the latest and improved wood working machinery; the management is all that could be desired; only the best of skilled labor is employed, and the highest wages are paid. The plant is so located that a perfect water power system is in force and it is also equipped with steam power, having installed two one hundred-horse power boilers and a seventy-five-horse power engine. The fire protection in this institution is of the best, having several feet of hose on each floor, besides all the best class of fire extinguishers. Each floor is furnished with two toilet rooms, and the whole is lighted by electricity. Four dry kilns having a capacity of one car-load each are in use. The firm employs two hundred and twenty-five men the full year, and the books show a pay roll of $8,000 a month. The employees of this concern are well protected, having organized what is known as the employees' insurance association. Each man is assessed one per cent of his wages until the treasury contains $100. The firm has built a stone foundation for a new brick building six hundred feet by sixty and three stories high above the basement. Its completion will enable the firm to employ an additional force of over four hundred men. It is said to be the largest manufactory of "box seat" chairs in the world. The Vanator Edge Tool Works, in Grand Ledge was organized in 1902, succeeding N. M. Vanator, who established the business in 1891. The company has a paid up capital and surplus of $20,000. Their specialty is knives of all kinds for house, shop, and farm use, also pruning shears and cold chisels. When running full capacity they employ fifteen men. About eighteen years ago Ward & Dolson came to Charlotte and erected a brick building fifty by two hundred and fifty feet and three stories in height, and began the manufacture of carriages. After a few years Mr. Ward died and the business was carried on by Dolson & Sons, and grew rapidly so that the firm employed one hundred and twenty men. In their most prosperous year, the firm turned out 4,800 carriages. The company has just been reorganized under the state law as the Dolson Automobile Company, and will hereafter devote themselves to the manufacture of this style of road carriage, and expect when in full operation to employ one hundred and fifty men. Charles and Aaron Bennett came to Charlotte in 1870, and became members of the firm of Bennett Bros., Coder & Houck, and were engaged in the manufacture of sash, blinds and doors. Later Houck dropped out, and J. J. Curtis bought out Coder and the firm became Curtis & Bennett. They secured a location on West Seminary street, just west of the Chicago & Grand Trunk railway, and erected on the north side of the street a brick building sixty by one hundred and fifty feet and three stories high, and directly opposite a frame building fifty by one hundred and ten feet. The two buildings are connected by a high bridge. The larger building contains the
Page 128 128 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY engine and machinery, and is devoted to the manufacture of their goods, and the smaller one contains the office and the finishing rooms. The firm turns their attention to furniture, making a specialty of chamber suits and bureaus. About fifty men are employed and their pay roll is about $1,500 per month. Mr. Curtis retired from the company twelve years ago, and the firm became the Charles Bennett Furniture Company. Mr. Bennett died Nov. 27, 1903, but the business is still carried on by the heirs under the same firm name, his son George being business manager. In 1892-3 J. J. Curtis & Son put up in the southeastern part of the city a large brick building sixty by two hundred feet, and four stories high, intending to go into the manufacture of furniture, but the building was scarcely completed when the firm met with reverses, and the plant was closed by creditors, and remained idle for six years when in 1901 the property was purchased by the Jiohn Widdicomb Co., and has since been operated in connection with their Grand Rapids factories, in the manufacture of furniture and sewing machine cases. The plant consists of sixteen acres of ground on the Michigan Central railroad, at the corner of Henry & Merritt streets; the main factory building is of brick sixty by two hundred, four stories with boiler and engine rooms adjoining, all equipped with the latest improved machinery for woodworking, two modern dry kilns, saw mill, etc. The average number of employees is from seventy-five to one hundred, the pay roll $3,000 per month, and the value of the goods turned out about $100,000 yearly. Mr. George Fenn of Charlotte invented a plan for bending scythe snaths by forcing them through a mold, and established a factory for making them. It employs thirty-five men and has a monthly pay roll of about $1,400. Last year it turned out seven thousand dozen scythe snaths. The Benton Manufacturing Company has a plant valued at $15,000. They make snaths, hay and garden rakes. They employ forty hands and have a monthly pay roll of about $1,000 per month. The Charlotte Manufacturing Company makes tables for dwellings, offices, libraries, and hotels. It uses chiefly quartered oak and mahogany. They employ about sixty-five men and have a monthly pay roll of from $2,000 to '$2,500. The Beach Manufacturing Company moved their business from Portland, in this state, to Charlotte, in 1904. It manufactures triple expansion cast iron road culverts, of its own invention, and steel bridges, and job everything in the road supply line. The moulding room is 90 by 155 feet, the engine room and machine shop each 20 by 30 feet. It employs about fifteen men in winter, and twenty-five in summer, the monthly pay roll in summer being $450. The business is steadily increasing and the company hopes, next year, to double its output. William Smith in 1887 started a factory near Eaton Rapids, using the water power of the Grand river about a mile and a half above the city. He lost his life by an accident about eight years ago, and was succeeded by his brothers, L. J. Smith & Co. Their specialties are egg crates and fillers, and all kinds of egg packers' supplies. They have about twenty buildings of various kinds on their grounds and employ regularly twentyfive hands, and at times as many as forty; their pay roll averages about $1,000 per month. Eaton Rapids has a woolen mill, a brick building seventy by one hundred and ten feet on the ground, and two stories high. The mill has been running about six years, and employs about seventy-five hands, and has a monthly pay roll of from $1,800 to $2,000. It makes a specialty of colored yarns, and turns out about 15,000 pounds a week, which is used chiefly for knitting purposes. In 1898 the Michigan Alkali Company bought three hundred acres of land in Bellevue, containing the stratum of limestone, intending to use it in the manufacture of soda ash and bi-carbonate of soda. As a part of their equipment, they had four hundred gon
Page 129 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 12-9 I dola cars capable of carrying forty tons each, and a train load of crushed limestone went daily to their works near Detroit. They operated the quarry for two years, but on account of some properties the lime possessed, it was not entirely satisfactory for their use, and in 1904 they sold their whole plant to W. R. Burt, of Saginaw. The properties of the limestone that hurt its value for the manufacture of soda ash and the bi-carbonate of soda, were just the properties that were needed for the manufacture of the "Portland Cement." Wellington R. Burt, of Saginaw, learned its value for the production of this article, and bought the whole plant of three hundred acres, with the buildings thereon, paying for the same $100 per acre. He has erected on it a large factory for the manufacture of cement at a cost of more than a half million of dollars, and commenced work August 1, 1905. From one hundred to an hundred and twenty-five men are employed, and it is found necessary when once the machinery is started, to keep it running day and night throughout the year. The shift that work in the night one week, work in the day time the next week. The pay roll is about $6,000 a nonth. The amount of product turned out daily is one thousand six hundred barrels. The layer of rock that can be profitably worked is thirty feet in depth, and the quality of the rock varies somewhat with the depth. Below thirty feet, occasional layers of shale and clay are found. In the quarry the rock is, for the most part, in a broken condition rendering it unfit for building purposes, although there are some places where good building material could be found. What is said to be the heaviest steam shovel in the world, weighing one hundred and seventeen tons, is here at work. (The largest at work on the Panama canal weighs only one hundred tons.) This shovel has also a lifting capacity at end of dipper of forty-five tons, and scoops up the limestone from the quarry with as much apparent ease as though it was mellow earth. The rock is then taken to the large crusher which can take in blocks eigh9 teen by thirty-six inches in size and reduce them to blocks three inches in diameter. From a second crusher they emerge in blocks about a half inch square, and are elevated about 60 feet to the dryer, and then carried to the kilns, 60 feet long and six and a half feet in diameter, and lined with fire brick. The kilns have a rotary motion and in the half hour in which the material is passing through it is subjected to a heat of three thousand degrees F. There are eight of these enormous kilns. After the material has been sufficiently roasted it is carried to the mills for grinding, which is done by the use of flint pebbles about the size of goose eggs, which are imported from Denmark at a cost of $25 per ton. The machinery is run wholly by electricity, and this is generated by the use of five boilers of three hundred horse power each and one thousand eight hundred horse power engines. The fly wheel weighs thirty-five tons, and the chimney that furnishes the draught is one hundred and eighty feet in height, is built of cement and steel and has walls six feet in thickness and is eight feet in diameter on the inside. One hundred and fifty tons of coal are required daily, and this is first reduced to a fine flour and is fed into the furnaces and kilns by a hot air blast. When the success of this plant is assured to the satisfaction of other capitalists, it is thought several more plants will be erected, as there appears to be an abundance of material. The fact that in a dry summer, fires frequently burned the soil in the swamps to a considerable depth, has led many people to believe that the swamps can be made to furnish an almost inexhaustible supply of fuel for the county, but the abundance of wood has not hitherto made it profitable to develop this source of supply. The forests have now largely disappeared and people are turning their attention to the swamps to see whether they can be made to furnish a valuable and economical fuel. Thus far only one peat factory has been erected in the county and this is not yet fully completed. It is built near the track of the Lansing branch of the Lake
Page 130 130 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Shore railroad and two and one-half miles north of Eaton Rapids, and is known as Michigan Peat Co. Two buildings have been erected with solid cement walls. One is the engine room, eighty-four by forty feet, and contains two Sterling boilers, in which the water passes through the tubes which are surrounded by the fires. Slack coal is burned and the smokestack is one hundred and five feet high. The other building, which is devoted to the machinery, is two hundred by fifty feet. The swamp from which the peat is to be taken, lies about a half mile west of this building, and embraces several hundred acres, and the peatbed is found to be from five to twenty-five feet in depth. In the edge of the peat bed, a barge thirty by sixty feet has been constructed which carries a swinging crane and "orange-peel dipper." If from a given point of an orange four slits are made in its rind half way down, and these four sections of the rind are peeled, the sections will give the exact shape of four blades, or shovels, that constitute the dipper that when closed, form a hollow hemispherical dipper capable of holding several bushels of peat. When these blades are open the dipper sinks into the peat by its own weight, and as the dipper is hoisted the blades are made to close by a system of chains and pulleys inside the dipper which is then, by means of the crane, raised and swung around over an iron tank twelve feet in diameter and five feet deep into which the contents are dropped. After being thoroughly mixed with water, the peat in this liquid state is forced up twenty-five feet into the end of an inclined trough of galvanized iron erected on trestle work through which it flows to the factory. The barge is lighted and its machinery is driven by electricity generated in the power house a half mile distant. The power house is equipped with two elec tric generators one of two hundred and twenty-five horse power to drive the machinery, and one of one hundred and thirty horse power to furnish lights. The factory receives the flow of liquid peat into a large iron tank where it is again thoroughly stirred, and forced into an elevated hopper from which it descends into four centrifugal extractors that make eleven hundred revolutions a minute; by this process a large part of the water is driven out and the opening of a valve in the bottom of the extractors allows the contents to fall into a trough through which it is conveyed to another drier. After the peat leaves the extractors there are three other processes by which it is further dried and pressed into briquettes, which are placed on a carrier of netting nine and one-half feet wide and moving ten inches a minute through a heated room or closet one hundred and sixty feet in length, and when they emerge from the farther end are dry and ready for the market. When the factory is in full operation, the company expects to employ about twenty men and to turn out two hundred tons of prepared peat daily. The Capitol Peat Fuel Company has been recently incorporated and capitalized at $300,000. William B. Otto is the largest stockholder. The company has bought eight hundred acres of land in the "Old Maid's Swamp," lying on the Grand Trunk railway, between Potterville and Lansing. The peat on this tract averages in depth five and one-half feet and in some places is more than fifteen feet in depth, it is thought that the machinery for manufacturing it for use can be put up for less than $4,000. If this proves to be true these swamps that have been a reproach to the state, will prove to be a source of wealth, and furnish an exhaustless supply of cheap fuel.
Page 131 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 131 CHAPTER XIX CLIMATIC CONDITIONS-CYCLONES CYCLONES The county has several times been visited by cyclones, since the natural phenomena of the county have become a matter of record. About 1833 a cyclone passed through the town of Kalamo, its north line was about a quarter of a mile south of the north line of sections 9 and 10 in that town, and its south line was about the middle of the next tier of sections south. Within these limits it blew down or tore out nearly all the standing timber. Deacon S. S. Church, one of the committee to locate the Vermontville colony, relates that while on his first visit to the place, coming from the south, his party was met by an old Indian, who by signs with his walking sticks told them of this large tract of fallen timber, and told them how to go around it on the west. J. Boutman says that June 2, 1853, a cyclone passed through Charlesworth, destroying the house of Nathan Sayers, and scattering the timbers and carrying some of them more than a half mile. Mr. and Mrs. Sayers were pinned to the ground by the falling debris and could not extricate themselves without help. A boy was blown out of the house and carried many rods, but was unharmed. May 15, 1855, a cyclone struck the ground about a mile west of Ira Bradley's place, in Kalamo, cutting quite a swath through a piece of timber, and sweeping through Mr. Bradley's barn-yard carried away the log barn, grainery, and hog house. Every hen on the place was carried into the swamp east of the farm, and many of the hogs were also carried there. His log dwelling escaped the greatest fury of the funnel-shaped cloud but its roof and upper story were carried away. An ox and a couple of hogs were killed. Mr. Joseph Bradley lived just across the road in a plank house, which was reduced to kindling wood, and a large log barn was leveled and some of the logs were carried into the swamp. A yoke of oxen, a span of horses, and a cow were in the barn but none of them were killed. No person was killed, but Mr. Charles Woodbury, who was working for Mr. Bradley, was hurt so badly that he was unable to do any more work during the summer. A piece of roofboard from one of these buildings eight feet long and six inches wide was carried some seven miles and driven into the ground in the door-yard of Henry Arnold. H. F Pennington, who was at home on his father's farm, four and one-half miles southeast, saw the storm coming and clung to a tree, but the wind tore the front of his vest off. On the evening of May 29, 1860, a cyclone dropped down upon the village of Olivet and utterly destroyed the dwelling of Dr. Munger. The entire family, consisting of the Doctor, his wife and a young woman, had just retired, but escaped unharmed. The young woman found herself lying upon the ground with large timbers around her. The cooking stove was dashed to pieces and a mirror was carried safely out, but the tornado passed so quickly that the nearest neighbors knew nothing of it until the family came rushing in, in their night clothes. Across the street a lad named Merrill Frost was blown against the board fence with such force as to flatten his chest on his left side enough to throw the lower end of the sternum at least two inches toward the right side. He received also a cut on the scalp and other injuries. A large barn across the street was carried with little injury about twelve feet from its foundation. A little further on a large rake factory lost: its roof. Some of the timbers were carried
Page 132 132 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY' about thirty rods across the mill pond, and planted almost perpendicularly in the ground. Very little other damage was done in the path of the storm, either before it reached Olivet or' after it left it. J. Wilbur had a fine new barn costing a thousand dollars, carried quite a distance from its foundation, set on end and almost wholly destroyed, and quite a number of cattle and horses were killed. The house of Mr. Vanockens was entirely destroyed. Samuel Your;g lost barn, windmill and orchard. The Cook brothers' barn was totally destroyed, and an apple tree was driven through the side of the house roots foremost. John Wilbur's house was unroofed and the fences on the whole farm carried away. Henry Talmage, on his return from Bellevue, found his house, two barns, fences and orchard in ruins. October 2, 1880, a cyclone formed in Johnstown, Barry county. It entered this county near the southwest corner of Bellevue, and destroyed a barn about thirty by forty feet belonging to a Mr. Patchen. It turned his house about one-quarter round and destroyed a part of it, and tore up by the roots the trees in the orchard. On the next farm, owned by Lawrence Toole, a house and a new barn were completely swept away and the cellar filled with debris. It also tore up by the roots every apple tree but one in the orchard. A child four years old was dashed on the ground and killed, and a nursing baby was carried about fifteen rods and thrown on a brush heap where it was found after the storm had passed, unconscious and with a broken arm. Mrs. Toole, a strong, healthy woman, was found about twenty rods from the house, walking back and forth, utterly bewildered, covered with bruises from head to foot and with nearly all her clothing gone. The cyclone next struck the home of J. A. Burchard, who heard it coming, and with his wife and three children rushed into a small bedroom. The entire house was swept away with the exception of the floor of the bedroom on which the family stood; but no one of them was seriously injured. At the corner of the farm of H. M. Allen an oak tree was split in two; one-half was carried to the east and the other part to the west and they were found some fifty rods from each other. A tamarac tree about ten inches through was broken off and carried nearly five miles and thrown down here. At this point the storm seemed to have spent its force having swept a path fifty or sixty rods wide. About five P. M. April 6, 1882, a cyclone passed throuph this county, destroying much property and killing several people. It appears to have started near Raymond, in Indiana, and passed through Kalamazoo and Barry counties in this state, and pursued an easterly course, from Eaton county. It destroyed the house of Levi Kenyon, on the county line near the southwest corner of Kalamo. Silas Reynolds, the father-in-law of Mr. Kenyon, was in the house with his daughter, and tried to escape with her and his grandchildren, but the storm overtook them. The mother threw her children on the ground and herself over them to protect them, while the old father threw his arms over them all. None were injured except the old gentleman, who was struck on the head by some flying substance and instantly killed. It next almost wholly destroyed the barn of Walter Mapes; Mr. Bowen lost a stable. Mr. Tillotson lost a barn, and several hay-stacks were blown away. The house of Thomas Garrety was unroofed, and the roof and doors were taken from his barn; on the opposite side of the road the barn of H. L. Robinson was wrecked. It then totally destroyed the blacksmith's shop and barn of Henry Wirtz; two horses, seven head of cattle, and thirty head of sheep were in the barn, but all escaped serious injury. Daniel Mead was the next victim; he had a new frame house and one of the best barns in Kalamo, both of which were utterly ruined. He and his family succeeded in getting ifito the cellar just in time to save their lives. Mr. Mead's daughter, Mrs. Graves, relates some curious facts in regard to this storm. Nothing whatever fell into the cellar; the bricks in the chimney fell west of the house, while the
Page 133 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY. house itself was lifted up bodily and carried five or six rods to the east and dashed to pieces. The barn had been built only three years; of three horses which were tied in it one was wedged in by timbers and comparatively uninjured, and the other two were found running around the field, apparently greatly fright. ened, and it is supposed that they were carried out into the field by the wind. There were several cows in the barn, and one was carried about twenty rods and killed. A lamp standing on a bureau in the chamber was found out in the field entirely uninjured with not even the chimney broken, and a glass can of fruit was found nearly bedded in the ground but also unbroken. The rafters of the barn were carried about a half mile and driven five or six feet into the ground. Of all the furniture in the house only one chair was saved. A feather bed was found and the holes in the tick were tied up, the women thinking that when they had leisure they would try to save the feathers. This they accomplished by taking out a small handful at a time, but took out also seven pailfuls of mortar, pieces of broken glass and bricks. Horace Sherman lived a little further on across the road and about fifty or sixty feet away was another house occupied by his mother. The family became alarmed and all went into the house of the old lady, but both buildings were completely ruined, and the family were carried some eight or ten rods and thrown among stumps and logs, instantly killing Mr. Sherman's sister, breaking the arm of his mother, and the lower jaw of his wife. Alden Swift, just west of Lacey's lake, came next. He had a good frame house, and a new barn, both were demolished. In the barn were horses, cows and sheep, but one horse only was killed. Mr. Swift's wife and hired man saved themselves by running out of the way and lying flat on the ground. Going east the cyclone seemed to leap over a piece of woods and come down on Lacev's lake, widely scattering the water fishes and frogs. It next took off the upper story of Jesse Steven's house. It then tore its way I 133 through woods and orchards to the house of Peter Horn where it took off the roof and the wing of his brick house. About five minutes before the coming of this cyclone a smaller one passed through Kalamo about a mile to the south. It wrecked several barns, and when nearly south of Charlotte, it joined the larger one and both come down in Ingham county. The damage to property in Kalamo was fully six thousand dollars; but Eaton county did not suffer any worse than some others further east. In Ingham county the tornado struck the township of White Oak about eight o'clock in the evening, and a house belonging to a Mr. Wolcott was demolished, and some of the flying timber struck a man named Myron Clark and killed him almost instantly. Another house belonging to Mr. Gifford, was lifted from its foundation and turned over, and struck nearly upside down on its original foundation. Mrs. Gifford had her arm broken. In Midland county the house of R. E. Walton was turned over and badly broken up, after which it took fire from the stove and was burned. In Oakland county the most damage was done, and the destruction of life great. At a point about a mile south of Clyde the storm struck the house of Lafayette Crandall. Mr. Crandall, and his son of six years, and Mrs. Taylor, of Pontiac, were instantly killed, and another of the Crandall family, a little girl, had her arm so badly crushed that it had to be amputated. On July 22, 1883, a cyclone swept through the town of Hamlin, and through the kindness of V. M. Smith, who was very near its path, we are able to give the following account of it. He says: "I lived at the time on section 12 in the township of Hamlin. The cyclone started on section 11 about a mile and a half west, and a half mile north of my place, and went a little south of east. I was at the time reading about a windstorm that happened the week before in the state of Iowa. Hearing a heavy roaring sound unlike anything I ever heard before I went to the door, and looking west saw the air was full of rubbish,
Page 134 134 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I and at once guessed the cause. I immediately told my wife, who was getting dinner at the time, and we took our two little girls and hurried into the cellar. I then came up to take another look. In the direction from which the storm was coming a large barn belonging to Nathaniel Taylor, and filled with hay, was lifted from the earth and scattered in every direction. As the storm was at this time coming directly toward our house, I hurried back into the cellar and stayed there until it passed. I shall never forget the picture presented as the barn with its contents was lifted some fifteen feet in the air, as suddenly as though blown up by dynamite. The body of hay dropped back to the ground but the building was scattered in all directions. The separator of a threshing machine was standing at the end of the barn was turned bottom up, the trucks were torn from it, and carried nearly a half of a mile and dropped receiving very little damage. The carrier was carried entirely away. One of the iron whirls was found some time after about two miles away. After I returned to the cellar, through the cellar window, I watched the trees in an orchard near by as they bent nearly to the ground, and expected every minute that the house would go. Suddenly above the din and roar I heard a grinding sound as of crushing timbers, then as the storm passed on, the noise died away. We hurried from the cellar expecting to find our barns swept away, but were thankful that our house and lives were spared. Our buildings were unharmed, but our neighbor just across the street, Mr. Nesbit, had suffered the loss of his new barn and wagon shed, and the chimney was blown from his house. After destroying the barn of Mr. Taylor the storm veered toward the south, leaving us about twenty-rods north of its path. I went at once to Mr. Nesbit's and found them still in their cellar, and my wife's brother,. Leroy Sherman, looking over the ruins of the barn. When he saw the storm coming he ran into the barn and stood leaning against the door, and in a moment he found himself under a load of hay, which stood on the floor, and this proba bly saved his life. The upper and lighter part of the frame was carried away with the roof, but some of the heavier timbers fell across the load and broke a wheel. After going about eighty rods from this point, the cyclone lifted above the timber for a half mile to the county line where it again dipped and took the roof off Rue Perrine's house, swept away his granary and hog pen and dug through the heavy sod a hole as large as an ordinary cellar. Eugene Henry sustained the heaviest loss. His house, in which were his wife and six children, was literally blown to atoms; his wife was seriously injured; two of the children who were on the bed were found fortyfour rods from the house, dead, and three others were badly injured, while the baby asleep in its crib, did not receive a scratch, although no one knows what became of the crib. Large apple trees were torn up by the roots and carried twenty rods or more, a Round Oak stove was carried across Grand river and smashed, while bundles of wheat were carried to the tops of trees and hung there. The tornado did much damage in the west part of Leslie. The house of Mrs. Elizabeth Barlow was picked up by the furious wind and torn to pieces. Mrs. Barlow was in the house and was instantly killed, she was found about two rods from her house with her neck broken. The Bellevue Gazette states that on Thursday evening, May 23, 1901, that place was visited by a violent windstorm. It destroyed many fruit trees and ruined many of the beautiful shade trees. It overturned wind mills and small buildings were scattered broadcast over the face of the earth. A large number of barns were demolished, and among them one in which C. A. Newcomb, while taking shelter therein, lost his life. The tornado struck the building with tremendous fury and before Mr. Newcomb could escape, he was pinned to the ground by falling timbers and crushed to death. He had just hitched a horse in the barn and the animal also perished in the wreck. Among the most severe losses were included the Follett school-house, which
Page 135 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 135 I was scattered to the four winds, although not a shingle was lifted from either of the small outbuildings only a very few feet away. Passing on to the northeast it destroyed many fruit and shade trees. The buildings on the Benedict place were considerably shattered. Frank Hire sustained a very heavy loss, his barn and outbuildings being totally wrecked, and his home much injured. It was his intention to have it insured on the following Saturday, but the storm did not wait for him. Ira K. Smead also lost his barn. On June 12, 1902, a cyclone formed about six miles southwest of Grand Ledge and moved in a northeasterly direction passing three or four miles south of Grand Ledge, but plainly seen from that point. Its path was about three hundred feet wide and six miles long, and it swept everything before it. It destroyed the orchards of Walter Woods, James Backus, Myron Hinman, John Motter and Fred Fess; Mr. Hinman's barn and the house of William Pelton were blown off their foundations, and the house was turned around. A binder that was standing near was dashed against a fence post and completely wrecked, and the barn of George Watson was unroofed. It then lifted from the ground for about three miles and sweeping down again destroyed some timber, and spent its force a little east of Grand Ledge. Some of the eye witnesses from Charlotte describe the funnel-shaped storm as a terrible sight and the desolation which it caused beyond the power of words to express. The force was marvelous and the destruction immediate. The damage it wrought was estimated at twenty thousand dollars. It is worthy of notice that the southwestern quarter of the county has been visited by cyclones more frequently than any other part, and they seem to have spent their fury before they reach the eastern half of the county. Whether or not a scientific explanation can be given to this phenomenon, is not known. CHAPTER XX PROMINENT MEN AND WOMEN There are many men and women who have been prominently before the public some of whose early years were spent in this county. It may seem invidious to attempt to mention any of these when there may be many more equally worthy of mention, whose names do not appear. They are found in all walks of life. We find this record of Austin Blair. He was born in Carolina, Tompkins county, New York, February 8, 1818, and graduated at Union College in 1839, where he studied law and then removed to Michigan. In 1843 he was a resident of Eaton Rapids and county clerk; it is said that he walked through the woods from Eaton Rapids to Charlotte. He subsequently removed to Jackson and was noted as the war governor of the state holding the office from 1861 to 1865. His statue adorns the capitol grounds at Lansing. He was a member of Congress from 1867 to 1873. Governor A. B. Cummins of Iowa, early in life was a civil engineer and helped in the construction of the railroad from Albion to Lansing. It was while engaged in this work that he became acquainted with Miss Gallery who subsequently became his wife. After a time he studied law and removed to the state of Iowa, and is now serving his second term as governor of the state. He has become a leader of national fame in the Republican party. Amory H. Bradford is the son of Rev. B.
Page 136 136 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY F. Bradford, the second pastor of the Congregational church in Charlotte, and was for a time a member of the church here. He finished his studies, was ordained in 1870 and went at once to a little church of eighty-seven members where he has since continued, the church now numbering one thousand and fifty-three members. He has crossed the Atlantic several times, and occupied prominent pulpits in England where he is well known. He occasionally occupied the pulpit of Mr. Beecher, is the author of several books, and was once elected moderator of the National Council of Congregational churches. Philip S. Moxom began' his ministry with the Baptists and for a time supplied the little Baptist church in Bellevue. He is now pastor of the South Congregational church in Springfield, Massachusetts, a church of four hundred and eighty-five members. Judge Clement Smith was born near Fort Wayne, Indiana, December 4, 1844. In the following spring the family removed to Castleton in Barry county, where the boyhood of Smith was spent in farm labor, his education being acquired in the district school, the academy at Vermontville, and the high school in Charlotte. He also attended lectures for one year in the law department at Ann Arbor. For several winters he taught district schools, beginning when only seventeen years of age, and for one year was employed as a teacher in the grammar department of the high school in Charlotte. In the spring of 1868, he was admitted to the practice of law before Judge Woodruff in this county, after which he taught school in Nashville for a year, passed a year in Minnesota and in 1870 engaged in the practice of law in Nashville, where for several years he was secretary of the Barry and Eaton County Insurance Co. He was elected judge of probate for Barry county in 1876 and held the office for eight years. In 1889 he was appointed prosecuting attorney for Barry county. On the third of January, 1893, he was appointed to the bench of the fifth Judicial Circuit by Governor Rich. In the spring election he was elected for the vacancy and full term and still occupies this seat. Until 1901 Calhoun county was a part of this circuit. In 1871 Mr. Smith married Frances Wheeler of Woodland. Frank A. Hooker was born in Hartford, Connecticut, January 16, 1844. He received his education in the public schools of that city and in the law department of the University of Michigan. Was admitted to the bar in Ann Arbor in 1865 and immediately after located in Bryan, Ohio, but in August of the following year he removed to Charlotte and in 1867 was elected county superintendent of schools, and in,1869 justice of the peace. In 1872 and 1874 he was prosecuting attorney. Governor Croswell appointed him Circuit Judge in April, 1878. In the fall of that year he was elected to fill out the remainder of the term and held the office by successive elections until January 1, 1893, when he took a seat as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Moore. In 1893 he was elected to this bench for ten years, and in the election in 1903 was again re-elected for another ten years. He was chiefly instrumental for the erection of the new court house in this county. Gas was introduced here by him and the gas works were largely Luilt by him practically at his own expense. The drinking fountains were put in at his suggestion, and the subscription was circulated by him to purchase the fountain at the east end of Lawrence avenue. The original abstract of titles in the county was made by him and I. E. C. Hickok, and was afterwards sold by them to Mr. Belcher and L. O. Smith. Frank McAlpine was born in Orange, Steuben county, New York, February 13, 1847. When he was twelve years of age the family moved to Cass county, this state, where after finishing the high school course he studied for a time under a private tutor. He studied theology under the direction of Rev. W. J. Chaplin, a pioneer Universalist minister, and afterward married his daugh
Page 137 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 137 ter, Miss Ida Chaplin. At the age of seventeen Mr. McAlpine enlisted in Co. D, Sixtysixth Illinois Western Sharp-shooters and was with Sherman in his famous march to the sea. He was teacher, superintendent of schools and author, before he entered the ministry. The titles of his books were, "Treasures from the Prose World," "Album of Authors," and "Milestones." He began preaching in Dowagiac, in 1886, afterwards going to Portland and in 1889 came to Charlotte where he remained for four years when he accepted a call to Peoria, Illinois, and was pastor of the Universalist church there six years. At its close he returned to the pastorate of the Universalist church in Charlotte, but in 1902 he was offered the Chaplaincy of the state prison in Jackson, which he accepted, and assumed his duties there, in November of that year. He was a man much beloved by those who knew him and was highly esteemed bv the prison officials and the prisoners. He suffered a slight stroke of paralysis January 28, 1905, and gradually failed until April 28 when the end came just three months from the time of the first attack. Edward S. Lacey was born in Chili, Monroe county, New York, November 26, 1835, came with the family to Michigan in 1842, and located at Charlotte. He received a good common school education which was supplemented by a course at Olivet college. When eighteen years of age he began his business career as salesman in a general store in Kalamazoo where he remained four years. He then returned home and was elected Register of Deeds and held the office two terms, then entering into a co-partnership in the banking business with Hon. Joseph Musgrave. In 1861 Musgrave & Lacey, as private bankers, established the first banking office in the county of Eaton. At that time there was no railroad nor express office in the county and their shipments of currency in and out were intrusted to the drivers of stages running between Charlotte and Jackson. The private bank thus established was in 1871 merged into the First National Bank, of which mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Lacey has been interested in many business operations, and has been uniformly successful. He took a prominent part in the building of the Grand River Valley Railway, of which he was a director and for many years treasurer, was the first mayor of Charlotte, and contributed largely to its systems of permanent improvements. He entered political life as a Republican in 1860 and has occupied many positions of trust in this county and state. He was a delegate to the national republican convention in 1876 when Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated for the presidency. In 1880 he was elected representative in congress from the Third Congressional District of Michigan, and in 1882 was re-elected to the same office. During the campaign of 1882 he served acceptably as chairman of the Republican State Committee. While in congress he was an active and. efficient membler of the committee on coinage, weights and measures, and post office and roads, and of the assay commission in 1884. During his second term in congress he delivered a speech on the silver question which gave him conspicuous recognition among students of monetary questions at home and abroad. In 1889 without any solicitation on his part, President Harrison appointed him comptroller of the currency. His long experience as a banker eminently qualified him for this position and the duties of the office were adtninistered with great efficiency and ability. The policy he pursued toward the national banks was both vigorous and conservative tending to the protection of shareholders and public alike. He resigned in 1.)92 to accept the presidency of the Bankers National Bank of Chicago, one of the most successful of the newer banks in that city. He has led a very busy life, and whether in his own1 private business, in the service of
Page 138 138 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY. his state, or-in —the —halls of congress, he has been a close student of questions -affecting the silver problem, the currency, and banking institutions of the country, while the benefits that have resulted therefrom have been national in character and of manifest service to the country. Robert Clark Kedzie was born in Delhi, New York, January 28, 1823. In 1826 the family moved to Lenawee county in this state. His father died soon after and his mother was left with seven children on a partially cleared farm in the woods. The children early in life learned to work and help clear the farm. Oberlin was just starting and offered excellent opportunities for young people of limited means to get an education, so desiring a better education than the district schools of that day afforded, thither went Robert, and by manual labor and teaching school in the winter, worked his way through the college and was graduated in the class of 1847. After graduation he taught an academy in Rochester, Michigan, for two years, and then entered the medical department of the University of Michigan and completed the course in 1851. Harriet Eliza Fairchild graduated from Oberlin college in the same class with the Doctor in 1847, and on the twentieth of May, 1850, they were married at Brownhelm, Ohio. He commenced practice in Kalamazoo where he remained but one sear and in 1852 removed to Vermontville where he added much to the life and character of the little village. Nine years later at the breaking out of the war between the states Dr. Kedzie enlisted and enlisting about thirty other men for the Twelfth Michigan Infantry they joined Company G, Captain Isaac M. Cravath of Lansing. Dr. Kedzie was commissioned assistant surgeon of the regiment January 15, 1862, and was promoted to surgeon April 25, 1862, after the battle of Shiloh, which occurred April 6 and 7 where he was taken a prisoner while attending to the wounded. He resigned October 8, 1862. In January, 1863, he was appointed professor of chemistry in the Michi gan Agricultural College, a position which hIc held until his death which occurred Novemiber -7, 1902. He was elected a representative in the state legislature in 1866, his object in taking office was to promote the welfare of the Agricultural College. His scientific investigations have been of very great value to the state. He called attention to the impure oils that were sold in the state and the danger to life and property that resulted from their use and secured the enactment of laws preventing the sale of any except those that came up to a safe standard of purity. He showed the peril to life and health from the use of wall paper where arsenic had been used in its manufacture. At one time a report was current that so much arsenic had been used in destroying the potato bugs that the soil had become impregnated with it thus poisoning the wheat and other vegetables raised upon this soil. This report was hurting the sale of wheat but by most careful experiments he showed that, however thoroughly the soil might be impregnated with arsenic it was not taken up by any plant, thus stopping the harm resulting fron the report. He is said to have been the father of the beet sugar industry in Michigan and to have shown how the sandy pine lands of the state could be utilized after the pine had been taken off. These are but a few of the scientific services he rendered the state in his capacity as a chemist. Philip T. Van Zile was born in Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, July 20, 1843. He prepared for college at Union Academy near Knoxville, Pennsylvania, and entered the classical course of the Alfred University and was graduated from it in 1863, at once enlisting in the army, and serving in Battery E, First Ohio Light Artillery, until its close. He received his discharge in August, 1865, and with the opening of the fall term of the University of Michigan entered the law department and was graduated in the spring of 1867. He then went to Charlotte
Page 139 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 139 and was admitted to the bar in Judge Woodruff's court and began the practice of law. In the fall of 1868 he was elected prosecuting attorney and re-elected in 1870. In 1872 he was elected judge of probate, and in 1875 was chosen circuit judge. In 1878 on the joint recommendation of United States Senators Ferry and Christiancy and Representative McGowan, he accepted at the hands of President Hayes the office of United States District Attorney for the Territory of Utah. On the first of April, 1878, he resigned the circuit judgeship and went to Salt Lake City, where he served for nearly six years. The Mormon Oligarchy had set up a rival government to that of the United States. These men had treason in their hearts and their hands were red with the blood of murdered men and women in their determination to carry out their religious and fanatical views. It was a time when a man risked his very life if he performed his duty. Aside from his duties as District Attorney he succeeded in getting congress to enact some laws that broke the back of the oligarchy, the first being a law disfranchising every polygamist in the territory of Utah. This law secured for the territory a legislature none of whom were polygamists whereas hitherto ninety-five per cent of that body had been polygamists. It also retired from the halls of congress George Q. Cannon who had been a delegate in congress for ten years, and secured in his place a man who was not a polygamist. It was one of the laws which has made it possible for the dawn of a new civilization to shine in upon that benighted and priest ridden country. He also succeeded in securing the passage of a law regulatirg marriages thus taking it from those secret and unenterable halls of the Endowment House, and making it a public ceremony, where records can be made of it. Another bill permitted the first and legal wife to testify against her husband in polygamy cases. Judge Van Zile also secured the passage of another law, punishing lewd and lascivious co-habitation which struck at the very vitals of the old outlawed polygamist marriage, thus making it possible to break up that relation among the members of the Mormon church. He also prosecuted and convicted John Miles, in the celebrated case of the United States vs. Miles, which finally went to the Supreme Court of the United States where h's contention was sustained, namely, that a Mormon who believed in the prophecies of Joseph Smith upon this question was not oualified to sit as a juror. In 1884 Mr. Van Zile returned from Utah to Michigan. In the Blaine campaign he was chosen by the convention, in his absence, to be Chairman of the republican state central committee. He removed to Detroit in 1890. and the following year became a lecturer in the Detroit College of Law, and shortly after was elected dean of the college and has held that position ever since. In 1894 Alfred University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and in 1904 that of Doctor of Laws. Aside from some small books, he has written for the legal profession, as well as for the college, "Van Zile's Bailments and Carriers," and "Van Zile's Equity Pleading and Practice." The "Detroit College of Law" has a faculty consisting of twenty-two of the leading lawyers in the city of Detroit. Women have done their full share in the material, intellectual, and moral development of the county. They have shared with their husbands all the hardships incident to the settlement of a new country, keeping house in the unfinished shanty or cabin, content to cook beside a stump outside the door, keeping the lonely vigil at night when husbands were gone days together for family supplies. They have cheered and encouraged their husbands in their work and have nursed the sick back to health. The education of the present generation has been chiefly their work, and they have been the mainstay of the churches. Like the sunshine their influence has pervaded all the life of the county. Space
Page 140 140 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY --- wil not allow us to mention the work of but a few of this great army of laborers. Miss Julia F. King came to Charlotte from the public schools of Flint, was appointed superintendent of the city schools and for several years discharged the duties of that office very satisfactorily. She was then appointed to a professorship in the Normal School at Ypsilanti which position she still fills. Miss M. Louise Jones was her successor as superintendent of the public schools in Charlotte, and held the office for several years, when she too was given a professorship in the State Normal School in Emporia, Kansas, and remains there. She is one of the permanent teachers in the summer school at Bay View. These two ladies are the only ones that have been superintendents of the city schools of Charlotte. The writer regrets that he has not succeeded in getting a more detailed account of their life work. Abigail Harlow Allen-Hosford was born in Mansfield, Massachusetts, April 10, 1824, and was graduated from the classical course in Oberlin in the class of 1846 and on the twentyseventh of August of that year was married to Prof. Oramel Hosford and came at once with him to Olivet. In September, 1848, she was chosen principal of the female department of the institution and taught from three to five hours a day for a term of ten years, sometimes when prostrated by sickness so that she heard her classes while reclining on a lounge. It is said she received no pay for her ten years' services as principal of the female department, but eked out the meager salary of her husband by giving music lessons and taking boarders, dispensing the while a most generous hospitality. Mary E. Green was born in 1844 near Machias in New York. Six years later the family moved to Battle Creek and from there to, Barry county. Her education was in district schools and the high schools of Battle Creek and Hastings, and a short time was spent in the college at Olivet and at Oberlin. In 1865 she entered the New York Medical College for Women and a year later married her cousin Alonzo Green. She graduated from the medical college in 1868 and opened an office in New York City. Much of her practice was charitable work, for poor and needy women. In 1873 the family moved to Charlotte. She was twice elected health officer of the city and was the first one to call attention to the laying out street lawns in front of the dwellings of the city. She was the only woman appointed judge of food products at the World's Columbian Exposition. She was for five years president of the National Household Economic Association and did much to introduce into the schools the study of domestic science. She lectured in many of the large cities before women's clubs on hygiene, sanitation and home economics and wrote a book entitled "The Food Products of the World," which has passed through three editions. When the Spanish-American war broke out she received an order from the Surgeon General's office to establish a "diet kitchen" at Fort Thomas, Kentucky, where typhoid patients were sent from Tampa and other points south. After spending two months at Fort Thomas, the Red Cross society urged her to go to Washington to establish at Fort Meyer a "diet kitchen" as at the breaking up of Camp Alger five hundred patients were concentrated there. It is thought that she was the first person to establish such in connection with the army. Emma F. Angell-Drake was born in Angellville, N. Y., Sept. 15, 1849. When she was fourteen years of age the family moved to Lamont in this state. Her early education was in the select and district schools of New York and Michigan. After teaching ten terms in district schools near home she went, in September, 1869, to Olivet College and was graduated there in the class of 1874. She worked her way through college by working for her board in the boarding hall, canvassing in summer, teaching one term near Olivet, meanwhile makirg up some studies and on Saturday re S
Page 141 * PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 141 citing to one of the teachers in Olivet. After graduation she taught in a grammar school one year and then two years in the high school in Muskegon, and was for one year principal of the high school at Big Rapids. In the fall of 1878 she entered the Medical Department of the Boston University and was graduated in 1882 and in the autumn of that year accepted the position of principal and physician of the Moody School in Northfield, Massachusetts. At the close of the year she was married to Rev. Ellis R. Drake, for seven years resident pastor of the Congregational church there. On account of poor health they removed to Kansas, and eight years later to Colorado. They have three children, a daughter and two sons. In Denver she was for four years professor of obstetrics in the homeopathic college. She has written three books, and two booklets. A prize of $1,000 was offered for the best book on "What a Young Wife Ought to Know." It was open to competition by persons in Canada, the' British Isles and America. The book bv Mrs. Drake won the prize. Her second book was on "What a Woman of Forty-five Ought to Know," and the third was on "Maternity." The two booklets are entitled "Maternal Responsibilities," and "Our Daughters." She has been in practice twenty-three years, and has been actively engaged in missionary work during the time, secretary of the Women's Home Mlissionary Society in Kansas and for four years president of a similar society in Colorado. Lydia Tichenor was born in Kalamo in this county some sixty years ago, her mother died before she was two years of age and her father went to Chicago leaving her in the care of her aunt Mrs. James Walworth who lived just over the Vermontville town line. When she was fourteen years of age she began teaching in the district schools and continued this for about five years, stopping to attend school whenever she had money enough to pay her expenses. As she had friends near Adrian College she attended school there for a time, and after that studied. at Olivet. It was while she was at school in Olivet that she first made a profession of religion. This was characteristic of her inciependence, for no one spoke to her upon the subject but she was convinced that it was her dutv and went alone to the pastor of the church and was the only one admitted at that time. In 1870 she went to Chicago and entered what is now the Chicago Normal School and was graduated the following year. She then accepted the position of principal of the Lake View school which was at that time the best position held by any woman in the county. She held it for four years. In 1876 Mr. Moody held revival meetings in Chicago, and she became intensely interested in them and resigned her position in the school and devoted her time to visitation from house to house. She had united with the Lincoln Park church' which was small, poor, and in debt, but they agreed to give her a support if she would devote herself to the building up of the church and Sunday school. This she did for four years. At that time christian schools were being started in Utah and she offered her services to the New West Education Commission, and chose a rural district andl was sent to Hooper, about twelve miles west of Ogden and six miles from the railroad. The people there had all been Mornions. a few had apostatized, but these were all either infidels or spiritualists. She was the first and only gentile to live among them and there was not a single person who could sympathize with her. Her day school grew from twelve to seventy-eight pupils, she had an evening school of about forty, and a Sunday school of one hundred and twenty-five, ranging in age from three years to eighty. Mormons and apostates came into the movenent but there were enough outside to make it unpleasant for her. She had never thought of preaching but the young people urged her to do so and she did, her services being always well attended. She did not think at the time that there was anything unusual in
Page 142 142 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY her work but the secretary of the society visited her field in the spring and was so much interested in her work that he proposed that she go east during the vacation to interest ladies in the work. She began in Chicago where men as well as women attended her first meeting. She had inside facts that could not be learned from tourists and had words of encouragement for christian people, that something could be done, and had been done. She proved to be an intensely interesting speaker and went on to New England, where the invitations came in so fast that it was absolutely impossible for her to accept them all. The largest pulpits in the country were open to her including the Plymouth church in Brooklyn (Mr. Beecher's), and the church of the Pilgrims (Dr. Storr's), while all others were opened for her on Sunday mornings as well as evenings. Money raising was not the object but it came in freely. It was not unusual for some one to come forward and offer to support a teacher before she left the platform. The Boston ministers were a very conservative body of men, and she was the first woman who had the honor of addressing them. She continued speaking with from twenty-five to thirty engagements a month until her marriage in 1882 to Rev. Amos J. Bailey since when her work has been merged as a co-laborer with his. Several times she has been called on to do special work and has left home tor a series of meetings and addresses occupying weeks. In 1886 they were in a pastorate in Chicago but were requested by the New West Commission to go to Ogden, Utah, and try to build up the church there. They went spending five and a half years, and the church increased in numbers from twelve to about one hundred. They also organized two suburban churches. During the time she taught in the Academy three years and had care of two outside fields. In 1892 Mr. Bailey was appointed superintendent of missions for the state of Washington and they moved to Seattle, which was their headquarters for the next nine years. That was at the beginning of the financial stress that continued for four or five years. This threatened the life of many of the new weak churches that were heavily in debt. Several of what are to-day the strong churches of the state would have been disbanded and their buildings sold for debt but for the faith, courage, and persistent efforts of the superintendent. During those years Mrs. Bailey was the state president of the Woman's Home Missionary Union and spent a great deal of her time in supplying pastorless churches having served more than thirty churches in that way, some of them only for a single Sabbath, others for several weeks or months. In 1900 they left Seattle for New England to help raise the debt of the Home Missionary Society. They traveled and made addresses for six months and then went up into New Hampshire for needed rest. They found at Meriden a small church without a pastor and Mr. Bailey agreed to supply them for two months. They have been there ever since. They find that there is as much destitution in the little churches among the hills of New England as there is in the west and that those churches are not attractive to young ministers. Although the town is small the Kimball Academy is located there and the students are gathered from several different states so that there is a fine field for effort. The residents are a noble class of people as are the summer visitors from the cities while there are several outlying neighborhoods that are destitute, they being able to supply those. Mrs. Bailey has no children of her own but Mr. Bailey was a widower with three daughters and a son when she married him. Alice Bunker was born of Quaker parentage at Cardington, Ohio, in 1833. When she was about three years of age her parents moved to Hastings in this state. Their home for the first year was in a log cabin, Indians were their only neighbors and for six months they never saw a white woman. As a girl she was short, plump and endowed with great vitality and force of character. After a time
Page 143 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 143 I her father who was a miller by profession bought a flouring mill in Bellevue and the family removed there. She had an intense desire for a more thorough education than could be had in the district schools of the state and went to Olivet, the institution there then being in its infancy. She attended it irregularly for about four years taking nearly all the branches taught at that time. She taught school during the summer and worked for her board while attending school, some of the time in the family of Prof. E. N. Bartlett. On her twentieth birthday she entered the Eclectic Medical College, at Cincinnati, the only medical school in the west at that time open to women. In a class of over three hundred students there were eight women. She with three others boarded themselves. During her three years of medical study she spent her summers at various hydropathic institutions both as assistant and as 'student, in this way earning much of the money needed for her medical course. During her studies she met Dr. G. H. Stockham whom she married in 1856 and they settled down in the practice of their profession in Lafayette, Indiana, where they remained fifteen years and where their children were born. In 1870 the family moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, and here she began her parlor lectures to women but soon moved to Chicago. In 1889 she visited England, Russia, Sweden and Finland. While in Russia she was the guest of Count Tolstoi, who together with his wife became much interested in Tokology a book she had written for women and under their supervision it was translated into Russian. While in Sweden and Finland she visited the schools and became so much interested in "Sloyd," that through her influence it was introduced into the Cook County Normal School. In 1891 Mrs. Stockham made a tour of the world, visiting China, India, and Japan, and attended the great Theosophical Convention at Madras as the guest of Col. Olcott the renowned occultist. The great demand for her lectures finally led her to embody the sub stance of them in a book to which allusion has been made, entitled, "Tokology." Over a half million of copies of this book have already been sold. She has also written other books, entitled, "The Lovers' World," "Karezza," "Koradine," and "Tolstoi, a Man of Peace." She has also published several booklets. Belle McArthur was born in Brookfield in this county October 21, 1856. She attended the district school near home until about fourteen years of age and then for five years she alternated teaching and attending the high school in Charlotte and at the end of this time completed the course of study in the high school in a class of six young women. September 19, 1876, she was married to George A. Perry. In 1889 she completed the four years' course of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle taking her diploma with a large class at Bay View. She was the first woman elected on the schoolboard in Charlotte and was a member of it for three years. For several years she was elected president of the Michigan Woman's Press Association, and for sometime Michigan State President of the International Sunshine Society. For fifteen years she has edited the "Home Page" of the Tribune, and for a little more than two years has been a member of the firm. Isaac M. Dimond, a business man of New York City, early acquired an interest in wild lands in the township of Windsor in this county and in 1850 moved into the woods to develop his property. With him or soon after came a Mr. Crafts and wife and a Mrs. Gray, the widow of a physician of Springfield, Massachusetts. The Mrs. Dimond, Gray, and Crafts were sisters. Mrs. Dimond had a daughter Minnie and Mrs. Gray one named Clara, girls about twelve years of age. In the winter of 1854-5 Rev. John T. Avery, an evangelist, held a series of meetings in the old court-house in Charlotte. Mrs. Gray and the two girls came and stayed through the meeting. The girls were hopefully converted. Mrs. Gray soon after moved with her family to Olivet and the girls attended school there.
