History of Saginaw county, Michigan; together with ... portraits ... and biographies ... History of Michigan ...

ALBEE TOWNSHIP.

719

until the spring lie was 21 years of age, having attended school
three months the preceding winter. This was tile only schooling
Mr. Darling ever received, except while living at Mr. Martin's; and
he often said he learned lnore during those three months than ever
before.
In 1842 he hired to A. C. Stevens (who was coming to Michigan)
to drive his team, Mr. S. also agreeing to pay his fare on the lakes
and $11 per month. The party started from Livingston Co., N. Y.,
about the first of May, driving to Buffalo, N. Y., 65 miles, with a
team. At this point they shipped team and all on board a lake
steamer bound for Detroit, Mich., where they arrived May 6, 1842.
From Detroit they came to Flint, Mich., by team, a distance of 65
miles. Mr. Darling remained in the employ of Mr. Stevens nine
months and a half. For some time afterward he worked at jobbing
around Flint, and then found employment with a Mr. Pierson, with
whom he remained one year and a half.
He then commenced teaming on his own account, and hauled the
first heavy load ever taken over the Saginaw and Flint plank road.
He drove four horses, the wagon being loaded with 42 barrels of
flour, and loaded back to Flint with five tons of merchandise. He
followed teaming for 14 years, running a threshing-machine part of
the time.
Jan. 9, 1848, he was married to Miss Harriet Esther Reynolds,
a daughter of Levi and Freelove (Thompson) Reynolds, who were
both natives of Chemung, Saratoga Co., N. Y. They were early
settlers in Flint tp., where they cleared up a farm. They are both
deceased, each being 68 years of age when they died, though the
father preceded the mother some 10 years. They are buried in
the town of Richfield, Genesee Co., Mich.
June 15, 1856, James Darling was elected Constable of the
Second ward in the city of Flint, and served two years. He then
took a farm in Mount Morris tp., Genesee Co., consisting of 160
acres, the use of which he had for the improvements he made by
breaking the wild land, etc., on this place. He remained three
years, when he came to Saginaw county and bought 240 acres of
land on sees. 23 and 26, Albee tp., and commenced moving his
goods and preparing a place for his family to live in. This was
about the middle of November, 1861. The land was in a perfectly
wild state, heavily timbered with all kinds of hard wood, whitewood and pine-not a foot of it but what was shaded by forest trees.
The ax of the white man had never invaded its quiet except for
hunting purposes. At the time above stated, Mr. Darling, with his
eldest son, Harry R., took possession of the new farm. They had
a team loaded with lumber, and arrived about four miles from his
present residence about 5 o'clock in the morning, and it took them
until 10 o'clock P. M. to pass over that four miles, being obliged to
cut their way and make a road for the team to pass. They
immediately cleared a small space on which they proceeded to erect
a shanty to live in, and near by put up some log stables for stock.