,II 99 9i x - --- K A L A M A Z 0 0 7 1 E"i P I"lli R 9 c IZ I -L 9 X fri a I'c h.(L] h P n, IP cu B h nro, a nnll a (h /IL v, - ' 4 -4-m I11 I Zl Ir 2 ^l % 2. % 1( -e 1 -- - - - - t ~ —~, - ct-~ —t - I n,..e. S w R hYI t 3,f rJI 9 i h"ald Inb I \lp 1 o c F; O d 6;'h s aCo h; i a i'u lo 114; --— t —r h0 jr r tC,, j h n, I;n C I I' 4 1 I 11 `h -a — -- Il.N - + -, I,f N~W I W, "ma a~p 7- -_- I A. - fl7F7P7T I. a 1 F i o * 314 0~K;r|~~Gq1 <~ fflt~ a z;( < -- s C u q I,: ~:Y. I 2M I f I i I --- T 0 Ic? ~OF B llMEN - AN VA B-lE COUNTIES,4 MICHIG 4AN,.L t i W I it is ; D l: I It b —tv illi (lusitrathion, mid ioigrapijha1 $htch~ -4e-7 OF - ITrVS OPIR. IIII2TBJN —.D2 -ITMXEJJ~W A.ED:PI 0IOEX2XEM R.4S. PHILADELPHIA: D. W. ENSIGN & C"10. 1880. 4 PRESS OFj.4 B. LIPPINCOTT &CO., PHILADELpUZA. mw AI PRE FACE. THE object steadily kept in view in the preparation of this history has been to furnish an exhaustive and accurate account of events of importance or general interest which have occurred within the territory now comprehended in the counties of Berrien and Van Buren, from the first discovery of this region by white men down to the present time; to exclude everything of doubtful authenticity, but to embody all obtainable facts in the narrative, and at the same time to confine it as closely as practicable to the limits of the two counties, referring to no outside matters, except such as could not well be omitted because of their close connection with the history of the region which is especially noticed. The work is divided into three parts. The first nineteen chapters are devoted to matters common to both counties, viz.: the discovery and exploration of this section of country by French adventurers and priests; its occupation by the Miami Indians, and afterwards by the Pottawattamies; the operations of Indian traders through all this region; the several Indian cessions of land, covering the territory now included in Berrien and Van Buren; navigation and harbor improvements at St. Joseph, South Haven, and New Buffalo; internal improvements,-in the matters of Territorial roads, State roads, plank roads, and railways traversing both counties; military history,-principally referring to the services performed in the war of the Rebellion by a number of Michigan regiments, all or nearly all of which contained soldiers from both counties; and finally an article on the fruit-belt of Western Michigan, which covers the greater part, if not all, of both Berrien and Van Buren Counties. Next, after these general chapters, is given a separate history of Berrien County, Niles City, and each of the several townships; and this part is followed by a similar separate history 6f Van Buren County and its townships. The amount of time and labor which has been expended in the preparation of this history is great. Some of, the material has been gleaned from the very few (reliable) published works which bear upon the subject; much more from county, township, and society records, and files of old newspapers; but by far the greater part has been obtained from the oldest residents and best-informed people of the two counties,-of whom more than three hundred have been applied to for information, and have given it. The result of all this patient labor and research has been so satisfactory that the work is now presented to its patrons with the confident expectation that their verdict will be a favorable one. Every effort has been made to render the history as nearly perfect as it is possible for such a work to be; and, this being the case, no apology is thought necessary. It is proper, however, to make this explanation: that if errors are discovered (as it is nearly certain there will be) in the orthography of some-of the family names of the early and later residents of the counties, it is largely due to the fact that the names have been found spelled differently (and sometimes in as many as four or five different ways) in the county, township, churph, and society records, and that in several instances different members of the same family vary in the orthography of their surname. Under such circumstances, it is not a matter of surprise if the several writers of the county and township histories, often finding themselves wholly t a loss to know which manner o spelling to adopt, have sometimes made the mistake of choosing the wrong one.. 3 4 PREFACE. To those who have kindly given their aid in the collection of material for the work, the writer desires to express his acknowledgments; especially to the editors and proprietors of the several newspapers, the county and township officers, the gentlemen of the legal and medical professions in the two counties, and the pastors and leading members of the churches. The pioneers and other citizens of Berrien and Van Buren who have furnished information are too numerous to receive the separate individual mention to which they are entitled, but grateful thanks are tendered to each and all for the assistance which they have willingly and courteously given. F. E. PHILADELPHIA, PA., March 26, 1880. 'A:::~~ CONTENTS. TI ISTO K I OA I -11 -1I - HISTORY OF BERRIEN AND VAN BUREN OOUNTIES. CHAPTER PAGE I.-Discoveries and Explorations...... 9 II.-The Miami Occupation....... 18 III.-The Pottawattamie Occupation..... 21 IV.-The Pottawattamies of the St. Joseph after 1815.. 30 V.-Cessions of Indian Territory-Erection of Counties and Towns upon it...... 35 VI.-Navigation-Harbor Improvements. 39 VII.-Internal Improvements....... 47 VIII.-Military History-The Sauk War-The Great Rebellion 57 IX.-The Ninth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Infantry Regiments. 67 X.-Seventeenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-fourth Infantry.80 XI.-Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Infantry.... 85 XII.-Twenty-eighth Infantry-First Engineers and Mechanics -First Sharpshooters... 91 XIII.-First and Secofd Cavalry...... 95 XIV.-Third Cavalry.... 99 XV.-Fourth Cavalry....... 103 XVI.-Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Cavalry. 108 XVII.-Western Sharpshooters, and One Hundred and Second United States Colored Troops.... 112 XVIII.-Other Soldiers from Berrien and Van Buren Counties 115 XIX.-The Fruit Belt........ 118 BERRIEN COUNTY. XX.-Natural Features-Early Settlement....127 XXI.-Erection and Organization of Berrien County-Courts and County Buildings......130 XXII.-The Press of Berrien County.. 136 XXIII.-The Medical and Legal Professions.. 141 XXIV.-Civil List-County Societies.. 148 XXV.-City of Niles.... 153 XXVI.-Buchanan Township... 174 XXVII.-Benton...... 187 XXVIII.-Berrien.... 203 XXIX.-Bainbridge "..213 XXX.-Bertrand "... 227 XXXI.-Chickaming "....... 232 CHAPTER PAGE XXXII.-Galien Township.......236 XXXYIII.-Hagar ".... 242 XXXIV.-Lake "..... 248 XXXV.-Lincoln "...... 255 XXXVI.-Niles ".....260 XXXVII.-New Buffalo Township..... 270 XXXVIII.-Oronoko "...... 278 XXXIX.-Pipestone "..... 292 XL.-Royalton..... 304 XLI.-St. Joseph..... 312 XLII.-Sodus "...327 XLIII.-Three Oaks "..... 332 XLIV.-Watervliet "..... 339 XLV.-Weesaw "..... 353 VAN BUREN COUNTY. XLVI.-Erection and Organization of the County-Location of County-Seat........ 359 XLVII.-Courts-Records-County Buildings-Civil List. 362 XLVIII.-The Press of Van Buren County....367 XLIX.-The Learned Professions......369 L.-County Societies........ 373 LI.-Antwerp Township........ 374 LI.-Arlington ".......394 LIII.-Almena "........399 LIV.-Bangor "........407 LV.-Bloomingdale Township.... 421 LVI.-Columbia.......429 LVII.-Covert......434 LVIII.-Decatur......439 LIX.-Geneva "...... 449 LX.-Hartford ".......454 LXI.-I amilton.......465 LXII.-Keeler "...... 477 LXIII.-Lawrence "....487 LXIV.-Paw Paw.......502 LXV.-Pine Grove "...521 IXVI.-Porter LXVII.-South Haven " LXVIII.-Waverly...527.. 533.. 544 BE I Or 1R.I T-3 7P I OA I- T-i PAGE Hon. George H. Jerome.... 171 Joseph C. Larimore......... 172 Major L. A. Dunca......... 173 Joseph Coveney.... facing 180 Hon. Lorenzo P. Alexander....... 184 Jacob P. Van Riper......... 185 George H. Richards..... 186 Eleazer and Henry C. Morton......197 Jehial Enos.......... 199 Sterne Brunson..... 199 Lewis Sutherland.... 200 G. N. Lord.......... 200 Phineas Pearl.......... 201 Warren II. Pearl.........201 J. F. Higbee.......... 202 J. D. Bury........... 202 PAGE Luther Kinney..........202 Elkanah Nickerson........ 203 Edwin T. Dickson........ 211 Nathan McCoy.........212 Israel P. Hutton....... 212 Silas Ireland.......... 213 Nathaniel Brant.... 224 Sidney Spencer......... 225 Martin Tice.......... 225 John K. Bishop..... 226 Samuel Messenger.... 231 George H. Rough.... 231 John C. Morgan. 235 Alfred W. Ames...... 236 David A. Cuthbert......... 240 Henry Renbarger......... 240 5 6 CONTENTS. ]B IO E aA ZEA I a - IJ.. Mrs. Mary Witter Cyrus Thurston. Frank Jerue R. B. Huston James Hannah. Anthony S. Bishop Isaac Hathaway. John H. Nixon. Norman E. Landon David Myers L. W. Archer Dr. J. N. Percell Burton Jarvis. Daniel Fisher John Murray Richard Phillips Robert Cassiday. George C. Hartman.. Josiah Gano Amasa and Norman C. Preston. Thomas Evans. William Ridenour. Mrs. Mary Burton Miles Davis Morgan Enos, M.D. Henry Ashoff William H. Tryon Dr. Edward Hall George H. Scott. John Bort. Hon. Alexander H. Morrison Dr. Lyman Collins J. C. Caldwell Walter Donaldson John B. Rush Josephus Fisher. Edward Vetterley Edward Brant. Harvey C. Sherwood. W. W. Allen Joseph Knapp S. P. Merrifield. Sebastian Smith. Gabriel F. Penwell George Boyle Jason A. Sheldon Lysander Bathrick Jonathan J. Woodman Henry Waite James M. Lull Peter Harwick J. R. Bangs Orange Stephens N. L. Surdam. Alvin Chapman. Edward P. Mills Asa Crofoot Jacob Erkenbeck Alonzo W. Stevens Charles U. Cross William W. Kinney John M. Vanauken Thomas Cross John Southard. David K. Charles... William S. Charles Anson Goss Thomas Kemp.... Orlando S. Brown. PAGE.240. 241.242 242.247.247.253.253.254.259.259.259.269.270. 277.277. 300. 300. 301.301.302. 302.302.303.303 facing 304 " 308.309.310 311 facing 314. 326. 326. 327. 332.332.339. 350. 351.351.352. 352. 353. 358. 358 facing 384. 388.389.390. 391.391.392.392.393.399.404. 405.406.406 facing 407.416.417.417.418.418.419.419.419. 420 J. G. Miller John Sebring Aaron K. Tedrow J. G. Clark H. H. Howard A. S. Brown J. N. Hinckley... William Packard Edward A. Rood Alfred S. Packard Alexander B. Copley. Dolphin Morris. Charles H. Morris Nancy (Beaver) Morris Elias and Samuel Morris Dr. C. T. Baker. Gilman and Philena White N. S. Taylor Clark Pierce Hon. Fabius Miles Thomas Conklin Henry P. Phelps G. G. B. Yeckley Aaron and Austin M. Barney Robert Nesbitt Capt. Josiah R. Hendryx Philotus Haydon James M. Osborn Erastus Osborn. John Bennett John Q. Adams. William Horton. A. S. Wise. John H. Collins. Dr. George Bartholomew Orrendo M. Sikes Orman V. Rosevelt Charles Duncombe Albert E. Gregory Tobias Byers A. S. Haskin, M.D. David Ferris Anson U. Barnes Eaton Branch T. W. Howard Howard S. Allen Abner M. Munger Albert Harrison. Elder Joseph Woodman. Peter Gremps Anderson C. Webb Henry W. Rhodes Edwin Barnum. David Woodman Philip Sherrod. William H. Lee. Jeremiah H. Simmons Henry Wilson G. F. Harringtou B. A. Murdock. David Wise D. 0. Everest Samuel Bartlett. Sanford Corey Nelson Corey Russel V. Munger Manasseh Kern. William H. Hurlbut PAGE 420 428 428 428 429 433 433 facing 434 438 439 facing 440 446 447 447 448 449 453 453 454 462 464 465 between 466, 467 " 466, 467 " 468, 469.470 472.473.473.474 475.476.476.476.483 484 485 485 486 486 facing 492 " 496 499 500 501.501 501 514 facing 514 515 515 516 516 517 518 518 519 520 520 521 between 524, 525 526 531. 532 532 532.533..543 c~~ ----~I CONTENTS. 7.. II.- S T TI O N S Outline Map of Berrien and Van Buren Counties Geological Map of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. PAGE facing title. " 9 LAKE TOWNSHIP. Residence of Isaac Hathaway (two views) Portraits of Isaac Hathaway and Wife " John H. Nixon and Wife " N. E. Landon and Wife. PAGE facing 253. 253. 254 254, 255:B1METI?, r3M3L'-T COTrn'2Y3-Y Court-House, Jail, and County Buildings. NILES CITY. Residence of Maj. W. S. Millard Property of Maj. L. A. Duncan Church of the Immaculate Conception Premises of Mrs. J. B. Millard Residence and Surroundings of Hon. G. H. Jerome Portrait of Hon. George H. Jerome " Joseph C. Larimore. BUCHANAN TOWNSHIP, Residence of Capt. George H. Richards. Portraits of Joseph Coveney and Wife Portrait of Hon. L. P. Alexander " Jacob J. Van Riper. BENTON TOWNSHIP. Residence of James F. Higbee (with portraits) " G. N. Lord " " Luther Kinney " i" Capt. E. Nickerson " Property of L. Kelley Residence of Lewis Sutherland (with portraits) Portrait of Eleazer Morton Portraits of Henry C. Morton and Wife Portrait of Jehial Enos " Sterne Brunson Residence of W. H. Pearl (with portraits) Portraits of Phineas Pearl and Wife. Residence of J. D. Bury (with portraits) BERRIEN TOWNSHIP. Residence of Silas Ireland (with portraits) " Israel P. Hutton " " Edwin T. Dickson " Portrait of Nathan McCoy BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP. Residence of Nathaniel M. Brant (with portraits) " the late Martin Tice " Portraits of Sidney Spencer and Wife " John K. Bishop and Wife BERTRAND TOWNSHIP. Residence of George H. Rough. " Charles F. Howe (with portraits) facing 127 facing facing *~ 156 160 164 168 171 171 173 174 180 185 186 LINCOLN TOWNSHIP. Residence of David Myers (with portraits) double page between 256, 257 " the late L. W. Archer (with portraits). facing 258 Portrait of J. N. Percell, M.D....... 260 NILES TOWNSHIP. Residence of Burton Jarvis (with portraits).. facing 268 Portrait of Daniel Fisher... 270 facing (C it facing facing 188 190 192 194 194 196 197 198 199 199 201 201 202 NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP. Residence of John Murray (with portraits) Portraits of Richard Phillips and Wife ORONOKO TOWNSHIP. Residence of Aaron Van Patten PIPESTONE TOWNSHIP. Residence of George C. Hartman " William Ridenour (with portraits) " Miles Davis " " Thomas Evans " " Robert Cassiday " " Milton Preston " Sarah Wells Portraits of Josiah Gano and Wife Portrait of Mrs. Mary Burton " Morgan Enos, M.D. ROYALTON TOWNSHIP. Portrait of Henry Ashoff... Portraits of A. G. Abbee and Wife " W. H. Tryon and Wife Portrait of Dr. Edward Hall Portraits of George H. Scott and Wife I " John Bort and Wife facing 276.278 facing 292 facing 292 " 294 " 296 " 298 " 300 301 " 301.301.302.303 facing facing facing ac 204 206 208 212 216 220 facing facing * 304 306 308 310 310 311. 225. 226 facing 227 " 228 etween 230, 231 " 230, 231 ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP. View of the Park Hotel Portrait of Joseph W. Brewer. " Hon. A. H. Morrison Residence of Dr. Lyman Collins (with portrait) The Michigan Basket-Factory of A. W. Wells & Co. Residence and Manufactory of A. H. Morrison. St. Joseph's (R. C.) Church Portrait of J. C. Caldwell. " Walter Donaldson SODUS TOWNSHIP. facing facing (. i 312 313 314 316 318 320 324 326 327 " the late F. A. Howe " " Samuel Messenger b( CHICKAMING TOWNSHIP. Residence of J. B. Rush (with portraits). Portrait of Josephus Fisher. facing 328. 332 Lakeside Farm-Residence of John C. Morgan (three views) facing Portrait of Alfred W. Ames GALIEN TOWNSHIP. Residence of the late Henry Renbarger, present residence of David Cuthbert... facing i" Cyrus Thurston (with portraits).. Portrait of Mrs. Mary Witter... Residence of R. B. Huston (with portraits).. facing " Frank Jerue.... " HAGAR TOWNSHIP. Residence of James Hannah (with portraits).. facing Portraits of Anthony S. Bishop and Wife 232 236 236 238 241 242 336 THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP. Residence of Mrs. Edward Vetterley. facing 336 WATERVLIET TOWNSHIP. Residence of Edward Brant (with portraits). facing 340 " Joseph Knapp..... 344 " Harvey C. Sherwood (three views). " 351 Portrait of W. W. Allen...... 351 " S. P. Merrifield.... 352 Views of Pomona Point, Paw Paw Lake, Property of S. Smith facing 353 WEESAW TOWNSHIP. Residence of George Boyle (with portraits).. facing " G. F. Penwell ".. " 356 246 248 ____ -- I 0 CONTENTS. ILITTSTiAT I O N IS. _r.&A2N- BTRYE?,EP. COONTZr View of Court-House and County Offices ANTWERP TOWNSHIP. Residence of Hon. J. J. Woodman (with portraits) " Peter Harwick (with portraits) " James M. Lull " Henry Waite. J. R. Bangs (with portraits). " Nathaniel L. Surdam (with portraits) Portraits of Jason A. Sheldon and Wife " Lysander Bathrick and Wife. Residence of Orange Stephens (with portraits) ARLINGTON TOWNSHIP. Residence of Alvin Chapman (with portraits) ALMENA TOWNSHIP. PAGE facing 359 facing cc 374 376 378 378 380 382 384 388 392 facing 394 Residence of Alonzo W. Stevens " Asa Crofoot.. " Edward P. Mills Portraits of Jacob Erkenbeck and Wife BANGOR TOWNSHIP. Portraits of Charles U. Cross and Wife Residence of Thomas Cross (with portraits) " William S. Charles " " Anson Goss " Property of J. G. Miller. Residence of Wm. W. Kinney Portrait of John M. Vanauken. Portraits of John Southard and Wife Residence of D. K. Charles (with portraits) " 0. S. Brown " Portraits of Thomas Kemp and Wife facing ~ o 400 404 404 406 facing 407 " 408 a 410 " 412 " 414 i 416. 417. 418 facing 418 " 420. 420 I I i i i I i i i i i i i I i i i I i ii I i i i HARTFORD TOWNSHIP. PAGE Residence of Thomas Conklin (with portraits).. facing 456 " Henry Phelps ".. " 460 " Fabius Miles ".. " 462 HAMILTON TOWNSHIP. Residence of A. S. Wise (with portraits)... facing 465 Portrait of G. G. B. Yeckley.. between 466, 467 Portraits of Aaron and Austin M. Barney. " 466, 467 Residence of Robert Nesbitt (with portraits). " 468, 469 Residence and Stock-Farm of J. R. & H. J. Hendryx facing 471 Portraits of Josiah R. Hendryx and Wife.... 471 Residence of James M. Osborn (with portraits). facing 472 Portrait of Philotus Haydon.......473 " Erastus Osborn...... 474 Residence of John Bennett (with portraits).. facing 474 Portraits of John Q. Adams and Wife.....475 Residence of J. H. Collins (with portraits).. facing 476 Portraits of William Horton and Wife.....476 KEELER TOWNSHIP. Residence of Charles Duncombe (with portraits). facing 478 " A. E. Gregory ".. " 480 " 0. V. Rosevelt.. " 482 Camping-Ground of E. Pardee (three views).. " 483 Portrait of Dr. George Bartholomew... 483 Residence of 0. M. Sikes (with portraits)... facing 484 Tobias Byers ".. " 486 LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP. Residence of Howard S. Alien (with portraits).. facing 488 Portrait of A. S. Haskin, M.D..... " 492 Residence of T. W. Ioward (with portraits) " 494 Portraits of David Ferris and Wife.... " 496 Residence of A. U. Barnes (with portraits).. " 498 Portrait of Eaton Branch....... 500 PAW PAW TOWNSHIP. Residence of David Woodman (with portraits).. facing 502 " Albert Harrison.. " 504 " G. F. Harrington ".. 506 " Philip Sherrod..... 508 " A.C. Webb...." 508 " B. A. Murdock (with portraits).. 510 Portraits of Elder Joseph Woodman and Wife.. " 514 " Peter Gremps and Wife...515 " Henry W. Rhodes and Wife...516 Portrait of Edwin Barnum....... 517 " William H. Lee...... 519 " Jeremiah H. Simmons.... 519 Residence of Henry Wilson (with portraits).. facing 520 BLOOMINGDALE TOWNSHIP. Residence of H. H. Howard (with portraits).. facing 422 Church and Parsonage-Store and Residence of J. G. Clark (with portraits)..... " 424 Residence of Catharine Tedrow (with portraits). " 426 " John Sebring..... 428 COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP. Residence of Mrs. S. D. Brown (with portraits) " W. J. Dennis. Portraits of J. N. Hinckley and Wife COVERT TOWNSHIP. Portraits of William and W. 0. Packard Residence and Mill of A. S. Packard (with portraits) Portrait of E. A. Rood DECATUR TOWNSHIP. Portrait of Alexander B. Copley Decatur Union School Building. Residence of C. T. Baker, M.D. (with portrait) Portraits of Dolphin Morris and Wife " Elias and Samuel Morris. facing 430 " 432.434 facing 434 " 436. 438 facing 440 " 442 " 444.446.448 PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP. Portrait of Chauncey Wise...... 522 Residence of David Wise (with portraits).. between 524, 525 Portraits of D. 0. Everest and Wife..... 527 PORTER TOWNSHIP. Portrait of Sanford Corey.. between 528, 529 Residence of A. M. Munger... " 528, 529 " R. V. Munger.... " 528, 529 " the late Luke Munger (with portrait) " 528, 529 " Samuel Bartlett (with portraits).. facing 530 Portrait of Nelson Corey.. 532 Old Homestead of Dolphin Morris, late Residence of C. H. Morris.... facing Portraits of the late C. H. Morris and Wife.. 448 448 Manasse GENEVA TOWNSHIP. Manass Residences of Gilman and Philena White, Irvington SOU between 450, 451 Residence of W. H. Geneva Mills and Residence of S. W. Trowbridge " 450,451 Leighton Block and Residence of Noble S. Taylor (three views, with portraits) facing 452 Portraits of Clark Pierce and Wife.. 454 Residence of 0. A. 00X, f.00020000000; 0. eh Kern....533 JTH HAVEN TOWNSHIP. Hurlbut (three views, with portraits). facing 534 First National Bank Building. " 538 VAVERLY TOWNSHIP. Breck.. facing 544 x -I, i, I I I,,V,,: " I: "O, -,-P, ''I Wv I "I i -N.\ \/ SL r I II II \\, \ I - M XTM ALPE~I \ \. 1 - Ik i-S( 7-IE KAL~:"t"l 00.-. ' CxjC7.4,.fi. QW 3 4.P J -.-. ~ i~iff;e; c3$:::-i m: "sN-i _ -~:,l "3 - - r 143 rj: Vi: itFt rz Olat:I~~:: I CITY OF NILES. 165 The Roman Catholic Church.-After the abandonment of the ancient missions on the St. Joseph River, but little endeavor was made here on the part of the Catholics to advance their religion until the advent of Father Louis De Seille, who, about 1832 or 1833, left Belgium and its wealth of literature, art, science, and all that the cultivated mind holds most dear, to become a missionary in this faroff land among the Indians. He was the first resident Catholic missionary in this section of country in this century, and his territory embraced Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois. The Indians' favorite camping-grounds were in the valley of the St. Joseph River, and five Pottawattamie villages were but a short distance from the river, and near the Pare aux Vaches, the Bertrand trading-post. Father De Seille soon became a favorite with the Indians, and labored earnestly with them until his death. Shortly after his death the Indians were sent West, and Father Petit went with them. To him is given the credit of founding Notre Dame settlement. Services were held first in a log house of two rooms, near where the college now is. A log church was erected early at Bertrand trading-post, and in 1837 the brick church was erected at that place, which was organized as St. Joseph church, and Nov. 5, 1838, Joseph Bertrand, Edward Atherly, and Benjamin Bertrand were chosen trustees. The first record of baptism was on May 13, 1841. The University of Notre Dame was regularly founded by the Rev. E. Sorin in 1842, and chartered by the Legislature in 1844. The pastoral work devolved mostly upon Father Quointet, a Frenchman. The churches or missions in Michigan were under the jurisdiction of Detroit, but on account of the remoteness from that place, the missions in this section of the State were placed under the charge of Notre Dame College. The church at Bertrand was supplied from the college. In July, 1846, the house of the Sisters was erected and blessed by Father Quointet, Father Alexis Granger and Father Shaw, an Englishman, assisting. Nov. 8, 1847, a chapel in the house of the Sisters was blessed, and June 3, 1849, the cemetery adjoining the church of St. Joseph was blessed. In 1850 the St. Mary's Academy was incorporated. Aglae de la Cheptain, Mathurin Solon, Theresa Dussaulex, and Proserpine Chanson were the corporators. The academy remained a few years, and was removed to near the college, at South Bend. The services at the academy and church of St. Joseph were attended from the college by Anthony Kapp, E. Borin, Quointet, Shortis, Schilling, and others. The church is now interdicted, and the members worship at Niles. The early missions were Niles, New Buffalo, Laporte, Kalamazoo, Michigan City, White Pigeon, Coldwater, Silver Creek, and St. Joseph. About 1847, Father Quointet built a frame church on lot 1, block 14, Brookfield's addition in West Niles. This buildinig is now used for a school-house. After the death of Father Quointet, Father Flynn succeeded in the charge for a short time, when the missions belonging to Michigan were placed under the care of the Rev. Isadore Lebel, settled at Kalamazoo. In April, 1857, Bishop Le Fevre appointed the Rev. John De Nevi pastor of Niles and the missions, and purchased four lots and a residence for the pastor. This mission extended over Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, Allegan, and Barry Counties. On the 23d day of October the Rev. John Cappon was sent as an assistant in the mission work. He assumed entire charge of work Nov. 16, 1859. At the end of two years, Father Charles was sent as an assistant, and remained as such for two years, when he removed to the diocese of Natchez, where he died of yellow fever, in September, 1878. In February, 1863, Father Joseph was sent as an assistant, and remained till his appointment as pastor of St. Joseph parish, in December, 1865. On one of the lots purchased by Bishop Le Fevre now stands the church, the corner-stone of which was laid by Bishop Le Fevre, Aug. 23, 1866. He was assisted by Bishop Luers, of Fort Wayne, and a great number of the clergy. The name of the church was changed fiom St. Francis of Assissium to St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. It was completed in 1870, and blessed on the 11th of December of that year by Bishop Borgers, of Detroit, assisted by the Rt. Rev. John Luers, bishop of Fort Wayne, and a great number of priests, in the presence of thousands of people. The number of families connected with the Catholic Church of Niles is 230, the number of faithful, 1150; the number of communicants, 690. In the missions attended from there will be found 150 families; the number of faithful, 750; the number of communicants, 450. The mission at present extends over an area of seventy miles. The cemetery used by the congregation, and by most of the missions, is the old cemetery at Bertrand. Trinity Ch7lrch ()piscofpal).-The Rev. James Selkrig came here as a missionary, and preached in the summer of 1834, and in November of that year an Episcopal Church was organized, with five mpembers,-Mr. and Mrs. Philo Sanford, Mrs. Anna Dickson, and two others. The first vestry was composed of Henry Heath, Jacob Beeson, Cogswell K. Green, Ezekiel Redding, James W. Griffin, Erasmus Winslow, Jasper Mason, and Addison W. Griswold; Talman Wheeler, Senior Warden; and William B. Beeson, Junior Warden. The Rev. James Selkrig was called as rector upon the organization of the church, and remained until June 27, 1838, when he resigned. He was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel R. Crane in 1840; Rev. Foster Thayer, in 1841; Rev. George B. Engle, in 1843; Rev. Hiram Adams, in 1850; Rev. Joseph F. Phillips, in 1858; Rev. William H. Moffatt, in 1866; Rev. Stephen W. Frisbie, in 1869; Rev. William Lusk, in 1870; Rev. John Coleman, in 1874; Rev. Robert McMurdy, in 1876. The latter resigned Sept. 2, 1879. An invitation to the rectorship was then extended to the Rev. C. C. Tate, of Fort Wayne, Ind., November 24, which was accepted Nov. 29, 1879. The first church was a frame building, and stood on the site of the present church. In 1858, during the rectorate of the Rev. Joseph F. Phillips, the brick church was erected, at a cost of about $7000, and was enlarged to its present capacity in 1873, 166 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. at a cost of about $12,000, including organ and church furniture. The Congregational Church of Niles.-A society of this denomination was organized of previous members of the Presbyterian Church about 1844, and in 1845 a church edifice was erected on the rear of the lot now occupied by the Episcopal church. It was built of clay, moulded in blocks about twelve inches square, dried, and laid in mortar. It was opened for worship Jan. 11, 1845, and the first sermon was preached by the Rev. Marcus Harrison. James I. Alexander was a leading member of the congregation. For a time the church flourished, but afterwards declined and became almost extinct. In 1857 it was revived by Dr. James Lewis, by whose exertions the meeting-house was repaired. The Rev. Eleazer Andrus was installed as pastor, and remained with the church till 1861. Again a spirit of apathy fell upon them, and finally the church was sold by the trustees and taken down. The bell was sold to the Episcopalian Society, and is now used by them. German Ulited Evangelical St. John's Congregation. This society was founded Feb. 2, 1860, by eight Germans, Rev. C. Bofinger, of New Buffalo, assisting. March 10, 1860, John Hansler, John Schmidt, and Henry Blodgett were elected trustees; Casper Frohlich, Frederick Schorck, and Ludwig Krell, as elders. The Rev. G. B. Loeffler, of New Buffalo, was engaged to preach to the society every two weeks. June 12, 1862, arrangements were made with Rev. E. NWerner to preach every other week, with a salary of $175 per annum. July 5, 1862, at a meeting of the society, it was resolved to build a church. A lot was purchased on the corner of Sixth and Sycamore Streets, and a church edifice erected upon it. At this time the society numbered 54 members. Aug. 12, 1865, the Rev. Ph. Werheim was called to the pastorate, and in 1866, 97 families were reported. In 1871 the church was enlarged. May 1, 1875, the Rev. J. G. Hoch, the present pastor, was called and accepted the pastoral charge, at a salary of $700, with parsonage. The society this year'purchased the parsonage on Sixth Street, at a cost of about $1500; and in 1878 repaired the church, adding the tower and putting in a bell, at a cost of about $700. The church is nearly out of debt. The cohgregation now numbers 125 families, and the records of the church from 1862 to 1879 show 720 baptisms, 172 confirmations, 143 marriages, 191 deaths, and a total of 3419 communicants. The Sabbath-school contains 140 pupils, of which the pastor is superintendent. THE NILES YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. This association was organized February, 1868, with 50 members, and Henry M. Dean was elected president. At the close of the first year the membership had increased to 71. The society had received fiom membership fees and other sources $567.84. A public reading-room had been inaugurated, with three daily and twelve weekly papers on file, also most of the prominent monthly magazines. At the annual meeting in February, 1869, $600 was subscribed by the citizens to continue the work. B. S. Reed was elected president. His successors during the following four years were Henry E. Glenn in 1870, E. W. Post in 1871, S. O. Gardner in 1872, and Capt. Henry A. Ford in 1873. Up to this date and till the year 1874 the association had met with entire" success. A weekly prayer-meeting had been maintained every fall and winter. The readingroom was thoroughly equipped with stoves, tables, chairs, reading-desks, matting, gas-fixtures, maps, etc. But the great financial panic reached Niles; the lectures failed to pay expenses, members neglected their dues, and rather than have the organization die a lingering death, the rooms were closed, and the effects of the association were turned over to other societies. During the life of the Young Men's Christian Association they were almost exclusively the almoners of the public and private charities of the city. The Chicago fire occurred Sunday and Monday, Oct. 9 and 10, 1871. On Tuesday morning, the 11th, the association's messenger, with between 1000 apd 2000 loaves of bread and six barrels of crackers, reached Chicago on an early train, thus being almost the first to furnish food to that stricken people. This system of supply was kept up until the Michigan sufferers by the forest fires demanded help, when the charity of the Niles association was as promptly directed to the alleviation of their distress. CEMETERIES. In the Elijah Lacey addition to the village of Niles, made on the 19th day of April, 1832, a square piece of ground was reserved for burial purposes, and was used as a place of interment for some years. The remains of Elijah Lacey and wife and one or two children, Obed P. Lacey, and their father and mother, Ephraim Lacey and wife, and S. D. Walling, still lie there. Isaac Gray was buried there, but his remains were afterwards removed to the city cemetery. About 1836 a tract of six acres was purchased of George N. Bond for a cemetery, and this has been added to by a purchase of eleven acres from MIr. Bond, making a total of seventeen acres. By direction of the Common Council of the city in 1838, George H. Starr surveyed the ground into lots, and the sale of these was commenced. Silver Brook passes through a portion of the ground, and it is known as "' Silver Brook Cemetery." SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 93, F. and A. A.-Early in May, 1842, a petition to the Grand Lodge of New York for a dispensation to establish a lodge at Niles was signed by Robert E. Ward, John F. Porter, W. H. McOmber, Frederick Howe, Uriel Enos, J. W. Pidge, Jacob Beeson, C. J. Ingersoll, E. Redding, A. W. Harrison, Austin Stocking, and Ephraim Huntley. A dispensation was issued dated June 8, 1842, and Robert E. Ward was named as Master, Austin Stocking as Senior Warden, and John F. Porter as Junior Warden; signed James Herring, Grand Secretary; William Willis, Deputy Grand Master Grand Lodge of New York. This was the first lodge established in the State of Michi gan west of Jackson. A charter was received from the Grand Lodge of New York to the St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 93, dated June 10, 1843, naming Robert E. Ward, A ! 167 CITY OF NILES. Master; John F. Porter, Senior Warden; and Wm. H. McOmber, Junior Warden. The lodge was instituted and officers installed Oct. 26, 1843. After the organization of the Grand Lodge of the State of Michigan the charter was surrendered. St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 4, F. and A. M. —This lodge, the successor of the older St. Joseph Valley Lodge, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of the State of Michigan, in June, 1845. The names mentioned in the charter as officers are Jacob Beeson, Master; William H. McOmber, Senior Warden; Caleb I. Ingersoll, Junior Warden. The present officers are Wm. Gilbert, W. M.; Hiram O. Edwards, S. W.; Enoch Flegal, J. W.; John Woodruff, Treas.; Maj. Win. Graves, Sec.; Cyrus M. Alward, S. D.; M. C. Norris, J. D.; Henry Rounds, Tiler; James S. Reeves, Norris, Stewards. The present membership is 100. The meetings are held in Masonic Hall, in the building owned by J. K. Finley. St. Joseph Valley Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M.-A charter was granted by the General Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the United States, on a petition from 19 persons in this section of country. The charter is dated May 16, 1844. Jacob Silver is designated High Priest; John Knapp, King; and Calvin Britain, Scribe. The present officers are Hiram A. Edwards, High Priest; James Babcock, King; James S. Reeves, Scribe; Enoch Flegal, Captain of the Host; W. J. Babcock, Principal Sojourner; George W. Timmons, Royal Arch Captain; Eugene Lovell, Master of the Third Veil; Alonzo Platt, Master of the Second Veil; Henry Pruyn, Master of the First Veil; William Graves, Treasurer; J. Crocker Brown, Secretary; Henry Rounds, Tiler. The latter was a constituent member of the Grand Chapter of the State in 1847. The chapter has a present membership of 95. Meetings are held in Masonic Hall. Ni'les Lodge, No. 97, F. and A. M.-In consequence of the large and increasing membership of St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 4, it was thought best to organize a new lodge, and on a petition to the Grand Lodge a dispensation was granted, March 18, 1857, to Henry A. Chapin, Erastus Spaulding, David Bacon, William D. Sterling, John H. Richardson, William J. Edwards, William B. Beeson, William B. Gray, and A. E. Tuttle, to organize a lodge under the above name. A charter was granted Jan. 14, 1858, in which Erastus Spaulding was named Worshipful Master; David Bacon, Senior Warden; and Henry A. Chapin, Junior Warden. Meetings are held in the Beeson block, corner of Main and Front Streets, Niles. The lodge has at present a membership of 85. The present officers are S. Belknap, Worshipful Master; J. S. Bacon, Senior Warden; A. J. Fox, Junior Warden; H. A. Chapin, Treasurer; William J. Edwards, Secretary; O. McKay, S. D.; Henry Jordan, J. D.; John Dunn, Tiler. Harrison Lodge,.No. 1, F. and A. A. (Colored).-This lodge received its charter from the Grand Lodge of Indiana, and worked under it for some time. It was char tered as Harrison Lodge, No. 1, Dec. 5, 1865, with John W. Harrison as Master. He was also Grand Master of the Grand Lodge. In the spring of 1879 the number was changed, and is now known as Harrison Lodge, No. 9. It numbers at present 30 members, and meetings are held in Coolidge Hall, on Main Street. The present officers are William Powers, Worshipful Master; Alexander Ramsey, Senior Warden; William Waterman, Junior Warden; C. F. Wilson, Treasurer; Alex. Winborn, Secretary. Niles Council of Royal and Select Masters, No. 19.Dispensation was granted to this council as No. 18, Jan. 11, 1866, and it was instituted June 6, 1866, as No. 19, with B. F. Doughty, Thrice Illustrious Grand Master; A. S. Cook, Deputy Thrice Illustrious Grand Master. The present membership of the lodge is 33. The officers for 1879 are Hiram A. Edwards, Thrice Illustrious Grand Master; James S. Reeves, Deputy Thrice Illustrious Grand Master; Cyrus M. Alward, Principal Conductor of Works; Wim. J. Edwards, Principal Conductor of Council; John Woodruff, Treasurer; George W. Timmons, Recorder; Charles V. Stowell, Captain of the Guard; William Graves, Steward; Henry Rounds, Sentinel. Niles Commncandery, No. 12, K. T.-A dispensation was granted by the Grand Commandery April 29, 1864, and a charter was granted June 28, 1864. Sir Knight Rufus V. Landon, Eminent Commander; Joshua Feather, Generalissimo; and George Kimmel, Captain-General. The present membership is 55. The present officers are Edward S. Badger, Eminent Commander; John Woodruff, Generalissimo; Mills H. Landon, Captain-General; William Graves, Prelate; George W. Timmons, Recorder; John A. Montague, Treasurer; W. I. Babcock, Senior Warden; J. Crocker Brown, Junior Warden; Brown K. Jones, Standard-Bearer; E. D. Lovelle, Sword-Bearer; Charles W. Stowell, Warden; Henry Rounds, Tiler. Scottish Rite.-Rufus W. Landon, Dr. James S. Reeves, J. R. Cogswell, and Frank W. Wilder are members of the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. Rufus W. Landon is an active member of the thirty-third degree, and J. Eastman Johnson an honorary member. William H. McOmber was Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Michigan from 1854 till his death, in 1860. R. W. Landon succeeded him, and continued until 1878. Berrien County Lodge, No. 6, 1. O. of 0. F.-This lodge was instituted Nov. 27, 1844, with 10 charter members, namely: John F. Porter, Cogswell K. Green, A. J. Clark, J. C. Larimore, T. M. Freeland, John B. Goodman, Charles Jewett, Gerard Hoadley, George Goodman, and James M. Stuart. It has at present 42 members. The officers for 1879 are Robert Chambers, Noble Grand; James Kipler, Vice-Grand; William W. Abbott, Sec.; John Cutting, Permanent Sec.; James S. Reeves, Treas. Niles Lodge, No. 207, I. 0. of 0. F., was instituted May 26, 1873. The charter members were John G. Hansler, E. Rauft, J. Enkel, F. E. Schmidt, and F. Schneewind. The officers for 1879 are George Hegne, Noble Grand; Fred. Zimmerman, Vice-Grand; Aldrich Drenz, Sec.; Fred. Durm, Permanent Sec.; John Hansler, Treas. The meetings are held in Odd-Fellows' Hall. Pah-wah-ting Encampment, No. 3, 1. O. of 0. F.Dispensation was granted to this encampment Jan. 6, 1846, 168 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and charter Feb. 10, 1846. The officers for 1879 are Frederick Durm, Chief Patriarch; William Miller, Senior Warden; James S. Reeves, High Priest; John Cutting, Scribe; Enoch Egbert, Treas. This encampment was united with Michigan Encampment, No. 1, Lenawee Encampment, No. 4, Wilder Encampment, No. 5, and Samaritan Encampment, No. 6, as the constituent members of the Grand Encampment of the State of Michigan, organized at Kalamazoo, Feb. 4, 1847. J. C. Larimore and George W. Hoffman, Past High Priests, were delegates representing this encampment. The present membership is 49. Meetings are held in Odd-Fellows' Hall. Niles Lodge, No. 843, 1. 0. of G. T.-This lodge was instituted April 13, 1875, with 28 members. Their meetings are held in Davison Hall. The present officers arc Edwin H. Palmer, W. C. T.; Mrs. E. H. Palmer, W. V. T.; Mrs. J. C. Larkin, W. S.; John Davison, W. T.; Maggie Park, W. I. G.; James Cutting, W. M.; Henry Jakwith, T. Sec.; Benjamin F. Park, W. A. S.; Lizzie Dutch, Dep. M.; A. K. Babcock, O. G.; Alma Palmer, R. H. S.; Minnie Palmer, L. H. S. The lodge at present contains 30 members. Catholic Knights of America, St. AIary's Branch, No. 17.-This society was organized June 8, 1878, with 16 members, and has at present 37. Their meetings are held in Wells' Hall, on Main Street. The present officers are F. E. Fenton, President; John Aul, Recording Secretary; John C. Knauss, Treasurer; Paul Skalla, Financial Secretary. Order of Imperial Knights St. Joseph, Valley Lodge, 1No. 10, was organized June 14, 1879, with 11 members. The present officers are Lewis Augustine, Director-in-Chief; Joseph Greenamycr, Financier; Charles Henderer, Recorder. The lodge contains at present 18 members, and their meetings are held in Davison Hall. Knights of Honor, No. 831.-This lodge was instituted Dec. 3, 1877, having previously organized under a dispensation, and elected officers, viz., Theodore G. Beaver, Dictator; J. P. Howlett, Vice-Dictator; Charles J. Sterling, Reporter. They hold meetings in their rooms over the First National Bank. They have a present membership of 25, and the present officers are D. Sheehan, Dictator; C. N. Smith, Vice-Dictator; John Glenville, Assistant Dictator; F. Schneewind, Reporter; E. B. Leroy, Financial Reporter; W. A. Wetherby, Treasurer; C. J. Sterling, Chaplain; W. H. Snyder, Guide; John Cutting, Guardian; Jacob Mayford, Sentinel; H. Whitworth, Examining Physician. NILES WATER-WORKS. Four miles east of the city of Niles, in Howard township, Cass Co., at an elevation of 106 feet above the city, lies Barren Lake, a body of the purest water, a mile and one-fourth in length by three-fourths of a mile in width, fed by springs. For many years past this lovely lake was looked to as offering the best possible supply of water for fire purposes and for general use of the city. Several at tempts were made to organize a copany for its -introduction, but no organization was perfected until June, 1877. In February, 1877, the Common Council of Niles entered into an agreement with W. P. Hanchett, for the introduction of water from Barren Lake into the city for fire purposes, and for general uses. Under this agreement a company was organized on the 12th day of June, 1877, and articles of association were filed in the office of the Secretary of State, June 14th. During the summer the survey was made and the line definitely settled. In April, 1878, the work of excavation and laying pipe was commenced in earnest, and by July two-thirds of the work was completed. At this time, the first company becoming pecuniarily involved, the work passed into other hands; a new company was organized, and not until the summer of 1879 was the work completed. The water is brought from the lake through a 12-inch main, five and one-half miles in length, emptied into a reservoir of 300,000 gallons capacity, and distributed already through about six miles of pipes. No city in the West can be furnished with such an abundant supply of so pure water more easily and economically than Niles. FIRE DEPARTMENT. In September, 1838, a petition was presented to the council of the village of Niles by a number of citizens, asking for the organization of a fire company. In accordance with a provision in the charter a company was then organized called " Niles Engine Company, No. 1," and numbering 31 persons. An engine, hose, ladders, buckets, and other equipments were purchased, but no provision was made for cisterns, and the only supply of water was from the river and from private sources. The consequence has been the disbanding of organized companies, an inefficient fire department and discouragement of the firemen. No companies are in existence at the present time, though the city has a chief engineer, Daniel Sheehan, who constitutes the fire department of Niles. Upon the completion of the present system of water distribution, the city will organize hose companies, and Niles will, for the first time, possess adequate facilities for the extinguishment of fires. MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD. The route of the Michigan Central Railroad was changed to pass through Niles in 1847, and in 1848, on the 7th day of October, the first passenger train from Detroit came into the village of Niles, at five o'clock P.M., containing about 130 invited guests. The train was greeted by a great concourse of citizens, speeches were made, and great rejoicing was the order of the day, for Niles was linked to the metropolis of Michigan by iron bands. Steamboating business was conducted from this time on the upper river, in connection with the railroad, and placed in charge of B. F. Fish, August, 1849. A warehouse was constructed at the bridge, 100 feet high from the bed of the river, and produce was elevated from vessels below. This continued for about three years, when the boats were withdrawn. A road was constructed by the Michigan Air-Line Railroad Company from Jackson to Niles, reaching Niles in February, 1871, and continued to South Bend soon after. NILES GAS-LIGHT COMPANY. This company was chartered under the general law in the spring of 1868, with a capital of $37,000, and during PREMISES oF MRS.J. B. MiLLARD, GITY OF NILES, MIen. MICHIGAN WOOD PULP COMPANYS MILLS,aR NILES WATER POWER COMPANYS~ DAM IN BACKGROUND. CITY OFi NILES. 169 the summer of 1868 works were erected on Front Street below Main. The first officers of the company were James L. Glenn, President; J. C. Larimore, Secretary; R. C. Paine, Treasurer. The present officers are R. W. Landon, President; Mills H. Landon, Secretary; George W. Platt, Treasurer; Directors, J. C. Larimore, Thomas L. Stevens, and J. S. Tuttle. MUTUAL CITY AND VILLAGE FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF BERRIEN, CASS, AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES. This company was incorporated Nov. 13, 1878, with J. C. Larimore, President; J. Eastman Johnson, Secretary. The office is at the corner of Main and Third Streets. There are issued to Aug. 25, 1879, 179 policies, representing $210,000. BANKING INTERESTS. On the 6th of February, 1836, a meeting of citizens of Cass, Berrien, and St. Joseph Counties was held at the American Hotel in Niles, and passed resolutions requesting the Legislature of the State to grant a charter to a bank to be called the " Bank of Niles," with a capital of $250,000, with the privilege of increasing it to $500,000. The Bank of Niles, having a small capital, was in operation the following year, with Jacob Beeson as President, and George W. Hoffman, Cashier. The Berrien County Bank also was chartered about the same time, Lucius Hoyt being the first President, and J. A. Noonan, Cashier. These banks were short-lived and soon suspended. The Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of Detroit established an agency at St. Joseph as early as 1835, with Thomas Fitzgerald in charge as cashier. Rodney C. Paine, a brother-in-law of John A. Wells, the cashier of the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of Detroit, came from Albany to St. Joseph in March, 1836, and was placed in charge of the agency at that place. He remained until 1841, when he located an agency at Niles, opening an office in the building now occupied as a tobacco-store by James Trudeau. In 1843, Mr. Paine built a banking-office on the northwest corner of Main and Third Streets, where he continued business until his death, which occurred on March 16, 1855. The business of the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank was continued until 1848, when it was withdrawn, and from that time Mr. Paine conducted the business alone. He was also a director in the First National Bank of Niles. The First National Bank of Niles received its certificate of organization Dec. 15, 1870, with the following-named persons as directors, viz.: Thomas L. Stevens, David Rough, Rodney C. Paine, Joseph C. Larimore, Alonzo Sherman, Rufus W. Landon, and George Kimmel. Rufus W. Landon was chosen President; Joseph C. Larimore, Vice-President; and Thomas L. Stevens, Cashier. The capital of the bank was $100,000, fully paid up. The bankingrooms were established at No. 156 Main Street, where the business is still continued. The present officers are Thomas L. Stevens, President; Solomon G. Krick, Vice-President; Charles A. Johnson, Cashier; Directors, T. L. Stevens, S. G. Krick, Silas Ireland, W. K. Lacey, E. S. Badger, Geo. 22 H. Rough, William R. Rough. The bank has a present surplus of $7500. Citizens' National Bank of Niles.-This bank received its authority to transact banking business Oct. 1, 1861, its capital being $50,000. The following persons were chosen directors: O. S. Abbott, J. C. Larimore, G. W. Platt, J. S. Tuttle, F. M. Gray, M. D. Matteson, and E. P. Hill. President, J. C. Larimore; Cashier, O. S. Abbott. The bank was located in the present banking-office, corner of Second and Main Streets. The present officers are J. C. Larimore, President; F. M. Gray, Cashier; Directors, J. C. Larimore, F. M. Gray, I. P. Hutton, G. W. Platt, S. B. Shepard, H. F. Kellogg, F. W. Wilder. MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. Dowagiac Hydraulic Company.-On the 18th day of March, 1837, an act was approved incorporating Obed P. Lacey, Elijah Lacey, Erasmus Winslow, and Rodney C. Paine as the Dowagiac Hydraulic Company, with a capital stock of $50,000, and with power " to hold real and personal estate necessary for the construction of a canal for the use of said company, to be located in the village of Niles, within the limits of Lacey's addition to said village." The canal to be constructed within two years, connecting the waters of the Dowagiac River with the St. Joseph, and to be at least 30 feet in width and 4 feet deep. The canal was not built by the company, but in 1846, Elijah Lacey and Jasper Mason built the raceway that connected with the Dowagiac and furnished the water for the Volant and Dacota Mills. Niles Hydraulic Company and Niles Manufacturing Company.-In the year 1842 a company was incorporated and organized with the above name, and having for its object the development of the water-power of the St. Joseph River at Niles. During that year the company commenced the construction of a dam across the river, at the foot of Main Street, with a lock at the west end, to allow the passage of boats. The contract for building was taken by Seth Hanchett. Before the completion of this work it was partially carried away by a sudden flood in the river, in the fall of 1843, and was damaged to such an extent as to discourage the projectors and to cause a suspension of further operations. The cost of the work had been about $4000, which was a total loss to the company. Efforts were made from time to time to raise more funds and resume operations on the dam and lock, but no results followed, though the company at one time proceeded so far as to put the work under contract. In the Niles Republican of March 8, 1845, there appeared an article under the heading of " Dam not Completed," in which it was said that " We are credibly informed that Crocker & Mason have the contract," but on the 29th of the same month the Republican said, " We are now informed that something has arisen whereby the whole matter is under the command of General Flatout, who, in relation to this work, is highly distinguished." In this the fate of the dam project was truly expressed. Nothing more appears to have been done until 1849, when (March 31st) an act was passed for the improvement of the navigation of the St. Joseph, and incorporating 170 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I James L. Glenn, R. C. Paine, William H. McOmber, and others, as the " Niles Hydraulic and Manufacturing Company," with a capital of $30,000. By Legislative act of March 21, 1851, the charter of the Hydraulic and Manufacturing Company was amended, and the name changed to the original one of " The Niles Hydraulic Company." This company remained inactive till 1865, when the corporators called a meeting, and efforts were made to revive the dam project, and to proceed with the work of construction. Engineers had been employed to examine the river, and their report was made at the meeting held at Kellogg Hall, June 10, 1865. The report embodied facts and estimates as follows: width of river at point selected, 287 feet; average depth, 4-4 feet; length of dam, 350 feet; height, 11 - feet; estimated cost of dam, including head-gates, waste-weir, and raceway, $39,085.76. The power to be secured by the construction of the dam was estimated at 1333 horse-power. The site then in contemplation for the dam was at the head of the " Big Island." Nothing was done at that site, however, and in 1866 another was decided on, it being the present location of the dam. At this place work was commenced in June of the year named, but before it was completed a change was made in the company and its operations in the manner narrated below. The hydraulic company had become embarrassed in its financial affairs, so that there seemed little probability that it could bring the work to a successful issue. When this became apparent a number of citizens of Niles associated themselves together to take such action as would insure the development of the water-power of the river. On the 26th of February, 1867, 22 persons, having this object in view, held a meeting in Niles, and organized as the " Niles Manufacturing Company," with Rufus W. Landon, Benjamin F. Fish, and William Bort as trustees, and Henry H. Coolidge as secretary. This company became incorporated June 26, 1868. On the 7th of September, in the same year, the company was organized under the incorporation by the election of the following directors, viz.: Joseph C. Larimore, Rodney C. Paine, Benjamin F. Fish, Joseph S. Tuttle, Rufus W. Landon, Henry H. Coolidge, and James Badger. Rufus W. Landon, President; Benjamin F. Fish, Treasurer; Jerome B. Fitzgerald, Secretary. Before the incorporation the company had purchased the farm of Jacob Beeson, consisting of 113 acres of land contiguous to the eastern end of the dam which had been commenced by the Hydraulic Company. For this farm they paid the sum of $22,000, which was the authorized capital of the Niles Manufacturing Company. On the 26th of September of the same year that company purchased a halfinterest in " all the rights, titles, and privileges" of the Niles Hydraulic Company, known as "The Dam Company." Oct. 28,1868, the capital stock of the Manufacturing Company was increased to $50,000, and on the 18th of June, 1869, that company contracted, for the sum of $17,000, for the completion of the raceway, head-gates, and other work on the dam: which had been commenced by the Niles Hydraulic Company. In March, 1870, the capital of the manufacturing company was increased to $70,000, and in 1871 that company purchased the remaining interest of the Hydraulic Company, which latter practically ceased to exist at that time. In January, 1872, the Manufacturing Company sold a part of their interest in land and water-power, on the west side of the river, to French & Millard for about $10,000. A site, with power, was also given to Paine & Gitchell for a furniture-factory, and in 1872 the Niles Paper-Mill Company purchased the site and power now occupied and used by their mills. The Niles Manufacturing Company finally sold all their interests and privileges on the river to the Niles Water-Power Company in 1878. Niles Water-Power Company.