Page 144 144 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Some years later Mrs. Gray married Charles Merriam of Springfield, Massachusetts, widely known as the publisher of Webster's Dictionary. Minnie Dimond became the wife of Pres. Morrison, the veteran college builder, and Clara Gray married Rev. H. A. Schaufler and was for many years a successful missionary with him in Austria. Her health failing the family returned to this country and she died in Cleveland. Her husband understood the Bohemian language and has founded and built up a most successful mission and school among the Bohemians in Cleveland where he quite recently died. Among the prominent educators of the county mention should be made of Professor Oramel Hosford, who was born in Thetford, Vermont, May 7, 1820. The family moved to Oberlin at an early day, and he was graduated from the college there in the class of 1843. He completed the course of sttuly in the theological department there in 1846. At that time the long vacation in Oberlin occurred in the winter and during his theological course he spent his winters in teaching in Olivet, and was one of the first teachers on the ground there. On the twenty-seventh of August, 1846, he married Abigal H. Allen of Mansfield, Massachusetts. He came at once to Olivet where he was appointed professor of mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy. He was ordained to the gospel ministry by a council convened in Olivet February 24, 1858. From 1865 to 1872 he was chosen state superintendent of public instruction and performed valuable service in improving our public school system. With the exception of these eight years he was connected with the Olivet Institute and College as a professor from 1844 till 1890 when failing health led him to resign. His death occurred December 9, 1893. In the beginning the salary of the Olivet professors was placed at $400 but at the same time a vote was passed that whatever deficiency there might be at the end of the year should not remain as a debt against the college. For several years the business of the institution was conducted on this principle. Among the faithful teachers in the Olivet Institute and College none were more devoted to it than Prof. Oramel Hosford. He was present at the opening of the first term of the school and supposes he heard the first lesson. Other teachers might come or go he was always on hand. At the end of the year the other teachers were usually paid first, if there was a shortage (and there usually was one) he was the one to suffer. In one year all the cash he received for his services was $36. He always looked on the bright side of things and in the darkest hours had full faith in the final success of. the enterprise. Many of the pleasantest memories of the early visitors in Olivet are associated with the generous hospitality dispensed at the Hosford home. Rev. Enoch N. Bartlett was born in Bath, New Hampshire, July 4, 1813. He was graduated from Oberlin. College in 1838, being a member of the second class graduated from that institution. In 1841 he finished his course in theology there. He preached and taught in many places. He began his work as a teacher in Olivet in the Autumn of 1846, the institution then being but two years old and he shared in its privations and struggles for twelve years. Pres. Morrison says of him: "During all this time he devoted himself with indefatigable zeal and persistent energy to promoting the interests of the colony and school. Too much cannot be said of his faithful, untiring labors. Never was there a man more thoroughly consecrated to any work, or who showed more unselfish devotion in its prosecution. He was a good teacher, a strict disciplinarian, and a very prudent manager of the affairs of the institution. His ever busy hand is still visible in all the b'elongings of school and village, from the church and 'halls,' to the cabinet of minerals, and to the shade trees that line the streets. Besides acting as one of the principals of the school and teaching five or six hours daily, he was also pastor of the church for a great part of the time he was in Olivet."
Page 145 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 145 I I He held several pastorates after leaving Olivet, and taught some, gradually moving westward to California, dying in Ventura, in that state August 13, 1897. Nathan Jackson Morrison was born in Franklin, New Hampshire, November 25, 1828. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1853, and in 1857 completed his theological studies at Oberlin. In the same year he was ordained to the gospel ministry at Rochester in this state and remained there two years when he accepted the professorship of Latin and Greek in Olivet College. In 1859 he was chosen president of the college which office he held for eight years. He insisted that the standard of scholarship should be the highest and succeeded in bringing the college to the notice of eastern churches and capitalists and securing from them some $50,000 for its use. He devoted himself with unsparing devotion to the interests of the college and succeeded in placing it on a good foundation. Immediately after his resignation he accepted a call to the pastorate of the Congregational church at Miattoon, Illinois, but was not permitted to remain there long, for a movement had been started to found a college in Missouri, and some of those interested in it, knowing of Mr. Morrison's ability as a college builder invited him to take the lead in the enterprise and he accepted the call. He remained at the head of the college fourteen years, perfecting the organization, and securing a good equipment for it. Dr. E. C. Evans did not speak too strongly when he said: "Dr. Morrison was the man upon whose coming depended the destiny of the enterprise. His ability as a teacher, his large acquaintance with the friends of education in the east, his experience in the shaping and management of a struggling young college, his power to impart to others his own enthusiasm, his energy and versatility, his steadiness of purpose, his patience and unfailing hopefulness under all sorts of discouragements, together with his great personal worth, made him pre-eminently the man of providence at 10 the right time." "He had great sagacity as seen for instance in his persistence in securing the noble college campus. He had broad visions and high ideals;-it will be another twenty-five years before the college fills out the outlines he drew for it. The perennial hopefulness and optimism which was sometimes the despair of his friends, was after all the source of his power and the reason of his success." He then resigned and accepted a call to the chair of philosophy in Marietta College in Ohio, which he held for seven years. In 1895 the Congregational Education Society requested him to go to Wichita, Kansas, and take charge of an academy that was started there in 1892 and develop it into a college. As he was an experienced college builder he accepted the charge and has been at the head of the college since. In 1903 the college reported twenty-one teachers, twentytwo thousand volumes in the library and thirty thousand pamphlets; buildings and grounds are worth $73,000 and its scientific apparatus and furniture $4,000. more. Horatio Quincy Butterfield was a son of Asa and Hannah (Jordan) Butterfield and was born in Phillips, Maine, August 5, 1822. He prepared for college at the Farmington Academy and spent the first two years of his college course at Waterville College, and the last two at Harvard where he was graduated in 1848. He then taught two years in Roxbury, and afterwards studied theology in the seminary at Bangor, finishing his course in 1853. He was ordained at St. Stephen, New Brunswick, and after a pastorate of three years, held pastorates in Hallowell, Maine, Great Falls, New Hampshire, and Rockville, Connecticut. In 1866 he was appointed professor of ancient languages in Washburn College in Kansas and after three years became president of the college but was not permitted to hold this position long for in 1870 he was chosen secretary of the Society for the Promotion of Collegiate Education with an office in New York. After six years service this society was merged in another and thus was enabled to dispense with one
Page 146 146 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY secretary. The trustees of Olivet College embraced the opportune moment to offer him the presidency of that institution, and he accepted their offer. He was a fine specimen of dignified, courteous gentleman of the old school. Professor Daniels who was intimately associated with him during his entire administration, says of him: "This, though long delayed, was a wise choice, for it brought to the college a man of mature mind, broad scholarship, rich experience in the pastorate and college work, and what was more, a wide acquaintance with the friends of christian education in New York and New England." His professorship and presidency of Washburn College and his four years' experience in the office of the Western College Society had broadened his views of the work of the christian college both in its development of true manhood in the individual and its vital importance in the education and training of a consecrated ministry for the church. Dr. Butterfield was a preacher of intense force both in thought and style. By a joint arrangement of the church and college his call to the presidency included also a call to the pastorate of the church and the supply of the pulpit for one half the time of the college year. This arrangement, with modifications, continued for the greater part of his presidency, giving him the best opportunity for the moral and religious instruction of the students. The sunshine of christian love won for him the friendship of faculty,.students and citizens. Pre-eminent was this quality in his home where in the same spirit Mrs. Butterfield presided and made it for every student the most attractive spot in student life. Hospitality, courtesy, and refinement were there enthroned. President Butterfield pushed the financial work begun in the east l1y President Morrison and secured some $200,000 for the college from parties living in New York and New England. A small tract of his, entitled, "How to Build the Best Monument," fell into the hands of Mr. Cornelius B. Erwin of New Britain, Connecticut, and was instrumental in turning his thoughts toward the valuable work done by the christian colleges, and he bequeathed to half a dozen of them more than a half million dollars, of which Olivet received $115,000. In June, 1892, President Butterfield tendered his resignation to take effect when his successor was appointed and a year later on account of ill health made his resignation final. On one occasion a cabinet of minerals and shells valued at $18,000 was offered to the college for $4,500. Liberal as the offer was, the college dared not incur any liabilities on that account and just here the characteristic nobility of President Butterfield was seen in his giving his personal note for the amount thus securing the collection for the college, and taking the risk of protecting himself by a solicitation of the amount from personal friends. The book in which he kept a record of the donations for the cabinet has only $3,250 on it of which he subscribed $200. The remaining $1,250 he probably paid himself and said nothing about it. At another time a subscription of $100,000 was started on condition that the whole should be raised by a given time, it was found that the time would expire in about two hours and that $2,400 were lacking to bind the whole amount. He and another gentleman subscribed the entire sum, and the President met his pledge by deducting the amount from his salary. At the time of his resignation he had only.about $4,000 in invested funds on which to depend. He never had any children and continued to live in Olivet, but his health gradually failed. He suffered an attack of pneumonia, from which he died painlessly February 12, 1894. Joseph Leonard Daniels was born in East Medway, Massachusetts, August 1, 1833. His ancestor Joseph Daniels from whom he received his name, was living on the same site in 1676 and had his house burned by the Indians in King Phillip's war. The old homestead has been in the hands of the Daniels family ever since. Mr. Daniels gives large credit for whatever success he has had to faithful home training, outdoor
Page 147 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 147 - -I I life on the farm, and the excellent public schools of that town. His preparation for college was made at Philips Academy in Andover, under Dr. Samuel H. Taylor, who more than any other man taught him selfreliance-how to use his own powers and do his own thinking. The teaching of two terms of district school during this preparatory period furnished more of this kind of discipline. From Andover Mr. Daniels went to Yale College, where he was graduated in 1860 in a class of one hundred and eight, many of whom have become eminent in public life. After graduation he spent three years of study in the Yale Divinity School and took a course of medical lectures, and was assistant in the college library. He then taught at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, and from there accepted a call to the principalship of the Guilford Institute in Connecticut. In 1865 he was called to the professorship of Greek in Olivet College. During his professorship he supplied the pulpit in Olivet and neighboring churches much of the time. He was ordained in Charlotte August 27, 1876. While carrying on this twofold work of teaching and preaching he has been the college librarian for more than thirty years. This phase of his work has shown more tangible results than the others for it appeals more directly to the senses and finds expression in figures. When he took charge of the library it had only two thousand volumes. Now it numbers thirty thousand well selected books adapted to the needs of a growing college. Then it had no income and no local habitation. Now it has a fund of $15,000 and an elegant stone building costing $30,000, secured mainly by the personal efforts of the librarian. In recognition of his faithful work as an educator and preacher Yale University conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1894, and in the following year Olivet College after his forty years of service bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. No sketch of his life would be complete without a tribute to Mrs. Daniels. Her maiden name I was Julia Burrage Allen. Owing to the death of her father in her infancy, she became the foster child of Leonard Burrage the donor of "Burrage Hall," the home of the college library. Her presence in Olivet brought this generous gift to the college. But this was the least of her benefactions. Her cheerful, hopeful, courageous spirit was sunshine in the home, hospitality for every guest, and inspiration to her husband and a benediction to a great multitude of students. Probably no teacher in Michigan is so affectionately remembered by so large a number of his pupils as is Joseph Estaibrook, whom Superintendent Orr Schurtz calls "one of the greatest teachers that Michigan ever produced." Professor Estabrook was graduated from Oberlin College in the class of 1847 and has made teaching his life work though he was so zealous a christian that he often preached and was very successful in revival work. He was ordained to the gospel ministry at Franklin, Michigan, in December, 1851. From the pen of others who knew him well we have this testimony: "He taught first in the district schools of the state, then in a select school; and for three years he had charge of the Tecumseh Institute. In 1853 he was called to take charge of the Union School in Ypsilanti, and retained this position for fourteen years, making the school one of the best in the state. In 1866 he was made the first superintendent of the schools in East Saginaw, and five years later he became principal of the State Normal School in Ypsilanti, where for nine years his noble character was a pattern for the growing teachers of our state, and his tireless energy infused new life along educational lines. During this time he was for eight years one of the regents of the State University." He came to Olivet in 1880, and devoted the last fourteen years of his life to the normal work there. With his ripe experience he revised the course of study and inspired it with new life. During this time he served four years as State Superintendent of Public In
Page 148 148 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY struction. He had rare tact in winning the affections of his pupils, and inspiring them with a desire to lead noble and upright lives. He was a thorough believer in the christian religion, and was very successful in leading his pupils to become followers of Christ. He conducted several protracted meetings with marked success even while in his regular work as a teacher. His death occurred in Olivet September 29, 1894. Orr Schurtz was born in Constantine, Michigan, September 25, 1853. His preparation for college was made in the high schools of Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor, graduating from the University in 1878. In the fall of 1879 he became principal of the school in Dansville, Ingham county, and the following year of that at Eaton Rapids where a large share of his school work was done. In 1886 he was elected Secretary of the County Board of Examiners for this county. For many years there had been but little county supervision of schools and it was a great task to bring teachers, pupils and parents into harmony with the new system. He visited the schools, gathered the teachers into sections which he met in different places in the county, giving informal lectures on methods, school management, classification, organization, and methods of conducting recitations. He worked out a system of monthly reports of the attendance, programs, etc., and also put in every school a record for the classification of every pupil, indicating how far he had pursued his studies, so that at the beginning of every new year the teacher would know how far every scholar had gone and where he should take up the different studies. He sent out to each teacher every month a publication full of suggestions helpful to them in their work. He also established the present eighth grade examinations. In addition to his work in this county he did a great deal of institute work in other counties under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. With the advice and approval of the superintendent, he devised, arranged, and published a manual and course of study for the country schools of the state. In this he vwas assisted by four other secretaries, among them Mr. C. L. Bemis, for the last fourteen years stperintendent of the public schools in Ionia who prepared a large part of the matter. The work was favorably received by the educators of the state and has passed through several editions, with additions and improvements under the administration of succeeding superintendents. In 1890 Mr. Schurtz was nominated on the Republican ticket for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. It was an unfortunate year for the party in this state and he went down with the rest of the ticket. The four years spent in this county were probably more prolific of good than any other four of his work. In 1891 he accepted the principalship of the West Side High School in Grand Rapids at a greatly increased salary, and remained there six years. He is now superintendent of schools in Negaunee in the upper Peninsula. Joseph L. Wagner must have received a warm welcome when in 1851 he made his appearance on earth, for he is said to have been born in Mt. Etna, Indiana-this is a small town, however, on the Salimonie river in the central part of the state. His parents were sturdy Virginians, of German extraction. Joseph was one of eleven children. The father and several of the children besides himself were teachers. He attended the district schools five or six months of the year until he was about eighteen years of age, when he started to work his way through Hillsdale College. He was obliged to teach several winters and work on the farm in summer in order to earn money to pay his way, and he lost one full year on account of failing eye sight. By reason of these interruptions it was ten years before he was able to complete the classical course in college. In 1879 he was elected principal of the Grand Ledge schools, and held this position until 1891, when he was appointed county commissioner of schools, and has performed the duties of that office so satisfactorily that he has been re-elected continuously since.
Page 149 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 149 CHAPTER XXI CONCLUSION Those who visit the county today for the first time can have little idea of it as it appeared to those who saw it for the first time eighty years ago. With the exception of the small prairie where Charlotte now stands and a few Indian corn fields in the south part of the county the whole was covered with a dense forest of gigantic trees and impassable swamps of vast extent. There was not a road and no bridges spanned the creeks and rivers; no white man had built a house; there was not a school house or a church, no railroads, mills, or factories. But what changes four score years have wrought. The forests have been cleared, the swamps drained, roads opened everywhere, every stream is bridged, four railroads cross the county, and everywhere the visitor beholds a beautiful landscape dotted with comfortable houses, barns and orchards. An hundred school houses afford education and seventy-four churches in vite people every Sunday to worship God; a college has been built that already has six hundred graduates in the field; newspapers, banks, and factories abound on every hand. In case of accident or sudden illness it is unnecessary to send a messenger eight or ten miles for a physician but the farmer steps to the telephone and calls up his doctor who at once dashes off in his automobile. Instead of being obliged to come to town once a week for his mail it is delivered at his door every day. If inventions go forward as rapidly during the coming years, as they have during the past, automobiles and trolley cars may be antiquated, and people traveling through the air will wonder how the men of this generation were contented to plod along amid the dust and noise of those clumsy old vehicles. But none of us will be here to read the history.
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Page 151 THE PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY, MICHIGAN PERSONAL AND GENEALOGICAL
Page 152 I
Page 153 EATON COUNTY PERSONAL AND GENEALOGICAL FREDERICK ALLEN is one of the representative farmers and sterling citizens of Sunfield township, where he has maintained his home for more than forty years. He was born in Livingston county, New York, April 29, 1835, and is a son of Hiram and Mary B. (Odell) Allen, both of whom were natives of the old Empire state. The father was killed by a falling tree, in Genesee county, Michigan, when the subject of this sketch was seventeen years of age. The mother died in 1902, at the age of eighty years. Of the seven children, four are living,-David, who resides at Davison Station, Genesee county; Richard, who is likewise a resident of that place, as is also George; and Frederick, who is the immediate subject of this sketch. Hiram Allen was engaged in farming in New York until 1844, when he came with his family to Michigan, passing the first year in the vicinity of the city of Detroit and then removing to Genesee county, where he purchased a small farm, his death there occurring a few years later. Frederick Allen was afforded the advantages of the common schools, and as a youth he learned the carpenter's trade, becoming a good workman. After the death of his father he lived with his maternal grandparents, in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, until he had attained to the age of twenty-seven years. He thereafter continued to follow his trade, in Ohio, about two years, at the expiration of which, in 1865, he came to Michigan and located on his present homestead farm. He purchased one hundred and two acres, in section 36, Sunfield town ship, the timber having been felled upon about thirty acres. He erected a log house and this continued to be the family home for many years, finally being replaced by the present substantial frame residence. Mr. Allen has reclaimed about eighty acres of his land to cultivation, and the improvements throughout are of excellent type. He now rents the farm to his stepson and is living practically retired. He is a citizen who has ever maintained a strong hold upon the esteem of his fellow men and his life has been filled with earnest toil and endeavor. He is a supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party and has been at all times ready to aid in all enterprises and movements tending to advance the general welfare of the community. In 1859 Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Vashti Bosworth, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Samuel Bosworth, and her death occurred in the year 1887. Five children were born of this union, but all died in infancy. In 1889 Mr. Allen married Miss Betsey Edgell, who died six years later, leaving no children. In 1896 he married Mrs. Miranda J. Bosworth, widow of Goodwin Bosworth. She was born in the state of New York, October 29, 1843, being a daughter of William and Margaret (Sherman) Vander, the former of whom now resides in Fremont, Newago county, Michigan, and the latter of whom died at the age of thirty-two years. Mrs. Allen was but two years of age at the time of her parents' removal to Michigan, where she was reared and educated, the family having located in Hills 153
Page 154 154 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COU.NTY -- --- dale county. In 1877 she married Goodwin Bosworth, who was a farmer of Sunfield township, this county, where he died, leaving one child, Guy, who married Miss Mary McCarter, and who now rents the farm of his stepfather, as previously noted. RICHARD M. ALLEN is found numbered among the successful farmers and popular citizens of Eaton township, within whose confines he was ushered into the world, the date of his nativity having been January 18, 1849, while he is a son of Sidney and Sarah Ann (Southworth) Allen, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, where they were reared to maturity and where their marriage was celebrated. The father was a farmer in Cortland county, that state, where he continued to reside until the early '40s, when he came to Eaton county, Michigan, and took up eighty acres of government land, in Eaton township, the old homestead being now owned by his cousin, John Allen. He reclaimed the major portion of this place to cultivation and resided on the same for a number of years, after which he moved to the fine farm of one hundred and seventy acres, where the subject of this sketch now resides. This place was practically in a wild state at the time he came into possession thereof, but he made excellent improvements in the way of buildings, etc., and continued to make this his home during the greater part of his life thereafter, though he and his wife lived for three years in Charlotte and three in Eaton Rapids. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Ann Southworth, was a daughter of Orrin and Lydia Southworth. She died December 15, 1877. He survived her by a decade and a half, his demise occurring February 1, 1895, prior to which he had added to his landed estate until the aggregate area of the same was two hundred and fifty acres. He was a prominent pioneer and influential citizen of Eaton township and his name is held in high respect by all who knew him and had cognizance of his earnest and useful life. Of the four children one, a daughter, died in infancy, the others being Adelaide B., who resides in the city of Charlotte; Henrietta E., who is the widow of Dr. Amos Knight, long engaged in the practice of medicine in Eaton Rapids; and Richard M., whose name introduces this sketch. Sidney Allen held to the faith of the Democratic party and 'was well fortified in his convictions as to matters of public polity. He served a number of years as township treasurer and was otherwise prominent in connection with local affairs of a public nature. In a fraternal way he was identified with the Masonic order. Richard M. Allen was reared to manhood in Eaton township, in whose common schools he secured his early educational discipline, while he soon became inured to the work of the farm, familiarizing himself with all details of the great basic art of agriculture. For a few years he resided in Charlotte, where he was engaged in the agricultural business, and save for this interim he has never severed his allegiance to the vocation in which he was reared and through which he has attained a marked success and prestige. He is the owner of a finely improved farm of one hundred and ten acres, devoted to diversified agriculture and to the raising of live stock of excellent grade. His political support is given to the Democratic party, of whose principles he is, like his father before him, a stanch advocate. In 1872 Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Malvina Jaques, who was born in Ohio, being a daughter of Jesse and Sarah Jaques, who removed from that state to Eaton county, Michigan, in the '60s. Mr. and Mrs. Allen. have one child, -Frederick S., now a resident of Charlotte. Frederick was united in marriage October 6, 1897, to Miss Elma, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Bohn, pioneer residents of Carmel township. They have two children,-Carroll B. and Don M. Allen. Mrs. R. M. Allen is a member of the Congregational church, to which the family give loyal support. JOHN H. ALTHOUSE is one of the sterling pioneer citizens of Oneida township and is an honored veteran of the civil war, in
Page 155 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 155 which he rendered loyal and gallant service in defense of the Union. The fine old Empire state of the Union figures as the place of his nativity, since he was born in Saratoga county, New York, November 3, 1836, being a son of John and Gertrude (Vam Vat n) Althouse, who was the widow of John Burns, both likewise native of New York state, where the father passed his entire life, having been forty-five years of age. He was a farmer by vocation, having owned a farm of seventy acres, in Saratoga county. After the death of John Althouse, his widow came to Eaton county, Michigan, and settled in Oneida township. She lived to the venerable age of ninetytwo years. Jchn H. Althouse is the only one living of four children born to his parents. He secured his early educational discipline in the common schools of his native county, and was sixteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Michigan. He attended school about one year in Marshall, where he entered upon an apprenticeship at the painter's trade, which he followed as a vocation two years. He then returned to the state of New York, where he passed one winter. In 1855 he returned to Michigan and purchased eighty acres of land in section 14, Oneida township, Eaton county. About eight acres had been cleared and a log house had been built on the place. He continued his residence on this farm, save for the period of his service as a soldier in the civil war, until 1866, having reclaimed a considerable portion of the land and made other improvements. In that year he sold the property and removed to Charlevoix, Michigan, where he was engaged in the hotel business four years. He then returned to Eaton county, to care for his wife's parents, who were of advanced age, taking charge of their homestead farm, which he now owns, the same comprising eighty acres of excellent land, in section 23, Oneida township. He has personally cleared and improved a considerable portion of the land, and since the death of his wife's parents has erected the present commodious and attractive frame house. He has assisted in clearing five different farms in Michigan, and has attended many logging bees in the early days, having thus gained his full quota of pioneer experiences. In February, 1864, Mr. Althouse enlisted in Caaay B, Sd i SaeIfts Sra hooters, formerty known as Berdan's Sharpshooters. He was mustered in at Jackson, and thence went to the national capital and then to the front. The first engagement in which he took part was the battle of the Wilderness, and thereafter he was with his command in about thirty other engagements, ever being found at the post of duty and showing true soldierly qualities. He was present at the surrender of General Lee, at Appomattox, and saw Generals Grant and Lee pass through the line to arrange the terms of surrender. The exposures and hardships endured by Mr. Althouse during his army service have left permanent effects upon his health, and he receives a well merited pension of thirty dollars a month. He received his honorable discharge at Washington, M1ay 30, 1865. In politics Mr. Althouse is independent. While resident of Charlevoix he served as township clerk and highway commissioner, but he has never sought or held office in Eaton county. November 3, 1859, Mr. Althouse was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Charter, who was born in Calhoun county, Michigan, February 10, 1841, being a daughter of Hiram and Hannah (Ketcham) Charter, the former of whom was born in the Dominion of Canada and the latter in the state of New York. Both died in Eaton county, Michigan, where they were honored pioneers, the father having attained the age of seventy-nine and the mother the age of eighty-four years. They came to Michigan in the territorial epoch and took up government land near Marshall, Calhoun county, where they remained until 1849, when they removed to Eaton county and bought the farm of eighty acres now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Althouse. Mr. Charter reclaimed a considerable portion of this land from the virgin forest, and continued to occupy his original log house until his death. In the family were thirteen children, of whom
Page 156 156 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY only three are living,-Mrs. Mary E. Burns, who resides in Oneida township; Mrs. Armenia Kyes, who resides in Charlevoix county; and Mrs. Althouse, wife of the subject of this sketch. One son, George Charter, was a member of Company H, Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, in the civil war, and died while in the service, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as the result of disease there contracted. Mr. and Mrs. Althouse became the parents of four children: Gertrude became the wife of Charles L. Brown, and died in Wexford county, Michigan; Amy is the second wife of Charles L. Brown, and they now reside in Oregon. John died at the age of two years; and George has charge of his father's farm: he married Miss Hattie Wilkinson, and they have one child, Ruby. CHESTER M. AMBROSE, one of the representative business men of Vermontville, where he is successfully established in the retail grocery trade, is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born in LaGrange, Lorain county, Ohio, January 22, 1850, and being a son of David M. and Mary (Manville) Ambrose, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and died in LaGrange, Ohio, of typhoid fever, at the age of thirtyfive years, while the latter, who was born in the state of New York, died in Vermontville, Michigan, at the age of sixty-two years. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Ambrose became the wife of Myron Bronson, who now resides in Hastings, Michigan. David M. Ambrose followed the vocation of farming, having been the owner of a farm in Lorain county, Ohio, at the time of his death. Of his three children, the subject of this sketch was the first born. George D. resides in Hastings, Michigan, and Frank F. makes his home in Vermontville. Of the second marriage of the mother was born one son, Fay, who resides in Hastings. Chester M. Ambrose secured his educational discipline principally in the public schools of Vermontville, to which place his mother and stepfather removed from Ohio when he was a child. At the age of sixteen years he left home, and for two years he was employed as salesman in the mercantile establishment of W. H. Benedict, of Vermontville, while for the ensuing three years he held a similar position in the store of the firm of Barber & Martin, and then was with H. J. Martin two years. At the age of twenty-five years he became a member of the firm of Barber, Hull & Ambrose, engaged in the general merchandise business, and later the firm title, by a change in one of the interested principals, became Barber, Ambrose & Rockwell, and finally Barber & Ambrose. Messrs. Barber and Ambrose continued to be thus associated until 1900, when Mr. Ambrose disposed of his interest and purchased the grocery business of W. H. Benedict, having a well equipped and attractively appointed establishment and catering to a large and representative patronage. He is the sole proprietor of the business. Mr. Ambrose had been a supporter of the cause of the Republican party until 1896, when he manifested the courage of his convictions by aligning himself as an advocate of the free-silver policy, voting for Bryan for president and having himself elected county treasurer on the ticket of that year, holding the office two years and giving a most satisfactory administration of the fiscal affairs of the county. Aside from this office he has held no other save that of township clerk. In political matters he now stands quite independent of partisan domination or influence, voting in accord with the dictates of his judgment, both in national and local affairs. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, and he and his family attend and support the Congregational church. Mr. Ambrose is held in high regard in the community, is known as a reliable and enterprising business man and as a citizen of utmost loyalty. In 1875 Mr. Ambrose was united in marriage to Miss Jessie L. Kenedy, who was born in Pennsylvania, being a daughter of Talma R. Kenedy, who was for many years a prominent farmer of Vermontville township, where he remained until his death. His wife, whose maiden name
Page 157 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 157 was Helen M. Tanner, still resides with her son, Durward R., on the old homestead, which is one of the valuable farms of Eaton county. Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose have two children. Agnes V. was graduated from the conservatory of music of Olivet College, as a member of the class of 1905, having gained the highest of endorsement from the faculty by reason of her superior talent and proficiency in music. Harry L., who held for four years a clerical position in the Merchants' National Bank of Charlotte, is now associated with his father in conducting the grocery business, being one of the popular young business men of Vermontville. GRANGER F. ANSON is one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of the village of Bellevue, where he has maintained his home for many years, and where lie has been agent for the National Express Company and manager of the Citizens' Telephone Company until January 1, 1906, when he resigned.' Mr. Anson is a native of the old Empire state of the Union, having been born in Canandaigua township, Ontario county, New York, March 26, 1837, and being a son of Daniel B. and Maria R. (Rumsey) Anson. His father was born in the state of New York and died in Bellevue, Michigan, in 1894, having been more than eighty years of age at the time of his demise; his wife likewise was -born in the state of New York and passed the closing years of her life in Bellevue, iMichigan, where she died in March, 1880. Daniel B. Anson was identified with agricultural pursuits in the state of New York until 1854, when he came to Michigan, locating in Bellevue township, Eaton county, in October of that year. Here he followed the trade of carpenter until within a few years of his death, having been a successful contractor and builder and having retired from active labor only when the results of an accident rendered him physically incapacitated. Of his five children the subject of this sketch was the first born; Anna died in childhood, prior to the removal of the family from New York; George R., who was a soldier in the Eighth Michigan Cavalry in the civil war and who is now a resident of Dunsmuir, California, married Savilla Hallawell, and they have three daughters; James L., who is a resident of the village of Bellevue and who'is a carpenter and builder by vocation, married Lellie Weatherbee, and they had two sons,-Daniel B., who has recently completed a service of three years in the United States army, having been stationed for some time in the Philippine islands, and Benjamin H., who died in the summer of 1905, at the age of seventeen years; Alonzo B., the youngest of the children, died in early childhood. Granger F. Anson secured his preliminary education in the schools of Rochester and Irondequot, New York, and after the removal of the family to Michigan he continued his studies in the district school near his home. After leaving school he clerked in a general store and in the postoffice at Bellevue, and later went to Pawpaw, Van Buren county, where he was employed in a drug store for six months, at the expiration of which, in September, 1864, he there enlisted in Company B, Twenty-eighth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front, taking part in the battle of Nashville, Tennessee, and in the engagement at Wise's Forks, North Carolina. He was taken ill and was confined in hospital at Morehead, North Carolina, until September, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge, on account of his physician's certificate of his physical disability. After returning home he continued in impaired health for some time and was finally accorded' appointment as assistant postmaster at Bellevue, while later he was appointed postmaster, retaining this incumbency thirteen years and resigning the office in 1884. The greater portion of the time since that he has been the Bellevue agent of the National Express Company. In 1894, however, he removed to Kalamazoo, where he remained four and one-half years, engaged in settling the estate of a relative. In 1898 he returned to Bellevue and in the following year he again took charge of the office of the Na
Page 158 158 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY tional Express Company, in whose employ he has since continued, while he also ably managed the local affairs of the telephone company mentioned in the opening lines of this article, until his resignation. In politics Mr. Anson has been identified with the Republican party from the time of attaining his legal majority, having cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He served two terms as a member of the board of trustees of the village of Bellevue. He is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Knights of Pythias, and the lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his wife are zealous and valued members of the local Methodist Episcopal church. December 31, 1865, Mr. Anson was united in marriage to Miss Nancy C. Walrath, who was born in Ohio and who died in Bellevue, in March, 1881, leaving no children. He later wedded Miss Maria Keys, who was born in Calhoun county, this state, and who died in Kalamazoo, May 19, 1897, without issue. In June, 1898, Mr. Anson married Miss Emma F. Sears, who was born in the state of New York. They have no children. HENRY S. ARNOLD is the owner of a model farm in section 3, Eaton Rapids township, and is one of the well known and honored citizens of the county, with whose industrial and commercial progress he has been prominently identified. Mr. Arnold was born in Ogden, Monroe county, New York, December 26, 1830, and is a son of Aaron and Roxie (Brown) Arnold, the former of whom was born in Connecticut, August 15, 1787, while he died in the state of New York, September 15, 1859; his wife was born January 1, 1793, and died February 25, 1857. Of their eight children, six attained maturity, namely: Mrs. Esther Webster, who died in Ogden, New York; James N., who likewise died in that place; Aaron Bradford, who is deceased; Sarah Maria, who lived in Ogden, New York, until 1897, when she came to the home of her brother, Henry S., subject of this sketch, dy ing here in 1899, never having married; Henry S. was the next in order of birth; and Edwin B. now resides in Grand Traverse county: he came to Michigan in an early day and settled on a farm near Charlotte, Eaton county, in which city he later became associated with J. D. Parkhurst in the ownership and operation of a flour mill, continuing his residence here until his removal to his present home. The other two children died young. Henry S. Arnold was reared to manhood in his native state, having attended school in Brockport and later in Wilson, New York, and thereafter having been engaged in farming in Monroe county, that state, until 1854, when he came to Eaton county, Michigan, and took up his residence on a farm, in Eaton township, near Charlotte. The place was partially improved and he reclaimed the remainder to cultivation, there continuing to make his home for fifteen vears. In 1868 he removed to the city of Charlotte and entered into a copartnership with Mr. Bickford, engaging in the manufacture of barrel staves and heading, this being the first factory established in Charlotte. The partnership continued until 1872, when Mr. Arnold became sole owner of the business and plant. In 1873 the Charlotte Manufacturing Company was organized and incorporated, and the same absorbed the enterprise which Mr. Arnold had founded. He secured a large block of the stock of the company and was made its superintendent, retaining this office fifteen years, while he continued a resident of Charlotte for forty years, during all of which interval he was a deacon in the Congregational church, several terms a member of its board of trustees and also incumbent of the position of superintendent of the Sunday school, being active in all portions of the church work and liberal in the support of its benevolences. After removing to his farm he united with the M. E. church at I mondale, but in 1905 he joined the U. B. church near his farm. In 1893 Mr. Arnold located on his present homestead farm, which then comprised two hundred and forty acres. Since that time he has
Page 159 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 159 sold a portion of the tract, and later sold another part, reducing his farm to eighty acres, but later added eighteen acres by purchase, while he has made such improvements on the farm as to make it one of the model places of the county. He is a loyal supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and served for some time as a member of the board of aldermen of Charlotte, though he has never been ambitious for official preferment. He has ever been recognized as a progressive business man and public-spirited citizen, and he did much to advance the commercial prestige of Charlotte and of the county through establishing a factory there and pushing forward the organization of the Charlotte Manufacturing Company. He has ordered his life upon an exalted plane of rectitude and honor, and this fact has brought a resultant popular confidence and esteem of the most unequivocal order. In the year 1852 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Arnold to Miss Jane C. Curtis, who died in February, 1858, two children being the offspring of this union: Melva E., who is the wife of George Tubbs, of Charlotte, and Emma J., who became the wife of Frank C. Ives, of the same city, where she died in 1894. Mrs. Tubbs has one child, Myrta Grace, born February 12, 1887; the only child of Mrs. Ives was a son, who died in infancy. In 1858 Mr. Arnold consummated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Eunice C. Sprague, daughter of Philetus and Teresa (Whitmore) Sprague, who were numbered among the honored pioneers of Vermontville, this county. Mr. Sprague was born in Saratoga, New York, and his wife in the state of Vermont. Philetus Sprague was a son of Jonathan Sprague, and the latter's father was a patriot soldier in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution. Teresa (Whitmore) Sprague was a daughter of Sylvanus and Minnie Whitmore, both representatives of stanch New England stock, the latter having been a daughter of Benjamin and Della Haskins; she was born June 3, 1784, and was a second cousin of President Fillmore. Sylvanus Whitmore was a son of Joseph and Ruth Whitmore. Philetus Sprague was born in 1802 and died in 1888, at his home in Vermontville, and his wife died in Charlotte in 1891. They became the parents of nine children, of whom five are living, namely: Miss Pandora A., of Vermontville; Mrs. Lydia M. Scott, a resident of Minnesota; Mrs. Emma E. Lapham, residing in the state of California; Eunice C., the wife of the subject of this review; and Mrs. Hannah Hawkins, of Vermontville. Mrs. Arnold was born in Leroy township, Calhoun county, Michigan, September 19, 1840, and was afforded good educational advantages in her youth, having attended school in Albion, that county. She gave considerable attention to literary work in her younger years and is a lady of culture and gracious presence. In 1872 she wrote and published a book entitled "Maple Leaves and Myrtle Wreaths," which had a large sale at that time. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Arnold the following brief data are given. Clairis Henry, born August 12, 1859, is a representative farmer of Eaton Rapids township, and has four children, whose names, with respective dates of birth, are as follows: Nettie Mildred, August 7, 1884, now the wife of Rosco Canadey, has one son, Verne William, born January 14, 1905; Glenn Irving, February 9, 1886; Celia Ceressa, July 15, 1890; and Paul Dornan, September 3, 1893. Lynn Sprague Arnold, the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold, was born January 10, 1864, and is a bookkeeper in the city of Chicago. He has one daughter, Melva Louise, born January 19, 1897. William Bradford Arnold, born April 14, 1867, is a resident of Eaton Rapids. Jennie M., born May 10, 1869, became the wife of Charles Luce, and died in the state of New York, 1902, being survived by two children,-Harold Charles, born March 10, 1893, and Hazel Seresa, born November 5, 1894. Howard Hoyt Arnold, born May 22, 1875, died February 2, 1899. Kenneth S., born January 3, 1877, died in infancy. John J., born May 20, 1879, is a photographer in Olivet, this county. Roswell Clifton, born January 8, 1882, is a farmer in Eaton Rapids township
Page 160 160 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY and married, October 14, 1900, Viva Van Siclen, and they have one child, M. J. Howard Arnold, born July 14, 1905. Everett Octavius, born June 4, 1881, is a student in Olivet College. EPHRI\AM H. BAILEY, of Charlotte, has been a resident of this city for more than forty-five years and is one of the representative citizens and business men of the county. He is the owner of a well appointed music store, giving his personal supervision to the same, and he has been long and prominently identified with musical affairs in this section and is known as a cultured and appreciative musician. Mr. Bailey was born in Yorkshire, England, March 4, 1832, and is a son of James and Sovinah (Pitchforth) Bailey, both of whom were likewise born in England, where they continued to reside until 1842, when they came to America, and forthwith located in Eaton county, Michigan, becoming pioneers of the county. The father secured forty acres of wild land, near the present village of Chester, but he finally sold this property and took up his residence in Battle Creek, Calhoun county, where he engaged in teaching inusic, also, in the silk business, having been a silk-weaver by trade. He eventually returned to Eaton county, and he was one of the pioneer music teachers in this section of the state, where his services were much in demand, and where he gained a high degree of popularity. He died in 1887 and his wife passed away in 1881. Both were members of the established church of England prior to coming to America, and here they naturally became communicants of the American branch, the Protestant Episcopal church. While a resident of Yorkshire, England, he had charge of the music in one of the old and historic parish churches. James and Sovinah Bailey became the parents of nine children, of whom five are living. The names of the children are here entered in the order of birth: Jessie, Ephraim H., Manasseh, Miriam, Cyrus, Asenath, Mary, Joseph and James. Ephraim H. Bailey, the immediate subject of this review, received his early educational discipline in England, having been ten years of age at the time of the family removal to America. Here he continued his academic studies as opportunity afforded, while he received exceptional advantages in the way of prosecuting his musical studies, his training having early been initiated under the direction of his able father. He attended musical conservatories in both New York and Boston, under such well known instructors as Drs. Lowell Mason, George J. Webb and George F. Root. He was engaged in teaching music in the states of Indiana and Michigan from 1855 to 1860, in which latter year he located in Charlotte, Michigan, having come hither principally for the purpose of studying languages under the tutorship of Professor 0. S. Ingham. In 1860 he took up his permanent residence in Charlotte, and here he has been engaged in his present line of business since 1860. His name is a familiar one throughout this section of the state and he has a wide circle of loyal friends. He owns the business block which he utilizes as his headquarters and is also the owner of other valuable property in Charlotte. He is a Republican in his political proclivities, and he is identified with the Swedenborgian church in the city of Detroit. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Good Templars. September 10, 1859, Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Ann Jones, whose father was one of the pioneers of this section of the Wolverine state. They have no children. Mr. Bailey was actively engaged in teaching music for a period of twenty years, and still consents to give instruction to a few select pupils, while he has written many excellent musical scores, both vocal and instrumental, finding much satisfaction in such composition. He is now alone in his business, in which he was formerly associated with his brother, under the firm title of E. H. & J. A. Bailey. MORES H. BAILEY is a citizen known to practically every resident of Eaton county, where he has maintained his home for sixtysix years, being a representative of one of the
Page 161 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 161 early pioneer families of the state and having been prominent as a surveyor, both for the government and in a private way, in this section of the commonwealth for many years, while he now resides on his fine farm property in Windsor township, where he has made his home since 1851. He and his estimable wife put forth and place on challenge the claim to being the oldest married couple in the state who were both born and married within its confines. Mr. Bailey was born in Troy township, Oakland county, Michigan, August 7, 1834, about three years before the state was admitted to the Union. He is a son of Benjamin F. and Marcia M. (Huntington) Bailey, the former of whom was born in Niagara county, New York, and the latter in the state of Vermont. They were residents of New York state until 1829, when they came to Michigan, numbering themselves among the very early settlers of Oakland county, where they remained about a decade, having removed to Eaton county in 1839. Here the father took up two hundred and ninety acres of government land in Windsor and Benton townships, reclaiming about eighty acres of the tract, which was a dense forest and finally taking up his residence in Eaton Rapids, where he lived for a long term of years and where his wife died. He passed the closing days of his life in Lonoke, Arkansas. He is well remembered by the older pioneer citizens of Eaton county, having been a citizen of prominence and sterling worth. He is survived by his three sons, all of whom were born and reared in Eaton county, the subject of this review having been the first in order of birth. Dr. William H. is engaged in the practice of medicine in the city of Detroit, Michigan, and Benjamin F., likewise a physician and surgeon, resides in Keoka, Iowa. Both were technically educated in a medical college in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Mores H. Bailey was about five years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Eaton county, and he well recalls the scenes and incidents of the pioneer days on the embryonic forest farm, where deer, bear, wolves and other beasts of the wilds 11 were much in evidence, as were also the Indians. He was afforded the advantages of such schools as were established in the semiwilderness and later was enabled to amplify this discipline under higher instructions, having gained a thorough and practical knowledge of the profession of surveying and civil engineering so far as the same was brought into requisition in the earlier days. He did much and careful work in connection with the completion of government surveys in this section of the state, and has followed his profession as a vocation during the greater part of his active career, though he has incidentally reclaimed his fine farm, of eighty acres, in Windsor township, where he took up his abode in 1851, a few years prior to his marriage. At the time when he located on the property it was covered with the native timber and settlers were few and far removed from each other. He has erected good buildings on the homestead and the same is one of the valuable farms of the county, its operation being still conducted under his direct supervision, though he has to a large degree retired from active labor. In politics Mr. Bailey has ever been found arrayed as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, in whose local councils he has been a valued factor, while he has ever shown a deep interest in all that has tended to conserve the material, moral and social advancement and prosperity of the county in which he has so long lived and labored. The family are supporters of the Presbyterian church of Dimondale, of which Mrs. Bailey is a member. In 1857 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Towsley, daughter of Orange Towsley, who was one of the first settlers in Windsor township, where he took up his residence August 8, 1837, having had to cut his way through the forest for a distance of thirteen miles in order to reach his land and then having to fell trees in order to make a clearing adequate to accommodate the tent which was his first domicile. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey became the parents of five children, all of whom are living except the first, Millie, who
Page 162 162 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I died at the age of three years. William resides in Dimondale, this county; Bell E. resides in the state of Oregon; L. T. remains at the parental home and has the management of the farm; and Hiram resides in Dimondale. All of the children were born and reared in Eaton county, where the family has been one of prominence from the earliest pioneer days to the present. THOMAS H. BAKER, one of the prominent pioneer farmers of Carmel township, came to Eaton county when a young man and resided on the present homestead for more than half a century, while it was his aim to exhibit those sterling attributes of character which ever beget object, confidence and esteem. The old Buckeye state figured as the birthplace of Mr. Baker, since he was born in Richland county, Ohio, April 15, 1830, being a son of Jacob S. and Violet (Harris) Baker, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Maryland. After their marriage they removed to Ohio, becoming early settlers of Richland county, where Mr. Baker engaged in farming, later removing to Wood county, that state, where both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of twelve children, of whom only two are living. Thomas H. Baker was reared to the invigorating and beneficent life of the farm and received such educational advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the locality and period. He remained in Ohio until he had attained to the age of twenty-tw.o years, when he came to Eaton county, Michigan, and settled on the farm on which he lived until his death. He purchased here forty acres of land, the same being covered with the native timber and entirely without improvements, while no roads had as yet been constructed in this section. He made a clearing in the midst of the forest and put up a little log house and log stable, thus beginning to grapple with the wilderness in true pioneer style. Within the first winter he shot ten deer, and on one occasion he saw twenty deer in one drove. From mod est beginnings he rose to better conditions, aiding in and keeping pace with the march of improvement and eventually developing one of the valuable farms of a section notable for the high character of its agricultural domain, until his homestead comprised one hundred and twenty acres, practically all being under cultivation, while substantial and well equipped buildings bear evidence of thrift and prosperity. Mr. Baker had the distinction of being one of the oldest pioneer citizens of Eaton county. He was taken ill November 10, 1905, and ten days later (November 20) he passed away. His widow, who survives him, still lives on the old homestead. He was a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and he served a number of years as highway commissioner and school director. In the year 1851 Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Julia Ann Lutman, who was born in Pennsylvania and who was a resident of Ohio at the time of their marriage. Following is a brief record concerning their seven children: Henry F., who was born December 15, 1852, resides in the city of Charlotte; Levi Allen born January 8, 1855; he resides in Helena, Sandusky county, Ohio; Wesley A., born March 19, 1857, is a successful farmer of Kalamo township; Francis D., born September 1, 1859, resides in Carmel township; Charles E., born July 20, 1862, was a farmer of Carmel township, but has moved to Thompson, Ohio, where he intends to make his home in future; Rosa Estella, born August 11, 1868, is the wife of Emory J. Ryan, of Carmel township; Adam W., born December 1, 1873, remains on the home farm. All of the children are married. JOSEPH A. BALE is one of the prosperous and progressive farmers of Sunfield township and is a citizen who commands unqualified esteem in the community. He was born in Niagara county, New York, May 15, 1850, being a son of Charles G. and Anna (Shippy) Bale, both natives of the state of New York, and the latter being now deceased. Charles
Page 163 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 163.. G. Bale now lives retired in the village of Vermontville, this county. He served twenty months in the civil war, having enlisted as a private in Company L, Eighth New York Heavy Artillery, in which he was promoted orderly sergeant. In 1865 he sold his farm in New York and came with his family to Eaton county, arriving in Vermontville on Christmas day. He bought eighty acres of land, in Vermontville township, improving the property and there continuing to reside until within the past few years; he removed to Vermontville and is now living retired, enjoying the rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. His wife died on the old homestead. Of their thirteen children three died in infancy, and concerning the others the following data are available: Ella, who became the wife of James McNabb, a farmer of Sunfield township, is now deceased; Eliza is the wife of Washington Barnum, of this township; Joseph A. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Amanda is the wife of Frank Bailey, of Vermontville; Charles W. is a resident of Fenville, Allegan county; George W. and Samuel are residents of South Dakota; Gideon is a farmer of Sunfield township; Mary is the wife of Loren Blanchard, of Gaylord, Otsego county; Homer E. is a farmer of Vermontville township; and Perry 0. resides in Montmorency county. Joseplh A. Bale, the immediate subject of this review, was afforded the advantages of the common schools in his native county in New York and was fifteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Eaton county, Michigan, where he was reared to maturity, and where he has since maintained his iome. He assisted in the clearing and other work of the home farm and remained with his father until ce had attained the age of twenty years, when lie began working by the month, as a farm hand. February 21, 1872, Mr. Bale was united in marriage to Miss Eva Wells, who was born on the farm which is now their home, the date of her nativity having been October 14, 1851. She is a daughter of William A. and Mary (Chatfield) Wells, concerning whom more specific mention is made in the sketch of the career of their eldest son, John, appearing elsewhere in this volume. They were numbered among the first settlers in Sunfield township and Mr. Wells was a citizen of influence and prominence, honored by all who knew him. Mr. and Mrs. Bale have eight children, concerning whom the following data are properly incorporated: Charles W., who was born August 8, 1875, and who was educated in the Michigan State Agricultural College, near Lansing, is now an expert draftsman for a leading shipbuilding concern in the city of Detroit; he married Miss Minnie Day, and they have one child, Verna Mae; Roy H., who was born July 14, 1878, and who is now a successful farmer of Barry county, married Miss Alice Downing, and they have six children, Stanley, Grace, Bertha, Bernard, Letha and Carlton; Grace E., who was born January 15, 1881, is the wife of Henry Carey, of Sebewa, Ionia county, and they have two children, Opal and George J.; Bertha B., who was born December 8, 1883, is the wife of Louis B. Allen, and they remain at the home of her parents; Joseph A., who was born May 8, 1886, is in the employ of a prominent manufacturing concern in the city of Detroit; Leslie, born August 22, 1889; Nellie, born March 23, 1892, and Shirley born September 12, 1893, are the younger members of the home circle. For several years after his marriage Mr. Bale worked the homestead farm for his father-in-law, he and his wife having resided on the place from the time of their marriage and being now owners of the property, into possession of which they came in 1901, having purchased the interests of the other heirs. They also own seventy acres on the opposite side of the road, in Vermontville township, making the total area of their landed estate one hundred and ninety acres. The old homestead is; equipped with a large and attractive residence and other substantial buildings erected by the original owner, and since coming into possession of the property Mr. Bale has built a large horse barn, with the best of equipment. He is a man of progressive ideas and keeps
Page 164 164 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I his place up to the highest standard in all particulars, and both he and his wife enjoy unqualified popularity in the community. He is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, but has never had ambition for public office. REV. FRANCIS BURNETT BANGS.A strong, pure and noble spirit held sway in the mortal tenement of this pioneer clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church in Michigan, and now that he rests from his labors it is manifestly true that his works do follow him, for he lives in the reverent and affectionate memory of all who came within the sphere of his gracious and kindly influence. Mr. Bangs was born in Stanford, Delaware county, New York, March 23, 1819, and the closing years of his long and useful life were passed in Eaton Rapids, where he died May 20, 1891. He was a son of Joseph and Huldah Bangs, who was numbered among the very early settlers of Michigan, where they took up their abode nearly a decade before 'the state was admitted to the Union. In 1828 they made their way from the old Empire state to the wilds of Michigan, settling in the little village of Tecumseh, Lenawee county, in the autumn of that year. It was theirs to know and experience all the tension of pioneer life, but it can well be imagined that they were not lacking in that fortitude, earnest industry and consecration to noble purpose which so significantly denoted the character of their son, the subject of this memoir. They were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and soon after they established their home in Tecumseh a quarterly meeting was held in their little dwelling, the same being attended by all of the Methodists in the county-only seven in all. The devotion which inspired this faithful little band could not but have an influence on the lad of about ten years who was later to go forth as so able and loving a worker in the vineyard of the Divine Master. Mr. Bangs prosecuted his studies in the primitive district school until he had attained to the age of fifteen years, and supplemented this by one term in a select school and two in a branch preparatory institution maintained by the newly established state university. His studious habits and appreciative attitude are indicated when it is stated that he applied himself carefully to the classical languages during his leisure hours at home. His habit of application to study and his marked contemplative and absorptive powers made it possible for him to round out a liberal and symmetrical education. At the age of sixteen years he was converted and even this early in his career felt that he was called upon to preach. He was one who never wavered in his purposes, and thus he lost no opportunity for advancing himself along the lines which would enable him to successfully carry forward what he had decided upon as his consecrated life work. He had an inclination to complete a collegiate course, but was finally convinced that he could accomplish more by taking up ministerial work and incidentally continuing to devote himself to private study of a thorough order. He thus entered upon the active work of the ministry before finishing work in college, and that his decision was a wise one none can doubt when reviewing his life from the perspective of its completion and its beauty. During his entire active career he devoted himself earnestly and with all of self-abnegation to the work of the ministry, ever keeping the faith and preaching the living word of the Master whom he served,, following closely in the steps of the lowly Nazarene. From the pulpit he presented practical truth and exalted ideality, his sermons being characterized by originality, fervor, force and conciseness. His knowledge of the Bible was profound and his interpretation at all times consistent. He was essentially a man of work, and after bearing the "heat and burden of the day" with all of faithfulness he passed to his reward in the fulness of years and well earned honors. In 1840 Mr. Bangs was ordained and became a member of the Michigan conference, being then appointed junior preacher in the Pontiac circuit. Following is a list of the appointments which he held, with
