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

Webber, and his hound bothered them by getting in the way.
Mr. Webber was informed that if he didn't take care of his dog
they were liable to get him walled in under the barn. Webber
told them the dog could care for himself. The wall was finished
and the workmen were leaving when the dog commenced to howl,
and the owner found he was shut under the barn. He was mad,
for the dog was his pet, and he wanted the men to tear down the
wall and release the animal, but they told him they built walls
that could not be taken apart, and he would have to get his hound
out some other way; suggesting that the dog be starved until he
got thin enough to come through a crack in the floor.
Uncle Nat told me something about how hard he worked to
learn music and to play on his favorite instrument. His father
objected to his night study and to discourage him said that "ringers and singers are little house bringers."
Alexander Monroe, who lived in the Herrick neighborhood, was
a New England type of farmer, rugged and with a slight twang in
his speech. His wife was a hopeless invalid for many years.
His father was a Revolutionary soldier, and through the efforts
of his friends Uncle Alex was elected an honorary member, or
original son, of the Detroit Chapter Sons of the American Revolution. He was the only one from Ingham county.
Sidney Murray's family consisted of six daughters and one son.
Mr. Murray was a model farmer. His fences, fields and stocks
were always in apple pie order. No weeds or brush grew in his
fence rows or by his road sides. His wife was an ideal housewife,
good mother and nurse for the whole neighborhood. I always
thought a rivalry existed between Mr. and Mrs. Herrick as to
who could do the most in caring for the sick, comforting the
sorrowing or helping the destitute.
Mr. Murray's son was not interested in farming. For several
years he tried various occupations and finally found the life of a
rural auctioneer filled the bill, as it gave him opportunities for
travel, to see and study the different types of people in rural
communities and to display his eloquence and oratorical powers.
Today he is a peer among auctioneers in this part of the state. I
have known men who attended his sales, with no intention of
purchasing, become so hypnotized that they bought an ordinary
cow under the impression that she was a great butter maker and
had a long pedigree in the Holsteinic records.