-This company was incorporated Dec. 24, 1877, with a capital stock of $25,000. There existed at that time a mortgage of $20,000 on the property of the Niles Manufacturing Company, and when this property was sold under foreclosure, at Pike's Hotel, Niles, on the 15th of January, 1878, the purchasers were the Niles Paper-Mill Company, and S. M. Beeson, J. C. Larimore, B. F. Fish, Thomas L. Stevens, J. W. French, O. W. Coolidge, M. Pettingill, and David Gitchell; these gentlemen representing and purchasing for the Niles WaterPower Company. This company is still in existence, and owns the property acquired by the purchasers above mentioned. Its present officers are: President, J. W. French; Treasurer, B. F. Fish; Secretary, J. C. Larimore; Directors, A. A. Jacks, M. Pettingill, Thomas L. Stevens, David Gitchell. Niles Paper-Mill Company.-The company was organized Jan. 10, 1872, and the present mill-site purchased of the Niles Manufacturing Company, and buildings erected. The firm have an average of about 35 employees, and manufacture straw wrapping-paper exclusively, shipping it to the Chicago market. The officers are A. A. Jacks, President; B. F. Fish, Treasurer; John Le Clere, Secretary. Michigan Wood-Pulp Company.-This company started business in June, 1872, as the firm of French & Millard. It was organized as a joint-stock company, under the general State law, in August, 1874, name as above, with J. W. French, President; J. B. Millard, Treasurer; and W. S. Millard, Secretary and Superintendent. The company still retain the same officers. Their building is 156 feet long by 52 feet in width, and three stories high. Half this building was erected in 1872, and the remainder in 1875. The stock manufactured is whitewood pulp, for print, manilla, and book papers. Silver-leaved poplar, pine, and basswood is used. This company owns one-third of the power created by the erection of the dam, to be used exclusively on the west side of the river. The company employs about 38 men and 10 boys, day and night, and furnishes Western papermills, exclusively. Its shipments in and out over the Michigan Central Railroad were 648 cars during fourteen months, ending Jan. 31, 1879. Lacey's Barrel-Factory.-About 1849, Messrs. Dare & Barrett started a small coopering business upon the prop erty now occupied by S. & G. Lacey. In 1855 the property passed to Jones & Chapin, by whom it was continued until 1862, when Anson & Lambert came into possession. t t rAIT &.R f UNDS VIEW OF HATCHERY LOOKING EAST. 4f.. VIEW F FIHPOND LOOIAI&AST. IEW~HATCERY LOKINWEfr RES.AN SUROUD/NGHO. G J, N, r I A RES.AND SURROUNDNG&S OFTHE H ON. G.HJEROME, NILES, MICHIGAN. CITY OF NILES. 171 SKETCHES. In 1866, S. & G. Lacey purchased the business, and still continue it. They employ 20 men, and have a manufacturing capacity of 400 barrels a day. In 1871 a cidermill was built in connection, and in 1873 a brick building, 26 by 110 feet, and 3 stories in height, was erected for the enlargement of the cider-works. The flouring-mills of Niles will be found mentioned in the history of early mills and mill-sites. Krick's Carriage Manufactory.-In 1872, Messrs. Rice, Griffith & Lambert erected the brick building now occupied by S. G-. Krick, and commenced the manufacture of wagons, buggies, etc. The sum of $28,000 was expended in real estate, buildings, and machinery. The financial difficulties of 1873 caused a discontinuance of the business, and in 1874, Solomon G. Krick purchased the stock, and the First National Bank became owner of the real estate. The property was leased to Mr. Krick, who continued the manufacture of wagons and buggies, and has increased the business to an amount of $40,000 annual sales. The trade is largely confined to grangers, to whom he offers special inducements. The engine has a capacity of 40 horse-power. A planing-mill and pill-box-factory in connection with the works, are leased to other parties, and supplied with power from the engine of the wagon-factory. About 40 men are employed in the establishment. Fanning-Mill Mfanufactory. —In 1835, Lucius Scales emigrated from Ohio, and commenced the manufacture of fanning-mills in the village of Niles. After a few years the business passed into the hands of Jerome Walton, and in 1844 or 1845 it was carried on by Barber & Wells. In 1856, Martin Cleland and son purchased the business and continued till 1862, when A. J. Cleland purchased his brother's interest, and since that time he has continued the manufacture of fanning-mills and other agricultural implements. Sales of these are made throughout the Western States. Niles Nurseries.-In 1849, William Bort returned to Niles, after an absence of six years, and established a nursery about one and a half miles up the river on land purchased of Wm. McOmber. This farm he sold to Mr. Gephart in 1855, and purchased 40 acres from the Gephart farm, about one hundred rods west of the river. On this land he erected a good house, and established a nursery of ornamental and fruit trees, but again sold in January, 1866, and purchased the Sampson farm, half a mile up the river from the upper bridge. Here he started a nursery, erected a fine mansion, laid out the grounds, and planted ornamental trees and shrubbery. The nursery was successfully conducted by him till his death. May 1, 1879, a halfinterest was sold to William Sigerson and Susan Van Osdol, who have at present 48 acres in nursery stock. They have purchased an additional 80 acres on the east side of the South Bend Railroad, and east of the Hoppin farm. This is to be used as follows: 50 acres to be planted with apple-trees, 10 acres with strawberries, 10 acres of blackberries, and 10 acres of raspberries. The business is now conducted under the name of " the Niles Nurseries," by Wm. Sigerson & Co. BIOGRAPHICAL GEORGE H. JEROME* was born at Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Oct. 23, 1819. His parents, Ira and Irene (Cass) Jerome, were both of American birth and English extraction. The family tree spreads wide and high on Pompey Hill, which has now become classic ground,-an inland Pilgrim Rock,-to which statesmen, poets, and merchant-princes are proud to trace their genealogy. With sinews toughened in this bracing air and a mind inspired in the old academy, George went to Hamilton College, where he graduated in 1842. He then entered upon Q6. H. Jiz the study of the law. July 9,1846, he married Miss Charlotte L. Dana, daughter of Eleazer Dana, of Owego, N. Y., and sister of the late Cyrus Dana, of Niles, an accomplished lady of a noted family, including among its members Charles A. Dana, of New York. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Jerome removed to Niles, in the State of Michigan, and entered upon the practice of his profession; but he soon accepted a magisterial office, which he found more lucrative and pleasant than a practice at Berrien, the remote county-seat. As a magistrate he soon achieved the lasting friendship of his brethren of the bar, and the confidence and respect of all his fellow-citizens. In 1851 the growing greatness of Chicago attracted his attention, and he abandoned a profitable business and the most agreeable social relations and cast his fortunes in the whirl of that city. He remained in Chicago until 1856, engaging in real-estate operations with his proverbial success, when, through some accidental circumstances, he re I * The late Hon. Jerome B. Fitzgerald, a life-long acquaintance and friend of Mr. Jerome, contributed this biographical sketch forthe recently-published volume entitled " Eminent Men of Michigan." As it is believed to convey a just estimate and appreciation of the subject of his sketch, it is here inserted without abbreviation or alteration i any particular. 172 HISTORY OF IBERRIN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. moved to the capital of Iowa, and became the proprietor and managing editor of the Iowa City Republican, which from the oldest then became the ablest political journal of the State. While in this commanding position Mr. Jerome was also for several years chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, and made himself felt in the affairs of the State, and in the policy of his party in the first years of the war. As an express recognition of his services in this behalf, at the personal instance of President Lincoln, he was appointed assessor of internal revenue for a district embracing twelve counties, a position which he filled for four years in the most creditable manner, and then voluntarily resigned in favor of a meritorious and disabled colonel of the Union army. At this period of his life, feeling a desire to withdraw from public employments and engage in rural pursuits, he recollected the enchanting valley of the St. Joseph, for which, although he had wandered so far, he still retained an affection. Returning to Niles he selected a home-" Sabine Farm" -in the southern suburb, overlooking the city and river and the magnificent highlands of the Pottawattamie reservation. Here, like a Roman patrician, he established his villa and tower, and, in great part with his own hands, embellished the surroundings with gardens, vineyards, cascades, and fountains. Reposing from his toils in the shadow of his broad oaks and gorgeous maples, he studied philosophy and the arts, and entertained the friends who sought him with elegant hospitality. Few men have a more extensive personal acquaintance, and none a more attractive retinue of personal friends, embracing men of almost every political opinion and religious creed, for, although firm and positive in his own views and convictions, he is always considerate and tolerant of opposing opinions. Politically, he is a Democratic Republican. He was a delegate from Iowa to the National Republican Convention at Philadelphia in 1856, and has adhered to that party ever since. In religious association he seems inclined to the Congregational Church, possibly because his wife is a member of that body. It is quite probable that he does not attach much importance to sectarian distinctions, but rather regards honesty and uprightness of life as the essential elements of Christianity. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and perhaps of some other civic societies. Mr. Jerome is eminently social in his habits and tastes; always affable, animated, and cheerful, he infuses vitality wherever he goes. Expert in all games and pastimes, it is a positive pleasure to be the victim of his superior skill. Indomitable energy, ceaseless activity, and executive ability are his distinguishing qualities, adequate to every occasion. If by chance he is called upon to address the grangers at a county fair, he showers upon them wisdom and wit in glittering profusion; or when a centennial jubilee occurs, and he is pushed to the front, he astonishes the assembled thousands of his fellow-citizens with a sunburst of magnificent oratory. In 1873, Mr. Jerome was, as unexpectedly to his friends as to himself appointed commissioner of State fisheries. He seemed reluctant, but his friends urged him to accept, not dreaming, however, that he had either knowledge or taste in the direction of its duties, but rather regarding the office as a sinecure and the commission as a compliment. Governor Bagley, however, in urging his acceptance, seems to have had a more serious purpose and a better understanding of the fitness of the appointment, for it is as a fisherman that Mr. Jerome is destined to go down to posterity. No matter what honors or distinctions he may hereafter achieve in other directions, his fate is fixed. The smell of the salmonidoe is on his garments. Once installed as superintendent of State fisheries, he entered upon his duties with his accustomed energy and zeal. Throwing aside the pruning-hook, he grasped the trident of our inland seas, where, like Neptune, " He climbed the chariot-seat and rode upon the waves. The whales came forth from their deep haunts and frolicked round his way; they knew their king." Addressing himself sedulously to his task, he soon made himself not only master of the science of ichthyology but an expert in all the details of fish-culture. Abounding in fish of the choicest varieties in all her vast waters, Michigan had hitherto given no care to their culture or preservation. The field was an open one, and success or failure depended upon him. He had great ends to accomplish with limited means. In glancing over his reports one is amazed at the magnitude of his labors and the economy of his expenditures. It is too soon to estimate the exact value of what he has accomplished, but it is undeniable that he has placed Michigan in the front rank of fish-growing States, and reared for himself a monument more enduring than brass,-a fame as a naturalist not to be forgotten as long as trout, white-fish, or grayling swim in the blue waters around the beautiful peninsula. JOSEPH C. LARIMORE. The parents of the subject of this biography were born in Central Pennsylvania, and resided for some years in Washington County, from whence, in 1802, they removed to Steubenville, Ohio. Here the father engaged in the sale of general merchandise for a time, but afterwards added to his business the manufacture of cotton goods. He also held the office of postmaster for about thirty years. In this village the son was born, and here he remained until early manhood. He attended the village school, and afterwards prosecuted the study of the languages, under the tuition of Rev. George Buchanan, and completed his studies at the academy in his native place. But it was under the careful eye of his father and in association with him that he acquired the strict business habits which have contributed to his success in life. He married a daughter of Judge James Wilson (for many years editor of the Western Herald, an able and influential Whig paper), and in 1834, while yet but a young man, he removed to Niles, Mich., where he engaged in the sale of dry goods until 1838, when he disposed of the business and established the drug-store, which still continues, and which is recognized as one of the oldest and most reliable establishments in the State. In 1860 he associated with him in the business Henry M. Dean (who for ten years had been in his employ as clerk), under the present firm-name of Larimore & Dean. In disposition Mr. Larimore is conservative rather than CITY OF NILES. 173 aggressive, but firm and decided in all his opinions. In politics he was a Whig until the rise of the Republican party, when he attached himself to it, sympathizing with that party in all its essential measures. He had no political aspirations, but accepted the appointment of postmaster at Niles under Gen. Harrison, which office he held until after the election of President Polk. In religion he is by at Niles. In 1877 he was again re-elected treasurer, but at his earnest solicitation he was permitted to decline the office. In 1872 he aided to organize the First National Bank, and was its first vice-president, which office he resigned soon after, to accept the presidency of the Citizens' National Bank, to which position he has been re-elected every year since. In addition to his daily attention to the n,;, education and conviction a Presbyterian of the strictest stamp, and to this church he has ever given his aid and influence, while at the same time he has always been ready to extend the warm hand of sympathy and to fraternize' heartily and sincerely with all sister denominations. For twenty-five years he has been a ruling elder and for nearly thirty years the treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church MAJOR L. A. DUNCAN was born in Columbus, Bartholomew Co., Ind. His father was a native of Leesburg, Va., and his mother of Chillicothe, Ohio. When two years of age his father died, and he, with his mother, went to Charlestown, Clarke Co., Ind., to live with his grandfather, the late Judge James Scott. His grandfather and father being newspaper men and editors, he, it may be said, grew up in the profession. In 1856 he removed West, stopping in Iowa City, Iowa. In 1858, in connection with G. H. Jerome, he assumed the editorship of the Iowa City Republican, and in 1861 was appointed, by the Governor of the State, one of the swampland commissioners to settle swamp-land claims of the State against the general government. drug business and his duties as president of the bank, he is also an officer or director of the Niles Gas-Light Company, the Niles Manufacturing Company, the Niles Paper-Mill Company, the City and Village Insurance Company, etc.; and he has ever been ready to extend aid and his hearty co-operation to any and all enterprises whose object is to advance the material interests of the city of his adoption. While in Iowa he was instrumental in helping that veteran Abolitionist, John Brown, through the State to Harper's Ferry, though ignorant of his destination and full purpose. In 1862 he resigned his commissionership to enter the Union army. He was appointed adjutant of the 40th Iowa Infantry upon the formation of that regiment, and took part in the siege of Vicksburg and capture of Little Rock, Ark.; in the battles of Prairie D'Ann (where, when on staff duty and leading the 50th Indiana Infantry into action, he had a horse shot under him), Jenkins' Ferry, Little Missouri River, and several minor engagements. He was commissioned major March 17, 1865, this being the highest vacancy occurring in his regiment during the 174 HISTORY IOF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. war. After the surrender of Lee he served some months in the Indian Territory, and was finally mustered out with his regiment at Fort Gibson, Aug. 15, 1865. Though he was three years in his country's service, he claims only an inconspicuous part in the war. In February, 1866, he came to Niles, and, in connection with E. 0. Dana, bought two newspaper establishments,the Niles Enquirer and the Berrien County Freeman,which he consolidated under the name of the Niles limes. At the expiration of two years Mr. Dana retired, and the name of the paper was changed to the Niles Republican, since which time Maj. Duncan has been sole editor and proprietor. He claims to publish a good, clean, reliable, local paper, and his patrons and readers acknowledge the justness of this claim. In 1872 he was elected presidential elector for the Fourth Congressional District, and cast a personal vote for U. S. Grant and Henry Wilson. He served four years on the Republican State Central Committee, and was one of the board of visitors to the State normal school in 1879. Maj. Duncan, since the formation of the Republican party, has always been a warm supporter of that party and its principles. Prior to its organization he was a Whig, having been reared in that political faith. CHAPTER XXVI. BUCHANAN TOWNSHIP.* Location and Natural Features of the Township-Original Land-Entries-Early Settlements and Settlers-Organization of the Township-Early Elections and Census Statistics-Schools-Buchanan Village-Incorporation and List of Officers-Population-Manufacturing Interests-Societies and Orders-Banking-CemeteriesReligious History. THIS township is designated on the United States survey as town 7 south, range 18 west. It is a fractional township, and includes that portion of town 7 lying west of the St. Joseph River. It contains an area of 17,813 acres, and its eastern boundary is the St. Joseph River, that separates it from the township of Niles; its southern boundary is the township of Bertrand; its western the township of Weesaw; and its northern the township of Oronoko. Buchanan contains but little level land, and its surface is generally undulating. The highest point is Moccasin Bluff, situated about two miles north of the village of Buchanan, on the river St. Joseph. The soil is clay loam, with an admixture of sand. It is very rich and productive, and particularly adapted to the growth of cereals. The township is watered by the St. Joseph River on the east, and its tributary, McCoy's Creek, that rises in Bertrand township, flows northeasterly through the village of Buchanan and empties into the St. Joseph. On the western part of the township, the head-waters of Hickory Creek take their rise, and flow northerly into the St. Joseph. The north branch of Galien River takes its rise in one of the numerous lakes that abound in the township, among which are Clear and Round Lakes, on section 29; Yellow * By Austin N. Hungerford. Lake, section 30; Wagner Lake, section 19; Weaver Lake, section 20; Madron and Moon Lakes, section 9; Coveney's Lake, sections 5 and 8; Juday Lake, section 7; and others not named. The territory of the township of Buchanan was partly included in the tribal reservation on which the Pottawattamies lived during the later years of their residence in Berrien County. The banks of the St. Joseph, and the lands which extend thence southwestwardly through Buchanan and Bertrand townships, were their favorite resorts, and they clung to these lands with great tenacity, for here were their homes and the graves of their fathers. The forests were abundantly supplied with game, the lakes and rivers were well stocked with fish, and much frequented by wild fowl. Moccasin Bluff, situated a short distance below the village of Buchanan, is well known as the site of one of the Indian villages, and numerous burial-places along the river have been found.t The first cession of land that affected this part of Berrien County was that of Sept. 20, 1828, which embraced the lands lying west of St. Joseph River, except the reservation which has already been mentioned. The greater part of Buchanan township is in the tract ceded in 1828, but the village is in the reservation. This was ceded in 1833. The best lands in the last cession were chosen by the commissioners as seminary land, and lay mostly along the sides of McCoy Creek to the village. The lands were largely settled upon by those who intended to purchase when they were made subject to entry, but the price of $20 per acre was placed upon them at first, and those who had taken claims were compelled to give them up. Later they were reduced in price to $12, and afterwards to $6. The other lands were taken at 10s. per acre, under the pre-emption act. The first land-office in Michigan was established at Detroit, and the first lands were offered for sale there in 1818. In 1822 the Detroit land district was divided, and a second office established at Monroe, at which latter office lands lying west of the principal meridian were entered until 1831, when a land-office was established at White Pigeon for the sale of lands lying west of the meridian. In 1834 this office was removed to Kalamazoo. The following were the original entries of land in Buchanan, viz.: Section 2.-H. Highburger, J. Ingelright, T. J. Griffin. Section 3.-P. Poponol, Joseph P. Martin, A. Colvin, S. G. Shuert, J. Johnson, J. Ingelwright. Section 4.-W. Colvin, J. Ingelwright, T. J. Patrick, J. Harris, A. Colvin, B. H. Platt, R. Munger. Section 5.-James H. Roe, J. Coveney, J. Gordon, Isaac Broadway. Section 6.-Peter Watkins, J. Weaver, George Smith, J. Hickman, S. Garr, J. Coveney, A. Trocess. Section 7.-R. Babcock, Jr., Godfried Boil, W. Smith, S. Weaver, Joseph Coveney, J. Judd, D. and J. Weaver. Section 8.-Charles Stone and J. Weaver, M. P. Irvin, J. and H. Weaver, H. Weaver, E. and W. M. Mason. Section 9.-M. P. Irvin, A. Irvin, Isaac Broadway, John B. Mitchell, Leonard Madson. t Moccasin and Mish-a-qua-ka villages were here when the first white settlers came, in 1833 and 1834. Moccasin village was below Moccasin Bluff, and Mish-a-qua-ka south of the village, on the farm of H. G. Sampson. I f f-s. OF CAPT. -EO. H. RICHARDS, BUCANN'BR" 77777 TOWNSHIP OF BUCHANAN. 175 Section 10.-Weaver and Munger, - Munger, G. Cain, T. J. Hunter, Hoffman and Bacon, J. Weaver, G. Cain. Section 11.-J. Ingelwright, Stephen Thomas, S. Thomas and J. Lybrook, - Popenol, John Lybrook. Section 12.-S. Thomas, J. Lybrook, C. Sparks, William Justus. Section 13.-A. Price, W. Garmood, William Justus, Michael Wade, S. Babcock, J. Stephens, J. Noel. Section 14.-John Lybrook, Seth Sherwood, Jacob Ingelwright, J. Lollar, B. Chandler, C. Sparks, E. Brewster, W. Kelley, A. Bronson, L. Cotua. Section 15.-J. Lollar, A. Irvin, S. Broadway, - Ailwin, William Kelly, - Sparks. Section 16.-School section. Section 17.-H. Weaver, D. Weaver, F. Weaver, E. and W. M. Mason, S. Redding. Section 18.-D. and J. Weaver, J. Juday, H. B. Hoffman, E. and W. M. Mason. Section 19.-E. and W. M. Mason, C. Bruyn, D. Dalrymple, J. Henry, B. Vaughn, W. Hardmans, J. Jack, J. Vaughn. Section 20.-W. Wagner, S. Redding, D. Wagner, J. Juday, J. Hoover, N. Wilson, J. Webster and H. M. Connell. Section 21.-J. Weaver, Hoffman and Bacon, A. Gordon, H. Mitchell, A. Babcock, D. Dalrymple. Section 22.-Samuel Cooper, D. Weaver, J. Ingelwright, J. Weaver, Hooper and Ingelwright, R. and J. Martindale, D. Rolfe, Stevens H. Hoffman. Section 23.-Arthur Bronson, David Rolfe, J. Jennings, John Hunter. Section 24.-B. Likin, D. Brown, W. Broadhunt, Ralph Camp, N. Cotton, J. Carberry, B. Chandler, R. Camp, W. Cotton. Section 25.-J. Stephens, William Broadhunt; remainder of section university lands. Section 26.-University land. Section 27.-N. Roe, J. R. Brown, T. W. R. Lister, S. Stevens, Daniel Roe, S. Weaver, L. Wilson. Section 28.-W. Betson, W. B. Allen, E. Lineback, L. Olds, - Angel, S. Rinehart. Section 29.-J. H. Phillips, - Flanigan, J. W. Baldwin, W. D. Jones, J. Vaughn. Section 30.-Oliver Dalrymple, J. H. Ives, G. W. Gillett, J. A. Stokes, E. and W. M. Mason, J. Slater, James S. Tanner. Section 31.-J. Needham, William Hall, - Egbert, H. Wilson, D. Whitlock, J. Vaughn, James S. Tanner. Section 32.-William Proud and McNeal, W. C. Fish, E. Egbert, James Fallow, H. Brown, J. Vaughn, D. Whitlock, C. Egbert, R. W. Landon, J. Ryan, - Briant. Section 33.-J. Egbert, S. S. Russell, H. T. Bacon, A. Smith, J. P. Jones, B. Egbert, - McIntire, J. Martindale. Section 34.-J. Martindale, Jr., R. Martindale, D. R. Platt, H. Bennett, R. Babcock. Section 35.-C. Cowles, A. C. Day, C. Smith, S. M. Blake, G. A. Demont. Section 36.-D. Sanford, A. Jordan, W. Smith, A. C. Day, 0. Nichols. The first person to locate land where the village of Buchanan now is, and probably the first in the township, was Charles Cowles, a native of Vermont, who came to Niles in 1832, and in June, 1833, came to this place alone, located his claim, cleared a piece of land, built a cabin, and made his home here. He was a single man, and hired Leonard Madron and his family to take charge of his cabin. In the spring of 1834, John Hatfield, from Wayne Co., Ind., with his family, came in and located a claim of 80 acres adjoining Mr. Cowles'. These two claims were in the southwest quarter of section 25. Charles Cowles built a shingle-mill on the creek where afterwards was the little grist-mill owned by Mr. Wallin, and where Pears' mill now stands, a little way up from the mouth of the creek. Hatfield, with a Mr. Atkins, built a saw-mill a little later on McCoy Creek, where stands the factory now known as " Fort Sumter." Mr. Cowles is still living here. Mr. Hatfield was interested in the church of the United Brethren and one of the constituent members, and afterwards moved to Minnesota. Mr. Cowles and Mr. Hatfield sold their claims to Dr. C. C. Wallin in 1835. Russell McCoy emigrated from Virginia to Pokagon Prairie, and boated on the river in the summer season, and in winter worked for the Indians. He was at Niles a short time, and in the summer of 1833 came to the mouth of McCoy Creek, where he cleared a small place, located a claim, and returned to Niles. In the spring of 1834, in company with Hiram Wray, he built a log cabin. The Indians at first did not like it, and tore down the cabin, but soon after became satisfied. The cabin was finished, and in the fall the family of Hiram Wray moved into it. The next year they built a saw-mill at the mouth of the creek. Mr. McCoy married, in 1835, Miss Fanny Kingery, of Pokagon Prairie, who died in 1837, leaving one son, James I. McCoy, who is living West. Soon after her death he sold out, and with his father's family (who lived east of Niles) moved to Missouri, but did not like the country and soon returned. In 1839 he married Esther, daughter of John Weaver. They settled between Niles and Pokagon on a farm, and lived there a year and a half, when Mrs. McCoy's father, John Weaver, having bought a quarter of the school section, they moved upon the farm and remained there fourteen years. He then sold the farm, and kept store in Buchanan. About 1856, in company with David Weaver and his brother, William McCoy, he bought 200 acres on the bank of Clear Lake, and built a steam saw-mill. After about one year and a half he sold out his interest and bought the hotel in Buchanan, which he kept but a short time, and moved to Charlottesville. He afterwards returned, and lived in Buchanan until his death, which occurred in December, 1873. His widow, Mrs. McCoy, still lives in the village. Andrew C. Day was born in Norwich, Conn., Jan. 11, 1805; he went with his parents when young to Delaware Co., N. Y., where he remained until thirty-two years of age. He owned a grist-mill in that county, and also learned the trade of gang-sawyer, and shipped lumber in large quantities to Philadelphia. When nineteen years of age he had charge of a mill employing 40 men. He emigrated to this township in 1836, and bought the claim of Leonard Madron, it being the place where he still lives. Here he worked on the saw-mill for a time, and in 1839, in connection with John Hamilton, erected a grist-mill about five rods below the present mill of Pears & Rough. This mill had two run of stones. After three or four years he sold to John Hamilton, and became interested in the dry goods and grocery business in the village. He was engaged for about a year with the engineering corps on the preliminary survey of the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1875 he was interested in the manufacture of wagons, in the manufactory now conducted by the Rough Brothers. He is now engaged in farming, and owns a valuable farm east of the village. He still lives, with his wife, on the land they first settled, when the country was almost a wilderness. John Hamilton, a millwright by trade, came from Vir ginia to Michigan, and worked a year or two in a mill on the Dowagiac Creek, near Niles. He came to Buchanan in 1839, and with Mr. A. C. Day built the grist-mill. He 176 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. laid out the first village plat, which was recorded in 1842. He lived here until his death. Edward Ballengee, although not as early a settler in the township as some, has been identified with the earliest movements of several of the townships. He emigrated from Virginia to this county in 1833, and located at Berrien Springs when but two houses were there. He erected a dwelling-house and store together, his being the third dwelling there. He moved his stock of goods from Crawfordsville, Ind., in April, and his family came in June. He was very instrumental in getting the court-house located at that place, and was elected supervisor two terms. In the fall of 1843 he moved to Buchanan, and was elected supervisor, and justice of the peace in 1844. In 1845 he lived in Lake township, where he was foremost in getting that town set off, and was its first supervisor. In 1850 he removed to New Buffalo, and was general purchasing agent of the Michigan Central Railroad. He went to California in 1853, remained until 1865, and was justice of the peace two terms in Todd's Valley, Placer Co., Cal. In January, 1866, he settled in Buchanan, where he still resides, and has been justice from that time to the present, except in 1878. L. P. Alexander came from Belfast, Allegany Co., N. Y., with Price Cooper and his family. The latter settled on section 35, where F. F. Clarke now lives. Mr. Alexander afterwards married his daughter. They reached here Oct. 16, 1841, and Mr. Alexander worked at his trade, which was that of a carpenter and joiner, until 1849, when he engaged in the boot and shoe business, and soon after in merchandising. In 1846 he was elected constable and treasurer, and held the position till 1851. In that year he was elected supervisor, and was re-elected in 1852. He served again from 1861 to 1866, and from 1871 to 1878. In 1860 he was elected a member of the Legislature, a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1867, and of the Senate in 1870. He was postmaster from 1863 to 1866. He was again appointed in 1877, and still holds the position. John D. Ross emigrated from Indiana to Niles in the spring of 1834, where he worked a short time and went to Valparaiso, and in 1847 came to Buchanan. He purchased five acres on the south side of Front Street for $9000. The north side of Front Street was the village plat. The Day & Hamilton mill, a distillery run by Hilton, and the dwelling-house now owned by Mr. Terriere were the only buildings south of Front Street, and they were on five acres purchased by Mr. Ross. He opened a store in a building that stood where Roe's block now stands. In 1864 the banking business was commenced by Ross & Fulton, and Mr. Ross still continues in the business. Garrett Morris emigrated from Ohio with his parents to Terre Coupee Prairie in 1833, but returned to Ohio. In 1837 he went to New Carlisle, Ind., and opened a grocery business, and in 1840 was appointed postmaster. Schuyler Colfax, then a lad of seventeen years, was deputy under him for three years, and at that -time Colfax was in the habit of noting down, in an ordinary brown-paper journal, the doings of Congress,-storing up facts that were of benefit to him in after years. In the spring of 1844, Mr. Morris moved to Buchanan, and in 1846 built on Main Street the first hotel in the village. He also conducted a store where the bank building now stands. About 1856 he sold the hotel to Russell McCoy. He sold the store in 1859 to John C. Dutton, but afterwards repurchased it. He afterwards became agent for Call, Lockwood & Co., book publishers, of Hartford, Conn. He still lives in Buchanan. David Sanford settled, in 1836, on a small farm near the village of Buchanan, and died in a few years after coming in. His brothers, Philo and Levi, lived in Bertrand. Watson Roe came from Henry Co., Ind., about 1836, and settled on what is known as the David Gitchell farm, in the township of Bertrand, in section 18. He did not purchase, but a little later came to Buchanan and purchased 160 acres in section 27, now owned by A. Broceus. He removed to Iowa in 1852. His brother, Eli Roe, came to Portage Prairie at the same time, and in 1856 removed to the village of Buchanan. His son, Dr. J. M. Roe, removed to this village in 1851, commenced practice, and is still living there. J. H. Roe, E. J. Roe, and J. J. Roe, sons, are all living in Buchanan. T. J. Hunter came with his father and family in 1831, and located on the east bank of St. Joseph River, in Niles township, where Mr. Batchelor now owns. Thomas J. came to the west side of the river in 1835, and bought 120 acres on section 10, where Joseph Fuller now lives. He was active in the formation of the Methodist Church. He lived on the farm until 1876, when he moved into the village, and still resides there. John Weaver emigrated from Ohio, in 1829, to a place about two and a half miles above Bertrand township, on the St. Joseph River; and in 1837 he located a claim of 160 acres, where his son Samuel now lives, on section 28. Jacob Weaver, a son, owns land on sections 7, 8, 17, and 18. Esther, a daughter, married Russell McCoy. who lived for many years in Buchanan. Fanny married Charles Clark, of Indiana. Elizabeth married Andrew Inglewright, who settled in 1835 or 1836 on section 7. Polly married John Juday. David Weaver, another son, lives in Dayton, Bertrand township. Joseph Coveny, a native of Ireland, emigrated to this country, and in 1836 located 40 acres, where he now lives, on section 5. He now has 600 acres. Of thirteen children, ten are living, -four are on the farm, two are settled near. John Gordon came from Portage in 1835, and settled on the same section. Absalom Colvin and his brother Wilkinson came from Ohio in 1838, and located on sections 3 and 4, where his son George now lives. He was justice of the peace, and went to California in 1852, and died there. John Inglewright settled near St. Joseph River, on section 2. He manufactured wooden bowls and sold them through the country. His son Andrew lives south of James Coveny. Godfrey Boil, in 1834 or 1835, settled on section 6, where his descendants still reside. John Juday, a tanner by trade, came from Portage in 1834 or 1835, settled on sections 7 and 18, and married Polly, daughter of John Weaver. David and Jacob Weaver, sons of John Weaver, came to this part of the town. Jacob TOWNSHIP OF BUCHANAN. 177 still lives here. David lives in Dayton. Charles McCracken emigrated in 1837 from Pennsylvania, and located 160 acres on section 5, where he still lives. In 1835, Amos Irwin took up 160 acres on section 16, where Alvan Tomlinson now lives In 1854 he moved to Dayton, Ohio. Jacob Dragoo emigrated from Virginia in 1834, and bought a claim of Robert Martindale. He lived here about three years when his wife died, and he soon followed. Uel Dragoo, a son, emigrated in 1835, with his wife and son, and bought a claim of 80 acres, adjoining his father, of - Blake. He lived there two years, when, upon the death of his father, he with his brothers and sisters returned to Virginia. The lands they had located having been selected as seminary lands, $20 per acre was the price settled upon, and they gave them up. After about two years, or in 1840, John F., Peter, and Michael returned to Buchanan. John F. settled near Wagner's saw-mill, and in two or three years bought on Moccasin Flat on the river, and was boating for several years. Michael went to California. Uel came back from Virginia in 1844, and bought 47 acres on Moccasin Flat of a Frenchman by the name of Louis Cotoway, who married an Indian woman, and had lived there many years. In 1835, Uel went to California, but soon returned, and is now living in the village of Buchanan. Hiram Weese emigrated from Ohio to Indiana, and in 1837 to Niles township, on the east bank of St. Joseph River, opposite the village of Buchanan, with his wife and three children, and in 1840 crossed the river, bought two acres of land of Jacob D. Dutton, and built a log house and blacksmith-shop where Thomas Long lives. Here he opened the first blacksmith-shop in this section. He afterwards built the log house in which school was kept two terms in 1841 and 1842 by Angelina Bird. Mr. Weese was justice of the peace and postmaster in an early day, and is still living here. At that time Jacob Dutton lived under the hill at a place near the little mill of Rough & Pears. Robert Cathcart lived on the farm where Edward Smith now lives; John Hamilton, where John D. Ross resides; A. C. Day, where he still lives; Charles Cowles, where Horace Black resides; John Hatfield, east of Mr. Day. Dr. C. C. Wallin lived near Dutton, but soon afterwards moved to Terra Couple Prairie, where he practiced medicine. Darius Jennings emigrated from the State of New York and lived for a time at St. Joseph, during which time he was boating on the river. He was a captain of the " Mishawaka" at a later date. In 1835 he located on section 26, now owned by Hannah Montague, it being at the foot of Moccasin Bluff. He was well educated, was the first township clerk, and filled other positions of importance. He afterwards removed to Illinois and died there. Seth Sherwood was the first settler on the flats. His son Alonzo is living in Weesaw, and was an early settler in that township. Sebastian Overacker in 1834 settled up the McCoy Creek, near what became known as the Martindale settlement, on section 34. He afterwards removed to Bertrand. William McIntyre settled in 1835 on section 33, now owned by S. Allen. Enos Holmes in 1836 emigrated from Attica, N. Y., purchased 135 acres, part of it in the township of Buchanan, but the greater part being that part of section 4 in Bertrand 23 that was ceded in 1828. He went back to New York State and lived there ten years, but in 1846 returned and lived here till his death,. May 23, 1869. He has three sons living-Eli, on the homestead, John G., editor of the Berrien County Record at Buchanan, and Daniel, who lives on section 36, in Weesaw. ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIP. The town derived its name from James Buchanan. At the time of its organization there were about 27 families in its territory. The act by which it was erected (approved March 11, 1837) provided that " all that portion of the county of Berrien, being so much of township seven south, of range eighteen west, as lies west of the St. Joseph River, be, and the same is hereby, set off and organized into a separate township, by the name of Buchanan, and the first township-meeting shall be held at the house of C. C. Wallin in said township." In accordance with this act the first meeting was held at the house of Charles C. Wallin, near the mouth of McCoy's Creek, on the 3d of April, 1837. C. C. Wallin was chosen moderator of the meeting, and Darius Jennings clerk. Fifteen votes were cast, and the following officers were declared elected: Supervisor, Charles C. Wallin; Township Clerk, Darius E. Jennings; Assessors, S. S. Sherwood, John Hatfield, and D. E. Jennings; Highway Commissioners, Charles Cowles, Absalom Colvin, William Wagner; Constable, A. C. Day; Collector, A. C. Day; Justices, Wm. Wagner, A. Colvin, D. E. Jennings, Charles Cowles. EARLY ELECTIONS. The second election was a special election for members of Congress. It was held at the house of John Weaver, Aug. 21 and 22, 1837. Twenty-seven votes were cast, 25 for Hezekiah G. Wells and 2 for Isaac E. Crary. The third election was held Nov. 6th and 7th, and was a general election for Governor, State senators and representative, judge of probate, and register of deeds. At the election 31 votes were cast, of which Charles C. Trowbridge received, for Governor, 24, and Stevens T. Mason 7. The first Presidential election after the organization of the town was held Nov. 2 and 3, 1840. Sixty-one votes were cast; 31 were cast for the Democratic electors and 30 for the Whig electors, this being the exciting campaign of " Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." Every voter was undoubtedly out, and from 15 votes the number had increased fourfold. At the Presidential election in 1844 it had increased to 124; in 1848, —; in 1852, 215; in 1856, 260; in 1860, 340; in 1864, 410; in 1870, 520; in 1874, 483; in 1876, 739. The first census taken in the township was in 1840, when the population was 264; in 1845, 630; in 1854, 1282; in 1860, 1728; in 1864, 1974; in 1870, 2973; in 1874, 2880. The report of the last census (1874) showed 15,613 acres, in farms, 179 farm-houses, 2321 acres of wheat grow ing, and 444 acres devoted to orchards. The same census shows the following crops raised in 1873: 28,481 bushels of wheat, 44,999 bushels of corn, 12,707 bushels of all 178 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. other grain, 6896 bushels of apples, 1040 bushels of peaches, 300 bushels of pears. The valuation of the township by the first assessment (1837) was: real estate, $45,000; personal estate, $1377; total, $46,377. Valuation of real estate, 1876, $461,730; personal estate, $92,795; total, $554.525. Increase in thirty-nine years, $508,148. The following-named citizens of Buchanan have represented their districts in the Senate and House of Representatives: Senate, L. P. Alexander, 1870; Levi Sparks, 1873; Francis H. Berrick, 1875. House of Representatives, John Grove, 1845-46; John D. Ross, 1854; L. P. Alexander, 1860; E. M. Plimpton, 1866. Member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867, L. P. Alexander. Below is given a list of persons who have held the offices of supervisor, clerk, and justice of the peace in Buchanan, from the organization of the town to the present year: SUPERVISORS. 1837, Charles C. Wallin; 1838-40, Darius Jennings; 1841, Henry Vanderhoff; 1842, John Juday; 1843, Darius Jennings; 1844, Edward Ballengee; 1845-46, John Juday; 1847, George A. Demont; 1848-51, John Juday; 1852, Wm. S. Merrill; 1853, L. P. Alexander; 1854, Wm. S. Merrill; 1855, Darius Jennings; 1856, John Newton; 1857-58, L. P. Alexander; 1859-61, Charles Clark; 1862, John Newton; 1863, George F. Hemingway; 1864 -72, Amos H. Clark; 1873, Lorenzo P. Alexander; 1874, Nathaniel B. Collins; 1875-77, L. P. Alexander; 1878, Leander P. Fox; 1879, Benjamin F. Fish. TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1837, Darius Jennings; 1838-40, Aaron Chapman; 1841-43, John Martindale, Jr.; 1844, David Sanford; 1845, J. tI. Service; 1846, G. W. Reynolds; 1847-48, John Grove; 1849-53, Hiram Weese; 1854-56, Nathaniel B. Collins; 1857-58, Zalmon Lyon; 1859, Hiram Weese; 1860-62, Wm. S. Merrill; 1863, Daniel M. R. Wilson; 1864, Win. S. Merrill; 1865-67, Norris H. Merrill; 1868, Enoch A. Ross; 1869-72, David E. Hinman; 1873, Wm. H. Epley; 1874, L. P. Alexander; 1875-77, Willie E. Plimpton; 1878, Levi Sparks; 1879, Albert A. Worthington. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1837, John Juday, Robert Cathcart were elected; 1838, Robert Cathcart, Robert Martindale; 1839, Absalom Colvin,.Hezekiah Mitchell; 1840, Darius Jennings, John Gordon; 1841, John Martindale; 1842, Iiram Weese, John F. Dragoo, John Juday; 1843, Edward Ballengee, Absalom Calvin; 1844, Watson Roe; 1845, David Fish; 1846, Hiram Weese; 1847, Absalom Colvin; 1848, David Wagner; 1849, John F. Dragoo; 1850, Hiram Weese; 1851, Darius E. Jennings; 1852, Nathaniel B. Collins; 1855, Amos Clark; 1856, Nathaniel B. Collins, Hiram Weese; 1858, Jacob Henry; 1859, Amos H. Clark; 1860, Win. S. Merrill; 1861, John Newton; 1862, Peachy Wray; 1863, Alonzo Sherwood, Enoch A. Ross; 1866, Edward Ballengee, John T. Beckwith; 1867, Enoch A. Ross; 1868, Wm. S. Merrill, David Fisk; 1869, David Fisk, Jacob E. Miller; 1870, Edward Ballengee, Levi W. Spaulding; 1871, David E. Hinman, Levi W. Spaulding; 1872, Levi W. Spaulding; 1873, Nathaniel B. Collins, Lorenzo P. Alexander; 1874, Edward Ballengee; 1875, L. P. Alexander, John T. Beckwith; 1876, Levi W. Spaulding; 1877, J. T. Beckwith; 1878, John W. R. Lister, Henry Bradley; 1879, John C. Dick, Edward Ballengee. SCHOOLS. School District No. 1 in the township was organized May 12, 1838, and comprised sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 25, 26, 27, and 28, being four miles long and two wide. The first school inspectors were Aram Chapman and John Martindale. The first school-house was built of logs, and stood on the east side of section 25, on the west bank of McCoy Creek. It was burned in 1841. Another was built in its place. Angelina Bird was the first teacher in the township. She taught in a log house that had been used by Mr. Wallin, near the mouth of McCoy Creek. After the log house was built in the village she taught there. Jane Porter also taught in this house. Eggleston Smith was the first to teach in the frame house built in 1843, and was succeeded by Theron Bordan, Charles Comstock, W. S. Merrill, and others. In 1843 a frame school-house 20 by 40 was erected on lot No. 23, in the John Hamilton plat, at a cost of $170. The district at that time contained 50 children of school age. In 1854 the district reorganized, under the law, into a union school district, and erected a two-story brick edifice, 30 by 40 feet in size, at a cost of about $4800. At this time there were in the district 160 children enrolled. In 1871, the number of children having increased to 570, between the ages of five and twenty years, it was deemed advisable to erect a new school building, and the present edifice was erected, 78 by 80 feet on the ground and three stories high above the basement, containing eight recitation-rooms and one lecture-room, and furnished throughout with modern furniture. It is located on the south side of Chicago Street, on a square containing seven acres, in the southwest part of the village. The lot was purchased of N. B. Collins for $3500, and the building was erected at a cost of $36,500, including the furniture and fixtures. In 1869, $5000 was raised by tax; in 1870,$2000; and in 1871 bonds were issued to the amount of $32,000. The indebtedness is at present $22,000. The report of the director of the district (L. P. Alexander) for the year 1878 gives the number of children in the district between the ages of five and twenty years as 620; school attendance, 360; 1 male teacher, 7 female; amount paid teachers, $2845. Receipts for the year: on hand, Sept. 1, 1877, $1965.66; 2-mill tax, $601.04; primary-school fund, $322; tuition of non-resident scholars, $39.30; district tax, $6207.80. Expenditures: on bonded indebtedness, $4662.79; other purposes, $1280.47. The records of the union school district for the years prior to 1870 are lost. From that year to the present time, the list of trustees of the district is as follows: 1870.-William Osborne, Charles Clark, William Pears, George H. Richards, John D. Ross, and William S. Merrill. 1871.-William Oshorne, Charles Clark, William Pears, John D. Ross, George H. Richards, and W. W. Wells. 1872.-William Osborne, George H. Richards, Seth Smith, William Pears, John D. Ross, W. W. Wells. 1873.-Alfred Richards, W. W. Wells, J. J. Van Riper, George H. Richards, Seth Smith, William Pears. 1874.-Alfred Richards, W. W. Wells, J. J. Van Riper, William Pears, J. M. Roe, S. Smith. 1875.-Alfred Richards, W. W. Wells, J. J. Van Riper, L. P. Fox, L. P. Alexander, J. M. Roe. 1876.-F. H. Berrick, E. M. Plimpton, J. M. Roe, L. P. Alexander, L. P. Fox, William Pears. 1877.-L. P. Alexander, L. P. Fox, F. H. Berrick, E. M. Plimpton, J. M. Roe, William Pears. 1878.-L. P. Alexander, L. P. Fox, J. M. Roe, William Pears, F. H. Berrick, E. M. Plimpton. 1879.-E. M. Plimpton, J. J. Van Riper, L. P. Alexander, L. P. Fox, J. M. Roe, William Pears. TOWNSHIP OF BUCHANAN. 