Page 165 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 165 I respective dates: Flint, 1841-2; -Utica, 1843; IMount Clemens, 1844; Tecurnseh, 1845-6; Kalamazoo district, 1847; Niles, 1848; Kalamazoo district, 1849-52; Coldwater, 1853-4; Battle Creek, 1855; Albion, 1856-7; Jackson, 1858-9; Kalamazoo district, 1860-63; Homer, 1864; Ionia district, 1865-8; city of Ionia, 1869-70; Lansing, First M\ethodist Episcopal, 1871-2; Mason, 1873-4; Lansing district, 1875-8; Three Rivers, 1879-80; Homer, 1881; Nashville, 1882; superannuated in 1883, in which year he took up his residence in Eaton Rapids, where he passed the remainder of his life, loved and esteemed by the community. lie was three times a delegate to the general conference of his church and served sixteen years in the office of presiding elder. He was a strong adherent of the Prohibition party from the time of its organization until his death, and was an ardent temperance worker. Hte was the nominee of his party for representative of Eaton county in the state legislature and ran ahead of his ticket, and he was a leader in all reforms tending to the elevation of his fellow men. Though unbending in his convictions he never kept the fire of intolerance burning on the altar of his life, and his dominating motive was to uplift humanity, whose friend he was, having appreciation of the well springs of human thought and action and having an abounding charity for "all sorts and conditions of men." With the history of Methodism in Michigan his name will ever be given a place of prominence and honor. Mr. Bangs was twice married. January 6, 1842, was solemnized his union to Miss Catherine Hall Webb, who died July 5, 1875, and of their five children four are living, namely: Albert Vale, Frank Lorenzo, Mrs. C. B. Fisk, and Frederick Herbert, none of them being resident of Eaton county. February 19, 1876, Mr. Bangs was united in marriage to Mrs. Helen (Swift) Latson, widow of Joel Latson. She was born in Batavia, New York, and is a daughter of Thomas Swift. Her father was a pioneer of Jackson county, Michigan, where he died when his daughter, Mrs. Bangs, was a child. Mrs. Bangs' first I husband, Joel Latson, was born in New York state in 1819, and came to Michigan when he was sixteen years old. He located near Eaton Rapids in 1837, and about a year later removed to Eaton Rapids, where he died September 24, 1873. He was a pioneer of Eaton Rapids. ALBERT M. BARBER, who is now living in the city of Charlotte, is a native of Eaton county, a member of one of its old and honored families, and has personally been a prominent and successful business man, as will be revealed in this brief sketch. He was born in Vermontville, this county, May 14, 1846, and is a son of Edward H. and Laura E. (Root) Barber, both of whom were born in the state of Vermont, the respective families having early been founded in New England. The parents were numbered among the early pioneers of Eaton county, where they took up their residence in 1837, which year marked the admission of the state to the Union. The father secured large tracts of government land, having owned at one time fully two thousand acres, while he reclaimed much land to cultivation, thus aiding in ushering in the era of development and progress. He was of that sturdy type of which the true pioneer must ever be, having the rugged honesty and virile strength which the mountains of his native state seem to beget,-"The mountains still are free; they hurl oppression back; they keep the boon of liberty." Edward H. Barber wielded much influence in the material and civic affairs of the county in the early (lays, and here he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1865. His widow long survived him, being summoned to the life eternal April 26, 1891, at the venerable age of eighty years. He had been previously married, and the children of the first union were four in number and of the second, five. The older children were born in Vermont, where the first wife died, but all those of the second marriage were born after the removal of the family to Eaton county, Michigan. Albert M. Barber was reared to manhood in this
Page 166 166 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I county, in whose schools he secured his educational training. As a youth he was employed for some time as clerk in the general store in Vermontville, where he was made the first station agent of the Michigan Central Railroad after its line had been completed through the town. He was employed as mercantile salesman about four years, after which he was for a time partner in a general store in his native town. Finally he became associated with his brother, Marshall F., in the purchase of a hardware and agricultural implement business in Vermontville. In 1882 he disposed of his interests in this enterprise and removed to Charlotte, where he was identified with the same line of business until the spring of 1904, the firm title having been in turn: Barber, Green & Company, Barber & Merritt, and Barber & Spencer. From the time of attaining his majority Mr. Barber has given an unswerving support to the Republican party, and he has held various local offices of public trust. He was city treasurer of Charlotte for two years, and served one year as mayor, giving a most business-like and satisfactory administration of the municipal government. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Pythias, being held in high regard in both the business and social circles of his home city, where he has very considerable capitalistic interests. Mrs. Barber is a member of the Congregational church. December 24, 1872, Mr. Barber was united in marriage to Miss Ella Harroun, of Barry county, a daughter of Seth Harroun, who came to Michigan from the state of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Barber became the parents of three children, the eldest, Frederick H., having died in early childhood. Bess L., who is a graduate of the University of Michigan, is now the wife of Horace A. Hamilton, of Charlotte. C. Royal, who was graduated in the high school and who was a student in the University of Michigan for two years, is now a traveling salesman for a Detroit business house. EDWARD HINMAN BARBER was one of the honored pioneers of Eaton county, and it is gratifying to be able to perpetuate in this work a sketch of his life prepared by his son, Edward WN., editor of the Jackson Patriot, of Jackson, Michigan, the article having originally been published in a volume entitled: "The Vermontville Colony: Its Genesis and History, with Personal Sketches of the Colonists." For the sake of convenience the article is reproduced without recourse to the customary quotation marks save those appearing in the original text. A "Genealogy of George H. Barbour," of Detroit, 1635 to 1897, prepared by Fred Carlisle, supplemented by other information of a reliable character, shows that Thomas Barber, a pioneer settler of Windsor, Connecticut, was the American ancestor of the Vermontville Barbers. In 1634, an English expedition was fitted out, under the patronage of Sir Richard Salstonstall, to take possession of a grant of land made to him by the Massachusetts Bay Company in the Connecticut valley. Says the Genealogy: "He placed the expedition in charge of Francis Stiles, a master carpenter of London, who, with twenty others, took passage on the ship 'Christian de Lo,' Joseph White, master, March 16, 1634, which reached Boston harbor the 20th of June following. Among the names appearing in the London passenger register was that of 'Thomas Barber, aged 21." June 16, 1635, after nearly a year's delay, caused by trouble with the established church of Massachusetts bay, the Stiles party went up the Connecticut river. and the early records of Windsor show that Thomas Barber was one of the settlers there in 1635. In 1637 he was enrolled as a sergeant under Major Stoughton and took part in several fights with the Pequot Indians. Later, under John Mason, he participated in an attack on the Peqluot fort,-an event known in history as the Pequot massacre,-in which seventy-seven white soldiers and one hundred Nyantic and Naragansett warriors defeated seven hundred Pequots and captured and destroyed their fort, only five or six es
Page 167 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 167 caping. Mason's account of this battle, published in Boston in 1737, refers to the part taken by Thomas Barber as follows: "HIe had entered the fort, and in going out of a wigwam encountered seven Indians. They fled and we pursued to the end of the lane, but before we could reach them they were nict by Thomas Barber and Edward Pattison, who slew the entire seven, their muskets having been discharged." In 1640 Thomas Barber married. His wife's surname does not appear on church records of Windsor. Her given name was Jane or Joan, and there is some evidence that she was the daughter of a Dutch settler at Saybrook. One authority says: "The wife of, or she who became the wife of, Thomas Barber was the first white woman to land in Connecticut." Thomas Barber, a second son of Thomas the immigrant, was born in Windsor, July 14, 1644, and married Mary Phelps. His son, John, born in Windsor, November 1, 1664, married Mary Holcomb, and settled in or near Worcester, Massachusetts. According to the Worcester Antique Society's history, "John Barber was granted ten acres of land near Worcester in 1686." Fourth generation: Mathew Barber, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, deacon of Congregational church there as late as 1784. One account says he was deacon of the church for forty years. Fifth generation: Daniel Barber, born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, married Ruth Hinman; moved to Benson, Vermont, in 1783, his family being the first one to settle in that town. Sixth generation: Edward H. Barber and Daniel Barber, pioneers of Vermontville, Eaton county, Michigan. Edward H. Barber was born in Benson, Vermont, January 4, 1794. He was a man of slender build, fine mental organization, a nervous temperament and was a great reader. His integrity was never questioned. Better than any sermon ever preached was the remark made to me by Michael Monks, an Irishman of Vermontville, one day: "Edward, I hope you will he as honest a man as your father." Before coming to Michigan he was under sheriff of Rutland countv, Ver mont. Business was brisk, as imprisonment for debt was a cruel law of the time, and Benson was a common runway to and across Lake Champlain for hard-pressed debtors. Many a good citizen of Michigan left New England between Saturday night and Monday morning because he could not pay his debts. The debtor's cell was a part of every county jail. The whipping post stood in every village, for the punishment of petty offenders. In Benson it stood in front of the school house. I have a souvenir of that time, in a cedar cane made of a portion of that bygone penal institution. Mr. Barber first came west on a prospecting trip in 1836, and purchased about twelve hundred acres of land from the government, mostly in Vermontville township. Among his ancestors Thomas Barber, the second, built the first saw mill in Simsbury, Connecticut; Daniel Barber, his father, did the same thing in Benson, Vermont; and he put up the first saw mill in Vermontville. In 1840 he was elected supervisor, and held the office for six successive years. Of the colonists Jay Hawkins and he were the only heads of families who did not belong to the Congregational church. They may have had more comfort and peace in life for this reason, as they escaped the possibility of church trials. Neither of them, however, was skeptical regarding the truths of Christianity, but my father could not get religion in the usual way. Thoroughly conscientious and with a high ideal of what genuine religion required!, he was a Christian on the "silent list" all his life. During a revival, when Rev. Mr. Lord was personally urging him to come out and be a Christian, he said, "I wish with all my heart I was one. If I could only swap sides!" He was too honest to profess more than he saw was attained in practical life, and so never could "swap sides" by merely becoming a member of the church. In politics he was a conservative Whig, but when the civil war came and the first gun was fired on Fort Sumter all his conservatism disappeared and he was earnestly in favor of the abolition of slavery and the putting down of the rebellion. He
Page 168 168 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY lived until the struggle ended in the triumph of the cause of national unity and freedom. This was for him a great gratification. In 1826 he married Rebecca Griswold, of Benson, Vermont, whose ancestry has been traced back to the time of the Norman conquest of England. She died in 1838. Four children were born to them, in Benson: Edward W., of Jackson, Michigan; Homer G., of Vermontville, Michigan; John Carlos, of Battle Creek, Michigan; and Noel A., who died in Marshall, Michigan, in 1851. By a second marriage, in 1839, with Laura E. Root, of Orwell, Vermont, there were five children, all born in Vermontville: Parthena E., widow of Willard H. Dickenson, of Vermontville; Albert M., of Charlotte; Josiah W., deceased; Marshall F., of Biwabik, Minnesota; and Vernon N., deceased. Josiah W. was a member of Company H, Sixth Michigan Infantry, in the civil war. He died in hospital and was buried at Carrolton, Louisiana. HOMER G. BARBER.-Who knows aught concerning the village of Vermontville also knows the status of Homer G. Barber as a citizen, business man and public official, for his career has been most intimately lined with the upbuilding of the town, in both a material and civic way, and he is one of its most honored and influential citizens. One of the sterling pioneers of the county, a man of unblemished reputation, and one whose life has counted for good in all its relations, he is eminently entitled to representation in this work. On other pages of the volume will be found a sketch of the life and genealogy of his honored father, Edward H. Barber, one of the original colonists' of Vermontville township. Homer G. Barber was born in Benson, Rutland county, Vermont, November 25, 1830, and he was about seven years of age at the time of his parents' removal from the old Green Mountain state to the wilds of Eaton county. Here he was reared to maturity on the pioneer farm, in whose reclamation and development he rendered his quota of assistance. He completed his early educational training in the old Vermontville Academy, his instructor having been Rev. William U. Benedict, who was pastor of the Congregational church and head of the academy. Mr. Barber remained on the homestead farm until he had attained the age of seventeen years, when he went to Kalamazoo, where he became head clerk in the postoffice of the vile lage, Alexis Ransom being postmaster. Two years later he numbered himself among the historic California argonauts of 1849, being nineteen years of age at the time. He went to the city of New York, where he embarked on the packet ship "Sheridan," and made the voyage around Cape Horn to California, where he engaged in mining for two years, gaining a sufficient quantity of gold to enable him to return home and initiate' what has proven a most successful business career. For more than half a century he has been identified with the business and industrial interests of Eaton county. He engaged in the general merchandise business in Vermontville soon after his return from California, and has continued his association with local commercial affairs during all the intervening years. In 1872 he opened in the village a private bank, and the same is still conducted by him, controlling an excellent business and being one of the substantial financial institutions of the county. William C. Alsover, husband of his adopted daughter, is cashier of the bank. He is associated with his son, Edward D., in the ownership of a well equipped hardware establishment in Vermontville. He is vice president of the Merchants' National Bank, and the Eaton County Savings Bank, of Charlotte, and has other large and varied capitalistic interests. Another has written concerning him in the following words: "Though engaged in active business all his life, Homer G. Barber has not neglected the larger fields of thought and literature, and has one of the best private libraries in his section of the country. In 1870 he was elected state senator from the twentieth district, composed of Eaton and Barry counties. An independent thinker, belonging to no church and tied to
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Page 171 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 171 I no party, he has been and still is the foremost person of the second generation in promoting the welfare of and giving tone and character to the religious life, social conditions and business interests of the village and township. He has served officially in many capacities,town clerk, justice of the peace, member of the township board, school inspector, postmaster, president and trustee of the village, school director and trustee of the Congregational society,-making his, all in all, probably a more active life than that of any other one citizen of the town or county." His excellent judgment, true public spirit and great liberality have placed him in the front rank of the loyal and honored citizens of Eaton county. Mr. Barber is a charter member of the local lodge of the Free & Accepted Masons, is also affiliated with the chapter of the fraternity in Vermontville and the commandery of Knights Templar in the city of Charlotte. In 1853 Mr. Barber was united in marriage to Miss Lucy C. Dwight, who was born in the state of New York, being a daughter of Perry D. and Lucy H. Dwight, and her death occurred May 1, 1893. They became the parents of three children, of whom only one is living, Edward D., who is associated with his father in the hardware business, as already noted. Mr. Barber married Gertrude E. Wood, who was born in Whitehall, New York. They have no children. Mr. Barber's adopted daughter, Louise, became the wife of William C. Alsover, and is now deceased. OSGAR H. BARBER, who is now living retired in the attractive little village of Dimondale, is an honored veteran of the war of the Rebellion and has been a resident of Eaton county since 1869, having here improved two farms, one of which he still owns. Mr. Barber was born in Wood county, Ohio, September 4, 1846, and is a son of Orson H. and Harriet (Higley) Barber, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, where their marriage was solemnized and where they continued to reside until their removal to Ohio, first settling in Wood county, where they remained until 1849, when they removed to Williams county, that state, where they passed the remainder of their lives. The subject of this sketch was reared in Williams county, Ohio, where he grew to maturity on the homestead farm, in the meanwhile availing himself of the advantages of the common schools. He was but sixteen years of age at the inception of the civil war, but was among those loyal lads who tendered their services in defense of the Union in response to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers. In September, 1813, he enlisted as a private in Company E. Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which forthwith proceeded to the front, while its history, during a long and valiant service, is the military record of Mr. Barber, for he continued with his command until victory crowned the Union arms and the war ended. He tool part in many important battles and in innumerable minor engagements, and was ever found at the post of duty. After the close of the war Mr. Barber, who had been mustered out in Louisville, Kentucky, in July, 1865, returned to his home in Ohio, and he continued resident of the Buckeye state until 1869, when he came to Eaton county and purchased forty acres of wild land, in Windsor township. He cleared and improved this farm, of which he eventually disposed, after which he purchased a tract of eighty acres of wild land in section 22, same township, developing this into one of the fine farms of the county. He still owns this homestead, and also his attractive residence property in Dimondale, where he has lived retired since 1899, enjoying the reward of past labors. He has gained independence and prosperity through his own efforts and has ever commanded the confidence and esteem of his fellow men, being a loyal and public-spirited citizen. In politics he is a stanch Republican and he is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1867 Mr. Barber was united in marriage to Miss Tenie Amsbaugh, daughter of Michael Amsbaugh, who continued a resident of Ohio until his death, having been a farmer by vocation. Mr. and Mrs. Barber
Page 172 172 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY _ _ have two children: Cora, who is the wife of C. Ellis Fry, of Dimondale; and William Herman, who remains at the parental home. AARON BARK was one of the honored pioneers of Eaton county, where he made his life count for good in all its relation, commanding the confidence and high regard of his fellow men and being a valued and influential citizen of his community. He died on his fine homestead farm, in section 25, Sunfield township, October 13, 1903, and his widow still remains on the farm, the same being endeared to her through the associations and memories of the past. Mr. Bark was born in North Royalton township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, May 15, 1828, being a son of Francis and Lucina (Granger) Bark, both natives of New York state, where the former was born November 19, 1779, and the latter March 12, 1804. Both died in Ohio,the father at the age of eighty and the mother at the age of eighty-seven years. Francis Bark was sixteen years of age at the time of his parents' removal from New York to Ohio, and he walked the entire distance, while the other members of the family rode in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. He became a pioneer farmer of Cuyahoga county, and also worked at the shoemaker's trade. Cleveland was a small village at the time of the arrival of the Bark family in the county, and at one time he knew every man in the town. A few years before his death he left the farm, passing the closing years of his life in Cleveland. Of the nine children of Francis Bark eight attained maturity and four are still living. Thomas died in the state of Ohio and his only child, Burton, died in Cuba, having been in service as a soldier in the late Spanish-American war; Granger resides in Cleveland, Ohio; Aaron, subject of this memoir, was the next in order of birth; Almira became the wife of Kelly Bosworth, an early settler of Chester township, this county, where she died; Maria is the wife of Charles Robinson, of Cleveland, Ohio; Nancy Ann is a resident of the same city, being'the widow of Edmond Towsley; Eliza is the wife of William Edgetant, of Cleveland; Charles died many years ago; and the ninth child died in infancy. Aaron Bark was reared to the invigorating discipline of the farm, and received a common school education. He continued to reside in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, about two years after his marriage and then, in 1853, came with his family to Eaton county, Michigan, making the trip from Cleveland to Detroit by boat, and from the latter city proceeding by the Michigan Central Railroad to Jackson, and thence by stage to Charlotte, the stage having been driven by Elisha Shepherd, who still resides in Charlotte. From Charlotte he and his family drove through to the land which he had secured, in Roxand township. In crossing the Thornapple river the water ran into the box of the wagon, and finally the wagon broke down, compelling them to leave their goods in the forest. Mr. 'Bark and his brother-in-law swam across the Little Thornapple river and then constructed a raft from hog troughs, utilizing this primitive arrangement to transport Mrs. Bark across the stream, the parents of Mrs. Bark having come to the county at the same time. Mr. Bark purchased ninety acres of heavily timbered land, in Roxand township, erecting a log house and stable on the place and eventually reclaiming the greater portion of the land. He later sold the property and purchased the homestead of one hundred and sixty acres where his widow now resides. This land was still covered with the native timber and no improvements had been made. He erected a "side-hill shanty," which continued to be the family home until he completed the erection of the present commodious frane residence, in which he continued to live until he was summoned from the scene of this mortal life. He made the best of improvements on this farm, clearing the land and developing one of the valuable places of this part of the county. He endured the vicissitudes common to the pioneer epoch, but won a success worthy the name, while his faithful and cherished wife ever stood by his side, aiding and encouraging him. The home
Page 173 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 173 life was ideal in its nature, and to Mrs. Bark there comes a measure of consolation and recompense in the gracious memories of the long years of her happy wedded life. In political matters Mr. Bark was found a stanch supporter'of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and he was called upon to serve in, various offices of local trust, having served thirty-one years as justice of the peace and having been highway commissioner several years. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Grange. The village of Shaytown is located on a portion of his farm, nine acres of the property having been sold by him for the platting of the village. He and his wife celebrated their golden wedding in 1901, and the occasion was made a most delightful social event. Mr. Bark was married February 2, 1851, the lady of his choice having been Miss Julia L. Bosworth, who was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, December 14, 1831, being a daughter of Luther and Lucy (Sprague) Bosworth, father having likewise beena pioneer of Eaton county, where he resided until his death. Mrs. Bark is a half-sister of Kelly Bosworth, of Charlotte, concerning whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Bark became the parents of seven children, all save two of whom died in infancy. Diana is the wife of J. F. Ives, a successful farmer of Sunfield township; and Libbie is the wife of Albert McWhorter, who likewise is a farmer of Roxand township. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Bark has rented her farm, though she still resides in the old homestead. Her circle of friends is wide and she is one of the noble pioneer women of the county. THEODORE C. BARNES is properly accorded recognition in this volume, by reason of his standing as a representative farmer of Kalamo township and as a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Eaton county, which has been his home from the time of his nativity. He was born in Delta town ship, October 28, 1846, and is a son of Lansing and Maria (Fuller) Barnes, the former of whom was born in Blenhaim township, Schoharie county, New York, August 19, 1806, and the latter in Floyd township, Oneida county, that state, April 12, 1808. Both passed the closing years of their lives in the home of the subject of this review, where the father died January 29, 1881, and the mother August 10, 1883. They were married in the state of New York, whence they came to Eaton county, Michigan, in 1844, settling in Delta township. The father was employed at day labor until 1847, when he bought eighty acres of wild land in Kent county, where he took up his residence, eventually reclaiming about forty acres. At the expiration of eleven years he sold the property and started for the west, but after proceeding into Illinois he became discouraged and turned back, passing eight months on a farm which he rented in Branch county and then coming to Eaton county, his sons here taking up eighty acres of land in section 5, Kalamo township, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was a Republican in politics, having joined the ranks of this party at the time of its organization, and both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. The subject of this sketch provided for his parents during their declining years and both died in the old log house which stood on the site of his present attractive residence. This worthy couple became the parents of nine children, and concerning them brief record is here entered: James F., who was born in Floyd township, Oneida county, New York, went to Wisconsin and was there three years before the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, when he entered a volunteer regiment for a three months' term, later re-enlisting as a member of Company E, Twenty-fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he became first sergeant. He died at Nashville, Tennessee, March 24, 1864, from the effects of a wound received in the battle of Missionary Ridge. Albert R., born in the same township, May 27, 1831, died in Kalamo township, Eaton county, July 29, 1892. He
Page 174 174 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY married Levina Matteson, who survives him, as do also two of their four. sons. John L., born in Floyd township, Oneida county, New York, February 13, 1833, died at Manton, Wexford county, Michigan, March 2, 1887. He married Alida Brundage and of their eight children two are deceased. Sarah, born in the same place in New York, February 17, 1835, first married Solomon Swan, who is survived by one son and one daughter. After his death she became the wife of Robert Means, and they reside in Kalamo township, having two children. Mr. Means was a member of the First Michigan Engineers & Mechanics in the civil war. Porter, born in Canastota, Madison county, New York, October 22, 1836, died in Barry county, Michigan, February 2, 1905. He married Louise Everett, who survives him, as do three of their four children. Newell, born in Smithfield, Madison county, New York, January 19, 1838, is a prosperous farmer of Vermontville township, his farm lying across the road from that of the subject of this review. He married Emma Cooley and four of their five children are living He served three years in the civil war as a member of the Sixth Michigan Heavy Artillery. Lot F., born in Georgetown, Madison county, New York, August 31, 1841, (lied in Kalamo township, Eaton county, Michigan, March 14, 1863, from the effects of disease contracted while serving as a soldier in Company E., Sixth Michigan Heavy Artillery, of which company his brother, Newell, also was a member. Theodore C., whose name initiates this article, was the next in order of birth. Malentha, born in Lowell, Kent county, Michigan, May 6, 1818, is the wife of Levi Evans, of Bellevue township, Eaton county, who was sergeant of his company in the First Michigan Mechanics & Engineers in the war of the Rebellion. Theodore C. Barnes was educated in the district schools and at the age of eighteen years he gave evidence of his intrinsic loyalty to his country by enlisting, August 31, 1864, as a member of Company E, First Michigan Volunteer Light Artillery, being mustered in the same day and joining his command at Nashville, Tennessee. He continued in service until the close of the war, having been mustered out, in the city of Jackson, Michigan, July 31, 1865, and having duly received his honorable discharge. He retains an interest in his old comrades and shows the same by his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. A portion of the money which he had saved from his pay while a soldier he applied toward the purchase price of the eighty-acre farm which he and his brothers had previously bought, as already mentioned in this article. When the property was divided he took forty acres of the original tract and twenty acres of another eighty acres which they had purchased, in the same section. He then went to work for his brother, Porter, agreeing to work two years while the latter was to assist him in the erection of a house on his own farm. In the meanwhile, in 1867, Mr. Barries purchased the forty acres, in section 5, Kalamo township, on which he now resides, and he secured a yoke of oxen by cut'ting twenty acres of timber. His brother released him from his promise to remain in his employ two years, and the brother was accordingly released from his agreement to assist in the erection of a house, as noted. After purchasing the last mentioned forty acres, on which a log house had been erected, Mr. Barnes sold twenty acres to his brother Porter and bought forty acres adjoining on the east, so that his present landed estate comprises one hundred and twenty acres, practically the entire place being now under cultivation and the improvements being of excellent type. In 1887 Mr. Barnes erected his present commodious frame residence, on the site of the original log house, and he has also built a fine barn and other farm buildings. He takes a loyal interest in public affairs of local order and is a stanch Republican, though never an aspirant for office. He and his wife are members of the Evangelical church. June 17, 1872, Mr. Barnes married Miss Eliza Everett, who was born in Castleton township, Barry county, Michigan, April 3, 1857. She is a daughter of Levi and Eliza (Brooks) Everett, both na
Page 175 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 175 tives of the state of New York, where the former was born December 27, 1818, and the latter July 1, 1821. The father died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Barnes, May 3, 1894, his first wife dying in Barry county, Michigan, in 1863. He later married Mary Kocher, who died in 1887, two of the children of this union having died in infancy, and Levi being a prosperous farmer of Eaton county. The parents of Mrs. Barnes were married in 1840, in Tompkins county, New York, and in 1843 they came to Michigan, locating in Berrien county, where they remained until 1850, when they removed to Barry county, where Mr. Everett became one of the first settlers 'in Castleton township, reclaiming a farm of forty acres. He later resided for a number of years in Nashville, that county. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he was a Republican in politics. Following is a record concerning the children of Levi and Eliza (Brooks) Everett: Sarah, born March 31, 1840. died November 19, 1893, having been the wife of Solomon Feighner; Merritt, born November 19, 1841, is a farmer of MIaple Grove township, Barry county; Louisa, born May 14, 18S44, was the wife of Porter Barnes, brother of the subject of this sketch, and she died January 2, 1904; Warren, born October 27, 1846, is a resident of Castleton township, Barry countyl; Albert, born September 17, 1849, is a farmer of Vermontville township, Eaton county; Eliza, Mrs. Theodore C. Barnes, is the youngest of the children. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have four children: Ernest, born December 15, 1874, is associated in the management and operation of the homestead farm of his father. He married Miss Flora Wells, and they have one child, Leah, born April 2, 1897. Minnie, born December 17, i876, is the wife of Andrew Dolback, of Vermontville township, and they have a daughter, Fern, born September 13, 1895. Nettie, born July 1, 1879, is the wife of Isaac Johnson, of Kalamo township; they have one child, Freda, born December 5, 1905. Arza, born September 22, 1882, remains at the parental home. RANSOM MILO BASCOM, the popular president of the thriving little village of Sunfield, was born in Washington county, Iowa, August 7, 1868, and is a son of Elliott Milo Bascorn, who was born in Bergen, Genesee county, New York, October 11, 1825. In the old Empire state was solemnized the marriage of Elliott M. Bascom to Miss Mary Jennison, who was born at Hardys, Wyoming county, that state. and who died in Washington county, Iowa, in 1875, aged about thirty years. Soon after their marriage they removed to Iowa and located in the county mentioned, being pioneers of the state. The father purchased a farm of forty acres, but the year after the death of his wife he sold the property and came to Eaton county, Michigan, buying thirty acres of land in Sunfield township, the property being improved at the time. He resided on this place until about 1895, when his second wife died, and thereafter he resided with his son, Ransom, subject of this sketch, until 1!901, when he went to the soldiers' home in the city of Washington. D. C., where he passes the winters, while during the summers he resides in the Michigan soldiers' home, in Grand Rapids, finding much satisfaction through this association. He served five years in the regular army, having been a member of Company F, Second United States Infantry, and was a valiant soldier in the Mexican war. The following article, which appeared in the Detroit Free Press of M\ay 15, 1905, is self-explanatory and is well worthy of reproduction in this connection: "Aged hero of Mexican war is still alive; Elliott M. Bascom, commended for bravery at Chapultepec, is in his eightieth year." The foregoing constituted the heading of a communication which was sent to the paper from Galesburg, Michigan, and the text of the article was as follows: "A man with a history is Elliott M. Bascom, who is now a visitor here. Mr: Bascom is nQw a trifle more than eighty years of age, and the events of the Mexican war, that seem to the present generation like ancient history, are to him very vivid memories. As a soldier in Company F of the Second United
Page 176 176 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY States Infantry, he served throughout the struggle, and at the battle of Chapultepec he so distinguished himself as to receive a certificate of merit signed by James K. Polk, then president, and countersigned by William L. Marcy, secretary of state. The battle occurred September 12, 1847, and the following is a verbatim copy of the certificate: 'Army of the United States; Certificate of Merit. Know all whom it may concern that Private Elliott M. Bascom, of Company F of the Second Regiment of Infantry, having distinguished himself in the battle of Chapultepec, on the 13th day of September, 1847, on the recommendation of Captain Morris, commanding the regiment. I do hereby award to the said Private Elliott M. Bascom this certificate of merit, which, under the provision of the seventeenth section of the act approved March 3, 1847, entitles him to extra pay at the rate of two dollars per month. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 3d day of May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.' Signed, James K. Polk, president of the United States; William L. Marcy, secretary of state. Notwithstanding his four score years, Mr. Bascom is still comparatively vigorous and can discount many veterans of the late civil war in physical strength. His present home is at Sunfield, Michigan." Samuel Bascom, great-grandfather of this honored veteran, was a lieutenant in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution, in which also served two of his sons, Samuel Jr., and Thomas. Elliott M. Bascom is a son of Milo, who was a son of Joel Bascom. Elliott M. Bascom is a Republican in politics and is a member of the United Brethren church, his first wife having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They became the parents of four children, of whom the immediate subject of this review was the first born. Etta died in infancy; Charles Francis met his death by drowning, in 1886, being fifteen years of age at the time; Fannie is the wife of Frank Deland, of Sunfield, and they have five children. Ransom M. Bascom was educated in the district schools of Eaton county, beginning his independent career when but twelve years of age, and continuing to attend school during the winter terms, while by personal application and naturally alert mentality, he has effectively supplemented the somewhat limited education which he gained as a youth, being a man of mature judgment and marked intelligence. At the age of eighteen years he went to California, where he remained three years, working on a ranch. After returning to Eaton county he engaged in the meat-market business in Sunfield, soon disposing of the business and then establishing a general store, in partnership with Alba Murphy, the latter later disposing of his interest to Henry Teall. Still later, Mr. Bascom purchased his partner's interest, finally selling out and engaging in the meat-market business with F. M. Nichols, in 1898. This association continued until 1901, after which several changes in partnership occurred, Mr. Bascom finally securing entire control and thus continuing the enterprise one year, while since February 1, 1905, he and Frank Lemon have been associated as copartners, under the firm name of R. M. Bascom & Co. They have erected a two-story building of Portland cement blocks, the structure being twenty-two by fifty feet in dimensions, and here they have a model market,one which would be creditable in a much larger town. The firm does a large business in the buying of stock for shipment,-principally to the city of Buffalo. Mr. Bascom has an attractive residence in the village, and also owns twelve acres of land on which the slaughter house of his firm is located. Mr. Bascom is unwavering in his allegiance to the Republican party, and he had the distinction of being the first village clerk of Sunfield, serving two years, while for a similar period he held the position of village treasurer, and in the spring of 1905 he was further honored in being elected president of Sunfield. He has served two terms as township clerk, and he was formerly incumbent of the office of justice of the peace. He is affiliated with the local organizations of the Independent Order
Page 177 RANSOM MILO BASCOM CHAS. MILO BASCOM ELLIOTT MILO BASCOM Born August 7, 1868 Born May 17, 1902 Born October 11, 1825
Page 179 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 179 -- of Odd Fellows, Knights of the Maccabees and the Grange. July 31, 1895, Mr. Bascom was united in marriage to Miss Sadie Richardson, who was born in Ionia county, this state, in November, 1866, being a daughter of William Richardson, who was formerly engaged in the blacksmith business in Sunfield, but who is now a farmer in Ionia county. Of the seven children all are living except one, who died in infancy, this representing the only death in the immediate family. Mr. and Mrs. Bascom have a fine little son, Charles Milo, born May 17, 1902. WILLIAM J. BATEMAN is one of the alert and progressive business men and representative citizens of Dimondale, where he conducts a well equipped general store. He is of the third generation of his family in Eaton county, where his paternal grandfather settled prior to the admission of the state to the Union. Mr. Bateman was born on the homestead farm, in Hamlin township, this county, October 3, 1872, and is a son of Norman P. and Orpha (Smith)- Bateman, both of whom were born in Hamlin township, this county. The former is a son of Daniel Bateman, who came from the state of New York to Eaton county in 1836, taking up one hun(Ired and sixty acres of government land in the midst of the virgin forest. He was a millwright by trade and followed this vocation prior to coming to Michigan. HIe reclaimed onle hundred and twenty acres of his land to cultivation, selling the remaining forty acres. I-e held the homestead in his possession for many years and continued his residence in Eaton county until his death, which occurred in 1882, his wife having passed away in 1856. They were numbered among the sterling pioneers of the county and he was prominent and influential in local affairs of a public nature. Norman P. Bateman was the eldest son, and his educational training was received in the school at Spicerville, Hamlin township, and one of his teachers was J. C. Sherman, long known as one of the representative citizens of Charlotte. Mr. Bateman assisted in the work of the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, when he turned from the plowshare to the sword, going forth in defense of the Union. In December, 1863, he enlisted in Company H, Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in active service twenty-one months, or until the close of the war, having taken part in a number of the historic battles of the great conflict between the states and having been mustered out in the city of Jackson, Michigan, duly receiving his honorable discharge. After the close of his faithful and valiant military career the youthful veteran returned to his home, in Eaton county, and he was identified with agricultural pursuits in Hamlin township until 1868, when he removed to Windsor township and took up his residence on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, two miles distant from Dimondale. He made excellent improvements on the place, which is one of the valuable farms of the county and which he still owns, though he has lived retired in the village of Dimondale since 1902. His wife is a daughter of William Smith, one of the venerable pioneers of Hamlin township, where he still resides on the farm which has been his home for half a century. Norman P. Bateman is a stanch Republican, and he served two years as treasurer of Windsor township and two years as township surpervisor. He is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are supporters of the Methodist Protestant church of Dimondale. William J. Bateman, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the home farm and secured his educational discipline in the public schools. After leaving school, he accepted a position as clerk in a store. In 189(0 he took up his residence in Dimondale, where he served two years as deputy postmaster, after which he was in the employ of the Lake Shore & Alichigan Southern Railroad Company at this place for a period of four years. He then opened a general store in the village, and has built up a most flourishing business, his fair dealings and personal popularity having gained
Page 180 180 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY to him a representative patronage, while he keeps an excellent stock in each department of his store. He owns the building in which his store is established and also an attractive residence in the village. In politics Mr. Bateman is unswerving in his support of the principles of the Republican party, and he served two terms as township treasurer and one year as township clerk. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Mystic Workers. At the time of the Spanish-American war he was recruiting officer in Company L, Thirty-third Michigan Volunteer Infantry, drawing its members from the Sons of Veterans, of which order he is an appreciative member. February 22, 1893, Mr. Bateman was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Bell, daughter of James and Lucia (Gates) Bell, well known citizens of Dimondale and honored pioneers of the county. Mrs. Bateman is a member of the local Presbyterian church and is prominent in the religious and social affairs of the community. HARRISON BEARD is one of the progressive and public-spirited citizens of the city of Charlotte, where he is successfully established in the dairy, fruit and farming business. He was born in I4uron county, Ohio, June 12, 1836, and is a son of Elijah and Lucy (Horn) Beard. His father was born in the dominion of Canada, in 1788, and died in Steuben county, Indiana, in 1872; his wife was born in Canada, in 17'9, and passed the closing years of her life in Steuben county, Indiana, where she died in 1879. Her greatgrandmother was Elizabeth Chamberlain, and she had thirteen children. This worthy couple became the parents of thirteen children, one of whom died in infancy; Franklin died in 1902; Charles died a number of years ago; Jane became the wife of Ananiah Gifford and is now deceased; Phoebe became the wife, first, of Joseph Probasco, second of John Breckenridge, and third of Samuel Langley, and is now deceased; Elijah is deceased; He man is deceased; Newman resides in Steuben county, Indiana; Harrison, subject of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Mary, deceased, was the wife of Humphry Foster; Henry is deceased; Harriet resides in Angola, Ind., and Albert also is a resident of Steuben county, Ind. The parents were married in Canada, where they maintained their home until 1831, when they removed to Ohio and located in Ripley township, Huron county, where they remained a short time. The father then purchased eighty acres of wild land in Sherman township, that county, erecting a log house on the place and clearing a portion of the land, which he later gave to his sons, who reclaimed the remainder. The subject of this sketch well recalls this pioneer farm, and on one occasion saw dogs chase a deer through the barnyard of the place. In 1848 Elijah Beard removed to Steuben county, Indiana, where he traded two teams of horses for eighty acres of timbered land, improving the property and continuing resident of that county until his death. He was originally an old-line Whig in politics, but united with the Republican party at the time of its organization and ever afterward gave his support to the same. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church. Two of their sons, Henry and Newman, were valiant soldiers of the Union in the war of the Rebellion. Harrison Beard passed his boyhood days in his native county, having been about twelve years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Indiana, where he was reared to maturity, having received such educational advantages as were afforded in the pioneer schools of Ohio and Indiana. At the age of eighteen years he began working by the month, as a farm hand, and later learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed as a vocation for some time, at the expiration of which he resumed his association with agricultural pursuits. In 1863 he came to Michigan and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land in Muskegon township, Muskegon county. He was accompanied by his wife and two children, and they made the journey of one hun
Page 181 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 181 dred and sixty miles, from Branch county, Mich. (on the Indiana state line) with an ox team, taking their stock with them. He made a clearing on the place and erected a log house fourteen feet square, and a log barn, while later he replaced these by more pretentious frame structures. The first year he prepared the land and set out one thousand peach trees, and about an acre of grapes. The first year of bearing he harvested from this orchard $300 worth of peaches and $100 worth of grapes. The country was at that time very wild, ant' the deer so numerous that Mrs. Beard, in her husband's absence, had frequently to drire them away from the growing wheat, and, Mr. Beard often killed them in his own yard. This was their second experience in pioneering, as they had already realized the hardship of life in a new country in Indiana. He reclaimed one hundred and twenty-five acres of the farm, to which he added by subsequent purchases until he had two hundred and forty acres, devoting his attention to general farming and to the raising of peaches and grapes. In 1876 he sold a portion of his land and traded another part for property in the city of Charlotte, near the site of the present court house. He took up his residence in Charlotte at this time, and later traded the property for one hundred acres of land in Benton township, one-half of which he reclaimed from the wild state. In 1882 Mr. Beard traded the remainder of his property in Muskegon county for a house and lot in Charlotte, and the latter he later exchanged for twenty-seven vacant lots, his present residence being situated on a portion of this property. He exchanged his farm in Benton township for property in the village of Lake Odessa, Ionia county, and this last mentioned property he later sold. In the summer of 1887 he erected his present residence, in which he took up his abode in November of that year. On his land lie set out fruit trees and also prepared for tile raising of various kinds of small fruits, thereafter devoting his attention principally to the raising of fruit until 1899, when he engaged in the dairy business, in which he still 12 continues, having a large and representative patronage, while he also continues to raise fruit on a minor scale. At the time of their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Beard were worth just $80; but their property is now worth between $4,000 and $5,000. This marriage was solemnized on the 7th of November, 1859. Mrs. Beard was Miss Francina Stratton, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, December 5, 1841. Her father, Francis Stratton, was born May 23, 1816, and died February 5, 1880; her mother, whose maiden name was Susannah Cowles, was born in Onondaga county, New York, February 26, 1826, and her death occurred July 25, 1878. In 1852 Mr. Stratton removed from Ohio to Indiana, where he purchased and partially improved a farm of-eighty acres. Later he sold this and bought sixty acres, which later he sold and purchased another sixty acres. He sold this property, and soon after the close of the civil war removed to Muskegon county, Michigan, where he purchased eighty acres of wild land, the greater portion of which he reclaimed to cultivation. In 1877 he sold the farm and removed to Barry county, where he purchased ninety acres of land, in Rutland township, improving the property and there continuing to make his home for a number of years. His wife died in that county, and he passed the closing years of his life with his eldest daughter, Mrs. Beard, wife of the subject of this review, in Charlotte. The other two children are Alice, who is the wife of Frank Johnston, a farmer of Rutland township, Barry county; and Elnora, who is the wife of William Myers, residing in the state of California. Mr. and Mrs. Stratton were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he was a Republican in his political allegiance. To Mr. and Mrs. Beard have been born five children. Elsie was born March 24, 1860, and is now the wife of Peter Ochambaugh, of Vanburen county, Michigan; of their five children Alma and Blanche are deceased, and those surviving are Ralph, born in 1890; Joseph, born in 1892; and Evangeline, born in 1897. Ellsworth Beard was born April 18, 1863, And
Page 182 182 1PAST AtND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY died August 18, 1865. Frank was born November 10, 18()7, and is engaged in the drug business in Charlotte, being a member of the firm of Beard & Vickery. He married Miss Alma Shaw, and they have one child, Hazel, born February 8, 1895. Effie, the fourth child, was born May 16, 1871, and die(l at the age of three months. Frederick H. was born June 8, 1872, is engaged in the merchandise business in Angola, Indiana, where he con(lucts the "Racket" store, in the ownership of which he is associated with his brother Frank. He marriedl Miss Belle Sowers, and they have one child, Carroll, born May 2, 1898. The subject of this review gives an unwavering support to the Republican party, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. JOHN CALVIN BEEKMAN is one of the representative citizens and progressive men of Charlotte. He was born in Chester township, this county, August 21, 1844, and is a son of Martin and Mary Van Lieu (M\inor) Beekman, both of whomi were born in the state of New Jersey, the former on November 30, 1806, and the latter on May 2, 1804. Both families were founded in America in the early colonial era, and the Bcekman family being of stanch Holland Dutch extraction, the name having been one of much prominence in the history of New Jersey. The father died in Chester township, January 13, 1881, on the old homestead farm which he secured from the government in 1837, and his widow continued to remain on the home place, endeared to her by the associations of the past, until her death, April 29, 1893, only three days prior to her ninetieth birthday. They were married in the state of New York, April 25, 1840. Martin Beekman was reared to manhood in his native commonwealth, where he was identified with agricultural pursuits until 1837, when he came with his father, Henry Beekman, to Marshall, Michigan, and a few days later they came to Eaton county, and he purchased one hundred and forty-seven acres of land in the midst of the forest, in section 6, Chester township. Henry Beekman die(l in this township June 6, 1850, at the age of eighty-five years; he was born in Newv Jersey. MAartin Beekman selected the old homestead by reason of the fact that the main road between Jackson and Grand Rapids had been surveyed past the place. though the thorolughfare had not yet been opened through the forest. He built a log house on the back part of the farm, about one hundred and fortv rods from the road, selecting this site because the ground was higher. On this farm Henry Beekman lived with his son until his death. They kept "bachelor's hall" nearly a year, and were then joined by a maiden daughter of Henry Beekman, Miss Ann Beekmlan, who presided over the domestic economies of the household about two years, after which Martin Beekman returned to New York and married, bringing his bride to the new home in the wilds of Eaton county. Wild game of all kinds was plentiful and largely supplied the larders of the pioneers. The subject of this sketch has in his possession a muzzle-loading shot gun which was found by his paternal grandfather in a mill pond in the state of New Jersey, having been in use during the war of the Revolution, while the same was used for hunting in the early days in Michigan, and thus continued to be brought into requisition until a few years ago. There were but few families living in the township at the time of the settling of the Beekmans, and for a time Marshall was the nearest milling point. MIartin Beekman built the first frame house in his section of the township, and he developed his original farm. He later purchased eighty acres in Roxand township, eighty in Ionia county and another eighty in Chester township, and he had divided all of the property among his children prior to his death. He and his wife were numbered among the original members of the Presbyterian church of Roxand and Sunfield, Martin Beekman having united with the church in 1832. After his death one of the pastor's of his church spoke of him as follows: "To the pioneer Christian his house was a Bethel. To my certain knowledge the sacrifice of prayer and praise was
Page 183 P.1ST A.ND PRESENT continually offered on his family altar, never i)an(lering the plerformance of this duty to meet or accommodate worldly contingencies. As far as we may be permitted to judge, Mr. Beekman was a Christian in a high sense of moral principle. Those who knew him the lolgest an(! most intimately will bear me out in saving, that his faults were comparatively few, witlh 1o direct ten(lency to, injure any fellow creature. During a personal acquaintaice of over forty rears, I have yet to learn of the first instance of his ever trying to injure aiinyone, in cither word or (leed." Miartin Beekman did, indeed, hold a inigh place in the esteell and confidence of tie comllunity, and he served many years in various local offices, especially that of justice of the peace, also having been township clerk and treasurer. He was originally a Whig and later a Republican in politics. Of his four children, the eldest, HIenry M., died at the age of four years; WAilliam M. is individually mentioned elsewhere in these pages; John C., of this sketch, was the third; and Benjamin F., who died January 21, 1905, married Alice Griffin, who survives him, as do also their two daughters, lIrs. Bertha Nagle and Mlrs. Ida Bosworth. John C. Beekman was afforded the advantages of the district school of his section of Chester township, and supplemented this by attending Charlotte Academy one term. He continued associated with the work of the home farm until he had attained his legal majority, when his father gave him eighty acres of the old place, in Chester township, the land being nearly all under cultivation at the time. He built a frame house and a granary and continued to give his attention to the cultivation and improvement of the homestead. In 1876 he purchased two acres of land across the road, in section 31, Roxand township, and moved his house on to this land, where he continued to reside until 1884, when he sold the property and purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in section 28, Oneida township, his wife having been born on this place, where her father took up his residence in 1842, her birth occurring May 10, OF EI4TON COUNTY' 183 1850. This land he has recently sold. December 31, 1867, Mr. Beekman was united in marriage to Miss Catherine McMullen, daughter of Edward and Margaret (Barrett) McMullen, both native of Ireland, where the former was born in 1809, his death occurring on the farm then owned and occupied by AAIr. Beekman, March 20, 1876; his wife died on the same homestead April 20, 1891, at the age of seventy-three years. Tliey were married in Niagara county, New York, Mr. McMullen having come to America in 1830 and his wife having come here with her parents about two years later. Mr. IMc[nullen becaime the owner of a farm in Niagara county, New York, where he remlained until 1842, when he traded the same for the homestead where he died. In making the exchange the stipulation had been nade that a log house should be erected on the place and five acres of land cleared, but when the family arrived in Oneida township, November 6, 1842, they found that no improvements had been made. They accordingly took up their residence in a log school house, not then in use, where they lived until the following April, by which time AIr. McMullen had completed his log house, just west of the substantial brick residence, which he erected in later years. He and his family encountered the vicissitudes and contingencies common to the pioneer days, and he succeeded in accumulating a competency through his well directed endeavors, having added two hundred and eighty acres to his original landed estate and having divided this among his children prior to his death. The parents resided continuously on the farm, save for two years passed in Lansing, where they owned a home, until they were called to the life eternal, both having been communicants of the Catholic church, while in politics Mr. McMullen was a stanch Democrat. Of the ten children Mrs. Beekman was the seventh: Michael is a resident of Sheridan, Montcalm county; John died in Oneida township, January 20, 1884; William is a resident of Ionia; Matthias died at the age of five years; Bernard is a resident of Buffalo, New York:
Page 184 184 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY... Mary A. died in infancy; Mrs. Beekman was next in order of birth; Joseph is a resident of Carson City, Montcalm county; Ellen is the wife of Ceyland Earl, of Oneida township; and Cornelius died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Beekman have one son, Edward B., who was born in Roxand township, March 17, 1878, and who resides in Lansing, Mich. He is a master Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias, is a Republican in politics and was the first rural mail carrier in Eaton county, having held this position three years. In 1903 he served as census enumerator of Oneida township. lie is one of the popular young men of this part of the county, and was educated in the district schools, the Charlotte high school and the Battle Creek Business College. The subject of this review has been identified with the blue lodge of the Masonic fraternity for the past forty years and in politics he is a stanch Republican. He served as highway commissioner of Chester township and has been nominated for various other township offices, but has been unable to overcome the Democratic majorities, though at one time, when candidate for supervisor, he cut the normal majority from one hundred to but two votes, indicating his personal popularity. He. is a progressive man and has a most attractive home in the city of Charlotte. W. M. BEEKMAN, who is the popular and efficient postmaster at Charlotte, has been prominent in the political and general public affairs of the county, having held numerous offices of trust and having ever stood for loyal and valuable citizenship. He is a native of Eaton county and a member of one of its well known pioneer families, while it was also his portion to represent the county as a valiant soldier in the Union ranks during the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Beekman was born on the homestead farm, in Chester township, this county, January 2, 1843, being a son of Martin and Mary V. (Minor) Beekman, both of whom were born in New Jersey, while their marriage was solemnized in Seneca county, New York, to which locality the maternal grandparents removed when Mrs. Beekman was a child of seven years, her husband having been twenty-five years of age at the time of taking up his residence there, and having continued to make his home in Seneca county about five years. In the meanwhile, as early as the autumn of 1837, Martin Beekman had come to Michigan and taken up a tract of government land in Chester township, Eaton county, where he remained until 1840, when he returned to Seneca county, New York, his marriage being there celebrated on the 25th of April of that year. He then came with his bride to Michigan and settled on their embryonic farm, on which he had erected a log house and made other slight improvements. He reclaimed a good farm from the virgin forest and was one of the sterling pioneer citizens and influential men of the county, both he and his wife here continuing to reside until their death. W. MI. Beekman, the immediate subject of this review, was reared to the strenuous discipline of the pioneer farm, and in such connection has contributed his full quota to the development of the agricultural resources of his native county, since he has individually been concerned in the reclaiming of more than two hundred acres of land, having been an adept in wielding the ax and in the various other labors which fell to the lot of those who thus ushered in the advancing column of development and progress. He was afforded the advantages of the district schools, which he attended principally during the winter terms, and he remained engaged in farm work until shortly before the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, when he entered upon an apprenticeship at the carpenter trade, serving about three months, under the direction of Sackett Nohle. With the inception of the war he heeded the call of higher duty, tendering his services in defense of the integrity of the Union. In August of 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company B, Second Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, with which he continued on active duty until the close of the war, having taken part in many important engagements and having made a record which stands cred
Page 185 WM. M. BEEKAIAN
Page 186 I 11 I
Page 187 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 187 itable alike to him and to the county and state from which he went forth. He received his honorable discharge August 17, 1865, at Macon, Georgia. Though never wounded while in the service, Mr. Beekman had a number of narrow escapes, having had had two horses shot from under him while in action, while on another occasion he was slightly disabled by a horse falling upon him. After the close of the war Mr. Beekman returned to Eaton county, where he engaged in farming on his own account, locating in Roxana township, near the village of Maxon's Corners, and becoming one of the substantial farmers and stock-growers of that section of the county, while the same liberal views and ability which have ever characterized him soon led his fellow citizens to designate him for public office. He served two years as suspervisor of the township mentioned, and he continued his residence on the farm until the autumn of 1886, when he was nominated as the Republican candidate for the office of register of leeds of the county, being elected by a gratifying majority and continuing incumbent of the office until 1890. In 1893 he was elected to represent Charlotte city as a member of the county board of supervisors, being re-elected in 1894 and again in 1895. The city was then divided into two, districts, and he was re-elected, to represent the first district. In February, 1898, Mr. Beekman received from President McKinley the appointment of postmaster at Charlotte, and he has since continued to serve in this capacity, having been re-appointed by President Roosevelt, and having given an administration of most satisfactory order, amply justifying the unqualified popular endorsement which he received at the time when he became a candidate for the appointment. He has ever been an unswerving adherent of the Republican party, and in a local way has contributed materially to the furtherance of its cause. He is a member.of the Presbyterian church at Sunfield, this county, is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic fraternity, in which last he has taken the chivalric degrees, being affiliated with the commandery of Knights Templar in Charlotte, while he is also a noble of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Beekman has done much to perfect the service of the local postoffice, which is a second-class office, and from which twelve rural free-delivery routes are supplied and controlled. March 21, 1866, Mr. Beekman was united in marriage to Miss Christina Pugh, daughter of Davis Pugh, of Chester township, where he took up his residence in 1854, there passing the remainder of his life. Mrs. Beekman passed to the life eternal February 12,1896, being survived by the elder of her two children,. Mary B., who is now the wife of William C. Markham, of Charlotte. Martin H., the only son, died on March 22, 1889, at the age of fourteen-years. CHARLES W. BEERS has been a resident of Eaton county for forty years and is now living semi-retired on his pleasant little homestead just south of the village of Bellevue. He is a veteran of the civil war and is a citizen who has received the high esteem of those with whom he has come in contact in the varied relations of life. MIr. Beers was born in Cayuga county, New York, June 14, 1831, and is a son of John and Eliza (Leverich) Beers, the former of whom was born in Oswego county, New York, April 13, 1807, and the latter in Onondaga county, that state, September 26, 1811. Both passed the closing years of their lives in the village of Bellevue, having been numbered among the pioneers of Eaton county, the father at the age of seventy years and the mother at the age of eightyfour. John Beers was the owner of a farm in New York, and he there continued to live until 1853, having sold his land and having come to Eaton county, Michigan, in January of that year. IHe purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Bellevue township, the tract having been partially reclaimed and a small frame house and log barn having been built on the place. He cleared the farm, erected a good house and barn and resided there until two years prior to his death, when
Page 188 188 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY he and his wife removed to the village of Bellevue, where they passed the remainder of their lives, his death having occurred in 1884. He was a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and both he and his wife were zealous members of the Mlethodist Episcopal church, in which he served as classleader for many vears. Thev became the parents of nine children, all of whom attained maturity except one, who died in infancy. Charles W., of this sketch, is the el(est; Wesley is a resident of Cooperville, Ottawa county, Michigan; Mary, who died in Monltcalm county, this state, was the wife of Solomon Rapp, and their four children reside in the city of South Btend, Indiana; Josiah enlisted in Company E, Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, in 1861, and (lied in a Confederate prison, in lS 83,-presumaal l in Andersonville; Eliza Ann was the wife of Richard Austin, of Calhounl count, anl is survived 1by one child; Charlotte is the wife of David Sweet, of Nashville, Barry county; Jeanette, who died in 1876, was the wife of William Farlin, of Bellevue townshipp; and (George, who married Emma Cramplton and resided in Bellevue township, was killed in the lumber woods, in 1870, his widow and their only child also being deceased. Charles W. Beers, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the old homestead farm, in New York state, an(t there received a common-school education. In 1851 he came to E aton county, working on a farm in Bellevue township one summer and then returning to New York, where he was shortly afterward married. He then engaged in farming in Oswego county, that state, also doing a butchering business, operating a meat wagon in the farming community in which he lived and being successful in his efforts. In May, 1862, responding to President Lincoln's second call for volunteers, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Infantry, and he served three years, or until the close of the war. He was assigned to detail service and never took part in any battles. He passed two weeks in the hospital at Belle Plains, Va., where he witnessed the death of several hundred soldiers. At the battle of Gettysburg and in the engagement at Seminary Hill he was on duty as driver of a forge wagon. He was with his command within twelve miles of Appomattox at the time of Lee's surrender. At the time of enlistment his regiment was twenty-seven hundred strong, and of this large number of men only one hundred and fortvseven lived to return home. Mr. Beers left his wife and four small childrento go forth in his country's service, and he made a record of which he may be proud, having done the duty assigned him and having seen his full share of the horrors and hardships of war, even though he was not a participant in the great battles waged about him. After the war he returned to his home in New York, having duly received his honorable discharge. His parents had removed to Eaton county, Michigan, in 1853, as already noted, and they expressed an earnest desire that he should also bring his family here. He accordingly sold his property in New York and removed to Eaton county, arriving in August, 1865. He purchased forty acres of his father's old homestead and a tract of one hundred and twenty acres on the opposite side of the road. He erected a good frame house and barns, set out a large orchard and otherwise improved.his land, continuing to reside there until 1877, when he removed to the village of Bellevue, where he opened a meat market, continuing to be identified with this line of enterprise until 1901, when he virtually retired, buying a small piece of land south of the village, and here having an attractive home. He raises some crops each year, preferring not to be idle, and he is held in high esteem in the community, having made the record of a reliable business man and upright citizen. He has been identified with the Republican party from the time of its organization, is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which they have been identified from their youthful days. April 7, 1852, Mr.
