History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of their prominent men and pioneers.

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HISTORY OF SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

I

Joel B. Goss, who in point of arrival may be ranked as
the second settler, came from the South to Venice in the
spring of 1837, having purchased land entered by other
persons. He bought eighty acres on section 32, upon
which he soon after erected a log house and began the work
of improvement. He did not, however, remain sufficiently
long to reap a material benefit from this labor, but sold
and purchased the farm on section 7, which was soon after
exchanged for property in Vernon, where he found a temporary home. He afterwards moved to Owosso, but his
restless nature early sought another change, and he migrated
to the State of Arkansas, where for years he followed the
career of an adventurer, encountering many vicissitudes incident to this nomadic life. His life was a varied scene of
prosperity and misfortune, and the exact measure of either
which fell to his lot it would be difficult to determine.
His death occurred in Arkansas, far from the scenes of
his early pioneer experiences.
Hiram Johnson came from Livingston County in 1837,
and purchased one hundred and sixty acres on section 29.
Upon this land the work of clearing was not yet begun,
but Mr. Johnson entered upon his labors with a brave
heart. Mr. Goss extended a welcome to his family, and
with him they found comfortable quarters until a log house
was prepared for their reception. To this they removed
and Mr. Johnson began the labor of -clearing. He made
rapid progress, and was fast converting the forest into a
productive farm when he became dissatisfied with his home
in Venice, and removed to the city of Flint. The farm in
Venice, however, ere long claimed them again as residents,
until their removal in 1871 to Caledonia, their present
home. Mr. Johnson was the third settler in the township,
only Goss and Webb having preceded him. The recollection of his pioneer days affords him a pleasing retrospect.
He was actively interested in the early progress of the
township, and frequently an office-holder. In his family
occurred the earliest birth in Venice, that of his daughter
Sarah in 1838. The same year witnessed the first death
in the township, that of a child of Joel B. Goss.
William Placeway, a former resident of the Green Mountain State, settled upon one hundred and sixty acres on
section 30 in 1838, made a preliminary clearing, and built
a log house. He remained four years, and then exchanged
his farm for property owned by Andrew Lytle, in Livingston County, to which land he removed in 1845. Mr.
Placeway was an active, enterprising citizen, but did not
remain sufficiently long in Venice to become identified with
its interests. John Webb, a pioneer of the same name
though not related to the earliest settler, leased of parties
who had previously entered the land a farm on section 29.
He remained in the township several years, and cultivated
the small portion he cleared, but made little progress in his
farming pursuits. At one time, while hunting cattle, he lost
his way, and for three days was not heard from. His absence
caused some alarm in the community, and a vigorous search
was instituted, accompanied by the firing of guns, and other
signals. He finally wandered into Genesee County, where

he was discovered, ragged and bruised, and so helpless from
fatigue and fright as to be unable to give any information
respecting his absence.

Nelson Ferry, whose family figure conspicuously in the
early educational matters of the township, was a pioneer
from the Buckeye State in 1839, and located upon the farm
formerly owned by J. B. Goss on section 32. A log house
had already been built and a portion of the land improved,
which relieved Mr. Ferry of the earlier labor of the settler.
He remained until 1842, when he removed to Caledonia,
having effected an exchange of farms with Thomas McLaren. He died in Corunna in 1846. Several of Mr.
Ferry's children still reside in the county. He was county
surveyor at the time of his residence in Venice, and is
described as a man of marked ability in his profession.
Elnathan Brown, another pioneer from Ohio, left his native State for the township of Vernon in 1837, and in 1839
came to Venice, where he purchased of E. C. Kimberly
(then acting as agent for an Eastern company) seventy-two
acres of land on section 30. This was at the time wholly
unimproved. Hiram Johnson, William Placeway, Joel B.
Goss, and John Webb were improving their land, while Z.
R. Webb had made his advent and departed. Mr. Brown
erected a log house, having meanwhile shared with Mr.
Placeway his humble quarters. He cleared five acres the
first year, having bound himself to improve that amount
of land and place crops upon it each successive year. In
the third year the land was paid for, and he was thus freed
from his obligation. Mr. Brown was for some years the
only landlord of the township. His hotel having been
consumed by fire, his life has since been devoted to
farming.
Among the most enterprising and well informed of the
survivors of the early days of the township's history is
Charles Wilkinson, who came from Jefferson Co., N. Y., in
1834 and located in Oakland County, from whence he came
to Venice in 1840. His farm was the former home of Joel
B. Goss, and embraced eighty acres on section 7. A log
cabin was standing on his land when he arrived, and there
were nine acres cleared, to which he added seven additional
acres the following year. Truman Bunce, who came the
same season, was his nearest neighbor. Indians were then
quite numerous, and often called at the door to effect an
exchange of venison and other game for bread and potatoes.
Cranberries were also an article of traffic with them.
Occasional religious services were held at the houses of
the settlers, and on such occasions many people came to the
place of worship with ox-teams. Elders Cosart and Stringham officiated on these occasions. The former, who was
one of the earliest of the Michigan pioneers in the work
of the ministry, purchased a farm on section 31, to which
he retired and spent the remainder of his busy life, his
death occurring in 1876. George C. Wilkinson, who now
resides on the farm with his father, was the first boy born
in the township, 1840 being the year of his birth.
Truman Bunce, another pioneer of 1840, and a native
of the Empire State, settled upon eighty acres, which he
entered in 1839. He remained with Mr. Goss while building a cabin, to which, upon its completion, he at once removed and began the labor of clearing. Mr. Bunce after

wards went to California, and after a sojourn of two years
in the Golden State returned to his former home in Venice,
but did not long survive. He was a citizen of influence in