179 I School District No. 2, known as Sherwood District, was organized May 12, 1839, to comprise sections 22, 23, 14, 15, 16, 11, 12, and 13, and the south half of sections 9 and 10, being nearly three miles square. The first school-house in this district was built in 1839. The children in the district at that time between four and eighteen years of age were 9 in number. In 1875 there were 50 children from five to twenty years of age. A frame school-house was erected, at a cost of $100; wages of teachers, $158; total expenditure, $204.47. William Kelly, director of District No. 2, makes the following report for 1878: number of children of school age, 48; number of children attending school during the year, 58; non-resident pupils, 11; one fiame school-house, value, $1000; teachers employed, 2; amount paid teachers, $274; total expenditure for the year, $336.51; no indebtedness. School District No. 3, known as Marshall District, was organized April 6, 1839, and formed principally from Districts Nos. 1 and 2. It had at that time 13 children between four and eighteen years of age. In 1873 a brick school-house was erected, at a cost of $1800. R. Morgan, director of District No. 3, reports for 1878: 55 children of school age, 48 attending school; 1 brick school-house, capacity 60 sittings, value $1800; 2 teachers employed; amount paid teachers, $184; received of primaryschool fund, $27; total expenditures, $268.86. No indebtedness. School District No. 4, known as Coveney District, was organized March 1, 1845, to comprise sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and the northwest quarter of section 18. The first school-house was built of logs, and was erected in the year of the organization of the district. It then had 14 children enrolled. The present frame building was erected in 1868, at a cost of $1200. L. W. Spaulding, director of District No. 3, makes the following report for 1878: 46 children enrolled, 40 attending school; 1 frame school-house, with capacity of 50 sittings, value $1000; 2 teachers employed; amount paid, $155; primary-school fund received, $25.50; total expenditures, $278.07. No indebtedness. School District No. 5, known as Wagner District, was organized March 1, 1845, and had at that date within its territory 16 children of school age enrolled. The first building was frame and built in the same year. The present house was built in 1864, at a cost of $1200. E. A. Beckwith, director of District No. 5, reports for 1878 as follows: 90 children enrolled, and 62 attending school; 1 frame school-house, capacity of 100 sittings, value $800; 2 teachers employed; amount paid teachers, $228.75; received from primary-school fund, $44.50; total expenditures, $440.04. School District No. 6, known as Inglewright District, was organized July 15, 1848, and contained at that time 17 school-children; a frame school-house was erected that year. In 1876 a brick edifice was erected at a cost of $1000. Frank Bolton, director for this district, reports for 1878: 38 children enrolled, 30 of whom attend school; 1 brick school-house, with a capacity of 56 sittings, value $1000; 2 teachers employed; amount paid teachers, $118; primaryschool fund received, $19.60; total expenditures, $245.18. Indebtedness, $500. School District No. 7, known as Kelsey District, was organized in 1875. A brick school-house was erected in the same year, at a cost of $900; 35 school-children of school age were enrolled. In 1878, Erastus Kelsey, director for this district, reported 40 children enrolled, of whom 31 attended school; 1 brick school-house, with 52 sittings, value, $1000; 2 teachers employed; amount paid them, $80; received primary-school fund, $19; total expenditures, $809.07. No indebtedness. Besides the districts above mentioned there are three fractional school districts in Buchanan, with houses in other towns. The first primary-school money drawn from the State funds for this township was in June, 1839, and amounted to $32.64. At that time there were three school districts, and the apportionment of money was as follows: District No. 1, $18.56; District No. 2, $5.76; District No. 3, $8.32,-being divided on a basis of 64 cents to each scholar. The office of school inspector in the township of Buchanan has been held, since 1837, by the following-named persons, viz.: 1838, Aram Chapman, John Martindale; 1839, Robert Cathcart, John Martindale; 1840, Darius E. Jennings, Robert Cathcart, Charles C. Wallin; 1841, John Martindale, Darius Jennings, Hiram Bennett; 1842, John Martindale, Robert Cathcart, Hiram Bennett; 1843, Alonzo Bennett, A. B. Staples; 1844, John Grove, John Martindale, Jr.; 1845, John Martindale, Jr.; 1846, John Grove, William C. Harrison; 1847, John Grove, John Martindale; 1848, Daniel B. Mide; 1849, William S. Merrill; 1850, Andrew Foster; 1851, 1853-54, William S. Merrill; 1855, John M. Roe, William B. Perrott; 1856, David Fisk, John Newton; 1857, John Newton, J. M. Roe; 1858, William M. Roe; 1859, IHezekiah J. Home; 1860, William M. Roe; 1861, Elisha B. Sherwood; 1862, William M. Roe; 1863, Stephen P. Bassett; 1866, William M. Roe, Emory M. Plimpton; 1867, Emory M. Plimpton, David Fisk; 1868, David Fisk; 1869, William M. Roe; 1870, Charles 11. Parketon; 1871, John M. Roe, John Graham; 1872, Emory M. Plimpton; 1873, John M. Roe; 1874-77, Emory M. Plimpton; 1878, John M. Roe; 1879, George II. Richards. The office of superintendent of schools was created in 1876. The first superintendent was Robert H. Rogers, elected in 1876, and again in 1877. His successors were Nathan Johnson, in 1878, and Herbert C. Smith, in 1879. VILLAGE OF BUCHANAN. In the original plat of the township sections 25 and 26 were reserved for university lands, and were not in the market until about 1834. Charles Cowles and John Hatfield had settled on the southwest quarter of section 25, and in 1834 they sold their claims to Dr. C. C. Wallin. In 1842, John Hamilton pre-empted the southwest quarter of the same section. John Hamilton, Wm. Murphy, David Ralph, Joseph McKnight, and Ira Mansfield purchased the southeast quarter of section 26. David Sanford purchased the northwest quarter of section 36, and Andrew C. Day the northeast quarter of section 35. On these four quarter-sections and in the valley of Me 180 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. -I Coy's Creek the village is built. The creek that passes through it was named from Rev. Isaac McCoy, of the Carey Mission, who, before the permanent settlement of the whites, preached to the Indians on a bluff near here, and for whom they built a wigwam. An Indian village was located in the east part of the present village, and on the small creek that passes through section 36. This village was called Mis-aqua-kee, and contained about 25 families. The village plat, bearing date July 21, 1842, was laid out by John Hamilton, and contained about 40 acres. The additions that have been made to its limits are as follows: first addition, A. B. Staples, in 1844; second addition, Joseph Demont, in 1845; third addition, -, in 1852; fourth addition, Andrew C. Day, in 1857; fifth addition, Ross and Alexander, in 1864; sixth addition, J. D. Ross, in 1865; seventh addition, A. B. Clark, in 1865; eighth addition, Nathaniel B. Collins, in 1868; ninth addition, Mrs. Wm. Bainton, in 1868; tenth addition, Lewis Bryant, in 1868. The village now has the St. Joseph River for its northern boundary, and the property of the Michigan Central Railroad for its southern. At the time the village was laid out John Hamilton owned and operated a flour-mill on the stream. His dwelling was where John D. Ross' residence now is. Andrew C. Day lived where he still resides. A store on the site of Ross block was occupied by Stanley & Staples. The village of Buchanan was incorporated in 1858, and the first charter election was held March 3d, in that year. The officers elected were James M. Matthews, President; Wm. Rook, C. J. Ingersoll, Dr. J. M. Roe, Alfred Richard, Michael Hess, and Daniel Totten, Trustees; George W. Begole and John W. R. Lister, Assessors; B. R. Blanchard, Treasurer; N. B. Collins, Clerk. The officers of the village of Buchanan from its incorporation to 1879 have been as follows: PRESIDENTS. 1858, James M. Matthews; 1859, John D. Ross; 1860, Daniel Perrine; 1861-63, John D. Ross; 1864-65, N. B. Collins; 1866, John D. Ross; 1867-71, Charles Clark; 1872, William Pears; 1873-76, Charles S. Black; 1877, William Pears; 1878, Francis H. Berrick; 1879, John D. Ross. TREASURERS. 1858, B. R. Blanchard; 1859, Nathaniel Hamilton; 1860, George W. Begole; 1861, D. E. Terriere; 1862, Garrett Morris; 1864, J. HI. Roe; 1865, Homer N. Hathaway; 1866, Sanford Smith; 1867, L. P. Fox; 1868, S. Miller; 1870, L. P. Fox; 1871, S. L. Estes; 1872, Willis Rise; 1873-75, Orange W. Rose; 1876, Samuel Miller; 1877, A. F. Ross; 1878, Horace H. Kinyon; 1879, George Churchill. CLERKS. 1858-59, Nathaniel B. Collins; 1860, H. B. Strong; 1861, J. M. Albert; 1862, Alonzo Bennett; 1863-66, Enoch A. Ross; 1867-70, N. H. Merrill; 1871-72, W. D. Kingery. RECORDERS. 1873, Daniel Terriere; 1874, D. A. Wagner; 1875-79, Benjamin D. Harper. TRUSTEES. 1858.-William Rook, C. J. Ingersoll, John M. Roe, Alfred Richards, Michael Hess, Daniel Totten. 1859. —John D. Miller, arles ark, Daniel Totten, renzo P. Alex ander, William F. Molsbury, John M, Roe. 1860.-John D. Miller, Michael Hess, J. M. Russell, John M. Albert, William H. Bainton, L. P. Alexander. 1861.-C. J. Ingersoll, P. M. Weaver, John M. Roe, Andrew C. Day, William B. Perrott, Alfred Richards. 1862.-Andrew C. Day, John D. Miller, William B. Perrott, Julius M. Russell, Charles Clark, Hezekiah H. Howe. 1863.-G. F. Hemingway, L. P. Alexander, T. L. Ross, R. M. Busco, M. Iless, J. M. Roe. 1864.-Daniel Totten, George R. Treat, William G. Boswell, J. M. Roe, M. Hess, L. P. Alexander. 1865.-Andrew C. Day, L. P. Alexander, John D. Miller, George R. Treat, David Totten, William Pears. 1866.-Iomer N. Hathaway, John M. Roe, Elijah Beck, L. P. Alexander, John D. Miller, A. C. Day. 1867.-Nathaniel B. Collins, William Pears, Charles S. Black, John M. Roe, A. C. Day, Elijah Beck. 1868.-Alier S. IIarrington, John Graham, Isaac C. Elston, William Pears, Charles S. Black, N. B. Collins. 1869.-Benjamin E. Binns, Richard A. De Mont, Theoderick F. C. Dodd, John M. Roe, John Graham, Almer S. Harrington. 1870.-John M. Roe, H. H. Howe, B. E. Binns, - Richards, William Pears, R. A. De Mont. 1871.-Benjamin E. Binns, Hezekiah II. Howe, William Osborne, William Pears, John Graham, John D. Ross. 1872.-Charles S. Black, Andrew C. Day, John D. Ross, William Osborne, B. E. Binns, - Osborne. MEMBERS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL. 1873.-Charles H. Rea, Solomon L. Beardsley, John D. Ross, John Buckles, Benjamin E. Binns, Andrew C. Day. 1874.-Hiram N. Mowrey, Ezra M. Griffin, B. E. Binns, J. D. Ross, John Buckles, C. H. Rea. 1875.-Hezekiah 11. Howe, Richard A. De Mont, Harrison Glover, B. E. Binns, E. M. Griffin, 11. N. Mowrey. 1876.-B. E. Binns, George Churchill, Horace F. Strong, R. A. De Mont, E. M. Griffin, 11. H. Howe. 1877.-Nathaniel Iamilton, lHirani N. Mowrey, George Richards, B. E. Binns, George Churchill, Horace F. Strong. 1878.-John M. Roe, Nathaniel Johnson, Charles S. Black, Nathaniel HIamilton, W. D. Kingery, I1. N. Mowery. 1879.-William Osborne, Orange W. Rose, Charles H. Rea, Nathaniel Johnson, Charles S. Black, John M. Roe. The population of the village when organized was 860, and in 1878 was 2300. It contains 463 private residences (11 of them of brick), one hotel (the Dunbar House), six churches, one public hall, four three-story brick business blocks, with stores, offices, etc., twenty-two store and business frame buildings, two livery-stables, three flouring-mills (water-power), four smith-shops, broom-handle factory, one cabinet-wareroom, two planing-mills, one machine-shop, three steam saw-mills, one saw-mill, one coffin-factory, three bedstead and furniture-manufactluring establishments, two wagon and carriage manufactories, two paint-shops, iron-foundry, zinc collar-pad manufactory, two carpet-stretcher factories, one cheese-factory, two harness-shops, three shoe-shops, three millinery-stores, three tailor-shops, three dressmakingshops, three photographers, three dentists, three barbershops, two bakeries, three markets, one brick manufactory, four dry-goods stores, six groceries, three drug-stores, two clothing-stores, two boot- and shoe-stores, two hardwarestores, two jewelry and watchmakers' stores, one newsdealer, four physicians, four lawyers, and two newspaper offices.* The number of persons employed in the different manufacturing establishments is over 400; capital invested, $288,000; value of products per annum, $375,000. 5* The Berries County Record and Buchanan Reporter are published here. The history of these papers, as well as others which have existed here, will be found in the general history, with the press of the county. JOSEPH COVENEY. MRS. JOSEPH COVENEY. JOSEPH COVENEY. Joseph Coveney, whose portrait with that of his wife is given upon this page, was born in Cork Co., Ireland, March 29, 1805. He attended the parish school until thirteen years of age, when he went to learn the trade of weaver. Wishing to see and know something of America, he, at the age of twenty years, without friend or companion, crossed the ocean in the ship " William," and landed in New York May 26, 1826. Here he learned the carpenter's trade, and worked at it four years in that city. He removed to Schuylkill Co., Pa., and worked at the same trade there for two years. In 1833 he moved to Portage, and continued at his trade at Egberttown or Portage Point. He built a house there; but the project for forming a settlement failing, he removed to the edge of the prairie (Portage), remaining one year. In the fall of 1837 he married Louisa, eldest daughter of William and Polly Roe, and in the spring of the same year settled on forty acres of land on section 5, Buchanan township, having previously purchased it at the land-office at Bronson. Here he decided to stay and make for himself and family a home. This land was not improved. He commenced his work by erecting a log cabin, in which he and his estimable wife commenced life. He has since built a more commodious house and improved his farm, adding to the original forty acres from time to time until he now owns six hundred acres, located northwest of the village of Buchanan. Wheat is the principal product of his farm, three thousand bushels being raised in 1877. In 1849, when the " gold fever" raged in this part of the country, Mr. Coveney, with two others in company, started for California, going the overland route with an ox-team. Arriving there, they went to work in the mines at Weaverville. Mr. Coveney remained only one year, returning home by the way of Panama and the Mississippi River. His stay in California, though short, was not an unprofitable one financially. He has made two trips to Europe, and visited England and Ireland, the last trip taking with him his little daughter Leila. He has retired from active life, his sons attending to the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Coveney have had thirteen children, of whom ten are living. In character Mr. Coveney is industrious, economical, and of a genial temperament. By hard work and prudent management he has become possessed of a fine farm. He is esteemed as a shrewd business man, a good, practical farmer, an intelligent citizen, and is respected by his neighbors. In his religious belief he is an ardent follower of Thomas Paine, and, like Ingersoll, never hesitates to express his views at any time or place. He erected a beautiful monument in Oak Ridge Cemetery at Buchanan, at a cost of nearly three thousand dollars, upon which were inscribed some of his peculiar sentiments. We quote his own words concerning the same and its defacement: "I was raised in a Catholic country, but it remained for a Protestant Christian to try to refuse me the right to maintain this monument in a public cemetery. I had inscribed thereon some of my sentiments on the religious fallacies of the day. These inscriptions, not coinciding with the views of the orthodox element, a minister's son, urged on by Christian hate, marred and defaced the monument in a barbarous manner. His act received the commendation of some of the strictly orthodox, though it is but fair to say that all of the most prominent citizens of Buchanan condemned the act, and used every effort to prevent its repetition." The monument is a model of workmanship, and an ornament to the cemetery, although at a close view the stain of the tobacco juice mars its beauty. Mrs. Coveney has labored side by side with her husband in all the vicissitudes of the new country, where they made their early home, and has ever been an industrious and faithful wife; a helpmate, indeed, to her husband, rearing a large family of children. The work of a mother in such a life is no easy task, but with ever willing heart and hand she ministered to all the wants of the family in sickness and health. Hers is a labor of love, receiving its reward in the love and respect of all her family and friends. b0:: i::: I:f:: I: TOWNSHIP OF BUCHANAN. 181 MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. Wagon-shops of Rough Brothers.-Before 1845, Jacob Luther commenced the manufacture of wagons where the large factory stands to-day. He soon sold to Cronymiller Brothers, who in 1849 sold to Alfred Richards. He soon associated with him as partner Nathaniel Collins. John D. Miller purchased the interest of Mr. Collins, and soon after that of Mr. Richards. In the spring of 1865, E. H. Beardsley & Son purchased the Miller works, and increased their capacity. The factory was destroyed by fire, and the red buildings were then built. In 1872 a stock company was formed, including the property of the Beardsleys, called the Buchanan Manufacturing Company, with a capital of $40,000, and afterwards increased to $60,000. The stock was taken by all classes in the village, and in the same year the present brick building was erected, 40 by 129 feet and four stories high. In 1875, A. C. Day and Solomon Rough purchased the entire interest, and in June, 1879, the Rough Brothers, consisting of William R. Rough, Solomon Rough, and George H. Rough, purchased the works. About forty hands are constantly employed here in the manufacture of carriages and wagons of all kinds. About 1500 wagons are manufactured annually. Sales are made mostly in Michigan, but to some extent in all parts of the South and West. Teic Buchanan Manufacturing Compan)y. In 1872 a stock company was organized in Buchanan, with a capital of $20,000, for the purpose of manufacturing furniture. It consisted of about thirty stockholders. Andrew C. Day was President, and William Osborne, Secretary and Manager. The buildings now occupied by the company were purchased of Smith & Ellison, who erected them for the manufacture of handles. Business was immediately commenced, and about twenty-five or thirty men were employed. The capital was afterwards increased to $40,000, the number of men employed was increased to seventy, and the capacity of the machinery was doubled. The factory is located on Oak Street, near the Michigan Central Railroad, with warehouses near the track. Bedsteads and lounges are a specialty~ Goods are shipped to all parts of the West and South. William Pears is President, and William Osborne, Secretary and Manager. The Furniture-Factory of Black & Willard.-This firm was first started in New Buffalo in 1855, and removed to Buchanan in 1860; commenced work on Oak Street, and removed to the building known as " Fort Sumter" in 1872, and in 1875 to the building where they now are. In 1865, Mr. Willard sold to C. S. Black, and the firm continued till 1872, when H. S. Black took the entire business and continued alone till 1875, when Mr. Willard again became a partner, and the business is now carried on by them. They manufacture furniture of all kinds, bedsteads principally. Goods sold West and South. The Furniture-Factory of Spencer & Barnes.-This business was commenced in July, 1874, by B. H. Spencer, with whom A. Willard was associated for a short time. In December, 1875, John E. Barnes became a partner, and the business has been continued by them to the present time. Their specialties are bedsteads, centre-tables, and hatracks. Their sales are made in Canada, and in the West ern and Southern States. Their factory is on the east side of the street leading to the depot. The Zinc Collar-Pad Company was formed in 1870 by Dexter Curtis (the patentee), George H. Richards, and Henry Gilman. They manufactured first near the depot. In 1875 they built the present brick building. Mr. Gilman retired from the firm in 1878. Nearly 2,000,000 pads of the company's manufacture are in use, and they manufacture annually from 7000 to 10,000 dozen. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Buchanan Lodge, No. 68, F. and A. 31., was instituted Jan. 13,1854, with Caleb J. Ingersoll, W. M.; S. M. Griswold, S. W.; Nathaniel Hamilton, J. W. The lodge has at present 85 members. Its meetings are held in their hall in Day's block. The present officers are Seth Smith, W. M.; Truman Franklin, S. W.; John Parrott, J. W.; Wilbin Smith, Treas.; L. P. Alexander, Sec. Summit Lodge, No. 192, F. and A. /.l, was instituted Jan. 10, 1867, with Nathaniel Hamilton, WV. M.; John D. Miller, S. W.; C. C. Bartlett, J. W. The present officers are H. N. Mowrey, W. M.; Frank Munson, S. W.; J. N. Murphy, J. W.; George Churchill, Treas.; and B. D. Harper, Sec. Present membership, 79. Meetings are held in Burns' block. BBuchanan Lodge, No. 75, I1. of 0. F., was instituted Sept. 5, 1855. The present officers are W. W. Smith, N. G.; Leroy H. Dodd, V. G.; John C. Dick, Sec.; W. J. Himes, Treas. Present number, 62. Meetings are held in Odd-Fellows' Hall, corner of Front and Main Streets. Buchanan Lodge, No. 186, 1. 0. of G. T., was instituted May 10, 1875, with 49 charter members. The officers were J. H. Roe, W. C. T.; Mrs. A. J. Russell, W. V. T.; J. T. Terflinger, W. C.; Joseph M. Rogers, W. Sec.; Miss Maria Sampson, Asst. Sec.; Walter J. Himes, F. Sec.; L. P. Fox, Treas. The lodge has a present membership of 65. Its meetings are held in Good Templars' Hall, in Roe's block. The present officers are J. H. Roe, W. C. T.; Mrs. A. J. Eykner, W. V. T.; Walter Osborn, Sec.; H. J. Hall, Treas.; Miss Emma Smith, F. Sec. POST-OFFICE AND POSTMASTERS. The post-office was first established at the village of Buchanan in 1848, when John D. Ross was appointed postmaster. The office was kept in the store of Mr. Ross, and the business of the first quarter amounted to $12. In 1852, Hiram Weese was appointed. His successors have been John D. Ross, Dr. C. J. Ingersoll, William Parrott, L. P. Alexander, Howell Strong, William S. Merrill, and L. P. Alexander, who is the present incumbent. In the first six months of 1876, 19,998 stamps were sold from this office; and in the first six months of 1879, 31,063 stamps and 16,329 postal cards. FARMERS AND MANUFACTURERS' BANK. In 1852, T. M. Fulton and J. D. Ross started a private bank at Buchanan, and in 1869 bought out the banking interest of George M. Colby, at Niles. Mr. Ross took charge of the business at Buchanan and Mr. Fulton at Niles. Later, Mr. Fulton sold the business at Niles and returned to Buchanan. In September, 1872, the bank became the 182 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. First National Bank of Buchanan, with a capital of $50,000; T. M. Fulton, President; A. T. Ross, Cashier; J. D. Ross, William Pears, Jesse Helmick, George Smith, Charles Jewett, Directors. Dec. 31, 1873, the bank again became a private bank, and is now carried on by J. D. Ross & Son. The business was at first conducted in the store of Mr. Ross, but in 1865 the present brick building was erected. CEMETERIES. In 1844 a few men purchased of Mr. Mitchell an acre of land for a cemetery. The ground was surveyed by Edward Ballengee. The first person buried in it was a child of David Sanford. July 20, 1863, a committee was appointed to examine locations and report in reference to the purchase of ground for a new cemetery. The committee reported, April 23, 1864, in favor of purchasing Warner Hamilton's lot at $500. The report was accepted, adopted, the lot was purchased at the price named, and has since been in use as a cemetery. RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS IN BUCHANAN. The First Presbyterian Church.-On the 22d day of May, 1847, the following-named persons, members of the Presbyterian Church, convened at the house of Uriel Enos, in the village of Buchanan, for the purpose of making arrangements to organize a Presbyterian Church, viz.: J. D. Dutton, Jeremiah Ketchum, Warner Hooker, Uriel Enos, Charles Baker, and John Marhoff. Warner Hooker was called to the chair, J. Ketchum was chosen clerk, and the meeting "Resolved that a Presbyterian Church be organized on the 19th of June next, and that Messrs. Enos, Dutton, and Baker be a committee to procure ministerial aid for that purpose." On June 19, 1847, the meeting convened pursuant to adjournment, and proceeded to organize a church, the Rev. Luther Humphrey and Rev. P. S. Pratt being present. Certificates of membership and dismission from other churches were presented by the following persons, who were thereupon received as members: J. D. Dutton, Almira Dutton, Jeremiah Ketchum, Phoebe Ketchum, Uriel Enos, Emily M. Enos, Warner Hooker, Charles Baker, Francis Enos, Loretta J. Enos, Benjamin S. Enos, and Franklin B. Wallin. The organization was named the First Presbyterian Church of Buchanan. Warner Hooker, Jeremiah Ketchum, and Uriel Enos were elected elders, and Uriel Enos clerk. October 2d of the same year the Rev. Porter B. Parry was engaged as stated supply, and remained until February, 1853. While the church was under his care the meetinghouse was built. From this time the church was in a low condition until August, 1859, when the Rev. Elisha B. Sherwood was appointed by the Presbytery of Kalamazoo to examine into its condition, and if possible to build it up. It was resolved by the members to resume active and energetic efforts to that end. Several joined the church by letters from other churches. A call was extended to the Rev. E. B. Sherwood to become their pastor, Oct. 9, 1859. lie accepted, and entered upon his duties November 1st in the same year, and remained until the latter part of 1861. Nov. 8, 1863, Rev. William Fuller entered upon the pastorate for one year, but remained until early in 1870. The Rev. Henry Bridges was pastor during the year 1871. His successor was the Rev. W. W. Wells, who is still the pastor. Services were held for seven years in private houses. In 1849-50 the first church edifice was built where it still stands. After the Rev. Mr. Parry discontinued his relation as pastor, in 1853, and the church began to languish, the house was leased for five years to the Methodist denomination. In 1859 the church again occupied their house of worship, and have continued to do so to the present time. During the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Parry 30 members were added to the church. During the discontinuance of services, and until the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Stoddard, the membership declined, and but 16 remained on the church roll at the time of his coming. During his ministry 39 were added to the church. In 1865, 97 members had joined the church from the beginning, and at this writing it has a membership of 120, with a Sunday-school of 100 members, of which R. H. Rogers is superintendent. lethodist Episcopal Church.-In the summer of 1831, John Hunter, his wife Martha, their son Thomas J., and their daughter Sarah, presented letters from a church in Ohio to the Methodist Church at Niles, then under the charge of the Rev. William Sprague. They lived in the township of Niles, on the east bank of the St. Joseph River. Very soon after their joining the church at Niles prayer-meetings were held at the house of John Hunter, anl these soon developed into the formation of a class. The Rev. J. F. Robe, an itinerant minister, was the first to preach in that section, and he was succeeded by Thomas McCool and Richard Meek. A few years later, in 1842 or 1843, the settlement at Buchanan had become of some importance, and the remaining portion of this class, with others, organized a class at Buchanan, at the house of David Sanford, who was the first class-leader. T. J. Huntcr, David Sanford, James Swift and wife, James Slater and wife, Mr. Hobart and wife, and Mrs. Dr. Harrison were among the first members. Services were held at private houses, and at the old schoolhouse, until the new school-house was built, in 1843, when they were held there. In 1853 the society leased the Presbyterian meeting-house for five years. In 1860 the present brick edifice was erected. The ministers succeeding Mr. Meek were the Revs. Hill, Shaw, Lee, Campbell, Osborne, Prouty, Glass, King, R. Pengilly, J. F. Robe, J. W. Robinson, V. G. Boynton, L. M. Edmonds, Harder, W. G. Hoag, J. Fowler, - Jakeway, T. George, J. B. Berry, William M. Copeland, N. L. Brockway, Levi Tarr, A. J. Rumell, H. Worthington, and A. J. White, who is the present pastor. The church contains 100 members, with a Sunday-sclool of 150 members, of which W. A. Leveson is Superintendent; Miss Emma Smith, Librarian; Miss G. Michel, Secretary; B. T. Murray, Treasurer. Church of the Disciples of Christ.-The people in the village of Buchanan who were interested in the views of the above denomination met together in the school-house on the 17th day of December, 1854, for the purpose of TOWNSHIP OF BUCHANAN. 183 organizing a church. The following persons gave in their names, and were constituted a church under the above name, viz.: A. W. McCollum, Elizabeth McCollum, Margaret McCollum, Cornelius Sparks, Susannah Sparks, Newton Baldwin, Sophia Bates, William P. Birdsall, Adelia Birdsall, John M. Roe, Robert M. Roe, Harriet Roe, Jesse J. Roe, Ann M. Roe, Levi Sparks, Maria Sparks, and James Case. A. W. McCollum and William P. Birdsall were chosen elders; Newton Baldwin and Levi Sparks, deacons. The first pastor was Rev. William M. Roe, who remained in charge until about 1862. He was succeeded by the Revs. Marsh, - Jackson, D. H. Gary, Jesse J. Roe, A. J. Wilson, H. T. Morrison, and William P. Birdsall, who is the present pastor. Since the organization 536 persons have been admitted to the church. Three hundred names are still on the books. About 100 are in actual attendance. A Sunday-school containing about 75 members is in connection with the church, of which Jesse J. Roe is superintendent. Services were held in the school-house until 1859, when the present church was built. Church of the United Brethren.-This church was organized about 1846, by the Rev. Josiah Terrel and the Rev. Mr. Babcock. The Rev. Mr. Terrel had preached at this place occasionally prior to the organization of the class. The first members were John Hatfield and wife, Mrs. Charles Cowles, Mrs. Hess, Mrs. Capt. Ingersoll, and Mrs. Maria Dutton. Meetings were first held in John Hatfield's house (that stood across the street from where Andrew C. Day lives), and part of the time in a carding-mill, across the street from where the grist-mill owned by John Kingery now stands. In 1819 the present church was erected, being the first church built in the village. The church was supplied by ministers on the circuit until Sept. 15, 1866, when it was detached from Berrien circuit, and made a mission station. Rev. George Sickafoose was the first pastor after the change. He was succeeded by J. T. Bartmess, W. Terflinger, George Sickafoose, and Robert C. Barton, the present pastor. The church numbered 57 in 1873, but is now reduced to about 25. The following are among the ministers who preached while the church was under charge of the circuit: Jesse B. Sleight, Emsley Lamb, Snip, Johnson, Wells, Freeman, and - Thomas. Advent Christian Church.-In 1851 or 1852 the Rev. D. R. Mansfield and Mrs. M. S. Mansfield, his wife, came to the village of Buchanan from Union Mills, Ind., and preached the views of the Adventists in the church of the United Brethren. From that preaching began the movement that soon culminated in the organization of a society, by Alfred Richard, J. R. Lister, George B. Cottrel, and 12 or 15 others, mostly members of other denominations. Services were held in the church of the United Brethren for a time, afterwards in the ball-room of the hotel. J. R. Lister was the first pastor. Mr. and Mrs. Mansfield were here quite often for a year or two; and in about 1856, Rev. Mr. Mansfield and his wife became settled over the church, and re mained for some time. They were succeeded by Darius Matthewson, Dr. F. H. Berrick, J. S. Mendell, and George Cole. About 1863 the church membership had increased to 282, and the society was the largest in the West. About this time the Voice of the West was started here. A division on doctrinal questions sprang up, and about 100 went off from the main body and organized a society. About 1855 their first house was built, west of the Disciples' church. In May, 1866, the present building was commenced, and was dedicated Nov. 3, 1867. Mrs. M. S. Mansfield delivered the dedicatory sermon. The church was legally organized April 5, 1866. H. J. Howe, Philip Holler, E. M. Griffin, P. M. Weaver, Sanford Smith, Alfred Richards, and J. V. Himes were elected trustees. In 1875 the membership was 147. Baptist Church.-A church of this denomination was organized in the spring of 1869, with about 40 members. The righlt hand of fellowship was given by the Rev. Mr. Russell. The services were held in the Methodist church. The regular meetings were held for several years in the hall now known as Kinyon Hall and in the Advent church. The pastors who have served the church are the Revs. R ussell, - Maybin, and -- Smith. The church is now without a pastor, and has but few members. Covenant meetings are held once a month. Dunkards.-This denomination was numerous through the northern part of Indiana at an early day, and upon the advent of settlers here some of them held their views. A prominent man among them was John Weaver, at whose house they met as early as 1838-39, he being the minister who preached to them. The society soon increased to 12 or 15 members. Meetings were held in the Berks schoolhouse, Oronoko, and Wagner school-house, Buchanan, and they are still held there, as the society has no meeting-house nearer than the Portage Prairie brick church. They now number about 80 in the county, and communion and soup feast are held once a year at Jacob Weaver's house. The name Dunkard is universally applied to this sect, but they are otherwise known as " The Brethren." The Church of God.-The history of this church is contained in the history of the Advent Church until March 16, 1853, when a division occurred, and from that there were two distinct societies. This one contained 13 members, and they retained the church. J. W. R. Lister and R. Bronson were elders in the old society, and continued to hold the position in this society. J. W. Lister was the first pastor after the division, and he was succeeded by the Rev. J. W. Stevenson, F. H. Berrick, and J. W. R. Lister, who is the present pastor. The society has now 31 members. Religious Societies in Buchanan in 1865.-A report made by the Rev. William Fuller in 1865 showed the numbers and condition of the several religious denominations in Buchanan at that time to be as follows: United Brethren, about 20 members; a house, and preaching once in two weeks. Methodist Episcopal Church, about 80 members; a good brick house, and preaching every Sabbath. Presbyterian Church, about 56 members; a comfortable house, and preaching every Sabbath. 184 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Campbellites, or Christians, about 180 members; a good house, and preaching every Sabbath. Second Adventists, No. 1, about 135 members; a poor chapel, and preaching two Sabbaths in a month. Second Adventists, No. 2, about 50 members; the same poor chapel, and preaching every other Sabbath. Besides, there were two local Protestant Methodist ministers, with a few brethren of that order, and some Universalists. SERVICES OF A BUCHANAN LADY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. Mrs. 'Hannah L. Carlisle was born in Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1823. The family removed to Orleans Co., N. Y., when she was four years old. In 1850 she came to Cassopolis, and in 1852 married Daniel Carlisle, and in 1854 removed to near Buchanan on a farm. Upon the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion she was strongly impelled to offer her services as nurse, and upon the organization of the 2d Michigan Cavalry she left her home and family and went with the regiment, Nov. 14, 1861, to St. Louis. After reaching the city she was assigned to the regimental hospital, where she remained until the regiment was transferred to Fort Donelson, in February, 1862, when she returned home. On the night of July 14, 1862, she received a telegram from the Sanitary Commission in Chicago, asking her to report for duty the next day. She did so, and was met by a gentleman at the train, and reported at the Massasoit House. Orders were soon received to report at Post Hospital No. 1, Columbus, Ky., under the charge of Dr. Ransom, of Roscoe, Ill., and Gen. Quimby, in charge of Fort Halleck. Mrs. Carlisle remained at this hospital until the close of the war, when she entered the Freedmen's Department as superintendent and teacher, and remained in that connection one year, and returned to the duties of home July 3, 1866. Mrs. Carlisle is now living in Buchanan. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. HON. LORENZO P. ALEXANDER was born in Angelica, Allegany Co., N. Y., Aug. 10, 1820. His father, Thomas P. Alexander, was a native of New Hampshire; was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a descendant of the Alexanders of Glasgow, Scotland. His mother's maiden name was White; born and raised in Boston, Mass., and was a descendant of the Whites of Belfast, Ireland. When he was seven years old, his parents moved from Angelica to Belfast, in the same county, locating on the Genesee River. His father was postmaster in Belfast from 1833 until 1857. In September, 1841, at the age of twenty-one, he left home and friends for the West, and on the 11th of October following landed in Buchanan, Berrien Co., Mich., where he still resides. At that time, what is now the village of Buchanan consisted of four cabins, a grist-mill, saw-mill, and distillery. Being a car penter and joiner, he went to work at his trade the following winter, putting up a foot-lathe, and manufacturing splint-bottom chairs and rakes,-this being the first enter prise of the kind in that part of the State. In 1824 he married Miss Rachel Cooper, daughter of Price Cooper, and a school-mate in his school-days in the East. Three children were born to them, -two sons and a daughter,viz., Theodore, who was drowned at the age of ten years; the youngest, Carlton, died of croup at the age of four years; Emily Kate is the wife of Henry C. French, a hardware merchant of Cassopolis, Mich., to whom she was married in 1870; Mrs. L. P. Alexander, died, 1859, at the age of thirty-eight years. He married Miss Helen M., daughter of John Burns, of Belfast, N. Y., Aug. 26, 1860. They have one son, John Burns, now twelve years of age. In 1846, Mr. Alexander erected a frame dwelling-house on Main Street, Buchanan, in which he resided until 1864. In 1848 lie, in company with J. D. Ross, erected a twostory stone building on Front Street, Buchanan, engaging the same year in the manufacture of boots and shoes in company with Dr. C. C. Wallin. In 1850 he engaged in the general mercantile business with J. D. & T. S. Ross, under the firm-name of J. D. Ross & Co. In 1858, T. S. Ross withdrew from the firm, after which the business was conducted in the firm-name of Ross & Alexander. They did a large business, averaging seventy thousand dollars annually for several years. In 1858 they erected the first threestory brick block in the place, on the corner of Front and Main Streets, and occupied it as a store-room. In 1862 they built another brick block, called " Union Block," on the south side of Front Street. During the erection of the second block the first one burned down. In 1862 they purchased forty acres of land within the corporate limits of the village, laying the same out in town lots, being known as Ross & Alexander's addition to Buchanan, which is now a central part of the residence portion of the village. In 1865, Mr. Alexander built a two-story brick dwelling-house on Front Street, which he occupied as a residence until 1873, then selling it for six thousand five hundred dollars. In 1875 he again erected a dwelling on Front Street, in the most central part of the town, in which he now resides. Mr. Alexander was the contractor and builder of the High School building erected in 1871, built of brick, three stories high above basement, costing thirty-five thousand dollars; and personally superintended the work. Politically, he was in early life a Democrat, voting with that party until 1852. But when the South, aided by Northern Democrats in Congress, repealed the Missouri Compromise, thereby extending slavery into free territory, he ceased to act with that party, and in 1854 took part in the newly-organized Republican party, being one of its first and most active supporters in the place. In 1844, at the age of twenty-three, he was elected captain of Company E, 27th Regiment Michigan militia, to which he was com'missioned by Governor Barry; he was soon promoted and commissioned by the Governor, colonel of the 28th Regiment, 14th Brigade, 17th Division of Michigan militia. Mr. Alexander enjoys the respect and confidence of those around him, as will be seen by the many offices of honor and trust he has been called by them to fill,-all of which he has filled with honor to himself and satisfaction to his friends. From 1847 to 1851 he was constable and township treasurer. In 1851, 1853, and 1855 he was elected TOWNSHIP OF BUCHANAN. 185 supervisor. From 1848 to 1859, director of schools. In 1860 was elected by the Republicans of the second district of Berrien County (comprising Niles City) representative in the State Legislature, and was, therefore, a member of the House of Representatives during many long and extra sessions, on account of the important legislation during that time of war. From 1863 to 1866 he was postmaster of Buchanan during Johnson's administration; was removed by PostmasterGeneral Randall for not complying with a request to sanc Niles, one of the most popular men in the county, and the hardest to defeat. In 1873 he was one of the commissioners appointed by the President to receive proposals and locate the site for the government buildings and post-office buildings at Grand Rapids, Mich. He was elected supervisor of Buchanan in 1872, '73, '74, '75, '76, and 1877; was assessor of the village and justice of the peace during the time; and, as the records show, was elected each time by nearly a unanimous vote. All of these offices he resigned in 1877. He is now a member of the school board Photo. by H. E. Bradley, Buchanan. tion the so-called Philadelphia Convention, he being opposed to allowing late rebels to occupy front seats in the councils of the nation. In June, 1864, he was chosen one of the Michigan delegates to the Republican National Convention held at Baltimore, Md., which nominated President Lincoln, and was honored by the convention with a position on the committee to wait upon the President and other nominees, and formally notify them of the action of the convention. In 1870 he was elected State senator from Berrien County, his competitor being the late Hon. R. C. Paine, of JACOB J. VAN RIPER, of Buchanan, Mich., attorney at the Berrien County bar, was born at Haverstraw, Rockland Co., N. Y., March 8, 1838. His parents were John and Leah Van Riper; his father an inventor of some repute, and a manufacturer of woolen goods. Jacob J. went to New York at an early day, and continued to reside there and at Brooklyn until he was nineteen, then removed to Cass Co., Mich. 24 and director of the graded and high school, which position he has held for the past five years. In 1877 he was commissioned by President Hayes postmaster of Buchanan, which office he now holds. He was for many years one of the village trustees. After all these years of labor, Mr. Alexander-now fiftynine years of age-is an active, stirring business man, and it is the earnest wish of his many friends that his days may be long on the earth, and that when, at last, his sun sinks behind the western horizon, it may descend to rise in the first resurrection. He received a good academic education in New York, attending the New York Conference Seminary and Collegiate Institute. After his removal to Michigan he taught school, and in 1860 commenced the study of law, attending law lectures in the University of Michigan in 1860-61, and was admitted to practice in January, 1863, opening an office in Dowagiac, Cass Co., where he practiced until September, 1872, at which time he removed to Buchanan, 186 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. where he now resides. Some of the most important cases in this section of the county have been given him. He has also had an extensive practice as a jury advocate, and has in this been eminently successful. While abhorring political rings and trickery, he has been more or less interested in politics. During the war he held the office of deputy collector of road aid schemes of the State. These arguments were highly spoken of by the press of Detroit and other places, and he reeeived letters of congratulation from Governor Crapo and others. Since that time he has refused all offices except in the line of his profession. In the fall of 1876 and 1878 he was elected by the Republican party JACOB J. Vi internal revenue for Cass County, and subsequently that of assistant assessor of internal revenue. In 1867 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Michigan, in which he was next to the youngest member. While serving on the judiciary committee and the committee on bill of rights he gained considerable reputation by his arguments against the railGEORGE H. RICHARDS was born in Bristol, England, July 10, 1817. His father, Henry Richards, was a native of Bath, England, and his mother, Sarah Burge, of Bristol, England. Both were of Quaker parentage, his mother still remaining a Quaker, and living at this date, 1879. The family moved to this country when the subject of this sketch was an infant, settling in Delaware, near Wilmington. When he was eight or nine years old the family returned to England on account of the father's health, remaining there about a year and a half. During that time he attended a Quaker school, then returned to New York City. Most of the time during which the family remained in the city he attended an academy between Harlem and Manhattanville, receiving early a fair English education. When he was about thirteen or fourteen years of age his father moved to Pennsylvania. From there he was sent to Wilmington, Del., to attend school. Photo. by H. E. Bradley, Buchanan. AN RIPER. prosecuting attorneynfor Berrien County, which position he now holds. In November, 1858, he married Miss Emma E. Bronner, an estimable lady of New York Mills. They have one son and two daughters. Mr. Van Riper is a hard student and worker in his profession. He has a large confidential business, and has made his life a success. While in Wilmington he conceived the idea of learning a trade, and served a regular apprenticeship at jobbing blacksmithing at Brandywine village, Del. Shortly after becoming of age he went to New York City, and worked a short time at machine-work. From there he went to Bridgeport, Conn., and worked at carriage-smithing, remaining until the spring of 1839, when he went to Marietta, Ohio, to work at this branch of business, and following it until 1842, when he engaged in engine- and machinework of various kinds, and also did the iron-work for several vessels; ironing two vessels at Marietta, and two at Point Pleasant, Va. One of the latter was a double-decked bark, loaded at the mouth of the Big Kanawha, W.Va., with corn, for Cork, Ireland, during the Irish famine. Feb. 27, 1845, he married Lucy Wood Rickard, of Marietta, Ohio. His family consists of eight children,-six girls and two boys,Sarah D. Richards, Joseph L., Martha E., Lucy B., Hattie TOWNSHIP OF BENTON. 187 T I L., Kitty F., Mary E., and George H., all living. Lucy Wood Rickard was born at Marietta, Dec. 11, 1821. Having acquired a good knowledge of machinery, and being a practical master mechanic, he commenced setting up engines on steamboats, and going South on them during the winter. He spent several winters in the South at various places,-New Orleans, Red River, Ouachita, Yazoo River, and many bayous, in the cotton and sugar trade. Tiring of this and of being so much away from his family, he conceived the thought of moving West. Selecting a farm just outside the then small village of Buchanan, he very soon found the change from active life in mechanism and steamboating to opening up a new farm too great, and, as favorable opportunities offered, he again engaged in putting up and working machinery, and in manufacturing; the first work of importance being the running of a large saw-mill at Charlotteville, and doing its general business three summers. Other parts of the years when not compelled to be on the farm were spent in putting machinery in order in mills of different kinds and distilleries. Finding that his business was again leading him from home, and that farming was not suited to his family, he sold his farm and moved to Buchanan, engaging in merchandising. Not liking the confinement of the store, he again engaged in working upon machinery, and took charge of the factory of Smith & Elston, remaining with one of the firm until the fall of 1870, when he engaged with the patentee of the Zinc Collar Pad to mature the pad and introduce it on the market. To speak of their success it will not be amiss to state that they were the largest consumers of zinc in the West for the years 1871, '72, and '73, using in the three years over four hundred thousand pounds of zinc made expressly for them. During the years of his life spent in Buchanan, he has been one of the representative men of the place, having been early selected in the interests of its schools, occupying the position of president of the school board most of the time, until he declined being a candidate for re-election. He has also identified himself with the prosperity and growth of the village, and its now extensive manufacturing interests, assisting the latter by freely taking stock, and serving the former as one of the members of the board of trustees for a number of years with credit to himself. In January, 1875, he became connected with the First National Bank, occupying the position of vice-president, which he still holds in the organization known as the Farmers and Manufacturers' Bank, which succeeded the First National in January, 1879. CHAPTER XXVII. BENTON TOWNSHIP.* Pioneer Settlers-Civil Organization and List of Officers-Highways -Benton Harbor-Village Incorporation —List of Village OfficersFire Department-Commerce and General Business of Benton Harbor-Millburg-Societies-Schools-Religious History. THIS township was named in honor of Col. Thomas H. Benton, of the United States Senate, March 11, 1837. In I the government surveys it is designated as town 4 south, in range 18 west. A small part of the northwestern corner of the township is cut off by Lake Michigan, reducing the area to about thirty-five and a half full sections. It is bounded on the north by Hagar, east by Bainbridge, south by Sodus, and west by St. Joseph. Benton partakes of the general characteristics of this part of the county, the surface being mainly level or slightly undulated by hills of moderate height. A limited portion is swampy, and not susceptible of cultivation without artificial drainage. In other parts the land lies high and is well drained. The principal stream is the Paw Paw River. It enters the township from the north near the centre of section 3, and flows in a tortuous course to the centre of the west line of section 18, where it passes into St. Joseph township. Its banks are low and the contiguous land marshy. Tributary to this stream are Blue and Ox Creeks, both having a general northwesterly course. The former flows from Bainbridge, near the centre of the east line, and for several miles its course in Benton is marked by high and almost precipitous banks, affording, for its volume, good water-power. It derives its name from the bluish tinge of its waters, caused by a peculiar earth found in its banks. Ox Creek is a smaller stream, and has its source in the lowlands of the southern part of the township. The surface of the township was originally covered with heavy forests of the common hard woods, and a considerable portion of pine, which made the work of clearing up the ground slow and burdensome. The soil is corresponding, varying from a light sand to a clayey loam, with small belts of stiff clay and alluvium. It is adapted for a wide range of products, and the greater portion is especially favorable for fruit culture. PIONEER SETTLERS. The sturdy pioneer did not rear his humble cabin in Benton as early as in some of the adjoining townships which offered more favorable conditions for settlement; and for many years after a beginning was made the ratio of the increase of population was very small. In 1840 there were only 237 souls within the bounds of Benton, and ten years later the number had not been doubled. Jehiel Enos first came to this part of the county, with a party of seven landseekers, in 1828, but returned to Ann Arbor without making a location. In the following year he returned to this part of the State, to assist Lucius Lyon in surveying the country bitween the St. Joseph and the lake, which had been but recently ceded to the United States by the Indians. In 1830 he moved to St. Joseph, but soon changed his residence to Royalton, where he resided three years. In 1834 he became the first settler of Benton, and since 1836 has resided on his present homestead, on section 13. He is the oldest settler of this part of the county, and one of the few remaining pioneers of this part of the State. Four of his children attained mature years. One of his sons, Buel, died in the army in 1863; another, Rolland, is a citizen of Pipestone; and a daughter is married to Simeon Woodruff. Joab Enos, a brother of the above, came to Benton in 1835, but after a few years moved to Pipestone, and from there to the West. In 1836, Henry B. Enos, their father, came from New I * By John L. Rockey. 188 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. York, but in a year took up his residence with his son, Dr. Morgan Enos, in Pipestone, where he died in 1849. James H. Enos came from Cayuga Co., N. Y., in 1835, to look at the country, and in the spring of 1836 moved to Benton with his family, consisting of his wife and two daughters, Juliette and Matilda. The latter has been dead many years, and Juliette is the wife of L. W. Pearl, of this township. Mrs. Enos died in 1871, but James H. Enos is yet living, with Mrs. Pearl, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Eleazer Morton came from Medina Co., Ohio, in 1834, and settled in Kalamazoo County. The following year he moved to St. Joseph, and in the spring of 1836 to the Morton homestead, on section 18 in Benton, where he died July 4, 1864. His wife died in September, 1856. At the time of their settlement in Benton they had ten children, one of the daughters being the wife of Thomas Conger, of St. Joseph. Of the five sons, Charles A., James M., and W. E. are deceased; George C. is a resident of Chicago, and Henry C. of Benton Harbor. He is the second oldest living settler in the township, and has been very prominently identified with it from the time when a handful of struggling settlers in the forest were its only inhabitants, until its present advanced position as one of the leading townships of the county. When the Mortons settled here the only other pioneers in this part of Benton were James Dalton, Joseph Caldwell, and John London. Dalton located on 80 acres of land, on section 19, in 1835, but removed to Chicago soon after. Joseph Caldwell and John Loudon also settled on the north side of the Paw Paw in 1835. The family of the former still resides there, on the land which was improved by them, but Loudon soon after removed to another part of the country. A year or so later James Higbee came from Ohio and settled on section 14. It is said that he purchased the first wolf-trap in the township, and by its use broke up a very troublesome pack of wolves whose depredations had caused the settlers considerable alarm. Mr. Higbee brought with him a large family, of whom James F., one of the older sons, is yet living in Benton, one of its most respected citizens. Another son, Uriel, was lost on the ill-fated "Hippocampus;" Isaac removed to Missouri; Tyler to Iowa; and Myron to the northern part of the State. Of the two daughters, one married George W. Hess, and the other Garrett Van Branklin. The former came from Ohio in 1839, and has since resided in the Millburg neighborhood. In 1837, Benjamin Johnson, a blacksmith by trade, settled on the Territorial road on section 14, and died in this locality not many years ago. Here yet live the oldest son, J. L. Johnson, and his brothers, Byron and Benjamin. Mrs. Johnson still lives in the township with one of her daughters, Mrs. T. Walker. North of the Johnsons, Jacob Van Horn settled about the same time, but left the town ship some years later. Soon after, John D. Bury, Stephen, Richard, and Cornelius Stanley, J. M. Gilbert, and George King became pioneers in the northeastern part of the township, where most of them yet reside, among the most honored citizens of Benton. Jeremiah Wilder, also a New Yorker, was a neighbor to the foregoing, but afterwards removed to Millburg. In the fall of 1840, Phineas Pearl came from the eastern part of the State, whither he had emigrated from New York in 1836, and located on section 25 on the Jonas Barrett place. The house, which yet stands, was built the following year, and is the oldest in that neighborhood. Mr. Pearl is yet living at Benton Harbor, ninety years of age, but retaining a remarkable amount of vigor, being as active as most men of threescore years. One of his sons, James, lost his life while boating on the St. Joseph in 1844. Other sons, Lewis W., Warren H., and George N., live in the wellknown Pearl neighborhood. One of the daughters is the widow of Selden Hull, and the other married James H. Jakeway, who lived on section 26, and whose family came to Benton about the same time as the Pearls. Several of the Jakeways became well known as Methodist ministers, and the family has always taken a leading part in affairs pertaining to the public good. In the same period Teddy McCrone settled on section 27, where in the forest wilds he made a home, which he yet occupies. Dennis and Patrick Murphy and Elijah Jennings were pioneers on the same section. The latter's place was afterwards occupied by David Abbe. On section 29, Daniel Olds was an early settler on the Samuel McGuigan place, but in 1830 he removed to California. On the same section A. J. Lake was a pioneer, and the place was afterwards occupied by Judge A. B. Leeds. Charles Chauncey, Selden Hull, O. M. Sykes, Thomas Closson, and others came about this period, and took an active part in developing the township. The assessment-roll of 1843 shows the condition of the settlements at that period to have been as follows:* Names. Sec. John D. Bury.......... 10 Jehial Enos.............. 13 James F. Higbee...... 