Page 189 ig. AD M. CA. W. BEE MIR. AND -MRS. CHAS. W. BEERS
Page 191 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY' 191 Beers was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Peckham, who was born in Hannibal, Oswego county, New York, May 2, 1830, being a daughter of David and Polly (Potter) Peckham, the former of whom was born in ConnecticutSeptember 9, 1800,, and died in the state of New York, in July, 1877; the latter was born in Connecticut, March 28, 1797, and ldied at Hannibal, New York, December 27, 1858. David Peckham was a wealthy farmer of (swe-go county, where he improved a large landled estate, and( his wife was a representative of a family early founded in America, the genealogy being traced back to the year 161(G. Of the seven children in the PIeckham family Mrs. Beers is notw the only survivor. Blenjamin, who diedl in the city of New Orleans in February, 1905, remained on the old homestead in New York for many years, having. cared for his father during the latter's declining years; Amos was a farmer of New York; Lucy was the wife of James Kipp, of that state; Isaac, who was captain of Company E, One Hundred and Tenth New York Volunteer Infantry, in the civil war, died in the old IEmpire state in 1897, having been in ill health for many years after the war; Mrs. Beers was the next in order of birth; Martha was the wife of Carson Wiltse and died in New York state; Emma, who died in 1898, in Louisiana, was the wife of William Stevenson. To Mr. and Mrs. Beers were born five children, all of whom are living. Ordelia, who was born November 15, 1853, is the wife of Charles Shaw, a prosperous farmer of Sanilac county, Michigan, and they have four children,-Alta, Sarah, Claude and Roy. Adelbert, who resides in Bellevue, married Miss Nettie Wilson, and they have two children,-Wayne and Emma V. Francina, who was born July 12, 1859, is the wife of Howard Foster, a representative farmer of Sanilac county; they have no children. Charles E., who was born November 2, 1861, resides in Bellevue and is township supervisor. He married Miss Matilda Hamilton, and they have no children. Clinton J., who was born Setember 11, 1867, has a general store and is postmaster in Lamott township, Sanilac county. He married Mliss Edna Luscomb and they have four children, three of whom are living,-Rodlney Lynn, Clare and Vaughn. IFRANK S. BELCHER. "Loyal au Morte," which is subscribed beneath the family coat of arms of Gov. Belcher of Massachusetts, could never have received a more noble and faithful observance than was shown by one of the descendants of that family and who is the subject of this sketch. Frank S. IBelcher was prominently identified with the business and social interests of the city of Charlotte for a quarter of a century and was one of the county's l)rominent and honored citizens,-a man of affairs and one whose name typified all of integrity, sincerity and rectitude. Mr. Belcher was born in the state of Kentucky, in the year 1845, and was the eldest in a family of seven children, the parents both dying before any of the number had reached maturity, so that the eldest, the subject of this memoir, was thrown upon his own resources in early vouth, while his characteristic devotion and fealty prompted him to do all possible for the support and aid of the younger brothers and sisters. When about sixteen years of age he set forth to carve out his own career, proceeding to the state of Mississippi, where he remained for some time, then returning northward up the Mississippi river to Cairo, Illinois, where he clerked in a clothing store for a time. He finally returned to iMississippi, where he clerked in mercantile establishments and finally engaged in business for himself. During his residence in Mississippi he also served for some time as sheriff of Coahoma and Tunica counties, having been appointed by Gov. Alcorn during the reconstruction period and undoubtedly while serving in this capacity he developed that quality of fearlessness which was a pronounced characteristic of his life. In 1871 he came to Michigan and took up his residence in the city of Charlotte, which he ever afterward looked upon as his home. Here he first engaged in the abstract business, having a fine set of abstracts of titles in
Page 192 192 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY the county, and finally he became largely concerned in real estate operations and other important lines of enterprise. He acquired large capitalistic interests in various sections of the Union, and was one of the leading citizens of Charlotte during the time of his residence here. From an article published in a Charlotte paper at the time of his death is taken the following epitome of his business and capitalistic associations: "During his twenty-five years' residence in Charlotte, Mr. Belcher has been active in business matters and closely identified with questions of a public nature where capital and an advisory aptitude made him valuable and proficient. For many years he has had connections with the First National Bank and has been its president since the retirement of Hon. E. S. Lacy from that position. He was the original mover in placing the electric light plant in the city, and for several years was its principal owner and backer. He has also been prominent in the W. C. Belcher Land & Mortgage Company, of Fort Worth, Texas; a large lumber company in Arkansas; and but recently helped to reorganize The Phoenix National Bank of Phoenix, Arizona, of which institution he was made president. Other projects were also under advisement and in progress at this place He was in religious and social matters also as active as in business. For over twenty years he has been a member of the Congregational church and active much of the time in its various departments of work.. For about fifteen years he has been treasurer of Olivet College and very much interested in its work and success. In a fraternal way he was a member of the various orders of Masonry in this city, from the blue lodge to the commandery, inclusive, and while not able to give as much time to the work as some others, he always manifested an interest in each of the bodies." Mr. Belcher was in Texas at the time of his death, which occurred in Rockport, on the 28th of November, 1896. While his health had been greatly impaired for a number of years, his death came as a shock to his countless friends and admirers in Michi gan, his remains being brought to Charlotte for interment, while every mark of respect and sorrow was accorded on the occasion of the final obsequies. He was a man who ever had the utmost respect for the dignity of honest toil and endeavor, having passed through the strenuous ordeal of gaining personal success through individual effort. He was endowed with great business sagacity and broad mental ken; was a genial, polished gentleman, ever gaining lessons from his reading, observation and his association with the practical affairs of life. But over all and above all stood the intrinsic nobility of the man, and the lesson of his life offers all of incentive and calls for all of commendation and honor. He was a stanch Republican, but practical politics offered no allurement to, him, though his public spirit was ever in striking evidence when matters touching the general welfare came up for consideration. He erected one of the most beautiful modern homes in the city of Charlotte, and in the same his widow still resides, surrounded by a wide circle of devoted friends. February 4, 1871, Mr. Belcher was united in marriage to Miss Lou A. Pratt, who was born in the state of New York, and who, after the death of her father, came to Michigan with her widowed mother, settling in Charlotte, where her mother died in 1880. She is a daughter of Nathaniel and Almira Pratt, both native of New York state. Mr. Belcher is survived by two children, Fred. S., who is a resident of Toledo, O., and who married Miss Gertrude Owen, of Columbus, O.,. and Maude L., who is the wife of Frank J. Cobbs, of Cadillac, Michigan. WILLIAM HENRY BELL is one of the sturdy yeomen and popular citizens of Chester township, where he is the owner of a well improved farm, in section 30. He was born in Brighton township, Lorain county, Ohio, February 9, 1839, and is a son of John and Mary (Grimes) Bell, the former native of Scotland and the latter of Ireland, so that he has the two stanch strains which have been found so potent in the citizenship of America.
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Page 195 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY _ 195 - His parents continued resident of Ohio until their death,-the father at the age of sixtyfour and the mother at the advanced age of ninety-three years. They were married in Ireland and soon afterward came to America, remaining for a time in the state of New Jersey and thence removing to Ohio, settling, in Lorain county, where the father reclaimed and developed a good farm, remaining on the homestead until the close of his life. He was an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and was a man of superior mental powers. His wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the seven children, all are deceased except three, one son in Eaton county, one, a daughter still being resident of Ohio. William H. Bell received a common-school education, remaining at the parental home until he was sixteen years of age, and then working by the month on various farms, until he was married, thirty-one years ago. He came to Eaton county in 1861, and in 1863 bought eighty acres of wooded land in Sunfield township. He chopped off thirty acres in one winter and then traded the property for his present farm of sixty acres, which was cleared at the time. He has made many improvements on the place, including the erection of a commodious and substantial frame residence and large barn, besides other farm buildings of excellent type, 'and he has here resided continuously from the time the property came into his possession, being known as one of the enterprising farmers of the township. He is a stanch Republican in his political proclivities, but has never sought or held office. In 18i3 Mr. Bell was united in marriage to Miiss Susan Loveland, who was born in the state of New York, December 16, 1833, being a daughter of Loring and Mary (Warren) Loveland, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts and the latter in New York. They removed to Ohio when Mrs. Bell was an infant, and passed the closing years of their lives in Lorain county, where the father died at the age of seventy-five and the mother at the age of seventy-four years. Of their eight children only two are living,-Mrs. Bell and James, the latter being a resident of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have no children. EMMET BENEDICT is another of the worthy citizens whom the old Empire state of the Union has contributed to Eaton county, and he is the owner of a good farm in Sunfield township, having been a resident of the county since his boyhood days. He was born in Oswego county, New York, May 26, 1852, being a son of John and Roxana (Kinne) Benedict, both of whom were likewise native of New York state, where the former was born in 1822 and the latter in 1817. Both passed the closing years of their lives on the homestead now owned by the subject of this sketch, the father's death occurring April 8, 1894, and that of the mother in 1896. While resident of New York John Benedict was employed as head sawyer in a saw mill, being thus engaged until 1865, when he came with his family to Michigan. arriving in October, and purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land in Sunfield township, the entire tract being unreclaimed. He erected a small frame house and cleared about sixty-five acres of the land before his death, being aided by his sons. He eventually sold eighty acres of the place, and his son Emmet, whose name introduces this article, now owns the remaining eighty acres. John Benedict was a man of fine physique, tall and athletic, and his health was always excellent until he contracted pneumonia, which resulted in his death five days later; his wife succumbed to a stroke of paralysis, having been in good health until two years prior to her demise. Both were active members of the Presbyterian church, and in politics he was a stalwart Republican. Of the three children Emmet was the second in order of birth. Martha Wi., who was for many years a successful and popular teacher in the public schools, died, unmarried, at the age of thirty-nine years. Judson H., who married Miss Ensa Williams, resided in the village of Sunfield, where he met his death as a result of an accident in a saw mill, having been caught in a shaft, and
Page 196 196 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY having been forty-six years of age at the time. Emmet Benedict attended the common schools in the state of New York until he was thirteen years of age, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Michigan. His educationlal advantages thereafter were limited in scope, but he has not failed to profit by the valuable lessons ever to be learned under the direction of that wisest of all head masters, Experience. He assisted materially in the clearing and other work of the home farm, and at the age of twenty-three years purchased forty acres of the same, renting the remaining portion from his father, while later he purchased his brother's interest and came into full ownership of the farm, which now comprises eighty acres of very productive land. The residence on the place is a good frame house, the same having been erected by his father a number of years after the building of the first little ldomlicile. Since the death of his father Mir. Benedict has erected the excellent frame barn now on the place. He has inherited much of the mechanical ability of his father and for several years ihe operated a threshing machine, while he also had charge of a saw miill for a time. For five years he was engaged in the undlertaking business in the village of Sunfield, returning to the home farm after purchasing his brother's interest, and having since given his attention to general farming and stock-growing. Mr. Benedict is found arrayed as a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and he served one term as justice of the peace; for many years he has been a school officer of his district. He became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows many years ago, but does not maintain active affiliation with the same at the present time. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. February 25, 1875, stands as the date of the marriage of Mr. Benedict to Miss Lucy Stockwell, who was born in Springfield, Oswego county, New York, July 25, 1847, a daughter of Edward and Polly (Lowell) Stockwell. Her father was born in England, May 1, 1797, came to America when a young man and died in New York state, at the patriarchal age of ninety years; his wife was born in New York, November 19, 1805, and passed her entire life in that state, where her death occurred January 24, 1876. They became the parents of five children all of whom are living: Elmira is the wife of George Seckner and they reside in the state of New York; Delevan is a retired farmer, residing in Loveland, California, and he and his wife have six daughters; Emaline resides in the city of Lansing, Michigan, being the widow of Thomas Walsh, who was for many years a resident of Sunfield township, Eaton county; Moses is a resident of New York, being a carriagemaker, and also owning a farm; and Mrs. Benedict is the youngest of the children. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict became the parents of four children, of whom three are living: Jennie S., who was born February 25, 1877, is. a popular teacher in the public schools of Eaton county; Frederick died at the age of four years; Ernest is married and resides in Kalamo township; Leroy, who was born October 27, 1888, is associated with his father in the work of the homne farm. REV. WILLIAM U. BENEDICT. —Whatever makes for true and noble manhood and for consecration to duty, in all the relations of fe, was represented in the character of the honored pioneer to whom this brief memoir is dedicated. He kept himself "unspotted from the world," was significantly free from "envy, hatred and malice and all uncharitableness," and as a clergyman, teacher and citizen left a definite impress for good upon the community in which he lived and labored so faithfully. His was the sturdy integrity and unbending righteousness of the Puritan stock from which he was sprung. He was born in Stamford, Fairfield county, Connecticut, in September, 1808, and two years later his parents removed to Cayuga county, New York, in which state he was reared to maturity. In 1829 he was graduated in Williams College, Massachusetts, and in 1832 he completed the prescribed course and was graduated in Auburn Theo
Page 197 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 197T I logical Seminary, at Auburn, New York, being duly ordained to the ministry of the Presbvterian church. For ten years thereafter he labored successfully in the work of his high calling, in central New York, and on the 23d of May, 1843, he took up his residence in Vermontville, Eaton county, Michigan. During the remainder of his life he continued resident of this county, engaged in preaching, teaching, and, for a time, in superintending the operation of a farm. In 1869 Deacon S. S. Church wrote concerning the early schools in the township of Vermontville, and from his article the following pertinent extract is made: "In 1843 the population had so increased that an academical association was organized and materials procured to build an academy to answer the double purpose of academy and church. In the fall of 1.844 the upper story was completed, and the Rev. \V. U.. Benedict. the pastor of the church, taught a school four months, in the winter of 184-1-5, in which the higher English branches and also, the languages were taught. MAr. Benedict continued to teach for several successive winters. From a "History of the Vermontville Colony" is gained the following excerpt: "In 1842 Rev. William U. Benedict became pastor of the church and the first principal of the academy, continuing his preaching and teaching for eight years. To him the children of the pioneer colonists are indebted for their education. He always took a great deal of pride in his scholars in after life. He was an excellent teacher, active and useful in every sphere of life, and as preacher, teacher and citizen he filled every place assigned to him with marked conscientiousness and ability. After he left the pastorate and became a successful farmer he would go on Sunday to Oneida or some other place to hold religious services. Until the close of his mortal life he never rested from his labors. To the academy, where he taught for eight winters, he gave learning, enthusiasm and devotion. More than all others he was the teacher of the children of the pioneers. To the church he brought a high type of Calvinistic theology, in harmony with New England orthodoxy of that time. Without doubt religion and education are more largely indebted to Mr. Benedict, because of his learning and energy, than to any other occupant of the Congregational pulpit in Vermontville. Certainly no other man is held in more grateful remembrance by those of the second generation who received most of their schooling under his tuition. His wife, Almira A., was one of the noblest and gentlest of women." It should be stated that his wife's maiden name was Bennett, and that she was born in M\assachusetts in January, 1811, and that her death occurred in Vermontville in July, 1890, from which data it will be seen that she was nearly eighty years of age when summoned to the life eternal, having long survived her honored husband, who passed away in Octoler, 1875. Mr. Benedict founded the Presbyterian church in Oneida. He was a man of high intellectual attainments and was a forceful an(l c6nvincing speaker, his every public utterance bearing the impress of sincerity and earnest conviction, while he was at all times and under all conditions to be marked as humanity's friend. Of his five children four are living. William H., born in 1835, married a daughter of Daniel Barber, one of the original colonists of Vermontville, and he is still a resident of Eaton county; Edwin E., born in 1838, is a resident of the state of Oregon; Sara E., born in 1841, who furnished the data for this memoir, resides in Vermontville, and further mention is to be made concerning her in this article; Anna M., who was born in i845, is the widow of Rev. Henry Marsh, and resides in Holland, Michigan; Orville E., born in 1851, died at the age of fourteen years, having been a lad of much literary precocity. Sara A., elder of the two daughters, became the wife of Dr. George W. Williams, who was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and who was graduated in the Chicago Homoeopathic Medical College. After their marriage he engaged in the practice of his profession in Marshalltown, Iowa, and his death occurred in 1887. He is survived by one daughter, who is now the wife of Dr. A. L. Swin
Page 198 198 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY ton, of Ontonagon, Michigan. Mrs. Williams has a beautiful home in Vermontville and is prominent in church work and in the best social life of the community. She is an accomplished artist, painting in both oils and water colors, and making art work her profession. She studied under the best artists in Chicago and New York and also prosecuted her art studies four years in leading ateliers in the city of Paris, France. CHARLES BENNETT was one of the representative citizens and prominent business men of Charlotte for a long term of years, having here been concerned with a large and important manufacturing enterprise and having been for a number of years vice-president of the First National Bank. Mr. Bennett was born in Waterloo, Seneca county, New York, in October, 1838, and was there reared to the age of fourteen years, having in the meanwhile received good educational advantages. At the age noted he became a resident of the state of Ohio, whence he later removed to Livingston county, Michigan, where he remained a few years, then returning to Ohio and taking up his residence in -the town of Fremont, where he was engaged in mechanical pursuits until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion. He enlisted as a private in Company K, One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served three years, at the expiration of which he received his honorable discharge, having made a record for faithful and valiant service. He was never severely wounded, but was captured, and was twice incarcerated in the notorious Libby prison, in the city of Richmond, Virginia. At the close of the war he returned to Fremont, Ohio, where, December 7, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Myers, who was born in Dayton, Ohio, being a daughter of Henry and Nancy Myers, who were natives of Pennsylvania, whence they removed 'to Ohio, being early settlers in Dayton and removing thence to a farm near Fremont, Sandusky county, where Mrs. Bennett was reared and educated, having been three years of age at the time of the removal. Her parents passed the closing years of their lives in her home, in Charlotte, and both rest in the cemetery here. Mr. Bennett removed to Charlotte in 1869, taking up his residence at the place where his widow still maintains her home. He became associated with four others in the ownership and operation of a sash, door and blind factory, and the enterprise was finally expanded into a furniture manufactory, Mr. Bennett becoming the sole proprietor. He built up a large and prosperous business, which is still conducted, under the able management of his only son. Mr. Bennett was himself a skilled mechanic, and he directed his operations with consummate ability, so that success came to him as a natural sequence. He was a man of the highest integrity and of strong individuality, and was a loyal and progressive citizen. He was one of the principal stockholders of the First National Bank, of which he served as vice-president for a number of years. He was a stalwart Republican in his political allegiance, and was a member of the board of aldermen of the city at the time of his death, while he served one term as mayor, giving a conservative and businesslike administration of the municipal government. He was a member of the cemetery board for a number o'f vears, and was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was not formally identified with any religious organization, but had the deepest reverence for the spiritual verities as represented in the Christian religion and was a regular attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church, to whose support he contributed liberally, as did he also to their church organizations in Charlotte, standing ready at all times to aid a worthy cause or enterprise. The beautiful residence now occupied by his widow and children was erected by him and is one of the most attractive homes in the city. Mr. Bennett was summoned to the life eternal November 21, 1903, and the community felt the loss of one of its honored and valued citizens, while in the sacred precincts of the family circle, where
Page 199 CH-ARLES BENNETT
Page 201 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 201 his noble characteristics have shown forth in strongest relief, the loss was given only the r easure of compensation which comes from close contact and affection and the aftermath of gracious memories. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett became the parents of two children: Alice N., who was born in Fremont, Ohio, is the widow of George Foote and now resides with her mother; George L., who was born in Charlotte, was here reared and educated and was associated in the management of his father's factory and business for twelve years prior to the latter's death, so that he is ably qualified to continue the enterprise, being numbered among the representative business men of his native city. JOEL H. BERA, who is postmaster in the village of Sunfield, where he is also engaged in the furniture and undertaking business, is one of the representative citizens of this thriving and attractive town. Alr. Bera is a native of the Buckeye state, which has contributed not a little to the sterling fabric of citizenship in Eaton county. He was born in Portage county, Ohio, February 8, 1854, and is a son of Henry M. and Louisa (Huskins) Bera, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in England. Both were infants at the time of the immigration of the respective families to America, both families first locating in Pennsylvania and later removing to Ohio. Henry M. Bera became the owner of a good farm in Ohio, where he remained until 1865, when he removed to Barry county, Michigan, where he purchased eighty acres of land, about twenty acres having had the timber girdled, and a log shanty having been erected. He reclaimed a good farm from the wilderness and continued to reside on this homestead until his death, in 1889, at the age of sixty-two years, his wife dying on the same homestead, at the age of forty-eight years. They became the parents of seven children, of whom Joel H. was the firstborn; Lydia is the wife of Walter Hallidav and they reside in Portage county, Ohio; Charlotte is the wife of Albert E. Dewey, of Barry county; Elvira is the wife of Henry Budd, of the same county; Caleb died at the age of thirty-one years, his wife having passed away two years previously; Warner B. is a farmer of Ionia county; and Edward D. is engaged in mercantile business in Woodbury village, Eaton county. Joel H. Bera secured his early educational training in the district schools of his native county in Ohio, having been eleven years of age at the time of the family removal to Barry county, Michigan, where he continued his studies in the public schools, having attended the high school in Ravenna one year. He continued to assist in the work of the home farm until he had attained the age of twenty years, when he became a clerk in a general store at Banfield, Barry county, being thus employed six years. He then came to Shaytown, Eaton county, where he filled a similar Fosition for the ensuing five years. In 1887 he took up his residence in Sunfield, building one of the first stores in the newly platted town and putting in a stock of general merchandise. He conducted this general store several years, then disposing of the same, and in 1892 he erected the substantial building now occupied by his furniture and undertaking business, representing the only enterprise of the sort in the village, and he has had a liberal patronage from the start, keeping a good line of furniture, while the equipment of the undertaking department is excellent in all particulars. Mr. Bera is progressive as a business man and as a citizen, and maintains a deep interest in all that makes for the advancement and well-being of his home town and county. He is a stalwart Republican, is a member of the county central committee and has been a frequent delegate to the county conventions of the party. He is now (1906) serving his ninth year as postmaster of Sunfield. He is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is commander of Sunfield Tent, No. 552, Knights of the Maccabees. February 11, 1880, Mr. Bera was united in marriage to Miss Dora E. Morford, who was born in Barry county, this state, October 31, 1859, being a daughter of Ardon B. and Hannah (Poor)
Page 202 202 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY --- MIorford, who were pioneers of Barry county. Mr. Morford is deceased and his widow resides in the city of Battle Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Bera became the parents of three children, the eldest, Otto, having died at the age of ten years; Ethel N. is the wife of Harry H. Mapes, and they reside with her parents, Mr. Mapes being engaged in the clothing business in Sunfield; Henry O. is attending the public schools, being a lad of ten years. HENRY L. BIGELOW, a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Michigan, a veteran of the civil war and an honored citizen of Grand Ledge, where he is now living practically retired, was born at Phelps, Ontario county, New York, Septelmber 16, 1830(, being a son of W\illiamii W. and Sarah (Tower) Bigelow, the former of whom was born in Phelps, Ontario county, New York, February 11, 1808, and the latter in Geneva, that countv, her death occurring at Northville, \Wayne county. Michigan, wlhen she was fortyeight years of age. The father diell in I)elta township, Eaton county, in April, 1865. In 1836, the year prior to the admission of the state to the Union, William W. Bigelow came with his family to Michigan, locating in Northville, Wayne county, where he remained twelve years, contracting in the chopping of timber in the forest wilds and also working at the carpenter's trade. In 1848 he removed to Farmington, Oakland county, where he was engaged in farming land on shares until 1853, when he came to Eaton county and bought one hundred and sixty-eight acres of government land, in Delta township. The land was covered with a dense growth of timber and he made a sufficient clearing to permit the building of a small plank house, completing the same in the autumn of 1853 and bringing his family from Oakland county in the following spring. He reclaimed about seventy-five acres of his land to cultivation, erected good buildings, and continued to reside on this homestead until his death. In politics he was originally an old-line Whig, but upon the organization of the Republican party he identi fled himself therewith, continuing to support its cause during the remaining years of his life. He was industrious and frugal, having gained independence through his own exertions, and his life was one of unbending integrity and honor. After the death of his first wife he married her sister, Lucinda Tower, who died in 1885, four children having been born of the first union and one of the second; Henry L., subject of this sketch, was the firstborn; Francis AM. served in the same company and regiment as the subject of this sketch in the civil war, enlisting in October, 1861. His health was poor at the time of enlistment, and lie served only a few months, being discharged on account of ill health. He re-enlisted in 1863 in the Seventh Michigan Cavalry and served until the close of the war. He was dIrowned in the Grand river in 1865, never having married; Mary also met her death by (drowning in the Grand river, having been sixteen years of age at the time; Lucy became the wife of Cyrus Beach and both are now deceased, their only child, Cyrus, being a farmer near Charlotte, this county; William G., the only child of the second marriage, is a resident of Missaukee county, Michigan. Henry L. Bigelow secured his educational training in the common schools of Michigan and as a youth learned the carpenter's trade, under the direction of his father, with whom he continued to be associated in the work of his trade until he had attained the age of twenty-eight years, when he initiated his independent business career. When the dark cloud of civil war cast its pall on the national horizon Mr. Bigelow was among those who responded to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers. September 16, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Berdan's United States Sharpshooters, Second Regiment of Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Before the command left the city of Lansing Mr. Bigelow was made first sergeant of his company. He proceeded with his regiment to the front and took part in all the engagements in which the same was involved up to and including the second battle of Bull Run. He had previously been taken ill and had been
Page 203 PAST AND PIESENT OF EATON COUNTY 7 203 ordered to the hospital, btt refused to leave his regiment. After the second Bull Run engagement his affliction became so serious that he was taken to the hospital, his exhaustion being such that he had no remembrance of anything that happened from the time he was taken from the field until he found himself in the hospital in the city of Philadelphia. His illness entailed permanent disability, and on this account he was given an honorable discharge November 29, 1862. I-e has never recovered from the effects of the disease thus contracted and has been in impaired health for a number of years past, receiving a pension of thirty dollars a month and being eminently entitled to the samne. After his discharge Mr. Bigelow returned to his lhome, in Grand Ledge, and when he had sufficiently recuperated his energies he resumed the work of his trade, which continued to be his vocation during the greater part of his active career thereafter. He still does more or less carpenter work, when his health will permit. He retired from active business about twenty years ago. He does insurance and convevancing in a moderate way and has been a notary public for the past score of years. He has a comfortable residence, owning the property, and is surrounded by a host of old and tried friends. He was formerly aligned as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies' of the Republican party, but for the past few years he has maintained an independent attitude. He is one of the popular comrades of Earl Halbert Post. No. 108, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is quartermaster at the time of this writing, and has been for about seven years. January 23, 1856, Mr. Bigelow was united in marriage to Miss Sarah P. Shear, who was born in Pontiac, Michigan, September 5, 1832, being a daughter of John B. and Catherine (Clark) Shear, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in Vermont. Both passed the closing years of their lives in Eagle township, Clinton county, Michigan, the mother passing away at the age of sixty-two years and the father attaining the age of eighty-two years. They came to Michigan in 1830, locating in Pontiac, where they remained until 1833, when they removed to Clinton county, where M r. Shear secured forty'acres of government land, in Eagle township. He made the trip to the land office in Kalamazoo, walking the entire distance, and there made proper filing of his claim. He afterward bought an adjoining eighty acres, and developed a good farm froin the virgin forest, continuing to reside on the old homestead until the time of his death. Of his thirteen children four (lied in infancy, the others attaining maturity, while of the number three are now living,-Mrs. Bigelow; \Mrs. Mary Ward, of Grand Ledge; and Mrs. Angeline Hodge, of Big Rapids. Two of the sons were members of the Third M\ichigan Volunteer Infantry in the civil war,-Abram having remioved to, Arkansas and the other nembers of the family having heard nothing from or concerninig him in several years, the supposition being that he is deceased; John H., the other soldier, was killed by his horse while on his way home, after having beein nmustered out of the service. In conclusion is entered a brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow: Mary died in infancy; Frank H. is a machinist by vocation and resides in the city of Seattle, Washington; John H., is foreman in a chair factory in Grand Ledge; Kate I. is the wife of Frank Summerville, of Oneida township; William P. is with his brother Frank in Seattle. JOSIAH A. BIRCHARD, who is now living retired in the city of Bellevue, is an honored citizen of Eaton county, which has represented his home and field of endeavor for two score of years. He was born in Windham township, Portage county, Ohio, September 2, 1828, being a son of Nathan A. and Betsey Eliza (Alford) Birchard, the former of whom was born in Vermont, in 1801, and the latter in Becket, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, both being members of families established in New England in the colonial era of our national history. Both passe dthe closing years of their lives in Windham township,
Page 204 204 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Portage county, Ohio, where the father died at the age of sixty-three years and the mother at the age of seventy-seven. Nathan A. Birchard was about ten years of age when his father, Nathan Birchard, and the other members of the family removed from Massachusetts to the new state of Ohio, having been members of a colony formed for the purpose in Becket, Massachusetts. They settled in Portage county, Ohio, where Nathan A. was reared to manhood, and where he eventually purchased one hundred and five acres of wild land, in Windham township, reclaiming the same to cultivation and remaining on the homestead until the time of his death. He was one of the influential and honored citizens of his county and his life was one of integrity and signal usefulness. Of his six children the following brief data are entered: Mariah, who became the wife of George B. Conant, died in Portage county, Ohio, in 1900; the subject of this sketch was one of twins; Matthew died in 1900, at Sioux City, Iowa; Nathan is a resident of Bascobel, Wisconsin; Warren C. died in Newton Falls, Ohio; and Mark E. resides on the old homestead, in Portage county, Ohio. Josiah A. Birchard passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm and early learned the lessons of practical industry, the while he made good use also of the somewhat limited advantages afforded in the subscription or district schools of the pioneer days. At the age of twentyfour years he bought a tract of land in his native county and engaged in farming on his own account. Two years later, however, he disposed of the property and removed to Wisconsin, becoming a pioneer of Grant county, where he continued to follow agricultural pursuits until there came the call of higher duty, when the integrity of the Union was thrown into jeopardy through armed rebellion. He forthwith enlisted as a private in Company G, Thirty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in active service three years, being finally promoted first lieutenant of his company, of which he had command during the last year of his term, having charge of mustering out its members. He took part in numerous engagements, including a number of the more important order, and his record was that of a gallant and faithful soldier of the republic. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, the Red river campaign, the battle of Nashville, and other spirited conflicts and more or less hazardous expeditions and campaigns. On the occasion of one battle he was serving as orderly sergeant and, having lost his gun, volunteered to carry cartridges to the men on the firing line in front. As he started the bullets and balls were flying all about him, but he pressed forward and distributed the ammunition to his comrades, forty-five of whom fell about him in less than one hour. He was never wounded or taken prisoner. He received his honorable discharge at the expiration of his term of enlistment. After the close of the war Mr. Birchard came to Eaton county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Bellevue township, erecting a house on the place and instituting the reclamation of the land from the forest. Two years later he disposed of the property and took up his residence in the village of Bellevue, where he engaged in teaming for a few years, after which he turned his attention to work at the carpenter's trade, which has taken his attention to a greater or less degree during all the intervening years. He has done a large amount of contracting and building and has been successful in his efforts along this line of enterprise. He served four years as postmaster of Bellevue, during the administration of President Harrison, and was incumbent of the office of justice of the peace several years, besides serving as school inspector. He is an uncompromising adherent of the Republican party, and takes an active interest in the promotion of its cause. He has been identified with the Masonic fraternity since 1860 and is an appreciative and popular member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is the owner of a beautiful home, on South street, having purchased the same in 1899. The family is prominent in the social life of
Page 206 w ^, MR. AND MRS. DELOSS BISHOP
Page 207 PAST AND PRESENT ihe community, and Mr. Birchard is a citizen who commands the uniform confidence and regard of all who know him. January 15, 1852, Mr. Birchard was united in marriage to Miss Julia Mi. Kingsley, who was born in Becket, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, June 18, 1830, being a daughter of David B. and Julia B. (Fitch) Kingsley, the former of whom was born in Becket, June 4, 1804, and died, in Windham township, Portage county, Ohio, at the age of sixty-six years, and the latter of whom was born in Terringford, Connecticut, February 5, 1805, and likewise died in Portage county, Ohio. Mrs. Birchard, who was born in the same hotuse as her father, was but ten months of age at the time of her parents' removal from the old Bay state to Ohio, where she was reared and educated. She was the first born of the four children: Frances, who became the wife of E. F. Jagger, died in Ohio, about 1895; Mary L. never married and her death occurred in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1903; and Emily is the wife of Payson Clarke, of Portage county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Birchard had nine children born to them, seven of whom are now living in different parts of the United States. DELOSS BISHOP has been a resident of Eaton county since 1864 and is the owner of a valuable farm in Sunfield township. He is a citizen who is held in distinctive esteem in the community and is one of those loyal sons of the republic who went forth to aid in preserving the Union at the time of the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Bishop was born in Rose township, Wayne county, New York, June 5, 1836, and is a son of Reuben and Sarah Ann (Gardner) Bishop, both of whom were likewise natives of that'county, where the former was born December 7, 1810, and the latter April 10, 1818. Both died in Ohio, the father having passed to his reward February 12, 1875, while his widow survived him by many years, her death occurring June 3, 1905, at the extremely venerable age of ninety-seven years. Of the ten children the subject of this sketch 13 OF EATON COUNTY 207 was the firstborn; Eveline Adelia, who was born May 24, 1838, died at the age of seven years; William H., who was born September 18, 1840, and who died July 31, 1904, was a representative farmer of Sunfield township, where his widow still resides; Alonzo T., who was born June 12, 1843, is a resident of Peru, Ohio; Harriet M., who was born December 7, 1845, is the widow of John C. Dow and resides in Sunfield township; Gardner A., who was born March 23, 1848, is a resident of Lyons, Kansas; Eveline M., who was born (ctober 7, 1860, is deceased; Reuben C., who was born September 12, 1854, is a farmer of Roxand township; Sarah D., who was born October 20, 185(, died October 4, 1861; Charles E., who was born October 23, 1862, died on the 19th of the following June. The father of the subject of this review devoted his entire active career to agricultural p-irsuits. In 1836 he removed with his wife and little son, Deloss, who was but six weeks old, from New York to Ohio, locating in Huron county, where he secured a tract of wild land, from which he developed a good farm, there continuing to reside until his death; his wife was resident of Lorain county, that state, at the time of her dlemise. Deloss Bishop was reared on the pioneer farm, and his educational advantages were limited to a desultory attendance in the primitive district school, during the winter terms. In June, 1862, at the age of twenty-six years, bade adieu to his home and went forth to do battle for the Union, enlisting in Company D, One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served two years, lacking a few days. He was taken ill while on march and was sent to a hospital, his command continuing onward. As soon as he had sufficiently recuperated he was assigned to hospital duty in which connection he was in service at Louisville, Buffalo and Camp Dennison receiving his honorable discharge in the city of Chicago. While in the ranks he participated in a number of spirited engagements and had narrow escapes on several occasions. His illness so shattered his health that he was not thereafter eligible
Page 208 208 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY for active field service and from disabilities incurred he now receives a pension of twelve dollars a month. At the age of nineteen years Mr. Bishop left the parental home and started his independent career his marriage occurring about three years later. In 1864 he came with his family to Eaton county purchasing eighty acres of heavily timbered land in section 13 Sunfield township. On this tract he erected a log house and other buildings the house being still in use. He cleared the land to effective cultivation. He still owns the property and continued to reside thereon until 1900 when he removed to his present homestead, in section 24, same township, the place comprising forty acres of finely improved land and having formerly been the property of his wife's parents. Mr. Bishop purchased the interests of the other heirs to the property. He has owned other real estate in this township, has given a considerable amount to his children, and has otherwise aided them in securing farms. He has witnessed many changes in Eaton county within the two score years of his residence here, and has had particular recognition of the fact that within the past decade many of the sterling pioneers have been called from the scene of their strenuous and fruitful labors. In politics he is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and he served twentyfour years as pathmaster, \and twenty-two years as treasurer of his school district. He is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Grange and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the lodge of the last mentioned of which he was treasurer for six years. He was a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars until the local organization lapsed. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and their Christian faith is exemplified in their daily walk and conversation. In Huron county, Ohio, July 4, 1857, Mr. Bishop was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Miller, who was born in that state, October 13, 1838, and who died June 14, 1868. Of this union were born four children: Alfred who was born July 9, 1858, is a prosperous farmer of Sunfield township, is married and has four children; Sarah A., who was born February 27, 1860; the third child died in infancy; and John P., who was born May 12, 1868. October 3, 1868, Mr. Bishop consummated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Ruby Barnum, his present wife. She was born in Michigan, June 12, 1838, and is a daughter of Daniel and Betsey (Merritt) Barnum, the former of whom was born in Vermont and the latter in the state of New York while both died in Eaton county, Michigan, where the father passed away at the age of forty-nine years, and the mother at the age of seventynine. Daniel Barnum removed from Lenawee county, this state, to Eaton county, in 1845, and purchased eighty acres of wild land, of which the present homestead of Mr. Bishop is a part, reclaiming the same to cultivation and here continuing to reside until his death. Concerning his eight children the following brief data are entered: Margaret, who now resides in the home of the subject of this sketch, is the widow of George Poole, who was a representative farmer of Sunfield township; Julia died in infancy; Ruby M. is the wife of him whose name initiates this sketch; Charles resides in the city of Charlotte; Hattie is a resident of the state of Florida; Polly is the wife of Abraham Bair, of Oklahoma; Marilla resides in Grayling, Michigan; and Harrison, who was a member of a Michigan regiment in the civil war, was killed while looking over the breastworks in the midst of a severe battle. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop became the parents of four children: Daniel D. is deceased; Bessie is the wife of Sherman Meyers, of Sherman City, Michigan; Reuben Dexter is deceased; and Joseph E. is a resident of Mecosta county, this state. Mr. Bishop has twentysix living grandchildren. KELLY BOSWORTH, a representative farmer and general merchant of Chester township, is one of those sturdy pioneers who came here in an early day and grappled vigorously with the forest, strong of heart and
Page 209 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 209 willing of hand, and he has won success through his own toil and endeavor and fully appreciates the value of the independence and prosperity which he has thus gained, while his life is further crowned by the confidence and good will of his fellow men. Mr. Bosworth was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, January 1, 1824, being a son of Luther and Lomyra (Kelly) Bosworth, the latter of whom died at the time of his birth. The parents were born in the state of New York, where their marriage was solemnized, and in 1824 they removed to Ohio, becoming pioneers of Cuyahoga county, but the wife and mother survived only a few months after their arrival in the Buckeye state. Luther Bosworth later married a second wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Sprague and who is now deceased. He became a farmer in Cuyahoga county, reclaiming this land from the wilderness and there remaining until he was of advanced age, when he came to Eaton county, Michigan, passing the closing years of his life in Roxand township, where he died at the age of eightyfour years. Kelly Bosworth was reared on the pioneer farm in Ohio and waxed strong in mind and body under the strenuous discipline involved. He recalls the scenes and incidents of the day with pleasurable appreciation, and states that his education was acquired in a little log school house, with slab benches, puncheon floors and other primitive equipments common to the place and period. That his memory compasses a great transition is evident when it is recalled that Cuyahoga county, the scene of his birth and youthful experiences, is that in which is located the great city of Cleveland, which was then little more than a village. Mr. Bosworth was stout and rugged and in 1846, when twenty-two years of age, he decided to strike out for himself into the woods of Michigan. He arrived in Eaton county in the fall of that year, his only possessions being an ax and a shovel. He secured one hundred and thirty acres of heavily timbered land, in Chester township, and remained on the place two years, felling trees and making ready to reclaim his land to the uses of civilization. After erecting a log house on the place he returned to Ohio, where, August 18, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Almira Bark, who soon afterward accompanied him to his rude forest lodge in the wilds of Chester township. She was born in Ohio, February 25, 1830, and was a daughter of Francis and Lucina (Granger) Bark, the former native of the state of New York and the latter of the Dominion of Canada. Mrs. Bosworth proved a true helpmeet and devoted mother, and the great loss and bereavement of Mr. Bosworth's life was that involved in her death, which occurred about ten years ago. They became the parents of six children: Frederick G., born April 9, 1852, is married and resides on a farm in Sunfield township; Francis F., born July 15, 1856, is likewise married and resides in the same township; Lomyra S. became the wife of Louis Lemmon, and died in Sunfield township, leaving three children; Myron K., who was born December 8, 1860, married Miss Jennie Rogers, and they reside on the old homestead with his father, he having charge of the same; Charles, who was born October 1, 1862, died October 2, 1864; Edwin L., born January 16, 1866, is married and occupies a farm adjoining that of his father. Mr. Bosworth has been markedly successful in his operations as a farmer, having owned at one time three hundred acres of land in the county, and now retaining his homestead one hundred and thirty-three acres. He stands to-day a splendid type of the venerable pioneer, having a strong constitution, which gives little evidence of the strenuous toil and the hardships which he endured in past years. ile became a true woodsman, endured trials with fortitude, faced obstacles with courage and equanimity and wrought out for himself a home in the wilderness. When he located on his farm there were only three houses between the same and Charlotte, which is tenmiles distant. He gathered in his due share of the wild game which was so plentiful in the days agone, and he had numerous acquaintances among the Indians who then
Page 210 210 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY roamed about in this section. He has been a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party from the time of its organization, and has taken an active interest in public affairs of a local nature, attending caucuses and elections invariably and doing all in his power to further the welfare of the coinmunity. He is a man of broad mental ken, well informed on the topics of the day. In 1901 he and his son Myron erected and stocked a store on the corner north of the residence, and here they are carrying on a very successful business in the handling of such general merchandise as is deman(led in the community. Mr. Bosworth enjoys the latter (lays of peace and prosperity, but has no regret for the earlier experiences. He is surrounded by tried and true friends and feels that his "lines are cast in pleasant places." DANIEL G. BOWEN was born on the farm which is now his home, in section 32, Kalamo township, the (ate of his nativity having been October 16, 1843, while he is not only a member of one of the well known l)ioneer families of the county but is also a representative farmer of his township. His father, Daniel B. Bowen, was born in Lewis county, New York, May 20, 1811, and died, in Kalamo township, on the old homestead, July 1, 1892. His wife, whose maiden name was Beulah D. Cox, was born in the state of Vermont. and passed the closing years of her life in Kalamo township, their marriage having been solemnized September 15, 1836. In the same year they took up their residence in Eaton county, the father securing eighty acres of government land in section 32, Kalamo township, his brother Hiram having previously purchased land in the same township and having come here and erected a log cabin on his land. Daniel B. and his bride lived with Tliram until Daniel could complete a log house of his own. His house had a roof sloping one way and constructed of troughs made of hollowed and split basswood. All kinds of wild game was plentiful, and the father of the subject of this sketch was dele gated to kill deer for the Fourth of July celebration. On the preceding day he killed two, but fearing the supply would prove inadequate he went forth and shot a third the next morning. Wolves and bear infested the pioneer settlements, and on one occasion, when returning from BIellevue with fresh meat, Daniel D. Bowen was pursued by a pack of wolves, which he successfully evaded, while on the same trip he frightened away a panther which he encountered. He was one of the most influential men in the community, and no citizen stood higher in public confidence and esteem than did he through the long years which marked his residence in the county. He held practically all township offices except that of supervisor, having served twenty years justice of the peace. He was a stanch Democrat in his political allegiance, an(l both he and his wife were zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church in tlhe earlier and later days. Mr. Bowen transported his grain thirty-five miles, to Goguac prairie, to have the product ground at the little mill there established, and on one occasion his loaded sled drawn by oxen broke through the ice of a stream which he essayed to cross. He was compelled to take a club, jump into the water and break a passage across, carrying the grain bags on his shoulder to the shore before they became wet. After reloading his sled he was compelled to proceed four miles through the freezing cold, driving his ox team, before he reached a cabin where he could dry his soaked and frozen clothing. I-e had learned the trade of pump-making, and when his funds ran low he turned to his trade for a means of replenishing his exchequer, having manufactured many pumps for the early settlers, while on one occasion he made an air chamber from a hollow log and through the use of other logs of the same kind forced water a long distance. At the time of his death he owned two hundred and forty acres of land, the greater portion of which he had reclaimed from the forest. He erected two frame houses, the first having burned in 1861. His paternal grandfather was a captain
Page 211 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 211 in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution. Daniel B. and Beulah D. Bowen became the parents of two children, the subject of this sketch being the younger. Caroline, who was born September 16, 1839, died on the old home farm. She became the wife of Oscar Barden, and of their eight children six are living. The subject of this sketch was associated with his father in his farming operations and land development until he had attained the age of thirty years. having in the meanwhile duly availed himself of the advantages of the pioneer schools. His father then gave him one hundred and twenty acres of swamp land, and he individually cleared most of the same, while in 187- he erected on the place a frame house and barn and a granary, developing a good farm. He continued to reside on this place until 1891, when he returned to the old homestead to live with his father. Since that time, with the exception of five years passed in the city of Charlotte, where his daughters attended the public schools, he has continuously resided on this fine old homestead. lie now owns three hundred and eighteen acres, having presented his son-in-law and daughter with forty-one acres and having sold one acre. He learned to make pumps under the direction of his father, and has done more or less work in this line. Mr. Bowen is engaged in diversified farming and has made a specialty of breeding full-blooded Durham cattle. In politics he gives his allegiarice to the Democratic party, but has never sought public office. November 12, 1873, Mr. Bowen was united in marriage to Miss Esther Dunham, who was born in Maple Grove township, Barry county, June 29, 1848. Her father, Charles Dunham, was born in Orleans county, New York, and died, in Maple Grove township, Barry county, Michigan, in 1895. His wife also was born in the state of New York and now resides with her son in Maple Grove township. Mr. Dunham came to Michigan in an early day first locating in Kalamo township, Eaton county, as did two of his brothers, and here buying forty acres of government land, a portion of which I he reclaimed. He then sold the property and moved to Barry county where he developed an excellent farm, maintaining his home in Maple Grove township until the time of his death. Of the three children Mrs. Bowen was the second. Peter O. lives on the old homestead, and Henry died in the same township, in early manhood. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen have three children. Caroline, born May 30, 1880, is the wife of Edward Pease and they have two children,-Hazel and Floyd. They reside on their farm, in Kalamo township. Kate, born October 28, 1884, was graduated in the Charlotte high school and is now a successful and popular teacher of Kalamo township. Nellie was born January 29, 1896, and is attending school. HIRAM BOWEN merits a tribute of honorable distinction in this publication, for he was numbered among the first settlers of Eaton county. Here he bore to the full the "heat and burden of the day" during the trying era of initial development and progress, while in all the relations of this mortal life he was sincere, true and earnest, following the precept of the Golden Rule and making his mark upon the annals of the county which continued to be his home until he was summoned to the life immortal. Mr. Bowen was a native of the old Empire state of the Union and came of stanch New England ancestry, the family having been early founded in America. He was born in Lewis county, New York, in the year 1801, and his death occurred on his old homestead in Kalamo township, Eaton county, August 7, 1861-the farm now owned and operated by his son, Edward E. His wife, whose maiden name was Louisa Ann Cox, was born in the state of Vermont, in 1810, and she survived him by many years and attained a venerable age, passing the closing years of her life in Kalamo township, where she died in 1892, their marriage having been solemnized in the state of New York, in which state were born the first four of their seven children, concerning whom the following brief record is given: Mrs. Jane Atkins died in the I
Page 212 212 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I state of Arkansas; Mrs. Harriet Williams resides at Lake Odessa, Ionia county, Michigan; William enlisted in a Michigan regiment of heavy artillery at the time of the civil war and died in hospital before the end of the war; as the result of disease contracted while in the service; Mrs. Louisa Craig died in Kalamo township, though her home at the time was in Barry county; Hiram was a member of a Michigan regiment in the war of the Rebellion and died about one year after its close, as the result of disease contracted while in the field; Edward E., the next in order of birth, will be accorded consideration later on in this sketch; and Sarah is the wife of M. E. Keith, of Lake Odessa, Ionia county. Prior to coming to Michigan Hiram Bowen purchased two hundred and eighty acres of government land in Eaton county, the same lying in sections 29, 32 and 34 Kalamo township. In 1836 he came with his family to the wilds of this county, where only a few families were to be found at the time, and he made his way to his property and established a home in section 32, where he erected his little house of logs, the same being near the site of the present residence of his son, Edward E. Mr. Bowen was compelled to cut a way through the woods to his land, and a number of years elapsed ere roads of a passable sort were to be found save in a few localities, on the line of main travel. The log shanty was later replaced by a more commodious and comfortable log house, and in this he passed the remainder of his life, though he had made preparations to erect the present frame residence, which was completed about one year after his death. He reclaimed a considerable portion of his land, and in the early days was compelled to go to Kalamazoo for his milling and provisions, making the trip with an ox team and not reaching home until a week had elapsed, so slow and difficult was the traveling to that distant point. He improvea one hundred acres of his land, and divided the remainder among his children, the homestead retained by him comprising one hundred and twenty acres. Several years before the death of his wife their son, Edward E., purchased the interests of the other heirs and came into possession of the homestead, to which he has since added eighty acres, in sections 28 and 33, while about seventy acres of the original homestead are under cultivation, the remainder being covered with timber. Edward E. Bowen, who furnished the data for tile preparation of this brief memoir, was born in this county, September 7, 1847, and has here passed his entire life, identified with agricultural pursuits. He secured a common-school education and remained with his parents until both were called to the life beyond, and since the death of his mother he has remained on t'!e home farm, as already intimated. He is a Democrat in his political faith and is a man who commands the respect of the community in which he was reared. He is a bachelor. STEPHEN BOWSER is the owner of one of the finely improved farms of Sunfield township, the homestead being located in section 30, and the thrift and prosperity indicated are the results of his own efforts, since the place was a wiTd tract when it came into his possession, more than a quarter of a century ago. Mr. Bowser was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, April 20, 1837, and is a son of Daniel and Mary (Treese) Bowser, who were of stanch German lineage. Daniel Bowser was a successful farmer in Ohio, and later moved to Indiana where both he and his wife died on the old homestead. The latter was reared to manhood on the farm in Indiana and was afforded the advantages of the local schools of the day. In Noble county, Indiana, February 18, 1857, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Jane Bunger, who was born in that county, August 6, 1843, a daughter of William and Hannah (Wantz) Bunger, both of whom were born in Ohio, where the father was engaged in farming up to the time of his removal to Noble county, Indiana, where he followed the same vocation until his death, his wife also dying in that county. Stephen Bowser became the owner of a farm of forty acres, in Noble county, Indiana, and there he and
