History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

CHAPTER V

PICTURES OF THE PAST
HERVEY PARKE COMES TO OAKLAND COUNTY-BLOOMFIELD AND ROYAL
OAK IN I82I-INFANT VILLAGE OF PONTIAC-GOVERNOR WISNER AND
HIS MULLET STORY-BECOMES HORATIO BALL'S ASSISTANT-JOSEPH
WAMPLER'S ASSIGNED TERRITORY-A SURVEYOR'S HARDSHIPS-RETURNS WITH HIS FAMILY-BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN H. PARKE-HOMESTEAD AT LAST-SURVEYS FROM PONTIAC-RUNNING LINES UNDER
DIFFICULTIES-FRESH TRAILS OF THE BLACK HAWK WAR-BETWEEN
SAGINAW BAY AND LAKE HURON-SURVEYS IN BLACK HAWK RESERVATION, IOWA-ANOTHER IOWA CONTRACT-CAPTAIN PARKE'S RECAPITULATION-RECOLLECTIONS OF BENJAMIN O. WILLIAMS-INDIAN
NEAR DEATH-DEAR OLD OAKLAND, THE BEST OF ALL-A PICTURE
OF MEMORY (BY JOHN M. NORTON)-ADVENT OF THE PIONEERRAILROAD AS A FUN-MAKER-THE LIFE BEQUEATHED BY THE PIONEERS-FIFTY YEARS AGO AND NOW (BY S. B. MCCRACKEN)CONTRASTS OF LIFE-"GRANNY" MCCRACKEN-FATHER AND MOTHER
MCCRACKEN-THE SCHOOLS OF FIFTY YEARS AGO-MORMON VISITATION OF 1832-AUBURN AND THE YOUNG PIONEERS.
In the previous chapter mention has been made of the first settlers
and land owners in the various sections and townships of Oakland
county. In this chapter, the author is pleased to present, through the
papers of several well known pioneers, pictures which are principally
drawn from experience and observation "on the spot."
HERVEY PARKE COMES TO OAKLAND COUNTY
The first contribution is taken from papers read before the County
Pioneer Society in 1874 and I876, by Captain Hervey Parke, the oldtime surveyor whose name has already appeared a number of times in
the course of the historical narrative. His first paper is entitled "Recollections of My First Tour in Michigan in I82I," and such selections
are taken from it as appear to be most pertinent. Captain Parke was
teaching in Oneida county, New York, at the time, but like many enterprising young men had studied surveying and wanted to see the west.
Despite the discouraging reports regarding Michigan, which had reached
the east through the surveyors' reports, he determined to investigate
for himself, and on the 2Ist of March, 1821, in company with Treat
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