23 " "(......14 "...... 22 George W. Hess...... 2 "....... 13 Elmer Jakeway....... 24 " "...... 25 " ( "....... 26 James Jakeway...... 25 Teddy McCrone......... 27 Phineas Pearl..........25 ".........26 Lewis W. Pearl........ 25 Warren H. Pearl...... 26 James Wilder......... 13 George Wilder......... 13 Thomas Conger......... 19 A. M. Chauncey...... 19 Joseph Caldwell....... 5 Robert Dickinson...... 5 Joseph Enos............ 13 Acres. 120 120 80 200 40 120 40 80 240 50 80 80 160 80 160 80 56 58 73 80 206 78 65 Names. Sec. Joseph Enos............ 24 Jonas Inman............ 2 Ebenezer Jakeway.... 13 i" "... 24 At cc... 26 Benjamin Johnson.... 15 William P. King...... 29 " "...... 32...... 33 Barnard Leonard...... 29 E. P. Mann............. 14 Eleazer Morton........ 18 t i......... 20 Dennis Murphy........ 33 D. and A. Olds......... 28 " "........ 29 Francis Pannell........ 5 It........ 6 it it........ 8 Jacob Van Horn....... 10 Nicholas Weckler...... 12 Jeremiah Wilder....... 13 Acres. 80 80 80 80 110 80 80 80 80 40 160 190 80 80 80 80 50 40 20 200 80 44 During the three succeeding years these settlers were joined by the following persons and their families, who settied in this township on the locations as indicated in the following roll: Names. Sec. 1844. Theron Graham...... 15 Myron Higbee......... '14 Selden Hull........... 16 Charles Hull........... 17 Richard Stanley....... 1 William P. Shaw..... 17 - - - ~ Acres. 80 40 120 80 124 042 Names. Sec. William P. Shaw.... 20 Hale Wakefield....... 16 i. W. Crabb............ 25 Elijah Jennings........ 27 A. B. Leeds............. 28 " "............. 29 Acres. 80 120 80 80 80 80.... * E. D. Cooke. -, - r., - ' - _ 7,,, e -,,,., - - j..,,,... -,? I A,, - -, t I.. - I .. 4,f --; I -, -,; `-` % 1-'!' ,r - - 77 7.,;t -:;-, z — i, I.'I,,, '! --- -- I I- -. - - -..I. r. - - -. I -. I I,, 1 , 0 " II I 0 -. e -, I I t ' o... I I. ",.1 -., - - ""'.77 7:7 ", , " 7777,, N '4 i I I RESIDENCE OF JAMES F. HIGBEFE, 8~lt7NT0NTP.,8ERR~iEN CO.MlcH. - (I, TOWNSHIP OF BENTON. 189 -T Names. Sec. Acres. Names. Sec. Acres. 1845. 1846. Micajah Chauncey..... 19 75 Hamilton Carey........ 35 40 D. 0. Woodruff......... 30 235 James Garrett.......... 6 80 S. Stanley................ 31 40 Daniel T. Hurd......... 28 160 Cornelius Stanley...... 2 80 Marcus 0. Hurd........ 28 160 Uriel Higbee............ 14 120 Patrick Murphy....... 28 80 Marvin Kent............ 15 136 After 1855 the population increased rapidly, the inhabitants, six years later, numbering 1028, and in 1870 there were 3116; while the valuation of property had increased from $115,893, in 1865, to $492,854, in 1870. CIVIL ORGANIZATION. On the 11th of March, 1837, the Legislature of the State enacted that the township should be organized with the name of Benton, and that the first election should be held at the public-house in the village of Millburg; but the population was so sparse that the provisions of the act were not given effect until four years later, the township remaining connected with St. Joseph for civil purposes until 1841. In April of that year the first election for township officers was held, and 13 votes were cast. Ephraim P. Mann was elected supervisor, James F. Higbee treasurer, Jebial Enos clerk, Phineas Pearl and Jacob Van Horn justices of the peace. At the general election in the following November, which was continued two days, 25 votes were cast. The records of Benton from that time until 1863 have been lost or destroyed, making it impossible to produce a complete list of civil officers for that period. Since 1863 the principal officers have been the following: SUPERVISORS. 1863-64, Samuel McGuigan; 1865-68, Isaac J. Hoag; 1869-70, Samuel Jackson; 1871-74, W. L. George; 1875, S. L. Van Camp. CLERKS. 1863, John C. Gates; 1864, E. N. Hatch; 1865, George R. Hopkins; 1866-68, M. G. Lamport; 1869-70, J. P. Thresher; 1871, Wm. H. Kidd; 1872, E. D. Cooke; 1873, Silas G. Antisdale; 1874, Wells Browne; 1875, Frank D. Conger; 1876, A. B. Bisbee; 1877, Calvin M. Edick; 1878-79, George M. Valentine. TREASURERS. 1863, George Peters; 1864, L. A. Hall; 1865-69, William T. Durry; 1870-72, James L. Winans; 1873-74, E. D. Cooke; 1875, Smith M. Wilcox; 1876, A. B. Leeds; 1877, Samuel Stuart; 1878-79, A. J. Kidd. In 1879 there were 605 votes polled, and there were elected, besides the above, Benjamin F. Rounds, Commissioner of Highways; John C. Lawrence, Superintendent of Schools; George Wright, School Inspector; William Randall, Drain Commissioner; Cushan Burr, George A. Slater, John A. Scott, and L. A. Swisher, Constables. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1863, Leander A. Hall; 1864, George Peters, John C. Gates; 1865, Sterne Bronson, George Parmelee; 1866, J. T. Smith; 1867, L. A. Hall; 1868, Josiah Swisher, H. L. Harris; 1869, G. W. Soles, D. T. Hurd; 1870, Martin Dodge, Jehial Enos; 1871, David J. Morrison, R. E. Hull, Alonzo Plummer; 1872, Josiah H. Swisher; 1873, Wells Browne, Mathias Hunt; 1874, Alonzo Plummer, Allen M. Randall; 1875, Josiah H. Swisher; 1876, D. V. Dix, James F. Higbee; 1877, Wells Browne; 1878, Alonzo Plummer; 1879, James F. Higbee. BENTON HIGHWAYS. Some of the roads of the township were located and built before it was organized. The well-known Territorial road was completed in 1835, so as to permit travel. It has since been much improved, and is yet one of the principal thoroughfares. The first road from Millburg south, Mr. Cooke informs us, was built by Phineas Pearl and the Jakeways. In many localities the early roads had to be corduroyed, and for many years they were barely passable. The later roads, and the highways in general, have been improved to an excellent condition, and some of them present the appearance of suburban streets, being lined with comfortable and in many instances costly homes. The early settlers experienced much difficulty in marketing their produce, on account of the bad roads across the marsh along the St. Joseph, and consequently the township has given liberal encouragement to the various projects for facilitating communication with distant marts. The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad received aid to the amount of $16,000 from Benton, and in 1871 built its line through the northwestern part of the township, a distance of about three miles, and located a station at Benton Harbor. But the greatest improvement the township has ever encouraged, and which has done more to develop its rich resources than any other measure, was TIHE BENTON HARBOR SHIP CANAL, which extends from the highlands in the western part of the township across the marsh to the St. Joseph River, a distance of nearly a mile. The story of the inception and progress of this enterprise was so well told by Edwin D. Cooke, in his Centennial address, July 4, 1876, that it is here reproduced entire. He said," The idea of dredging a ship-canal and building a village on the present site of Benton Harbor had long been entertained by the early settlers of this township, and was discussed as early as 1834, with the engineers who in that year surveyed through Benton township the route of the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad. But the discussion had waned, and the subject, though not entirely abandoned, lay dormant, awaiting a favorable breeze to fan it into life, until 1859, when it was revived with increased force by an apparently trivial circumstance. "Mr. Albert James, then residing with the Hon. H. C. Morton, on returning from a trip to St. Joseph. 'stuck in the mud' about halfway from St. Joseph. Mr. Charles Hull, en tote to St. Joseph, assisted in extricating Mr. James, who, covered with mud and dirt, made many discouraging remarks in relation to the future prosperity of this township. Mr. Hull, while seeking to revive his drooping spirits, gave utterance to this prophecy: ' Mr. James,' said he, ' in less than five years from now we shall see the waters of the lake extending in a ship-canal to the highland east of us, and a prosperous village on this flat and those bluffs.' The idea was so ludicrous to Mr. James that he related the prophecy, as a funny incident of his accident, on his return to Mr. Morton's. Mr. Sterne Bronson, who had recently moved into the township from Indiana, was present, and was so impressed with the feasibility of the idea that he immediately commenced the agitation of the subject, and the breeze which he created resulted in the appointment, by the citizens, of the Hon. Henry C. Morton, Sterne Bronson, and Charles Hull, as an executive committee, to take the matter in charge, raise the necessary subscriptions, etc. Mr. Morton and Mr. Bronson proceeded to Chicago and negotiated with Martin Green for the dredging of the canal. Mr. Green returned with them, and after long and careful deliberation, agreed to dig the canal on the following terms: Mr. H. C. Morton gave fifty-five acres of land lying east of Ox Creek. Mr. Charles Hull gave the undivided onehalf of forty acres of land lying along the proposed route of the canal. Mr. Sterne Bronson gave the undivided one-half of a nine-rod strip in the village, a building lot on the bluff, afterwards known as the Martin Green place, and a forty-acre seminary lot at the mouth of the canal. The above-named gentlemen also agreed to keep the dredge well supplied with wood, and raise a subscription of $1500, to be paid in cash, besides a large quantity of material for docking purposes. I 190 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The public responded promptly and liberally, and the contract, as above stated, was faithfully carried out. But the history of all great works indicates that the progressive road is not a smooth road, and the efforts of the dredge seemed to grow feebler day by day (as was asserted) for want of supplies. The committee were obliged to donate again, which they did, each one liberally, and yet again the work lagged and ceased, and again the committee came to the rescue with liberal donations. " The people of Benton Harbor and Benton township owe a debt of gratitude to these gentlemen which they will ever find it impossible to pay, and it is a peculiarly gratifying fact that each member of that committee still lives to see and enjoy with us the fruits of their early exertions, and that each one, residing as he does upon a separate bluff overlooking the scene of their early labors, may, from day to day, as they view the growth of our prosperous village and see the daily arrival of steamboats and vessels upon the waters of the canal, enjoy the complete fruition of their hopes. Though their visions may have been grand, their realization is grander still. "The canal was enlarged by Martin Green in 1868, on a contract with the township (assisted by voluntary contributions from individuals), which gave its bonds for $10,000, payable in annual installments, with interest. The bonds and interest have since been paid. It was deepened again during the summer of 1875, the township paying over $4000, and the village of Benton Harbor $10,000, which was assessed upon the rolls and raised by tax the same year. It is now capable of floating vessels of the largest size, in witness of which fact, behold the noble steamer, the ' Messenger,' which sails from this port daily." The canal was first but 25 feet wide, and was finished in 1862. The schoooner " J. C. Shank" was the first vessel to enter the canal and come up to the village. The canal was subsequently widened to more than 50 feet. THE VILLAGE OF BENTON HARBOR. The founding of this village followed in connection with the building of the canal. It was laid out in 1860 by Henry C. Morton, Sterne Bronson, M. G. Lamport, B. C. Lewis, Martin Green, Charles Hull, and others, and was named-after one of the most active promoters of the canal-Bronson's Harbor. In 1865 the name was changed to the present title as being a more suitable term. The original plat of the village has been enlarged by additions made by Windsor & Conger, Sorter & Rackliff, J. S. Kendricks, Boughton & Lewis, and others. The village is favorably located for an extensive trade, about a mile from St. Joseph, sixty-two miles from Chicago by lake and ninety-three by rail. The greater portion of the business is transacted on the flats, the adjacent bluffs being occupied by handsome residences and public edifices. The first building was put up by Fred. Spallinger in 1860, and was occupied as a grocery. It is yet standing near Gates & Bell's brick block. Later in that year, Capt. N. Robbins erected what might be called the first good building, and which also remains, being used as a public hall. The first hall or building for public gatherings was built by the Russells, and was destroyed by fire. In 1868-69 the first good brick block was put up by Bronson, Johnson & Reynolds. It is three stories high, and is generally called the " Reynolds Block." Soon after other substantial business blocks were erected, and from year to year a good class of buildings are taking the places of the wooden structures of the early years of Benton Harbor. The growth of the village is unprecedented in the history of Berrien County. Where in 1850 was a comparative waste of land, whose assessed valuation was only $893, with scarcely any signs of habitation, there is now one of the mostprosperous places in the State, populated by more than a thousand enterprising inhabitants. In 1875 the groundvalue of Benton Harbor was $95,310, and the State, county, and township tax was $6275.83, in comparison with $6.56 paid in 1850. The various interests of the village are noted in the following pages. In the early part of 1866, Sterne Bronson circulated a petition praying the Board of Supervisors to incorporate the village under the general law, as it had the required number of inhabitants and the general good of the place would be promoted by such a measure. At a meeting held by the citizens for this purpose, Henry C. Morton, Samuel McGuigan, A. B. Riford, and Sterne Bronson were appointed a committee to present the petition before the Supervisors, and although some opposition was manifested towards the measure, the prayer was granted and the first election for village officers was ordered to be held at the white school-house, July 7, 1866, under the inspectorship of J. F. Miller, John T. Smith, and N. Robbins. At the appointed time 83 votes were polled, and the following persons were elected as the first village officers of Benton Harbor: President, Samuel McGuigan; Trustees, Sterne Bronson, 0. Hubbard, Martin Green, A. Burridge, N. Robbins, G. K. Hopkins; Clerk, N. Babcock; Treasurer, J. C. Gates; Assessors, J. T. Smith, S. C. Martin; Marshal, James Trimble; Street Commissioners, J. Van Horn, C. Hanlin, John Morrison; Fire-Wardens, Loyal Nutting, James Trimble; Poundmaster, B. C. Lewis. In 1867 the president of the village was Samuel McGuigan, the clerk N. Babcock, and the treasurer, J. C. Gates. In 1868 these officers, in the above order, were Joseph Riford, H. S. Harris, and John Bell. In this period the village grew rapidly, and as the general law was found defective in some of its provisions, it was deemed advisable to reincorporate Benton Harbor under a special act of the Legislature. Accordingly, the Hon. A. B. Riford, of the village, who was at that time a member from this district in the Assembly, was requested to draft a charter, which, after being approved by the board, received the sanction of the State authorities April 3, 1869. By the terms of this charter, under which the village is at present governed, the limits were fixed to embrace all that tract of land situate in township No. 4 south, of ranges 18 and 19, described as follows: " Beginning half a mile west of the quarter post on the west side of section No. 19, running thence north parallel with a line half a mile east of the west lines of sections Nos. 8 and 19, to the east and west quarter line of section 18, thence west half a mile to the quarter post in the Paw Paw River, thence north on the section line thirty chains, thence west twenty chains to the centre of section 13, thence south one mile to the centre of section 24, thence east one mile to the place of beginning, shall be known as the village of Benton Harbor." It will be seen that half of the above-described corporation is situated in the township of Benton, and the other half in St. Joseph township. The qualified voters were to assemble at " American Hall," on the second Monday of April, 1869, to elect a I -: ~?~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - i??-~!77~ ~..: ~'" ~ ~~ — ~1:, ~~~-~.....:~-.;..e-i,l.. RESIDENCE oF G. N. LORD, BENTON HARBOR, BERRIEN CO., MICH. of7. ~7 TOWNSHIP OF BENTON. 191 -I president, clerk, marshal, treasurer, assessor, three trustees for one year, and three for two years. The president of the village to be a member of the Board of Trustees ex officio, and to be subject to like responsibilities as the other trustees. Power is conferred by the charter to appoint fire wardens and other necessary officers, and taxation limited not to exceed the sum of one-half per cent. on the valuation, exclusive of moneys needed for highway purposes. Special taxes not to exceed two per cent. At the election, which was held at the appointed time, 80 votes were polled, and the officers elected were: President, Joseph Riford; Clerk, H. S. Harris; Treasurer, J. L. Winans; Assessor, William J. Hess; Marshal, Jesse Johnson; Trustees (one year), H. C. Morton, G. K. Hopkins, Sterne Brofison; (two years), N. Robbins, M. Dodge, W. H. Kirby. Since 1869 the principal officers of the village have been the following: PRESIDENTS. 1870, Joseph Riford 1871, J. C. Ingham; 1872, Ira C. Abbott; 1873, Sterne Bronson; 1874-75, John Thomas; 1876-77, John C. Ingham; 1878, J. W. Leslie; 1879, H. L. Pitcher. CLERKS. 1870, A. B. Riford; 1871, H. H. Kidd; 1872, Alonzo Plummer; 1873 -75, Edwin D. Cooke; 1876-78, Henry L. Pitcher; 1879, George M. Valentine. TREASURERS. 1870-73, J. C. Winans; 1874-78, John Morrison; 1879, R. M. Kinney. TRUSTEES. 1870, Samuel McGuigan, J. C. Abbott, Martin Dodge; 1871, T. A. Walker, E. G. Reynolds, C. Colby; 1872, Patrick M. Kinney, George Rice, John C. Ingham; 1873, N. Robbins, J. H. Darsche, N. Rounds, C. Colby, J. N. Burridge; 1874, R. R. Worden, Patrick M. Kinney, Christopher S. Boyle; 1875, John H. Graham, H. W. Williams, J. N. Burridge; 1876, C. S. Boyle, Henry Worden, John Morrison; 1877, J. N. Burridge, Henry W. Williams, Jackson Russell; 1878, R. M. Worden, B. B. Eldridge, John Almandinger; 1879, R. D. Carnahan, I. W. Conkey, S. G. Antisdale. The assessor in 1879 was Joseph W. Weimer; Marshal, John McCormick; Deputy Marshal, George F. Rounds; Health Officer, Dr. John Bell; Fire-Wardens, Frank Nichols and John Gilson. The village has taken a decided position in favor of law and order, and " one of the first ordinances enacted was for the suppression of intemperance within the corporate limits, prescribing as a penalty immediate confinement in the jail, and, upon conviction, the payment of a fine not to exceed $10, and making it the duty of the marshal to immediately arrest intoxicated persons." Steps were also taken, in the early history of the village, to insure protection against fire. On the 10th of June, 1872, an election was held to vote a special tax of $800, to be expended in the purchase of a fire-engine. In due time the necessary apparatus was purchased, and the " Excelsior Engine Company" formed. On the 14th of March, 1874, it reported a list of 33 men, with D. W. Porter, Foreman; J. M. McCormick, Assistant Foreman; T. S. Gaylord, Secretary; P. M. Kinney, Treashrer; and W. D. Waters, Steward. In the course of a few years the village outgrew the hand-engine which first served it, and demanded apparatus of larger capacity. Accordingly, on the 20th of June, 1876, the corporation secured a fine Silsby steam fire-engine, at a cost of $4000. It received the name of" Tom Benton," and in July was placed in charge of F. Van Brickel as chief engineer. Since that period an excellent fire company has been maintained, and at present (1879) the chief engineer is J. M. McCormick. A number of good reservoirs and hydrants have been provided, and the village enjoys an unusual degree of security against fire. No general conflagrations have occurred, but several mills and factories have been burned. The corporation has greatly promoted the welfare of the village, securing good sidewalks, passable streets, and other desirable adjuncts of a well-ordered community. BENTON HARBOR COMMERCE. A commodious harbor has been constructed at the village, with convenient docks and warehouses, at which a number of boats are laden daily with the products of the township, the chief articles of export being lumber and fruit. The fruit shipments in 1871 were 10,376 bushels of strawberries, 5768 bushels of raspberries, 12,046 bushels of blackberries, 256,524 packages of peaches, 943 packages of pears, 651 packages of grapes, 15,000 barrels of apples. In 1877 the shipments were as follows: 285,003 baskets and 1274 crates of peaches, 1999 baskets of pears, 31,027 baskets of grapes, 55,407 crates of strawberries, 3076 crates and 275 baskets of cherries, 27,610 crates of raspberries, 7909 crates of blackberries, 1291 crates of huckleberries, 53,399 barrels, 1672 sacks, 3399 bushels, and 526 baskets of apples, 2032 barrels of cider. The shipments of 1879 largely exceeded the foregoing except in the item of peaches. For the week ending June 21st there were shipped by boat 29,942 half-bushel crates of berries, and the subsequent weeks show amounts almost as large. In 1871, Benton Harbor was made a port of entry, and A. B. Riford appointed collector of customs, entering upon the discharge of his duties in the spring of that year and serving till March 14, 1877. Andrew J. Kidd was then appointed collector, and still holds that office. Some time about 1864, Green, Allen & Co. (Martin Green, P. P. Allen, and J. P. Edwards) were actively engaged in the shipping business from this port, and had an interest in a line of good steamers to Chicago, among the boats being the " St. Joseph," " Benton," and " Van Raalte." In a few years the company retired from business and the boats were taken to other points. At present the propellers "Messenger" and " Skylark" leave every week-day evening for Chicago. Both boats are owned by citizens of the village. The " Messenger" is of 444 tons burden, carries a crew of 20 men, is owned by Graham, Morton & Co., and commanded by Capt. John Robinson. It was placed on this line in 1876. The " Skylark's" tonnage is 261, her crew numbers 14 men, her owner is H. W. Williams, and her captain John Morrison. The " Shepard" and " Edith," small boats, ply between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor every half-hour for local accommodation. GENERAL BUSINESS INTERESTS. A. M. Collins opened the first store, in 1861, in the building at present occupied by M. G. Lamport, who soon 192 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. after engaged in trade and yet continues. The same season Hatch & Durry opened a store in the Robbins building. Charles J. Smith had a general store, and H. L. Harris had a grocery-store. Other early and principal merchants were N. Robbins, B. C. Lewis, Stephen Boyle, Foster I. Parks, A. Burridge, and Gordon Brothers. The different branches of trade are at present represented by Pitcher, Jones & Sonner, R. J. David & Co., Ferry & Co., and S. B. Van Horn, dry goods; Clark & Hoag, O. S. Willey, M. J. Vincent, P. M. Kinney, C. S. Boyle, Schaus & Burridge, F. G. Rice, S. M. Austin & Co., and W. H. Edwards, groceries; M. G. Lamport and Platt & Bro., hardware; John Thomas and W. L. George, boots and shoes; John C. Gates, A. J. Kidd, J. R. Price, drugs and medicines; Kolman Brothers, notions; Judson Russell, produce dealer; J. H. Darche, fruit dealer; and eight or ten others. Many of these stores are large, and transact a heavy trade. The first hotel was the present " American House," which was built in 1861, by E. B. Whiting, and for some time kept by him. The house has repeatedly been enlarged and improved, and is at present well kept by Alonzo Vincent. Other landlords have been John Brown, A. M. Collins, Martin Dodge, and E. Nichols. The " Gartley House" was originally used by the " Excelsior Packing Company," in 1870, but was reconstructed for hotel purposes by Samuel McGuigan, who yet owns it, and has been kept by Samuel Stewart. This is also well patronized. The third hotel, the " Colfax House," has been kept several years by Martin Dodge. The village was first supplied with mail matter from the St. Joseph office, which was distributed by M. G. Lamport, Charles Hulbard, and others. In 1865 a government office was established with the name of the village, and Henry C. Morton postmaster. While he held that position the duties of the office were discharged by deputies Jacob Van Horn, John C. Gates, J. S. Morton. In 1873, J. P. Thresher received the appointment of postmaster, and served until 1877, when the present incumbent, A. B. Riford, succeeded to the position. The office has three mails per day by rail, a tri-weekly mail to Eastern points, and a daily mail by stage from Berrien. On the 1st of August, 1870, it became a postal money-order office. A private bank was established in the village, in 1875, by W. E. Higman, James Baley, and S. F. Heath, which is at present continued by the two first-named members of the firm. A neat office is occupied, and a flourishing business done. The first newspaper was the Benton Harbor Palladium, issued Oct. 9, 1868, by L. G. Merchant, and which is now edited by Charles E. Reeves. The Times was founded July 17, 1875, by William and Thomas Hurley, and is yet continued by them. The Lake Shore Daily News, also yet here issued, was established May 1, 1876. A full history of the press appears in the general history of the county. Dr. John Bell was the first physician in the village, and is yet an active practitioner. The other physicians are Drs. George W. Bell, Richard Winans, I. R. Dunning, E. A. Clark, and J. S. Mortlock, the latter two being homoeopathists. A few other physicians have practiced in the place, but removed to other points. R. A. Kneeland was the first dentist, and was followed by Dr. C. J. Hall. The first attorney was A. B. Riford, who located here in August, 1866, and yet follows his profession. Alonzo Plummer has practiced law since 1874, and since that period F. D. Orcutt, George M. Valentine, John A. Eastman, and A. H. Potter have established themselves here in practice. Among the lawyers who have removed have been E. F. Hyde, L. C. Fyfe, and A. C. Kingman. BENTON HARBOR MANUFACTORIES. In 1854, H. W. Williams put up a steam saw-mill on the northwest quarter of section 18, on the Paw Paw River, which had a capacity of 14,000 feet of lumber per day. It was destroyed by fire in 1875. In the village, J. H. Darche formerly carried on a foundry and plow-factory, which has been discontinued. A grist-mill, which was put up by James and W. H. Kirby, has also passed away. The Benton Harbor Custom- and Flouring-Mills, in the eastern part of the village, were partly built in 1871. Since that time they have been enlarged, and are at present operated by W. E. Bradley. The power is furnished by a 25 horse-power engine, and two runs of stone are in use. J. H. Graham & Co.'s Lumber-Mills were built some ten or twelve years ago, by Green, Allen & Co., in the western part of the village. They are supplied with large double engines and good machinery, giving them a capacity of 3,500,000 feet per year. Sixteen men are employed, and the mills are operated, chiefly on the hard woods, in the production of bill-stuff. The Benton Harbor Building and Manufacturing Establishment was commenced in 1874, by the erection by the citizens of the village of a large factory building, north oA the depot, supplied with an engine of 25 horse-power, which was given to George R. Wright & Brother as a bonus, conditioned upon the establishment of a " Washboard and Bung Factory," to give employment to 50 men. After a short period of work, on a small scale, the firm retired from business, and the factory was idle until May, 1879, when S. S. Ware occupied it as the proprietor of the above establishment. A large amount of general work is done, and the lumber-dressing business in all its forms is carried on for builders and contractors. Twelve men are given employment, under the foremanship of J. B. Winchell. The agent of the establishment is George R. Wright. The Excelsior Factory, on the west side of the canal, was established at St. Joseph in 1875, by H. W. Miller, and located at the present site in 1877 by a company formed for that purpose, and of which H. W. Miller is the president. A building 32 by 40 feet, two stories high, is occupied by machinery for the manufacture of " Excelsior," a thin, spiral shaving of wood for packing purposes, and for the filling of mattresses. About 3~ cords of basswood logs are consumed daily, and 7 men are employed to carry on the factory. John Thomas' Tannery was built in the spring of 1879, RESIDENCE OF LUTHER KINNEY, BENTON TP., BERRIEN Co., MICH. 77777,7 77777777777 77777 TOWNSHIP OF BENTON. 193 and has been in operation a few months. It contains sixteen vats, which are employed in tanning upper-leather with hemlock bark. Steam-power is used, and this tannery is said to be the only one in operation in the county. The Benton Harbor Furniture-Factory, A. Volsteck, proprietor, was established in the fall of 1865. The present factory has been occupied since 1873. It is a two-story building, 75 by 80 feet, and is supplied with power from a good engine of twenty-five horse-power capacity. The factory is operated on general household furniture, and employs five or six hands. In the same building is a part of C. Colby & Co.'s Fruit-Package and Basket-Factory, which properly dates from the year 1866, when C. Colby began the manufacture of fruit-packages in the village, using 100,000 feet of veneers that year. The consumption of that article has steadily increased, about 300,000 feet per year being used at the present time. The factory has been located at various points, and at the present place since 1873. The firm manufactures all kinds of fruit-packages, baskets, and veneer work, employing about 50 hands. Among the products are veneer plates, for the use of retail grocers. As many as half a million peach-baskets a year have been made at this factory, and other work in proportion. L. Carpenter & Co.'s Fruit-Basket and Package-Manufactory was established about the same time as the above, by L. & N. Hall, and has been operated since 1870 by the present firm. The appointments of the factory are complete, excellent machinery is used, and the power is supplied by a twenty horse-power engine. The Carpenter factory produces some work of peculiar construction, which is used with great favor by fruit-growers and dealers, and their wares have attained a wide reputation. Employment is given to 25 men. Ingham, Leslie & Co.'s Fruit-Package Factory, near the railroad depot, was established about 1870, by Colby, Ingham & Co., in the southern part of the village. The present firm took the factory in 1875, and in February, 1876, the old factory was burned. The present factory has been occupied since March of the same year, and embraces several large shops, the main building being 75 by 125 feet. It is supplied with good machinery, and the lathes were constructed after patterns prepared by J. W. Leslie. In addition to the ordinary fruit-packages, the firm also manufactures cigar-box lumber, head-lining for barrels, and veneers for various purposes. The factory employs from 25 to 75 men, and is operated the entire year. The present members of the firm are J. C. Ingham, J. W. Leslie, and E. L. McNitt. Samuel Genthe's Cooperage was established in 1872, for the manufacture of all kinds of barrels and casks. Ten men find steady employment in this factory. The village is also well supplied with the ordinary mechanic shops and smaller manufacturing interests. Benton Harbor Fruit-Packing and Canning Establishments.-In 1870 the " Excelsior Packing Company" began putting up fruit and vegetables in the building which is at present used as the Gartley House, putting up 35,000 cans that year, and increasing the product to 125,000 cans the second year. The company then retired from business, and two other companies were formed to pack vegetables and 25 fruit: the " Phoenix Packing Company" and the " Benton Harbor Packing Company." The latter was composed of Albert James, O. E. Mead, W. C. Hunter, and A. Plummer. They put up 800,000 cans that year. The following year the company dissolved. The " Phoenix Company" had as its members E. Nickerson, N. Robbins, and C. H. Tarbell; but in 1873 the first two members of the firm disposed of their interests to A. B. Riford and N. B. Hall, and the "Victor Packing Company" was formed. This firm put up the large packing establishment in the eastern part of the village, which is at present the place of business of the establishment next named. The Alden Evaporating and Canning Company was formed in 1877. The present officers are Alfred Russell, President; W. E. Higman, Secretary; C. M. Edick, Treasurer; and N. B. Hall, Superintendent. The establishment embraces a number of buildings,-the principal ones being 38 by 120 feet, 26 by 150 feet, 30 by 80 feet, and 80 by 100 feet, which are devoted to the various purposes of the company, including the manufacture of tin cans. This department gives employment to 15 men nine months per year. In the canning department 200 persons, chiefly women, are employed, working about fifteen hours per day during the canning season. The principal articles canned are the " Victor' and "Benton" tomatoes, about 500,000 3-pound cans per year; string-beans, about 25,000 2-pound cans; and apples, 4000 dozen 1-gallon cans. These goods are sold to the trade by C. E. Roe & Co., of Chicago, and large quantities are furnished to the government. Most of the vegetables consumed are grown on contract by parties living in the vicinity of the village, about 300 acres of tomatoes and 25 acres of beans being subject to the demands of the company. The present firm also controls the dry-houses and property of the old " Alden Evaporating Company." The buildings stand on several acres of ground, and embrace a large four-story structure, with an L wing containing two' dryers, arranged after the Alden method, whose capacity is 600 bushels of apples per day. They were erected in 1874, by O. E. Moore and Ralph Grove, and subsequently used by A. R. Nowlen and John Thomas & Co., and when in operation gave employment to 75 persons. Since 1877 they have not been in use, the energies of the company being directed more to the canning than the evaporating process. THE FRUIT INTERESTS OF BENTON may be appropriately noted in this connection. Fruit-trees were set out, soon after the settlement of the township, by the pioneers to supply their own wants, but fruit was not much cultivated for market until after 1850. In 1848, George Parmelee set out an orchard of two acres of budded peach-trees, of which the fruitage was so satisfactory that attention was directed to this business as the probable future industry of the people of the township. Larger orchards were planted with equally satisfactory results, the trees not only growing with remarkable thrift, but their products being a source of much revenue to their owners. The favorableness of the soil, climate, and other essential conditions being established, the population of the township was augmented with wonderful rapidity by those anxious 194 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. to engage in fruit culture. The price of land appreciated from a nominal price to fabulous figures, as much as $1000 per acre being paid; and the larger lots were subdivided into gardens of from three to ten acres, on many of which cottages were built, until many parts of the western half of the township bear the appearance of a vast straggling village. Others engaged in the business on a scale of greater magnitude. In 1857, Smith & Howell planted 60 acres of peach-trees, which was known as the Cincinnati orchard, and was for several years the largest in the State. The Parmelee orchard was increased until it comprised 90 acres. In 1873, when fruit-growing was at its best, there were 2677 orchards in the township. Of the lands devoted to this purpose, 214 acres were set to strawberries; 109, to raspberries; 134, to blackberries; and there were 32,110 grape-vines, 5427 cherry-trees, 204,721 peach-trees, 10,935 pear-trees, 67,092 apple-trees, 1223 plumn-trees, and 1453 quince-trees. In most respects Benton headed the list of the fruit townships of the county, the excess of peach-trees especially being very large. In a few years after this list was prepared the peach-trees were attacked by a disease popularly known as " the Yellows," which caused most of the orchards to die out, and this fruit at present forms a comparatively small amount of the products of the general interest, apples and the small fruits being the staples. In 1873 those who cultivated 15 acres or more of fruit in Benton were the following: George W. Antisdale, D. Boynton, M. E. Burridge, J. N. Burridge, Jacob Burridge, L. Canfield, George Carley, N. Castle, F. A. Chapman, H. C. Collins, E. G. Curtis, William Gates, H. H. Garland, Gates & Bell, 0. Harmon, S. F. Heath, J. F. Higbee, U. Higbee, H. Hilton, G. K. Hopkins, W. C. Hunter, J. C. Ingham, Samuel Jackson, A. James, J. L. Johnson, H. H. Kidd, A. B. Leeds, 0. Lozier, S. E. Martin, J. McAllister, E. A. Clave, George Meech, F. Morley, L. G. Moulton, E. Nickerson, A. R. Nowlen, A. J. Nowlen, Alfred Osborne, P. 0. Osborne, C. J. Owen, George Perkins, C. K. Pierce, George Powell, R. C. Reed, F. J. Ripley, W. D. Sherwood, Ezra Smith, C. C. Sutton, James Yanderveer, George Wright, J. W. Rose, S. Perkins, Mary Robinson, James Silvers, S. Snyder, T. N. Terry, L. M. Ward, R. Winans, P. Yore, W. Rose, W. S. Rowe, George Smith, J. M. Sortor, J. P. Thresher, H. F. White, J. Withey, I. J. Hoag, B. Fish. Since 1873 a number of changes in the ownership of the orchards have taken place, which cannot be here given. The general fruit products of the township can be seen from the shipments as given in the article on the commerce of Benton Harbor. Fruit-growing yet constitutes the chief industry of the people of Benton. MILLBURG. This is the oldest village in the township. It was platted in 1835, by Jehial Enos, of Benton and Amos S. Amsden, of St. Joseph, and received its name on account of the water-power at this place, which was improved about that time for milling purposes. It is located on the north bank of Blue Creek, in the eastern part of section 13, on the Bainbridge line, a part of the village being in that township. Originally, about twenty acres were platted for a village, and years ago the place promised to become a point of greater importance than it is at present. The canal and railroad have diverted whatever trade it had to Benton Harbor, and it is now simply a hamlet, having a post-office, mill, a few shops, about twenty houses, and a Disciples' Church. The Bainbridge post-office was established here about 1836, and had as the first postmaster James H. Enos. John T. Tabor was the next appointee, keeping it some distance from the village. The present post-office, which bears the name of the village, was established about 1852, with Enos Fenton as postmaster. His successors were Mrs. Fenton and the present Mrs. Hill. The office has a tri-weekly mail from Benton Harbor. The first store was kept by James H. Enos, about 1851. He sold to Ansel Winslow, who in turn was succeeded by Dix & Wakefield and D. D. Hurd, the latter being the last in trade in that building. Another store was opened in 1852, by Enos Fenton, who was in trade until about 1871, when William Randall & Brother engaged here as merchants, and continued until a few years ago. Only a small grocery-store is carried on at present. The first regular tavern was kept by the Winslows, in the former store building, which had been remodeled for this purpose. Subsequently, William Piersoll, Samuel Buchanan, and others entertained the public, but at present there is no tavern. Dr. Ansel Winslow was the first physician to locate at Millburg to practice his profession, about 1851, and had a contemporary soon after in Dr. Enos Fenton. Other practitioners for short periods were Drs. Cook, Fowler, Ross, King, etc. The present in practice is Dr. Bowman. At the village, James H. Enos put in operation the first saw-mill, about 1836, and eighteen years after, sold the property to Ansel Winslow. In a few years the latter erected a grist-mill, which is yet operated by Wm. Randall & Brother. The Hall Brothers were intermediate owners, and here also had a factory for making staves and bent work. The waterpower was supplemented by steam, but the engine was soon after removed to Benton Harbor. Farther down Blue Creek, Jehial Enos and James Sutherland erected a saw-mill, which afterwards became the property of James F. Higbee, who operated it until it was discontinued. On section 21, Samuel McGuigan had a steam saw-mill, which was successfully operated many years, and about twenty years ago W. H. Pearl erected a similar mill on section 26, which is yet worked to a limited extent. A small basket-factory was operated on section 36, by James S. Moore, a few years, but has been discontinued. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Repeated application for information concerning " Benton Lodge, No. 132, I. 0. 0. F.," has failed to elicit the desired data. Its meetings are held in a hall over Ferry & Co.'s store, and F. G. Rice was reported as Noble Grand, and J. E. Wright, Secretary. Lake Shore Lodge, No. 298, F. and A. M., was instituted Jan. 10, 1872, with A. B. Leeds, P. D. Montgomery, C. S. Boyle, John Bell, J. P. Thresher, John Fin RES.OF CAPT. E. NICKERSON, BENTON TR, BERRIEN CO.,MICH. i1 TOWNSHIP OF BENTON. 195 ney, and Edwin D. Cooke as original members. In 1879 the lodge reported 41 members, and had as principal officers John Bell, W. M.; B. Fonger, S. W.; C. J. Hall, J. W.; and F. Morley, Sec. The meetings are held in a comfortable hall at Benton Harbor, and the lodge is in a flourishing condition. Benton Lodge, No. 844, 1. O. G. T.. was instituted April 15, 1875, with 60 charter members, and 0. S. Willey, Worthy Chief Templar. The lodge has prospered, having at present 95 members and the following principal officers: C. E. Reeves, W. C. T.; Mrs. J. H. Darche, W. V. T.; A. Bonine, R. S.; W. W. Watson, W. F. S.; Mrs. E. M. Hipp, W. T.; and S. G. Antisdale, Lodge Deputy. Lily of Benton Temple, Juvenile Templars, was organized in April, 1879, with 33 members and Harry Hopkins, C. T.; Ed. Heath, R. S.; Carrie Bryant, F. S. Although of recent organization, the Temple has become very flourishing, and promises to accomplish much good among the young people of the township. Benton Harbor Library Association was formed Dec. 17, 1877, and has at present (August, 1879) the following officers: R. M. Jones, President; Mrs. 0. S. Willey, VicePresident; S. R. Hughes, Secretary; James Bailey, Treasurer; Ed. Kolman, Librarian; and A. B. Riford, Mrs. R. Winans, R. J. David, C. E. Reeves, J. W. Leslie, and S. H. Antisdale, Directors. The association maintains a library of several hundred well-selected standard and popular books, and is a useful agent in promoting the general culture of the village. Pearl Grange, No. 81, Patrons of Husbandry.-This society was organized in the Pearl neighborhood, Sept. 29, 1873. In the summer of 1874 a small but neat hall, for the use of the grange, was built on the east line of section 26, where the meetings have since been held. The grange has prospered, and has a large and active membership. The present principal officers are C. A. Spencer, W. M., and E. Spencer, Sec. The grange has sustained a supply store for a number of years, which has been very beneficial to the members. The purchasing agents have been R. Morrill, C. A. Spencer, and L. Sutherland. Benton Harbor Grange, No. 122, P. of H., was instituted Nov. 7, 1873, with 30 charter members, and C. C. Sutton for the first Master, and H. A. Rackliff, Sec. At present the grange meets in a hall over Clark's grocery, and has 52 members, with J. K. Bishop, Master, and Wm. J. Holt, Sec. Both granges have promoted the interests of the agricultural portion of the township, and are useful bodies. SCHOOLS. The first school-house in the township of Benton was erected at Millburg, and it was some years before school buildings were provided in the western part of the township. In 1867 a large two-story frame house was erected in Fractional District No. 5, in the Heath neighborhood, on half an acre of ground, in which excellent schools have since been taught; and in most of the other districts good houses have since been provided, and a commendable interest taken in education. At Benton Harbor the original school building-the old white house-has been adapted as a place of worship for a Universalist society. In 1868 the people of that district voted $20,000 to erect a new school edifice, and on the 28th of September, 1868, Joseph Riford, S. E. Martin, and W. H. Kirby were appointed a building committee. The house is 60 by 80 feet, 3 stories and basement, of brick trimmed with sandstone, and presents a very attractive appearance. The upper story forms a large hall, and the other floors have been divided into seven rooms which are large and well furnished. On the 6th of September, 1869, the district was organized as a union school, with C. K. Parce, Wm. J. Hess, Joseph Riford, M. G. Lamport, A. B. Riford, and J. P. Thresher as a board of education. As a union school it has since been ably conducted, at a yearly expense of about $3000. In 1879, R. M. Jones was moderator of the board; M. G. Lanlport, director; C. S. Boyle, J. C. Ingham, Allen Bronson, and W. L. George, associate members. The district had 452 children between the ages of five and twenty years, from which were enrolled in the high school, 62 pupils; in the grammar school, 28; in the intermediate, 56; and in the three primary schools, 144 pupils. There were, besides, in the township 13 districts whose bounds were irregular, and all of them, except Nos. 2, 3, 8, 12, and 14, joint districts. The children of school age in each district were as follows: No. 1, 135; No. 2, 59; No. 3, 97; No. 4, 36; No. 5, 123; No. 6, 42; No. 7, 61; No. 8, 60; No. 11, 35; No. 12, 44; No. 14, 75. The entire number of children of school age in the township, including Benton Harbor, was 1217. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. The Church of Christ of Millburg.-Many years ago a Methodist class was formed at Millburg, which prospered for a time, then suffered a declining interest, and finally became altogether extinct. At a later period the Disciples effected a temporary organization here, and held meetings with good effect, but as there was no suitable place of worship they were soon discontinued, and the interest died out. But in the fall of 1868, under the preaching of the Rev. William R. Roe, a permanent organization of 55 persons was made, and this afterwards became known as the Church of Christ of Millburg. James Adams and J. W. Rose were elected the first elders, and J. K. Bishop and C. C. Potes deacons. Mr. Rose has served as deacon continuously since, and J. K. Bishop was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of Mr. Adams. A. L. Schofield and J. Hess have been elected as additional deacons. Under the pastoral labors of the Revs. Hurd, Jackson, Reese, Lucas, and the occasional services of the Revs. Carpenter, Sias, and others, the church has prospered. Its present membership is 100, but the aggregate of members has been much larger. The present minister is the Rev. Henry Burton. J. W. Rose is the superintendent of the Sunday-school, which has at present 75 members. The present house of worship at Millburg-a frame structure, 36 by 60, with a shapely tower-was commenced in 1870, but was not completed until three years later. It is a very neat edifice, of which the value is reported at $5000. The building was consecrated by the Rev. William M. Roe. 196 HISTORY OF BERRIED The First Congregational Church of Benton Harbor.This church was organized June 13, 1866, in the old white school-house, by a council called for this purpose, and at which were present as delegates Rev. P. B. Parry and S. Hess, of Three Oaks; Rev. J. B. Fairbanks and L. Whitney, of St. Joseph; and A. J. Nowlen, in behalf of the society at Benton Harbor. The latter acted as secretary, and P. B. Parry served as chairman. The following persons assented to the articles of faith and covenant, and became the constituent members of the church: Enoch Osborne, Ira Nowlen, Ralph Grow, Amos Eastman, Alfred Osborne, Martin Green, David Hurd, Zistorene Nowlen, Fanny Osborne, Clarinda Nowlen, Sophronia C. Eastman, Sarah A. Winans, Mary Ann Grow. A. Eastman, Ralph Grow, and E. Osborne were elected the first Deacons, and A. J. Nowlen, Clerk. These officers in 1879 were H. F. White, R. Grow, and A. R. Nowlen, Deacons; and J. H. Darche, Clerk. Other deacons have been R. E. Winans, J. H. Darche, S. Devereaux, Charles E. Hull, Horace H. Garland, and G. K. Hopkins; and clerks, A. Osborne, George W. Toles, and H. F. Colby. In 1868 the society built the church edifice which is yet occupied as a place of worship, and which was the first meeting-house in the township. It is a plain but inviting frame, and is at present controlled by a board of trustees composed of J. C. Ingham, V. A. Shankland, George Wilson, J. H. Darche, C. J. Hall, and R. Grow. The first named is the clerk of the society. The church has had the following pastors and supplies: 1867, Rev. S. Morton; 1868-69, Rev. S. S. Hyde; 1870, Rev. George A. Dickerman (supply); 1871, Rev. 11. P. Welton; 1872, Rev. N. A. Willard; 1873, occasional supplies; 1874-75, Rev. S. B. Goodenow; 1876-77, E. L. Hurd, D.D.; 1878, J. C. Thompson. Since April, 1879, the Rev. Abel Wood, of St. Joseph, has supplied the pulpit, and ministers to the 70 members who compose the church. As soon as the church building was completed, a Sundayschool was opened there, under the superintendency of J. P. Thresher, although a union Sunday-school had been organized in the village at the school-house two years earlier. The present superintendent of the school at the church is V. A. Shankland. One hundred and nineteen members are enrolled, from which an average attendance of 80 is secured. A good library is maintained. The First Baptist Church of Benton Harbor.*-This body was organized at Heath's Corners, May 30, 1863, under the title of the " St. Joseph Baptist Church." There were 28 persons who associated themselves into church membership, namely: S. F. Heath, Julia Heath, Omi Simms, Sophia Simms, Henry A. Simons, Arthur E. Simons, Sarah Simons, Clara Swartwout, Sarah Woodin, A. F. Stiles, Lucinda Stiles, Emily Stiles, Caroline Rowley, Ellen Jones, Mrs. McAllister, Thomas Swartwout, Nancy Swartwout, John H. Swartwout, Sarah Swartwout, Imogene Swartwout, William A. Coats, Maria Coats, Anna Coats, Deborah Hayward, William Boughton, Eliza Hopkins, John P. Edwards, and Maria Edwards. At the time the church was organized S. F. Heath was * From data furnished by S. F. Heath. 9 COUNTY, MICHIGAN. elected clerk, and has since been annually re-elected to perform the duties of that office, being the present clerk. The deacons also are elected annually, and the following have been ordained to that office: J. P. Edwards, William A. Coats, A. F. Stiles, Samuel Rockafellow, E. St. John, Henry A. Simons, M. A. Harrington, Hiram Dusenbury, Jerome F. Smith, Charles Fisher, E. V. Green, E. S. Fox, A. B. Carmichael, Jadutha Withey, E. A. Clark, William Edwards, S. F. Heath, Joseph Watkins, James Lason, William J. Barrett, and E. H. Bovee. The church has had the pastoral services of six clergymen, as follows: Rev. Arthur E. Simons, from August, 1863, till June, 1866; Rev. Stephen Wilkins, from October, 1866, till October, 1867, when the Rev. Wm. Gates acted as a supply for one year, serving very acceptably. Rev. Thomas Allen began his ministry October, 1868, but at the end of eight months retired, and the pulpit was again supplied by Rev. Mr. Gates till January, 1869. In January, 1869, the Rev. J. G. Portman began a pastorate which was continued until October, 1873, followed by a vacancy of three months, at the end of which the Rev. C. W. Palmer became pastor for eight months. In September, 1874, the present pastor, the Rev. J. D. Pulis, began his labors with the church, and for more than five years has served the church worthily and well. The church has prospered, and at present reports 260 members. Four houses of worship have been built at as many different places. The first was the " Brown Chapel," at Heath's Corners, which is still owned by the church, and used in summer for a mission Sunday-school. It is a frame house, and was erected in 1864, at a cost of $1000, by S. F. Heath, J. P. Edwards, and J. H. Swartwout, as a building committee. It has accommodations for 150 persons. The second was a brick lecture-room, which was built at the village of St. Joseph in 1865, by a committee composed of the Rev. A. E. Simons, L. F. Chapman, and Thomas Swartwout. It cost $2000, and was used by the Baptists until 1868, when it was sold to the Evangelical Association, and has since served that body as a place of worship. In order to accommodate some of the members residing in Bainbridge, the church united with the Methodists, in 1866, to build a frame meeting-house in that township for mutual occupancy, each incurring an expense of $1000. On the part of the Baptists the building committee were A. F. Stiles and Riley Merrill. The fourth building was erected at Benton Harbor, in 1869, by S. F. Heath, E. St. John, and J. P. Thresher, as a building committee. In February, 1868, it was decided by the church, in view of the fact that the larger portion of the membership resided on the east side of the St. Joseph River, that the property in St. Joseph be sold and the interest transferred to Benton Harbor. In accordance with this determination, the name of the " First Baptist Church of Benton Harbor" was assumed, and the present beautiful and commodious house begun. It is built of Racine brick, in an imposing style of architecture, and cost $16,000. It seats 600 worshipers, and its general appearance is seldom surpassed in villages of the size of Benton Harbor. The trustees are S. F. Heath (chairman), W. E. Higman, E. A. Clark, J. P. Thresher, John Ingraham, and A. J. Kidd. - ' fAW —A'\ -4q II ONO 1, - li 0E 40 n: L I-., ~~ ~-.:;r.