Page 213 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 213 his wife continued to reside until 1868, when he sold the property and came to Eaton county, Michigan. Here he purchased forty acres of his present homestead, the land being heavily timbered, and he and his family resided in a house one-half mile east of their present home until he could make a clearing in the woods and erect his own dwelling. He built an exceptionally large and substantial house of hewed logs, one of the best in the neighborhood at the time, and the building is still standing, in an excellent state of preservation. This continued to be the family home until 1898, when Mr. Bowser erected his present spacious and attractive frame residence, which is modern in design and equipment, constituting one of the beautiful farm homes of the township, while the other buildings on the place are in harmony therewith. Mr. Bowser cleared his forty acres of land, all of which is now under cultivation, and he later added to his landed estate by purchasing eighty acres on the opposite side of the road, having reclaimed about thirty acres of this latter tract. Though not one of the very early settlers of the county MIr. Bowser was not denied many of the experiences and labors of the typical pioneer, as is evidenced in the facts already noted. In politics he has ever accorded a stanch support to the Democratic party, but he has never sought or held public office, though taking a loyal interest in all that concerns the well being of the community. He and his family are held in high esteem and their home is notable for its generous hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Bowser have two children: Hannah Arvilla is the wife of James H. Boyles, who owns and operates a fine farm adjoining that of Mr. Bowser. and they have one child, Oda, who is the wife of Calvin Gehman, of Vermontville; Wilson, who is engaged in the furniture business at Silverton, Marion county, Oregon, and who is also the owner of a valuable hop farm near that place, married Miss Daisy Fay and they have two children, Leon, and an infant. Mr. and Mrs. Bowser are firm believers in the creed of the Latter Day Saints to which they give loyal support. DELORIN W. BOYER, one of the popular citizens and prosperous farmers of Roxand township, was born on the farm which he now owns and occupies and is a representative of one of the well known pioneer families of Eaton county. He was born November 4, 1852, and is a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Waltz) Boyer, both of whom were born in Theresa township, Jefferson county, New York-the former on the 27th of February, 1817, and the latter on the 4th of September, 1825. The mother died on the homestead farm, in Roxand township, June 15, 1900, where her husband passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring February 15, 1895. They were married in their native county and in 1849 came to Michigan. November 4 of that year Peter Boyer located on eighty acres of government land, in section 22, which he had previously purchased, paying one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre for the property, and having had to go to the land office in Ionia in locating the claim, while the deed to the same, now in the possession of the subject of this review, bears the signature of Martin Van Buren, who was then president of the United States. No road had been constructed to make the land accessible and Mr. Boyer cut out a way through the forest, made a clearing on his land and erected a log house, taking up his residence in this domicile in January, 1850. At this time there were thirteen voters in the township, and the nearest mill was at Portland, Ionia county. Mr. Boyer was a man of marked energy and mature judgment in business affairs, and he was very successful in his efforts as a pioneer. To his original homestead he added until he was the owner of two hundred and forty acres in Roxand township, while he also owned eighty acres in Gratiot county. He reclaimed the greater portion of his Eaton county land before his death, being one of the substantial farmers of the county and standing high in the confidence and esteem of the community. He was a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, and served two terms as township treasurer and several years as highway commis
Page 214 214 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY sioner. He resided in Roxand township five years before he owned even an ox team, and in building his log house he felled the trees in such a way that he did not need a team to draw the logs to the site. Concerning the eleven children of this honored pioneer the following record is entered: Christa is the wife of Oscar Crane, of Mulliken, this county, and of their five children four are living: Nancy is the wife of Ferdinand Whelpley, of Mulliken, and they became the parents of five children, of whom four are living; Peter died at the age of three years; Delorin W., of this sketch, was the fourth child; Frederick, who married Amelia Doxie who bore him two children, both now deceased, died in Camden, Arkansas; Alice died at the age of two and one-half years; Hattie died at the age of two years; Libbie is the wife of George Loucks, of Mason county, and they have four children; Martha, now deceased, first married Richard Stall, and they had two children, and then separated; after his death she became the wife of Bert O'Hara; Asa resides on a portion of the old homestead, in Roxand township, and has one child; and Cleon, who married Ella Kramer, also owns and operates a portion of the homestead of his father. In his boyhood days Delorin W. Boyer attended the district school when opportunity afforded, and he has most effectively supplemented this limited discipline by personal application and by the lessons learned under the direction of that wisest of all head masters, experience. He remained with his parents until their death, and ably contributed to the development of the home farm. At the age of twenty-three years he purchased eighty acres of wild land, in section 15, his father contributing one hundred dollars to the purchase price, while he personally paid the remainder. Mr. Boyer cleared this land and reclaimed it to cultivation, and split the rails with which to fence the property. His next purchase was one of twenty acres, in section 22, about ten acres having been cleared, and later he added twenty acres more. He finally traded for forty acres of improved land, in section 22, where he now resides, while he has since added to the area of his homestead, which now comprises one hundred and eighty acres, the greater portion of which he individually reclaimed. Mr. Boyer exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and he has served two terms as township treasurer, while he has been moderator of his school district for the past seventeen years. He is identified with the tent of the Knights of the Maccabees in Mulliken and he and his wife hold membership in the Grange at Hoytville. December 29, 1899, Mr. Boyer was united in marriage to Miss Mary Lundquest, who was born in the city of Muskegon, Michigan, July 4, 1876, on the centennial anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. She is a daughter of Rev. Jacob and Mary (Grenlund) Lundquest, the former of whom was born in Finland, in 1851, being now a resident of Ionia county; his wife, who was likewise born in Finland, died in Kalamo township, Eaton county, in 1884. In 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Lundquest came to America, locating in Indiana, where they remained until their removal to Muskegon, Michigan. In 1877 Mr. Lundquest purchased eighty acres of timber land in Kalamo township, Eaton county, improving the property and there residing until 1892, when he exchanged the property for forty acres of improved land in Roxand township, later making another exchange and remaining in Roxand township until 1896, when he traded his farm for one hundred acres in Sebewa township, Ionia county, later making several trades in that county and now being the owner of a farm of seventy acres in Danby township, though he still resides in Sebewa township. He is an ordained clergyman of the United Brethren church, and his political support is given to the Democracy. Following is a brief record concerning his children by the first marriage: Annie is the wife of John Fors, of Muskegon; Charles is a resident of Ionia county; the third child died at birth; Mrs. Boyer was next in order of nativity; Emma is the wife of Delbert Rimmel, of Roxand township; Frederick died in 1893,
Page 215 PAST AND PRESENT OP EATON COUNTY 215 aged thirteen years; Stella died at the age of three years, and Orva at the age of six months. After the death of his first wife, in 1884, Rev. Jacob Lundquest married Mary Neisman, and of their seven children two died in infancy, the others remaining at the parental home. namely: Ida, Lottie, Martha, Bertha and Leah. Mr. and Mrs. Boyer have one daughter, Olive May, born November 14, 1902. She is the youngest tax-payer in Eaton county, having paid her first tax to her uncle, Cleyon Boyer, in 1904. EDWIN BOYER, one of the venerable pioneers of Eaton county, where his parents took up their abode nearly seventy years ago, is the owner of a good farm in Chester township, where he maintains his home, though he is now living retired from the active labors which filled so large a portion of his honorable and useful career. Mr. Boyer is a native of the state of New York, where he was born on the 10th of March, 1825, being a son of Leonard H. and Margaret (Lepper) Boyer, both of whom were born in Herkimer county, New York-the former November 25, 1797, and the latter February 22, 1795, while both passed the closing years of their lives in Chester township, Eaton county, the father having been eighty-five and the mother eighty-four years of age at time of death. Leonard H. Boyer traded a mortgage on land in the state of New York for two hundred and forty acres of land in Chester township, Eaton county, Michigan, and eighty acres in Riley township, Clinton county. At the time these properties came into his possession no white man had presumed to take up his residence on the land, while it is very doubtful whether white men had visited the same, the Indians still roaming unmolested through the dim forests. On the 29th of June, 1837, Leonard H. Boyer and his family made their way into the dense forest of Chester township and established themselves in a primitive home one and onehalf miles west of the farm now owned and occupied by the subject of this sketch, who was about twelve years of age at the time. A little clearing was made in the woods and in the same was erected a log shanty, eighteen by twenty-two feet in dimensions, the flat roof, slanting one way, being made of elm bark root. Later the family removed to the homestead now owned by the subject of this brief tribute, and here a more commodious and substantial log house was erected for the family dwelling, the same being eventually replaced by the excellent frame residence now utilized. The father, with the assistance of his sturdy sons, cleared about one hundred acres of his land, and at the age of seventy years he retired from active labor and divided up the property among his children, with whom he and his wife thereafter made their home. They had six children: Lydorania is the wife of Parley Worden, who came from the state of New York, they died in Oceana county, Michigan; Sylvinia married Sidney B. Gates and is now deceased; Edwin, of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Elizabeth is the wife of Jacob Inselman and they reside in Bellevue, this county; Sophia is the wife of Hobson Sinclair, of Sunfield, this county; Jorum resides on a portion of the old homestead, in Chester township, owning one hundred and ten acres. Edwin was reared to manhood in this county and his memory forms a connecting link between the early pioneer epoch and the latter days of opulent prosperity and advancement. He assisted in reclaiming a large amount of land in the virgin forest and is one of the sterling pioneers of the county, honored by all who know him. His present homestead comprises one hundred and forty acres and is well improved. As a young man he married Miss Phoebe Esther Kellogg, who was born in what was then the territory of Michigan, October 3, 1835, and who died in 1890. Four children were born of this union: Harriet, who remains with her venerable father on the homestead; Alma Roena, who is the wife of William Santee, of Chester township; Loa Euphema, who is the wife of Wm. J. Fetterman, of Chester township and Delia M., who died at the age of ten years.
Page 216 216 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY ISRAEL BOYER.-In section 34, Sunfield township, is situated the fine homestead farm of this honored pioneer, who has here resided from his childhood days and who represented Eaton county as a loyal soldier of the Union in the war of the Rebellion. He was born in Little Falls, Herkimer county, New York, April 23, 1843, being a son of Henry and Catherine (Newman) Boyer, the former of whom was likewise native of Little Falls. where he was born December 2, 1812, a son of Henry Boyer, Sr., and he died in Roxand township, Eaton county, Michigan, at the age of seventy-five years; his wife was born in New York state, August 22, 1817, and still resides on the old homestead farm, in Roxand township, being eighty-nine years of age at the time this sketch is prepared. Henry Boyer came to Michigan in 1837 and purchased one hundred acres of heavily timbered land, in section 4, Chester township, this county. Shortly afterward he returned to New York and was there married, remaining in the old Empire state until 1847, when he came with his family to Eaton county to take up a permanent residence. He erected a log house on his land and there continued to reside until 1865, when he sold the property and purchased forty acres of timbered land, in Roxand township. He reclaimed this tract from the wilderness and there passed the remainder of his life, while to him was always given the unqualified esteem and confidence of his fellow men. He joined the Republican party at the time of its organization and took a loyal interest in public affairs, but never sought or held office. Of the children who attained maturity the following data are entered: Mary is widow of Frederick Boyer, of Gratiot county; Israel, subject of this sketch, was the second child; Jane Ann is the wife of William Gould, of Roxand township; Jorum H. was a soldier in the civil war and died while in the service, at Yellow Church, Virginia; Sophronia is the wife of David Litchfield and resides in the village of Mulliken, this county. Israel Boyer was about four years of age at the time of his parents' removal from New York to Michigan, and he grew up vigorous in mind and body under the discipline of the pioneer farm, early beginning to contribute his quota to its work and the while attending the little district school as opportunity offered. At the age of eighteen years he found employment by the month at farm work, and continued thus engaged until the nation's integrity was imperiled by armed rebellion, when he subordinated all other interests to respond to President Lincoln's call for volunteers, enlisting, in August, 1861, as a private in Company C, Eighth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he was in active service until October, 1862, when he received his honorable discharge. He then re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company A of the First United States Engineers & Mechanics, and with this important command he was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, continuing in the regular army service until the close of the war, when he again received an honorable discharge. He took part in the second battle of Bull Run and the hotly contested battles of South Mountain and Antietam; during the summer of 1862 was with his original regiment in South Carolina, being present at the capture of Fort Pulaski and being at the time on the steamer "Vanderbilt." He was never wounded or taken prisoner, but gave the best of his abilities and powers to the preservation of the Union, making a record of which he, as well as his descendants, may well feel proud. He has never asked for a pension, though he is entitled to six dollars a month under the provisions of the new service law. He desires no further recompense for duty performed. After the war Mr. Boyer returned home and purchased eighty acres of wild land, in Roxand township. He reclaimed this tract to cultivation and there continued to reside until 1880, when he sold the property and purchased an unimproved farm of eighty acres in the same township. He built a house on this land and lived there one year, in the meanwhile clearing twenty acres. He then sold the place and bought a home in Vermontville
Page 218 IRVING D. BRACKETT
Page 219 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 219 I township, and here he continued to reside until 1895, when he purchased his present attractive farm, in Sunfield township. He has since bought an adjoining tract of forty acres and now has one of the valuable farms of the township, having improved the dwelling, and having erected a large barn and other buildings, while thrift and prosperity are in evidence throughout. He is free from indebtedness and yet has no desire to abate his labors, finding his greatest pleasure in productive work, even though he might relegate the same to others. He is independent in his political views, and only two men for whom he has voted have attained the presidential chairGrover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Boyer is a valued and appreciative comrade in the Grand Army of the Republic, being affiliated with the post at Vermontville. In September, 1869, Mr. Boyer was united in marriage to Miss Harriet A. Clayton, who was born in the state of New York, in September, 1847, and who died in May, 1885. She was a daughter of William Clayton, who passed his entire life in the state of New York. Of the six children of this union only two attained maturity-Susan, who is the wife of Eugene Darkin, residing on the forty-acre farm last purchased by her father; and Howard, who remains with his father and who has recently purchased a well improved farm of sixty acres, in his home township. IRVING D. BRACKETT, president of the village of Bellevue and one of its most honored and influential citizens, is undoubtedly one of the oldest native residents of the town and is a representative of one of the distinguished pioneer families of Eaton county. He was born in Bellevue, which was then a mere hamlet, May 4, 1839, being a son of Martin S. and Mary L. (Earl) Brackett, the former of whom was born in Elbridge, Onondaga county, New York, December 9, 1810, while the latter was born, in the same state, August 23, 1816. The father died in Bellevue, February 7, 1877, and the mother passed the closing years of her life in Charlotte, where she died September 28, 1887. They were married in the state of New York, where they remained until 1838, when they located in the village of Bellevue, this county. Martin S. Brackett had received a liberal collegiate education in his native commonwealth, where he had also studied for the ministry, and had later prepared himself for the profession of law. Upon locating in Bellevue he took up the practice of law, being one of the pioneer attorneys of the county, and continued to follow his profession until the close of his life, in addition to which he was distinctively a man of affairs, prominent and influential as a citizen and business man. He was one of those largely instrumental in securing the railroad for Bellevue, the line having been originally known as the Peninsular Railroad, and he was secretary of the original company. He was a Democrat of the uncompromising type and was an able advocate. of the principles of the party. He served for a time as prosecuting attorney of the county and was once a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor of the state. He bought and sold a great amount of real estate in the surrounding country, and at the time of his death he owned one hundred acres of land adjoining the village of Bellevue, while he also owned a large amount of realty in the village. He was a man of impregnable integritv and left a definite impress upon the professional, industrial and civic history of Eaton county, where his name merits a place of enduring honor. The home of the Brackett family was ideal in its makeup, kindliness being in evidence at all times and a generous and gracious hospitality being dispensed. The friends of the large family of children were always made welcome, and Mr. and Mrs. Brackett never lost their appreciation of the pleasure of having young folks about them, their popularity thus being doubly enhanced. Concerning the eleven children it is consistent that a brief record be entered in this connection. Reuben E. is a prominent manufacturer of the city of Lansing. He married Helen Flint and they have two children. Martin S., who was a successful business man of Petoskev,
Page 220 220 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY this state, died in that city. He married Addie H. Bond, also deceased, and they are survived by two children. Irving D., the immediate subject of this sketch, was the next in order of birth. Vera L. is the widow of Charles P. Brown, who was engaged in the practice of law in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the time of his death. His widow and two children survive, and she is a resident of the state of Texas. Edgar D., who died in Charlotte, is survived by his wife and two sons. Charles M. and Mary L. were twins, the former dying in Bellevue, while the latter is the wife of George Huggett, of Charlotte; they have two children. Frank C. is a farmer of Sheridan township, Montcalm county. He married Margaret A. Fargo and they have two children. George E., who is engaged in the shoe business and in the manufacturing of gas in Petoskey, married Minnie Hall. David E., who is engaged in the clothing business in the city of Lansing, married Caroline Bradley, and they have three children. Caroline is the wife of Dr. William Bolles, a prominent physician and surgeon of Brownton, Minnesota. Irving D. Brackett secured his educational discipline in the schools of Bellevue, and at the age of nineteen years he began clerking in a dry-goods store here conducted by his father, continuing thus engaged for a period of three years and then removing to the farm of his father-in-law, William Goss, in Convis township, Calhoun county, where he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits for the ensuing thirteen years. In 1874 he purchased one hundred and twenty acres in the same township, remaining on the place until 1889 and in the meanwhile making excellent improvements, including the erection of good buildings. He also engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock, being very successful in his operations. He still owns this farm. In 1889 Mr. Brackett returned to Bellevue, where he conducted a general merchandise business until 1892, when he sold the stock and returned to his farm. In the following year he again took up his residence on the homestead farm of his father-inlaw, for whom he conducted all business, having been given the power of attorney, and this arrangement continued until the death of Mr. Goss, two years later. In 1894 Mr. Brackett returned to his own farm, and while there he purchased a lot in the village of Bellevue, erecting on the same one of the finest modern residences in the town, and in the autumn of the same year he and his family took up their abode in this attractive home. Since that time Mr. Brackett has given his attention to the supervision of his varied real-estate and capitalistic interests, which are large. He is interested in about one thousand acres of land in the vicinity of Bellevue, all the farms being improved, and he has been particularly fortunate in securing good tenants, a number of whom have rented land from him for many years. Mr. Brackett is a liberal and publicsplrited citizen and has the unqualified regard ef the people of his native town, as is evidenced by his incumbency of the office of president of the village, in which position he is now serving his third term. He served two years as treasurer of Convis township, Calhoun county, one year as township clerk and four years as justice of the peace, while for many years he was a member of the board of trustees of Bellevue and a member of the board of education for five years. In politics Mr. Brackett is a stanch Democrat, and he' is identified with the local lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity. May 14, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brackett to Miss Mary A. Goss, who was born in Convis township, Calhoun county, May 11, 1845, a daughter of William and Chloe (Stern) Goss, the former of whom was born in Boyleston, Massachusetts, January 28, 1814, while his death occurred on his home farm, in Calhoun county, Michigan, October 21, 1894. His wife, who was born in Saybrook, Connecticut, September 27, 1820, died on the homestead farm February 15, 1893. They were married in Marshall, Calhoun county, February 5, 1837. Mr. Goss came to Michigan in 1835, about two years before the admission of the state to the Union, and after a brief residence in Marshall he removed to Eaton county and purchased one hundred and
Page 221 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY2 221 sixty acres of government land, in Bellevue township. He located on this place, which, in 1838, he traded for a portion of the homestead on which he died, in Convis township, Calhoun county, removing to the latter in that year and eventually becoming the owner of a magnificent landed estate of about one thousand acres. He individually reclaimed his homestead farm of four hundred acres and aided in improving the various other farms which he purchased. He was one of the most successful and influential farmers of Calhoun county and was a man of irreproachable character, commanding the respect of those who came in contact with.him in the various relations of life. He was a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democracy but would never consent to become a candidate for office, though often importuned so to do. Of his several children, of whom Mrs. Brackett was the first born, all died in infancy save her. Mr. and Mrs. Brackett became the parents of three children, namely: Clara, who died at the age of twenty-two months; Miary E., at the age of fifteen months; and Ruby E. at the age of nine months. IHON. JAMES B. BRADLEY, M. D., the present able incumbent of the office of auditor general of the state of Michigan, and one of the listinguished representatives of the medical profession of his native commnonwealth, and was actively engaged in practice in his home city of Eaton Rapids up. to the time of entering upon the discharge of his duties in the executive office above noted. Dr. Bradley was born in Middlebury township, Shiawassee county, Michigan, November 19, 1859, and is a son of Albert B. and Jerusha L. (Tubbs) Bradley. The Bradley family was founded in Michigan in its territorial days, as is evident when reversion is had to the fact that the Doctor's father was born in Wayne county, this state, in 1830. There he was reared to manhood and there his marriage was solemnized, after which he removed to Shiawassee county, becoming a pioneer farmer in that section, where he initiated the develop ment of a tract of heavily timbered land. It was his to render loyal service in defense of the Union when its integrity was jeopardized by armed rebellion. In 1862 he enlisted as a member of the Fourth Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served three years, or until the close of the war, having been present at the capture of Jefferson Davis, presi(lent of the Confederacy, and having assisted in taking Mrs. Davis and her mother away in a wagon. After the close of the war he returne(l to his farm, but he later took up his residence in Laingsburg, that county, where he was engaged in the mercantile business until his death, which occurred March 12, 1875, as the result of disease contracted during his long and arduous service as a soldier of the civil war. His widow resides in Eaton Rapids. They became the parents of three sons and one daughter, the subject of this sketch being the youngest. The daughter passed away at the age of three years. Edgar C. is a resident of New York city and is second vice-president of the Postal Telegrapl Company. Harvey S. resides in Columbus, Ohio, and for more than a quarter of a century has held the office of chief operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Dr. James B. Bradley secured his early educational training in the village of Laingsburg, Shiawassee county, where he completed a course in the high school. In 1880 he took up his residence in Eaton Rapids, where he secured employment in the drug store of Hamilton Brothers, with whom he remained five years, though in the meanwhile he managed to complete the prescribed course in the celebrated Rush Medical College, in Chicago, in which he was graduated with the class of 1886, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Shortly after his graduation he entered upon the practice of his pro-. fession in Eaton Rapids, and here he met with distinctive success, attaining high prestige in his profession and building up a representative practice. In the winter of 1893 he took a special course in the Post-Graduate Medical School of New York city. He is a member of the American Medical Association,
Page 222 222 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY the Michigan State Medical Society and the Eaton County Medical Society. In politics Dr. Bradley has ever accorded a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, in whose cause he has been an active worker. He served two terms as mayor of Eaton Rapids, was a member of the county board of United State pension-examining surgeons for ten years, and for four years was chairman of the Republican central committee of Eaton county. In November, 1904, Dr. Bradley was elected auditor general of the state, and the affairs of this important and exacting office now demand practically his entire time and attention. He still continues to maintain his professional headquarters in Eaton Rapids, where he now has a partner, Dr. William H. Enders, who is a graduate of the medical department of thz University of Michigan and who is ably looking after the details of the large practice built up by Dr. Bradley. Dr. Bradley is a Knight Templar Mason, a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and also identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. In 1885 he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie D. Frost, who was born and reared in Genessee county, Michigan, a daughter of Jonathan A. Frost, an honored pioneer of that county. They have no children. WILLIAM WALTER BRIGGS is one of the native sons of Eaton county who has witnessed the development of this section front the pioneer days to the present, while he has had the good judgment to adhere to that great basic industrial pursuit to which he was reared. being now numbered among the substantial farmers of the county. His farm lies in Vermontville and Kalamo township. He was born on the old homestead farm of his father, in Kalamo township, the date of his nativity being February 13, 1853. He is a son of Abel and Henrietta (Pratt) Briggs, the former of whom was born in the state of Vermont, April 2, 1820, and the latter in Massachusetts, May 3, 1828. The father died on the home farm, in Kalamo township, in 1886, and his widow still resides there, the place being doubly endeared to her through the memories and associations of many years. They were married in the old Green Mountain state, whence they came to Michigan in 1848, making Eaton county their destination. Carmi Briggs, father of Abel, had previously exchanged property in Vermont for one hundred and twenty acres of wild land in Kalamo township, this county, and it was to this embyronic farm that the son and his wife came as pioneer settlers, Abel Briggs eventually purchasing the property from his father. He erected a log house, which was the family home for several years, and later he built the frame residence now on the place. He cleared and brought under cultivation one hundred acres of his land prior to his death, having been a man of sterling character and having stood high in the esteem of the community. Of the eight children all are living except one, William W. having been the third child. Helen resides in Washtenaw county; Alfred, who was formerly deputy sheriff of the county, now resides in Vermontville; Ida is the wife of Edward Hall, of Kalamo township; Orvin and Orvill were twins, the former now being a resident of Washtenaw county and the latter being deceased; Albert lives on the old homestead farm, as does also Irving, both remaining with their widowed mother. William W. Briggs passed his boyhood on the home farm and attended the district school until he was fifteen years of age, when he initiated his independent career. He thereafter was employed by the month at farm work until he had attained his legal majority, when he purchased forty acres of land, in Vermontville township, and erected a house and other buildings. He later sold this property and purchased forty-five acres in section 36, same township, and still later he purchased fortyseven acres across the road, in Kalamo township. He owns both tracts and has developed a good farm, having erected a comfortable house and other requisite buildings, while he is recognized as an industrious farmer and reliable, straightforward citizen. Mr. Briggs assisted in reclaiming his father's farm from the
Page 223 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 223 forest and has done much other work of the same sort since starting for himself, his career having been marked by consecutive and arduous application. Through his own efforts he has gained a position of independence and definite prosperity. He is a Democrat in his political faith, though somewhat independent in local affairs of a public nature. At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Briggs married Miss Clara Farr, and they were divorced five years later. Ray, the only child of this union, is now married and resides on a farm in Vermontville township. In 1889 Mr. Briggs married his present wife, whose maiden name was Martha Pinnock and who was born in Kalamo township, in November, 1862. They have no children. EUGENE BROWN is one of the successful farmers and stock-growers of Kalamo township, his well ordered homestead, of eighty acres, being located in section 18, Kalamo township. He is a native of Eaton county, having been born in the township in which he now resides, January 4, 1857, and being a son of Adam and Fidelia (Wilson) Brown, both of whom were born in Genesee county, New York, in which state their marriage was solemnized. The father was born in the year 1851, and died, in Kalamo township, in 1897. The mother died in the same township in 1858, about two years after the removal of the family to Michigan. Of the two children the subject of this sketch is the elder, his brother, Duane, being now engaged in the hotel business at Cadillac, this state: he married Miss Rhoda Howe and they have one son. For his second wife Adam Brown married Miss Mary Harrison, who is now deceased, three children having been born of their union: Alma is the wife of Edward Alphin, of East Tawas, Michigan; Lena is the wife of Albert Decker, of Kalamo township; and Alice is the wife of Daniel Youngs, of Westminster, California. Adam Brown came to Michigan and located in Kalamo township, this county, in April, 1856, purchasing eighty acres of timbered land, on which he erected his primitive log house. He cleared and otherwise improved this tract, and later secured an adjoining eighty acres, which he likewise reclaimed to cultivation. At one time he owned three hundred acres in this county, and at the time of his death was the owner of one hundred and sixty acres. He was a man of sterling character and was held in high esteem in the community. Eugene Brown was reared on the old homestead which was the place of his birth and his educational advantages were those offered by the district schools. He early became familar with the varied details of farm work, and that he has not severed his allegiance to the independent life of the farmer signifies that he has found a due measure of satisfaction and profit in his individual operations. At the age of twentyfour years he left the home farm, and thereafter worked land on shares for several years. In 1889 he purchased eighty acres of land in Vermontville township, retaining this property until 1893, when he exchanged the same for his present farm, of equal area. This latter was originally swamp land to a large extent, but he has instituted an effective system of drainage and the soil is of exceptional fertility. He is energetic and far-sighted and has been very successful in the development of his farm, which he has improved with good buildings. He is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, though formerly arrayed with the Democratic party, of which his father was a member. He is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and formerly held membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. November 24, 1880, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Ella Hampton, daughter of Daniel and Sophia (Ford) Hampton, both of whom were born in the state of New York, whence they came to Michigan in an early day, being now resident of Chester township, this county. Mr. Hampton was one of the early settlers of Eaton Rapids, where he resided until purchasing his present farm, which he reclaimed from the virgin forest, making all the improvements on the place. Of his six children it may be recorded that Earl is a resident of Charlotte, Nora of Benton township,
Page 224 224 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Martha of Carmel township, Ella is the wife of the subject of this sketch, and Elmer and Edward remain at the parental home. Mr. and Mrs. Brown became the parents of six children, one of whom died in infancy. The others remain members of the home circle. namely: Roy, born February 21, 1883; Clara, April 29, 1886; Elma, February 22, 1889; Olin, May 6, 1891; and Orno, June 18, 1895. HENRY H. BROWN, a substantial farmer and highly esteemed citizen of Vermontville township, is a veteran of the civil war, and his loyalty in all the relations of life has been of the same high type which prompted him to follow the nation's flag on the battlefields of the south. Mr. Brown is a native of the old Empire state of the Union, having been born in (nondaga county, New York, ten miles from the city of Syracuse. March 27, 184-4. His father, lHamlilton Brown, was born in the state of New York, July 8, 1815, and died in an asylum for the insane, in that state, at the venerable age of eighty years. His mental powers became dethroned when!he was well advanced in years, his chief hallucination and cause of mental unrest being that he feared he would be left in poverty in old age. He was a harnesslnaker by trade, and later engaged in farming/, remaining on his homestead farm until 1871, when he sold the Iproperty, thereafter devoting his time to the work of the ministry until his mental affliction compelled his commission to the asylum. He was an ordained clergyman of the Methodist Protestant church. His first wife, whose maiden name was Jane W. Harris, was born in the state of New York, May 7, 1815, and she died at the age of forty-nine years, the subject of this sketch having been the younger of her two children; L. Harris, the older son, died in New York state, having been killed by a railroad train. Of the second marriage one child was born, Jennie, who is the wife of Elmer McChesney, of Brewerton, New York. Henry H. Brown was five years of age at the time of his father's removal to the farm, and he was there reared to maturity, securing his educa tional training in the common schools. At the age of twenty years he tendered his services in defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Eightyfifth New York Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war, having been mustered out May 30, 1865, and having duly received his honorable discharge. He participated in a number of hotly contested engagements, notably those of Quacker Road, Five Forks, Weldon Railroad, second battle of Hatcher's Run, and being in pursuit of Lee in Virginia. Two days prior to Lee's surrender Mr. Brown received a wound in the elbow. His exhaustion from long marches kept him from being present at the historic surrender of the gallant southern general. After the war Mr. Brown returned to the farm of his father, \\where he remained three years, continuing to reside in the state of New York until 1872, when he came to Eaton county, Michigan, arriving February 15. In the preceding year he had purchased his present fine farm of eighty acres, in section 8, Vermontville township, and he at once took up his residence on the place. (nly fifteen acres had been cleared, while an additional thirty-five acres had been "slashed," -that is, the timber had been cut and left on the ground. The buildings on the farm at the time were a log house and milk stable. t e has cleared the remainder of the land and now has one of the finely improved farms of the township. In 1899 he erected one of the largest barns in the township, while he has also built a capacious granary, a tool shed and other needed buildings. He still occupies the log house, but contemplates erecting a modern (dwelling in the near future. Mr. Brown is known as an indefatigable worker, and his (levotion to the interests of his farm may be realized when the statement is made that he has been absent from his farm only twenty (lays at one time, since taking up his residence here, more than thirty years ago. He has those sterling attributes of character which ever beget popular confidence and regard, and his position in the community is one of assured esteem. He is a stanch adherent of the Repub
Page 225 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 225 I lican party, and is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Grange. April 2, 1868, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Delia E. Fralick, who was born December 2, 1850, being a daughter of Felix and Samantha (Kinne) Fralick, both of whom are now deceased, the former having passed the closing years of his life in the home of the subject of this sketch, and having died in 1903, at the home of Mrs. Stephen Benedict, at the venerable age of ninety years. Mrs. Brown died six years after her marriage, the date of her demise having been July 19, 1881. No children were born of this union. For his second wife Mr. Brown wedded Miss Gertrude E. Goodwin, who was born in Washtenaw county, Michigan, August 21, 1866, and of the six children of this union four are living: Lorie H. died at the age of eight years; Homer G., who was born January 18, 1884, is a resident of New York state, being employed in the head office of the well known firm of D. M. Osborn & Company; Gladys MI., who was born November 1, 1887, is attending school in the village of Vermontville; Claud H. died in January, 1905, at the age of fifteen years; Leila J., born May 3, 1892, and Harold A., born June 5, 1896, are attending the district school near their home. SIDNEY H. BROWN is a representative of one of the pioneer families of southern Michigan, and the Wolverine state has been his home from the time of his birth, which occurred in the year following that of the admission of Michigan to the Union. He is one of the progressive farmers of Eaton county, owning a finely improved farm in section 17, Sunfield township. He was born in Calhoun county, this state, October 3, 1838, being a son of Marenus and Mary (Bentley) Brown, both natives of the state of New York, where the former was born May 1, 1813, and the latter December 13, 1817. Marenus Brown passed the closing years of his life in the city of Kalamazoo, where he died at the age of eightysix years; his wife died in Kalamazoo county, June 26, 1894. They were married in the state 14 of New York, January 17, 1833, and in 1836 they came to Michigan, the father securing one hundred and twenty acres of government land in Calhoun county, where lie reclaimed a good farm from the forest wilds. He made the trip from Detroit to Homer, Calhoun county, with wagons and ox teams, being seven (lays on the road. He remained on his original homestead until 1885, when he sold the property and came to Eaton county, purchasing an improved farm of forty acres on the opposite side of the road from the home of his son Sidney, of this sketch, and here he i emained until the death of his wife, after which he removed to Kalamazoo, where he lived retired until his death, in 1898, aged eighty-five years. He was a man of robust phlsique and endured to the full the strenuous toil which was the portion of the pioneers of the heavily wooded sections of southern Michigan, and his health remained excellent until his final illness, resulting from the natural infirmities of advanced age. His wife was an invalid for forty years prior to her death and had been cared for with unfailing solicitude by her husband and children. Both were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Brown was a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic larty. Of the nine children the following brief record is entered: David J., who was born April 10, 1834, died in boyhood, while the family were en route for Michigan and was buried by the way; Rosetta E., born May 24, 1836, is the wife of George Lincoln, of Calhoun county; Sidney H. was the next in order of birth; Mary A., who was born November 10, 1840, died in childhood; Marietta M., born May 24, 1843, is the wife of Isaac Lamont, of Calhoun county; Frances F., born November 10, 1845, is the wife of George Wilcox of Kalamazoo; John W., born November 12, 1848, is a resident of Lake Odessa, Ionia county; Effie J., born February 15, 1851, is the wife of S. Wells Halstead, of Kalamazoo; and Edward, born September 28, 1855, died in infancy. Sidney H. Brown was reared to maturity on the pioneer farm of his parents, in Calhoun
Page 226 226 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY county, and his educational advantages were restricted to the district schools of the day. At the age of twenty years he left the parental roof and began working by the month, also working a farm on shares for a, time. He remained in his native county until 1867, when he came to Eaton county and purchased his present farm, of one hundred and three acres, the same being covered with the native timber and no improvements having been made; in fact no road had yet been constructed to make the land accessible for team and wagon. Mr. Brown made a clearing and erected a substantial log house, which continued to be his abiding place until 1882, when he erected his present large and well appointed frame residence, and in the meanwhile he has put up other requisite buildings of excellent type and has kept everything about the place in good repair. Though he did not come in to this section as early as many others his labors were not different from those that faced the first pioneers, for he had to clear his farm from the wilderness,-a work that is known to be one of herculean order. He has been indefatigable in his efforts and the fine appearance of his farm indicates his success. For several years after coming here he utilized an ox team, and his other facilities were in many ways those common to the earliest pioneer epoch. He still has a considerable amount of valuable timber on his land, having cleared sixty-five acres. He has given his attention to diversified agriculture and stock-growing and is now making a specialty of the raising of high-grade swine. His genial nature and sterling attributes of character have gained to him the good will and esteem of the community, and he feels that his lines have fallen in pleasant places. He is a positive supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, but has never held office, his party being in the minority in this township and county. May 19, 1859. Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Granger, who was born in Marion, Wayne county, New York, April 23, 1839, a daughter of Arah and Nancy J. (Beals) Granger, both of whom were born in the state of New York,-the former May 2, 1811, and the latter September 27, 1813. They passed the closing years of their lives in Oakland county, Michigan, where the father died September 10, 1858, and the mother December 10, 1885. They were numbered among the pioneers of that county, where they took up their residence in the early '40's, the father there reclaiming a farm in the woods. Of their eight children four are living. Elephus and Levi are residents of Oakland county, and Almira is the wife of John Florence, of Jackson county. William H. Granger of Chester, is deceased. In conclusion is incorporated the following brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Brown: Marenus, who was born August 30, 1860, is a bachelor and is associated with his father in the work of the home farm; Edna J., born September 29, 1862, is the wife of James K. Hunter, of Sunfield township; Charles A., who was born July 27, 1865, and who married Miss Emma Shafer, is a successful farmer of the same township; Alice I., born March 27, 1867, is the wife of Milton Hager, of the same township; Levi A., who was born May 24, 1869, died November 30, 1871; Anna A., who was born October 4, 1871, died December 20, 1875; Leon A., who was born February 4, 1874, died January 4, 1876; Margaret E. who was born August 3, 1876, is the wife of Courtland O. Van Buren, of Sunfield township; and Bernice, who was born March 21, 1880, is the wife of Homer H. Van Buren, of the same township. From the statements just entered it will be seen that Mr. and Mrs. Brown are favored in having all of their living children still resident of their home township, where all were born and reared. THOMAS H. BROWN, one of the most honored and prominent pioneer citizens of Benton township, was born in Ashland county, Ohio, July 9, 1827, on the homestead farm of his parents, in Montgomery township. He is a son of Thomas H. and Susanna (Sours) Brown, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Pennsylvania, of stanch German
Page 227 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 227 I I lineage. The father was a lad of ten years at the time of coming to America, and he was a pioneer of Ohio and a valiant soldier in the war of 1812. He lived to attain the patriarchal age of ninety-seven years, continuing resident of Ohio until his death, while his wife also died in that state. This worthy couple became the parents of six sons and five daughters, and of the number the subject of this sketch is now the only survivor. Mr. Brown was reared to maturity in the old Buckeye state, where he assisted in the work of the pioneer farm, and where he secured a common-school education. making good use of the advantages afforded him. At the age of twenty-one years he left the parental home and secured a position as clerk in a general store, receiving for the first month but four dollars in compensation for his services, but his wages were soon advanced to twenty dollars per month. In 1852, at the age of twenty-five years, he moved to Eaton county, where in 1847 he had taken up two hundred and eighty acres of government land, practically all being covered with the heavy growth of native timber. He played well his part in reclaiming land here and making the same available for cultivation, while he has otherwise aided materially and ably in developing the resources of the county and in upbuilding its splendid civic structure. His present homestead, one of the valuable farms of Benton township, comprises one hundred and forty acres, all available for cultivation except fifteen acres of timbered land, while the buildings and other improvements of permanent order are of substantial type, making the homestead a most attractive one. In politics Mr. Brown has given his allegiance to the Republican party from the time of its organization, and he has been prominent and influential in local affairs of a public nature. He served four years as township treasurer, has been a member of the school board several times, and has served sixteen years as justice of the peace, while in the community his name is a synonym for honor and integrity in all the relations of life. He is affiliated with the tent of the Knights of the Maccabees in Potter ville. October 31, 1851, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Cole, who was born in the state of New York and whose death occurred in 1884. They became the parents of three daughters,-Laura, Ida May and Stella E., all of whom are now deceased, Ida M. having been the wife of John M. C. Smith, and Stella E. the wife of L. F. Mikesell. In 1889 Mr. Brown was married to Miss Etta Murphy, a native of the state of New York, and she presides graciously over the pleasant home. WILLIAM T. BRUNGER is one of the popular pioneers of Oneida township, where he owns a well improved farm of eighty acres. He was born near Chatham, province of Ontario, Canada, September 2, 1835, and is a son of Joseph Brunger, who was born in county Kent, England, May 12, 1809 and who died in Oneida township, Eaton county, Michigan, August 14, 1858. In Canada he married Sarah Ann Rogers, who was there born, November 22, 1814, and she died, in Oneida township, November 17, 1863. Joseph Brunger was reared and educated in England. where he learned the distiller's trade. He and his elder brother, Thomas, each inherited the sum of two hundred dollars from their mother, coming in to possession of the same upon attaining their legal majority, and each ran away from their father, Thomas, Sr., and came to America upon securing the funds mentioned, Thomas having come two years earlier than did Joseph. Their father was greatly opposed to this action on the part of his sons. In 1830 Joseph Brunger located in the state of New York, where he was employed in a distillery for two years. He then went to the province of Ontario, Canada, where he assisted in the operation of a distillery for the ensuing ten years, at the expiration of which he purchased one hundred acres of land, which he reclaimed, there making his home until 1853, when he sold the property and came to Eaton county, where he purchased forty acres of heavily timbered land, in section 32, Oneida township. He built a log house, with mud and stick chim
Page 228 228 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY ney and puncheon floor, and he cleared thirty acres of the land before his death, which resulted from an attack of typhoid fever. His wife was a member of the Presbyterian church, though her father, Rev. David Rogers. had been a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the fourteen children of Joseph and Sarah A. Brunger the subject of this sketch was the first born; John, who died in the city of Charlotte, in May, 1903, married Kate O' Brien and they became the parents of two daughters; James, who died in Onedia township, in July, 1905, married Sarah Sutherland, and they had two children; Joseph, who is now a resident of Grand Ledge and who served four and one-half years in the civil war, as a member of Company I, Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, married Henrietta Patterson and they have one child; Stephen enlisted in Company G, Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry, and died in the service, near Little Rock, Arkansas; Jane, who died in Portland, Oregon, married Charles Parker and they became the parents of seven children; Mary, who died in Oneida township, was the wife of John W. Ewing, mentioned elsewhere in this work; Frank, who married Maude Hensley, is employed as engineer on a vessel plying the Columbia river, and maintains his home in Portland, Oregon; Ann is the wife of Andrew McPeek, of Grand Ledge, and they have seven children; Daniel G., who married Eva Wells, is captain on a ferry boat near Portland, Oregon; Sarah, who died in Oneida township, married Elisha Bigelow and they had seven children; the other three children died in infancy. William T. Brunger, to whom this sketch is dedicated, secured his elementary education in the common schools of Ontario, Canada, and after the removal of the family to Eaton county he attended schools for a time in a little log building near the present Strage church, and this school house was also used for religious meetings of the pioneers, Elder Benedict having been the first preacher whom Mr. Brunger heard after coming to the county. At the age of nineteen years he gave his father one hundred dollars for his "time," being thus released from further service without definite pay. He then entered the employ of his uncle, Thomas Brunger, who had purchased a farm in Oneida township, and he thus continued four years, within which period he purchased the first tread-power threshing machine owned in the township, the same having an open cylindler over which the grain passed, while the machine was operated by horse power. He ran a threshing outfit here for ten years. During the winter seasons he did a large amount of chopping in the woods, assisting in the clearing of many of the best farms in Oneida township. He worked for others until 1862 and then bought forty acres of wild land where he now lives, in section 21. He built a log house, which he occupied as a home until 1871, when he erected his present frame house, utilizing the log structure for a stable. After the death of his father he became the head of the family and looked after the younger children until they were able to care for themselves. He improved his original farm, and later purchased an adjoining forty acres, so that he now owns eighty acres, of which seventy-five are under cultivation, the remaining five being covered with timber. When he came to the county Grand Ledge was represented by only one or two buildings, and Lansing had but recently been selected as the state capital, the present capitol grounds having then been covered with the native timber. as Mr. Brunger recalls from the fact that he made the trip to mill there, a distance of twelve miles, with an ox team, at infrequent intervals. All the land around his original homestead was wild and when he secured the property no road had been cut through to the same. In Benton township, this county, December 7, 1858, Mr. Brunger was united in marriage to Miss Maria Graham, who was born near London, England, May 13, 1838, being a daughter of John and Ann (Easenwood) Graham, both of whom likewise were born in the vicinity of London,-the former September 11, 1809, and the latter, January 19. 1812. The father died in the state of Kansas, August 27, 1886, and his wife died in England
Page 229 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 229 in 1842. They became the parents of five children: Martha, who died in Grand Ledge, in 1902, married Thomas Brunger, and they became the parents of six children; Mary, who married Henry Warren and had three children, died in the city of Chicago; Jane, who married Alfred Mitchell, and who had three children, died in Oneida township; Maria, wife of the subject of this sketch, was the next child; George, who married Emma Bement, was a member of Company H, Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry in the civil war, and died at Little Rock, Arkansas, while still in the service. After the death of his first wife John Graham married Sarah Scruten, and they became the parents of eight children: Emma died in Oneida township, this county; Mrs. Ellen Gannon died in Kansas; Rose married George Shields and also died in Kansas; Mrs. Lillian Shaw resides in California; Artemisia died in infancy; Isabel is the wife of Theodore Dickinson and they reside in the state of Washington; Amri died in Kansas, as a young man; and in that state also died Lena, who is su — vived by two children. The father and stepmother of Mrs. B1runger came to America from England and for a time remained in the state of New York, then going to Quebec, Canada, where the father followed his trade, that of shoemaker, for one year. He then removed to Brunswick, Medina county, Ohio, where he worked at his trade about four years, later being similarly engaged in Illinois and in Ontario, Canada. In 1855 he located in Eaton county and bought eighty acres of land in what is known as the Canada Settlement, in Oneida township. Ten years later he sold this property and bought forty acres of improved land in Delta township, and in 1870 he removed to McPherson county, Kansas, where he resided until one year prior to his death, when he came again to Eaton county, where he remained in the home of Mr. Brunger sevral months, returning to Kansas in July, 1886, and dying in the following month, as already noted in this article. Mr. and Mrs. Brqnger have four sons: Edgar H., born September 9, 1859, owns a farm of eighty acres adjoining that of his father: he married Cora Bailey and they have two children, Clyde W. and Clement W.; Elmer S., born August 7, 1866, is the owner of a farm of forty acres, in Onedia township, and he and his wife Florence, nee Allen, have one daughter, Nita E.; Cassius O., who married Miss Marie Vallet, now resides with his father on the home farm, having recently sold his own farm: he was born September 28, 1874; Harley J., who was born September 20, 1876, and who owns forty acres in Oneida township, married Bertha Parmenter and they have one son, Russell H. Mr. and Mrs. Brunger are members of the First Presbyterian church of Oneida township, and the former has been a deacon of that organization for twenty years, and he is a member of the Grange. He was identified with the Greenback party during the period of its existence, but he now takes an independent position in political matters, never having been a seeker of office, though he served for a score of years as treasurer of his school district, being held in unqualified esteem in the township which has so long been his home. -SAMUEL GORDON BURKHEAD, who maintains his home in Charlotte, has been a prominent factor in educational work in Michigan and other states and is now superintendent of the public schools of Hoquiam, a thriving city in the state of Washington. Though his executive duties necessarily cause his absence from Charlotte the major portion of each vear, he still looks upon this city as his home and the family pass much of their time in the attractive residence here. Professor Burkhead has attained distinctive prestige and precedence as an educator, and his earnest zeal in behalf of those who work under his direction is based on a thorough appreciation of the value of education and also of the effort that should be put forth by the student, for he won his education through his personal exertions and is thus imbued with the spirit of sympathetic helpfulness, though ever inculcating in the objective case the principles of selfreliance and self-control,-so essential to a
Page 230 230 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY success worthy the name in any field of thought or endeavor. Professor Burkhead was born in Cadiz, Harrison county, Ohio, June 30, 1838, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah Ann (Gordon) Burkhead, the former of whom was born in Maryland, in 1809, and the latter in Ohio, June 2, 1817. They became residents of Eaton county, Michigan, in 1850, and the father secured one hundred and sixty acres of timber land from the government, the same being located in Benton township, near the present village of Potterville. Here to-day is found a finely improved farm, the old homestead being owned and operated by their son John F., who was the second eldest in their family of seven children, Professor Burkhead, the immediate subject of this review, being the eldest. The others are: Martha, Elijah (deceased), Mary (Mrs. Joseph McClintic), Devello, and Frank. Thomas Burkhead. was a soldier in the Mexican war, in which he served under General Zachary Taylor, and his patriotism also led him to go forth in defense of the Union in the civil war. In this great internecine conflict he sacrificed his life, having been killed in the battle of Poplar Grove church, in Virginia, September 30, 1864, and having been laid to rest near the spot where he fell. He was an old-line Whig until the organization of the Republican party, when he transferred his allegiance to the latter. He was one of the honored pioneers of Eaton county, and here he reclaimed the greater portion of his farm from the forest, having had to cut a road through the woods to the place when he first came to the same. His wife survived him by thirty years, having been summoned into eternal rest in 1894, and having been interred in Maple Hill cemetery, Charlotte. Her mother, whose maiden name was Archibald, was a first cousin of General William H. Harrison and General Zachary Taylor. Professor Samuel G. Burkhead started in on the work of gaining an education when he was but four years of age, being a diminutive student in a diminutive log school house near Sullivan, Ohio. In noting the more salient points in his career recourse is had to previously published articles. from which quotations are made with but slight change: "Professor Burkhead is selfmade, and as a boy and youth was one of the sort not to be kept down. In the first years of his schooling the old rate bill was in force, and he paid this and for his board by doing chores. He carefully saved his summer earnings and expended two dollars to develop brain cells to every dollar put on to his back or into his stomach. At the age of nineteen he began to teach, and he has had an experience of almost an half century, his latest achievement being to capture the superintendency of the schools in one of the brightest towns on the Pacific coast. He is a born educator, likes the work as well as a boy likes to go fishing, and he is beloved and venerated by thousands of bright men and women who have come under the influence of his personality and teachings." While engaged in teaching he utilized his earnings in broadening his own education to the most liberal confines possible. Thus he was found a student in the old Charlotte Academy, now the Peninsular hotel, later attended Olivet Institute, from which Olivet College, this county, was built up, and he then continued his studies in the Michigan State Normal School in Ypsilanti, from which he graduated in 1869. In 1880 he was graduated in Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and three years later he received from this institution the degree of Master of Arts. He was also granted the honorary degree of Master of Pedagogics by the Michigan state board of education, this being a fitting recognition of his long and splendid service in the field of popular education. Professor Burkhead has held many important positions, including the superintendency of the public schools of Saginaw,Traverse City and Hillsdale, Michigan; principal of the public schools of Union City, Branch county, this state; and superintendent of the schools of Independence, Iowa, and Milbank, South Dakota, while he has held the superintendency of the schools of Hoquiam, Washington, since 1904. He is a member of the Masonic frater
