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

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Mr. Webb goes on to say that at the township meeting recently
held at Aurelius there were three present who attended the first
school taught in the north one-half of the township 77 years ago;
also, of the 94 boys of Aurelius who responded to Lincoln's call,
all the survivors were present, Luman A. Fowler, now of California; Dudley N. Bateman and Wm. M. Webb, all past 80 years
of age.
To Wm. M. Webb, of Aurelius Township, belongs the honor of
being the only octogenarian who was born in Ingham county and
has lived continuously on the farm where he was born, at least all
the challenges sent out by Mr. Webb regarding this record remain
unanswered.
Mr. Webb has had the story of his life put in rhyme, though
never published, and it tells the story of his birth in a nutshell:
"A rough board shack set in a primal wood;
Three corners of it formed by trees that stood
Cut to the proper height; A post was set
At the fourth corner. Trees sometimes forget
To grow four in a square, yet men four-square
Were born of pioneers and nourished there.
Boards formed the sides, and slabs of bark were laid
To roof the house thus quickly, strongly made.
It had few windows; for outlook one could see
But tangled wilderness of bush and tree.
A wonder house this would seem to you or me,
To pioneers it was a dream come true.
'Twas shelter, and meant safety. Here, twenty-first of May,
In eighteen thirty-eight, I came to stay.
They little thought who heard my wailing fears
That I should live to count my four-score years.
All, all are gone the way of all the earth,
Who knew me in that shack which saw my birth!"
Wm. M. Webb says, "I was the fourth child, all boys, born in the
township, so that being born in Aurelius Township had passed the
experimental stage and become an established industry, and we
four boys made a strong team in clearing the forests. I was not