~P ir;cc ~~:5 r. —F dl~i- - - L: L*i~ L~1:rLS.i: ~9.~~~ OF LEWIS SUTHERLAND, BENTON TP,, BERRIEN Co., MICHIGAN, I I I I - I Is 7 YA TOWNSHIP OF BENTON. 197 The Sunday-school (sustained by the church) was organized at Benton Harbor in 1870, and is at present superintended by H. W. Miller. It has 245 members. Benton Harbor Mlethodist Episcopal Church.*-Previous to 1868 there were a few adherents of Methodism at Benton Harbor, who were supplied with occasional preaching by the ministers from St. Joseph, but no organization appears to have been effected until September, 1868, when a separate charge was here formed, with 46 members. A board of trustees was chosen, composed of James F. Miller, Aaron H. Smith, Wm. D. Sherwood, J. M. Sorter, and E. G. Reynolds, and the work of building a church edifice begun. In 1870 it was completed and appropriately consecrated. It was a very handsome brick house, 40 by 75 feet, two stories high, and cost about $16,500. In this the church worshiped and prospered until June 1, 1875, when the beautiful edifice was struck by lightning and almost totally destroyed. This calamity, added to the depression in business which prevailed in the township in consequence of the failure of the peach-trees, was so heavy a blow to the church that it was almost crushed, and for several years was obliged to live a struggling existence. The American Insurance Company refused to pay the amount of its insurance, and obliged the society to compromise at the loss of several thousand dollars; some of the members removed, and other circumstances prevented the work of rebuilding from going on until the summer of 1879. At this time a one-story edifice is being reared upon the foundations of the old church, which will cost about $5000, and will, when completed, be a comfortable place of worship. The trustees in 1879 were B. F. Rounds, James Bailey, Joseph Richards, E. N. Hoe, and W. L. Hague. In spite of its financial difficulties the church has been measurably prosperous, and at present reports 140 full and 15 probationary members, who are under the tutelage of the Rev. E. A. Whitwam. Other pastors, from the formation of the church till Mr. Whitwam's accession, have been the Revs. J. P. Force, A. J. Van Wyck, T. H. Jacokes, H. Worthington, H. Hall, G. W. Gosling, William Prouty, E. H. Sparling, and J. K. Stark. The Rev. John Atkinson is a local elder, and Rev. J. R. Oden a supernumerary preacher. There is an excellent Sunday-school of 150 members connected with the church, which is doing a good work, under the superintendence of the pastor, the Rev. E. A. Whitwanm, and the future of the church is rich with promise. The struggle for a place among the many churches of the land has nearly ended, and ere long this much-afflicted people will pass from under the cloud into the full light of prosperity, to perform its allotted work with the success that attended it before its troubles came on. The First Universalist Church of Benton Harbor.This society was organized in April, 1870, with 8 members, 6 of them being Sterne Bronson, S. Ogden, W. T. Durry, Allen Bronson, E. Nickerson, and Alonzo Plummer. The first meetings were held in Masonic Hall, but in the latter part of 1870 the old white school-house was adopted as a place of worship and has been the house of the society ever since. The church having but a small membership at the time of its organization, has been somewhat hampered by the expenses necessary to maintain an existence, but has lately discharged its debts, and now enters anew upon a career of prosperity and usefulness. The number of members is reported at 30. The church has had but one settled minister, the Rev. A. H. Laing, who left several years ago, and since then there have only been occasional services by visiting clergymen. In some of the school-houses of the township religious meetings have been held by various denominations, but, so far as we have been able to learn, no organizations followed the efforts of those who conducted them. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ELEAZER AND HENRY C. MORTON. Eleazer Morton, a native of the State of Massachusetts, was born Aug. 1, 1786, and when about twenty years of age removed to Syracuse, N. Y., purchased a farm, and began the manufacture of salt. About 1811 he was married to Joanna Cotton, a native of Vermont, who had been ELEAZER MORTON. engaged in teaching at Syracuse. The wedded couple removed soon after to Alexander, Genesee Co., N. Y., where Mr. Morton engaged in farming and the manufacture of cloth. In the spring of 1831 he sold out his interests at Alexander, and removed to Brockport, Monroe Co., where he became interested in matters pertaining to the Erie Canal. Excessive competition and the cutting of rates? rendered the season disastrous, and in the fall of the same year Mr. Morton changed his place of residence to Medina, Ohio, where he opened a hotel, and carried it on until the spring of 1834, when he finally removed to Michigan, and located near Toland Prairie, near what is now Galesburg, * Compiled from a sketch by the Rev. E. A. Whitwam. 198 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Kalamazoo Co. He had conceived the idea of founding an establishment for the manufacture of sugar from potatoes, and for that purpose came to Michigan. In the fall of 1835 he abandoned the project, and removed with his family to St. Joseph, Berrien Co., where they passed the winter. During the few succeeding months he purchased, of different parties, 160 acres, on sections 18 and 20. In the spring of 1836 he built a log tavern on the Territorial road, which was the only house for a distance of seven miles eastward from the mouth of the river St. Joseph. He cleared his farm, started a nursery, and commenced to raise fruit; his orchard, which was set out in 1840, containing apple, peach, pear, plum, nectarine, and apricot trees. The principal variety in the peach line was the " Yellow Rareripe," which was to a great extent superseded by the " Crawford,' the latter becoming a general favorite, and still enijoying an enviable reputation. The first peaches from this market to Chicago were-shipped by B. C. Hoyt, and the second by Mr. Morton. In his political views Mr. Morton was an old-line Whig, and subsequently a thorough Republican, and was decided in his opposition to the principles and encroachments of slavery. He was a deep thinker, and was possessed of an ardent desire to benefit his fellow-men. He was in correspondence with Horace Greeley and other philanthropists, and furnished articles for the press upon his favorite topics. He was also the author and publisher of a volume entitled " Morton's Guide to True Happiness." His wife died in September, 1856, and Mr. Morton's death occurred July 4, 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Morton were the parents of ten children. Sarah M. married Thomas Conger, who practiced law from 1834 to 1849 in St. Joseph. He finally removed to California for the benefit of his health, and is now police judge of Sacramento. His wife died in California in 1850. One of their daughters became the wife of Senator Jones, of Nevada. Charles A. was in the forwarding business, with Britain, Sawyer & Co., at St. Joseph, and died in 1838. Henry C. Morton, now living on the old homestead at Benton Harbor, was in the Legislature in 1863, and was also largely interested in the construction of the canal at the Harbor. William E., who was engaged in the lumber business at Chicago, died in that city in 1859, and his brother, George C., is now engaged in the same business at the same place. Jane E. became the wife of William Hammell, and lived for some time at St. Joseph and Niles. Mr. Hammell was connected with the Michigan Central Railroad. He subsequently removed to Morris, Grundy Co., Ill., and engaged in the lumber business, and his wife died in that place in December, 1859. Joanna D. Morton married William Raymond, a merchant of St. Joseph, and died in 1849. James M. Morton made an overland journey to California, with a party from St. Joseph, in 1849, and died in December following, of typhoid fever. Mary A. married S. A. Raymond, a merchant of St. Joseph, and subsequently removed to Toledo, Ohio, where she was president of the Soldiers' Aid Society during the war, and is now living at San Francisco, Cal. Caroline D. married S. G. D. Howard, a Chicago lumber merchant, and is now widowed and living in that city. HENRY C. MORTON, son of Eleazer and Joanna (Cotton) Morton, was born, in Genesee Co., N. Y., Jan. 27, 1817. He attended the district school at home, and in 1834 came to Michigan with HENRY C. MORTON. his parents. Upon his arrival at manhood he became interested, with his father, in the development of Benton Harbor, with which place he has since been prominently identified. His father once remarked, "Henry lived with me until I lived with him." One-half the property of the father was deeded to the son, the former retaining the remainder until his death, although the affairs of the farm were managed by Henry during the last few years of his father's life. Henry C. Morton was married, Feb. 8, 1848, JOSEPHINE MORTON. to Josephine Stanley, of Bainbridge, a native of Le Roy, Genesee Co., N. Y. Four children were born, of whom but one, James S., is now living. He is a member of the steamboat firm of Graham, Morton & Co. Mrs. Morton died Aug. 1, 1859. Mr. Morton still resides on the old TOWNSHIP OF BENTON. 199 homestead, and has been prominent in politics as well as in other connections. In 1863 he was the representative from this district in the State Legislature. The famous "Cincinnati Peach-Orchard" was upon leased land belonging to Mr. Morton. JEHIAL ENOS. To this gentleman belongs the distinction of being the first settler in the township of Benton; therefore no one is better qualified to relate tales of pioneer life, with its attendant hardships and struggles to obtain a livelihood and build a home in the midst of a wilderness. Mr. Enos was born in Norwich, Chenango Co., N. Y., Oct. 24, 1799, and is the only one now living of a family of seven children, of whom he was the oldest. He worked during summers on his father's farm, and in the winter attended district school, until he was eighteen years of age, when from a pupil he 1844 four of their children died of scarlet fever, within the space of three weeks. A son, who had " gone at his country's call" to do battle for freedom, fell in the field of strife in 1863. Soon after his marriage Mr. Enos built and occupied a house in St. Joseph, where he remained one year. He then sold out and purchased a lot of wild land in Royalton township, and began the task of hewing out a homestead in the midst of the forest. About three years later he again disposed of his property, and located in the village of Millburg. In 1836 he settled on the place he now occupies, section 13, Benton township. His wife, who was a most kind and amiable lady, died in March, 1855, and in December, 1856, he started on a second matrimonial journey with Mrs. Wilcox. Mr. Enos was originally a Democrat, but has been a Republican since the formation of the latter party. He has twice represented the county in the State Legislature, as a Democrat in 1847, and as a Republican in 1856. He was one of the organizers of Benton township, and was its supervisor for several years. He has also been several times chosen to the position of county surveyor. He has been a member of the Baptist Church since 1823, and has always been among the foremost in the advancement of public interests. STERNE BRUNSON was born in Genesee Co., N. Y., in 1806. About 1812 the family removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they remained three years, changing their place of residence to JEHIAL ENOS. became a teacher, and spent his winters in the endeavor to inculcate knowledge into the minds of those less advanced than himself. As he grew older, the desire to be more of a scholar obtained strong hold upon him, and, while pursuing his duties as a teacher, he also took up the study of surveying, and applied it practically whenever opportunity offered until 1825. In that year he came to Michigan, and located at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co., where he remained four years. During the time he assisted Lucius Lyon in his duties as deputy United States surveyor. In the year 1828, before many white persons had settled in the State west of Dexter, Mr. Enos, in company with a party of explorers, visited what is now Berrien County. In 1829 he was again here, and assisted Mr. Lyon in surveying that portion of the county lying south of the river. The same year, Major Britain made the first permanent settlement in St. Joseph. In 1830, Mr. Enos was married to Miss Nancy Kavanaugh, who was born in Ohio. Her parents were natives of Ireland. The fruit of this marriage was nine children, of whom but two are now living. In Photo. by H. L. Bingham, Kalamazoo. STERNE BRUNSON. Wayne Co., Ind., where they remained eighteen years. In the latter county, on the 27th of April, 1826, Mr. Brunson was married to Sarah Shank, with whom he lived for more than fifty years, and who survives him. Their children were six in number,-five sons and one daughter,-of whom all are living except the oldest son, who died May 17, 1835. 200 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. From Wayne Co., Ind., Mr. Brunson moved to Elkhart, in the same State, where he remained till 1859. In the latter year he came to the site of Benton Harbor, and soon after his arrival conceived the idea of building a town on the east side of the St. Joseph River, which should be connected with the lake by a canal, nearly a mile in length, and of sufficient width and depth to admit of the passage of large steamers. Despite the unconcealed ridicule of many, he, with the aid of a few friends, accomplished the enterprise.* The village received the name of Brunson Harbor, which was afterwards changed by others to Benton Harbor. Mr. Brunson lived a sufficient length of time to witness the wonderful growth of his village and see it ranking among the important commercial centres of Western Michigan. He was always extremely liberal towards every project tending to the public benefit. In his habits he was strictly temperate, never tasting intoxicating drinks nor indulging in the use of tobacco, which he rightly considered as hardly a lesser evil. His health, therefore, was always excellent, until his career was suddenly terminated by a stroke of paralysis. His funeral drew a larger attendance than any before held in the village, the ceremonies being held under the auspices of the Odd-Fellows, to which he belonged, and in which body he was prominent. Mr. Brunson's parents were both natives of New York, and those of his wife were born in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Brunson is living with her daughter, Mrs. Antisdale, whose husband causes this brief sketch and the accompanying portrait to be inserted in this work, as a slight token of the esteem in which he held the person for whom this is written. LEWIS SUTHERLAND is of Scotch descent, the son of Lot Sutherland, and was born in Barker, Broome Co., N. Y., Feb. 28, 1831, being the sixth in a family of nine children. His mother died when he was but seven years of age. In 1836 he came with his father's family to Michigan, and lived with them near Kalamazoo. About 1839 his father removed to Bainbridge township, Berrien County, and purchased one hundred acres of land on section 27, and there the boyhood days of the son were passed, without incident save such as are common in the lives of farmers' boys. He acquired a fair education, enabling him to engage in any ordinary business. When nineteen years of age he took up his residence at the home of John Morgan, in Bainbridge, and remained with him three years. Being desirous of witnessing life in the mining region of California, Mr. Morgan went to that State, leaving Mr. Sutherland to care for his family, and promising to pay him one-fourth of his net earnings in the land of gold. When the time for settlement arrived the sum amounted to five hundred and sixtytwo dollars and fifty cents, and with it Mr. Sutherland purchased one hundred and sixty acres on section 23 in Benton township. In 1860, when twenty-nine years of age, he was married, at Battle Creek, to Miss Matilda Upon the completion of which those who had assisted said to Mr. Brunson, " One thing we have forgotten, and that is to name the village." His reply was, "I don't care what, so that you have Harbor attached to it." Thereupon it was named Brunson's Harbor. Howard, who was born in Kane Co., Ill., March 12, 1843. She is the daughter of Joseph and Anna D. Howard, and the oldest of seven children. Her parents settled in Bainbridge township, Berrien County, when she was but four years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland have been the parents of six children, of whom but four are living. Sterling L. Sutherland was born Feb. 23, 1861; Edgar B., born April 17, 1864, died Aug. 14, 1866; Grace C., born Jan. 1, 1866, died Aug. 18, 1866; Addie E., born Aug. 4, 1867; Darwin B., born May 16, 1869; Lot F., born May 16, 1871. In 1860, Mr. Sutherland sold his farm on section 23 and purchased eighty acres on section 36, and has since purchased an equal amount adjoining it. He also owns real estate in various other localities, and is the possessor of three hundred and ten acres in all. At the death of his father, in 1866, Mr. Sutherland received as his share of the estate two hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Sutherland is, politically, a Democrat; has held the position of highway commissioner for three years, and has filled other minor offices. On religious subjects his views are liberal. He is a man of strictly temperate habits, thoroughly upright in his business transactions, and by his fellow-townsmen is classed among their most valuable citizens. He is a most successful farmer, and has triumphed over all difficulties since his humble beginning in the battlefield of life. G. N. LORD. This gentleman, who was born in Pennsylvania, Aug. 14, 1826, was the fifth in a family of eight children. His father was a native of Vermont, and a farmer and lumberman by occupation. His mother was born in Connecticut. When twenty-one years of age Mr. Lord left home, and lived two years with his uncle, G. N. Smith, learning the carpenter's trade. In the spring of 1850 he emigrated to Rockford, Ill., arriving there with his chest of carpenter's tools and four dollars in money. He remained at Rockford, working at his trade, until March, 1859, when he removed to St. Joseph, Berrien Co., Mich., but a short time afterwards changed his residence to Benton Harbor, the site of which was then a wilderness. In the fall of 1859 he, in company with his partner, Joseph Bowman, built the first frame house in Benton Harbor. Mr. Lord was married, July 5, 1852, to Miss Cornelia M. Morrison, whose parents were natives of New York, the fruit of the union being six children, of whom four are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Lord were finally divorced, and Mr. Lord married, July 3, 1874, Mrs. Maria C. Starr, widow of Horace Starr, by whom she had two children, both still living. Mr. Starr's death had occurred in Ohio, in June, 1854, and his widow had remained with her children on the farm, instilling into their minds all that was good and noble in herself. In 1865 she removed to Decatur, Mich., where she remained until her marriage with Mr. Lord. Mr. Lord worked at his trade twenty-three years, subsequently engaging in fruit culture, in which his success has been marked. In religious matters he is independent, and in politics a Republican. His education was mainly acquired in the common schools of his boyhood. A view ot his home is inserted in this work. I co LQ cc ccj TO~WNSHEIP OF BENTON. 201 TONSI OF BENON 201 Wf. - C." PHINEAS PEARL. MRS. PHINEAS PEARL. PHINEAS PEARL. This gentleman, a true son of New England, was the youngest in a family of five children, and was born in Windsor Co., Vt., May 12, 1789. At the age of fourteen he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and worked at it eight years. He then removed to Little Falls, Herkimer Co., N. Y., and learned the trade of wagon-making, at which he worked about seven years, and removed to Jefferson Co., N. Y. During the ten or twelve years spent in the latter, his time was occupied in farming and clearing land by contract, but not being successful at the business, he emigrated with his family to Monroe Co., Mich., in 1830, and purchased a small farm. About 1840, having exchanged his place for six lots in Benton township, Berrien Co., he removed to the latter and settled on section 25. Mr. Pearl was married in March, 1813, in Vermont, to Miss Fannie Hatch, whose parents were natives of Connecticut. To Mr. and Mrs. Pearl were born nine children, of whom but four are now living. Three were buried in New York, when small, and two in Benton township, Michigan,-a son and a daughter, the son meeting his death by drowning. Mrs. Pearl died Aug. 23, 1866. Mr. Pearl is now the owner of about one hundred acres of land in this town, finely improved. He is now ninety-one years of age, and his character is of that rugged type inherent in the famed " Green Mountain boys." Those of his children who are living occupy farms near their father. Although of so great an age, Mr. Pearl attends to all his own business with as much ease, apparently, as in his younger days. Politically, he is a Democrat; has been twice supervisor of his township, and has held minor offices. He is not a member of any religious organization. His early advantages for obtaining an education were those afforded by the straggling schools of the time, held in the log school-houses or in barns, when, though discipline was strict and the rod 26 was never spared, the children indulged in various characteristic pastimes, and the "big boys" turned the master out if they could, or obeyed him fearfully if they could not. Mr. Pearl's father died when the son was about five years old, and his mother remained a widow until her death, which occurred in 1825. She was a true New England mother, and strove for her children's welfare, teaching them, by her own example, habits of industry, economy, honesty, and sociability, and of them she never had cause to complain, for they all became prosperous and respected citizens. WARREN H. PEARL. Warren H., son of Phineas Pearl, was born in Little Falls, Herkimer Co., N. Y., and was the second in a family of seven children. His parents were both natives of Vermont. His mother died Aug. 23, 1866. His father is yet living, at the age of ninety-one years. About 1830, Mr. Pearl, Sr., removed to Michigan with his family and settled in Monroe County. In 1840 he changed his residence to Benton township, Berrien County. Warren Pearl spent his time upon his father's farm until he had reached his majority, attending the common schools of his neighborhood and taking advantage of whatever educational advantages they afforded. Nov. 6, 1847, he was married to Miss Minerva Randall, daughter of Joseph and Lucretia Randall. Mr. and Mrs. Pearl are the parents of nine children, as follows: Fannie L., born Sept. 3, 1848; Ellen L., born Sept. 24, 1850; Gilbert P., born Nov. 6, 1854; James W., born Jan. 25, 1857; Josephine, born March 26,1860, died Aug. 5,1861; Jessie W., born Aug. 26, 1862, died Aug. 12, 1866; Addie M., born March 16, 1865, died Aug. 16, 1865; Ervin R., born May 20, 1866; Nancy B., born July 17, 1867. In 1850, Mr. Pearl went to California and sought fortune among the gold mines of that region, but in 1852 he returned to Michigan. His 202 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. original homestead in the town of Benton consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, since increased to one hundred and ninety. He also owns one hundred and ten acres in other localities. Mr. Pearl is a man of generous principles, and his honor and integrity are not to be questioned. In politics he is a staunch Democrat. He has served twice as highway commissioner, but has never sought for office. He is a member of no church organization, and entertains liberal views on religious subjects. From a small beginning in life he has amassed a comfortable property, and deserves great credit for his persevering efforts towards success. A view of his home will be found in this work. J. F. HIGBEE. Among the worthy pioneers of Berrien County is the gentleman above named. He was born May 7, 1818, in Ontario Co., N. Y., and was the seventh in a family of thirteen children. His father, James Higbee, was also a native of the State of New York, but removed to Ohio when the son was small, and remained there thirteen years. In June, 1837, another removal was made, and the family found a home in the wilds of Western Michigan, locating in Benton township, Berrien County, on section 14. At the age of twenty-one, J. F. Higbee, who had remained at home until that time, went to Iowa, and stayed about eighteen months, working a breaking-team in the summer and teaching school in the winter. He then returned to Michigan and remained one summer, spending the time in clearing and improving the farm upon which he now resides. In the fall of 1841 he returned to Iowa, to collect his pay for his previous winter's teaching, and while there was married to Miss Mary Lewis, daughter of John A. and Salome Lewis, natives of Virginia and descendants of English ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Higbee became the parents of nine children, of whom six are now living. After their marriage Mr. Higbee and his wife came to Michigan, and settled in a log house on the farm which has since been their home. The log house and the sturdy forest have disappeared, and a fine residence and smiling and fertile fields have taken their places. Mr. Higbee's first purchase included one hundred and sixty acres, of which twenty acres have since been sold. Mr. Higbee is the owner of real estate in different localities, amounting in the aggregate to four hundred and ninety-one acres, and this has been accumulated through years of patient toil and economy. Mr. Higbee has during his residence here evinced great public spirit, and has aided to the extent of his ability in all public improvements, interesting himself in the construction of railways and harbors, and appreciating the advantages of everything calculated to add to the wealth and prosperity of his town and county. He is now president of the Northern Berrien County Michigan Lake Shore Agricultural Society, and the owner of the fair-grounds. Previous to Fremont's struggle for the executive seat of the nation Mr. Higbee was a Democrat, but his fortunes have since been cast with the Republican party. He has been earnestly interested in local politics, and has held numerous offces in the gift of his townsmen. He was the first treas. urer of Benton township, and was elected five times, and is now serving his third term as justice of the peace. His education was acquired in the district schools of his early years, except that after coming to Michigan he attended the high school at Niles for about six months. Mr. and Mrs. Higbee united with the Disciples' Church in 1859. J. D. BURY. Prominent among the pioneers of Berrien County is the gentleman whose name appears above. He was born in Pennsylvania Aug. 18, 1804, and was the sixth in a family of fourteen children. His father was a native of England, but was married in Pennsylvania, and when the son was an infant his parents went to Canada. The youth grew up "after the manner of those days," remaining beneath the parental roof until he had attained his majority. In 1830 he was married to Miss Martha Green, who was born in Canada Aug. 24, 1810. This union was blessed with eleven children, of whom but one is now living. In 1835, Mr. Bury removed to St. Joseph, Mich., and in 1837 located upon the place he now occupies, in Benton township, Berrien Co., having purchased one hundred and twenty acres from government. He subsequently became a large landholder, owning at one time fifteen hundred and twentyone acres. About seven hundred and sixty-one acres are still in the hands of different members of the family. Mr. Bury has twice entered the matrimonial state, the second time with Miss Fannie Beyers, August 18, 1860. Her parents were Jacob and Elizabeth Beyers, natives of Pennsylvania. The fruit of this union is three children,-C. Beyers Bury, born June 17, 1862; J. D. Bury, Jr., born May 12, 1864; and Elsie J. Bury, born Dec. 23, 1865. Mr. Bury's present wife was the oldest in a family of eight girls, and came to Michigan in 1857. Her father died in 1863, and her mother is yet living, in the State of New York. Mrs. Bury is a devoted wife and mother, and a true woman. Mr. Bury, who has reached an advanced age, has been through life devoted to his family, and has striven to place them in comfortable circumstances. His farm has received the closest attention, and he has labored energetically, in common with others, to bring the township to its present substantial level. In politics he is a Democrat, and, aside from minor offices held by him, he has four times been elected supervisor of his town. His religious views are of a liberal nature. LUTHER KINNEY, who was born in Erie Co., N. Y., June 29, 1807, is the oldest in a family of eleven children, —six sons and five daughters-of whom three sons and one daughter now survive. His father, Elijah Kinney, was a native of New York, as was also his mother, whose maiden name was Lucretia Calvin, and who married the elder Kinney in 1806. Previous to the war of 1812, Mr. Kinney, Sr., had settled in Huron Co., Ohio, but at some time during the con tinuance of hostilities was driven out by the Indians. In 1814, however, he returned thither and made a permanent settlement. .N. s ~-; i ~ _~.i: i_ _r:;T —:ii I --- —~- -- I --- —- -- -.-. --- —:-~ ~~: '~..:..:. 2:~i'-:~1:::::; ~i- 'i ~t;- ~:::::~ Z.-~:':: ~. -- i :: -:::.~~ ~.:::; ~I.~i- ii J. D BU RY. n RES. OF J. D.BURY, BENTON TP.,BER iEN C,MC H, i i tr rZ" rr TOWNSHIP OF" BERRIEN. 203 I OF B N Luther Kinney remained at home, assisting his father, until he was twenty-three years of age, when he made an independent start in life. On the 2d of December, 1830, he was married, in Huron Co., Ohio, to Miss Emily W. Adams, daughter of Bildad and Mary Adams, who wereas was also their daughter-born among the rugged mountains of Vermont, and who had emigrated to Huron County when the daughter was six years old. Mrs. Kinney was the tenth in a family of eleven children,-eight girls and three boys. Of these, Mrs. Kinney and one sister, who resides in Branch Co., Mich., are all who are living. Their mother died in Ohio when Mrs. Kinney was but eleven years old, and her father when she was seventeen. In the fall of 1835, Mr. Kinney and his father, accompanied by their families, migrated to Michigan, and settled in Porter township, Van Buren County, where Mr. Kinney purchased one hundred and sixty acres of government land on section 24, to which he afterwards added forty more, and improved one hundred and fifty acres of the whole. In 1864 he sold his farm and removed to Lake City, Minn., where he invested in property and remained four years. In 1868 he disposed of his interest in Minnesota and returned to Michigan, and located in Benton township, Berrien County, where he now resides. His attention has since been given to fruit culture, and with gratifying success. He finally, owing to the death of many of his trees, returned to his vocation as a farmer, and his premises, a view of which will be found in this work, evince the taste and thrift of their owner. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney have no children. In their earlier years they united with the Baptist Church, and are now members, in good standing, of the Congregational Church at Benton Harbor. Mr. Kinney's politics are in accordance with the principles of the Republican party. While a resident of Porter; Van Buren Co., he was its supervisor, and has held other offices. His advantages for obtaining an education were those afforded by the district schools of the early days. Mr. Kinney's father died in 1862, and had been preceded to the mystic land by his faithful partner ten years, her death occurring in 1852. They sleep peacefully after a rugged experience in life, and after having twice been pioneers. ELKANAH NICKERSON was born Nov. 13, 1806, in Harwich, Barnstable Co., Mass., and was one of a family of ten children, of whom five sons and one daughter survive. The parents and the ancestry, as far as it can be traced, claim Massachusetts as their native land. Mr. Nickerson's parents were married in 1803. His father, besides being a farmer, was a tanner and currier, and a licensed minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When Mr. Nickerson was fourteen years of age he left home, and went to sea as cook with his uncle, his father holding his earnings until he became of age.* At the age of twenty-two he had reached the position of captain. He sailed for about thirty-six years, visiting many of the important seaports of the world. Jan. 29, 1829, when in his twenty-third year, he married Miss Hannah Doan, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Doan, she being one of a family of nine children; her parents were natives of Massachusetts. To Mr. and Mrs. Nickerson were born six children, as follows: Hannah D., born Dec. 4, 1829; Adelia, born Sept. 21, 1833; Zemira D., born Nov. 17, 1838; Elkanah, born Feb. 1, 1843; Arthur H., born Aug. 2, 1849, drowned from the steamer "St. Joseph," Aug. 13, 1867; Angeline, died at birth, March 8, 1858. During the years Mr. Nickerson was sailing, his wife remained most of the time ashore, taking a voyage with him occasionally, however. In 1856, having abandoned a seafaring life, Mr. Nickerson entered the mercantile business in New York City. In 1860 he chartered a vessel at New York for Chicago, placing his son-in-law, Capt. Robbins, in command. The vessel went ashore in a gale, at a place known as Grand Mere. Mr. Nickerson, who came out to look after it, visited St. Joseph and purchased twenty acres of wild land in what is now Lincoln township, and settled his son upon it. Mr. Nickerson remained East-visiting this place occasionally, with his wife and daughter, and making various purchases of propertyuntil 1867, when he sold his home in Massachusetts, closed up his business, moved to Michigan, and settled where he now resides, the locality, even at that date, being in the midst of a dense forest. The homestead, finely improved, now consists of sixty acres, although Mr. Nickerson is the owner of various parcels of land in other localities,-in all three hundred acres. He has been greatly interested in fruit-raising. His daughter, now Mrs. Wisner, has, with her two sons, taken charge of the place since the death of Mrs. Nickerson, which occurred April 20, 1863. Mrs. Wisner's first husband, Mr. Kelley, who was also a seacaptain, died Aug. 5, 1862, of yellow fever, contracted in a voyage to the West Indies. Mr. Nickerson's educational advantages were limited, consisting only of the facilities afforded by the district schools, which he attended until he went to sea,-and then voyaging summers and attending school winters. Beginning when he was nineteen years of age, he taught three winter terms, and steadily increased his own fund of knowledge. He was always opposed to slavery, and took a stand against it when such a step was very unpopular. In 1856 and 1857 he represented his town in the Massachusetts Legislature. Politically he is a strong Republican, though never taking an active part in any political canvass. He is a member of no religious or. ganization, but is a believer in the " True Spiritualism." He at present occupies the position of director of the First National Bank'of St. Joseph. CHAPTER XXVIII. BERRIEN TOWNSHIP.* Early Settlements and Pioneers-Early Roads —Township Organization and List of Township Officers-Churches-Cemeteries-Schools -Societies and Orders. BERRIEN was surveyed in 1826, by Noah Brookfield, and designated as township 6 south, range 17 west. It is bounded on the north by Pipestone and Sodus townships, on the south by Niles township, on the east by the Cass County line, and on the west by Oronoko township. * By David Schwartz. 204 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I The surface of the country is undulating, and the soil rich and fertile. Less attention is paid to fruit culture than in some of the adjoining townships, but in general farm products the yield is bountiful, especially of wheat and corn. There is much excellent timbered land, and in various portions of the township may be found sheets of water designated as lakes, but in reality nothing more than large ponds. The largest of these-Smith Lake, on portions of sections 12 and 13-covers about 600 acres. Large and small together, there are 18 of these lakes in the township. In the west, three small streams discharge their waters into the river, but water-power is scarce. Berrien is strictly an agricultural town. It boasts of no village, has but one store,-that at the post-office at what is known as the Centre,-and is limited in its manufactories to four saw-mills. The assessed valuation in 1879 was $379,000. The population in 1870 was 1405. EARLY SETTLEMENT. Berrien was among the earliest townships in the county in point of settlement, and dates the period of its earliest permanent settlement back to the year 1827, when John Johnson located with his family upon section 29, where he still resides. In the winter of 1824, John Johnson, John Lybrook, Joel Yard, Jacob Johnson (who were all young unmarried men), and Squire Thompson, left the southern part of Indiana, near Richmond, for Michigan, making the journey on foot. John Johnson was employed by Lybrook, and Jacob Johnson (his brother) by Thompson, to clear land near Niles. Yard went to Carey Mission. In the spring of 1825 the Johnson boys cleared 12 acres, and then Lybrook and Jacob Johnson went back to Indiana, leaving John Johnson to look after the crops that had been put in. John worked in that way until the summer of 1827, when he located 80 acres on section 29, in what is now Berrien township. He had married John Lybrook's sister, and having come over in the summer and put up a log house, brought his wife to it in that fall, and then entered upon the hardy experience of a pioneer. The country was of course simply a vast forest; the track of civilization stopped far short of their new home, and, besides themselves, no white inhabitants had penetrated those wilds, yet this brave and determined pair faced the hardships and trials of such an existence, and nobly held to their purpose of making a home. They saw that wilderness bloom as a garden, and witnessed the populous growth of a region of which they were at one time the only Christian tenants. With his son, John, Jr., Mr. Johnson still lives on his old place, a hearty and active old gentleman of seventy-six, and loves to talk of the events of his pioneering days, which, although not fraught with serious danger, glowed with adventurous incident, and illustrated to the fullest measure the struggles, privations, and heroic efforts that marked the path of the earliest settlers. Late in the fall of the same year (1827), George H. Claypool, who was then living in Niles township (where he married a sister of John Johnson), went over into Berrien, where, on section 27, adjoining Johnson, he had entered 80 acres of land. He put up a log house, and in the spring I I of 1828 he brought his wife to their new home. Johnson and Claypool were, as remarked, near neighbors, and for nearly two years the only dwellers in what is now Berrien township. Mr. Claypool died in December, 1873, aged sixty-seven. His children now living are Noah, of Berrien (living on the old farm), Samuel J., of Berrien, Daniel J., of Texas, John J., of Buchanan, and Mrs. James P. Dean, of Oronoko. In the fall of 1829, John Smith, a young man residing in Union Co., Ind., journeyed from that section to Cass Co., Mich., in company with Samuel Witter, by whom he was engaged to assist in the transportation of Witter's family. Smith returned without delay to Indiana, and in the spring of 1830, entering 96 acres of land near what is now Smith's Lake, Berrien township, came out on foot and remained in the country three months. At the end of that time he journeyed on foot again to Indiana, to help his brother Isaac and family out from Indiana to Berrien, where Isaac had located a tract of 240 acres, on section 24, adjoining John's farm. All hands made the trip with an ox-team, and without the occurrence of startling incident reached their Michigan home. When they settled there there was no inhabitant in the region between them and the river, on a straight line, and northward their nearest neighbor was fifteen miles distant. Indians were plentiful but not troublesome, although wolves did annoy them and give much concern. The two brothers still live on their places of early settlement,-John, aged seventy-two, and Isaac, aged seventy-nine. In the spring of 1831, Michael Hand and his nephew, Thomas Hand, of Butler Co., Ohio, visited Michigan for the purpose of locating land. They selected a tract, now on section 30 of Berrien township, where a single tree had been felled by one Harter, who had previously examined the place with a view of locating, but had finally settled near Pokagon. Michael and his nephew went back to Ohio, and in November of the same year returned to Michigan, with the family of the former. Thomas Hand, the nephew, located a farm adjoining his uncle, and there died in 1844. Besides Thomas, the neighbors of Michael Hand were Peter Hickman, Shadrach Ford, Luke Webster, George H. Claypool, and John Johnson. As showing the density of the wilderness in which they lived, it is related that Michael went out one morning to shoot a squirrel for breakfast, and, after he had gone but a few rods from his house, killed a deer. Undertaking to drag it home, he soon found himself bewildered and moving about in a circle, while there came upon him the distressing conviction that he was lost in the woods, although probably within ear-shot of his home. A snow-fall added to his perplexity, and it was not until his shouts summoned his wife that he was able to find his way home, very near which he had been aimlessly and hopelessly wandering for an hour. Mr. Hand died in January, 1877, upon his old farm, where his widow still resides. Mrs. Hand relates in graphic detail the stern experiences of their pioneer life; how, between the howling of wolves, apprehensions touching the near presence of savages, and the consciousness that they were far from neighbors, life was far from pleasant. Days and nights were filled PH0TO0. BY, e../VS. MRS. S. IRELAND. SILAS IRELAND. qES. OF SILAS I RELAND,BEiRREEA T., BERRIEN Ca,MlH. l"w II TOWNSHIP OF BERRIEN. 205 with fears; privations and hardships attended upon every hand; and only stout hearts and unfaltering determination enabled them to hold to their purpose. Luke Webster was a settler of 1831, in Cass County, but did not locate in Berrien until 1833. In September, 1831, he started from Franklin Co., Va., with his wife and six children, for Michigan, with his family and effects in a wagon drawn by six horses. With them came also David Sink and family, with a four-horse team. They reached Niles township on Christmas Eve, and there Mr. Webster remained until 1833, when he moved, with his family, to Berrien, and settled on section 32, where his son, W. C. Webster, now lives. Mr. Webster died in 1841. Four of his children-W. C., Ezekiel, Adeline File, and Arbelia Wright-live in Berrien township. In the autumn of 1830, Adam Michael, of Green Co., Ohio, started from that place with a youth named Isaac Murphy, and two other men, for Lafayette, Ind., where they proposed to locate land. Reaching there they disliked the country, and kept on westward. They reached Pokagon Prairie, Mich., in October of that year, and there wintered. In the spring of 1831, Michael took young Murphy with him into Berrien, and concluded to locate a farm upon section 21. Adam Michael brought his family out soon afterwards, and set up a blacksmith-shop, in which he was assisted by Murphy. Michael died upon that place in 1835. Two of his daughters-Mrs. Silas Ireland and Mrs. John Kibler-live in the township. The first preaching in the township was heard at the house of Adam Michael, whose friend, Rev. Thomas P. McCoole, a Methodist Episcopal preacher of Cass County, used to hold services there quite often. As before related, Isaac Murphy worked in Adam Michael's blacksmith-shop. After passing two years therein he entered a farm upon section 15, where he still resides. In 1834, William Michael, father of Adam, moved fiom Ross Co., Ohio, with his family, to Berrien, and took a farm on section 21, adjoining Adam's. He was an old man of seventy when he came to Michigan, and died a few years after reaching his new home. A son, B. H. Michael, resides in Berrien, on section 22. Eli Ford, a native of Pennsylvania, and a settler in Eric Co., Ohio, left the latter place in the summer of 1826, and on the 10th of July reached Pokagon Prairie, with his wife and four children. Wintering at Pokagon, he repaired, in the spring of 1827, to a place near Niles, where he passed the summer, returning in the winter to Pokagon. In the spring of 1828 he put up a grist-mill on Dowagiac Creek. In 1832 he sold his possessions there and moved to Berrien, where he had previously located land, on section 18, near the river. Directly afterwards he put up a sawmill on a creek flowing through section 17, and, after sawing sufficient lumber to build a house, rented the mill to Abram Puterbaugh, and devoted himself chiefly to farming. He engaged occasionally in lumbering, and after taking his rafts to Chicago, used to walk back home by way of Niles. He built, in 1833, on the bank of the river, near the east end of the present bridge, a grain warehouse, in which Lyman A. Barnard first, and Thomas L. Stevens afterwards, carried on a considerable trade in shipping and receiving supplies of all kinds, destined either for transportation down the river or into the interior. That point was a favored one for river business, and there the agricultural products of the neighboring country were taken for shipment to market, and goods brought to the country in exchange were landed there. After a brief but busy career, Mr. Ford died on his farm in 1839. His children now living in Berrien are Ephraim (on the homestead) and a daughter, Harriet. His widow married Hugh Marrs, and still resides in Berrien. Hugh Marrs, of Virginia, started from that State in the fall of 1829, with his family, for Pokagon Prairie. He wintered in Preble Co., Ohio, and April 6, 1830, reached Pokagon, with just $10 in his pocket. Locating 80 acres on the St. Joseph, in Berrien, opposite the Shaker farm in Oronoko, he remained there until January, 1832, when a flood drove him to the bluff, and selling out in the spring, he entered 80 acres five miles east of Berrien Springs, on the Pokagon road. Soon afterwards he entered an adjoining 80 acres, and of these 160 acres he managed, with the assistance of his sons, to clear 100 during the ensuing twelve years. In 1856 he changed his location to the old Ford farm, where he passed his days, and died Aug. 19, 1878, aged eighty-one. Benjamin F., his son, occupies with his father's widow the farm upon which Mr. Marrs died. Of his other surviving children, Thomas, a son, and two daughters-Mrs. Richard Webster and Mrs. T.- B. Snow-reside in Berrien. Shadrach Ford, of Ohio, located on Pokagon Prairie, in 1827, and commenced trading with the Indians. In that pursuit he continued until 1832, when he settled upon section 19, in Berrien township, where he resided until his death, in 1874. William Lemon, a Virginian, settled in Stark Co., Ohio, and in 1831 left there, with his wife and eleven children, for Berrien township, where he and his son Henry, with the latter's family, had passed the previous year in clearing land and preparing the place for future residence. This was on section 19, upon what is known as the B. D. Townsend farm. After residing upon the farm a few years, during which-in 1832-he built there the first saw-mill erected in the township, Mr. Lemon removed to Oronoko, where he died. Henry, who had located 40 acres adjoining his father's farm, removed also to Oronoko, and there ended his days. The only child of William Lemon residing in Berrien is Mrs. John Tate. In October, 1828, John Burke, of Virginia, moved, with his family of six children, to Cass Co., Mich., where he settled, and there died in 1838. Andrew L., one of his sons, bought a farm on the river, in the southwestern part of Berrien township, from Lawrence Cavanaugh, and still lives there. William, the eldest son, who entered the farm, in section 24, upon which his father lived, died there in 1869. Besides Andrew L., the surviving children of John Burke living in Berrien are Mrs. John Smith and Rebecca Burke. In 1834, David Riggin, a young man, came from Virginia, and located land on section 14, in Berrien, north of Riggin Lake, but did not settle upon it until two years later, working meanwhile for other settlers. In 1861, David moved to the farm now occupied by his widow. He died in 206 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I 1873, aged sixty-eight. His father, Thomas, came to Berrien in 1834, with his family, and for a year or two lived with his daughter, the wife of Hugh Marrs. He then settled with his family upon section 23, on the Pokagon road. He remained there until 1861, and trading his farm for one in Cass County, moved to the latter place, where he died. James Gillespie, of Champaign Co., Ohio, was a young man when he moved to Niles township. He worked subsequently at Carey Mission, and in 1832 entered a farm in what is now Berrien township. For the ensuing two years, however, he boated on the St. Joseph River, and in 1834 he went back to Champaign County, to assist in moving his father, Mathew M. Gillespie, who, with his wife and four children, made the journey to Michigan. Upon his arrival Mathew settled, with his family, upon the farmn of his son James, with whom he remained more than two years. At the end of that time John, one of James' brothers, located a farm on section 31, and took his father and family there to live with him. There the elder Gillespie lived until his death, in 1842, and there John still resides. James died on his old place in 1851. In 1836, John Gillespie made a trip to Champaign Co., Ohio, to assist Jonathan Knight and Nathan Fitch in moving with their families to Michigan. Knight settled in Oronoko. Fitch located land in Berrien, upon section 31, but worked some time in Berrien Springs, at his trade as a plasterer, before finally settling upon his farm, where he now lives. Hiram Hinchman came at about the same time with Thomas Riggin, and located on section 24. He removed subsequently to Missouri, where he died. James Jenkins set out from Virginia in the fall of 1831, with his family, for Michigan, and wintering in Ohio, resumed his journey in the spring of 1832. Reaching section 24, in Berrien township, he found a small clearing, and built on it a log shanty, in which his family found temporary shelter while he looked about in search of land. He found such a spot, and entered 120 acres, but did not settle there until about a year later. Mr. Jenkins died there in 1875. His children now living in Berrien are John, Isaac, Mrs. Joel Layman, and Mrs. Solomon Cuddeback. In the fall of 1832, Andrew Tate and a Mr. Hogshead, of Ohio, visited Michigan in company to locate land. Mr. Hogshead entered a farm near White Pigeon, and Mr. Tate a 200-acre tract in Berrien township, on section 17. Tate returned to Ohio, but even after entering his Michigan land hesitated to make the venture of a settlement there with his family. This indecision kept him in Ohio until 1834, when he conveyed his wife and three children to the Michigan wilderness, and, obtaining a temporary home at Adam Michael's house, erected meanwhile a log cabin upon his own place, and six weeks after his arrival in the country took his family there. Andrew Tate became a man of some note, and lived upon the farm until his death, in 1865. Before his death he sold the place to his son John, who died there in January, 1879. Mr. John Tate was conspicuous in the administration of local affairs, having served his township as supervisor for a period of sixteen years. He also filled the office of county treasurer. The only living child of Andrew Tate is Mrs. James Essick, of Berrien Springs. Julius Brown moved in the autumn of 1829, with his wife and two children, in a wagon drawn by one ox-team, from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, towards Michigan, and reaching Tecumseh when the snow began to fall, tarried there during the ensuing winter. In the spring he came to Niles, and halting there April 1st, examined the country, but, not finding it to his liking, constructed a raft, and placing his family and household goods aboard, floated down the river to St. Joseph. Dividing his time during the next two years between St. Joseph and Niles, working meanwhile at the trade of carpentering, without having a fixed purpose as to settlement, he finally, in 1832, located in Berrien township on section 17. He continued to work at his trade as a carpenter for some time after that at Berrien Springs and other places, but also managed his farm. He died there in 1860, at which time he had increased his landed possessions to 210 acres. Julius Brown was a man of some consequence in the spring of 1832, when, upon the alarm being given that the Sauk Indians were approaching Chicago, he was placed in command of the militia, although, as it turned out, there was no occasion for the mustering. Richard, a brother of Julius Brown, and by trade a sh6emaker, settled in 1834 in Berrien, on section 21. He farmed in the summer and made shoes in the winter seasons until 1845, when he went to Cass County, and removed thence after a few years to Royalton township, residing in the latter place until his death. Philander V. Huston, a brother-in-law to Julius Brown, came with the latter to Berrien. He was a carpenter, and labored here and there at his trade in the vicinity of Berrien for ten years or more, when he removed to a place near Elkhart, Ind., and there died. Martin Friley, David Moore, Elias Parker, and Theron, his brother, were settlers in Berrien in 1834, but as they passed farther west about two years afterwards, they may be dismissed with a brief notice. E. W. Walker, from New York State, located about 1834 on section 9, and lived there until 1855, when he moved to Van Buren County and died there. Richard McOmber settled in 1835 upon parts of sections 16 and 17. In 1847 he sold his place to the county for a poor-farm, and moved to Buchanan. In June, 1834, Henry Rush, of Greene Co., Ohio, made the journey on horseback from that section to Berrien, where he located 100 acres, upon section 5. Mr. Rush intended to bring his family out as soon as possible, but on the very night before he set out (in June) to return to Ohio there came a heavy frost that nearly destroyed the growing crops; and looking forward with distrust to the prospect of pioneer existence in a country where the crops were blasted by summer frosts, he deemed it wiser to defer the transferring of his family, and so did not bring them out until the autumn of 1835. He domiciled his wife and four children at Andrew Tate's house a few weeks, until he could provide a log house for them. Upon the creation of the Eau Claire postoffice, in 1861, Mr. Rush was appointed postmaster, and continued in the possession of the office until 1874. He r X - 0 -1.Tt 1. C I'r I - AI -n CD no b; ta ic CO -1 0 I' 9 r I z:: -:: 1: TOWNSHIP OF BERRIEN. 