Page 231 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 231 nity and also of the Knights of Pythias, while he has also been identified with other professional and fraternal organizations. He is the owner of a number of houses and lots in the city of Charlotte, including his fine residence property, where his family pass the greater portion of the time, the home not being broken up on account of his being called to other fields of work. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church. The family is well known in Eaton county and is prominent in the best social life of the city of Charlotte. November 5, 1863, Mr. Burkhead was united in marriage to Miss Hulda M. Hale, who was born and reared in Eaton Rapids township, this county, being a daughter of Calvin and Eleanor Hale, both of whom were born in Vermont, being representatives of old and prominent New England families. Mrs. Burkhead completed a course in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti and was for several years engaged in teaching, being a woman of gracious presence and marked culture. Professor and Mrs. Burkhead have two children: Ada H., who was born in Decatur, Michigan, was graduated in the high school at Independence, Iowa, and also the Throop Polytechnic Institute, in Pasadena, California, in which latter state she was for a time successfully engaged in teaching. She is now the wife of Hale R. Weaver, of Chicago. The younger of the two children is Samuel G., Jr., and he was born in Saginaw, Michigan, being now a student in the schools of Charlotte. EDWIN D. CALKINS is one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of Roxand township, is a man of marked intellectuality and broad information, interested in and familiar with the questions of the hour and well fortified in his opinions on matters of public polity, and he has the distinction of being a veteran of the civil war, in which he made a valiant record. His wife is the owner of a good farm property of forty acres, in section 17, where he maintains his home, but he is living practically retired, renting his land to others. Mr. Calkins is a native of the state of New York, having been born in Livonia, Livingston county, August 3, 1842, and being a son of Daniel R. and Betsey Ann (Stone) Calkins, both likewise native of the old Empire state, where the former was born April 5, 1818, and the latter June 12, 1817. The mother died in the state of Kansas, January 8, 1884, and her husband returned to Michigan, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring in Hoytville, this county, May 4, 1892. The family removed to Michigan in 1847, when the subject of this sketch was five years of age, and settled in North Plains township, Ionia county, having been a member of a colony from New York state. Among the families prominently identified with this settlement were the Calkins, Chases and Stones, all being of English descent and all being firm in Christian faith. Each of these pioneer families came to Michigan with a capitalistic reinforcement of fifteen hundred dollars, and each bought one hundred acres of land, for a consideration of five hundred dollars. The land purchased by Daniel R. Calkins had but three acres cleared, and he built a log house on the property and set himself vigorously to the herculean work of reclaiming a farm from the virgin forest. He remained on this homestead until about 1870, when he sold the property and removed to Kansas, becoming a pioneer of that state, and meeting with the reverses that fell to the lot of so many others in that section, where drouths and grasshoppers worked havoc with crops and brought eventual financial failure to the settlers. After the death of his devoted wife Daniel R. Calkins came to Eaton county, passing the rest of his days in the home of the subject of this sketch. His wife was a woman of superior education and gracious refinement, and the children were reared under favorable circumstances by reason of this fact. The Stone family was established in America in the colonial era, and Mr. Calkins has a history of the family covering many generations and showing many men of prominence and influence in the genealogical line. Daniel R. and Betsey A. Cal
Page 232 232 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY kins became the parents of four children, Edwin D., of this article, having been a twin of Edward, who died at the age of two years; Elizabeth, who was born December 14, 1844, is the wife of John Wooster, of Northville, Kansas; and Winfield, who was born July 15, 1850, died in Kansas, April 11, 1875. Edwin D. Calkins was reared to maturity on the homestead farm, in Ionia county, being afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality, and continuing to be associated in the work of the farm until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, though he had previously enlisted in the regular army, having been withdrawn from the same by his father, as he was but seventeen years of age at the time. September 23, 1861, at the age of nineteen years, Mr. Calkins enlisted in Company G, Ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in active service four years and fifteen days, or until the close of the war, when he received his honorable discharge. Among the more important engagements in which he took part were the battles of Murfreesboro, Lavergne, Stone's River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochee River and the siege of Atlanta. He was never seriously wounded, but for many years he carried a buckshot in his right leg as a reminder of his experience as a soldier of the Union. After the close of the war Mr. Calkins returned to Michigan and went to Gratiot county, where he purchased forty acres of wild land, there being a small cabin on the place and this being utilized as the family home for two years. While in service as a soldier Mr. Calkins had been in the west and had been impressed with the attractions of the prairies of Kansas, and in the midst of the forests of Gratiot county he finally decided to seek an abiding place in a section where nature had done the clearing, as he expresses it. In 1868 he removed to Kansas, but there his experience was similar to that of his father, and he was glad to return to Michigan, but not so well pleased to find his finances brought to the lowest ebb by reason of his ex periences in the "sunflower" state. In 1875 his wife came into possession of their present homestead, in Roxand township, the same comprising forty acres, of which only ten acres had been cleared at the time. He has reclaimed the remainder of the land, developing one of the excellent farms of the township, and he has replaced the original house, a small and inferior building, with the present commodious dwelling, which is most eligibly located on a rise of ground, so that the basement is available for use for other purposes than a cellar, while the main building is two stories in height. Mr. Calkins was afforded the advantages of the graded school in the village of Muir, Ionia county, when a youth, and upon this basis he has erected a superstructure of substantial information, having been an omnivorous reader and student and being especially well informed in ancient and modern history, practical astronomy and Biblical literature and history. He became a professor of Christianity when but fifteen years of age and has ever since been firm in the faith of the Disciple church, which he has exemplified in his daily walk and conversation. His course has been marked by unswerving integrity of purpose, and he has thus gained and retained the unqualified respect of his fellow men. He has given his allegiance to the Republican party from the time of attaining his legal majority, but has never consented to become a candidate for office. He is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic fraternity. September, 1861, two days before enlisting as a soldier, Mr. Calkins was united in marriage to Miss Melinda Rider, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, April 9, 1839, being a daughter of Jonathan Rider, concerning whom specific mention is made in the sketch of the life of Charles W. Strong, appearing elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Calkins became the parents of eight children, all of whom are living: Orilla E., who was born October 23, 1865, is the wife of Albert Hubbs, of Ozark, Missouri, and they have five children; Elizabeth E., who was born February 4, 1868, is the wife of George Wil
Page 233 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 233 cox, of Grayling, MIichigan, and they have three children; Mary F., who was born February 16, 1870, is the wife of Charles Hoffman, of Clinton county, and they became the parents of four daughters, all of whom are deceased; Trulia Z., who was born December 30, 1872, is the wife of Wm. McDaniels, of Roxand township, and they have seven children; Clara A., who was born June 6, 1874, is the wife of Edward Collins of Roxand township, and they have two children; Maud C., who was born September 1, 1876, is the wife of Arthur Woodin, of Charlevoix, Michigan; William E., who was born March 31, 1879, is yardmaster for the railroad at Boyne, Charlevoix county; and Melinda E., who was born November 26, 1881, is the wife of Hiram Brown, of Sebewa township, Ionia county. REV. GEORGE W. CAREY is engaged in farming in Vermontville township, where he has developed a valuable farm, and he is also a clergyman of the Free Methodist church, in whose work he has been very active. Mr. Carey was born in Niagara county, New York, March 5, 1836, and is a son of Calvin L. and Nancy (Cornell) Carey, the former of whom was born in Genesee county, New York, in 1800. and the latter of whom was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, August 13, 1812. The father died at the age of fifty years and his widow is still living, making her home in the city of Charlotte and having attained to the great age of ninety-six years, beinr undoubtedly the oldest person in Eaton county. Calvin L. Carey was a cooper by trade, and he followed this as a vocation for a number of years, after which he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, though he never owned a farm, having been in very moderate financial circumstances at the time of his death, which occurred in the state of New York. Following is a brief record concerning the seven children: John F. is a resident of Charlotte; the subject of this sketch was the next in order of birth; Esther MI. resides with her mother, in Charlotte; Jane became the wife of Thomas Skinner and when last heard from was a resident of Chicago, the supposition being that she is now deceased; Joseph T. was living in Denver, Colorado, when the subject of this sketch last heard from him; Calvin L. died in the city of Omaha, in 1902; and David died more than fifty years ago. George W. Carey began the battle of life on his own responsibility when a mere child, having left home when but eight years of age, and having thereafter never had a home for a year at a time until he made one for himself. He was with his parents, at varying and brief intervals, for several years, but has been practically dependent upon his own resources from his boyhood days. When he was a child his parents removed from New York in Ontario, Canada, just across the Niagara river, and when he was ten years old they returned to the state of New York. He was employed by the month at farm work until the time of his marriage. It is needless to say that his early educational advantages were most meager, being- confined to a desultory and limited attendance in the district sclools, but through personal discipline and through experience he has become a well informed nan and one of well fortified convictions and opinions. For some time after his marriage Mr. Carey rented land and was engaged in farming, in New York. In 1865 he came with his family to Michigan and located in Eaton county. For the first three years he lived on a farm, in Sunfield township, having purchased the property for a man named Childs. At the expiration of the period noted Mr. Carey purchased sixty-two and three-fourths acres, in section 2, Vermontville township, this constituting his present farm. The land was wild, the greater portion being heavily timbered. He built a small frame house, which is a portion of his present comfortable residence, and he has reclained all of his land to cultivation, erected other substantial buildings and has a well improved farm. Mr. Carey originally gave his support to the Republican party, having voted for Abraham Lincoln at the time of his first election, but for many years past he has been identified
Page 234 234 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY with the Prohibition party, being an uncompromising foe of the liquor traffic. For seventeen years he traveled far and wide, advocating the cause of temperance and preaching the word of the divine Master, having been for many years an ordained elder in the Free Methodist church. He was finally compelled to abandon his ministerial labors by reason of chronic nasal catarrh, but he exemplifies his Christian faith and devotion in the daily walks of life and never misses an opportunity to bring to the minds and hearts of others the spiritual truth which has so eminently engrossed his attention. He is an able and convincing public speaker and has accomplished a worthy work in the field of religious endeavor. October 16, 1857, Mr. Carey was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Ivers, who was born in Ireland, March 17, 1836, and who remains by his side, a cherished and devoted companion and helpmeet. Her father died in Ireland when she was a child and when she was about thirteen years old her mother started with her two children for America, her death occurring before the vessel reached the shores of the United States. The two orphan children were thus left to provide for themselves upon their arrival in America, as strangers in a strange land, and Mrs. Carey thus continued self-sustaining until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Carey became the parents of eight children, of whom seven are living: Maria E. is the wife of Samuel Dunn, of Sunfield township; Jennie is the wife of Edward Spitzer, of Vermontville township, and they have seven children; Minnie A. is the wife of William Young, of Battle Creek, and they have two children; James L., who is a farmer of Sunfield township, married Miss Della Barden, and they have two children; George W., who is a farmer of Vermontville township, married Miss Lillie Holton and they have one child; Lena L., who is the wife of Harry Richards, of Sunfield township, had four children by a previous marriage and two by her present union, two of the children of the first marriage residing with her parents; Willard Henry, who is a farmer in Barry county, married Miss Grace Bale and they have two children; and Dora died at the age of five months. PETER F. CASEY, one of the substantial farmers and worthy citizens of Benton township, is a native of Eaton county and a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of the Wolverine state, his parents having taken up their residence in Michigan prior to its admission to the Union. He was born on the pioneer homestead, in Eaton township, this county, August 29, 1848, and is a son of Edward and Ann (Hyland) Casey, both of whom were born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, whence they immigrated to America a short time after their marriage, first settling in the state of New York, where all of their children were born with the exception of the subject of this sketch. In 1836 they came to Michigan and took up their residence in Ann Arbor, where they remained until 1841, when they removed to Eaton county, settling on a place adjoining the present Church farm, in the northern part of Eaton township. Here the father secured eighty acres of government land, reclaiming the same from the wilderness and becoming one of the representative citizens of the township. He was a man of alert mentality and sterling rectitude, while he gained independence and prosperity through his own efforts. When he located on his farm Indians were still much in evidence, while deer, bear and other wild game abounded in plenty. The subject of this review reverts to the fact that much vigilance was demanded at times to keep the bears from abstracting the pigs from their pens and thus gaining their desired provender, while the bears were frequently seen drinking from the spring near the pioneer logcabin home. Edward Casey continued to reside on his homestead until his death, which occurred in 1849, his wife surviving him by about thirty years, and passing away in 1879. They became the parents of five sons and one daughter, all of whom are living except James and Edward. Thomas resides in Jackson county, John in the city of Charlotte, and
Page 235 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 235 Catherine is the wife of Philip Wareham, of Charlotte. All of the children were educated in the schools of Eaton county, and Mrs. Wareham was a popular teacher in Brookfield and Eaton townships, where she taught several terms. Peter F. Casey assisted in the work of the home farm, but began working by the month when but thirteen years of age, receiving six dollars a month for his services. He continued to attend school a portion of each year, and has been intimately identified with agricultural pursuits from his boyhood to the present day, while he has gained marked priority as one of the progressive and representative farmers and stock-growers of his native county. He now owns a fine estate of two hundred and forty acres, in Benton township, having personally reclaimed about onehalf of the land from the wild state, while he has improved the homestead with excellent buildings, including a commodious residence of modern architectural design and best of equipments. In politics he is aligned as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democracy, but has never been a seeker of public office. He has served as school director and takes an abiding interest in all that touches the welfare of the community. The family are loyal supporters of the Roman Catholic church. In 1873 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Casey to Miss Margaret Garvey, daughter of Michael and Mary (Nailon) Garvey, who removed from New York to Eaton county about a quarter of a century ago, his death occurring about a year later. His wife is still living in Eaton county, having passed the age of four score years. Mr. and Mrs. Casey became the parents of five children, concerning whom the following brief record is entered: Katherine is the wife of James Moore, of Charlotte; Lena became the wife of Charles Richards and died in 1895, leaving one child, Edith, who is being reared in the home of her maternal grandparents; William is associated with his father in the work of the home farm; Maud died at the age of fifteen years; and Hazel is still with her parents. CHARLES E. CHAPPELL is one of the honored pioneer citizens of Eaton county, with whose industrial and civic upbuilding he has been intimately identified. He now resides in the city of Charlotte, being treasurer of the Michigan Mutual Tornado, Cyclone and Windstorm Insurance Company and also devoting special attention to the extending of financial loans on real-estate security and to the settlement of estates. Mr. Chappell was born in Kalamo township, this county, October 10, 1844, a son of Alfred and Lucinda Chappell, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, whence they removed to Michigan in 1839, about two years after the state was admitted to the Union. They settled on a tract of eighty acres of heavily timbered land, in Kalamo township, this county, residing on this place nine years, at the ex — piration of which they removed to Carmel township, where the father secured another tract,of eighty acres, purchasing forty acres of the same from the government. Of this farm Alfred Chappell had cleared about forty acres at the time of his death, which occurred July 7, 1858, his devoted wife having passed away June 30, 1857. They became the parents of four children, namely: Martha A., who is the wife of Calvin Stone, of Charlotte; Charles E., who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Ellen Margaret, who died at the age of fourteen years; and Alfred J., who is a successful school teacher of this state. The subject of this sketch was but thirteen years of age when he became doubly orphaned, and his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Rowena Sprague, then came to live with the orphaned children on the pioneer farm. She was born in the state of New York. Previous to her marriage to Mr. Sprague, she was the widow of Joshua Chappell, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, in which he met his death, having been killed while on active duty at Fort Erie. In recognition of this fact his widow received a pension of twelve dollars a month, and this aided materially in providing for her needs and the support of her orphaned grandchildren
Page 236 236 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY after she took up her abode with them. Charles E. Chappell passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm, assisting in its reclamation and cultivation and early assuming much responsibility in the connection. HEi rudimentary education was secured in the somewhat primitive district school and he supplemented this by attending for a time the old academy in Charlotte, walking two miles to and from school each day and attending to the various chores about the farm night and morning. There was so much work demanded on the farm that he finally decided to give up his school work, but in this emergency his devoted sister sold her watch and with the proceeds hired a man to work on the farm three months, thus enabling her brother to continue his school work during that period. In March, 1865, Mr. Chappell entered the Union army as a private in Company D, Fifteenth Michigan Infantry, but he (lid not see much active service as the war closed soon afterward. He was mustered out August 15, 1865. During his absence from home his grandmother (lied, after years of unselfish devotion to her grandchildren. Mr. Chappell returned to the home farm, where he and his sister provided for the education of their younger brother, and he continued the work of improving and operating the place, developing one of the valuable farms of Carmel township. He erected substantial buildings, including a commodious and attractive residence, which took the place of the original log house. He continued to reside on the homestead until 1893, when he removed to Charlotte, where he has since made his home. He still owns the old farm, which he rents to good tenants. In 1869 Mr. Chappell established a brick and tile manufactory on his farm, building up a very extensive enterprise and manufacturing millions of brick. He derived a large profit from this industry, which he continued until 1901, when he disposed of the plant and business. For eighteen years he was treasurer of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Barry and Eaton counties. In 1885 the Michigan Mutual Tornado, Cyclone & Windstorm Insurance Company was organized, with the same officers as the company previously mentioned, so that Mr. Chappell became treasurer of the new corporation, an office of which he has since remained incumbent. The latter company began operations on a modest scale, the original idea of its organizers having been to do only a restricted or local underwriting, but the business has advanced by leaps and bounds, now having over forty thousand members and having issued indemnifying policies to the amount of sixty million dollars, while its business extends throughout the state. Mr. Chappell has been called upon to act as administrator of many estates, and he also makes a specialty of financial loans, handling his own funds and acting as agent for non-resident capitalists. He has led an active and energetic life, and his career has been one of signal honor and integrity, so that to him is accorded the fullest measure of esteem in the county which has been his home from the time of his birth to the present. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance, and while residing on his farm served as supervisor of Carmel township and also as treasurer. Since removing to Charlotte he served two years as grain commissioner of Eaton county, having been elected in 1898. He is a member of the Grange and both he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. In 1876 Mr. Chappell was united in marriage to Miss Caroline D. Matteson, who was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, near the city of Cleveland, whence her parents removed to Michigan in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Chappell became the parents of three children, of whom two are living: Claude E., who was a student in the engineering department of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, and is now holding a position on the International Waterway Commission, with headquarters at Buffalo, New York; and Cora E., who is at home. AUSTIN H. CHIPMAN is the owner of one of the valuable farms of Oneida township and is a reliable and successful business man and sterling citizen. Like so many other resi
Page 237 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY.237....... _.. dents of southern Michigan he points to the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, having been born in Genesee county, New York, October 6, 1835, and being a son of Amos and Hannah (Jagger) Chipman, both native of Vermont, where the former was born September 27, 1790, and the latter September 17, 1794. The father died in Oneida township, Eaton county, Michigan, February 27, 1873, and the mother died in Genesee county, New York, March 17, 1840. They became the parents of ten children: Mrs. Henrietta Daggert (lied in Minnesota; Mrs. Abigail Earl died in Kansas; Juliette is the wife of Milton Dewey, of Kalamazoo county; Electa Ann is the wife of Lorenzo Shepherd and they reside in the state of New York; Helen is the wife of George Blake, of Kalamazoo county; Daniel died unmarried; Jerome died at the age of eighteen months; Hiram and Walter are resident of Kalamazoo county; and Austin H., of this sketch, is the youngest of the children. Amos Chipman came to MIichigan with his family in 1844, locating in Kalamazoo county, where he had one hundred and sixty acres of government land, which he reclaimed and otherwise improved, there continuing to reside until 1867, when he came to Eaton county, purchasing a tract of one hundred and two acres, in Oneida township, about thirty acres having been reclaimed to cultivation. On this place he continued to reside until his death. Austin H. Chipman was about nine years of age at the time of the family removal to Michigan, and he was reared to manhood on the homestead farm in Kalamazoo county, in the meanwhile availing himself of the advantages of the local schools of the day. After attaining his legal majority he worked the home farm four years. While in Kalamazoo county he owned seventynine acres. lie finally disposed of his interests in Kalamazoo county and in 1867 came to Eaton county and located on one hundred and sixty acres which he had previously purchased, and he later purchased an adjoining eighty acres. A portion of the land had been improved, including the erection of a small house and barn. Until the death of his father he lived on the latter's farm, on the opposite side of the road from his own farm, and the paternal homestead was then sold. He accordingly erected a large frame house on his own farm, and there continued to reside until 1903, when he rented the farm, purchasing six acres of land and a small house, near the old homestead, and there remaining until the present time. His farm is one of the best in Oneida township, having been brought up to the highest state of cultivation and having good buildings, fences, etc., all in excellent repair, and having modern equipments for facilitating the work of the farm in its various departments. \Ir. Chipman has given his allegiance to the Democratic party from the time of attaining his majority, but he has never had ambition for public office and has never consented to become a candidate for same. September 8, 1861, Mir. Chipman was united in marriage to MIiss Adrien Murray, of Kalamazoo county. She was born in Genesee county, New York, M:ay 15, 1833, a dlaughter of Peter and Fanny (Kelly) Murray, who removed to Michigan in 1843, locating in Kalamazoo county, where Mir. Murray secured government land and developed a farm, both he and his wife remaining on that homestead until their death. To Mr. and Mrs. Chipman have been born four children: Jerome died at the age of fourteen years; Fannie L. is the wife of Lad. J. Nixon, of Charlotte; Mabel is the wife of Orlo Nichols, and they reside in North Dakota; and Bird remains at the parental home, an iuvalid, the result of two severe attacks of scarlet fever. RODNEY W. CHOATE is one of the representative farmers and influential and honored citizens of Delta township, being at the present time township treasurer. Mr. Choate comes of stanch old New England stock, the family having been established in America in the early colonial era and having had many distinguished representatives in the several generations. He was born in Somerset, Niagara county, New York, March 4,1834, being a son of Silas C. and Saloma (Seymour) Choate, both native of Or
Page 238 238 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY well, Vermont, where the former was born in 1810 and the latter in 1813. The mother died in Liberty township, Jackson county, Michigan, in 1842, and the father in Somerset township, Hillsdale county, in 1891. Silas C. Choate came with his family to Michigan in 1838, being also accompanied by his three brothers, Dr. Porter Choate, and Hazel and Joel Choate. He secured eighty acres of wild land in Liberty township, Jackson county, becoming one of the early settlers of that section. No railroads had penetrated the county at the time and Jackson was then a small village, known as Jacksonburg. He improved a good farm from the forest wilds and continued his residence there until 1846, when he removed to Hillsdale county, where he bought a farm of seventy acres, reclaiming a considerable portion of the place, which had been partially improved, and continuing resident of that county until his death, having passed the closing years of his life in the home of his youngest son. In 1844 he contracted a second marriage, being united to Miss Orrel Puddy, three children having been born of the first marriage and three of the second and the subject of this sketch being the eldest. Porter, who served two years as a member of Company K, Twenty-seventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry, in the civil war, and who died in the city of Lansing, married Miss Charlotte Aldrich and is survived by two children-Mills and Elva; Horace A., who served ten months in Company D, Ninth Michigan Infantry, and who is now engaged in farming in Delta township, married Miss Josephine Gardner and they have one son, Cisco; Hannah, the second of the children of the second marriage, resides in Hillsdale; Frances, the eldest, is the wife of Henry Dawley, of Wheatland township, Hillsdale county, and they have two children -Charles and William; and Seymour C., who is now one of the prosperous farmers of Delta township, Eaton county, married Miss Hettie Ethridge and they have three children-Rodney, Orrel and Harry. Rodney W. Choate, the immediate subject of this review, secured his early educational discipline in the common schools and supplemented this by attending Wilson Collegiate Institute, at Wilson, New York, for one year. He then, at the age of eighteen years, began teaching in Niagara county, New York, following this vocation during the winter and working on a farm in the summer. He remained in New York state two years and in the spring of 1853 returned to Hillsdale county, Michigan. He continued to teach school during the winter terms and devote his attention to farming during the summer seasons until he laid aside the occupations of peace to go forth in defense of the Union. In 1863 he bought forty acres of partly improved land in Eagle township, Clinton county, moving to the place and there remaining until September 9, 1864, when, at Jennison's hotel, that township, he enlisted, as a recruit, in Company I, Seventeenth Michigan Cavalry, joining the regiment at Front Royal, and thereafter being with his command in pursuit of General Lee during the greater portion of the time until the final surrender of that gallant officer. He took part in the battles of Dinwiddie Court House and Five Forks, Virginia, and was present at the capitulation of the city of Richmond and at the surrender of General Lee, having participated in many skirmishes and other minor engagements. After the surrender he went with his regiment to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he received his honorable discharge July 23, 1865. He then returned to Clinton county, Michigan, shortly afterward disposing of his farm and purchasing eighty acres of wild land where he now lives, in section 9, Delta township. He has developed one of the fine farms of Eaton county and has been very successful in his operations as an agriculturist and stockgrower. He has lived continuously on his farm save for an interim of nine years, during which he was engaged in the insurance business in the city of Lansing. He was a successful and popular teacher in the schools of Delta township for many terms, and has maintained an abiding interest in the cause of education. He is one of the representative citizens of his township and has been influential
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Page 241 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 9241 in local affairs of a public nature for many years. He is a stalwart in the camp of the Republican party, and is now serving his third term as township treasurer, having previously been township clerk for three years, and township supervisor seven years. He is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic, the National League of Veterans & Sons, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are zealous and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Delta Center. November 4, 1857, Mr. Choate was united in marriage to Miss Ursula M. Brown, who was born in Somerset, Niagara county, New York, September 25, 1833, being a daughter of Lemuel D. and Calista (Whitmore) Brown, the former of whom was born in Hadley, Massachusetts, and the latter in Scipio, Cayuga county, New York. Both passed the closing years of their lives in Somerset township, Hillsdale county, Michigan, where the mother died September 1, 1887, at the age of eighty-five years, and the father in 1896, at the age of ninety-one years. Mr. Brown came with his family to Michigan in 1839, and he became one of the pioneers of Hillsdale county, where he reclaimed a fine farm from the virgin forest, having been the owner of nearly three hundred acres and having cleared the land himself. Of the eight children the following brief record is given: Dudley 0., who is a farmer of Hillsdale county, married Mary Jane Freer and they have one daughter-Clara; Mrs. Choate was the next in order of birth; Perry, who died in Hillsdale county, was twice married; one son, Shelly, resides in Jackson; Henrietta died, in Hillsdale county, in 1858, at the age of twenty years; Frederick L. Brown, the youngest, born January 14, 1852, and now occupies the family homestead, was married to Alice Brockway, November 4, 1875; to them were born three sons; Otis died at the age of six years; Calista is the wife of Dexter N. Jones, of Charlotte, and they have three childrenLena R., Dudley W., and Ina L.; Edwin E., who is a farmer of Delta township, married Betty Sutliff, and Eleanor is the wife of Will iam Carlton, of Hillsdale county, and they have two children-Earl and Vernon. To Mr. and Mrs. Choate seven children have been born: Annetta, who died at Wenatchee, Washington, at the age of forty-two years, was the wife of Silas D. Griffith and is survived by one daughter, Grace; Grace E. died at the parental home, aged twenty-four years; Eva is the wife of William Robbins, of Lansing, and of their two children, the younger, Raymond, is living, Roy having died at the age of five years; Cora, who died in Delta township, was the wife of William Brockway, and is survived by two sons-Herbert and Bruce; Mae died while visiting in Hillsdale county; Herbert, who resides in the city of Flint, married Miss Alice E. Smith and they have one daughter, Lucille; and Calista O. is the wife of A. C. Nichols, of Watertown, Clinton county, and they have one child, Irma. EARL THEO. CHURCH, the honored president of the Merchants' National Bank of Charlotte, in which city he made his home for half a century, eminently deserves classification among those purely self-made men of Michigan who distinguished themselves for their ability to master opposing forces and to wrest from fate a large measure of success and an honorable name. Earl T. Church had his nativity and youth compassed by those environments which have ever fostered the spirit of personal independence and self-reliance, and he made his life worthy and prolific. He made an indelible impress upon the history of Charlotte and Eaton county, standing forth as a broad-gauged, liberal and public-spirited citizen, while many an important enterprise felt the strength of his even and steady guidance. Mr. Church was born in Seneca county, Ohio, January 26, 1835, being a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of that section of the old Buckeye state. His father, Earl Church, was born in Saratoga county, New York, January 28, 1798, and on June 14, 1827, he was united in marriage to Miss Calena Titus, who was born in Connecticut, in February, 1808, a daughter of Curtis
Page 242 242 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Titus. After their marriage the parents resided in Genesee county, New York, until 1833, when, with their three children, they removed to the wilds of Ohio, the father purchasing a tract of government land in Adams township, Seneca county, where he set himself bravely to the herculean task of reclaiming a farm in the midst of the virgin forest. The conditions which faced these worthy pioneers were not such as would appeal to the sybarite, but to their courage, self-denial and arduous labors is due the prosperity of the present day. The father made a preliminary clearing on his land and erected a log cabin of the type common to the pioneer era, the chimney being constructed of mud and sticks, while the floor was of puncheon and the equipments throughout primitive in the extreme. The good mother ably did her part in making a new home in the wilderness, having been adept in the use of the spinning wheel and having manufactured with her own hands practically all the clothing worn by the family. It was in the humble domicile mentioned that the subject of this sketch was ushered into the world. His parents were persons of intelligence and honest worth, believing in the earnestness and reality of life and that every person should fill the highest sphere of usefulness of which he was capable. The father had been well educated, and he became one of the valued pioneer teachers of Seneca county, where he died in August, 1849, his wife surviving him by several years. They became the parents of eight children, namely: Daniel W., Lucinda, John C., Earl T., Eleanor, Harvey W., Anna and Charles C. Of the number one is now living. Earl T. Church was reared on the home farm, assisting in its work during the summer months and attending the schools of the locality during the winter terms. He was fourteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and thereafter resided with his uncle until he had attained the age of seventeen years, when he secured a clerkship in a general store in Fremont, Ohio. A year later he started for California, proceeding as far as St. Joseph, Missouri, where he became ill. by reason of which fact he was constrained to return to Ohio. In 1854 Mr. Church came to Charlotte, Michigan, where he has ever since maintained his home. Here he was variously employed for some time and in the meanwhile completed a course of study in a local academy. He was clerk in the office of register of deeds for three years, and then, in 1858, engaged in business on his own responsibility, opening a small grocery store, in which he installed a stock whose valuation did not exceed three hundred dollars. His integrity, energy, enterprise and fair dealing gained to him a representative patronage from the village and county, and he devoted his attention principally to his constantly expanding business until 1881, having in the meanwhile made judicious investments in Charlotte propertv. In December, 1884, he became an interested principal in the Merchants' National llank, and in May, 1886, he was made president of this solid and popular institution, of which he continued to be the executive head until his death, which occurred on February 14, 190(), directing its policy with consummate discrimination and judgment. He was the owner of valuable farming property in the county, and each summer he found time to give his personal attention to the practical supervision of his agricultural operations. In a personal way as agent for others Mr. Church made a specialty of extending financial loans, while he gave his aid and influence in fostering various industrial enterprises which have tended to advance local prosperity. He assisted in the organization of the Charlotte Manufacturing Company and was elected its president in 1873. He was one of the active promoters of the organization of the Eaton County Agricultural Society, of which he served both as president and secretary, while the fine grounds owned by the society were secured largely through his indefatigable efforts and earnest co-operation. At the time of the civil war Mr. Church was enrolling commissioner and recruiting agent, materially assisting in securing the required quota of volunteers from Eaton county. He rendered
Page 243 PAST AND PRESENT most liberal assistance in accomplishing the establishment of the Charlotte public library, and was president of the association for a number of years. He was president of the Charlotte Cemetery Association for a number of years. In politics Mr. Church gave his allegiance to the Democracy, taking a lively interest in the party cause. When but twentyone years of age he was elected township clerk, and in 1868 he was elected supervisor of Eaton township, remaining incumbent of this office until Charlotte was incorporated as a city. He was the first treasurer of the village of Charlotte, and held the position until 1871, when he was elected president of the village. He was chairman of the committee that drew up the city charter, and after this charter was granted by the legislature of the state he was the first representative of Charlotte on the county board of supervisors, after which he was elected mayor of the city. In 1872 he was the candidate of his party for representative in the state legislature, running ahead of his ticket but being unable to overcome the large Republican majority normal to the district. He was a prominent and appreciative member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Church was twice married, and Charles E., the only child of the first marriage, now resides in Chicago, Illinois. February 24, 1894. Mir. Church was united in marriage to Mrs. Stella F. (Shaw) Higby, who was born in Eaton county, Michigan, May 21, 1842, being a daughter of Alvan D. and Maria (Cushing) Shaw, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, November 1, 1807, while the latter was born, in Vermont. December 16, 1803, their marriage having been solemnized, in Cicero, Onondaga county, New York, February 6, 1838. They were numbered among the prominent pioneers of Faton county, Michigan, where Mr. Shaw lied December 16, 1879, his wife having passed away April 12, 1876. Their only child is Mrs. Stella F. Church. August 25, 1862, she was married to Pitt Morse Higby, ewho was born November 6, 1837, in Turin, New York, and they became the parents of 15 OF EATON COUNTY 2'3 two children, Minnie M., who was born June 30, 1864, and Horatio Alvan B., who was born April 28, 1871, and who is now identified with the Charlotte Manufacturing Company. Pitt M. Higby was born in the state of New York, November 6, 1838, and came to Eaton county, Michigan, in an early day, here passing the remainder of his life and having been for a number of years engaged in mercantile pursuits in Charlotte, where he (lied April 19, 1878. The parents of Mrs. Church located in Eaton county in 1839, taking up a tract of wild land but residing on the same only a few years, then removing to Charlotte. Mr. Shaw long served as register of deeds of the county, and was also incumbent of the office of county treasurer for some time and held the office of supervisor, as well as several other positions of local trust. He was a prominent and influential citizen and assisted in securing homes for many persons in the early days, while he also purchased many tax titles. He was originally an old-line Whig and later a Democrat in his political proclivities. When he located in the county there was but one house in what is now the beautiful little city of Charlotte, the same having been located on the site of the present Phoenix hotel. Mrs. Church attended school in a log school-house which stood just west of the present Munger hardware store. In the passing away of Mr. Church, Charlotte and Eaton county lost its most valued citizen. Beloved and respected by all, his life was well worthy of emulation as he left behind him an untarnished name. CHARLES P. CLARKE, of the firm of Clarke Bros., publishers of the Grand Ledge Independent, of which attractive and ably conducted paper he is editor, is a native of the province of Ontario, Canada, having been born in Springfield, Elgin county, June 28, 1865, and being a son of Thomas and Jane (Radcliffe) Clarke, the former of whom was born on the Isle of Man, in the Irish sea, just off the coast of England, August 3, 1826, and the latter in Welland, province of Ontario,
Page 244 244 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY Canada, June 9, 1834. The father died in Grand Ledge, Michigan, July 10, 1901, and his widow still resides in this city. They became the parents of five children, namely: William R., who is associated in the publication of the Grand Ledge Independent, as already noted; Charles P., who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Edith, who is the wife of John W. Vickers, of Charlevoix county, Michigan; George A., who is a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Mary E., who is the wife of Dwight C. Huggett, of Reading, Michigan. Thomas Clarke was a son of William and Eleanor Clarke, who removed from England to Canada when he was ten years of age, his father having been a man of means and having purchased a large farm at Springfield, Ontario, where his death occurred in 1864. Thomas Clarke was educated in the schools of Ontario, and after leaving school he gave his attention to agricultural pursuits, his father having devised to him a farm of one hundred acres. He finally sold the farm and engaged in the grocery business in Springfield. In 1862 he went to California, where he remained two years, in the gold fields. He then returned to Canada and purchased another farm, near his father's old homestead, and there continued his residence until 1882, when he retired. A life of supine inactivity, however, had no attractions for him, and he accordingly located in the city of St. Thomas, Ontario, where he was engaged in the grocery business six years, then turning the enterprise over to the subject of this sketch, who continued the same for a time. In 1894 Thomas Clarke joined his sons in Grand Ledge, here passing the remainder of his life, honored by all who knew him. Charles P. Clarke was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of his native province, completing a course in the high school at Watford, Ontario. At the age of eighteen years he assumed a clerkship in a grocery, and later found employment in the circulation department of a daily newspaper in St. Thomas, where he gained his initial journalistic experience. In 1893 he came to Grand Ledge and established himself in the Insurance business, in which he continued until 1900, when he became associated with his brother William R. in purchasing the plant and business of the Grand Ledge Independent, an exceptionally fine property. He has since been editor of the paper and has brought it to a high standard as a clean-cut, alert and attractive weekly paper,-indepenaent of political lines and with a defined policy to represent the best interests of the city and county in which it circulates, "without fear or favor." In politics Mr. Clarke personally supports the Republican party in so far as national and state issues are involved, but in a local way he maintains an independent attitude. IIe is held in high esteem in the business and social circles of his home city and is a loyal and public-spirited citizen. In 1888 Mr. Clarke married Miss Mary Martin, of St. Thomas, Ontario, who died in August, 1894, leaving no children. In February, 1898, he was united to Miss Ella M. Saxton, at Oberlin, Ohio. She is a daughter of A. D. Saxton, who was for many years a prominent farmer near Eaton Rapids, this county, and who is now resident of the city of Lansing. Mr. and Mrs. Clarke have an adopted daughter, Dorothy, who was born in 1903. FRED. C. COBB, who is successfully established in the lumber, wood and coal business in the city of Charlotte, claims the old Green Mountain state as the place of his nativity and is a scion of families early founded in New England. He was born in, Townshend, Windham county, Vermont, February 24, 1858, and that state also figures as the birthplace of his parents, Roswell L. and Ellen (Howard) Cobb, who took up their residence in Eaton county, Michigan, in 1888, later removing to Texas, where the mother died in 1891. The father passed the closing years of his life in Charlotte, where he died in 1901. They became the parents of six sons and two daughters, and the daughters and one son are deceased. Of the sons the subject of this sketch is the fifth in order of birth, the others living
Page 245 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY' 245 being: Lyman D., Horace H., Charles S., and William. All were educated in the schools of the state of New York, where the family resided for many years, except the two elder sons, Lyman and Horace, who secured their early training in the schools of Vermont. Charles was graduated in Cornell University and Ann Arbor law school. All of the four brothers except Fred C. are now resident of the state of Texas. Fred C. Cobb was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of the old Empire state, and he came to Michigan in 1885, locating in Eaton Rapids, Eaton county, where he became associated with 0. P. Springer in the lumber business. He continued his residence there until 1891, when he removed to Charlotte, the attractive countyseat and metropolis, where he established himself in the lumber, wood and coal business, in which he has been most successful, being one of the progressive and popular business men of the city. He has well stocked and equipped yards and storage houses opposite the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad freight depot, where his offices also are located, In politics Mr. Cobb is a stanch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor; in a fraternal way he is identified with the Royal Arcanum and the Modern Woodmen of America; and both he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church. In 1888 Mr. Cobb was united in marriage to Miss Cora A. Long, daughter of Seymour A. Long, who was one of the pioneers of Eaton Rapids. They have no children, sad to relate. ALVIN HENRY COGSWELL, a representative business man and popular citizen of the village of Mulliken, was born in Onondaga county, New York, July 6, 1862, and is a son of Henry and Asenath L. (VanAntwerp) Cogswell, the former of whom was born in Salem, Washington county, New York, January 29, 1829, and the latter of whom was born in Ohio, November 30, 1829. The father died on his homestead farm, in Roxand township, Eaton county, Michigan, November 7, 1894, and his widow now resides in the home of her son Alvin H., subject of this sketch. Henry Cogswell followed varied occupations in his earlier business career, having owned a boat on the Erie canal and having been a captain on a lake steamer for several years. Later he was a contractor in railroad construction, and at one time he owned and operated a saw mill. In 1875 he came with his family to Michigan, making Eaton county his destination. He purchased forty acres of land in Roxand township, two miles east of the village of Mulliken, making many improvements on the farm and there continuing to reside during the remainder of his life. He was a man of a high order of intellectuality and kept in touch with the topics of the hour. He was an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party. His widow is a member of the Congregational church. Of the two children Alvin H. is the younger. Mary Louisa, who was born in Madison county, New York, November 13, 1852, is the wife of Charles W. Allen, of Los Angeles, California, and they have one child. Alvin H. Cogswell secured his preliminary education in the schools of New York state, having been thirteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Michigan, where he continued his studies in the district schools of Roxand township, this county. He continued to assist in the work of the home farm until 1888, when he located in the village of Mulliken, where he became associated with Byron I. Whelpley in the hardware business, disposing of his interest in the same two years later and returning to the home farm. Later he was employed about eighteen months as a salesman in the general store of Moses P. Beach, of Mulliken, and he then went to the city of Detroit, where he was employed in the office of the Michigan Central Railroad about one and one-half years. In 1899 he returned to Mulliken, where for two years he was associated with John H. Moyer in the general merchandise business, under the firm name of Cogswell & Moyer. He then sold his interest in the enterprise, and in 1901 established his
Page 246 246 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY present individual business, having a well equipped establishment, in which he handles dry-goods, groceries, furnishing goods, etc., having a representative patronage and being one of the leading merchants of the town. He is a stalwart in the local ranks of the Republican party, and is now serving his third term as clerk of Roxand township. He is affiliated with Mulliken Lodge, No. 412, Free & Accepted Masons; Grand Ledge Chapter, No. 79, Royal Arch Masons; Grand Ledge Council, Royal & Select Masters; Charlotte Command(ery, No. 37, Knights Templar; and Mulliken Tent, No. 390, Knights of the Maccabees, of which last organization he is treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. Cogswell both hold membership in the Order of the Eastern Star. In 1893 Mr. Cogswell was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Humphrey, who was born in Washtenaw county, this state, being a daughter of John and Ellen Humphrey, who are now resident of Eaton county. Mr. and Mrs. Cogswell have two children,-Cleo and Lela. LEONARD J. COLE is a worthy representative of the agricultural industry in Benton township and is held in high esteem as a progressive and loyal citizen. He was born in Mercer county, Ohio, December 28, 1862, and is a son of Allen M. and Rebecca (Ward) Cole, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, September 28, 1828, and the latter in Ohio, March 23, 1824. Allen M. Cole was engaged in farming in Ohio for twenty-two years. He came to Eaton county in March, 1865, settling in Chester township, and for a number of years he was engaged in the grocery business at Chester Station, where he was also agent for the Michigan Central Railroad. For the past twenty years he has resided in Benton township, identified with agricultural pursuits but now living practically retired. August 15, 1850, in Richland county, Ohio, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Rebecca Ward, whose death occurred June 26, 1892. They became the parents of two sohs and two daughters, of whom two are living, Malvina, who is the wife of Bishop Partello, of Windsor township; and Leonard J., who is the immediate subject of this sketch and with whom the venerable father now makes his home. Leonard J. Cole was about three years of age at the time of his parents' removal from the old Buckeye state to Eaton county, and here he has ever since continued to reside, having been reared on the farm and at Chester Station and having been accorded the advantages of the public schools. He is one of the hustling, progressive and successful farmers of Benton township, where he has a valuable farm of one hundred and seventy-two acres, improved with good buildings and giving evidence of good management and enterprise. He avails himself of modern appliances and accessories and finds his farming operations worthy of his best thought and energy, while the results represent a due return for the efforts expended and the capital invested. In politics he is independent in his attitude, exercising his franchise in support of the men and measures which meet the approval of his judgment, and in a fraternal wav he is identified with the Knights of the Maccabees. In 1882 Mr. Cole was married to Miss Lucy Olin, daughter of Marcus D. Olin, of Chester township, where she was reared and educated. They have two children, Homer G., who was born in Chester township, and Blanch O., who was born in Benton township. Mr. and Mrs. Cole are highly respected members of the Benton Methodist Episcopal church. ARA COLLINS, who has been a resident of Charlotte since 1900, is chairman of the supreme council of the Ancient Order of Gleaners, a farmers' fraternal beneficiary organization whose plan and service commend it to all who investigate its claims, the order having ha(d its origin in Michigan. Mr. Collins now devotes practically his entire attention to the work devolving upon him as an official of this order, having been formerly a general contractor. He was born in North Middlesex county, province of Ontario, Canada, October 2, 1852, a son of Thomas and Mary (Quick) Collins,
Page 247 PAST AND PRESENT who continued resident of Ontario, until her death in 1889; the father is still living, and has attained the patriarchal age of ninety-one years. Of the twelve children all are living except two, the subject of this sketch having been the sixth in order of birth. He was reared and educated in his native province, where he remained until 1883, when he took up his residence in the state of Michigan, having been a contractor and farmer in Marlette, Sanilac county for a period of seventeen years. In 1900 he came to Charlotte, where he has since maintained his home and where he has done much to further the interests of the Ancient Order of Gleaners and to bring its admirable advantages to the notice of the class eligible for membership. The order was organized in 1894, under the laws of the state of Michigan, and its growth has been almost phenomenal, while the absolute stability and value of its plan can not be doubted. Mr. Collins is a Republican in his political proclivities and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In additon to his prominent identification with the Gleaners he is also affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of the Maccabees. The first arbor of the Ancient Order of Gleaners in Eaton county was established in 1900, and there are now twenty arbors in the county, with an aggregate membership of about eight hundred persons. In 1873 Mr. Collins was united in marriage to Miss Mary Morgan, and they have five children, all of whom are married and well established in life. HOWARD L. COLLINS, who is one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of Eaton county where he owns a valuable and productive farm of two hundred and forty acres, was born in Washtenaw county, this state, on September 29, 1867, being a son of Charles E. and Elyda J. (Sattler) Collins, who were early pioneers of Washtenaw county but now reside in Eaton county to where thev came in 1890 and where they have since lived a retired life in Eaton Rapids. They are the parents of two sons Claude W. who is en OF EATON COUNTY' 247 gaged in agricultural pursuits in Hamlin township, and Howard L., the subject of this review. Howard L. Collins received his education at Fenton, a normal school near Flint, Mich. He has lived on his present homestead in Brookfield for the past three years, giving his attention to diversified farming. Mr. Collins adheres to the principles of the Republican party and is a devotee of the Baptist faith. Mr. Collins married Nellie, a daughter of Thaddeous Ganong who a number of years ago lived near Olivet, but at present resident of Clinton county. Mr. and Mrs. Collins are the parents of three children, Carleton James, Marion P., and Winefred H., the first two of whom were born in Washtenaw county, the last named in Hamlin township, this county. JAY CONKLIN is a native of Hamlin township, a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Eaton county and is a representative farmer and stock-grower of the township in which he was born, the date of his nativity having been May 6, 1845. He is a son of Allen and Sarah A. (Walton) Conklin. Allen Conklin was born in Allegany county, New York, June 25, 1820, and he was a mere child at the time of his parents' removal to the state of Ohio, where he was reared to manhood, receiving such educational advantages as were afforded in the pioneer schools. In the summer of 1843 he came to Eaton county, Michigan, where he traded a team of horses for forty acres of wild land in Hamlin township, the same constituting a portion of the fine homestead upon which he passed the greater portion of his life thereafter. He cleared his original tract, putting forth exceptional energy and being prospered in his efforts, so that he was enabled to add to his landed possession from time to time, having been the owner of a fine estate of four hundred acres at the time of his death, on his old homestead, April 27, 1905, two months prior to his eighty-fifth birthday anniversary. He wielded much influence in the community in the pioneer days and afterward and his aid and influence were always given in
Page 248 248 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY support of measures and enterprises for the general good. He assisted in the building of the first bridge across the Grand river at the county line and otherwise aided in the forwarding of public improvements. He was a man who held to the highest ideals of personal integrity and honor, and commanded the unqualified esteem of all who knew him. He assisted in the organization of the Republican party, in the historic meeting "under the oaks" in Jackson, Michigan, and ever afterward continued a supporter of its principles. In 1844 Mr. Conklin was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Ann Walton, who was his faithful and constant companion for nearly sixty years, her death occurring September 28, 1901. They became the parents of six children, namely: Jay, who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Chauncey, who is a successful farmer of Onondaga township; Lee, who resides in the city of Eaton Rapids; Mead, who died in infancy; Mrs. Josephine Simmons, who resides in California; and Mrs. Agatha Green, who resides on the old Conklin homestead in Hamlin township, this county. Mr. Conklin was a valued member of the lodge of Free & Accepted Masons in Eaton Rapids, having identified himself therewith in 1863. Jay Conklin, eldest of the children of the honored pioneer, Allen Conklin, has passed his entire life thus far in Hamlin township, save for two years, during which he resided in Leoni township, Jackson county. He was educated in the local schools and early became familiar with the various details involved in the work and management of the home farm. He began his independent career as a farmer on a place of forty acres lying to-the rear of his present fine farm, on which he has maintained his home for a quarter of a century. His present farmstead is under most effective cultivation, improved with modern buildings and comprises one hundred and six and two-third acres. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican party but has invariably refused to become a candidate for political office, though he has served as a member of the board of review of his township. On Christmas day of the year 1867, Mr. Conklin was united in marriage to Miss Marian L. Palmer, who died October 31, 1882. They became the parents of eight children, concerning whom is entered the following brief record: Clarence, born October 30, 1868, resides in Eaton Rapids; Jay, Jr., born September 18, 1869, and now resides in the state of Washington; Floyd, born March 8, 1871, is engaged in farming in Hamlin township; Sarah A., born April 23, 1873, is the wife of Dr. Frank C. Arnold, a leading dentist of Eaton Rapids; Allen, born September 1, 1875, resides in the state of Minnesota; Edith May, born May 29, 1878, is the wife of Chauncey Hines, of Grand Rapids; Daniel, born August 31, 1880, resides in Eaton Rapids, and Harry, born September 3,1881, remains at the paternal home. In 1885 Mr. Conklin wedded Miss Arvilla Wright, who was born in the state of New York, in 1854, being a daughter of James Madison Wright. No children have been born of this union. Mrs. Conklin is a member of the Baptist church in Eaton Rapids. WILLIAM T. COOLEY, one of the well known and highly honored pioneer farmers of Eaton township, and a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church, was born in Anne Arundel county, Maryland, November 1, 1823, being a son of William and Ann Maria (Dove) Cooley, both native of Maryland, where the former died when the subject of this sketch was but eight years of age. The mother was born in 1803, and died May 31, 1896, in Wood county, Ohio, at the age of ninety-three years, ten months and four days. William Cooley was a farmer, having owned ninety acres of well improved land,-the homestead on which he died and on which the subject of this review was born. After his death his widow became the wife of Edward Cooley, and in 1834 they sold the farm and removed to Seneca county, Ohio, where they secured fifty acres of wild land, but Edward Cooley died shortly afterward, having reclaimed but a small portion of his farm. Of the first marriage five children were born: John died in
