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

AURELIUS TOWNSHIP AND ITS HISTORY

285

The first sermon was preached at the house of Mr. Dunn by
Rev. Finch. It was the funeral sermon of a child of Mr. Chester
Holley's, whose wife was a daughter of Mr. Dunn.
We had no regular prayer meetings but occasionally we had one;
sometimes at your grandfather's and sometimes at my Mother's.
Mother was always expected to lead when the meeting was at our
house.
There was no Sunday school organized while I remained in the
neighborhood, but in the summer of '45 they had regular preaching every two weeks, and a prayer meeting the alternate Sunday.
The first district school was taught in the summer of '45, in a
new log school house near your father's. There were 17 scholars
enrolled, namely: Mary Elizabeth Wright, Polly Niles and her
two brothers, William Turner, George Turner, George Bullen,
Richard Bullen, John Henry Webb, Mary Ann Webb, Lucy Webb,
Wm. Wilson, and the names of the others I have forgotten. I
taught five days in the week besides every other Saturday, boarded
round the district and received $1.00 per week.
There were two young married couples living in the neighborhood when we first moved there. Mr. Chester Holley and wife,
and Mr. Wm. Webb and wife, but the first wedding that I know
anything about was my own.
I was married on the 10 day of Sept. 1846 by Rev. Thos. Wakelin, M. E. minister. My brother Thomas was married on Christmas day of the same year, by the M. E. minister, whose name
was Fox.
(The rest of the letter is gone, but with this a sketch of Wm. W.
Wilson which was apparently, accompanied by a poem, though
that does not appear with the letter. Am sorry because it was
said he and his brother always carried on their correspondence in
rhyme.)
This is the sketch:
"Composed in Prison No. 3, Danville, Virginia, by Wm. W.
Wilson, a private of Co. I, 11th Mich. Inf., Jan 31, 1864.
This poem was written with pencil on half the cover of an old
religious monthly published in Richmond, Va., in July, 1856, and
was addressed to one of the members of Congress from Mich. It
came by way of a "Flag of truce boat," and was endorsed, "Prisoner's Letter," and bore the postmark Old Point Comfort, Va.,
Feb. 23, 1864. It was published first in the Detroit Tribune."