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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PIONIEER HISTORY OF INGIIAM COUNTY

In 1842 came Truman Wilbur and Abram Housel with their
families.
In 1843 the names of John B. Dunsha, Harlow Norton and
Erastus L. Lombard appear among the settlers of the township,
while 1844 notes the arrival of Harry Backus, on whose farm a
was a well known "deer lick," Arnold Walker, an early captain of
Curtenius Guards of Mason, that won many prizes in state contests, amd Lyman Minar. In 1845 the names of Edward Variell
and James Harkness were added to the list, while 1850 saw Dr.
J. D. Woodworth and John Craddock enrolled as taxpayers.
Each of these pioneers had experiences different from those of
any other settler, but they can all be summed up in the statement
that it was only by their courage and perseverance that they
made comfortable homes for themselves in the wilderness, as they
endured the hardships and privations that fall to the lot of all
who go into a new country and overcome the primitive conditions
found there.
TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
On November 18, 1921, a Township Historical Society was
organized in Leslie, under the auspices of the Ingham County
Historical Society, when the history of the township was presented by school districts. Mrs. Palmyra Hahn, a pioneer, was
elected president. The meeting was called to order by Col. L. H.
Ives, county president, then turned over to Mrs. Ella Haltz,
township chairman.
Address of welcome by Mrs. 0. B. Thurston, whose father,
grandfather and greatgrandfather all cleared farms in Ingham
county, their name, Winchell, being one well known in this section. She called a meeting of an historical nature like this "a
memorial to our ancestors" and thought there should be more of
them, in order to impress upon the minds of the children what we
all owe to the pioneers.
Mrs. Daisy Call Bartley, county school commissioner, responded to the cordial welcome; she said that children knew but
little concerning the Ingham county history, and urged that they