Page 249 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 249 Ohio, at the age of twenty years; Benjamin, who married Jane Alspaugh, located in Eaton township, Eaton county, Michigan, in 1851, and was here engaged in farming until his death; Mary Ann, first married Hiram Silverwood and after his death became the wife of Samuel Keyes, her death occurring in Wood county, Ohio; James E., who served three years as a member of a Michigan regiment in the civil war, located in Ionia county after its close and there passed the remainder of his life engaged in agricultural pursuits, the maiden name of his wife having been Elizabeth Shock. Several children were born of the second marriage, but only two attained maturity,Thomas, who is a farmer of Ionia county, and Samuel, who was killed by a falling tree, in Ohio. William T. Cooley was afforded the advantages of the pioneer schools, but his broader education has been gained through his personal application in later years and through the lessons acquired in the school of practical experience. He left home at the age of twenty years after which lie was variously employed in Ohio until 1851, his mother having in the meanwhile contracted a third marriage, becoming the wife of Henry Nisley. In the year mentioned Mr. Cooley came to Eaton county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, in Eaton township, no roads having been opened to make the tract accessible and the nearest neighbor being one and one-quarter miles distant. He built a log house on his land and took up his residence in the same November 3, 1851. He later sold half of the land, for the purpose of securing a neighbor, and still later purchased an adjoining tract of fortyfive acres, having reclaimed the greater portion to cultivation and having developed one of the excellent farms of this part of the county. He has erected good buildings, including a commodious brick house, and his in(lefatigable efforts have brought to him definite prosperity since the time when he located in the -forest wilds. He has done his part in the upbuilding and development of the county, materially and socially, and is one of the highly esteemed pioneers of his township. He is a Democrat in politics, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he has been identified for forty years, having held various offices in the same and being a local preacher of the church. He was formerly affiliated with the Grange and the Patrons of Industry. He served two terms as justice of the peace of Eaton township. October 8, 1846, Mr. Coolev was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Nisley, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, June 27, 1826, and who died in Eaton township, January 18, 1891. Her parents, Henry and Annie (Geiger) Nisley, passed their entire lives in Ohio, her father having been a farmer by vocation. Mr. and Mrs. Cooley became the parents of eight children: Martha, who was born August 21, 1847, and who died, in Eaton county, about thirty years ago, married John Hurd and is survived by one son, Joseph C. George W., who is a farmer of Eaton township, married Miss Clara Hastings, and they have two children, Oca and Jennie; Maria Jane is the wife of William H. Prescott, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, and of their five children only three are living, Leona, Jennie and Della. Sarah E. is the wife of George Spotts, of Brookfield township, and they have three children, Floyd, Roy and Jennie; William, who is a farmer of Eaton township, married Miss Effie Murray, and they have had two children, Mabel and Bernice, deceased; Ada is the wife of Ezra D. Spotts, of Brookfield township, and they have one child, Ray; Mercy E., who is the wife of Henry Moyer, of Charlotte, was first married to Isaac Snow, who is survived by one daughter, Lena, and after his death she became the wife of Josiah Wickard, who left no children, while no children have been born of the present marriage; Zora Dell is the wife of L. D. Dickinson, of Eaton township. In 1894 Mr. Cooley married Ella Humphrey, of this county. She is a daughter of Ira and Amariah (Leech) Humphrey, who were numbered among the early settlers of Jackson county, whither they removed from the state of New York, where the former was
Page 250 250 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I born February 2, 1820, and the latter August 18, 1825. Both passed the closing years of their lives in Eaton county, where the father died January 12, 1899, and the mother February 26, 1902. They located in Eaton county nearly forty years ago. HARVEY COY is one of the venerable pioneer citizens of Sunfield township, and is now living practically retired, on his homestead farm, having borne the "heat and burden of the day," and now having the privilege of enjoying the fruits of his former toil and endeavor, the while being surrounded by stanch and true friends. Mr. Coy was born in Livingston county, New York, March 10, 1826, and is a son of John and Jane (Bark) Coy, the former of whom was born in Dutchess county, New York, in which state he passed his entire life, dying in 1850, at the age of about eightyfive years; he was thrice married, the mother of the subject of this sketch having been the third wife and having survived him by a number of years. Of the twelve childrell of John Coy six are yet living: Mrs. Eliza Satterlee, of Vermontville, this county; Mrs. Alvira Wyman, of Portland, Ionia county; Francis, a resident of the Michigan Soldiers' Home, in Grand Rapids; Hoel, formerly a resident of the state of New York, died Decemrber 11, 1900; Sally, housekeeper for her brother Hoel; and Harvey, subject of this sketch. Harvey Coy received a common-school education and remained at the parental home until he attained his legal majority, his father having been a farmer by vocation. For a year after he attained the age of twenty-one years his health was so impaired that he was unable to do any work, but upon recuperating his energies he began working on a farm, by the month. He remained resident of the state of New York until 1855, when he came to Michigan, passing the first three years in Van Buren county, where he was employed at farm work, and he then came to Eaton county and purchased his present homestead of eighty acres, in section 36, Sunfield township. Only a few acres had been cleared and on the place had been builded a log. house, which he continued to occupy for a number of years, then erecting his present commodious and attractive frame residence, while he has also built a good barn and other requisite farm buildings. Within the intervening years Mr. Coy has effected the reclamation of fifty acres of his land, and he now has a well improved farm and one of much fertility. His son-in-law has charge of the practical operation of the farm, which is devoted to diversified agriculture and stockgrowing. For the past year Mr. Coy has been in somewhat feeble health, having suffered a stroke of paralysis, but he is gradually recovering from the effects of this attack. In politics he was originally a Whig, having cast his first presidential vote for General Zachary Taylor, but he has been a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party from the time of its organization to the present. He and his wife are devoted and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and they are held in the highest esteem in the community which has so long been their home. December 27, 1862, Mr. Coy was united in marriage to Miss Jane Minor, who was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, February 28, 1838, being a daughter of William and Jane (Covert) Minor, the former of wholn died in the city of Battle Creek, at the age of eightythree years, the latter having passedl away, in Hillsdale county, in 1848. William Minor was a pioneer of Hillsdale county, where he improved a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, and he finally removed to Battle Creek, to give his children better educational advantages, passing the remainder of his life in that county. Of his six children five are living, namely: Mrs. M. B. Allen, of Grand Ledge; Mrs. Frank Andrews, of Battle Creek: Elmer H., of Battle Creek; Henry B., of Kalamazoo; and Mrs. Coy. Mr. and Mrs. Coy have one child, Elsie, who was born June 11, 1867, and who is the wife of Charles W. Loomis, who rents the Coy farm and who also operates a farm in the adjoining township of Roxand.
Page 251 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 251 WILLIAM H. CRANE is serving as postmaster at Millett, Delta township, is also incumbent of the office of township supervisor and is engaged in the general merchandise business, as a member of the firm of Crane & McGee, conducting the only store in the little village. He was born in Warren, Warren county, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1866, and is a son of Jonathan and Mary (Spaulding) Crane, the former of whom was likewise born in Warren county, while he died, at Millett, Eaton county, June 27, 1902, his widow now making her home with her daughter, in Monroe, Michigan. She was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and is sixty years of age at the time of this writing, in January, 1906. The father was an expert maker of boat oars and for many years followed his trade in Pennsylvania. In 1871 he came to Eaton county and located in Millett, where at that time was established a large manufactory of boat oars. He here continued to follow his trade unti July 3, 1879, when he purchased:. stock of groceries and engaged in business in the building now occupied by the store of his son, the subject of this sketch. He here continued in business until his death, also having owned a good residence property in the village. He was a zealous advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and while not a seeker of official preferment he was called to serve in various positions of trust. He became postmaster at Millett at the time of engaging in business here and continued in this office, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, until his death. He was once elected township clerk, but resigned the position the (lay after he had qualified. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and his widow is a devoted member of the Baptist church. Of their five children the following brief record is entered: Adde is te wi f e of Geore o B. Watson, of Grand Ledge, this county; William H. was the next in order of birth; Miland died, in Delta township, at the age of five years; Louis E. is a resident of the city of Detroit; and Mildred is the wife of Dr. William Acker, of Monroe. William H. Crane secured his early educational training in the district schools, having been five years of age at the time of his parents' removal from the old Keystone state to Eaton county, Michigan, where he was reared to manhood. He has been self-supporting from the age of fourteen years, when he began working in the local oar factory, and he later learned the art of telegraphy, at Millett. For twelve years he was employed as operator on the system of the Grand Trunk Railroad, being stationed within this period at various points in Michigan. In 1900, while employed as station agent and operator in Millett he resigned his position with the Grand Trunk and entered into partnership with his father in the store, this association continuing until the death of the latter. He then admitted Elmer A. McGee to partnership and they have since continued the enterprise most successfully, having a well equipped general store and securing an excellent patronage, theirs being the only mercantile establishment in Millett. Mr. Crane is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democracy, and he served three years as clerk of Delta township, while he is now serving his fifth term as township supervisor, his popularity being manifest when it is noted that lhe a Democrat, has been thus called to office in a township normally a Republican stronghold. He has been postmaster since the death of his father, and he now owns the store building and also the residence property formerly owned by his father. He is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees, and Mrs. Crane was a member of the Baptist church. In 1887 Mr. Crane was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Adams, who was born in the state of Indiana and who died December 27, 1898. She was a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Adams, the former of whom died in 1897, and the latter of whom now resides in Millett. Mr. and Mrs. Adams became the parents of four children, namely: Nellie, who is the wife of James C. Howe, of Glenwood, Michigan; Charles, who is a resident of Decatur, this state; Ida, who resides in Millett, being the
Page 252 252 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY widow of Jacob Heiner; and Lillian, who was the wife of the subject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Crane became the parents of five children, all of whom remain at the paternal home except the eldest, Clare, who is employed in the Oldsmobile works, in the city of Lansing. The other children are: Morris and Marie, twins, and Donald and Harley. PETER CRONK.-In section 2, Bellevue township, is located the fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, owned and operated by him whose name initiates this sketch and who is one of the popular citizens of this part of the county. Mr. Cronk was born in Camden township, Lennox county, province of Ontario, Canada, twenty-five miles north of the city of Kingston, February 26, 1838, being a son of William J. and Sarah (Tuthill) Cronk, the former of whom was born in Kingston, a son of an officer in the British army. William J. Cronk was reared to maturity in his native city, where he learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed a number of years, after which he purchased one hundred acres of land, in Lennox county, Ontario; he removed to Prince Edward county where he was engaged in farming until his death. His first wife was likewise born and reared in Canada, and died when the. subject of this review was four years of age. The father later married Mary Van Luvan, eight children having been born of the first union and six of the second. Of the first the subject of this sketch is the only survivor, and of the six children of the second marriage three are living and three are deceased. William Cronk, grandfather of him who figures as the subject of this review, was one of four brothers who came from Germany to America in the colonial days, two of the number serving as soldiers in the English army and two in the Continental army during the war of the Revolution. After the war the two who had joined the English forces and had been made officers were sent to Canada, one to Kingston and the other to Toronto, the former of the two having been the one of whom Peter Cronk is a grandson. Peter Cronk was one of a large family of children and the circumstances of his father were such that the boy early learned the lessons of practical industry, having secured employment at farm work when about fourteen years of age, so that his educational advantages were limited in scope. He continued to be thus engaged until the time of his marriage, when he purchased a farm in Prince Edward county, Ontario, devoting his attention to its cultivation until 1882,,when he sold the property and came to Eaton county, Michigan, where he purchased his present homestead. The farm was supposed to have been improved, but his ambition and thrift could not tolerate the omnipresent stumps and stones, which he has eliminated to a large extent, bringing the place up to a high standard. He has added a second story to the frame residence, making a comfortable home, and has also moved and enlarged the barn and brought the other farm buildings into good repair. He has twenty-five acres of good timber on his place, and he has made the farm assume a radically different appearance and yield far larger returns since the same came into his possession. While resident of Canada he was identified with the Conservative party and in the United States his sympathies are with the Republican party, with which his sons are identified; personally he has never taken out naturalization papers. He and his family are members of the Methodist Protestant church at Ainger, and they are held in high esteem in the community. March 16, 1871, Mr. Cronk was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Moran, who was born in Ontario, Canada, June 5, 1850, and they have three children. Delbert Grant, who is now at the parental home, was graduated in the high school at Charlotte and has been a successful teacher for the past twelve years, having last served as principal of the graded schools of Potterville, this county. Luella is the wife of Burton Sherwood, a farmer of Bellevue township. Frederick, who is employed as salesman in a mercantile establishment at Olivet, married Miss Dorothea Bradley, and they have one son, John William Cronk.
Page 253 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 253 I JOHN CROUT, senior member of the firm of Crout & Stillwell, who conduct a popular restaurant in the city of Charlotte and who are wholesale and retail dealers in ice cream of their own manufacture, claims the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his birth, since he was born in Erie county, New York, September 7, 1853, being a son of Benjamin and Sally (Fogglesonger) Crout, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Ohio. This worthy couple became the parents of three sons and two daughters, of whom the two survivors are John, subject of this review, and Clara, who is the wife of Elias Lochs, of Clarkston, Michigan. The father was twice married, and of the first union the following children were born: Joseph Crout, who was engaged in business in Eaton county for a number of years and who died in the city of Detroit, in 1902. Mary, who married William Brown of Williamsville, New York,she is still living; Susan, who married William Wease, deceased,-she resides in Michigan. John Crout secured a common school education in New York state, and initiated his independent career when sixteen years of age. when he entered upon a virtual apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a considerable time. In 1876 he took up his residence in Charlotte, where he was associated in business with his halfbrother, Joseph Crout, for several years, principally in the restaurant trade, and he is now conducting one of the leading restaurants of the city, as a member of the firm of Crout & Stillwell, their attractive headquarters being on South Main street, where they also control an excellent business in the wholesale dealing in ice cream. In politics Mr. Crout is a stanch Democrat and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church, while he is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees, the Improved Order of Foresters, and the National Protective Legion. In 1880 Mr. Crout was united in marriage to Miss Effie E. Miller, daughter of John A. Miller, an honored pioneer of Eaton county. Of the two children of this union Clyde, the first born, died at the age of four teen months. Mabel is now attending the public school. MICHAEL J. CUNNINGHAM, of Vermontville, is one of those sterling citizens to whom the community accords unstinted confidence and esteem, and he is now living practically retired in his beautiful home, in the western part of this thriving little village. He is a veteran of the civil war, has served in various local offices of trust and was formerly engaged in the grocery business here. Mr. Cunningham is a native of the old Buckeye state and a scion of one of its pioneer families. He was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, and is a son of James Cunningham, who was born in Ireland, about 1800, and who remained in his native land until he was about thirty years of age, when he came to America, proceeding to Ohio, where he was variously employed for several years. At the time of the administration of President Jackson he took up eighty acres of government land, in Muskingum county, reclaiming the same from the forest wilderness, as did he also an additional forty acres which he purchased later, and he continued to reside on this homestead until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Longstreth, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1811, and when she was two years of age her parents removed to Ohio, where she was reared to maturity and where she passed the residue of her life, having been seventy-seven years of age at the time of her death, while her husband attained to the venerable age of eighty-eight years. They became the parents of seven children, all of whom are living, the subject of this review being the eldest and the only one of the number who ever married, the others still remaining together on the old homestead farm, in Ohio, and their names being as follows: Catherine, Bartholomew, John, Mary A., Ellen and William. Michael J. Cunningham was reared to the discipline of the home farm, in whose work he was associated until there came the call of higher duty, his response being made February 9, 1864, when, at Zanesville, Ohio,
Page 254 254 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY' I he enlisted as a private in Company A, Sixtysecond Ohio Volunteer Infantry, proceeding with his command to the front and remaining with the same until he received his honorable discharge, May 30, 1865. His discharge was granted by reason of physical disability resulting from wounds received in an engagement at Darbytown Roads, Virginia, a rifle ball passing through both of his thighs. He was still on crutches at the time of Lee's surrender. He participated in a number of spirited conflicts with the enemy, the most noteworthy having been the siege of Petersburg, where his command was under constant fire. After receiving his discharge Mr. Cunningham returned to his home and he was shortly afterward married. In 1867 he came to Eaton county, Michigan, passing a few days in Charlotte and then taking up his residence in Vermontville, where he secured employment in the saw-mill of H. J. Martin, with whom he remained eleven years, in various capacities. He became an expert in the measuring or scaling of hardwood lumber and this knowledge later proved of much practical value to him; he also learned to operate the engine at the mill, being frequently in charge of the same. Upon leaving the employ of Mr. Martin he secured a position with the Phoenix Furniture Company, of Grand Rapids, being sent to southern Indiana, where he was foreman of the gang of men engaged in getting out lumber. He remained with this company nearly two years and was thereafter employed by a Chicago manufacturing concern about eighteen months, at the expiration of which he returned to Vermontville, in March, 1883. Here he purchased a grocery stock and business and he continued engaged in this line of enterprise until 1898, when he disposed of the business, and since that time he has been essentially retired. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and notwithstanding the fact that this village and township are strongly Republican, his personal popularity in the community is such that he has been called to various official positions of trust. He has been a notary public for sixteen years, was village treasurer two terms, township clerk one year and village assessor one year. He is an appreciative and popular member of the local post of the Grand Armv uf the Republic, being acquainted with practically all of the old soldiers of the township and making out the pension vouchers for the greater number; he also personally receives a pension, which he justly merits, as he has never fully recovered from the effects of his wounds received while in active service. He erected his attractive residence a number of years ago, and takes much pride in keeping the grounds and buildings of his place in good order, having a fine lawn and large shade trees. In 1865 Mr. Cunningham was united in marriage to Miss Ann E. Bagley, who was born in Ohio, June 15, 1832, and who died in September, 1897, never having borne children. October 23, 1900, he wedded Bridget M. O'Dea, who was born in the dominion of Canada, and who presides most graciously over their pleasant home. HORACE L. CURTIS has been a resident of Eaton county for more than half a century and is thus entitled to consideration as a pioneer, while he has also been prominent as a business man and as a farmer, and is now living retired in Vermontville, enjoying the rewards of past years of earnest endeavor. Mr. Curtis was born in Wyoming county, New York, February 16, 1833, and is a son of Alanson and Elizabeth (Thompson) Curtis, the former of whom passed his entire life in the state of New York, where he died in the year 1844. His wife was born in Vermont, whence her parents removed to New York state when she was a child, and she passed the closing years of her life in the home of her son Horace L., subject of this review, in Vermontville, Michigan, where she died in 1867. at the age of sixty-four years. Alanson Curtis was the owner of a farm of forty acres in New York, and was in middle age at the time of his death. Of the two children Horace L. is the younger. His sister, Mary Jane, is the widow of Myron L. Dodge and now resides in the state of Virginia. She has two children,
Page 255 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 250 Horace, who is a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, and Estella, who is the wife of William Summers, of Virginia. Horace L. Curtis was afforded the advantages of the common schools of his native county, and at the age of eighteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, becoming a skilled artisan and continuing to follow said trade for many years. In 1854 he came to Michigan, first locating in Battle Creek, whence he came to Vermontville later in the same year. Here he followed the carpenter trade, as a contractor and builder, for several years, and for a time he was engaged in the hardware business in this village, in which connection he learned the tinner's trade, while he also was associated in business with Homer G. Barber for some time, his identification with mercantile pursuits covering a total of about seven years. He later purchased seventy-four acres of improved land in the southern part of the village, where he has maintained his home since 1891. He has sold a portion of the land but still retains a small farm, which he rents. while he has an attractive residence and where he is enjoying a well earned retirement from active business. He has been identified with the Republican party from the time of attaining his legal majority, and for ten years he served, with marked efficiency, as supervisor of Vermontville township, and for three years was chairman of the board, while he is now serving his third year as a member of the board of county canvassers. He has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity since 1869, holding membership in the lodge at Vermontville. He is a citizen of sterling worth, unassuming and straightforward in all the relations of life, and he is held in unqualified esteem in the community which has so long been his home. Mrs. Curtis is a member of the Congregational church. On New Year's eve, 1857, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Curtis to Miss Amanda R. Martin, who was born in Vermontville, March 27, 1839, a daughter of Wells R. Martin, who was one of the original settlers of the Vermontville colony and one of the most influential and hon ored pioneers of this part of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis have one daughter, Harriet M., who is now at the parental home. She was graduated in Oberlin College, Ohio, as a member of the class of 1882, and has been a successful and popular teacher for a number of years past. SAMUEL CURTIS is one of the sterling citizens of Walton township, where he took up his abode nearly half a century ago and where he has developed a fine farm from the primitive wilds. He is a representative of one of the early pioneer families of Michigan, where his parents took up their abode prior to the admission of the state to the Union. He was born in Oneida county, New York, October 26, 1830, being a son of Edward and Susanna (Smith) Curtis, both natives of England, where they were reared and educated and where their marriage was solemnized. In 1830 they immigrated to America, taking up their residence in the state of New York. where they remained until 1836, when they continued their way westward and located in the township of Rome, Lenawee county, where the father passed the few remaining years of his life, having been killed by falling upon the tines of a pitchfork. He left his widow on the pioneer farm, with six small children to support, and she made the most valiant and unselfish struggle, keeping her family together as long as possible and making the best possible provision for each of her children. She continued to reside in Lenawee county until her death. Samuel Curtis was reared on the home farm and secured his early education in the primitive district school, supplementing this by two years of study in the Michigan Central College, now known at Hillsdale College, at Hillsdale, Michigan. That he made good use of his opportunities is manifest when it is recalled that he became eligible for pedagogic honors, having been a successful teacher in the district schools for seventeen terms,in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. He started out for himself when seventeen years of age. and defrayed the expenses of his higher edu
Page 256 256 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY i cational work through his own efforts. In the spring of 1859 he came to Eaton county and located on his present farm, in Walton township, where he now owns one hundred and sixty acres, nearly all being under effective cultivation, while he has made excellent improvements in the way of buildings, etc. He reclaimed the land from its wild state and the results of his efforts are patent to all in the general air of thrift and prosperity shown on every side, while he has so ordered his life in all its relations as to gain and retain the unqualified esteem of his fellow men, being one of the honored pioneer citizens of Walton township. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Republican party, and takes a deep interest in local affairs; he has served for sev-.eral years past in the office of school inspector. In 1855 Mr. Curtis was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Stoddard, whose parents were pioneers of Lenawee county. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in March, 1905, and the occasion was made a most gracious and memorable one. They became the parents of five children, one of whom died in infancy. Frank E. resides in Flint, this state; Cornelia is a clerical employe of the Tribune office in Charlotte; Norris is a resident of Maumee, Ohio; and Henry S. is now located in the city of Washington and is superintendent of the play grounds of the city. FRANK B. CUSHING is to be noted as one of the representative farmers and dairymen of Eaton county and as a representative of one of the well known pioneer families of this section of the state, the farm which he now owns and operates having been secured from the government by his father and having never passed out of the possession of the family. He was born in the pioneer log cabin, on the site of his present fine residence, Carmel township, in 1848, and is a son of Rolla T. and Susan L. (Sarles) Cushing, the former of whom was born in Vermont and the latter in New York. They came to Michigan and located in Eaton county in the early pioneer days, and here passed the remainder of their lives, living up to the full tension of the. era of initiation and development and holding the unqualified respect of all who knew them. Frank B. Cushing was but three years of age at the time of his father's death, and the family soon afterward removed to Charlotte, where he was reared and educated, the farm still being retained in the possession of his mother, who survived her husband by a number of years. At the age of twenty-one years the subject of this sketch again took up his residence on the farm which was the place of his birth, the area of the same being at that time one hundred and sixty acres. He tore down the original log house and on the site erected a small frame dwelling, which he utilized until 1900, when he erected his nresent commodious and substantial residence, which is one of the fine rural homes of the county. He has otherwise made the best of improvements on his farm, which is under most effective cultivation and which now comprises one hundred and sixty acres of as fine land as can be found in this section. For the past seven years Mr. Cushing has given special attention to the dairy department of his farming enterprise, having high grade stock and improved facilities and catering to a representative trade in delivering milk and cream in the city of Charlotte. He operates one wagon for this purpose. In politics Mr. Cushing is aligned as a loyal supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and he has been called i-on to serve in the various township offices, including those of supervisor, treasurer, drain commissioner and others. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The year 1873 marked the marriage of Mr. Cushing to Miss Alice Davis, daughter of Lafayette Davis, a well known resident of this county, and of the seven children of this union six are living, namely: Cortez F., who is a successful farmer of Carmel township; Frank L., who resides in the state of Oregon; Zelotez B., who is associated in the work of the home farm; Perry M., who resides in Charlotte; Edmond L., who is now a resident of
Page 257 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 257 California; and Rolla T., who is a resident of Charlotte. J. GILBERT DALE was one of the honored pioneers and prosperous business men of Eaton county, having been prominently identified with farming and other industrial and business enterprises, and having made his life count for good in all its relations, so that when he was called from the scene of life's endeavors he left the heritage of a good name and the record of many worthy deeds. He was born in the state of Vermont, in May, 1832, and was a child at the time of his parents' removal to Ohio, where he was reared and educated and where he continued to reside until he had attained his legal majority, when he came to Eaton county, Michigan, in 1853 or 1854, and took up several tracts of wild land. He took up his abode in the little village of Charlotte soon after his arrival in the county, and he opened here a cabinet shop, which was located on the site of the present -Munger store. After four years he removed to a farm south of town, but two years later he returned to Charlotte and purchased the property upon which the present attractive residence of his widow is located. He was engaged in the livery business for a few years, and for a time he operated a stage line between Charlotte and Eaton Rapids. He acquired valuable farm properties in the county, and devoted much attention to the supervision of the same, giving special attention to the raising of fine live stock and having been also a buyer and shipper of stock. In politics he was a leal and loyal Republican, and he ever showed a deep interest in all that concerned the prosperity and progress of his home city and county. He served twy terms as representative of his ward in the board of aldermen. He was well known throughout the county, and his name is held in lasting honor in this section of the state, where he so long lived and labored to goodly ends. He died at his home in Charlotte, February 19, 1885. In 1854, in the state of Ohio, Mr. Dale was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Perkins, who was born in that state, being a daughter of Truman H. and Esther Perkins, the former of whom was born in Otsego county, New York, and the latter in Cortland county. They became pioneers of Ohio, whence they came to Michigan in 1865, taking up their residence in Charlotte, where they remained two years, at the expiration of which they removed to a farm three miles east of the city, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the father's death occurring April 11, 1888, while the mother passed away in 1877. Of their four children only two are living, Ebenezer, who is a farmer of Eaton county; and Mrs. Dale widow of the subject of this memoir. Mr. and Mrs. Dale became the parents of three children, one of whom died in infancy. Cora E. is the wife of George Rue and they reside with her mother; and Nettie is the wife of John S. Moon, of Plymouth, this state. Mrs. Dale is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. THOMAS WARREN DANIELS.-A publication of this nature exercises its highest function when it enters memoir concerning such worthy pioneers and useful citizens as was the late Thomas W. Daniels, who left a deep impress upon the business, civic and social life of Eaton Rapids, and who was a noble type of the self-made man, wearing modestly this well deserved title which is one of which every true American may be proud. Mr. Daniels was born in Rutland, Vermont, November 11, 1832, and when he was about one year of age his parents removed thence to Albion, Orleans county, New York, where he was reared to maturity and where he received a common-school education. There also he learned the cooper's trade, under the direction of his brother-in-law, and after following the trade for a time he set forth to seek his fortunes in the west, having no financial reinforcement and no influential friends. He came to Michigan and took up his residence in Albion, Calhoun county, which city was then a small village, and there he secured a clerical position in the dry-goods establishment of the firm of Frost & Dalrymple. Within the first
Page 258 '258 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY winter of his residence in Albion Mr. Frost purchased his partner's interest in the business and also purchased the grist-mill property in Eaton Rapids, to which latter place he sent his trusted clerk, Mr. Daniels, with a stock of general merchandise. In 1860 Messrs. Frost and Daniels here entered into partnership in the mercantile business, opening a store in a threestory building which had been erected by Mr. Frost, on the site of the present office of the Eaton Rapids Journal. When the mineral water was discovered in the town Mr. Frost decided to enter the hotel business, in connection with the promotion of the attractions of Eaton Rapids as a health resort. Under these conditions Mr. Daniels purchased his partner's interests in the mercantile business, moving the stock across the street, and five years later purchasing the building where the enterprise is still conducted, being now devoted entirely to the dry-goods trade and being carried forward under the able direction of his widow, who was his devoted coadjutor and active assistant from the start of his independent career.. He was in control of this business until his death, which occurred September 7, 1891, and had become one of the most prominent and influential business men of the city and one of its most honored citizens, possessing those attributes of character which ever beget popular confidence and esteem. When he married his available capital was represented in the sum of one hundred dollars, and at the time when he entered into partnership with Mr. Frost, as noted, he was able to invest only four hundred dollars. He developed a marked initiative and administrative ability and was very successful in his business operations, but he never deviated from the path of strictest integrity in all his dealings, and never compromised with conscience for the purpose of self-benefit or advancement. He was a man of genial and gracious presence and his influence in all the walks of life was beneficent, tolerant and kindly. He was a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and held various local offices of public trust and responsibility, having prac tically been incumbent of one or more offices during the entire period of his residence in Eaton Rapids, in whose welfare he maintained a lively and abiding interest to the day of his death. He assisted materially in the erection of the two school buildings in the city, devoting his attention to the work in a personal way in order to assure the proper results on the part of the contractors. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Baptist church, of which later his widow also has long been a devoted member. October 20, 1858, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Daniels to Miss Anna N. Sherd, who was born in Angelica, Allegany county, New York, being a daughter of John and Catherine Sherd, who came to Michigan when she was a child of three years, locating in Onondaga, Ingham county, where she was reared and educated. After the death of her husband James H. Parks purchased a one-half interest in the mercantile business, and four years later purchased the entire stock from Mrs. Daniels, moving the same to another location. Mrs. Daniels then installed a new stock of drygoo(ls and clothing, and has now the finest establishment of the kind in the city, while she also conducts a branch store of the same nature in the village of Springport, Jackson county. She is also the owner of the hotel known as the Daniels House, which she remodeled and refitted in 1905 and which is the leading hotel of Eaton Rapids, being modern in all its appointments and being ably conducted by Mrs. Yawger. Mrs. Daniels also owns nine dwelling houses in her home city, including her own fine residence. She is a woman of exceptional business acumen and gives her personal supervision to her large and varied interests, while she has a wide circle of friends in the city and county which have so long represented her home. JOHN W. DANN is one of the prominent and influential citizens and substantial farmers of Delta townshin. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, May 6, 1849, a son of William and Mary (Jickells) Dann, the former of
Page 259 PAST AND PRESENT OF LEATON COUNTY 259 whom was likewise born in Lincolnshire, January 22, 1816, passing the closing years of his life in Delta township, Eaton county, Michigan, where he died December 10, 1902. His wife, who likewise was born in England, died in Lorain county, Ohio, September 5, 1860, aged forty years. The father had followed agricultural pursuits in England, where he remained until the autumn of 1854, when he immigrated with his family to the United States, making Lorain county, Ohio, his destination. There he was employed at farm work a few years, finally purchasing a house and three acres of land, maintaining the same as his home until 1866 when he sold the property and came to Delta township, Eaton county, Michigan, where he became associated with his son John W. in the purchase of eighty acres of wild land, in section 33. A track had been constructed past the place but had grown up to underbrush, and the first work devolving upon the new owners of the property was to clear this roadway. The father and son reclaimed the land to cultivation and lived together until the death of the former. William and Mary Dann became the parents of three children, of whom John W. was the first born; Mary died in the state of Ohio at the age of four years, and Rose is the wife of Dewitt /Foster, of Cadillac, Michigan, their children being three in number,-Arthur G., Ruby and Mildred. Three years after the death of his first wife William Dann married Miss Sarah Foster, and she died at the home of the subject of this sketch, January 1, 1903. No children were born of the second union. William and Mary (Jickells) Dann were devout communicants of the Church of England and after coming to the United States identified themselves with the American branch of the same, the Protestant Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Dann gave his allegiance to the Republican party. John W. Dann had somewhat limited educational advantages, his early opportunities having been those gained in the district schools of Ohio. With a mind of broad grasp and marked powers of assimilation, he has made good this handicap through per16 sonal application and association with the practical affairs of life, and he is a man of strong intellectuality and mature judgment. At the age of fifteen years he began working by the month on a farm, and two years later came with his father to Michigan, as already noted. The family was without financial resources, the early history being the "short and simple annals of the poor," and the subject of this sketch early became inured to hard work and gained that self-reliance which has so signally conserved his success in later years. After coming to Michigan he did much work for others, thus earning the money with which to provide for the family's necessities. He personally cleared the greater portion of the homestead of eighty acres, of which he became owner at the time of his father's death. In 1875 he purchased twenty acres in section 33, Delta township, reclaiming the greater part from the timber, and in 1897 he purchased eighty acres of wild land across the road from the previous purchase. His wife owns onehalf of the eighty-acre tract, located in section 34, and this also Mr. Dann has improved. In 1899 he purchased sixty acres in section 33, partially improved, and this also he has effectually developed. He now owns two hundred acres of valuable land, while Mrs. Dann owns forty acres, making the estate one of the fine places of the county, since the buildings and other permanent improvements are of excellent type and thrift and progressiveness are in evidence on every side. Mr. Dann is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and has served four terms as supervisor of Delta township and as treasurer two terms. He has been a director of the school district for the past quarter of a century. He is a member of the directorate of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Barry and Eaton Counties, and within the year 1905 he secured sixty-eight thousand dollars' worth of business for the company-a remarkable record. He also adjusted several losses for the company. In 1905 he was made a director of the Michigan Mutual Cyclone, Tornado & Windstorm Insurance Company. He is vice
Page 260 260 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY I president of the Eaton County Agricultural Society, whose annual fairs are more numerously attended thah that of any other county association of the sort in the state. He is a prominent and valued member of the Grange at Delta Center and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. They are active in the social life of the community and their attractive home is a center of gracious hospitality. February 26, 1871, Mr. Dann was united in marriage to Miss Abigail Cecelia Joslin, who was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, February 27, 1846, being a daughter of James and Sarah (Wiltse) Joslin, the former of whom was born in Ontario county, New York, July 8, 1813, while his death occurred, in Oneida township, Eaton county, Michigan, January 17, 1889; his wife was born in Saratoga county, New York, September 26, 1817, and died at the home of the subject of this sketch, September 28, 1887. They were married in the old Empire state, whence they came to Eaton county in 1854, settling in Oneida township, where the father purchased and reclaimed a farm of eighty acres, where they resided until 1883, when they removed to Grand Ledge. Mr. Joslin sold his farm in 1886 and he passed the closing years of his life with his children, as did also his wife. They became the parents of eight children, and data concerning them are incorporated as follows: Levi died in infancy; Lucinda, wife of John K. Lewis, died in Oneida township, this county, in 1902, being survived by three children; Almira is the widow of Charles A. Patterson, of Oneida township, individually mentioned elsewhere in this work, and who died April 16, 1906; Rudolphus, who enlisted in Company D, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, at the outbreak of the civil war, was discharged from this command by reason of physical disability, but later enlisted in Company E, Seventh Michigan Cavalry, continuing in the service until the close of the war and having died, in a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, March 14, 1865; Luther died at the age of two years; Mrs. Dann was the next in order of birth; Lucius, who is a resident of Grand Ledge, has been twice married and has two children: Lewis, who resides in the city of Petoskey, Michigan, married Miss Lusetta Colvin, and of their seven children, five are living. Mr. and Mrs. James Joslin were members of the Wesleyan Methodist church, and at the time of his death he was a stanch advocate and supporter of the principles of the Prohibition party. Mr. and Mrs. Dann have two children. Lewis J. received his rudimentary education in the district schools, after which he attended the Flint Normal & Business College and then entered the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1895, forthwith engaging in the practice of his profession in the city of Charlotte, in his native county. He has served as justice of the peace, was incumbent of the office of circuit-court commissioner of Eaton county two terms, and in 1900 he was elected prosecuting attorney, being chosen as his own successor in 1902 and making an admirable record in this office. He is now engaged in the general practice of law in Charlotte and is one of the representative members of the county bar. In 1905 he purchased eighty acres of land adjoining the home farm of his parents. He married Miss Mary L. Spaulding. of Windsor township, this county. Mary, the younger child of Mr. and Mrs. Dann, is the wife of Ezra A. Towar, a prosperous farmer of Delta township. JACOB S. DAVIS, M. D., of Roxand township, is one of the oldest practicing physicians in Eaton county, where he is widely known and held in affectionate regard, having here maintained his home for half a century, while the older residents will recall how faithfully and unselfishly he labored.in the work of his noble profession in the early days when the lot of the country doctor was one far from sybaritic, implying the traversing of the roughest of roads in summer's heat and winter's cold, many a weary mile being driven at night in order to minister to some sufferer. Dr. Davis is a native of the old Green Mountain state,
Page 261 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 261 having been born in Weston, Windsor county, Vermont, August 16, 1829, and being a son of Abraham Davis, who was born in New Hampshire,in 1790,and who passed his closing days of life in the home of his son Jacob, subject of this sketch, his death occurring, in Roxand township, in 1875. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Waitt, was born in Massachusetts and died in New Hampshire, at the age of sixty-three years, their marriage having been solemnized, in the latter state, June 2, 1818. Abraham Davis bore the full patronymic of his father, Abraham, Sr., who was born in Concord, Massachusetts, November 15, 1752, and who served three years as a patriot soldier of the Continental line during the war of the Revolution. He became the father of fourteen children. His son Abraham upheld the military and patriotic prestige of the name by serving in the war of 1812, and in recognition of his service as a soldier he was given a land grant in New Hampshire, where he followed agricultural pursuits during the greater portion of his life, having lived in Vermont but a short time. He came to Eaton county in 1856 and passed the residue of his life in the home of Dr. Davis, as previously noted. Dr. Jacob S. Davis secured his earlier educational training in a literary and scientific institution at Hancock, New Hampshire, and after coming to Michigan he studied medicine, under the able preceptorship of his brother, Dr. David A. Davis, who was at that time a resident of Clinton county. Of the six children the subject of this review is now the only survivor. Abbie, who became the wife of Eliphalet Rice, died in Roxand township; Rebecca, wife of Edwin St. John, died in the state of New York; Dr. David A., who died in the city of Lansing, was the next in order of birth; Sarrah, who married Judson Blood, died in Missouri; Jacob S., subject of this review, was the fifth child; and Mary died in infancy. Dr. Davis initiated the practice of his profession in Roxand township in 1867, and has followed the same in this county continuously to the present time, having duly received a certificate of medical registration and having been most successful in the work of both branches of his profession. He has enjoyed an extensive practice throughout this. section, his services in the earlier days having been much in requisition in Roxand, Chester, Sunfield and Oneida township, as well as in townships adjoining in Ionia county, while he was frequently called upon to minister to representative families in Charlotte. In 1856 the Doctor located in Roxand township, purchasing eighty acres of wild land, in section 22, there being no road cut through to the place at the time. He took up his abode in a log house on an adjoining farm until he could complete the erection of his present frame residence, which he has remodeled in later years. He has developed a good farm and this has been his home continuously while he has supervised its operation, in connection with the active and laborious work of his profession. Dr. Davis is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and he served several years as township clerk, one year as township treasurer and three years as justice of the peace. He and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church. January 8, 1857, Dr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Austin, who was born in Vermont, July 23, 1831, being a daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Griffin) Austin, the former of whom was born in Westford, Vermont, in 1791, and died, in Roxand township, Eaton county, in 1860; his wife was born in Georgia and died in Vermont. Mr. Austin was a farmer in Vermont, and after selling his farm he came to Eaton county, Michigan, being associated with his son Truman in the purchase of eighty acres of wild land, in Roxand township, and the two developed the farm. Mr. Austin passed the closing days of his life in the home of the subject of this sketch, having been sixty-nine years of age at the time of his death. He was a Republican in politics and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They became the parents of five children: Truman, who died in Roxand township, having married Jane Dickinson, who bore him seven children;
Page 262 262 PAST AND PRESENT Delilah died in Michigan; Jane, who became the wife of Silas Faxon and who had two children, died in the state of New York; Buell was a soldier in the civil war and died in a military hospital while still in the service; Mrs. Davis was the next in order of birth.; Lucina is the wife of Solon Presby, residing in the state of Kansas, and they have two children; and James, who likewise resides in Kansas, first married Mary Barker, who died, leaving four children, and he later married Lavanche Ewing. Following are brief data concerning the children of Dr. and Mrs. Davis: Arthur, who was born December 27, 1858, died at the age of two years and five months; Walter H., born May 29, 1860, was educated in Olivet College and taught in the public schools of Roxand township for ten years, being now postmaster in the village of Mulliken; he married Miss Pearl Williams and they have two children, David and Gertrude; Rev. Edwin W., who was born March 22, 1867, and who was educated in Albion College, is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church and now resides in Remus; his first wife, whose maiden name was Alice O'Neil, died without issue, and he later married Miss Lettie Carpenter, who has borne him one son, Donald; Elsie, who was born September 9, 1861, and who was educated in the city of Flint, remains at the parental home, as does also Jesse, who was born October 15, 1873. JOHN W. DAVIS resides on the old homestead farm which his father secured from the government in the early pioneer epoch when this section was a veritable forest wilderness. He is the owner of eighty acres, located in section 19, Kalamo township. Mr. Davis was born in this township, September 4, 1851, and is a son of John B. and Louisa (McDerby) Davis, the former of whom was born in the state of Rhode Island, in 1810, and died in Kalamo township, in 1862, while the latter was born in Schoharie county, New York, August 18, 1809. She now makes her home with the subject of this sketch and renders material assistance in the domestic work of the 01 EATON COUNTY household, being well preserved in all her faculties, though nearing the very advanced age of one hundred years. She is the oldest resident pioneer of the county. She was married to John B. Davis, in Broome township, Schoharie county, New York, May 4, 1831, and on the 10th of the same month she and her husband set forth for Michigan, for the purpose of establishing a home. They first located in Wayne county, where they remained until 1839, when they came to Eaton county and took up their abode in the midst of the forest, Mr. Davis securing eighty acres of government land, constituting the present homestead of his son, subject of this review. He built a log shanty of most primitive type and bent himself to the arduous task of reclaiming his land from the wilds, clearing most of the same prior to his death, as well as the greater portion of an additional forty acres which he purchased later. He took his grists of wheat to mill at Marshall, twenty-two miles distant, in the early days, making the trip with his wagon and ox team and taking his ax with him, so that he might be able to cut his way back into the road in case he wandered therefrom, as one was apt to do, as the road was scarcely wider than the occasional natural openings between the trees, and was at times difficult to determine. He was an excellent shot and supplied the family larder with much wild game, such as deer, bear and wild turkeys, while he also killed many wolves. One dark night he heard a deer moving along not far distant from his house, and he made a random shot in the direction, following the sound as closely as possible, and succeeding in breaking the back of the animal with his one shot. John B. and Louisa Davis became the parents of seven children: William is a farmer of Kalamo township and is individually mentioned elsewhere in this work, his sketch containing further data to which reference may be made from the present article; Louisa, born January 2, 1834, died in 1883, in Durand, Michigan; Nelson, who was a member of a Michigan regiment known as Buck's Hard Heads, in the civil war, died in Andersonville prison, having been captured
Page 263 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 263 by the enemy and held in captivity until his death; James, born August 6, 1840, resides in Whitehall, Muskeon county; Amanda, born August 20, 1843, resides in Kalamo township; Peter, born June 25, 1848, resides in Bedford, Calhoun county; and John W., of this sketch, is the youngest of the children. The last mentioned was reared to manhood in his native county, and his educational advantages were limited to a somewhat desultory attendance in the district schools. He began to provide for his own maintenance when but eleven years of age, working on various farms in the vicinity and being industrious and provident. October 4, 1877, he purchased of his brothers Peter and William their share of the father's estate, and in August, 1891, he bought also the interest of his brother James, so that he now owns the eighty acres secured from the government by his honored father so many years ago. He follows in the footsteps of his father in his political alignment, being a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party but never having been a seeker of political preferment. His mother has been for many years a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. April 15, 1876, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Rapson, who was born in Maple Grove township, Barry county, Michigan, August 4, 1856, being a daughter of Mark Rapson, who came to Michigan from England and who still resides in Kalamo township, this county, his wife having died in Barry county. Mrs. Davis was summoned to the life eternal August 26, 1892, at the birth of the seventh child, who died at the same time. In conclusion is entered record concerning the other six children: Arthur, born March 19, 1877, died at the age of six years; Fidelia, born April 30, 1879, died January 13, 1880; Lyman, born September 26, 1881, remains at the paternal home and is associated in the work of the farm; Julia Bell, born March 31, 1883, is the wife of Ray Sykes, of Battle Creek, and they have one child, Luella; Frank Oscar, born July 15, 1887, and Bessie May, born June 9, 1889, remain members of the home circle and are popular young folk of the community. WARREN DAVIS, who is now living retired in the city of Charlotte, is a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of Eaton county, where practically his entire life has been passed and where he was long engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was born in Cayuga county, New York, December 22, 1840, a son of Darius and Eliza (Knapp) Davis, both native of the state of New York, where the former was born February 3, 1805, and the latter August 10, 1809. In 1842 the family came to Michigan and settled in Carmel township, Eaton county, the father purchasing one hundred and twenty acres of heavily timbered lands and establishing his primitive logcabin home in the midst of the forest. He improved the original farm, then disposed of the property and purchased eighty acres, in the same township. Of this he reclaimed about twenty acres, the improvement of the remainder of the homestead being accomplished by the subject of this sketch, owing to the delicate condition of his father's health. Darius Davis died, in Carmel township, December 31, 1875, his loved and devoted wife having preceded him to the life eternal, her death occurring April 26, 1874, in Charlotte, where they were residing at the time. Warren Davis was about two years of age at the time of the family removal to Eaton county, and he has a distinct remembrance of many of the conditions and toils which marked the pioneer era in this section. He was afforded the advantages of the district school in his home township, and he began his independent career when but sixteen years of age, taking contracts for the cutting of timber from the lands of neighboring farmers, said contracts usually implying the clearing of tracts of forty acres each. In January, 1867, he was married, and soon afterward he settled on the farm of one hundred and sixty acres which he still owns, in Carmel township, the same being devoted to diversified agriculture and stock-growing. He developed this homestead into one of the fine farms of the county, and for a number of years gave special attention to the raising of high-grade horses. He continued his residence on the
Page 264 264 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY farm until 1903, when he removed to Charlotte, where he has since lived virtually retired from active labor; he owns an attractive residence in Clinton street, and lie and his wife are popular in the social life of the county in which they have lived from their childhood days. They are members of the Congregational church, and Mr. Davis has ever been a stanch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party. He served seven years as supervisor of Carmel township, was township treasurer two years and also rendered efficient service in the office of school director, ever standing ready to aid all legitimate enterprises for the general good of the community. He was for a number of years a member of the Grange. January 1, 1867, witnessed the marriage of Mhr. Davis to Miss Eliza Allen, who was born and reared in Eaton county, being a daughter of the late Amos and Minerva (Stanley) Allen, who here resided until death. Hier father was born in the state of Massachusetts, February 6, 1800, and came td Eaton county, Michigan, in 1849, purchasing a quarter section of land in Chester township and reclaiming the same from the wilderness. He continued to reside on that homestead until his death, which occurred April 25, 1884. He was a Republican in politics and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Davis became the parents of three children, one of whom (lied in infancy. The two surviving are Gertrude, who is the wife of Victor D. Sprague, Cheboygan, Michigan, and Jessie, who is the wife of Carl S. Jones, of St. Louis, Missouri. WILLIAMI A. DAVIS, M. D., may well be considered the dean of the medical profession in the city of Grand Ledge, where he has been established in active and successful practice for nearly half a century, honored as a citizen and commanding unqualified confidence as a physician and surgeon of high attainments. Dr. Davis is native of the old Green Mountain state, having been born in Addison county, Vermont, July 11, 1831, and being a son of William Arnold Davis and Abigail (Law rence) Davis, both of whom were likewise born in Vermont, being representatives of families founded in New England in the colonial era of our nation's history. When the Doctor was but eleven months old his parents came to Michigan, about five years before the state was admitted to the Union. They settled in Washtenaw county, where the father took up three hundred acres of government land and established a home in the midst of the untrammeled forest wilds, having been one of the very early settlers of that county. He was compelled to go a distance of eleven miles to secure men to aid him in building his little log house, and for a number of years water for domestic purposes was secured from a spring half a mile distant from the house. The family endured the full tension of the pioneer epoch, and the father developed a good farm in the midst of the wilderness, continuing to reside on the homestead until his death, at the age of seventy-one years, his wife attaining the venerable age of eighty-six years. HIe was originally a Whig and later a Republican in politics and was a man who commanded unequivocal esteem in his community, but he would never permit his name to be used in connection with candidacy for public office, being reserved and unostentatious in his demeanor. In earlier days he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church, but eventually the former united with the Congregational and the latter with the Baptist church, the amicable arrangement being made to alternate in attending the two churches. They became the parents of seven children: Juliet. who died in Wayne county, became the wife of Nehemiah Pruden, and their only son is now resident of the state of Washington; Lucia (ied at the age of four years; Willard and (scar E. died in childhood; Dr. William A. was the next in order of birth; Lucy E. is the widow of Dr. Roswell B. Gates and resides in Chelsea, Washtenaw county; and George died in July, 1904. Dr. Davis secured his preliminary education in the subscription or district schools of the pioneer days and in a seminary in the town of Sylvan. He supplemented this
Page 265 WM. A. DAVIS, M. D.
