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

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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

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1857, when, by a vote of the various townships of the
county, the seat was removed to St. Johns, the recorded
vote of De Witt having been two hundred and thirtythree against and three in favor of the measure.
The settlement of De Witt, as of the south half of the
county, began with the coming of Capt. David Scott, who left
Ann Arbor with his wife and two sons, David and Charles,
in September of 1833. They began their pilgrimage in
wagons drawn by ox-teams and laden with their household
goods, their objective point being the land he entered in
Clinton County, embracing altogether fourteen hundred
and twenty-six acres in various portions of the township.
They forded rivers, drove into lakes, were frequently mired
in dismal marshes, and pitched their tents where night
overtook them, until their arrival at the present De Witt
village on Oct. 4, 1833. Capt. Scott obtained the consent
of the Indians to occupy one of their wigwams for several
weeks, when their own cabin was completed, to which they
then removed. This Indian house was constructed of bark,
with bunks on the sides, and a fire was built in the centre,
the smoke of which escaped through a hole or remained in
the room. While dwelling in this rude habitation a party of
English travelers on their way to Grand River, now Portland, tarried and sought shelter for the night. One of the
party, overcome with fatigue, died soon after, and was
buried in a coffin of bark taken from the wigwam. The
funeral was attended by Capt. Scott's family, the only inhabitants of the county, except the people at the tradingpost on Maple River, the physician from an adjoining
county, and the hired companion of the captain. The log
cabin of Capt. Scott, twenty feet square, was begun the
5th of October and occupied soon after with demonstrations of great joy. Seventeen head of cattle and one horse
were brought by them into the wilderness, whose broad
pasture-land was the whole of Clinton and portions of
Ionia, Eaton, Ingham, and Shiawassee Counties. There
being no fodder for winter, trees were felled, upon which
they browsed, the sound of the axe being the only call
needed. They were all attracted by the falling of a tree.
Ground was broken for wheat in July, 1834, twenty acres
was sown, and harvested the following year during the
same month, yielding thirty-two bushels to the acre. A
piece of ground was leveled, logs laid round it, when a
flooring of wheat was placed over it, and thrashed by four
yoke of oxen.
The earliest settlers made journeys to Pontiac to have
their grain ground until 1837, when a grist-mill was completed at Wacousta.
Capt. Scott built in 1839 a frame building for a storeroom and grocery, and the point having been established
the following year as the county-seat the early sessions of
the court were there held, Judge Hubbard presiding.
In 1840 a school-house was built on the present schoolhouse sihe, which was at that period the most spacious and
convenient of the buildings yet erected in the embryo village. Here court was held at a later date, and the Board
of Supervisors also convened within its walls. In 1842 a

spacious and well-appointed hotel was erected by Capt.
Scott, the hall of which for years afforded a place of meeting for the county court, small buildings having been

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previously provided for the convenience of the county
officers.
Capt. Scott early received his commission as postmaster
of the hamlet, and established an office at his house. He
continued to reside in Dewitt until his death, in 1851,
having been the leading spirit in all business enterprises.
His son, David Scott, still occupies a portion of the land
he entered. Another son, Sylvester Scott, made his advent
the month succeeding that of his father, and located on a
portion of the land entered by the former. His wife, Mrs.
Sophronia Scott, who is still living in De Witt, and one son
arrived soon after, and Sept. 15, 1836, a second son,
Charles, was born, he having been the first white child
born in the county.
Sylvester Scott did not long survive his early pioneer
experiences. Hiram Wilcox had in 1837 erected the first
saw-mill in the county, on the south side of the river, upon
the plat known as New Albany. It was completed and in
running order early in 1838, and a party of settlers having
assembled at Capt. Scott's one Sabbath afternoon, it was
suggested that they should visit the mill on a tour of inspection. On their arrival, Mr. Scott with others was examining the construction of the machinery and had unconsciously placed himself in a position of great danger. One
of the party, not aware of this fact, suddenly turned on the
water, which set the mill in motion and instantly killed the
unfortunate man. This event caused profound sorrow in
the little community.
Milo H. Turner arrived in 1838, as the agent of George
T. Clark, who had previously purchased the land platted on
the south side of the river known as New Albany. He
brought with him a stock of goods, erected a log house,
and opened the first store in the village of De Witt. He
leased the saw-mill of Hiram Wilcox, and after effecting a
considerable clearing, built a large frame structure, which
was devoted to the uses of a hotel. His brother, Jesse
Foot Turner, arrived the following year, and embarked with
Milo H. in business enterprises. In 1844 they erected on
the Looking-Glass River a grist-mill, which was consumed
by fire in 1847, but soon after rebuilt. The brothers
Turner were men of much activity, and largely identified
with the intcrests of the township and the county. They
remained residents until 1850, when the gold fields of
California lured them to the Pacific coast. George T. Clark
also became a resident at a later period.
The earliest store on the north side of the river was
built by David Sturgis, who came from Portland, Iouia Co.,
in 1840, with a stock of goods which he offered for sale,
as the agent of Messrs. Abbott & Beecher, of Detroit.
He soon after built an ashery near by, and remained in
business at De Witt until 1850, when he removed to St.
Johns, and later to Gratiot County, where he died. He at
one time filled the position of associate judge of the county
court.
The distinction which was accorded to De Witt as the

centre of the judicial business of the county attracted
many representatives of the bar, and made it for a period
of many years the centre of legal talent. A brief review
I of the advent and subsequent career of the lawyers
of the village is embodied in a chapter on the Bar of