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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PIIONEER HISTORY OF INGIIAM COUNTY

across the Cedar river was built on piles and knew, from its shape
and structure, that it was constructed by that noted bridge
builder, Smith Tooker, of Lansing.
My friend, Elmer Carrier, took me to his boarding place to dinner, and I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Atkin's family. The
doctor was away and I missed seeing him and forming his acquaintance.
From 1876 until 1888 I never traveled in this township and
knew nothing of its inhabitants only as I came in contact with
them at Williamston, their market town, or attended meetings
held in other townships by preachers from Locke. In 1888 I
commenced the practice of medicine in Webberville and my
country rides took me into Locke Township nearly every day for
twenty-two years. From this long acquaintance I can recall
many lasting friendships and tell something about the people of
this rural township.
Some of the early pioneers worked hard to improve their farms,
also to improve the moral and intellectual tone of their neighborhood. In speaking of the people it seems natural to divide them
into groups. They were intensely religious, and the largest
group was the Methodist and United Brethren denominations.
Another group was the irregulars, non-believers or free-thinkers,
while the third group were those who believed in muscular Christianity and pleasures not marked by sobriety.
The leader of the religious group was Elder Hodgkins and his
co-workers, Elders Martin and Cunningham. Elder Hodgkins
had been a chaplain in the army during the Civil War, afterward
occupying the same position in the Jackson Prison. I always
wondered how a man of his learning, eloquence and logic could
content himself in a purely farming community. He was a second Henry Ward Beecher except his ambition to speak to a cultured audience. IHe was content to commune with nature, to
walk in the quiet paths of rural life and give his message to those
that followed the plow. The first time I met him he wore the
army blue overcoat, his armor of military service, the chaplain's
hat, his badge of office. His great heart went out in pity to the
sorrowing, so was always invited to say the comforting words at
pioneer funerals and to speak at Decoration Day exercises.
His co-worker, Elder Martin, was a quiet, unassuming book