Page 267 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 26;' discipline by entering the Michigan State Normal School, in Ypsilanti, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1852, his intention at the time having been to make teaching his permanent vocation. He received a life certificate as a teacher and after following the pedagogic profession four years decided to take up the study of medicine. He began his technical reading under the preceptorship of his. brother-in-law, Dr. Roswell B. Gates, and he finally entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, in which he completed the prescribed course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1858, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Shortly after his graduation he located in Williamston, Ingham county, where he continued in practice until 1869, when he came to Grand Ledge, where he has since continued to follow the work of his beneficent profession, having marked prestige as a physician and surgeon and retaining a representative patronage. His able and kindly ministrations during all the intervening years have gained to him the. affectionate regard of the people of this part of the county, and. in the earlier days he endured all the hardships that fell to the lot of the average pioneer physician, traversing the country roads in summer's heat and winter's cold, often with but little rest night or day, and pursuing his humane mission in relieving suffering and distress. The life of the physician is necessarily one of much self-abnegation and Dr. Davis has been in the most significant sense humanity's friend, ever ready to sacrifice personal comfort for the sake of helping those who called upon hin for professional aid. His life has been guided and governed by the spirit of utmost conscientiousness and integrity, and thus he has never lacked the good will and regard of all who have come within the sphere of his influence. He has been successful professionally and financially but has always been tolerant and generous, never having sued a person for a bill during the entire course of his extended professional career. He is a member of the \American Medical Association and the Michi gan State Medical Society. Dr. Davis cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont, the first candidate of the Republican party, and he continued to support the cause of that party until 1872, when he identified himself with the Greenback party. He is now independent in the matter of politics, giving his support to men and measures rather than holding to strict partisan lines. He has never consented to run for office, though taking a deep interest iin public affairs. While resident of Williamston he was a delegate to the Republican county convention on one occasion, and was nominated for representative in the legislature. He declined the nomination, however, and personally nominated Daniel L. Crossman, a prominent citizen of Ingham county, who was elected. When Dr. Davis came to Grand Ledge the place was a small village, but he had the prescience to discern in a measure its future status, and he manifested his confidence in divers helpful ways. Realizing that the city would naturally expand toward the railroad, he purchased four lots on the north side of the river and there erected three brick buildings and one frame building property which is now quite valuable. At that time the town had a population of about nine hundred. The railroad line had been built from Lansing to Ionia and in 1872 it was extended eastward, affording connection with the city of Detroit. The Doctor has viewed with pride and satisfaction the progress and substantial upbuilding of Grand Ledge, which is now one of the most attractive and flourishing of the smaller cities of the state. December 8, 1860, Dr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Matilda IHollis, who was born in the state of New York, May 21, 1839, being a daughter of James G. and Mary E. (Spencer) Hollis. Mr. Hollis, who was a contractor and builder by vocation, came to Michigan with his family in the pioneer days, locating in Howell, Livingston county, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. Dr. and Mrs. Davis became the parents of three children: Warren Ellsworth, who was born October 14, 1863, is engaged in
Page 268 268 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY the drug business in Grand Ledge; Arnold C. died at the age of seventeen months; Arnold C. (2d) was born December 11, 1867, and is now engaged in the drug and grocery business in Grand Ledge. Mary E., an adopted daughter, is a niece of Mrs. Davis, and is now the wife of Charles Appleton, principal of the high school at Wayland, Allegan county. WILLIAM H. DAVIS is one of the honored pioneers of Kalamo township, where he has maintained his home for the past sixtysix years, while he is a representative of a family early founded in Michigan, of which state he is a native, while he has never been outside its borders. He was born in Wayne county, February 19, 1832, being a son of John and Eliza (McDerby) Davis, the former having been born in Schoharie county, New York, in 1812, and having died in Kalamo township, in 1864; his wife was born in the state of New York, August 18, 1809, and is still living, at the very advanced age of ninetyeight years, making her home with her son John and personally attending to a large portion of the domestic work of the household. This worthy couple came to Michigan in 1831 and located in Wayne county, where the father worked land on shares until 1840, when he came to Eaton county, locating in the forest in Kalamo township, where he had previously purchased eighty acres of government land. With the assistance of two other men, who brought their families to this locality at the same time, he chopped a road through the woods for a distance of six miles in order to bring his wagon and household effects through to his land. After cutting through for the six miles the families remained in a rude shanty until the men could cut through another three miles to the embryonic farm. When the father reached the county his cash capital was summed up in a three-dollar "wildcat" bill, and before he could make use of the same the bank which issued it failed, and for the ensuing four years the family had not one penny in cash. The subject of this sketch never saw a stove until he was nineteen years old, and this was brought into the township by another family. Until their humble log shanty could be completed the Davis family were hospitably entertained in the home of the Bowen family, and then began the strenuous experience of pioneer life in the forest wildsa story often told but one that the present generation can scarcely appreciate. Deer, wolves, bear and wild turkey abounded, and Mr. Davis informs the writer that he has seen as many as three hundred wild turkeys in a single flock, while at the age of eleven years, from the door of the little log house which was his home, he shot one of the largest bears ever seen in the county, the beast having been but four rods distant. John Davis reclaimed the original eighty acres and later added forty acres, reclaiming a portion of the same. The principal provender of the family for the first three years was venison, corn bread and leeks. When they located here Kalamo and Carmel townships were one, and there were only five other families within its borders at the time. At the first township election the total number of voters in the township was seven. William H. Davis did his share in the matter of clearing and otherwise improving the farm, while his educational privileges were limited to an irregular and brief attendance in the little log school house of the locality and period. At the age of twenty-one years he bought forty acres of wild land, in section 18, Kalamo township, making a clearing and erecting a log house, into which he moved. He improved his land and there continued to reside until 1888, when he sold the property and purchased forty-five acres of improved land in Maple Grove township, Barry county. About a year later he traded this farm for a house and lot in Bellevue, Eaton county, soon selling the property in 1901 and purchasing the little farm of twenty acres where he now lives, in section 19, Kalamo township. His parents were members of the Methodist Protestant church. Of their seven children the subject of this sketch was the first born. Louisa was twice married and died in Durand, Michigan; James, who was a member of the
Page 269 PAIST.AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 269 First Michigan Engineers & Mechanics during the civil war, now resides in Whitehall, Muskegon county. Nelson was a member of a Michigan regiment in the war of the Rebellion, was taken prisoner and died in Libby prison; Peter served four years as a soldier in the same war and now resides in Bedford, Michigan; Amanda is the wife of Mitchell Heath, of Vermontville township; John and his aged mother reside on the old homestead farm, his wife being deceased. Mr. Davis has been four times married. In 1853 he wedded Violetta Williams, who died four years later, leaving two children, Melissa, who is now the wife of Henry Rowe, of Nashville, Michigan, and Newton, who died at the age of eighteen months. Mr. Davis' second marriage was to Libbie Stocking, who died three years later, the only child, a son, dying in early childhood. Three daughters were born of the third marriage, the third wife being divorced. The daughters are Mrs. Jane Draper, of White Cloud; Henrietta, wife of Ernest Heacock, of Nashville, Michigan; and Augusta, wife of John Rush, of Kalamazoo. In 1889 Mr. Davis married Mrs. Mary McIntyre, who was born in Paris, France, July 27, 1834, a daughter of Samuel and Marilla (Cronk) Forbes, the former of whom was born in Paris, in 1815, passing the closing years of his life in Newago county, Michigan, where he died in 1903; his wife was born in Holland, in 1821. and died at White Cloud, Michigan, in 1899. They came to the United States in 1846, becoming pioneers of Newago county, Michigan, where they located soon after their arrival, and there the father reclaimed a farm and passed the remainder of his life, as did also his wife. Mrs. Davis' first husband was Amos Whiting, who died while serving as a soldier in the civil war, having been a member of the Thirty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Five children were born of this union, all being deceased except the youngest, Martha, who is the wife of William Weaver, of Grand Rapids. For her second husband Mrs. Davis married George Hyde, who is survived by his only child, Cora, wife of Claude Day, of Maple Grove township, Barry county. Mrs. Davis married for a third husband James Youngs, who left two children, Minnie, now deceased, and Frederick, who now resides in Indiana. Mrs. Davis is a member of the Church of God. CHARLES DAWSON is one of the progressive farmers of Carmel township, where he is well upholding the prestige of the family name in connection with this important line of industrial enterprise and also as a publicspirited and useful citizen. Mr. Dawson was born on the farm which is now his home, November 5, 1864, being a son of Jacob and Elizabeth Dawson, both of whom were born in Ohio, where the father was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1856, when he removed to Eaton county, Michigan, settling in Carmel township. A few years later he here purchased the farm now occupied by his son Charles, subject of this review, the place comprising one hundred and forty acres. At the time when he assumed possession of the property its appearance was far different than at the present time, for the greater portion of the land was covered with a heavy growth of the native timber, while practically no improvements had been made in the way of permanent buildings. He reclaimed the farm to the uses of cultivation and as the years prospered his efforts he continued to make improvements. erecting good buildings and making the farmstead a model of thrift and consistent attractiveness. He continued to reside on the old homestead until 1891, when he removed to the state of California, where he is now living retired. His wife died in 1875, and is survived by her four children, of whom Charles is the eldest; Nora is the wife of Edward Hunter and they reside in California; Jessie is the wife of Walter Norwood, likewise resident of California; and George is a prosperous farmer of Carmel township, this county. Charles Dawson has lived on the present homestead from the time of his birth, and thus the place is doubly endeared to him by the associations of the past and by its status to-day as one of the fine farms of this section. He
Page 270 270 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATOA COUNTY received the advantages of the public schools and has become known as a man of much mental power and mature judgment, ordering his industrial affairs with marked discrimination and being one of the representative farmers of his township. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance, as is also his father, and he is identified with the Fraternal Order of Gleaners. In 1892 Mr. Dawson was united in marriage to Miss Alma Ames, daughter of Isaac Ames, of Charlotte, and they have three children-Bernice, Jay and Beulah. ANDREW J. DAY is a scion, in the second generation, of one of the sterling pioneer families of Eaton county, having been born on the farm which is his present place of abode, in Section 1, Bellevue township, and having passed his entire life in his native county, save for the period of his service as a soldier in the civil war. He was born February 17. 1841, and'is a son of Asa and Lovisa (Hopkins) Day. Asa Day was born in Reading, Windsor county, Vermont, March 30, 1795. and he died on the farm now owned by his son, Andrew J., December 26, 1849. He was thrice married-first to Nancy Snyder, who was born March 13, 1795, and ihey became the parents of two children: Sylvester, who was born December 17, 1817, died in Eaton county, October 1, 1894, and Abby Ann, who was born November 11, 1819, is the wife of Milton Mix and resides in Nashville, Barry county. After the death of his first wife Mr. Day married Asenath Spencer, in the year 1823, and they became the parents of one son, Samuel S., who was born March 18, 1824, and who died July 5, 1902, in Walton, T. P. April 12, 1840, in Eaton county, Asa Day married Miss Lovisa Hopkins, who was born near Cooperstown, New York, May 14, 1810, being a daughter of Andrew and Susan (Hollis) Hopkins. Both her paternal and her maternal grandfathers were valiant soldiers in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution. She came to Michigan in 1824, in company with a married sister, and she died on the homestead farm, in Bellevue township, April 23, 1892. After the death of her first husband she became the wife of Reuben Swift, but they separated about six years later. She was a woman of sterling character, having been a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, with which she united in 1826. Asa Day was a son of Alpha and Abigail (Adams) Day, the latter having been a daughter of James Adams, who was a cousin of John Adams, second president of the United States. When Asa Day was nine years of age his parents removed from the old Green Mountain state to the state of New York, in 1804, the parents having been native of Massachusetts, whence they went to Vermont in an early day. Asa Day was thrown upon his own resources when yet a youth, having learned the shoemaker's trade in New York state and having done the shoemaking for his family after becoming a pioneer of Michigan. October 2, 1836, he located on the farm now owned by the subject of this sketch, having purchased the land from the government in the preceding spring securing originally a tract of two hundred acres, for which he paid one dollar and twentv-five cents an acre. Not a stick of timber had been cut on the land and he was one of the very first to take up permanent residence in Bellevue township. His first dwelling was a small log shanty, which was later replaced by a good log house, the latter continuing to be the family home until 1846, when he erected the substantial frame residence now occupied by his son Andrew. He finally divided his land, giving each of his elder sons a portion and leaving eighty acres to his widow at the time of his death. In politics he was a stanch Democrat, as is evident from the name given to the subject of this sketch, and he held the office of justice of the peace (luring practically the entire period of his resi(lence in Eaton county, having been a man of unswerving integrity and much intellectual ability. He was a zealous member of the Baptist church, and it was through his efforts that the first clergyman of this denomination was induced to locate in his neighborhood. He gave an half acre of ground and a log house
Page 271 PAST AAND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 271 to this minister as a home, and was very active and sincere in the work of his church, exemplifying his faith in his daily life. Of the four children of the last marriage Andrew J. was the first born; Theodore, born December 2, 1842, died February 3, 1856; Maria L., who was born June 11, 1846, is the wife of James ~. Flagg, of Kalkaska county; and Nelson E. resides on a portion of the old homestead farm. Andrew J. Day has made his home on his present farm from the time of his birth, and his early educational training was limited to a somewhat irregular attendance in the pioneer district school. After the death of his father it devolved largely upon him, as the eldest son of the immediate family, to assume the responsibilities of caring for his mother and the younger children. He was ambitious to secure a more liberal education, and in 1860 entered Olivet College, but soon afterward came to the call of higher duty, when President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers to assist in suppressing the Rebellion and preserving the Union. Mr. Day enlisted, August 11, 1862, as a private in Company I, Sixth Alichigan Volunteer Infantry, proceeding with his command to Louisiana. The change of climate caused him to contract a severe illness and he was sent to the hospital, the result of his malady being such that he was incapacitated for active field service, receiving his honorable discharge June 3, 1863, on account of physical disability. He now receives a pension and is a valued member of the Grand Arlmy of the Republic. After his return home SMr. Day resumed his educational work, entering the ULniversitv of Michigan and being graduated in the law department of that institution, as a member of the class of 1867. Soon afterward his eyes became seriously afflicted, and he was compelled, with much reluctance, to resign very bright prospects for success and advancement in the profession for which he had prepared himself. He returned to the farm and has since given his attention to agricultural pursuits, though he keeps in constant touch with the intellectual progress of the day and with affairs of public polity. He owns sixty acres of excellent land, representing his share of his father's estate, and he is held in high regard in the community which has ever been his home. He is a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities but has never held office, is affliated with the Masonic fraternity, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Protestant church. June 30, 1872, Mr. Day was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Norton, who was born in Macomb county, January 28, 1846, a (laughter of Hugh and Mary E. (Steele) Norton, both native of the state of New York, where the former was born June 16, 1795, and the latter May 6, 1806. Both passed the closing years of their lives in Macomb county, Michigan, where the father died February 19, 1884, and the mother February 14, 1868. They were very early settlers of that county, having there taken up their abode in 1834. Of their eight children all are living except one: William and John reside in Macomb county; Hattie is deceased; Catherine is the wife of Robert Jean, of Macomb county; James resides in Durand, Shiawassee county; Hiram has his home in Macomb county; Mrs. Day was the next in order of birth; and Marshall is a resilent of Kent county. Of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Day four are living: Asa N., who was born March 23, 1875, is a bachelor and is associated with the management of the home farm; Estelle, who was born April 3, 1879, is the wife of Willard Griffin, of Olivet; I-elen, who was born January 19, 1881, and who is a graduate of Olivet College, is principal of the high school at Holly, Michigan: Eva, who was born September 12, 1886, is a student in the conservatory of music at Olivet College; Nina Belle, who was born September (26, 1883, died September 13, 1897; and Donald, who was born February 29, 1888, died February 15, 1889. NELSON ELKANEY DAY is a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Eaton county, being a son of the late Asa Day, who was one of the first settlers of Bellevue township. Full details concerning the family
Page 272 272 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY history are given in the sketch of Andrew J. Day, on other pages of this work. Nelson E. Day was born on the old family homestead in Bellevue township, known as the Day farm, a short distance from his present residence, on the 5th of April, 1849-just nine months prior to the death of his father. He was reared on the home farm and remained with his mother until her death, assisting the management of the farm, and the while having duly availed himself of the advantages of the district schools. Upon the death of his mother he came into possession of twenty acres of the homestead, soon afterward erecting a small frame house on his property. On Christmas day of the year 1875 he was united in marriage to Miss Frances M. Pinch, who was born in Pennsylvania, February 4, 1852, being a daughter of Owen Owens Pinch, who was born in the state of New York and who died in December, 1868, at the age of forty-five years. Her mother, whose maiden name was Fanny Fry, was born in England, in July, 1825, and was nine years of age at the time of her parents' immigration to America. She died in Olivet, this county, October 4, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Pinch were married in 1846, and in 1854 they came to Michigan and located in Albion, Calhoun county, where they remained until 1858, when they took up their residence in Olivet, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been a tinsmith and having always followed this trade as a vocation. Of the nine children three died in infancy, and the others are still living: Martha E., widow of George Herrick, resides in Olivet and has six children; James O. is a resident of Potterville, Eaton county; Mrs. Day is the next in order of birth; Benjamin W. is engaged in the real-estate business in the city of Battle Creek; Jennie is the wife of Milton Packofen, of Flint; and May is the widow of Frank Matthews and resides in Olivet. Mr. and Mrs. Day have seven children: Georgia is the wife of Charles Wheaton, of Charlotte; Grace M. is. the wife of George Clevers, of Charlotte, and they have two children, Leta and Ida; Fannie E. is a teacher in the public schools of Niles, this state, where she has been thus employed for three years; Ida L. is a stenographer and is now attending a business college in the city of Chicago; Mabel Zoe is the wife of Don G. Smith, a locomotive fireman on the Michigan Central Railroad, residing in Jackson, and they have twin daughters, Dorris and Dorothy; Arthur E. is a student in Olivet College. All of the children have been afforded good educational advantages and of them their parents have just reason to be proud. Mr. Day has added to the area of his original farm by the purchase of twenty acres in Walton township and ninety acres on the opposite side of the road, in Kalamo township, so that he now has a well improved farm of one hundred and thirty acres. Sixteen years ago the original dwelling on his homestead was destroyed by fire, and he then built another small frame house, which was utilized until 1898, when he erected his present commodious and modern residence. The other buildings on the farm are of excellent order and all are kept in good repair. Mr. Day has given his attention to diversified agriculture and to dairying, having formerly kept about twenty milch cows and having sold the product of the same to a local creamery, supplying a larger amount of cream than any other customer of said creamery. He' has been an indefatigable worker and has achieved a worthy success, and he has had at all times the unqualified esteem and confidence of the community in which his life has been passed. He is a Democrat in his political proclivities and both he and his wife attend the Methodist Protestant church. CHARLES W. DEAN is one of the representative farmers of Chester township and is recognized as a citizen of sterling attributes of character. HIe was born in Jefferson county, New York, January 27, 1850, and is a son of Erastus B. and Abigail M. (Chase) Dean, both of whom were likewise native of the old Empire state, where the former was born, of Scotch descent, in the year 1819, and the latter April 3 of the same year. Both
Page 273 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 273 passed the closing years of their lives in Lenawee county, Michigan, where the father died at the age of forty-four and the mother at the ace of sixty-six years. The genealogy of the Chase family in America is traced back to 1620, and subject of this sketch has in his possession this valuable family record. Erastus B. I)ean removed with his family from New York to Michigan in the spring of 1850, locating in Raisen township, Lenawee county, and there following the trade of carpenter until hlis death; his wife spent the last fourteen years with her son Charles. Of the three children in the family two died in infancy, so that Charles W. is the only surviving member of the immediate family. I-Ie secured his earl) educational training in the district school and supplemented this by a course in the Raisen Valley Seminary. For fourteen winter terms \Ir. Iean was a successful teacher in the district schools, having folloved the pedagogic profession both in Lenawee and Eaton counties. At the age of twenty-one years he was married, and soon afterward came to Eaton county,, purchasing eighty acres of wild land, in Chester township, while later he purchased an adjoining tract, on which was a log house. This continued to be.his place of abode until 1885, when he erected his present residence, which is a large and handsome brick structure, of modern design and facilities. HIe is now the owner of a finely improved landed estate of three hundred acres, the greater portion lying in section 7, Chester township, and all in one body. The buildings and other perInanent appurtenances of the farm are of the best type, and the place is one of the model homes of the township. Mr. Dean has indivi(ltdally cleared the greater portion of the land, and he has been very successful in his operations as a general farmer and stockgrower. He is a stalwart adherent of the Republican party and has been prominent and influential in public affairs of a local nature. He has served several terms as township supervisor, being incumbent of that office at the time of this writing, while he also served ten years as justice of the peace and five or six terms as township superintendent of schools. He has never been a seeker of office, but has willingly given the best of his time and ability to the discharge of the duties of those positions to which he has been called by the suffrages of the people of his township. I-e is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Grange. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a strong advocate of temperance and gives his support and influence to all measures tending to advance the general welfare, moral, material and civic. He has given his children excellent educational advantages and he and his wife are popular in the social life of the community, their home being one notable for its gracious and unreserved hospitality. March 8, 1871, Mr. Dean was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Rogers, who was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, June 2, 1850, being a daughter of Samuel and Weltha (Clark) Rogers, the former of whom was born in Oswego county, New York, December 4, 1815, and the latter in state of Rhode Island, December 1, 1819. The father enlisted as a member of Company H, Sixth Michigan Heavy Artillery, at the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, and died, of camp disease, near New Orleans, Louisiana, while still in the service. His widow died in 1891, in Eaton county. In 185. Samuel Rogers settled in Sunfield township, this county, where he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of wild land. On the place he erected a log house, of the type common to the pioneer days, and in this building was held the first township meeting or election, John Dow having been elected supervisor and having held the office more than forty years. This old building, a veritable landmark, was torn down only a few years ago. Mr. Rogers later removed to Chester township, where he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in section (G, this property being still in the possession of the family. His widow passed the closing years of her life in the home of her (laughter, Mrs. Dean, who is the only surviving member of a family of six children, of whom she was the
Page 274 274 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY fourth in order of birth. Charles died at the age of twenty years; Sarah became the wife of Andrew Miller and died in the state of South Dakota; Pearl, who died in this county, is the subject of an individual memoir on another page of this volume; Sophia, who became the wife of Lyman Barnes, died in Windsor township; and Samuel died at the age of two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Dean have been born six children, all of whom are living except one. Ralph B., who was born January 14, 1872, married Miss MIargaret Graham, and they had three children, all of whom are living-Carl S., Porter G. and Russell R. After his marriage Ralph B. Dean was graduated in the University of Michigan, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, later becoming superintendent of the public schools of the city of Pontiac. His health failed and he finally went to Denver, Colorado, where he died, at the age of thirty-three years. His widow and children now reside with her parents. Mary Etta, born August 12, 187t3, is the wife of Joseph Frith, a successful farmer of Vermontville township, and they have four children-Nancy, Dean, Frederick and Bertha. Charles, who was born August 25, 1875, and who operates a portion of his father's farm, married Miss Florence Murrick, and they have four children-Merrick, Olga, Lauren and Alice Marguerite. Myrtie, who was born August 31, 1877, is attending school in the city of Chicago. Clara, who was born August 19, 1879, was graduated in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti and is now principal of the high school at Pardeeville, Wisconsin. George L., who was born February 19, 1882, remains at the parental home. FRANK A. DEAN, of Charlotte, is known as one of the distinguished members of the bar of Michigan, as one of the most effective platform orators turned out by this commonwealth in many years, and he has won distinction in public life and in the domain of practical politics. Mr. Dean is a native of Eaton county and a scion of one of its most honored pioneer families, the more salient data concerning the family history being given in the personal sketch of his father, Jonathan Dean, on another page of this volume. Frank A. Dean was born in Kalamo township, this county, March 25, 1857. After due preliminary training in the public schools he entered Olivet College, at Olivet, this county, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1877, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the autumn of that year he began reading law,.having as his preceptor, Judge Frank A. Harker, of Charlotte, and he was admitted to the bar in 1890. He engaged in the practice of his profession in Charlotte, and his reputation as an able trial lawyer and well fortified counselor grew apace. In the autumn of 1893 he was appointed United States consul to Naples, Italy, receiving this preferment at the hands of President Cleveland. He remained in Italy until 1897, when he returned to America and located in Lansing, capital of the state of Michigan, where he was associated in the practice of his profession with Harry Hooker for the ensuing three years, at the expiration of which, in 1900, he again took up his residence in the city of Charlotte, where he has since continued in the general practice of his profession, having a large and representative clientage and having been concerned in much important litigation in both the state and federal courts. He has been specially prominent as a campaign orator, being a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. In 1890 his name was conspicuously brought forward in connection with the party nomination for governor of the state, but he failed to receive the nomination, being unanimously and by acclamation nominated for lieutenant governor but declining to assume the second place on the party ticket. In 1891 Mr. Dean made an extended trip abroad, visiting Ireland, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. While he was consul in Italy he was also enabled to make a series of interesting tours, visiting Morocco, Algeria and Egypt, as well as Spain. He has been much in demand as a platform orator. It has been his privilege and pleasure
Page 275 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY 7, 5 ---- to meet many notable men, both abroad and in his own country, and he has never failed to profit by such encounters or by the varied experiences of his somewhat eventful life. At the queen's jubilee banquet held in Naples in June, 1897, he delivered a speech which was published in full by all the leading papers of France and England. He had charge of the return of the Vatican exhibits at the World's Columbian Expositon in 1893, the same being transported on the steamer "Detroit" from the exposition to the proper headquarters in the city of Rome. Mr. Dean visited Pope Leo, who granted him an audience, and he has ever retained a great reverence for that celebrated pontiff. From his youth Mr. Dean has held a high reputation as an orator and as a close and able dialectician. During the first Cleveland campaign he received the highest pay of any speaker retained by the Democracy in the state of Michigan, having made addresses at that time in every city in the state. He is well known throughout Michigan and is a man of highl intellectual and professional attainments, while through his services he has honored the commonwealth which gave him birth. Mr. Dean has two children,-Fred M. and Hazel M., both fine linguists and educated abroad. JONATHAN DEAN, one of the honored pioneer citizens of Eaton county, which has represented his home from his boyhood days to the present, was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, about twenty miles northeast of the city of Toronto, September 29, 1830, being a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Monroe) Dean, the former of whom was descended from stanch Puritan stock, having been born at Newburg, Orange county, New York, on the Hudson river, while the latter was born on the St. Lawrence river, Canada. Jonathan Dean, Sr., was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his father, David Dean, rendered yeoman service as a soldier in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution, having been with Washington at Valley Forge and having endured his share of the hardships and vicissitudes with which that historic name is so closely associated. Jonathan Dean, Sr., came to Michigan in 1837, the year in which the state was admitted to the Union. He crossed the Detroit river on the 3d of July, and passed the following day, the anniversary of American independence, in Detroit, which was then a small city. From that point he came to Eaton county and located in section 10, Kalamo township, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres of government land, which in due time he reclaimed from the wilderness. The family passed the first summer in Plymouth, Wayne county, and in the autumn the three elder sons drove through to the pioneer farm in Kalamo township, bringing ten head of cattle and two hogs: They made the trip by way of Marshall and Bellevue and the first night pitched their tent on Pestle hill. They then went to the home of Louis Stebbins, at Carlisle, where they boarded during the period which they devoted to building the primitive log house on the farm. The other members of the family came to the new home in December, arriving at the little forest lodge on Christmas day. Jonathan Dean, Sr., and his wife here passed the remainder of their lives, honored by all who knew them. The former attained to the patriarchal age of ninety-five years. For forty years he was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife also was a devoted adherent. Jonathan Dean, Jr., still owns eighty acres of the old homestead, having been a lad of seven years when the family here took up their residence. Mrs. Jonathan Dean, Sr., was a descendant of Colonel Monroe, who was a distinguished British officer in the war of the Revolution. She died July 24, 1879. The father of the subject of this sketch was a clothier, cloth-dresser and dyer, following these lines of enterprise for forty years before coming to Michigan. He owned and operated a factory near Newcastle. Canada, but after taking up his residence in Eaton county he gave his entire attention to the improving and cultivating of his farm. The family circle was unbroken by the hand of death until forty years after the Deans be
Page 276 276 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNT)Y came resident of this county. There were four sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased except the subject of this review, who was the youngest. Mary, who became the wife of Timothy Boyer, died in this county, as did also the brothers, William B., Silas M. and Allen W. All attended school in Canada except Jonathan, Jr., who secured his educational training in the district schools of Eaton, Wayne and Washtenaw counties. He was reared on the homestead farm and his vocation in life has been that of an agriculturist. His present fine homestead farm, in Kalamo township, comprises one hundred and twenty acres. During the administration of President Cleveland he was appointed vice-consul of the United States in the city of Naples, Italy, where he remained three and one-half years. Save for this period he has lived practically retired, in the city of Charlotte, since 188-1. Here he has an attractive home, while he passed the summer seasons in Petoskey, on Little Traverse bay, where he had a nice cottage. In politics Mr. Dean has ever accorded an unwavering allegiance to the Democratic party, and he has served as justice of the peace, while he was elected school director in Kalamo township when but twenty-one years of age. He identified himself with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Good Templars a number of years ago, but is not in active affiliation with either at the present time. In 1852 Mr. Dean was united in marriage to Miss Diantha Allen, daughter of Amos Allen, who came from the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts to the west, locating in the state of Ohio, whence he came to Eaton county and settled in Chester township a number of years prior to the war of the Rebellion. Mr. and Mrs. Dean have three children: Hon. Frank A., who is a leading member of the Eaton county bar, being engaged in the practice of his profession in Charlotte, and who was United States consul in Naples, Italy, under Presi(lent Cleveland; Florence, who is the wife of Harry Hooker, of Lansing; and Frederika. who is the wife of Charles Sattler, of Charlotte. FRANK H. DEGOLIA, who is incumbent of the office of cashier of the First National Bank of Eaton Rapids and who is known as an able executive and representative citizen, is a native of the state of Michigan, having been born in Kent county, February 3, 1847, a son of William and Clarissa (Stewart) DeGolia, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in Vermont. The father was one of the sterling pioneers of Kent county, Michigan, where he became a prosperous farmer and where both he and his wife continued to reside until 1868, when they removed to Middleville, Barry county, Michigan, where the father died the same fall. The mother died in Middleville in 1870. Frank H. DeGolia passed his early life on the homestead farm, assisting in its work and management until he had attained his legal majority, and having been accorded the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period. At the age of twenty-one years he took up his residence in Middleville, Barry county, where he was for several years engaged in mercantile business. In 1872 he organized the private bank of Bowne, Combs & Company, he being the silent member of the firm, and with this bank he was identified until he came to Eaton Rapids. On the 1st of May, 1877, he came to Eaton Rapids to take charge of a private banking institution, but four months later this was merged into a national bank, of which he was one of the organizers and incorporators. The institution was incorporated as the First National Bank and he has been cashier of the same fromi the inception, while it is in large measure due to his ability and discrimination as a financier and to his fine administrative powers that the bank has attained so high a standard, being one of the solid and popular monetary institutions of the state, while he personally is to be considered one of the oldest bankers in Michigan, in point of continuous identification with this important line of enterprise. He is essentially progressive and liberal as a citizen and has ever held the interests of Eaton Rapids closly at heart. In politics he is found aligned as a stalwart
Page 277 PAST AND PRESENT in the ranks of the grand old Republican party, and in former years he was an active worker in local politics, while he still shows a lively interest in the party cause. At the age of twenty-three years he was called upon to serve as president of the village of Middleville, and before Eaton Rapids was incorporated as a city he was a member of the village council and he has been a member of the city library board of trustees from the time of its organization, and upon the death of Dr. Dutton he succeeded him as president of the board, and continued until 1905. He has also served as township and village treasurer at M\iddleville and is at the present time a member of the Eaton Rapids board of public works. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of the blue lodge, chapter and commandery, while both he and his wife have been identified with the adjunct organization, the Order of the Eastern Star, from the time of their marriage. Mr. DeGolia gives practically his entire attention to his banking interests. It may be stated that the First National Bank of Eaton Rapids was organized September 1, 1877, being incorporated with the'following corps of officers: A. J. Bowne, president; Dr. A. C. Dutton, vicepresident; F. G. DeGolia, cashier; and in ad(ition to the above the following directors: Daniel Striker, Philip Leonard, A. Crawford and P. G. Slocum. Of the entire number thus represented all are now deceased except Mr. DeGolia and Mr. Crawford. The bank is incorporated for fifty thousand dollars, and its present executive corps is as follows: Marshall Wood, president; E. E. Horner, vicepresident; F. G. DeGolia, cashier; and A. Osborn, assistant cashier. These officers are also members of the directorate of the bank, as are also M. D. Crawford, J. H. Gallery. and Allan Crawford. In 1869 Mr. DeGolia was united in marriage to Miss Mary Stringhanm, who was born and reared in Wayne county, Michigan, and they have two children -Grace S., who remains at the parental home, and Harry, who is engaged in the drug business in Eaton Rapids. 17 OF EATON COUNTY 2, 77 ADAM DELL, who is the owner of a well improved farm of eighty acres, in section 7, Sunfield township, has resided in Eaton county for more than thirty years, and is a worthy type of that sturdy German element which has so fostered the development and material prosperity of the American republic. He was born in Germany, May 24, 1842, and is a son of John and Margaret (Alice) Dell, both of whom passed their entire lives in the fatherland. The father was a weaver by trade and vocation, and he died in 1846, when the subject of this sketch was a child of four years. His wife attained the age of sixty years, her death having occurred after her son Adam had immigrated to America, he having been the youngest in a family of four children and the only one who left Germany to find a home in the United States. Mr. Dell secured his early education in the schools of his native land, and when but fifteen years of age he set forth to seek his fortunes in America, making the trip on a sailing vessel and being on the water six weeks, finally landing in New York city, whence he went to Waterloo county, Ontario, Canada, where he joined one of his maternal uncles, for whom he worked until he had earned enough money to repay the price of his passage across the Atlantic. Thereafter he was employed at farm work, in the same county, for eight years, his compensation having been but four dollars a month for a portion of the time. While a mere boy he kept pace with full-grown men in the work of the harvest field. In 1865 Mr. Dell came to Michigan, locating in Kent county, where he was employed at farm work and chopping in the forest until he had succeeded in accumulating twelve hundred dollars, having been a hard worker and having observed the utmost frugality and economy. He then came to Eaton county, in 1873, and purchased his present farm of eighty acres; where he has continuously made his home, having paid sixteen hundred dollars for the property. About twenty acres had been cleared but only a small area had been placed under cultivation. A log house had been built on the farm and in
Page 278 278 PAST AND PRESENT OF EATON COUNTY the second year he built a barn and granary, later remodeling the granary and utilizing the same as a residence until 1893, when he erected his present substantial and comfortable frame residence. He has brought his land into a high state of cultivation and has made good improvements throughout, his energy and constant application having enabled him to win independence and prosperity. Besides clearing h