207 resided upon the place of his first settlement until 1878, when he removed to the village of Berrien Springs, and is now living there. John Powers moved from Greene Co., Ohio, to Pokagon Prairie in 1829, and remained there until the fall of 1834, when he settled upon section 15, in Berrien township, on a farm which he had entered in 1832. Prior to settling, he had come over from Pokagon, put up a log cabin on his place, cleared some land, and set out an orchard, so that when he brought his family he had affairs pretty well arranged for their comfort. Among the members of his family when he came to Berrien was H. S. Robinson, now township clerk, who was Mr. Powers' stepson. Two years before he died Mr. Powers became totally blind and helpless. He lived on his farm until his death, in August, 1879. His old place is still owned and occupied by his children. Francis R. Pinnell, now living in Berrien, at the age of ninety-four, came to the township in 1835. With a large company of 27 people (including himself, wife, and eight children; Wesley Pinnell, wife, and nine children, and Cyrus Hinchman, F. R. Pinnell's son-in-law, with his family), he started from Virginia for Indiana, where it was his purpose to settle. When they reached Indianapolis, and had viewed the country, they concluded that Indiana was not a place to their liking, but, pending a move farther westward, they were detained in Indianapolis by the illness of Wesley Pinnell, his wife and child, and Rebecca Linegar,-all of whom died there. Nearly all the members of the company were more or less fever-stricken at Indianapolis, where they remained from July to September. On the 4th of September the remnant of the little band traveled together in wagons towards Michigan. Without further mishaps they reached Berrien, where Francis R. Pinnell settled on section 14. He lived there four years, and then moved to a place near Morris Chapel, whence, in 1854, he moved to his present location, on section 35. Ralph Denn, from New York State, came to Berrien, with his wife and five children, in 1836, and stopped on the place known as the B. D. Townsend farm, where he labored a few years, and in 1839 bought 40 acres of land on section 9. He lived there until 1869, when he removed to Kansas, where he died in 1877. Four of his children live in Berrien, to wit: Mrs. H. S. Robinson, Mrs. Church Cox, Mrs. Asher Webster, and William Denn. Thomas Easton, a settler in Southern Indiana, and originally from Kentucky, left Indiana in the summer of 1838, with his wife and ten children, and reached Berrien in the fall. Mr. Easton had entered 40 acres on section 11, but had to find temporary shelter for his family until he could put up a cabin. This home he found with Campbell McCoy, who had come from Indiana in 1835 and located upon section 11. McCoy, it may be noted, lived upon that farm until about 1850, and then removed to Pipestone township, where he died. After settling upon his new location, Mr. Easton added to it 40 acres, for which he gave a brown mare, and subsequently added 40 acres more. Upon the 120 acres thus acquired his son, A. J. Easton, now lives. Thomas Easton died there in 1871. Silas Ireland was a young man when he came from Ohio I to Berrien, in 1839. He worked for farmers in that section until 1843, when, having married and located a farm of his own, he moved upon the place now occupied by him. Abram Puterbaugh was one of the settlers in Berrien in 1836. He moved, with his family, consisting of his wife and seven children, from Ohio to Niles, early in 1834, and there leased George Boon's mill, which he carried on until 1836, when he went to Berrien township and there leased Eli Ford's saw-mill, putting up also near the mill a log cabin for a family residence. After operating Ford's saw-mill two years, Puterbaugh built a saw- and grist-mill on the same creek nearer the river, and bought there 200 acres of land of Robert E. Ward. During the early spring of 1841, Mr. Puterbaugh went to Berrien Springs for a mill-iron, and upon his return, in attempting to cross the frozen river, broke through the ice and was drowned. He had made only a partial payment upon his land, and his sons not caring to retain it, the property reverted to Mr. Ward. Ford's mill, already spoken of, stood at the foot of the hill covered by the John Tate place, and traces of it may yet be seen near the roadway at the creek crossing. David, one of Abram Puterbaugh's sons, moved to Pipestone about 1838; Jacob, another son, lived in Berrien until 1855, when he too moved to Pipestone. Brief mention may be made of Lawrence Cavanaugh, who settled upon section 26 in 1830, and of Peter Hickman, who located on section 30 at an early date. Cavanaugh moved farther west shortly after becoming a resident of Berrien. Hickman died on his farm in 1840. Cyrus Hinchman, who has already been mentioned as having come to Berrien, in 1835, with Francis Pinnell, located upon section 14, and was the most extreme northern settler in the township. Hinchman started from Virginia without any decided view as to a settlement in Michigan, but was persuaded that way by his brother Hiram, who made his home in Berrien in 1834. Cyrus became known afterwards as the man who raised the largest pumpkin ever seen in the township. How large it was cannot now be said, but it was large enough to be worth a barrel of salt, for which Hinchman traded it at Niles. Mrs. J. C. Runkle, of Pipestone township, is a daughter of Mr. Hinchman, and recollects that when her father reached the wilderness of Berrien with his family, all the money he had was a five-franc piece. One cold winter day, when the ground was covered with snow, Mr. Hinchman began to chop a large tree that stood near his cabin, and fearing the tree might fall upon the cabin, he conveyed his young children to a safe spot, and sat them upon a freshly-taken deerskin, which he had spread on the snow. There the little ones sat while he felled the tree, and well it was too that he had taken the precaution, for the tree fell upon the cabin and damaged it badly. Mr. Hinchman lived in Berrien until 1865, when he moved to Montcalm Co., Mich., and is still living there. After 1840 settlements began to multiply rapidly. The population, which was 543 in 1840, was nearly double that in 1854. Among the early settlers of whom special mention has not already been made were Joel Layman, Israel P. Hutton, T. K. Clyburne, William and John Nye, and B. D. Townsend. 208 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICH.IGFAN. 208 HISTORY OF BEIIRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. One may yet encounter in a day's drive, many hearty old men, who still remain as reminders of the pioneer history of Berrien, and who tell the stories of Michigan's early days in a way that awakens a deep interest. The remembrance of a nearly fifty years' experience upon Michigan soil is the valuable legacy which time has left to many of Berrien's pioneers; and now, in the enjoyment of comfort and ease, they are pardonably proud to rank themselves with the rest of that noble band, whose members were the advance-guard in the march to the Western wilds in the days when that region was a stranger to the tread of the white man. The first birth in Berrien was that of John Johnson's son, Isaac, who was born Dec. 20, 1828. The first death is supposed to have been Peter, son of Wm. Lemon. He was buried on his father's farm. Mention has already been made of Eli Ford's warehouse, which was built in 1833, upon the river-bank, near the east end of the bridge at Berrien Springs. That point was at one time a place of considerable trade. Thomas L. Stevens kept store there until his removal to the village opposite, and John Defield kept tavern awhile near at hand, but the business activity was soon transferred thence to Berrien Springs. EARLY ROADS. The first roads of consequence were the ones extending from Niles to Berrien Springs, and from the latter point to Pokagon, both being laid out in 1832. April 24th of that year the township was districted as follows: " The public road from Brown's Ferry across the St. Joseph River, thence west to the line of said township, on the road to Newburyport, to be District No. 1. All the land in said township lying south and west of the said road and river to be District No. 2. All the land in said township lying east of the said river to be one district, and numbered three." Then follows a list of the names of the persons, April 24, 1832, as liable in April, 1832, to work on the highways in the three districts. They were as follows: District No. 1, Clark Pennewell, Wm. Williams, Daniel Williams, Jacob Shoemaker, William Wilson, Stephen Purdee, Martin Hoffman, F. B. Murdock, Michael O'Harra, Pitt Brown, Horace Godfrey; District No. 2, Wm. Barlow, Wm. C. Webster, Samuel Stlee, Hezekiah Hall, Wm. T. St. John; District No. 3, John Johnson, Eli Ford, Shadrach Ford, Wm. Lemon, Henry Lemon, Geo. H. Claypool, Adam Michael, Michael Hand, Lawrence Cavanagh, Hugh Marrs, Daniel Marrs, James Jenkins, Alexander Marrs, Elias Parker, John Smith, Isaac Smith, Wm. Ferguson. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION. In the month of April, 1832, Calvin Britain, representative in the Legislature from Berrien County, presented to the Legislature the following petition: "TO THE HONORABLE THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN: "The undersigned, citizens of the County of Berrien, in said Territory, residing between the nine-mile post from the mouth of the St. Joseph River to the nineteenth-mile post, respectfully represent that heretofore the township of Niles has embraced the whole county of Berrien; that that part of the County of Berrien designated is settling with remarkable rapidity; that the citizens thereof experience much inconvenience in being obliged to resort to Niles, situated near the southern line of the County, to exercise the invaluable right of participating in the election of township pfficers; that, independent of this consideration, the citizens residing within the boundaries designated feel greatly the importance of electing their own township officers from among themselves,-men who feel an interest and a pride in opening and improving roads within the boundaries aforesaid, and of performing all of the other duties that may be required of them as township officers. " The undersigned, therefore, respectfully pray your honorable body to pass a law setting off from the township of Niles all that part of said County situate North of township seven, and extending as far North as to include two tiers of sections in township five, and the east and west lines to extend from the west line of Cass County to Lake Michigan. (Signed) Y. 15. IVUDOK JOHN JAT_ hNwSON "F '. B5. MURDOCK, " HUGH MARRS, WILLIAM C. WEBSTER, "WILLIAM F. ST. JOHN, " HEZEKIAH HALL, JR., "WILLIAM BARLOW, " WILLIAM LEMON, "ADAM MICHAEL, " GEORGE H. CLAYPOOL, "HENRY LEMON, "WILLIAM MICHAEL, JOHN JOHNSON, ELI FORD, MICHAEL HAND, PETER HICKMAN, DANIEL JOHNSON, MICHAEL O'HARRA, SHADRACH FORD, WILLIAM FERGUSON, PITT BROWN, ELIAS PARKER." Upon the foregoing petition, the township of Berrien was erected and organized in 1832, its territory-originally a part of Niles township-including what are now the townships of Berrien, Oronoko, and Lake. In 1837, that portion of Berrien extending from the river to the lake was set off into a separate township, by the name of Oronoko, although the river was not made the boundary line until 1847. (See history of Oronoko.) The first election in the new township was held at the tavern of Pitt Brown, on the west bank of the St. Joseph River, on the 1st of April, 1833. The persons elected, together with the votes cast for each, were as follows: Supervisor, Pitt Brown, 20; Township Clerk, Francis B. Murdock, 16; Assessors, William F. St. John, 21; Hezekiah Hall, Jr., 21; Julius Brown, 21; Commissioners of Highways, William F. St. John, 21; Hezekiah Hall, Jr., 21; Julius Brown, 21; Constables, Stephen Purdee, 19; Henry Lemon, 15; Fence-Viewers and Poundmasters, John Johnson and William C. Webster, 8; Overseers of Highways, District No. 1, Stephen Purdee, 4; District No. 2, Hezekiah Hall, Jr., 4; District No. 3, William Lemon, 4; District No. 4, Lawrence Cavanaugh, 4; District No. 5, Eli Ford, viva voce, in place of Julius Brown, who declined to serve; Collector, Stephen Purdee, 19. It appears from the records that the residents of Berrien township proceeded to an election of officers in April, 1832, immediately upon presenting their application for township organization, but who the officials were-other than Lawrence Cavenaugh, Moderator, and Francis B. Murdock, Clerk-cannot be stated, since the record of that election has not been preserved. Following is a list of the names of those who have served the township as supervisors and clerks from 1833 to 1880: 1833.-Supervisor, Pitt Brown; Clerk, Francis B. Murdock. 1834-35.-Supervisor, Pitt Brown; Clerk, Wm. F. St. John. 1836.-Supervisor, Pitt Brown; Clerk, Thos. Love. 1837.-Supervisor, Pitt Brown; Clerk, Francis D. Johnson. 1838-39.-Supervisor, Pitt Brown; Clerk, Thos. Love. 1840.-Supervisor, Pitt Brown; Clerk, Thos. L. Stevens. 1841.-Supervisor, Alonzo Bennett; Clerk, Thos. L. Stevens. E. T. DICKSON. MRS.. T. DICA SON. RESIDENCE OF EDWIN T. DICKSON, SEc.1O, BERRIENTP, BERRIEN CO.,MICH. -:''i::-::I;:I:-:::I:-;:'-:::-1~': -i:r::~;:~ i —; -::~:::::~ '::~::-:i::;:,::::: ~::::::::::::::::: - ~::::~:::; 3:;B" n -i-i-:-~ —~ TOWNSHIP OF BERRIEN. 209 1842.-Supervisor, Julius Brown; Clerk, Amos Gray. 1843.-Supervisor, Julius Brown; Clerk, Cyrus Ilinchman. 1844.-Supervisor, A. L. Burke; Clerk, Cyrus IIinchman. 1845.-Supervisor, Geo. Murphy; Clerk, Cyrus Ilinchman. 1846-48.-Supervisor, A. L. Burke; Clerk, George Murphy. 1849.-Supervisor, Geo. Murphy; Clerk, Silas Ireland. 1850.-Supervisor, Silas Ireland; Clerk, Daniel Boon. 1851-52.-Supervisor, Silas Ireland; Clerk, Truman Royce. 1853.-Supervisor, J. F. HIaskins; Clerk, H. S. Robinson. 1854.-Supervisor, Silas Ireland; Clerk, 11. S. Robinson. 1855.-Supervisor, Ralph Denn; Clerk, H. S. Robinson. 1856.-Supervisor, Silas Ireland; Clerk, IH. S. Robinson. 1857.-Supervisor, P. G. Cuddeback; Clerk, J. L. Kessler. 1858.-Supervisor, Wm. S. Maynard; Clerk, Wm. P. Weed. 1859.-Supervisor, E. A. Brown; Clerk, P. G. Cuddeback. 1860.-Supervisor, P. G. Cuddeback; Clerk, H. L. Johnson. 1861.-Supervisor, P. G. Cuddeback; Clerk, George Cuddeback. 1862.-Supervisor, P. G. Cuddeback; Clerk, Edward Cady. 1863-65.-Supervisor, John Tate; Clerk, Edward Cady. 1866.-Supervisor, H. R. Murphy; Clerk, Edward Cady. 1867.-Supervisor, John Tate; Clerk, Edward Cady. 1868-69.-Supervisor, John Tate; Clerk, Erastus Murphy. 1870.-Supervisor, John F. Peck; Clerk, Erastus Murphy. 1871.-Supervisor, Joel Layman; Clerk, Isaac Rogers. 1872.-Supervisor, John Tate; Clerk, H. S. Robinson. 1873.-Supervisor, J. M. Savage; Clerk, II. S. Robinson. 1874.-Supervisor, John Tate; Clerk, Almon Keigley. 1875-76.-Supervisor, I. P. Hutton; Clerk, H. S. Robinson. ~1877-79.-Supervisor, D. H. Allery; Clerk, H. S. Robinson. The affairs of the township are in charge of a township board, consisting of D. H. Allery, Supervisor; H. S. Robinson, Clerk; and Norman Nims, the senior justice of the peace. On the 1st of April, 1879, the township was clear of debt, and had in the treasury, including school-moneys, $336.75. The total taxation in 1878 was $6381.96, of which $2335.30 were for school purposes. CHURCHES. Morris Chapel, Methodist Episcopal Cluurch.-A Methodist Episcopal society was organized in 1843, and worshiped in the Washington school-house, a log edifice, located about eighty rods south of the present church. The early church records having been lost, no definite details of the early organization can be given. In 1845, when Rev. Henry Worthington was preaching on the circuit, the church membership included 50 persons. Ludwig Robinson was then class-leader. Shortly afterwards, Isaac Schnorf was chosen to be class-leader, and remained as such for a period of thirty-one consecutive years. In 1846 the congregation built a church edifice, which, in honor of Bishop Morris, they called Morris Chapel, and in that year laid out a church-yard. In 1867 a new church building replaced the old one, and is still used. The church membership has varied from 40 to 65, and numbers now 46. The class-leaders now are Samuel Van Vlear and Joseph Stafford. The stewards are Joseph Stafford, Charles Stafford, and Isaac Schnorf. The trustees are Joseph Stafford, Charles Stafford, Isaac Schnorf, Cyrus B. Groat, Stephen A. Curtis, Sylvester Schnorf, Henry R. Nye, Benjamin N. Nye, and Joseph Walker. The last pastor was Rev. T. T. George, who preached at Morris Chapel. The church is now awaiting a Conference appointment of a pastor. The Sabbath-school, including 45 scholars, is in charge of Gustavus Matthews, assisted by 6 teachers. Morris Chapel is now on the Pokagon circuit, which includes five stations. 27 Pleasant Hill United Brethren Church.-In 1851 the members of the United Brethren faith near Pleasant Hill were organized into a congregation by Rev. Samuel Chapman, and attached to the Silver Creek circuit. Among the original members were John Martin and wife, Moody Willis, James Groat and wife, Joseph Stafford and wife, Amos Stafford, F. R. Pinnell and wife, Delilah W. and Nancy A. Pinnell, Wesley F. Pinnell and wife, Walker Willis. Worship was held in members' houses, in Moody Willis' barn, and in Morris chapel, until 1853, when the church now in use was erected. The first class-leader was Wesley Pinnell, whose successor, James Groat, has been the leader from 1853 to the present time (with the exception of one year). The first steward was Moody Willis, who assisted in the building of the church, and who was killed in the United States service during the war of the Rebellion. Following Mr. Chapman, the early pastors of the church were Revs. Forbes, Freeman, Dunn, and France. The present pastor, who preaches once every two weeks, is Rev. J. H. Pattee, whose immediate predecessors were Revs. Light and Bartmouth. Removals and deaths have weakened the church membership, which includes now but 17 persons. Franklin Chapel (United Brethren) was organized in 1854 by Elder Thomas, who held meetings previous to that time in the Franklin school-house. In 1855 a meetinghouse was built. The present pastor is Rev. J. H. Pattee, who preaches once every fortnight. The church membership is but 15. M. D. Curtis is the steward; Thomas Brown is the class-leader; and M. D. Curtis and Isaac Jenkins, trustees. Berrien Centre Free- Will Baptist Church congregation, now worshiping at the union church, south of Berrien Centre, was organized June 17, 1865, by Rev. James Ashley. The original members were Zera F. Wright and wife, John H., Margaret, Jeremiah, Sarah, William, Lydia, John, Cyrus, Adeline, and Elizabeth Shearer; Lydia and Phillis Dickson, Peter File, George and Margaret Foster, James Wright, Maria Webster, Laura and Julia Murphy, Robert Lemon, Jane and Lavina Marrs, Ralph and Eliza Magill, Joseph and Mary Myers, Annette Weed, Mary Rutter, George Cuddeback, Elizabeth Cuddeback, - Riggin. At the first session John H. Shearer was chosen deacon, and George Cuddeback clerk. E. T. Dickson is the present clerk, and William Shearer, John H. Shearer, and J. S. Wright the deacons. The membership in September, 1879, was 88. Rev. Lewis Jones was then the pastor, and held services once in two weeks. Maple Grove (United Brethren) Church was organized in 1854 by Rev. Thomas J. Babcock, in a log school-house in the northern part of the township, Mr. Babcock having held services previously in the house of David Moore. Henry Rush was leader of the first class formed, and other members were David S. Weaver and wife, Jacob Puterbaugh and wife, John Rush, William Tenant and wife, Martin Reese and wife, Nicholas Michael and wife, Thomas Mountjoy and wife, Caleb Clark and wife. Until 1873, when the present house of worship was erected, the church met in the Eau Claire school-house. The present member 210 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ship is 72. The pastor is Rev. E. F. Light, and the classleader, H. S. Robinson. A fMethodist Episcopal Society worshiping in the north previous to 1864, joined the United Brethren upon the organization of the latter at Maple Grove. A Methodist Episcopal Society worshiped near the Centre as early as 1838, and had in its first class Thomas and Mary Riggin, Miss Mary Riggin, Hiram Hinchman and wife, William Nye and wife, Maretta Boss, and Ann E. Powers. The society met in the union church until 1870, when, being much reduced in numbers, it was dissolved. The Dunkards formerly met at the union church, and early in the history of Berrien a Dunkard society had an existence in the eastern part of the township. Members of that faith in Berrien still meet occasionally for worship, but their number is small and their meetings infrequent. Long Lake Church.-About 1856 a number of citizens, living in the vicinity of Long Lake, subscribed towards the erection of a union church near Long Lake, to be used forever as a free church by all religious denominations alike. They appointed as trustees Messrs. Michael Hand, George H. Claypool, and Andrew L. Burke, and since that time the church structure has been similarly in charge of trustees. Baptists, Adventists, Lutherans, and United Brethren have worshiped there, but the former and the latter are the only ones now maintaining at that point a regular organization. The Baptist Congregation-a branch of the Berrien Centre Free-Will Baptist Church-was organized March 8, 1879, by Rev. Lewis Jones. The original members were John and Sarah Burke, Margaret Frank, Allie Green, William H. and Eva Miller, Maggie Martin, Phoebe and Eliza A. Simpson, Jennie Thayer, Frances Snyder. These persons yet comprise the church membership. Services are held once every fortnight by Rev. Lewis Jones. John Irwin is the deacon, W. H. Miller the clerk, and W. C. Webster the treasurer. The United Brethren Congregation was organized in the spring of 1877 by Rev. K. H. Sickafoose, who had been preaching for a few months previously to the members of the faith in that vicinity. The original members were W. H. Miller and wife, William Rice, Allie Green, Horatio and Hascal Cole, George Edwards, Jane Thayer, Margaret Frank, John Rogers, Libbie and Maggie Irwin. The congregation has latterly lost in membership and includes now but five persons, but the organization is still maintained and bids fair to be for some time to come. William Rice is the class-leader, and Rev. E. F. Light, the pastor, who preaches once in two weeks. CEMETERIES. One of the first grave-yards was laid out on the Marrs farm, where bodies were buried up to about 1867, when interments were discontinued there, and a majority of those buried were transferred to other places. There was also an old cemetery on the spot now used as the county poor-house burial-ground. The burial-grounds in the township now number five, viz., the Berrien Centre Union Church, Franklin, Long Lake, Morris Chapel, and Maple Grove Ieme E Is SCHOOLS. A Mr. Wells was one of the early teachers of Berrien. He taught in a log school-house near the Niles road, on section 31, about the year 1830. A Mr. Pike taught in the same school-house,-which was the only one in that section of the country at the time. John Kessler, a young Virginian, taught school in a log school-house on section 23. Mr. Kessler is still a resident of Berrien, on section 27. April 3, 1837, the township first chose school inspectors, who were Andrew Murray, Robert E. Ward, and Ambrose E. Murray. The school inspectors in 1879 were Cyrus B. Groat (school superintendent), H. S. Robinson (township clerk), and Almon Keigley. There are now in the township seven full, and three fractional school districts, with ten schools. Of the ten school buildings two are handsome brick structures, costing $2100 and $2200 respectively, and eight are frame. The total estimated value of school property is $8825, and the total yearly expenditures for support of schools, $2745. Ten teachers are employed, to whom are paid, yearly, $2025. Out of a total school enumeration of 422 the average attendance is 406. POST-OFFICE. The only post-office in Berrien at present is Berrien Centre, which has daily mail communication. The office was established in 1857, when Z. F. Wright was appointed postmaster. To him succeeded Isaac Murphy, Isaac Hess, Frank Wood, and George W. Wyman, the latter being the present incumbent. Eau Claire post-office was established in Berrien in 1861, near the Pipestone line, and Henry Rush appointed postmaster. Mr. Rush retired in 1874, when the office was removed across the line into Pipestone township, and there it has since remained. Previous to 1857 the citizens of Berrien township were obliged to get their mail at Berrien Springs or Niles, and until the date named there was no post-office within the territory now occupied by Berrien. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Morris Chapel Grange, No. 13, was organized March 4, 1873, with 17 members, as follows: James M. Savage, Mrs. A. E. Savage, John Nye, Mrs. Ann Clybourn, Joseph Walker, Mrs. Susan Curtis, T. K. Clybourn, Mrs. Lottie Curtis, John Ullrey, Mrs. L. C. Ullrey, Ira Vangorder, Joseph Pinnell, James D. Matthews, S. A. Curtis, Silas Ireland, Charles R. Curtis, Joseph Stafford. The Masters since the organization have been Silas Ireland, T. K. Clybourn, Charles R. Curtis, John B. Metzger, David Schnorf. The officers for 1879 were David Schnorf, M.; George Snuff, O.; T. K. Clybourn, L.; Ira Vangorder, Steward; Joseph Pinnell, Asst. Steward; C. R. Curtis, Chaplain; John Schnorf, Treas.; C. B. Groat, Sec.; Edward Cady, Gate-Keeper; Mrs. T. K. Clybourn, Ceres; Mrs. Ann Schnorf, Pomona; Mrs. George Snuff, Flora; Mrs. John Schnorf, Stewardess. The members numbered 13 on Oct. 1, 1879. Regular meetings are held at the Oak Grove school-house on the Saturday nearest the full moon in each month. Berrien Centre Grange, No. 14, was organized March 22, 1873. The first Master was Thomas Marrs, and first TOWNSHIP OF BERRIEN. 211 Secretary J. F. Peck. The successive Masters since then have been John F. Peck, Almon Keigley, and Joseph A. Becker. The charter members were Thomas Marrs, John F. Peck, A. W. Marrs, J. A. Becker, J. J. Becker, Thomas Riggin, W. A. Hess, Jacob Brenner, Uriah Shaffer, Mrs. Thomas Marrs, Mrs. J. F. Peck, Mrs. A. W. Marrs, Mrs. J. A. Becker, Mrs. J. J. Becker, Mrs. Jacob Brenner. In 1876 a commodious grange hall was built at Berrien Centre; at a cost of $1500, and there regular fortnightly meetings are held. The members number now 64, and the officers are Joseph A. Becker, M.; J. J. Murphy, Overseer; Almon Keigley, Lecturer; Jacob Brenner, Steward; W. A. Hess, Asst. Steward; R. A. Calvin, Chaplain; A. J. Easton, Treas.; Erastus Murphy, Sec.; T. B. Snow, Gate-Keeper; Mrs. T B. Snow, Ceres; Mrs. S. H. Brenner, Pomona; Mrs. W. E. Peck, Flora; Miss Frank Rutter, Lady Assistant Steward. Berrien supports, with a good deal of vigorous determination, an Anti-Horse- Thief Association, known also as the Vigilance Committee. Its members are numerous, and include many of the leading farmers of the township, who are bent upon providing, through the instrumentality of the association, against the successful operation of horsethieves, who were at one time exceedingly troublesome. An excellent cornet band is one of the local institutions, and includes several skilled performers, whose services are frequently called into requisition at merry-makings and other public demonstrations. The cause of temperance receives hearty support. Not only has Berrien always been singularly free from the imposition of public traffic in spirituous liquors, but the dissemination of the temperance doctrine has warmly engaged the attention of a large number of citizens. The township boasts a flourishing Red-Ribbon Club, whose labors are, and have been, productive of much good on behalf of the cause. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. EDWIN T. DICKSON. James Dickson, great-grandfather of the gentleman to whom this sketch especially refers, came to America about the year 1770 from a place called Old Town, in Ireland, and settled in York Valley, Pa., but at the close of the Revolutionary war he removed to the southwestern part of that State and settled in Washington County, where he spent the remainder of his life. His children were six in number, viz., John, Samuel, Andrew, William, and two daughters. John Dickson, son of James, was born at Old Town, Ireland, about 1767, and came to America with his parents when about three years of age. Soon after reaching the years of manhood he married a lady named Robinson and settled in Westmoreland Co., Pa., where, a few years later, his wife died, leaving two sons, Levi and James, of whom the first-named and the elder was born in 1792. James Dickson, Sr., having married a second wife, emigrated in 1811 to Huron Co., Ohio, but afterwards removed to Hamilton Co., Ind., where he died in 1830. James Dickson, son of the John Dickson above mentioned, and father of Edwin T. Dickson, was born in Pennsylvania, Dec. 5, 1794. He grew to manhood in Huron Co., Ohio, and served in the United States army in the war of 1812-15. After the close of that struggle (in 1819) he removed to Wayne Co., Ind., and in 1820 married Lillis, eldest daughter of Judge Thomas McKenney. Of this union there were born five sons and four daughters, all of whom are living except one daughter, who was the wife of the Hon. G. C. Jones, of Cass Co., Mich. In 1828, James Dickson moved to Michigan Territory, and settled in La Grange, Cass Co., where he died Sept. 17, 1866. Mr. Dickson's business was that of a farmer, which vocation he followed during all his life, and very successfully. He was an extensive reader, and by this means he laid up a great store of practical information. He received the appointment of justice of the peace from Governor Cass in 1830, and was afterwards elected to several offices by his fellow-townsmen; but he had no political aspirations, and preferred to remain in the quiet of his farm, leaving office and politics to the more aspiring. In religious belief he was a deist, but a Quaker in precept and example, and he stood high in the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. Edwin T. Dickson, to whom this biographical sketch more particularly refers, was the son of James Dickson, and the eldest of a family of nine children. He was born in Centre township, Wayne Co., Ind., Aug. 2, 1821. At the age of seven years he accompanied his father to Cass Co., Mich., where he grew to manhood. In 1845 he married Miss Lydia Garwood, and in 1849 removed to his present home, on section 10, Berrien township,-a place which was at that time covered by dense woods. In 1869, Mrs. Dickson died. She had been the mother of six children, five of whom died before her death. One-the eldest daughterstill survives. Mrs. Dickson was a most estimable woman, and an excellent wife, whose virtues and sterling traits as a wife contributed in no small degree to her husband's success in life. In 1870, Mr. Dickson married the eldest sister of his deceased wife, Miss Mary Garwood, with whom he lived happily for two years. She died Oct. 20, 1872. On the 4th of February, 1873, Mr. Dickson married his third and present wife, Miss Susie Layman, of Berrien, a teacher by profession. Mr. Dickson has from his boyhood been familiar with the privations and trials of pioneer life in a new country. In his boyhood he attended the first school taught in La Grange, Cass Co., and from that beginning he progressed until he became the possessor of a fair education. He has always been a great reader, is thoroughly versed in the Bible, and familiar with the Koran and the Vedas. His religious belief is in accordance with the views of the FreeCommunion Baptists, of which church he has been a member for fifteen years. In matters of religion and morality he knows no middle ground, and favors no half-way meas ures, but is always zealous in the cause which he believes to be right. He is a man of strong convictions and decided character; a strict temperance man, and in favor of pro 212 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. hibitory measures for prevention of the sale of intoxicating liquors. Politically, he is a Republican. He has filled the office of justice of the peace, and many other township offices, always, in these elections, receiving the full vote of the party to which he belongs. Although Mr. Dickson has now nearly completed the sixth decade of his life, he carries his age remarkably well, especially when the hardships and vicissitudes of his past life are considered. He has never been sued at law, and is decidedly opposed to litigation in any form. He has been something of a traveler, having crossed the territory of the United States from ocean to ocean. He is frank, open, and upright in all his actions, and positive and decided in his opinions. It is not unusual to find that such a man has enemies, and such may perhaps be the case with Mr. Dickson, but it is certain that he has the esteem and confidence of the community in which he lives. NATHAN McCOY was among the earliest settlers of Western Michigan; born in Montgomery Co., Va., Nov. 15, 1805. His father, William McCoy, was also a native of the same county, and his mother, whose maiden name was Susan Hunter, of Giles County, same State. His parents were very poor, and Na I in 1837, and, living in a log cabin, endured the usual hardships, trials, and pleasures of pioneer life; for our old pioneers tell us that their happiest days were when building up their homes in the woods. Mr. McCoy has been quite a hunter, having killed a great many deer both in Michigan and Virginia. By his first wife he had the following children: Elizabeth, born Dec. 17, 1837; Amanda Jane, March 7, 1839; William, Aug. 16, 1843; Lewis Perry, Aug. 8, 1851, all of whom are living. Mr. McCoy was afflicted by the loss of this wife, who died Oct. 11, 1851. The 21st of October, 1852, he married Amanda Marquis, by whom he had the following children: Francis Marion, born Oct. 24, 1854; Zorah Alice, born Nov. 18, 1858, died Sept. 6, 1861; and Susanna, born Sept. 16, 1862. Dec. 13, 1875, the hand of the destroyer was again laid heavily upon Mr. McCoy's household, taking his second partner and companion. Mr. McCoy has always been Democratic in politics. He is at present possessed of two hundred and forty-seven acres of land, and with abundant means, pleasant home, and the most of his family around him he bides his time. ISRAEL PEMBERTON HUTTON was born in Bedford Co., St. Clair township, Pa., July 10, 1831. His father, Benjamin Wright Hutton, was a native of Adams Co., Pa., as was his grandfather. His mother, Beulah R. (Harris) Hutton, was a native of Chester Co., Pa. Mr. Hutton's ancestors were Quakers and English. The family removed to Michigan in October. 1846. Israel worked at farming until eighteen years of age, when he went to Three Rivers to learn the milling trade of Bowman & Hoffman, working nearly three years with them, when he removed to Summerville, Cass Co. This was in 1851. There he took charge of a mill, and in December, 1855, purchased it. In 1857 he built a new saw-mill, and in 1858 a new flouring-mill. He also built several houses in Summerville. In 1863 he bought one-half interest in a mill at Lawton, Van Buren Co., and sold it in 1865. In 1864 he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Berrien township, where he now lives. He sold his mill at Summerville in 1873; rebought it in 1876; resided in that place till 1874, when he removed to the site of his present home. He built his handsome residence in 1875. He sold one-half of his mill in 1876, and is at present managing both farm and mill. He married Mrs. Anna Maria (Moore) Milliard, who had three children by her first husband, viz.: Joseph B., Edward F., and Nancy Maria Milliard. Mr. Hutton's family consisted of six children; names and ages as follows: Arthur Donaldson, born June 19, 1854, died September 29, 1856; Robert F., born Sept. 15, 1855; Wilford M., born Jan. 26, 1857; Elizabeth L., March 30, 1858; Beulah Adelle, Aug. 29, 1859; Parthenia, July 19, 1861. While in Summerville he filled several offices of trust. He helped organize the Citizens' National Bank of Niles, and has been a director for several years. Was a Whig in politics until the formation of the Republican party, since NATHAN M'COY. than received very little schooling, working on the farm and tending carding-machine alternately for a livelihood until November, 1833, when he emigrated to Michigan, stopping first at Pokagon for a year, with his brother-in-law, Henry Sifford, working the following two years near Cassopolis, for Pleasant Norton. He then took a trip to Iowa, returning after a two months' stay. He was married to M Hepeziah Vickars, Dec. 7, 1836. l: 1834 he bought one hundred and fifty-three acres of lat in Berrien township, Berrien Co., settling on this early TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE. 213 which time he has acted with them. Has been a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church for twenty-three years. Mr. Hutton's success is not enigmatical, but shows to the young men of to-day what can be accomplished by energy and industry, though poverty be their lot at the beginning of life. SILAS IRELAND was born in Concord township, Ross Co., Ohio, Nov. 10, 1818, and was the eldest of twelve children. His father, Stephen Ireland, was a native of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and of Scottish descent; his mother, Elizabeth (Carmean) Ireland, a native of the same place, was of German descent. They removed to Ross County about the year 1808. Silas' father being poor and he the oldest son, he had to assist in the support of the family, working on his father's farm. When about sixteen years of age he commenced studying mathematics and surveying, devoting all of his leisure time to it, and we may say is a self-educated man, having had very little opportunity for schooling. In October, 1839, he emigrated to Michigan, having but seven dollars in money upon his arrival. He worked at whatever came to his hand, doing some jobs of surveying. May 3,1842, he married Miss Matilda Michael, a native of Greene Co., Ohio, but at the time of her marriage living within three miles of their present home. Mr. Ireland, in June of that year, bought eighty acres five miles east of Berrien Springs, upon which they settled, first living in a log cabin. This was the site of their present home. They have resided on this place ever since, except two years and a half, in Dowagiac, Cass Co., where they moved, to educate their children, returning the day after Abraham Lincoln's first election. Mr. Ireland's family consists of the following children: Elam M., born July 5, 1843; Alpheus F., March 3, 1846; Almeda M., Nov. 28, 1847, died Jan. 5, 1865; Carey H., May 6, 1849, died Oct. 19,1877; Martha Alice, May 14,1851; Charley A., Nov. 28, 1853; Mary E., Nov. 21,1855; Frank S. A., Oct. 4, 1857; Milo S., Dec. 11, 1860; Hattie B., Aug. 3, 1863; Roscoe W., Sept. 28, 1866; George R., July 2, 1868. Mr. Ireland has held every township office except treasurer. He has been superintendent of the county poor twelve years; was supervisor five years. He acted as one of the committee to draft and make specifications for county jail, sheriff's dwelling, and county poor-house, which he built in 1869. Has been engaged as guardian for minors and others and settling estates of deceased persons for the past thirty years; was elected representative to the State Legislature from the first district, Berrien Co., in November, 1876, receiving as the Republican candidate sixteen hundred and ten votes to his Democratic opponent's thirteen hundred and ninety-four. He has continually held some office since the age of twenty-two. Has been deputy surveyor of Cass and Berrien Counties. Was a Democrat till the opening of the Kansas and compromise troubles, when he joined the Republican party; was a firm supporter of the Union during the war. At present he owns some seven hundred acres of land, and a flouring-mill at Silver Creek, Cass Co.; he is a director of the First National Bank of Niles, and vice-president and director of the First National Bank of Dowagiac. CHAPTER XXIX. BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP.* Settlement of the Township-Stage-Coaching Days-TemperanceMills-Roads-The German Settlement-Post-Office and Postmasters-Township Organization and List of Officers-Church History of Bainbridge-Schools-Patrons of Husbandry. BAINBRIDGE is numbered town 4 south, range 17 west, and embraces thirty-six sections, covering an area of six miles square. Watervliet is on the north, Pipestone on the south, Van Buren County on the east, and Benton township on the west. No township in Berrien County is more completely agricultural than this, as it is entirely given over to that interest, which, it may be observed, is both extensive and profitable. As an apple-growing region it invites especial notice, and as an evidence of its importance in that respect, mention is made that one of its apple-orchards, owned by John Byers, contains two thousand trees, and in 1878, Mr. Byers shipped upwards of two thousand barrels of apples as a portion of his fruit product in that year. Numberless large applec orchards may be found in the township approximating that of Mr. Byers, but his is supposed to be the most extensive, and to contain, moreover, the largest trees. As to peach culture, disease among the trees has much cut down the annual crop latterly, until the peach interest is comparatively small. The plan of promptly destroying diseased trees is generally approved by the farmers, who recall a similar experience of Delaware peach-growers, some years ago, and they say that by abandoning peach culture for a time it may be revived at a later date with highly profitable results, as has proved to be the case in the history of Delaware. The nearest approach to a village in Bainbridge is the village of Millburg, of which there are eight lots in Bainbridge, the larger portion of the place being across the line in Benton township. The village of Benton Harbor is the market-town for the major portion of the people, and their post-office as well, although there are post-offices at Millburg, Bainbridge Centre, and at other points. A large element of the population of Bainbridge consists of Germans, who occupy chiefly a region known as the German settlement, and who exercise an important voice in the administration of township affairs. Apart from the Germans, the inhabitants are New Yorkers or their descendants, a majority of the early settlers having come from Jefferson and Livingston Counties in that State. Numerous ponds or lakes diversify the surface of the country, which is undulating, the largest of these being known as Pipestone Lake, which covers perhaps 400 acres. Small streams are abundant, but among them there are none * By David Schwartz. 214 HISTORY OF BtRRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. susceptible of furnishing valuable water-power. Bainbridge has manifested a disposition to assist railroad enterprises for the construction of roads in the township, but thus far no tangible results have followed, although they are likely to accrue before long. Railway stations are found at Benton Harbor, Coloma, and Watervliet, and afford desirable conveniences. Bainbridge's assessed valuation in 1879 was $247,401. EARLY SETTLEMENT. The pioneers of Bainbridge belonged to the class known as Canadian Frenchmen, and were represented by a Canadian family named Sharrai, whose members were Bartholomew, the father, and his wife, five sons,-Peter, Luke, Tenos, Louis, and Bartholomew, Jr.,-and three daughters,-Louise, Catharine, and Mary,-nine persons in all, who came in company from Canada about 1833, and settled upon an 80-acre tract in section 8, a portion of the tract being now occupied by C. D. Weber. The Sharrais lived together and divided their time between clearing their land, raising crops, and boating on the St. Joseph. One Ruleaux, also a Canadian, came to Bainbridge soon after the Sharrais. He built a log shanty on the Sharrai place, stocked it with a few bottles of whisky, and called the house a tavern. That it was not much of a tavern, and that its business was meagre, seems to be conceded by general report; but the presence of Ruleaux's tavern there gave to the locality the iame of the " Ruleaux Place," by which it continued to be known long after the tavern was swept away. Ruleaux bought also a village lot in the Bainbridge portion of Millburg, when that place was laid out. In 1835 he sold that lot to J. H. Enos and moved away. The elder Sharrai being takep quite ill not long after his settlement, was to be taken to St. Joseph for medical treatment, but died while on the way there. His sons did not remain in the township very long after settlers began to come in. Peter, Luke, and Tenos now live in Sodus township. J. H. Enos, who purchased Ruleaux's village lot in Millburg, came from New York to Michigan in the fall of 1835, with his brother Joseph, on a prospecting tour. Having bought Ruleaux's land interest, Harvey returned, with his brother, to New York, whence in the spring of 1836 they came again to Michigan, with Harvey's family and Roswell, another brother. Harvey moved into a log house that Ruleaux had built, and in the same year put up a saw-mill on Blue Creek, in the Benton portion of Millburg. Roswell and Joseph, his brothers, continued for a while to live with him and work for him, and then sought locations of their own,-Joseph in Benton, and Roswell in St. Joseph. Mr. Enos was Bainbridge's first postmaster. He kept at his house on the Territorial road a tavern-stand, where the daily stages between Detroit and St. Joseph halted; he operated the Millburg saw-mill some years, and for fourteen years was a citizen of considerable prominence in that neighborhood. After 1850 his health began to fail, and retiring then from active pursuits, he removed to Ben ton township, where he still resides. In the fall of 1833, Martin Tice, a young man, then residing in New Jersey, started, in company with a Mr. Griffin, for St. Joseph, Mich., traveling by water to Detroit, and thence on foot to Kalamazoo and Watervliet; the only highway they found between the two latter points being a well-worn Indian trail. Reaching St. Joseph, they worked for Maj. Britain that winter, and the next year for various persons in the vicinity of St. Joseph. In 1835, Tice concluded to become a settler, and just then being employed in the laying out and construction of the Bainbridge portion of the Territorial road between Detroit and St. Joseph, he entered a tract on section 17 in Bainbridge, on the line of the road named, and after completing his work on the road he settled upon his farm, put up a log cabin, and kept bachelor's hall until 1838, when he married a daughter of Jonas Ivery, a blacksmith of Watervliet. From 1836 to his death, in 1876, he was a resident in Bainbridge, and lived all that period on his place of first settlement, where his daughter, Mrs. John McIntyre, now resides. She relates that she frequently heard her father say that the only house in Bainbridge at the time he came into it was that of Peter Sharrai, living " up north." Directly upon the opening of the Territorial road through Bainbridge, John P. Davis put up a log tavern opposite Tice's house, and as travel over the thoroughfare set in briskly, Davis' tavern became a regular stopping-place for stages on the route as well as for freight carriers. Fourand six-horse passenger coaches passed daily, while vehicles of various descriptions, laden with merchandise, moved over the road in considerable numbers. As already noted, Harvey Enos' tavern, opened at Millburg about the time Davis opened his, was likewise a popular stopping-place, and had a flourishing trade. Davis lived only until the fall of 1836, and was the third person to die in the township. He was buried in a lot at the rear of his tavern, and some time afterwards his body was removed to the Bainbridge burying-ground. Davis' widow carried on the tavern a while, and then transferred it to Ezra C. King (a carpenter living near the tavern), who was succeeded by C. C. Sutton, S. R. Gilson, and A. R. Pinney, the latter of whom married the Widow Davis (who still retained control of the property), and continued to be the landlord until the completion of the Michigan Central Railroad turned travel from the turnpike. Pinney took the tavern in 1841, and replacing it with a substantial and commodious frame structure, carried on a profitable business for some years. During his time traffic was much greater than it had been during the time of either of his predecessors. Report says that he frequently provided breakfast for one hundred people when the business season was at its best. He went to California, and upon his return settled in Kalamazoo. Pinney's tavernquite a famous landmark in those days-still stands, and, somewhat remodeled, is now the residence of Mr. T. J. West. During the winter of 1835, Joseph Matran, George Wilder, and a company of twenty-three others were engaged in clearing timber-land in Niagara Co., N. Y., for Smith & Merrick, extensive land-owners in New York and Michigan. In the spring of 1836 they were ordered to proceed to Bainbridge township, in Michigan, where Smith & Merrick had made large land purchases. Seventeen of the party, TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE. 215 including Matran and Wilder, concluded to go, but the others declined to venture so far West. The seventeen traveled on foot to Buffalo, sailed via Lake Erie to Detroit, and walked from there to Bainbridge, where they halted at Davis' tavern, and were presently met by Dr. N. B. Moffatt, who had previously been sent out to Bainbridge by Smith & Merrick to look after their interests there, and to open the country to settlers. Moffatt had prepared for the coming of the men by the erection of two log houses, and the engagement of a family to board them. Mr. Matran says that when he and his fellow-travelers reached their destination,-a log house then standing near the site of the present German Catholic church,-it was nine o'clock at night, and all were ravenously hungry. The woman of the house, however, refused to prepare supper, but did prepare it eventually under continued protest. Her conduct led to her dismissal the following day, and the installation in her place of the wife of John Nash, one of the seventeen. When Matran and his companions reached their field of operations in Bainbridge, they found there Stillman Wood, Stephen R. Shepard, James Wilder, and others already engaged in clearing land for Smith & Merrick. Peter Sharrai was there, and, although considered a settler, spent much of his time in boating on the St. Joseph. Dr. Moffatt set his men so vigorously at work clearing land and putting in wheat that at the end of the twelve months which the party had agreed to work a considerable tract of land in the northern part of the township had been broken. Their land-clearing labors ended in that section, the men passed to other Western points, except Wood, Wilder, and Shepard, who located farms in Bainbridge, upon the lands they had assisted in clearing. Wood remained until 1859, when he removed to the village of St. Joseph, where he now lives, at the advanced age of ninety-four. George Wilder still resides in Bainbridge, upon a farm he bought of Jason Knapp. Shepard settled upon section 28, and there died. One of his sons, Morton R., lives in Pipestone. Moffatt went West, and, in 1849, setting out for California, died on the way. When Matran went westward, in 1837, after finishing for Smith & Merrick in Bainbridge, he had against that firm an unpaid claim for labor. After waiting until 1839 without receiving money on it, he returned to Bainbridge, and in settlement took 80 acres on section 28. During the ensuing three years he worked on the St. Joseph River, and at times doing some labor on his farm, succeeded in clearing 15 acres by 1842, when he left the river, settled upon his farm, and became a Bainbridge pioneer in earnest. In 1843 there arose some question touching Mr. Matran's eligibility to vote, and he visited Berrien Springs to satisfy himself on that point. While there he bought 12 appletrees of Eli Ford, of Berrien township, and brought them home on his back. With them he started his first orchard, and it became an excellent one. Mr. Matran lived on section 28 until 1850, when he bought a farm on section 14, to which he then removed, and where he has since lived. One of Bainbridge's settlers in 1836, and of course one of its earliest, was "'Squire" Samuel McKeyes, who in 1835 came from Broome