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

BUNKERHILL TOWNSHIP AND ITS HISTORY

349

but I have no means of knowing the time of year or how long they
were on the road.
My father, Garrett Dubois, came with his family soon after
grandfather settled here and had time to write back glowing
descriptions of the country.
Father's family then consisted of himself, wife and three boys,
the youngest a babe in arms. Their starting point was Equinunk, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and the time June in the year
1839. The conveyance, I suppose, was what has since been called
a "prairie schooner," and with this they traveled for nineteen
days. At Buffalo they took a boat for Detroit. The lake was in a
rough mood and kept the water spattering and hitting the horses,
which so frightened them that father had to stay with them all
night. He thought to give them a rest after such a hard night, so
when he landed he took them to a stable, but they would not lie
down until after he had driven them far enough to let them
realize they were on solid ground.
At the new settlement in Alaiedon Uncle Martin's house came
first, but the news of their arrival was soon conveyed to grandfather's home, and in a short time grandmother came hustling
along wiping her eyes, and father met her with the mischievous
remark, "Well, mother, if you feel as bad as that we can go back."
The promised land was now reached and the next thing was to
choose and secure a piece of land, and that involved a trip to
Ionia, where the nearest land office was located. I think father
rode one of the horses he drove from the East on this trip. He
bought six lots, a part in Alaiedon and part in Vevay.
Some time in 1840 Asa, the oldest of the family, came bringing
his wife, son and four daughters. Steven, the youngest of the
family, came very soon after, and with his wife, Hannah Longyear,
settled just across the road from father.
Uncle Asa's children were more nearly grown than any of the
rest, and while they would not now be thought of as candidates
for school teachers, they were at that time, and the son Samuel
taught in the home district when only fifteen years of age, and
whether it was the first school in that school house deponent saith
not.
The school house was on the corner of Uncle Steven's farm and
faced the south. Decks and benches ran all the way round the