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

LESLIE TOWNSHIP AND ITS HISTORY

649

With a babe five weeks old they came to Michigan, where, with
the aid of an ox team, they arrived at a small settlement north
and east of Leslie. Many times the blazed trail was so deep with
mud that the goods had to be taken from the wagon, carried to
higher ground, then after the wagon had been pulled out of the
slough it was reloaded and another start taken. In the spring of
1848 they halted in the wilderness and took 80 acres of land from
the government. Like a moving picture I will only bring out some
facts relative to their early struggles. The little log school house
was primitive. A long seat extended around three sides of the
room, facing crude desks, well marked with the children's initials.
Classes were called to the teacher, and toed the mark on the hewed
logs floor.
Time passed and five children from the Housel family were in
attendance-Mary Jane, Josephine, Louisa, Edwin and Dora.
The old log school house was on the Babcock farm now owned by
Jake Kelly. Fire destroyed this building, and the next school
was held in a building owned by Mr. Sage, who had taken his
family back to New York. The first teacher was Barbra Robinson, and the second Amanda McClure, who was promoted fron
the log building to the new school house built on a half acre of the
Housel farm, and named in honor of this brave settler. Philo
Abbey and Lo Whitney of Rives were the contractors and the
building was finished in 1868. The last log building was used
for stock on the farm of John Galloway, who came from Adrian.
The personnel of the early settlers follows: William Dewey, C.
Smith, A. HIousel, William Miller, William Whitney, J. Hackett,
G. Higdon, John Freeland (a soldier in the Black Hawk War),
George Young, Jeduthan Fuller.
Fever and ague gave the early settlers a hard struggle and loss
of appetite. This was a disease incident to the new country.
With a pail of butter on one arm, for which the maker received
about six cents per pound, and a bucket of eggs on the other, the
long walk to the Jackson market would commence. These commodities were exchanged for corn meal, a small supply of wheat
flour and a "bit of tay," with other needed groceries, to be "toted"
back to the settlement.
Indians were camped between the Scoville and Housel school