Co., N. Y., with his wife and five children to Michigan, and stopping at Prairie Ronde bought a mill-interest there, but not liking the place on account of much sickness prevalent there, sold out and moved into Berrien County, where he bought of the general government 16 separate tracts of land, each containing 80 acres. Six of these tracts were in Bainbridge, and in that township he decided to make his home, upon section 11, where Jacob Cribbs now lives. Mr. McKeyes died there in 1853. The only one of his children now living in Bainbridge is Mrs. Jacob Cribbs. Peter Sharrai, of whom mention has already been made, rented his Bainbridge farm in 1838 to Jabez Knapp, who came in that year with his family from Jefferson Co., N. Y. Knapp occupied Sharrai's farm two years, during which time Sharrai boated on the St. Joseph in the summer and boarded with Knapp in the winter. In 1840, Knapp removed to the farm upon which Dr. N. B. Moffatt had lived. In 1841, having bought 120 acres of Smith & Merrick, on section 7, he went there to live, and was the first settler on the north-and-south road running through sections 6 and 7, which was surveyed in 1841, on the day Mr. Knapp raised his log dwelling-house. Mr. Knapp was by trade a shipcarpenter, and until 1846 followed that business at St. Joseph, while his sons looked after the farming interests. In that year he changed his location to a farm in Watervliet, near Coloma, and lived there until 1875, when he went to California, of which State he is still a citizen. The only child of Mr. Knapp living in Bainbridge is Mrs. J. K. Bishop. Levi Woodruff left Broome Co., N. Y., for the far West in May, 1837, with his wife and ten children, and halting in Michigan, bought 160 acres of land of Smith & Merrick, on section 10, in Bainbridge. On the same section Silas Irving had been a settler and lived with his family in a log house, but growing tired of his pioneer experience had sold out to Samuel McKeyes and gone to Kalamazoo. Into Irving's abandoned cabin Woodruff moved his family, and lived there until his own dwelling was completed. Newton and Philo, two of the sons, located near the elder Woodruff. Newton still lives where he first settled. Philo moved to Minnesota in 1856, and is now there. Levi Woodruff died in Bainbridge in February, 1862. His children now in Bainbridge are Asa, Simeon, Newton, and Mrs. Joseph Matran. Simeon Woodruff, Levi's brother, moved to Bainbridge from Ohio not long after Levi's settlement, and he, too, lived with his family in Irving's old hut during the preparation of a house of his own on section 15, but he died before his new home was completed. His widow and children occupied the farm until 1848, when, selling it to Martin Byers, they moved to Ohio. While he lived in Bainbridge, Simeon Woodruff, who was an ordained Presbyterian minister, preached occasionally in the settlement. Levi Woodruff, his brother, was instrumental in effecting a Congregational Church organization in Bainbridge, and served as deacon. The church existed but a short time before being merged with the church at Coloma. Returning now to the district bordering the Territorial road, the settlement of the Byers families in 1836 invites mention as an incident of importance. In June of that year, David Byers, his nephew John Byers (a lad of six 216 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN....... _ _ teen), and John's mother departed from Livingston Co., N. Y., for Michigan, being persuaded thereto by David's brother Tobias, who had preceded them to the West and located in Van Buren Co., Mich. They visited Tobias, and, while there, purchased land in Bainbridge, -Mrs. Byers, 160 acres on sections 13 and 24, and David, 240 acres on the same sections. David Byers lived upon his place until his death, in March, 1874, and in August of the same year John Byers' mother died upon her Bainbridge home, where John Byers now resides. Of all the settlers in Bainbridge when John Byers came, he is the only one now living in the township, and is therefore to-day the longest resident therein, and may in some sense be considered a patriarch. Upon his coming the dwellers in the township included John P. Davis, at the Territorial road tavern, Martin Tice, at the same point, Harvey Enos, at Millburg, and the Sharrais and McKeyes, in the north. South of the Territorial road there was no one. John Byers recites the history of the origin of peach culture in Berrien County, as follows: In 1840, David Byers, his uncle, went back to Livingston Co., N. Y., to be married, and upon his return to Michigan brought 100 peach-trees. Of these, he gave John 40 and kept 60 himself. In 1843 the trees bore their first fruit, and their combined product, amounting to 40 bushels, was taken to St. Joseph and sold, for $100, to the steward of Capt. Ward's steamer, which ran to Chicago. The purchaser took them to Chicago, and, according to Mr. Byers, that was the original shipment of peaches made from Berrien County, and from which the county's subsequent important peach trade arose. Touching the claim of Mr. George Parmelee to the honor of originating peach culture in this section, Mr. Byers says that Mr. Parmelee lived in Bainbridge from 1840 to 1843, when he removed to Benton, and that it was not until after he became a resident of the latter township that he engaged in the cultivation of the peach. Lot Sutherland, of Broome Co., N. Y., migrated westward in the spring of 1836, with his family of seven children, and, locating first near Kalamazoo, remained but a short time, and then removed to Bainbridge, where he purchased 100 acres of Smith & Merrick, on section 27, and lived there until his death. His children now living in Bainbridge are Justus, Ebenezer, and Henry Sutherland, Mrs. John Morgan, and Mrs. Edwin Youngs. Artemas Stickney accompanied Isaac Moffatt to Watervleit in 1836, where he worked for Smith & Merrick. He settled, with his family, in Bainbridge, in 1837, on section 28, but moved to Pipestone some years later and died there. His widow now lives with her son, Eliphalet, in Bainbridge. Wallis and John Tabor purchased land on the Territorial road as early perhaps as 1835, but did not occupy it until some time afterwards. John worked as a blacksmith in Chicago a few years, and then settled upon his Bainbridge farm, where he lived until 1875, when he removed to California. He lived near the Pinney tavern, and was the successor of Harvey Enos in the Bainbridge post-office. Wallis left Bainbridge in 1850 for California. Later he settled in Sodus, which township has since been his home. — I Adam Miller, of Livingston Co., N. Y., came West in 1837, in company with his family and Samuel Fletcher, his brother-in-law. The latter settled in Van Buren County, while Miller bought of the government 80 acres on section 24, in Bainbridge, where he now lives. Mr. Miller's daughter Fidelia, now living in Kalamazoo, was the first white child born in the township, the year of her birth being 1838. H. H. Selter, who settled in Bainbridge in 1838, enjoyed the distinction of being a party to the first marriage celebrated in the township. He was married the year of his arrival to Mary, daughter of Isaac Youngs. The ceremony was performed by David Byers, then a justice of the peace. Selter located at first upon a place north of Pinney's tavern, and afterwards changed his location to section 15, a little north of the township centre, where he died in 1875. His son Isaac married one of David Byers' daughters, and now lives on section 13. Daniel Pettis, now living on section 28, started from Vermont in 1837 for Van Buren Co., Mich., and after working there two years at his trade of carpenter, bought 80 acres on section 28, in Bainbridge, of Smith & Merrick, took his family to the place in the spring of 1840, and made a clearing. At that time the north-and-south road east of this place was only-partially open. The east-andwest road, on which his farm now lies, he himself assisted to construct. On that road, when Mr. Pettis came in, the only settler was Artemas Stickney. Isaac Youngs was one of the early inhabitants of what was known as "Shingle Diggings," in that portion of Bainbridge subsequently set off as Watervliet. In 1837 he left the Diggings and located upon a farm near Davis' tavern, where also his brother-in-law, Stephen R. Gilson (likewise a former resident at the Diggings), settled temporarily. Mr. Youngs moved to section 10, where he died. There his son Edwin now lives. Gilbert Van Vranken worked at J. H. Enos' saw-mill in Millburg from 1837 to 1841, and then, purchasing 80 acres of land on section 28, in Bainbridge, became a pioneer, although he did not actually settle upon the place until 1842, when he married a daughter of James Higbee, of Benton. Mr. Van Vranken died in 1877, leaving a widow, who still lives on the old place. In 1810, Jacob Cribbs, a house-carpenter, came to Bainbridge. In 1841 he assisted Philo Woodruff in the construction of Pinney's new tavern, and in payment for his services received some land on section 15. In 1842 he married a daughter of 'Squire McKeyes, and since that time has been a resident of Bainbridge. As already remarked, Smith & Merrick were owners of great tracts of land in Bainbridge, and in the beginning of the year 1876 sent Dr. Isaac Moffatt out to superintend the work of clearing and cultivating their broad acres. Moffatt brought several men out with him, and from time to time his force was increased until he had quite a colony about him. Much of the land was in the northwestern portion of the township, and that locality, by reason of the extensive land-clearing operations going forward there, came to be known by the name of "The Jobs." Stillman Wood, I-..I / THANIEL M. BRANT. BEANT I I::~:. ~.~':~:;:~-:-;~~':1 - -.:i., ir: r~~ :-~: ri4ca;~ 'r i, -:I-; — - RESIDENCEOF NATHANIEL M. BRANT,BAINBRIDGE, BERRfEN CO., MICHIGAN. I II TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE. 217 Stephen R. Shepard, J. B. Ransom, Crawford Hazard, James Wilder, and one Lamson were among the earliest employed upon the " Jobs," their service beginning about January, 1836. Ransom and Lamson remained, however, but a short time before returning to New York. Crawford Hazard was from Jefferson Co., N. Y., and in the spring of 1836 made the journey from Michigan, with his family and the families of Alonzo Gustin and Artemas Stickney,-the three being under engagement with Smith & Merrick to work upon their Western lands. Gustin went back to New York after a short stay; Hazard worked on the "Jobs" about a year, and in 1839 settled in Pipestone, upon a farm purchased of Morgan Enos. He left there in 1844 for Hagar; located in Bainbridge in 1860; in 1861 returned to Pipestone; and in 1865 again took up his residence in Bainbridge, where he died in 1868. One of his daughters married Nathaniel Brant, and now lives in Bainbridge. Mr. Hazard lived during his service on the " Jobs," in the Ruleaux tavern, which, upon his coming, was vacant. One day a man drove suddenly up before Hazard's door with a loaded lumber-wagon, in which was his family and household goods. Calling out loudly, he asked, " Is this the Ruleaux place?" Hazard, coming to the door at the summons, replied that it was. "Then," said the man on the wagon, " I'm master here." Hazard, in a spirit of badinage, replied, " Well, sir, take off your coat, and we'll try titles." The man on the wagon laughed, introduced himself as Isaac Higbee, shook hands with Hazard, and informed him that he had bought the Ruleaux place for a home. Accordingly he took possession, and Hazard moved to the house of Henry Nash, who boarded several of the men employed on the " Jobs." Higbee lived on the place but three years and then moved West. The general impression seems to be that the first death in the township was that of John P. Davis, the first landlord of the Territorial road tavern, who died in the fall of 1836. The impression is a mistaken one. There were two deaths in the township before that of Davis. The first was that of a surveyor engaged with the corps making the governmental survey. A coffin not being easily obtainable, the surveyor's body was encased in bark, and thus was buried near the site afterwards chosen by Ruleaux for his tavern. That was the first death. The second was that of McDonald Carr, a Canadian, engaged on Smith & Merrick's "Jobs." Carr was taken ill shortly after he commenced work, and was taken care of at Henry Nash's boardinghouse. He was afterwards moved to Crawford Hazard's house, where he died five days afterwards. He was buried by the side of the surveyor, and there, too, a child was buried not long afterwards. The remains of these three still lie in the spot where they were buried, although all traces of their graves have long since been obliterated. Mrs. Nathaniel Brant, a daughter of Crawford Hazard, recalls how the limited accommodations of settlers' houses during the days of '36 were put to severe tests when newcomers began to grow plentiful, and says that generous hospitality being the rule, it was'nothing strange for four or five families, just come into the settlement, to find entertainment at one cabin, and to sleep promiscuously on the floor at night as the best that could be offered under the 28 circumstances. Mosquitoes were distressingly plentiful, and at times during the summer did much towards making life a burden. Hiram Ormsby came from the Watervliet Shingle Diggings in 1838, with Stephen R. Gilson, and settled on the Territorial road near the tavern, but moved away after a brief stay. His home is now in South Haven. William Boughton lived on the Territorial road, near Millburg, from 1837 to 1839, and in the latter year moved to Pipestone. THE PENN YAN SETTLEMENT. The southwestern portion of Bainbridge is popularly known as Penn Yan, a name given to it by Isaac Youngs after the Brants located there. The first settlement in this part was made by the Brant family, of Wayne Co., N. Y. Simeon Brant with his wife and four children-Nathaniel, John, Daniel, and Augustus-came to Michigan in 1836, and made a settlement upon section 31 in Bainbridge township, where the elder Brant had, previous to his coming hither, bought 80 acres of land of Darius Clark. At this time the southern tier of sections in Bainbridge was an unbroken wilderness, into which Brant was the first to venture as a settler. With the aid of his boys, he chopped out a road to his place, put up a cabin, and made a clearing. Nathaniel, the eldest son, worked about upon neighboring farms until 1840, when he moved upon a farm in Pipestone, on section 17, which he had bought in 1838 of Morgan Enos, for whom, in Pipestone, he was a farm-hand from 1837 to 1840. In 1844, Nathaniel bought of Smith & Merrick a farm in Bainbridge, and upon that place he has since lived. John settled in Pipestone, where he died. Daniel became a settler in the southern portion of Bainbridge, and yet lives there. Augustus, the youngest brother, who lived with Daniel, was waylaid and killed while making a journey to visit some friends in Cass County. Francis Johnson followed Simeon Brant into Penn Yan in 1837, although lie had bought a farm the year before on section 31. He was unmarried then and roamed about until 1837, when he put up a shanty on his place and soon after married. In a little while he tired of a pioneer's life and moved into Benton township, where he opened a cooper's shop, returning, however, not long afterwards to his Bainbridge farm, where he lived until 1879, when he moved to Kansas. Joseph Griffin settled about the time of Johnson's coming. He died many years ago, and of his family none are known to be in the township. Ethamar Adams and his two sons, Charles and Ethamar, Jr., came in perhaps in 1837. The two sons were some years afterwards killed in the MNountain Meadow massacre in Utah. The elder Adams moved to Niles in 1854, and died there. Previous to Adams' occupancy of his Bainbridge farm, Henry Nash, who had been at work for Smith & Merrick, lived on it a few months, and then changed his residence to St. Joseph. David Sutherland, who had settled in Kalamazoo in 1837, conveyed his family to Bainbridge in 1839, having there bought of Israel Kellogg 120 acres on sections 33 and 34. His experience as a pioneer was, however, brief, for he died in August, 1840. His four sons-William, 218 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Bushrod, John, and George-lived with him until his death. William now occupies the old homestead. Bushrod bought a farm in Bainbridge in 1854, and now lives there. John lived with his brother William until 1856, when he bought a farm in Pipestone, where he has since resided. George, who went to Kalamazoo to live when he was but eight years old, now resides in Kalamazoo County. Charles Barnes, who married one of David Sutherland's daughters, was a settler first in Kalamazoo and then in Illinois. In 1842 he bought a place in Bainbridge on section 34. He entered the military service during the war of the Rebellion as chaplain of the 12th Michigan Infantry; was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and died in the hospital at Pittsburg Landing. In April, 1844, Joseph and Albert Vincent, with their families, and Henry Vincent, their younger brother,-the party including eight persons,-landed in Bainbridge, with a pair of horses, a lumber-wagon, and their household effects. They had come from the town of Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y., for the purpose of locating in Michigan, but undecided as to any particular point until they reached the State. Joseph worked Daniel Pettis' farm a year, and then bought of Israel Kellogg a farm on section 34, where he now lives. He did but little work on the place until 1848, when he settled upon it permanently. At that time there was no traveled road in the vicinity of his farm, and until 1849 narrow paths through the woods were the best thoroughfares available. Albert Vincent worked the old Sharrai place two years, and then, buying a farm near Millburg, lived upon it a number of years. He then moved to Millburg and kept a store. His residence is now Benton Harbor. Henry boated on the St. Joseph, and died at Millburg. Horace Vincent, another brother, became a settler in Bainbridge in 1846, when he occupied a farm north of Millburg, and after living there seven years moved to Benton, where he still resides. Still another brother, John, came to Bainbridge at an early day, and becoming subsequently a resident of Watervliet, died in Coloma in 1877. Stephen Stanley was among those who worked with Stephen R. Shepard, on Smith & Merrick's "Jobs," in 1838. After completing his services there, he followed the business of boating on the St. Joseph River, and in 1844 settled in Benton township. He now lives in Hagar. In 1843, George Wise, with his wife and three children, his father and mother, and his brother-in-law, John Lewis (whose family likewise accompanied him), started in company from Livingston Co., N. Y., via the Erie Canal, for the West, without any definite purpose as to where in the West they would locate. During the canal journey to Buffalo, George Wise's eldest child-a daughter-was killed by contact with a bridge, under which the boat passed before the child could heed the danger-warning. Reaching Buffalo, the party embarked on board a lake vessel for Chicago, where arriving, they did not fancy the country, and having been neighbors of David Byers (then settled in Bainbridge), they resolved to visit him. Mr. Wise's father and John Lewis stopped with David Byers, while George Wise and his family were sheltered at the house of John Byers' mother. I I Without delay George Wise bought of E. P. Deacon 80 acres of land on section 24, in Bainbridge, and while preparing the place for his family, lodged them in a house in the adjoining township of Keeler that summer. Upon the place he then bought, Mr. Wise has lived until the present time. John Lewis settled in Keeler within a few days after his arrival in Bainbridge. The elder Wise located upon a place one mile west of his son, on the Territorial road, where George Peters had already erected a cabin. He lived afterwards in Keeler, where he died in 1853. When the Wises came into Bainbridge, the settlers on the Territorial road were the Byers, on the east, and on the west, James Bragg, the widow Woodruff, David Woodruff, the Tabors, Martin Tice, Pinney, the landlord, and the widow of John Williams. Williams was an early settler in what is now Coloma. The year 1844 was fruitful of settlements in Bainbridge. Eighteen families came hither from the town of Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y., including the Bishops, the Spinks, the Harris families, the Boyers, Vincents, Spencers, and others. Asa Bishop and his three married sons, A. Sprague Bishop, Appleton Bishop, and Norris S. Bishop, came in company with their families. They all purchased land of Smith & Merrick, on the north-and-south road passing through sections 6 and 7, and settled on farms adjoining each other. Sprague Bishop remained until 1850, when he sold to James Adams and moved to Hagar, where he now lives. Asa Bishop lived on a place adjoining Sprague's on the south, and afterwards lived with his son, Kellogg Bishop, who, upon marrying a daughter of Jason Knapp, occupied a residence opposite his father's house. The elder Bishop died at Kellogg's house, in 1872. The latter still resides in Bainbridge. Appleton lived in Bainbridge a few years, and removed to St. Joseph to engage in mercantile pursuits, and there died. Norris resided in Bainbridge until his death, in 1864. When the Bishops came in, those'living on the north-and-south road spoken of were the Boyers, Jabez Knapp, Jason Alden, and Elisha Coon. Alden moved to Wisconsin three years later, and returning once more to Michigan, settled permanently in Benton. Coon soon passed farther West, and now lives in California. Orsemus and John Spink visited the West in the fall of 1843, on a prospecting tour, during which John bought of Smith & Merrick 80 acres on section 29, in Bainbridge. The brothers returned to New York, and there Orsemus exchanged his New York farm, with Smith & Merrick, for 80 acres on section 32, adjoining John's place. In the spring of 1844 both came to Bainbridge with their families, and spent a few days at Artemas Stickney's house, when, having erected a board shanty on John's farm, they moved into it. Orsemus Spink relates that when they came, roads in their neighborhood were not to be seen. Their neighbors were the Brants, one mile south; no settlers were between them and the western line of the township, while on the north, nearest them were Stowe and Van Der Bogart, and on the east, Stickney, Joseph and Mitchell Matran, Daniel Pettis, and Gilbert Van Vranken. Orsemus Spink is still a resident of Bainbridge. John moved TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE. 219 to St. Joseph in 1854, and later to Benton, where he died. Samuel, a third brother, who started with Orsemus and John from New York in 1844, stopped at Toledo, where he remained four years, and in 1848 settled in Bainbridge, upon section 29. A few years later he changed his residence to St. Joseph township, where he now lives. Justin, Norman, and Austin Boyer, three brothers, exchanged lands in Jefferson Co., N. Y., for some of Smith & Merrick's land in Bainbridge, and, with their families, settled there in 1844,-Justin on section 6, where he still lives, and Austin adjoining him on the south. The latter now lives in California. Among the comers of 1844 was S. H. Meech, of Oswego Co., N. Y., who bought about 300 acres in Bainbridge of H. T. Meech & Barnes, Western land speculators living in New York. He came out with his wife, and lived at Pinney's tavern until his own log house was completed. Then he joined the pioneer army, locating on section 26, where he lived until his death, in 1873, and where his widow still survives him. J. D Brewster, a Vermonter, came to Bainbridge with his family in 1844, and lived a year on a place owned by Justus Sutherland, where Brewster put up a cabin,-his family remaining meanwhile at the house of Daniel Pettis. During the year he bought 80 acres of George Peters, of Benton, and building thereon a substantial log house moved upon the place in 1845, since which time lie has resided there. 'A. F. Stiles, of Jefferson Co., N. Y., left there in the spring of 1845 with his wife and three children for Michigan, having bought of Eli Watson 160 acres on section 30 in Bainbridge. Leaving his family in Lenawee Co., Mich., Mr. Stiles went over to Bainbridge to look at his new purchase, and was pleased with it,-especially upon being informed that he had got a piece of fine land at a bargain. Mr. Stiles brought his family on and occupied temporarily a log cabin that had been erected upon a place near there by Walter Van De Bogart, who was an early settler in Bainbridge, but who in a few years after coming to Michigan returned to New York, whence he had migrated. Van De Bogart's brother-in-law, Cyrus Stowe, settled also in Bainbridge at an early date. He sold out in 1855 to Dr. Parker and moved to St. Joseph village, where for a while he kept a boarding-house, and removing afterwards to Illinois, died there. In the spring of 1846, Mr. Stiles moved to his own farm, and there he now resides. Although the road on which he now lives was laid out before he came in, it was not until the summer of 1846 that it was opened for ~travel. Mr. Stiles' nearest neighbors were Orsemus Spink, three-quarters of a mile east, the Brants, on the south, and John Spink, on the north. Israel F. Lyman, who was an early settler in Bainbridge, lived upon section 18, near Millburg, until 1847, when he sold his place to Harley B. Harrington and moved away. At that time there was no settlement between Harrington's and Tice's on the Territorial road. Mr. Harrington died in 1866. His daughter, Mrs. Morrison, now lives on the farm. Sydney Spencer moved from Jefferson Co., N. Y., to Hillsdale, Mich., in 1844, and in 1846 came to Bainbridge, I where he had bought 120 acres of land (previously occupied by Walter Van De Bogart) of William Angell, a Michigan land-owner, living in New York. Upon that place Mr. Spencer has since continued to live. When he located there, the only settlers on the road between him and Spink's Corners were Cyrus Stowe and John Spink. Previous to Sydney Spencer's coming, his brother Jason settled near Spink's Corners in 1844. He sold out after a brief residence and went East, but settled subsequently in Benton township. In 1844, Daniel Harris with his two sons, Henry and Elkanah, came from Jefferson Co., N. Y., and settled upon section 6. They moved away in'1850. Henry now lives in Coloma. His father and brother are dead. STAGE-COACHING DAYS. The early days of the Territorial road and the popularity of Pinney's tavern have already been briefly alluded to. In the old stage-coach times a roadside tavern, where good cheer and a brief rest awaited the weary traveler, meant something of which contemplation was always a pleasure, and the realization of which generally verified anticipations. Davis, who built the log tavern upon the opening of the road, in 1835, did not, perhaps, offer a perfect house of entertainment; nor did his immediate successors, for the reason, doubtless, that limited traffic did not warrant it, although it is likely that the old log tavern was a welcome and refreshing resting-place to many a tired and hungry wayfarer. It was, however, reserved for Pinney, in 1841, to set the tavern forward upon a career of prosperity to which it had hitherto scarcely aspired. He replaced the log cabin with a capacious and somewhat pretentious structure, expanded his conveniences for business even as business itself continued to expand, and for some years thereafter drove a remarkably brisk trade. Travel was lively. The merry stage-coaches, -sometimes as many as a dozen each day,-drawn by dashing teams of four and sometimes six horses, carried fu!l loads of passengers daily between Detroit and St. Joseph; freight-wagons plied regularly and fiequently along the route; and times were, altogether, quite encouraging for mine host Pinney and his famous tavern-stand. With the completion, however, of the Michigan Central Railroad to Kalamazoo, the days of stage-coaching on the Territorial road and the days of Pinney's tavern as a shining light were over forever. The six-horse coach was pushed aside by the iron horse, the tide of traffic betook itself to another and speedier channel, Pinney's tavern fell into the obscurity of neglect, and Pinney himself was known no more as a landlord. TEMPERANCE-MILLS-ROADS. Although now what may be justly termed a temperance township, Bainbridge withheld its frown in the earlier days of its settlement from the practice of alcoholic consumption which prevailed while the taverns were institutions in the land. Indeed, the spirit that ruled then permitted the dispensation of spirits at not only the taverns, but it was considered quite proper for every family to keep a bountiful supply of liquor on hand for use in a sudden emergency, or to play an important part in the business of providing hos 220 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. pitable treatment for visitors,-and open-handed hospitality was as common then as it was freely called into exercise. Now, however, all that is changed,-that is, the matter of liquor consumption or sale. Popular opinion long since declared against the traffic in liquor, and Bainbridge has, accordingly, enjoyed for many a day a comparative freedom from enterprises of that character. Mills.-Bainbridge has at no time felt the impetus of milling enterprise within its borders,-one reason being a lack of water-power, and another the want of railwaytransportation facilities. The only mill the town ever had was a saw-mill, which was built by Freeman Ruggles, in 1856, on Mill Creek, in the northeastern corner of the township. As already mentioned, the Territorial road passing through the centre of the township from east to west was laid out in 1835. In 1837 the business of laying out township roads was carried forward by E. C. King, S. R. Shepard, and J. N. Davis, as highway commissioners, Israel Kellogg being the surveyor. In that year the roads laid out were one running north and south on the west lines of sections 22, 27, and 34; one running east and west through the centre of sections 27, 28, and 29; one north and south along the west lines of sections 20, 29, and 32; one along the east lines of sections 3,10, 15, 22, and 27; one east and west through the centre of sections 33 and 34; one north and south through sections 5, 8, and 17; and one east and west through sections 8, 9, and 10. In 1838 the roads laid out were one from the east portion of section 8 to Millburg; one north and south along the east lines of sections 29 and 32, thence west and south to the south line of section 32. THE GERMAN SETTLEMENT. Bainbridge is largely occupied by Germans, especially in the northern portion, where they are greatly in the majority. That locality is generally known as the German Settlement, whose members are known also as a thrifty, industrious people, comfortably off in nearly every instance, and in many even wealthy. They maintain four church organizations, are liberally supplied with excellent school privileges, are most worthy citizens, and although taking free and active part in daily associations with the world outside their own community, confine their social lives in a great degree to the "settlement," and fraternize, in short, with each other as members of one family. For this there is especial reason in the fact that all the members of the settlement are natives of Germany, or children of Germans, and, more than that, many of them were neighbors and friends in the Fatherland. The German Settlement was founded in 1841, by Michael Humphrey, Peter Humphrey, his brother, Jacob Kreiger, Peter Schmitberger, Daniel Kreiger, Christian Heffner, Jacob Kneibes, and Peter, his son. These eight Germans, who left their native land in 1840 for America, although not all in company, went to Ohio, and late in that year met in the city of Cincinnati. All were actuated by a common desire to become farmers in the great West, and so it came about that all being similarly attracted to the advertisement of Smith & Merrick, the great Michigan land-owners, they resolved to purchase farms in Michigan. So, under instructions of Israel Kellogg, agent for Smith & Merrick, they set out from Cincinnati for Bainbridge township, traveling by teams, and in the summer of 1841 halted in Watervliet. The journey from Cincinnati was a tedious one, but the hearts of the sturdy Germans were cheered with the prospect of comfort in their pioneer life, and they looked forward with bright hopes and eager anticipations to the prosperity which they believed awaited them in the new land of their adoption. Sour milk and bread, it is said, formed the chief articles of diet during their trip from Cincinnati to Watervliet,-the bread being in their own stores, and the milk being obtained as best it could be from dwellers along the wayfarers' route. Probably they thrived on the bread and milk, and hearty and happy they landed in Watervliet, ready to bargain with Israel Kellogg for their future homes. Of the eight, Michael and Peter Humphrey settled in what is now Watervliet; the rest located just south of them, in the northern portion of what is now Bainbridge. The first of the eight to die was Michael Humphrey, who lived in the settlement until 1854, and saw then that the little band with which he came in thirteen years before had expanded in strength and grown to be a prosperous and wealthy community. Since then Peter Schmitberger, Daniel Kreiger, and Jacob Kneibes have died. Of the other four, Peter Humphrey moved to Weesaw township in 1846; Jacob Kreiger, Christian Heffner, and Peter Kreibes are still residents of Bainbridge. Upon the farms purchased by the eight friends Smith & Merrick had effected some clearings, but the greater portion of the tract was a wild, unbroken country, and at it the Germans commenced with a will to subdue the forest and to make the soil productive. They continued for five years, or until 1846, to comprise all the inhabitants in the German Settlement, and by that time, having done much towards improving the country and their prospects, they thought of inducing others of their friends in Germany to come out and join them. With that purpose in view, they wrote to those whom they desired as accessions to their little band, and as a result there were added in 1846 the families of Adam Hofer, Andrew Kaunzman, William Dukesher, Charles Knopf, Christopher Reichebach, and Michael HIumphrey, who journeyed together from Germany, and made the trip from Buffalo to St. Joseph in the steamer " Phoenix." Speedily following them, in the fall of 1846 and spring of 1847, came David Scherer, Jacob Herman, Adam Pole, Daniel and Lawrence Koob, David Friday, Michael Christ, Nicholas Kibler, Adam Shrumm, and others, of whom Kaunzman, Friday, and the Koobs settled in Watervliet, while the others located in Bainbridge. Later came the Webers, the Haids, Arnts, Buhlingers, Denners, and many who have become conspicuously identified with the progress of the settlement. As the German settlers came in they settled near each other, and so gradually created a community, which has widened, expanded, and strengthened into its present proportions. POST-OFFICE AND POSTMASTERS. J. H. Enos, who settled in Millburg in 1836, was appointed postmaster not long afterwards, and at his house, therefore, was kept the first office established in Bainbridge. — A C') r") -'f'A |:4:i Dn -I rri I: D E I~ ~: TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE. 221 When Mr. Enos resigned the office, in 1844, John Tabor, living near Pinney's tavern, was appointed, and retained the place some time, to be succeeded by Justus Sutherland. Samuel Yund and Frank Stewart were the incumbents after Sutherland, and after Stewart's time there was a lapse in the Bainbridge post-office until the appointment of James N. Peters, the present postmaster. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION. Originally a part of St. Joseph township, Bainbridge was set off, with a separate jurisdiction, in 1837, as a township, six miles square. Subsequently its jurisdiction covered the territory now embraced within the limits of Pipestone and Watervliet, so that Bainbridge reached six miles in width and eighteen in length. Pipestone was created a township in 1842 and Watervliet in 1846, when the territory of Bainbridge was reduced to the original six miles square, which it still retains. The township board for 1879 consisted of Charles C. Kent, Merrit Matran, J. K. Bishop, and Henry Pettis, who composed also the board of health. The acting justices of the peace in 1879 were J. K. Bishop, Henry Pettis, Robert M. Hunter, and William H. Cook. The following is a list of the persons elected at the first annual township-meeting, April 3, 1837, to serve as officers for the ensuing year: Supervisor, J. B. Ransom; Clerk, J. H. Enos; Assessors, Samuel McKeycs, David Byers, James H. Enos; Justices of the Peace, Samuel McKeyes, David Byers, Wallis Taber, William Boughton; Commissioners of Highways, Stephen R. Shepard, John N. Davis, Ezra C. King; Overseers of the Poor, Samuel McKeyes, William Boughton; Commissioners of Common Schools, Samuel McKeyes, Jerome B. Ransom, James H. Enos; Collector, Francis Johnson; Constables, Francis Johnson, John M Enos; Pathmaster, Martin Tice. Subsequently, at a special town-meeting, Samuel McKeyes was chosen supervisor. The second annual town-meeting was held at the house of Ezra C. King, April 2, 1838, and while the "old tavern stand" existed town-meetings were held there. The names of the persons annually chosen from 1838 to 1879, inclusive, to be supervisors, clerks, treasurers, and justices of the peace are given, as follows: 1838.-Supervisor, Samuel McKeyes; Clerk, Philo Woodruff; Treasurer, Wallis Taber; Justices of the Peace, Levi Woodruff, James H. Enos. 1839.-Supervisor, Samuel McKeyes; Clerk, Philo Woodruff; Treasurer, Samuel McKeyes; Justices of the Peace, William Boughton, Israel Kellogg. 1840.-Supervisor, Levi Woodruff; Clerk, Simeon G. Woodruff; Treasurer, David Byers; Justices of the Peace, Samuel McKeyes, Stephen R. Gilson. 1841.-Supervisor, Adam Prouty; Clerk, Simeon G. Woodruff; Treasurer, Levi Woodruff; Justice of the Peace, James IH. Enos. 1842.-Supervisor, Israel Kellogg; Clerk, Alexander P. Pinney; Treasurer, J. H. Enos; Justice of the Peace, Israel Kellogg. 1843.-Supervisor, James H. Enos; Clerk, A. P. Pinney; Treasurer, Walter Van Der Bogart; Justices of the Peace, Gilson Osgood, James Bragg. 1844.-Supervisor, Israel F. Lyman; Clerk, Cyrus Stow; Treasurer, Walter Van Der Bogart; Justice of the Peace, Justus Suther land. 1845.-Supervisor, W. C. George; Clerk, Cyrus Stow; Treasurer, James Adams; Justice of the Peace, Israel F. Lyman. 1846.-Supervisor, Israel F. Lyman; Clerk, Sprague Bishop; Treasurer, James Adams; Justice of the Peace, W. C. George. 1847.-Supervisor, W. C. George; Clerk, George Peters; Treasurer, William Crossman; Justice of the Peace, Sydney Spencer. 1848.-Supervisor, Newton R. Woodruff; Clerk, B. D. Thompson; Treasurer, William Crossman; Justice of the Peace, John Byers. 1849.-Supervisor, A. F. Stiles; Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, George Peters; Justice of the Peace, Austin Boyer. 1850.-Supervisor, Samuel McKeyes: Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, James Bragg; Justices of the Peace, Lemuel Clark, James Bragg. 1851.-Supervisor, N. R. Woodruff; Clerk, George Peters; Treasurer, James Bragg; Justice of the Peace, Sydney Spencer. 1852.-Supervisor, W. C. George; Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, II. B. Herrington; Justices of the Peace, Z. Marsh, W. C. George. 1853.-Supervisor, W. C. George; Clerk, J. T. Taber; Treasurer, Morgan Woodruff; Justices of the Peace, Francis Johnson, Horace Vincent. 1854.-Supervisor, D. 0. Dix; Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, Justus Sutherland; Justices of the Peace, Horace Vincent, Wm. L. George. 1855.-Supervisor, W. L. George; Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, Justus Sutherland; Justice of the Peace, Sydney Spencer. 1856.-Supervisor, W. L. George; Clerk, George Peters; Treasurer, John Byers; Justice of the Peace, George Peters. 1857.-Supervisor, Charles Kent; Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, 11. 11. Selter; Justices of the Peace, James R. Campbell, James Adams (2d). 1858.-Supervisor, W. L. George; Clerk, It. B. Harrington; Treasurer, Orville Jennings; Justices of the Peace, Wm. W. Green, Francis Johnson. 1859:-Supervisor, W. L. George; Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, Justus Sutherland; Justices of the Peace, Charles Kent, John Campbell. 1860.-Supervisor, Charles C. Kent; Clerk, John T. Taber; Treasurer, Kayus Haid; Justice of the Peace, D. 0. Dix. 1861.-Supervisor, D. 0. Dix; Clerk, Charles Kent; Treasurer, N. S. Bishop; Justice of the Peace, 11. II. Selter. 1862.-Supervisor, W. L. George; Clerk, Charles C. Kent; Treasurer, Kayus Haid; Justices of the Peace, N. S. Bishop, A. B. Ives. 1863.-Supervisor, Charles C. Kent; Clerk, 11. B. Harrington; Treasurer, Ambler Olds; Justices of the Peace, J. H. Peters, R. M. Hunter. 1864 -Supervisor, H. B. Harrington; Clerk, Charles A. Spencer; Treasurer, Ambler Olds; Justices of the Peace, W. L. George, Amos Wooden. 1865.-Supervisor, H. B. Harrington; Clerk, Charles A. Spencer; Treasurer, Asaph Woodruff; Justice of the Peace, John Byers. 1866.-Supervisor, John Byers; Clerk, Samuel Barnard; Treasurer, Christian Kreiger; Justice of the Peace, Ambler Olds. 1867.-Supervisor, Kayus Ilaid; Clerk, Samuel J. Barnard; Treasurer, Wendel Elgas; Justices of the Peace, Francis Johnson, John Campbell. 1868.-Supervisor, Kayus Haid; Clerk, Justus Sutherland; Treasurer, Christian Kreiger; Justices of the Peace, Merritt Matran, J. K. Bishop. 1869.-Supervisor, Thomas J. West; Clerk, Samuel J. Barnard; Treasurer, Wendel Elgas; Justices of the Peace, John Byers, John A. Mays. 1870.-Supervisor, Thomas J. West; Clerk, Samuel J. Barnard; Treasurer, Wendel Elgas; Justice of the Peace, J. A. Mays. 1871.-Supervisor, Thomas J. West; Clerk, Samuel J. Barnard; Treasurer, Ambler Olds; Justice of the Peace, Orsemus Spink. 1872.-Supervisor, N. R. Woodruff; Clerk, John A. Mays; Treasurer, Peter G. Kneibes; Justice of the Peace, Ira McGee. 1873.-Supervisor, Charles C. Kent; Clerk, John A. Mays; Treasurer, Charles Weber, Jr.; Justices of the Peace, Merritt Matran, Calvin B. Chappell. 1874.-Supervisor, Juan M. Guy; Clerk, Charles C. Kent; Treasurer, Charles Weber, Jr.; Justice of the Peace, Robert Hunter. 1875.-Supervisor, Juan M. Guy; Clerk, Merritt Matran; Treasurer, Charles Weber; Justice of the Peace, Albert Sutherland. 222 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 1876.-Supervisor, Charles C. Kent; Clerk, Merritt Matran; Treasurer, Charles Weber; Justices of the Peace, J. K. Bishop, William H. Cook. 1877.-Supervisor, Charles C. Kent; Clerk, Merritt Matran; Treasurer, Charles Weber; Justice of the Peace, Balaam Dodge. 1878.-Supervisor, Charles C. Kent; Clerk, Merritt Matran; Treasurer, Richard Haid; Justices of the Peace, Robert M. Hunter, Henry Pettis. 1879.-Supervisor, C. C. Kent; Clerk, Merritt Matran; Treasurer, Richard Haid; Justice of the Peace, William H. Cook; Highway Commissioner, B. W. Sutherland; Drain Commissioner, J. K. Bishop. CHURCHES. Bainbridge contains seven church edifices and nine church organizations, to wit: Disciples, 1; Baptist, 2; Roman Catholic, 1; Evangelical Lutheran, 1; Evangelical Ecclesiastical, 1; Methodist Episcopal, 1; Protestant Methodist, 1; United Brethren, 1. Besides these, other church organizations have existed, but they have passed away with the lapse of time, and live only in the memories of a few. Commonly throughout the West in the pioneer days the adherents of the Methodist Episcopal Church were foremost in forming church organizations, and in Bainbridge the members of that faith led the way in public worship. They weie, however, not far in advance of the inhabitants of the German Settlement, who turned their attention with becoming speed to public contemplation of religious affairs, and beginning with one church, now have four within a radius of less than half a mile. The Ulnio Church.-In the southwest, at " Spink's Corners," is a union church, in which worship is held by three distinct denominations,-Baptists, Episcopal Methodists, and Protestant Methodists. The church property is vested in the Baptist and Protestant Methodist Societies, who joined in erecting it, although the Episcopal Methodists supplied some assistance. The First Baptist CLhurch was organized in 1869, by members of the Baptist Church of St. Joseph living in Bainbridge and Sodus, as a member of the St. Joseph River Baptist Association. The constituting members were Job King and wife, F. B. King and wife, John King, Job King, Jr., Rufus, Sarah, and Phila King, Melinda Barden, Delilah Mays, A. F. Stiles and wife, Emma and Ida Stiles, Ripley Merrill and wife, Harvey Merrill and wife, Esther Merrill, Mark and Milton Meech. Elder Job King, of Sodus, was the first preacher, and continued to serve the church until his health failed, when his place was filled by his son, Elder John King, who is now in charge. The deacons and trustees first appointed still serve, the former being A. F. Stiles and Ripley Merrill, and the latter A. F. Stiles, Ripley Merrill, and A. F. King. The membership is now 28. Services are held once in two weeks. The Methodist Episcopal Church dates its existence back to the comparatively early period of 1846, when Orsemus and John Spink, strongly desirous of effecting a church organization, volunteered to contribute towards the erection of a school-house, conditioned that the church might use it fur worship. The building was accordingly put up opposite where the school at Spink's Corners now stands, and a church was at once organized, with 14 members. Orsemus Spink was chosen the first class-leader, as well as first steward, and as class-leader he has served ever since. The present steward is O. H. Dix. From 1846 to 1847 the church was attached to the Silver Creek circuit, and after that to the St. Joseph circuit. Among the early pastors were Revs. McCool, Meek, Kellogg, Robinson, Doughty, and others. Worship was held in the old school-house (now used on Wim. M. Noble's place as a wagon-house), with more or less regularity, until the erection of the union church, since when services have been held once in two weeks, Rev. A. N. Eldred being now the pastor. The church membership is 17. The Protestant Mlethodist Church, occupying also the union church edifice at Spink's Corners, was organized Nov. 18, 1865, with members as follows: Stephen Sedgwick and wife, William Friend, Mary Doane, Helen Spink, Alberto Spink and wife, William J. Cook and wife, George McIntyre and wife. These were members of the Pipestone class, previously worshiping in Pipestone, but at the time above mentioned withdrew and organized the Bainbridge class, in Bainbridge. It was on that date also that the Bainbridge circuit was established and held its first quarterly meeting. The circuit preachers then appointed were Revs. B. Bayne and A. B. Clark. The local preachers were W. J. Cook and Allen Johnson. The first leader of the Bainbridge class was John Williams, the first stewards Elias Devon and H. A. Spink, and the secretary H. A. Spink. Services were held in the " red school-house" at Spink's Corners until 1869, when the union church-begun in 1866 -was completed. The first church trustees on the part of the Protestant Methodist Church were W. J. Cook, Stephen Sedgwick, and H. A. Spink. The society united with the Baptists in erecting the union church, and possess an equal vested right in the property. The church trustees are E. S. Spink, James Jakeway, and William Noble. The class-leader is William Noble, and the steward Murray Spink. The membership is 22. Rev. D. Weaver is the present pastor, and preaches once in two weeks. The United Brethren maintained a brief organization at Spink's Corners, from 1856 to 1863, and held occasional services in the union church, but rose at no time to positive healthful strength. A Union Sabbath-school, supported by members of the various denominations worshiping there, has sessions every Sabbath in the union church. The attendance averages about 60. James Noble is the superintendent, and assisting him are six teachers. There are in the German Settlement four church organizations, known respectively as the Evangelical Lutheran, the Evangelical Ecclesiastical, Roman Catholic, and Baptist, each of which has a church edifice and is moderately prosperous. The oldest in point of organization is the Evangelical Lutheran, which was formed about 1851, at which time also a house of worship was erected. About 25 persons attended the church from the first, and the membership aggregates at present about that number. The original trustees were Frederick Weber, Daniel Krei-er, and David TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE. 223 Scherer. The present trustees are John Schwarz, Peter Kreiger, and Charles Moser. The deacons are Adam Kreiger and Ferdinand Washko. Rev. Mr. Bernreiter, of Mishawaka, Ind., was the first pastor. Rev. Mr. Nusbaum occupies the pulpit now, and holds services once every fortnirght. At this time those professing the Roman Catholic faith in the " settlement" assembled occasionally for worship in private houses and school-houses, and in a little while St. Mary's Church was organized, with a membership of 15 families. Priests were supplied from St. Joseph and matters prospered fairly, but it was not until 1860 that a church building was erected, when Jacob Herman and John Aner were chosen trustees. In 1868 the church was materially enlarged and much improved. The attendance embraces now 29 families, who gather for worship once a month, Rev. Joseph Theisen, of St. Joseph, being the pastor. The present church trustees are Simon Hosbein, Kayus Haid, and Joseph Kaiser. The Evangelical Ecclesiastical Church.-The most numerous congregation in the settlement was formed in 1856, with but 10 members, and now includes a membership of 125. The trustees first chosen were Peter Schmitberger, Philip Butsbach, and Henry Seel. The trustees now serving are Philip Butsbach, Adam Krause, David Friday, and Peter Kneibes. Rev. John Mack, the present pastor in charge, preaches every Sunday. Attached to this church is a flourishing Sabbath-school, in charge of John Krause, with an average attendance of 90 pupils. A Baptist Church was organized in 1871, with 14 members, a house of worship built, and Henry Dukesherer, Frederick Weaver, and Henry Seel chosen as trustees. The first pastor was Rev. W. A. Grimm. Removals have weakened the church, which has now a membership of but 8. Preaching is supplied from St. Joseph once in three weeks. The Church of Christ, which now has its organization in Bainbridge, was formed in Benton township about 1858, but the precise date of organization as well as the details of that event are unattainable matters, since the early church records have been lost. The church was, however, feeble, and continued an uncertain existence until 1865, when public services, which had been held with more or less regularity to that time, were discontinued. This state of affairs continued until 1868, when the advent of a few energetic spirits renewed the desire for public worship, and the church was accordingly reorganized that year, with 53 members. Meetings were regularly held every Sunday in the Millburg school-house, and preaching was enjoyed as it could be obtained. At that time, too, a Sunday-school was established, and it has been flourishingly maintained ever since. The elders of the church upon the reorganization were James Adams and J. W. Rose; the deacons, J. K. Bishop and C. C. Potes. The first preacher who supplied the pulpit regularly after the reorganization was Rev. Mr. Hurd, who held services once a month for about a year. At this time, 1869, the society began the erection of a fine, commodious church edifice just over the town line in Bainbridge. This struc ture was four years in process of construction, and cost about $5000. Upon its completion the church-meetings, which had been previously held in the Millburg schoolhouse, were transferred thither, and have since been held there once a fortnight. The building has a seating capacity of 400, and is surmounted with a spire eighty feet in height. The first minister regularly stationed at the Millburg church was Elder J. H. Reese, who preached from October, 1874, to the latter part of 1876. After that, Elder J. P. Lucas preached until early in 1879, since which time the pulpit has been temporarily supplied by Elder Henry Burton. The church membership is now about 80, and is made up of residents in Benton and Bainbridge. The elders are J. W. Rose and J. K. Bishop; the deacons A. L. Schofield, Joan Hess, and C. C. Potes; and the clerk, J. W. Rose. The Sabbath-school, in charge of J. W. Rose, superintendent, and 6 teachers, has a membership of 70, and has regular sessions every Sunday. The church society is entirely clear of debt, and prosperous in every way. The United Brethren in Christ have held worship for some time in the eastern part of the township at the "brown" school-house, although at that place there has latterly been no church organization. In 1878 some disaffection arose among those worshiping there, and as a consequence 11 of the number effected an organization among themselves, and in the summer of that year built a church south of the school-house, where they now have regular services. The membership still remains at 11. The classleader is John Burg, the steward, Jacob Wise, and the trustees, Wm. Bridgford, John Burg, M. R. Meech, Nathaniel Tucker, and J. T. Heaton. Meetings are still held at the school-house, as before, and there the attendance is quite liberal. A church organization was effected there in 1867, with 9 members, but it failed to prosper, and gave up its existence after a few years. The Mennoniites have worshiped at the houses of Martin Byers and David Byers ever since the former came to Bainbridge, in 1848. Martin Byers has preached at each meeting, except at such odd times as the services of preachers from elsewhere could be obtained. Although the Mennonites are but few in number in Bainbridge, and have no church organization, they hold regular worship once in each month. SCHOOLS. The early township records do not present elaborate reports of school matters, and although the township was organized in 1837, nothing is disclosed in the records about schools until under date of October, 1840, when a report sets forth that: "fractional school district returned 17 scholars between five and seventeen years;" that " District No. 4 returned 15 scholars;" and that "the school inspectors received from the county treasurer $9.12, on the above returns, in notes on the Bank of Michigan." Another report in the same year notes that school district No. 1 returned 16 scholars, that No. 4 returned 20, and that No. 5 returned 21. In 1844, Fractional District No. 1 included sections 17, 18, 19, 20, and the west half of section 21, in town 4 south, range 17 west. District No. 2 included sections 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, and the east half of section 20, in town 224 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. - I_ _ _n 5 south, range 17 west. District No. 3 included sections 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, and the west half of section 20, in town 5 south, range 17 west. District No. 4 included sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12, in town 4. District No. 5 comprised sections 27, 28, 33, 34, and the south half of section 22, in town 4. District No. 6 comprised sections 19, 30, 31, 20, 29, and 32, in town 3 south, range 17 west. District No. 7 was formed Dec. 31,1844, and included sections 14, 15, 17, 21, 22, 23, and the east half of section 20. The first teachers to whom the records refer were Harriet McKeyes, Miss McNett, George Parmelee, and Mehitable Love, all of whom taught in 1844. In 1846 the apportionment for the support of schools was $4.65 to District No. 1, $13.95 to District No. 3, and $11.47 to District No. 5. In that year the returns from the school districts were as follows: 17 from No. 1, 30 from No. 2, 41 from No. 3, 23 from No. 4, and 23 from No. 5. The condition of Bainbridge's public schools Sept. 1, 1879, is shown in the table here annexed: Number of districts..................................... Number of scholars of school age.................. Average attendance..................................... Number of school-houses (frame, 6; brick, 2)... Value of school property.............................. Paid for teachers' wages.............................. 