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

AURELIUS TOWNSIIP AND ITS HISTORY

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To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were born two sons, William, who died
in the Civil War, and Charles S., who lives on the old farm.
Among the quite early settlers were grandfather and grandmother Webb with their sons William and David, who built on
the N. E. 4 Sec.9, also grandfather and grandmother Wright with
their children Henry, Jane, Mary Ann, William, James and Isabell.
William Webb married Jane Wright, and Matilda, David and
Mary Ann were their children.
Spencer and Amanda Markham located land on Sec. 32 in Delhi
in 1836, but did not move onto it until the late forties. They had
no children, but adopted William P. Brown, Sarah B. Blanchard,
C. B. Gilbert, and Charles Rich, and were zealous members of the
Baptist church in Mason.
Thomas Smith married Mary Ann Wright, children, Mary,
William, Lansing, Fanny, Mattie, Jennie and Caleb. Mary and
Mattie are dead.
Comparatively early came the Holley's, Isaac and wife, with
sons Orlando, Joseph, Alfred J., Benjamin, John T., and their
daughter, Neoma (Mrs. Mark Williams). About the same time
time came Hiram and Margaret Smith with their children,William,
Charles, George, Lewis, Hector, Lyman and Sally (now Mrs.
Austin Doolittle). Anson J. Calkins and wife Lyda and their
family were early comers.
The most important events that have occurred since the early
settlement is the organization of schools and religious societies.
School district No. 4, as near as can be learned, was organized in
the early part of 1843. A log school house built on N. W. corner
of E 2 of N. W. 14 Sec. 9, being near where W. M. Webb now
lives. Martha Smith taught the first school, in the summer of
1843. She was Maud Bullen's grandmother. The first winter
school was taught by George Gallery of Eaton Rapids. In 1849
the school house site was changed to where it now stands. The
first winter school here was taught by Horace Hobert, who believed in moral suasion, but enforced it by bringing with him every
Monday morning a big bundle of switches to be used as persuaders. A log house belonging to John Wright was used for the
school until 1851 when a frame building was erected, and the first
teacher was Bird Norton of Eaton Rapids. The school had a
number of big boys, and had the name of being a "hard school."