Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY

one, yet he had always had to do something towards his own
support. They arrived in Michigan with $3, some pork, vinegar
and peach brandy. One spring he made 1,100 pounds of maple
sugar, yoked up a pair of steers and drove to Albion and sold it,
peddling it along the way. Once started for the Black Hawk war,
got as far as Chicago, and there began butchering beef and pork
for the Indians.
Fed 1,500 of them, but didn't like the business and drifted back
to Michigan and this old county of Ingham. He told of trading
maple sugar for nine jack-knives, and had never been out of
knives since. A letter from his father laid in the post office three
weeks because he didn't have the two shillings necessary to pay
the postage. Wanted to live to be 100 years old and keep pace
with the pioneers.
Alvin Rolfe, now of Lansing, had written a sketch of his early
experiences which was read by J. T. Campbell in Mr. Rolfe's
absence. He said:
In the spring of 1833 I came with my parents from Thetford,
Orange county, Vt., to Genesec county, N. Y. The winter before
was noted for the falling of stars, which alarmed many. They
thought the day of judgment had come. Some got down on their
knees and prayed, others got out their Bibles to read thinking
that might save them. We stayed in Genesee county until 1836,
then came to Michigan. We started from Buffalo on the steamer
"Thomas Jefferson," and got to Detroit the next Sunday. It was
a very rough passage which made most all of the passengers seasick. Detroit was then a complete mud hole. We came from
there to Jacksonburg, as Jackson was then called, and stopped
there until we could find government land to settle on. We
found some in the dense forest of Ingham county. The next
Monday we started with our axes and provision on our backs to
hew us out a new home in Ingham county. We had to cut our
road for four and one-half miles through woods from S. 0. Russell's
and James Royston's, they having moved in the week before. We
had to ford the Grand river. It took us until night to cut the
road, so we had to camp out that night. The next morning we
went and cut logs to build a shanty with. We split basswood
logs to make the floor and bark to make the roof. Got it done
Saturday night. By that time our provisions were pretty low.