8 451 381 8 $7550 $1291.25 The school inspectors are C. A. Kent (superintendent), Oscar Westcott, and Merritt Matran. Babibridge Grange, No. 80, was organized Sept. 27, 1873, at the house of Kayus Haid, with members as follows: G. Van Vranken and wife, A. N. Woodruff and wife, T. J. West and wife, John Byers and wife, Francis Johnson and wife, I. M. See and wife, C. J. Higbee and wife, J. F. Skinner and wife, B. F. Hill and wife, J. Matran and wife, W. M. Clausen and wife, Kayus Haid, Urius Van Vranken, M. Matran, W. Elgas, John Tieber, J. S. Peersall and wife, John Slater. John Byers was chosen Master; A. N. Woodruff, Secretary; and Kayus Haid, Treasurer. In 1876 the grange built a fine hall at the centre of the township, and dedicated it August 29th of that year. The membership in October, 1879, was 62, and the officers as follows: Samuel J. Barnard, Master; Homer Olds, Overseer; A. N. Woodruff, Lecturer; Henry Wise, Steward; Edward Matran, Assistant Steward; N. R. Woodruff, Chaplain; George Campbell, Treas.; J. Wallace Smith, Sec.; W. H. Cook, Gate-Keeper; Miss Mattie See, Ceres; Miss Cora Smith, Pomona; Ella Matran, Flora; Miss Laura Collins, Lady Assistant Steward. FISH CULTURE. On section 3, Mr. James G. Portman, State Fish Commissioner, has a valuable fish hatchery, which is esteemed a feature of much local interest. Mr. Portman devotes especial attention to the breeding of trout, and is known all over the State as a successful breeder, whose products are widely called for. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. NATHANIEL BRANT. The subject of this sketch was born March 12, 1815, in Wayne Co., N. Y.; is the eighth in a family of eleven children, of whom only four are living. His father, Simeon Brant, was a native of Massachusetts, and a farmer by occupation, though sometimes working at the carpenter trade. His mother was of Dutch descent, but was born in America, her maiden name being Herrington. Nathaniel was brought up as boys were in those days to assist his father on the farm, snatching his book-knowledge from brief periods of rustic schooling, but treading more liberally the rugged path of toil. HIe came to Michigan with his father when he was twentyone years of age, and helped him to make his first clearing on section 31 of Bainbridge township, which is occupied now by his grandson, Dudley Brant, son of Nathaniel Brant. At the age of twenty-two Nathaniel left the paternal roof and started in life for himself, hiring out by the month to Dr. Enos, where he remained two years, taking for his pay forty acres of land in Pipestone township; there he laid the foundation of the fine property he now enjoys. At the age of twenty-four, on the 29th day of April, 1840, he married Miss Martha, daughter of Crawford and Melinda Hazzard, in Pipestone, this being the first marriage in that town. Mrs. Brant's parents are both natives of the Green Mountain State. They were married in New York in the year 1822, and came to Michigan in 1836, settling in Bainbridge; Mrs. Brant being the second in a family of four, she being now the only one living. This union has been blessed with a family of eleven children, of whom eight only are now living. The names, ages, and deaths are as follows: Wesley C., born Aug. 10, 1841; Warren M., born March 9, 1843; Laura A., born Dec. 3, 1846, died April 23, 1870; Adaline M., born June 3, 1849, died Nov. 13, 1850; Emerett P., born May 11, 1853; Emma P., born May 11, 1853, died July 15, 1853 (twins); Jasper D., born Dec. 20, 1856; Newton E., born April 15, 1859; Oscar D., born Dec. 12, 1863; Orville L., born Sept. 7, 1865; Barney H., born Sept. 1, 1868. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Brant commenced their pioneer life in Pipestone, where he remained three years. In the spring of 1844 he sold his farm in Pipestone, and purchased his present home, which then only consisted of eighty acres, on section 32, but has since added at different times until the homestead now contains one hundred and ninety-nine acres; has owned at different times a considerable amount of real estate, which he has divided among his children. Mr. Brant's mother died March 10, 1854, his father making his home with him until his death, May 31, 1860. Mrs. Brant's father died Nov. 3, 1868, her mother living with her until her death, May 21, 1875. Their benevolence is unbounded. In politics Mr. Brant is a Democrat, and has held minor offices at different times. Both he and his wife have been members of the United Brethren since 1851. Their parents lived to see them provided with pleasant homes, and instilled principles in them which time cannot erase. TOWNSHIP OF BAINBRIDGE. 225 SIDNEY SPENCER. MRS. SIDNEY SPENCER. SIDNEY SPENCER. Among the earliest settlers of Bainbridge who have endured the trials, privations, and hardships of pioneer life, the subject of this brief sketch is worthy of conspicuous mention in this history of Berrien County. He was born Dec. 21, 1802, in Washington Co., N. Y., and is the oldest in a family of ten children. His parents were natives of Connecticut, but moved to Jefferson Co., N. Y., when Sidney was quite young. Sidney remained at home until he became of age, assisting his father on the farm summers, attending district schools winters, but by improving his time he acquired sufficient education to enable him to transact any ordinary business. After reaching the age of manhood he left the paternal roof, and embarked on life's broad sea to earn an honest livelihood. At the age of twenty-five he secured as a partner and helpmeet to assist him in the rugged paths of pioneer life, Miss Aseneth, daughter of Rev. Aaron (an early Methodist pioneer preacher) and Marion Davis, who were also natives of Connecticut, but emigrated from Massachusetts to Utica, N. Y., when there were but two log houses there. This union was blessed with six children, of whom only four are living,-Melissa, born Oct. 4, 1827; Charles A., born May 11, 1830 (took the gold fever in 1851, went to California, remained four years, made enough to purchase a farm on his return, married Elizabeth, daughter of Dexter Dix, and now lives in Benton township); Romelia, born April 24, 1835; William W., born July 3, 1837 (graduated in the law department of Ann Arbor in the spring of 1861, enlisted in the 39th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, August 13th, was appointed sergeant, served under Gillmore in South Carolina one year and a half, thence went to Richmond, where he assisted in the siege of that place, was wounded in battle, sent to Philadelphia, and died in Chestnut Hill hospital, July 4, 1864); Mary Augusta, born July 2, 1838; Rosamond, born Jan. 10, 1842, died March, 1842. After marriage, Mr. Spencer worked at farming in Jefferson Co., N. Y., until 1844, when he moved to Michigan, renting a farm in Hillsdale County; there he remained two years. He then purchased the farm where he now resides, consisting of one hundred 29 and twenty acres, on section 19. Wealth has been no sudden acquisition to Mr. Spencer, but slowly the work has been carried forward year by year, till, in the lapse of time, ease and comfort have been reached. He has lived to see his family all grown, and each provided with a home. One daughter lives in Detroit, one in Ann Arbor, another in Boston, Mass.; the only son living in Benton township. In politics he is a Republican; has been justice of the peace twelve years, besides holding other minor offices. Mr. Spencer is not a member of any church. Mrs. Spencer has been a member of the Methodist Church since 1820, and her father is a minister in that denomination. MARTIN TICE. This gentleman, born in New Jersey, in January, 1799, was one of a family of six children. His parents were natives of Germany, but came to America in an early day. Martin's uneventful youth was similar to that of farmers' sons in those days. Industry, economy, sociability, and honesty were the fundamental principles taught him. At the age of twelve he started out in life, hiring out as a farm-hand, his only capital a willing heart and contented mind. In 1833, when thirty-four years of age, he came to Michigan, stopping at St. Joseph. While there he helped to survey the Territorial road. While employed at that, he saw and took up the land now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. McIntyre, who causes this brief sketch and portraits to be inserted in this history, as a slight token of the love and gratitude she feels for her parents. In 1839, Mr. Tice married Sarah, daughter of John Ivery, who was a native of New York. To this marriage were born two children,Harriet, born April 7, 1840; Mulford, born March 4, 1842, killed in the late war, March 5,1863. In politics Mr. Tice was a Democrat; though not radical, yet always speaking and voting its principles. He was a member of no church organization. Mrs. Tice died Nov. 29, 1875; Mr. Tice, in May, 1876, only surviving his faithful companion a few months, leaving Mrs. McIntyre, their only surviving heir, to mourn the loss of their society and companionship. 226 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Photos, by Sesser, St. Joseph. JOHN KELLOGG BISHOP. MRS. JOHN KELLOGG BISHOP. JOHN KELLOGG BISHOP. Among the pioneers of Bainbridge in the days of 1844 the members of the family of Asa Bishop are entitled to conspicuous mention. In that family were Asa Bishop, the father, Polly Bishop, the mother, and eleven children. Of those children there are living in Bainbridge Mrs. Orsemus Spink and Mrs. John Lewis, sisters of John Kellogg Bishop. Of his busy and useful life the following article will furnish a brief sketch. John K. Bishop was born in Henderson, Jefferson Co., N. Y., on the 24th of July, 1827. He passed his early life at home in the usual manner of farmers' sons in those days, enjoying during brief periods the benefits of a rustic education, but being engaged the greater part of his time in the labors of the farm. He was but seventeen years old when, as already mentioned, he accompanied his parents to the West, and became one of the youthful pioneers of Bainbridge. There the elder Bishop located himself upon a farm in section 7, and there, as his father's assistant, John renewed with vigorous ambition the sturdy agricultural experience of his New York home. For four years he served his father; marched with unflagging zeal to the music of the pioneer's axe towards the goal of independence. Having then almost reached the age of manhood he determined to assume all of manhood's duties, and on the 2d of February, 1848, he was married to Miss Sarah Romelia, daughter of Jabez Knapp (a Bainbridge pioneer in 1838). He received from his father the deed of a farm on section 7, erected a small framed house upon it, and speedily assumed the position of a citizen, a householder, and the head of a family. In 1862 he replaced the humble home of his previous married life with the handsome residence in which he now resides. Early in life Mr. Bishop (then, as now, a Democrat) was called to participate in public affairs, and since his twenty first year, when he was elected township clerk, he has filled numerous local public trusts, in the discharge of which, as well as in the field of private citizenship, he has gained much deserved popular esteem, the cause of public education in particular having ever found in him a staunch supporter. He has served for years as justice of the peace, and still occupies that position. He was one of the first members of the Christian Church at Millburg, organized in 1856; was a deacon from that time until 1876, and is now an elder and a leading spirit of the same organization. Mr. Bishop is also the Master of Benton Harbor Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and a member of Benton Lodge, Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, with which he has been associated since 1868, and in which he has filled every office within the gift of his brethren. Mrs. Bishop, who was married on her sixteenth birthday, was the daughter of Jabez and Olive Knapp, who moved from Jefferson Co., N. Y., and settled in Bainbridge in 1838, when Sarah Romelia (afterwards Mrs. Bishop) was but six years old. Mr. Knapp was a ship-carpenter, and although the owner of a farm in Bainbridge, worked at his trade in St. Joseph for several years after his settlement in the former township. He subsequently moved to Watervliet, but is now a resident of the State of California. With her husband Mrs. Bishop aided to organize the Christian Church at Millburg, in 1856, of which she has ever since been one of the most faithful and useful members. She is also a member of Benton Harbor Grange, and is highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances in Bainbridge and the adjoining towns. Of the twelve children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bishop ten are living, namely: James G. Bishop, who lives in Benton; Perry S., a resident of the State of Iowa; Frank H. and Adelbert D., now at Deadwood, Dakota Territory; Mrs. Juan Hess, of Benton; and Clinton, Fred, John K., Jr., Bird, and Lou, who reside with their parents. I - - l '-;j'': - AND T..N CE OFE \ H- B ERTOF G, ESIDEN TOWNSHIP OF BERTRAND. 227 CHAPTER XXX. BERTRAND TOWNSHIP.* Situation, Surface, and Water-Courses-Early Settlements-Township Organization and List of Principal Officers-Agricultural Statistics -Religious Societies and Worship in Bertrand-Dayton VillageSchools in Bertrand. THE township of Bertrand is bounded on the north by the townships of Niles and Buchanan; on the east by that portion of Niles that was originally Bertrand, from which it is separated by the St. Joseph River; on the south by the State of Indiana, and on the west by Galien. A large portion of the town consists of prairie lands, slightly rolling, which are particularly well adapted for the production of Indian corn and oats, although wheat is raised in great abundance. The soil on these prairie lands is a black, vegetable mould intermixed with clay and sand. A portion of the town is burr-oak openings. The soil of these openings contains more lime than that of the prairies. The eastern portion of the town rises into hills, which slope to the river, and a line of low hills extends along the northern border. Its water-courses are the St. Joseph River on the east, McCoy's Creek, the head-waters of which rise in the western part of the township, and one of the branches of Galien River, also in the western part. There are two or three small lakes in the township. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. The greater portion of Bertrand township belonged to the Indians until the treaty held at Chicago in 1833. The northwest portion, comprising sections 6 and 7 and parts of sections 4, 5, 8, 18, and 19, are in territory ceded to the United States in 1828 at Carey Mission. The first to locate a farm on the territory now Bertrand was Benjamin M. Redding. He was a native of Mecklenburg Co., Va., where he was born in 1792. He emigrated to Ohio with his parents in 1811, was married in 1814, and lived in Preble Co., Ohio. In 1830 he removed to Hamilton, Ind., a few miles south of the Michigan line. At this time he went to the lands then just opening for sale in Michigan, and selected a farm on the present site of Dayton, it being the northeast quarter of section 7. In 1831, while his family were living at Hamilton, he built a log cabin and saw-mill on the creek, drawing the lumber used for his house and mill from Lacey's mill at Niles. In 1832 the family moved up to their home in Bertrand. As other settlers gathered in, the place became known as Redding's Mill, and when, in after-years, a post-office was established, it assumed that name, and kept it until 1848. When the Michigan Central road passed through the place the name was changed to Dayton, as several families living there were from Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Redding lived at the farm until 1837, when he removed to Niles. After living there a few years he returned to the mill, but shortly after moved to a farm which he owned on Terre Coup6e Prairie. In 1858 he removed to the city of Niles, where he died in December, 1877, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Mr. Redding had a family of twelve children, but one of whom survived him,-James H. Redding, of Dayton. The first Methodist society west of the St. Joseph River was organized at his house in 1833. He was chosen leader, and worship was held in his house for two years, until the building of a school-house, in which the society afterwards held its meetings. The next family to come in to the section of country was that of William B. Fuson, who located on the northeast from Mr. Redding, on the southwest quarter and part of the southeast quarter of section 5; they also emigrated from Ohio about the same time. Peter Dearduff in 1837 lived for a short time on the southeast quarter of section 6, and moved to Indiana. Eli Shockley and family also lived near there for a short time. David Vanderhoof emigrated from Painted Post, Steuben Co., N. Y., to Edwardsburg, in Cass County, with his wife and seven children, in 1833. In the fall of that year his wife and one daughter died, and in the spring of 1834, in company with Charles Wells, from Ohio (also living at Edwardsburg with his wife and seven children), moved into Bertrand township. Mr. Vanderhoof located a claim on the southwest quarter of section 7, where his widow still resides with her youngest son. An Indian village named Swoptuck was on the farm adjoining Mr. Vanderhoof's, on land now owned by Peter Womer. Mr. Vanderhoof built the first frame house on the reservation, and the lumber was drawn from Lacey's mill, at Niles, and from Christina Creek. He was compelled to furnish accommodations for the emigrants who came through this region, and for a long time his house was a general resort. He put in a stock of goods and kept a store for two or three years. It was at his farm that the government teans gathered when the Indians were sent to the West. He purchased considerable land, and bought and sold to a greater extent than any in that early day. He lived on the farm until his death, in 1875. About 1836 he married Livonia, daughter of Charles Wells, for his second wife. His children are, some of them, settled near him. Thomas is living on a farm in the west part of the township, near Dayton. Henry lived in Buchanan for a time, started to California, and died on the route. Abiel lived in Buchanan, and died at the house of his sister, Mrs. J. W. Post, who is the only daughter living, and who now resides at Buohanan. She married John Grove, in November, 1844. He was a native of Maine, who came to Buchanan from New Albany, Ind., early in 1844, and was the first attorney in that village. He represented the district in the Legislature in 1844-45, and died in June, 1852. Charles Wells and family, consisting of his wife and seven children, came with Mr. Vanderhoof, who built on his farm a house and blacksmith-shop for him. He remained here several years and located land on section 13, where John Rough now lives. Joseph and Francis are living near the old farm; Lewis lives in Iowa; Livonia married Dtvid Vanderhoof, and is living on the Vanderhoof farm; Eliza married Eber Root; Isaac lives in Cass Co., Mich. In the spring of 1835, Samuel Street located on the reservation, northeast from David Vanderhoof about one and a half miles. He built a double log house, lived here many * By Austin N. Hungerford. 22 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. years, and died about 1861. He was the first and only member of Assembly who represented this township. David Gitchell now owns the farm on which he lives. Alanson Hamilton emigrated from New York to the West, and finally came to Bertrand township in March, 1835. He located on the northwest quarter of section 17, where James Badger now lives. In 1841 he purchased the northeast quarter of section 6, where he lived till his death, in November, 1874. Three of his children only are living: Aseneth, now Mrs. George Clark, lives in Mecosta Co., Mich.; Nathaniel lives in the village of Buchanan; and Alfred, the youngest, lives on the homestead where his father lived and died. Mr. Hamilton was the first justice of the peace in the township, and held the position fourteen years. John De Armond emigrated from Butler Co., Ohio, to the west side of Terre Coup6e Prairie, in the township of Bertrand, in the fall of 1834, and located land on the southeast quarter of section 18. He kept a stock of goods, and had quite an extensive trade with the Indians until they went West. He was for a time in partnership with J. D. Ross, iu Hamilton, Ind. In 1858 he moved to Dayton. He afterwards married Ruth, the widow of Elisha Egbert, and lived on the southwest quarter of section 4, where he died. Alexander, a son, is a physician living in Dayton. Another son, John, lives in Buchanan. Charles Smith and J. D. Ross, of the village of Buchanan, each married a daughter of Mr. De Armond. Harvey Buckles, who lives about three miles south of Bertrand, married another daughter. Frederick Howe, a native of Massachusetts, moved with his parents in 1812 to Cortland Co., N. Y., and in 1834 started from there with a horse and buggy on a tour through the West. He came through Niles, fording the river at that place, and continued on until he reached this township. He was satisfied with the country here, and having determined to make this his home, he returned to New York, and in the spring of 1835 emigrated with his family, consisting of his wife and eleven children. After his arrival he purchased 160 acres of Samuel Cannon, on the northeast quarter of section 11, which Cannon had purchased the year before. The house was the usual log cabin of those times, and was a poor dwelling, the fireplace and chimney being built of split logs plastered with clay, and.the floor of puncheons. He moved to this place in November, 1835. He soon after purchased more land, and at his death the homestead farm consisted of 240 acres. In his later years he moved into the village of Buchanan, near the depot, where he died Feb. 18, 1864. His wife died Feb. 17, 1869. Nine of their children are now living, viz.: Desire, who married Alfred Johnson, an early settler of Niles; Lucinda, who married Justus Bailey, of Buchanan; Francis W., who lives north of the homestead, and within about a mile and a half of Buchanan; Mary, who married James Smith, of Berrien Springs; H. J., who also lives at Berrien Springs; George A., who is a dentist, and lives at Niles; Adeline, who married H. G. Sampson, and who lives in Buchanan; Charles F., who lives on the homestead; and Mary S., who married James Reynolds, of Hamilton, Ind. Elijah Egbert came to Bertrand in 1835, and located lands in the southwest quarter of section 4, where his heirs still live. Sebastian Overacker came from McCoy's Creek, near the Martindale settlement, the year before, and located the northeast quarter of section 4, where David Best now lives, in the year 1835. Asa Willard in the same year located on section 9, where his son Joseph now lives. Abiel E. Brooks emigrated to this region early in 1835, and located a claim on the northeast quarter of section 7. He sold to Kaufman & Chittenden, who sold to Jacob Rough in 1849. Mr. Brooks now lives in Madison, Wis. Abram Ogden settled in 1836 on a claim which he bought of one Jordan, between the claims of David Vanderhoof and Samuel Street. He kept a tavern which afterwards under his management gained a widespread notoriety. Benjamin Franklin, of Allegany Co., N. Y., settled in 1835 on the southwest quarter of section 2, where he still lives. Solomon Miller located land on section 17, taking the south half His father-in-law, John Hardman, purchased it of him, and it afterwards passed into the possession of William R. Rough. Philip, son of John Hardman, settled in the same year south of Miller on section 20, and afterwards sold to Isaac Tripp. The land is now in possession of Mrs. Amos C. House. John Bointon also settled at the same time on part of section 24, and afterwards sold to Mr. Hoag. James Kennedy, in 1835, located the southeast quarter of section 1. It is still known as the Kennedy place, and is owned by William R. Rough. Abel Robinson, in the summer of 1835, came from Henry Co., Ind., with his son-in-law, Grant Main. Robinson located the southwest quarter of section 18, where George G. Rough now lives. Main located the southeast quarter of the same section and sold to Watson Roe, who afterwards removed to Buchanan. It is now one of the David Gitchell farms. William Batson married a daughter of Mr. Robinson. George Harlan emigrated from the South, and lived near Vanderhoof and Street, and between them. In 1849 he moved to California. William Batson came from Indiana in the fall of 1834, on a tour of inspection to the reservation, and stopped with Samuel Street, who was then living there. He returned to Henry Co., Ind., and in April, 1836, with his wife and three children, came to the township of Bertrand and purchased the 160 acres of George Harlan-it being the southwest quarter of section 8-which he held under the pre-emption act. In the fall of 1838 he proved his claim at Kalamazoo and received his deed, paying ten shillings per acre. He lived there until the fall of 1877, when he removed to the village of Buchanan, where he still resides. He has four sons and two daughters living, viz.: A. B. Batson, on the homestead; John A., a lawyer, living at Reynolds, Ind.; Lafayette, a physician, at Wakelee, Cass Co., Mich.; Wil liam R., living at Niles; Mrs. Lydia Yorker, in Iowa; Mrs. Miranda Rapp, in Bertrand. About 1838, Isaac Ferote located west of where James C3 0 -4 r" I,, -4 m 'b rr " n 1 i Z: t g t:: I rrl,1 I;~t*lf::~l i ~ ~r;. 1 r "; % r:i:i:': i h. ii-,n :~~-~, I; 1;9 E a~i; ~st t~ ul~e, C I., ~ I ii -:~:~' J lilu :I::: ~:li iri r~.nf:*~vv~r-ri ';h*cL~;iiA~1::~; c r 111::::::rr ":~ ~~~~~'~~ -... ~i~,;~~-::.::i~ ~-~i:1":i: 'y -i: Z '1 C 4i -: tfl ~,~iti!~~'~?~!!~i, i~?'!i~?~i~!~i 1\ ~, ~:.. ~, 'N' ~ wN 1~i I -n cJ rTl N., V^.m^ ""^*' J f*~ ao i Il Q:: I " f rn "Ilk i,i A,:~V all TOWNSHIP OF BERTRAND. 229 H. Phillips now resides, but soon removed to Indiana. Matthew Redding, a brother of Benjamin, located in 1835, on the southwest quarter of section 17, where W. Foster now lives. Nathaniel Hamilton, a brother of Alanson, located on the north half of section 16, where Keller and Shatterlee now own. Joseph Ivans, in 1835, settled on the east half of section 22, and soon moved to Indiana. Philo Sanford, Peter Wimmer, and George Harlan located claims in the same year,-Sanford on the northeast quarter of section 6, and Wimmer and Harlan located together the west half of section 5. Sanford taught the first school on the reservation. Samuel Cannon located the northeast quarter of section 11 in 1834, but sold his claim in November of the next year. John Lashbaugh purchased a claim of John Compton in 1835 on the southeast quarter of section 9. His son Henry lives on the farm. Widow Decker, with her sons James, John, and Henry, located on the same section about the same time. Henry lived and died on the farm; James went to California and died; John was a blacksmith, and moved to Cass County, where he died. Archibald Dunbar came into the township about 1837 from Indiana, and located on the northeast quarter of section 21, where he afterwards owned about 600 acres. He moved into Buchanan, where he built the Dunbar Hotel, and died there a few years ago. Frederick White located on section 20 in the township in 1835. He is now in the drug business in Buchanan village. John Krum located on section 17 in 1836. Within two or three years after 1835 the land on the reservation was all taken up. Many took claims, built cabins on them, made improvements, and sold them to others coming in. Those who were so unfortunate as to be on the seminary lands were driven away from their improvements by the high price put upon the land by the commissioners. In the years 1837-38 the chills and fever prevailed to such an alarming extent that many became discouraged, packed up their goods, and, leaving the work of years behind them, went to their former homes. Those who remained passed through great suffering, and many died from want of care, there not being well ones enough to nurse the sick. David Rough, a native of Juniata Co., Pa., emigrated to Michigan when thirty-two years old, and arrived in the township of Bertrand, May 27, 1849. He located on sections 12 and 13, purchasing of Jacob Egbert and Abram Ogden. He soon began the purchase of land, and at his death, in 1876, had owned 1153 acres. He had five children: Wm. R., Solomon, Geo. H., Sarah, now Mrs. Peter Womer, and Eliza, now Mrs. Amos C. House. Wm. R. first settled on the John Hardman farm, on section 17, in 1854. In 1853 he married Mary A., a daughter of Jacob Rough. In 1858 he purchased, on section 1, the Kennedy place, where he still lives. He continued farming, buying and raising stock, and in 1879, with his brothers, became engaged in the manufacture of wagons at the village of Buchanan. He has now 547 acres of land in Bertrand. Solomon Rough settled on the south part of section 13, and married the daughter of David Bressler, an early settler on section 16. He owns 953 acres in Bertrand, and is engaged in business with his brothers at Buchanan. Geo. H., the youngest, lives on the northwest quarter of section 8, and owns 273 acres. Sarah married Peter Womer, who purchased land in section 1, on the Niles branch of the Chicago road; the place was known as the Hoag place. Eliza married Amos C. House, and lives on section 20, a little south of the Chicago road, on the Tripp farm. They now own between 300 and 400 acres of land. Jacob Rough, a brother of David Rough, emigrated about the same time, and located 160 acres on the northeast quarter of section 7, where he still lives. His son George lives on the homestead and is treasurer of the county. He married a daughter of A. Broceus, of Buchanan. Mary A. married Wm. R. Rough. Susan married Isaac Long, and lives on section 7, the northwest quarter. Elizabeth married John Miller, who lives on the southwest quarter of section 5. Catharine married Henry Vite, on the southwest quarter of section 11. ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP. Bertrand township was erected and organized under an act of the Legislature of Michigan, approved March 23, 1836, which provides that " All that portion of the county of Berrien designated by the United States Survey as fractional townships 8, south of ranges 17, 18, and 19 west, be and the same is hereby set off and organized as a separate township, by the name of Bertrand, and the first townshipmeeting shall be held at the dwelling-house of Michael Segdell." The limits so named in the act were reduced by the operation of an act passed March 20, 1837, setting off survey township 8 south, of range 19 west, to Weesaw township;* and they were further reduced, March 9, 1850, by the annexation to the township of Niles of all that portion of Bertrand lying east of the centre of the St. Joseph River. The first election of the township was held in April, 1836, at Union Hall, in the village of Bertrand. Frederick Howe was elected Supervisor; James H. Montgomery, Township Clerk; Joshua Howell, John De Armond, Alanson Hamilton, Justices of the Peace; Michael Seligson and Jacob A. Dutton, Overseers of the Poor. At this meeting a tax of $25 was voted for the support of the poor. The following is as complete a list as can be obtained of persons who have filled the offices of supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and justice of the peace in Bertrand since the year of its organization as a township, viz.: 1837.-Frederick A. Howe, Supervisor; James A. Montgomery, Clerk; Henry Hapgood, Treasurer; Joshua Howell, Alexander Blake, John Demond, Justices. 1838.-Frederick A. Howe, Supervisor; Joshua Howell, Clerk; Henry Hapgood, Treasurer; Burham Gilbert, Justice. 1839.-Frederick A. Howe, Supervisor; David M. Howell, Clerk; John O. Underhill, Treasurer; Alanson Hamilton, Justice. 1840.-John Barbour, Supervisor; David M. Howell, Clerk; Burham Gilbert, Treasurer; Alexander Blake, Justice. * The same territory was erected into the township of Galien, Feb. 19, 1844. 230 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 1841.-John De Armond, Supervisor; Hugh Vanderhip, Clerk; Burham Gilbert, Treasurer; Joseph G. Ames, Justice. 1842.-Joseph G. Ames, Supervisor; David Whitlock, Clerk; Samuel Street, Treasurer; C. H. Nickelson, Justice. 18.43.-Lewis Bryant, Supervisor; Hiram Ward, Clerk; Alexander Blake, Treasurer; Samuel Street, Justice. 1844.-Samuel Street, Supervisor; S. R. Bradbury, Clerk; Benjamin Redding, Treasurer; Alexander Blake, Justice. 1845.-Abram Ogden, Supervisor; Simeon R. Bradbury, Clerk; Alexander Blake, Treasurer; Alanson Hamilton, Justice. 1846.-Frederick A. Howe, Supervisor; L. A. Palmer, Clerk; N. W. Summers, Treasurer; Alvah Higbee, Justice. The records from 1846 to 1873 are not found, and the list (being necessarily omitted for that period) is continued, commencing at the latter year: 1873.-Freeman Franklin, Supervisor; William D. Badger, Town Clerk; Solomon Rough, Treasurer; Michael Swobe, Enos Holmes, Justices of the Peace; Charles F. Howe, School Inspector. 1874.-Charles F. Howe, Supervisor; Peter Womer, Town Clerk; Levi L. Redden, Treasurer; William R. Rough, Justice of the Peace; Cyrus E. Gillette, School Inspector. 1875.-William D. Badger, Supervisor; Peter Womer, Town Clerk; Samuel Messenger, Treasurer; Sylvester K. Wilson, Justice of the Peace; Joel H. Gillette, School Inspector. 1876.-W. D. Badger, Supervisor; P. Womer, Town Clerk; William Foster, Treasurer. 1877.-P. Womer, Supervisor; Enos Holmes, Town Clerk; William Foster, Treasurer; Joel H. Gillette, Superintendent of Schools; Chester Badger, School Inspector; John G. Dye, Justice of the Peace. 1878.-John H. Young, Supervisor; J. H. Gillette, Town Clerk; John Redden, Treasurer; William R. Rough, Justice of the Peace; Joel H. Gillette, Superintendent of Schools; Chester Badger, School Inspector. 1879.-Charles F. Howe, Supervisor; William D. Badger, Town Clerk; John Redden, Treasurer; John Gogle, Justice of the Peace; Enos Holmes, Superintendent of Schools; George Hess, School Inspector. The town of Bertrand is taking rank among the best in the State for the production of wheat. By the statistics of the State for 1877, 90,000 bushels of wheat were raised, this being 2300 bushels more than was raised in any township in the State. The statistics of the year 1878 show an increase to 125,000 bushels. Below are given the agricultural statistics of the township for that year, viz.: Acres improved lands, 16,573; of unimproved lands, 3473; of wheat raised in 1878, 6677; of corn, 2868; of oats, 622; of clover-seed, 63; of potatoes, 100; of hay, 1451; bushels of wheat, 125,711; of corn, 107,185; of oats, 20,239; of clover-seed, 54; of potatoes, 6605; tons of hay, 2063; pounds of wool, 12,478; sheep sheared, 2605; number of milch cows on hand, 529; cattle, other than milch cows, 549; sheep, 2731; horses, 665; hogs, 1927; acr d in orchard, 459; bushels of apples sold, 10,192; of peaches, 24; pounds of grapes, 1000; gallons of wine made from grapes, 2700. Of wheat, Mr. Isaac Long raised 2100 bushels from 85 acres, and George H. Rough 3200 bushels from 140 acres. There were several of the farmers who raised over 1000 bushels each. The largest number of bushels of corn raised was by David Gitchell, Sr.,-3200. CHURCHES. Methodist Episcopal Church.-The first Methodist society in the Territory of Michigan, west of St. Joseph River, was organized at the log cabin of Benjamin M. Redding. A class was formed consisting of Benjamin M. Redding and wife Permelia and daughter Paulina, Eli Shockly and wife, William Fuson and wife, and a widow who lived with Mr. and Mrs. Fuson. Mr. Redding was appointed classleader. Services were held at his house for about two, years, until a school-house was built in the neighborhood in 1835. In 1833 and 1834 camp-meetings were held between Redding's Mills and the prairie. The Rev. James Armstrong was in charge of the first. About 1843 a frame building was erected for a church and called " Bethel," about a mile south and east from Dayton. James Redding, Sr., James Edson, Benjamin M. Redding, Emory Smead, and Matthew Redding were elected trustees. In 1867 the society determined to remove to Dayton, and the present church was dedicated on the 31st day of August, 1867. The dedicatory sermon was preached by the Rev. D. D. Holmes, who was assisted in the services by the Rev. T. T. George, the pastor, and the Rev. Horace Hall, presiding elder. The first minister who attended at the Redding Mill class was the Rev. Boyd Phelps. A class had been formed at Terre Coupee Prairie, in 1830, by the Rev. L. B. Gurley. Mr. Phelps was succeeded by George S. Beswick and Richard S. Robinson. A. C. Shaw, C. K. Erkanbrach, Richard C. Meek, Thomas P. McCool, David Burns, Henry Worthington, William Sprague, George King, Horace Hall, B. F. Doughty, William Morley, and Knight were local preachers. This church was under the charge of the Buchanan Church until about 1872, since which time it has been supplied by Revs. Elliott, J. N. Tomer, Carlisle, Gray, Shenstone, Bell, Bennett, Jakeway, and Skinner, the present pastor. New Troy, Painter School-House, and Galien are under this charge. Evangelical Church.-In the fall of 1851 an Evangelical Church was formed, of which David and Anna Rough, Peter Rhodes, Steiner and wife and two children were the constituent members. It was organized by Bishop John Sybert when on a tour through this section. These persons were members of the church in the East. In 1859 the society built a church at the intersection of sections 12 and 13 and 7 and 18. In 1854 a branch of the society was organized about three miles from the first one and on the Chicago road, near the Bressler school-house. They now have about 30 members. The first pastor was the Rev. Mr. Wolfe. Among those who have served the church since that time were the Revs. Asher, Keiper, Steffe, Eckhart, Fox, Uphouse, Rue, Fisher, Reigh, Evans, Pawlin, Boyer, Regartz, Kimerlin, and C. B. Myer, who is the present pastor. St. Anthony's Church ( Catholic).-This church, located at Dayton village, has about fifteen families in its congregation, and is under charge of the Rev. Father Cappon, of the Roman Catholic Church at Niles. DAYTON VILLAGE. The village of Dayton is situated on the Michigan Central Railroad, on sections 6 and 7, in the western part of the township. It was first settled by Benjamin Redding, ( IPHO rS. BY I i. I V E8, F. A. H OWE. MRS. F A. HOWE. RES. OF THE LATE F.A. H OWE, BERTRAND, BERRIENCO.,MICH. .i; tr _-;:::::':'ii~,?~!5.`~I ~I —~;_.-: ~ ~;..~ --- —: i~:;:.*:;'lr:~~~:l.:r;~'-:~~~..,.:::." -I-:;.:.:.::_::~_;i i.~~ -~ —:-I ,::: ::~;,'1 -:-:;-.::-'~il':-:~f.;-~*~ ~...;- 1. -I:~ —: -~ ~~.~..~~r-:::::~::;r-::i:.:.l;:i'::;:IT'''''::::'-'':`-:`i.:::l~.'-:;~ *i`-.:l. -I:a;:':i~::r~-:-:::::;~ Ili:-~I::_i I.i;::::';i~_::',;i,~;r.-.-i' ~;~.:.-:~: 5-;:::1-:-':-:j:::::'i:.:i'i —,.':'.:: (I; _.I:.::::: )i -~~.-..i,:- ~~- ~-'`~:: ~~1:: GER, BERTRAND TP., BERRIEN CO., MICH. I. rrI In I* TOWNSHIP OF BERTRAND. 231 and was known as Redding's Mills until the building of the railroad, when it was changed to the name it now bears. It contains two churches (Methodist and Catholic), two stores, hotel, post-office, school-house, steam saw-mill, gristmill, wagon-shop, two physicians, about 40 dwellings, and nearly 300 inhabitants. Eighty children are enrolled in the school district between the ages of five and twenty years. The post-office was first kept by Benjamin Redding. After the change of name the postmasters have been J. M. Phillips, Emory Smead, Z. P. Redding, S. B. Stout, and A. H. Rothermel, who is the present postmaster. The village has also an Odd-Fellows' lodge, No. 214, organized Sept. 17, 1873. It now contains 35 members. SCHOOLS. The first school of which any reliable information can be obtained was taught by Philo Sanford on the Reservation in the winter of 1835, in a small log house that stood on the farm known as the John Borden farm. In the summer of 1836, Lucinda Howe (now Mrs. Bailey) taught in a log house on her father's farm four months in the summer and three months in the winter. She had 20s. per week for the first term. Dissatisfaction was expressed in the matter of wages, and she taught the winter term for $2.50 per scholar, but few who sent their children that winter term paid her. Mary Howe taught in the summer of 1837 in a log house on the Peter Womer farm, and a Mr. Ellis taught in the winter. Ethan A. Roe taught in the east part of the township, in what is known as the Clelland district. Orena Thornton taught in a log school-house on the David Rough farm. From 1840 schools were taught in different parts of the township. Houses were built on the corners generally, and schools were supported by a term-rate. The school records, as well as the town records, are lost beyond recovery, and it is not known when the township was divided into school districts. The following school statistics of Bertrand township are from the official report for the year 1879: Number of school districts............................... 12 school-houses (brick, 4; wooden, 8)... 12 Value of school property (brick, $5500; wooden, $6500)...................................................... $12,000 Number of pupils that can be seated in schoolhouses...................................................... 610 Number of pupils in township of school age....... 466 <" " male teachers who taught in the several districts.............................................. 6 Number of female teachers who taught in the several districts............................................... 15 Total number of months taught in the several districts......................................................... 82 Amount paid female teachers.......................... $1080 " " male "........................... 800 Money received from two-mill tax..................... 938.76 Primary interest fund..................................... 232.32 The school inspectors in 1879 were Enos Holmes, Geo. W. Haas, and Wm. D. Badger. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. SAMUEL MESSENGER. This well-known citizen of the township of Bertrand was born near Easton, Northampton Co., Pa., on the 10th day of September, in the year 1821, being the sixth child of Abraham Messenger and his wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Kemerer. His parents removed to Tompkins Co., N. Y., when the subject of our sketch was about a year old, where his father followed the occupation of a farmer. He died, however, when his son Samuel was but seven years old, and the latter was indebted for his subsequent training to his mother. As he grew up to youth and manhood, he alternated the studies of the district school with the labor of the farm, remaining on the old homestead until all the rest of the children had left it. In 1844, when Mr. Messenger was twenty-three years old, he and his mother emigrated together to Michigan, where he purchased one hundred and fifteen acres of land, nearly, though not quite entirely, unimproved, situated on Portage Prairie, in the township of Bertrand, about three miles and a half southwest of the city of Niles. There Mr. Messenger has resided during the thirty-six years which have passed away since the date of his first settlement, resisting all the temptations which have lured so many into fruitless change or hazardous speculation, improving his farm from year to year, increasing its size from one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and ninety acres, erecting substantial buildings, and making for himself and his family a comfortable home. Mr. Messenger was married, in the year 1850, to Miss Ann Mary Woods, daughter of Richard Woods, of Westchester Co., N. Y. She died on the 14th of July, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Messenger were the parents of four children,-Genevieve, Hettie, Abraham S., and Schuyler. The second and third of these are dead; the oldest and the youngest reside with their father. A Whig in early life, Mr. Messenger joined the Republican party at its formation, and, though not an active politician, has ever since steadily adhered to its principles and supported its candidates. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, having joined the church of that denomination at Niles in 1877. These are the simple facts of Mr. Messenger's life. We make no attempt to elaborate the record, or to portray him other than what he is,-a plain, substantial, straightforward, common-sense Michigan farmer. GEORGE H. ROUGH. Mr. Rough was born in Perry Co., Pa., Dec. 6, 1838, and remained there until 1849, when he removed to Bertrand, Berrien Co., Mich., with his parents. In the spring of 1863 he was married, and soon after began housekeep ing on the farm he now owns, which was formerly known as the " Miller Farm." In 1875, Mr. Rough purchased the " John Borden" farm, upon which he has recently 232 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN... ~ I completed an elegant brick residence, at a cost of ten thousand dollars, the building being the finest private farmdwelling in Berrien County, in which he now resides. Mr. Rough was left a widower on the 18th of November, 1874, and three children mourned a mother's death. In 1877 he made a trip to California, and visited the principal cities, both in the northern and southern portions of the State; deviating from the general route, visiting Denver and the mining parts of Colorado, Salt Lake City, and also the principal cities along the main route. In the summer of 1878, accompanied by his children, he made an extended tour through the East, visiting Western Canada, Niagara Falls, the river St. Lawrence, Montreal, Quebec, the White Mountains, Vermont, and Massachusetts. In 1877, in company with his brothers, he established a hardware-store at Buchanan, which is now in a flourishing condition. In partnership with Solomon Rough and William Pears, he owns the "Little Mill" (grist), and the gristmill at the village of Buchanan. In 1879 he entered in copartnership with W. R. Rough and Solomon Rough, under the firm of Rough Bros'. Wagon-Works, to manufacture wagons, buggies, etc., at Buchanan. CHAPTER XXXI. CHICKAMING TOWNSHIP.* Location, Boundaries, and Natural Features-Original Entries of Land-Settlements and Settlers-Lumbering Interests of Chickaming-Township Organization and List of Township OfficersSchools-Religious History. 'CHICKAMING township contains 19 full sections, and 6 triangular sections formed by Lake Michigan, and is bounded on the north and west by Lake Michigan and the township of Lake, on the east by the township of Weesaw, on the south by the townships of New Buffalo and Three Oaks, and is designated on the United States survey as town 7 south, of range 20 west. The name Chickaming is an Indian word, meaning lake. The highest point of land between St. Joseph and New Buffalo is near Wilkinson Station, being 98 feet above the river at New Buffalo. Along the lake-shore the soil is sandy. The northerly portion of that section was heavily timbered with beech, maple, and other woods. The southerly portion was white and black oak. In the easterly and southerly portions of the township the soil is generally a clay loam of good quality. The lake-shore strip is a good region for the production of all kinds of fruit, and is largely cultivated for that purpose. The farming lands are similar in quality and production to those of adjacent townships. The township is watered by the north branch of the Galien River, which enters in the lower part of section 12, and passes diagonally through sections 13, 23, 22, 27, 29, and passes out in section 29. Following is a list of persons who made original entries of government lands in the several sections of the township of Chickaming: By A. Ni. Hungerford. * By A. N. Hungerford. Section 1.-E. Griswold, - Sheldon, C. Britain, G. Kimmel. Section 2.-Sherwood & Co., - Wittemeyer, Calvin Britain. Section 3.-Sherwood & Co., D. A. Miller, T. U. Wray, B. Horton, and Stuart & Co. Section 9.-Sherwood. Whole section. Section 10.-D. A. Miller, R. Horton, F. M. Wray, J. C. Miller,Horner, G. Kimmel. Section 11.-G. Kimmel, - Johnson. Section 12. —G. Kimmel, C. Kingery, J. Griffin, Rathbone & Co. Section 13.-Rathbone & Chapin, J. Turner, B. Butterworth, William Bond, Jr. Section 14.-M. Chamberlain, G. Hoffman, N. Willard, Sherwood & Co., - Horner. Section 15. —r. Kimmel, Sherwood & Beers. Section 16.-School lot. Section 17.-C. Britain, H. Bishop, N. Willard, II. L. Stuart. Section 19.-S. Clough, E. Goit. Section 20.-B. L. Skinner, M. Chamberlain, F. H. Clough, R. Nixon, J. Stauffer. 'Section 21.-F. Smith, C. Britain, A. Cummings. Section 22.-J. Horner, G. Kimmel, Sherwood & Co., M. Chamberlain. Section 23.-M. Chamberlain, Johnson, Lauman, E. Griffin, Rathbone & Co. Section 24.-N. Willard, B. Butterworth, J. Johnson, J. Garrish, J. Haas, Townsend & Co. Section 25.-J. Haas, N. Willard & Co., Townsend & Co., Nelson Willard and Henry Bishop, Sherwood & Co., - Deacon. Section 26.-Jacob Haas, J. Pierce, Sherwood & Co. Section 27.-John H. Ostrom & Co., D. Robb, J. Stauffer, and J. Turner. Section 28.-Ostrom & Co., G. C. Balls, John A. Wells, W. Hammond, V. L. Bradford. Section 29.-M. G. Pratt, E. M. Shelton, V. L. Bradford, J. M. Carter, J. P. Warner, M. G. Evans. Section 30.-McKersham, J. P. Warner, Clough Whittaker, W. Hammond, V. L. Bradford. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. For many years after the settlement of New Buffalo, lands in this township were unoccupied by actual settlers on account of the speculative prices put upon them. The first to locate land was Luman Northrop, from near Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y., a son-in-law of Festus A. Holbrook. He came to New Buffalo in the fall of 1836, and made that his headquarters, being part of the time at Galien and New Troy. He was collector of New Buffalo township in 1839. About 1840 he bought a farm on the southwest quarter of section 23, where he built a cabin and a saw-mill with a flutter-wheel. Hie owned the property until about 1860, and then sold it to Henry H. Pike, now of the "Pike House," Niles. Prior to this sale, he went to California, Lake Co., Ind., and other places. He died about 1868. He was a man of little education, but of strong mental and physical power. In 1842, Richard Peckham, a native of Dutchess Co., N. Y., came to New Buffalo from Clinton, Lenawee Co., in this State, and commenced the manufacture of grain cradles and rakes, which he continued for four or five years. In 1843 he located a farm on the northwest quarter of section 20, Chickaming. He was a bachelor for many years, arid carried on the farm at the same time with the factory, but finally moved on the farm, and gave his whole attention to it. Henry Chamberlain, whose history will be found more fully with that of the township of Three Oaks, was the next to locate. He purchased the east half of the northeast half of section 20, where he built a cabin, and lived there about one year. -1 L ~VIEW OF FROM RM. FIeI ii I LAKESIDE FARM, RESIDENCE od JOHN C.MC I GHICKAMINai I,,F:RRIEN;O.,MICH. TOWNSHIP OF CHICKAMING. 233 Alfred Ames, a native of Vermont, came to Eaton Co., Mich., in 1841, and in 1843 came to New Buffalo. In November, 1844, he purchased 78 acres of the De Garmo Jones property, it being the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of fractional section 30. Oct. 1, 1844, he married Miss Mary Fisher, then teaching school in Eaton County. She was also a native of Vermont, and a former schoolmate of his. Mr. Ames built a cabin on the farm (which was heavily timbered, and had no improvements), hired choppers, and worked in the woods all winter, his wife living with friends in Woodford Co., Ill., until some of the conveniences of a home could be obtained. In the spring of 1845 they commenced keeping house. At that time no bridge crossed the Galien River, and to get to New Buffalo was to swim the river, which Mr. Ames often did, taking off his clothes and putting them on his head to keep them dry. The mail service was to them an important matter, as they were both great readers, and the literature of the day was a necessity. Indians were often encamped between the home and New Buffalo. A man by the name of Wilcox, a contractor, lived in part of the house in 1845. He was engaged in getting out timber for the Chicago harbor improvement. The timber was taken to the lake, put on rafts, and floated to the vessels, which lay from half to three-quarters of a mile out in the lake. The first school taught in the township was at the house of Mr. Ames, his wife acting as teacher. This was in 1847. Mrs. Ames is still living on the farm which is known far and near as " Clay Banks." Mr. Ames and the father and mother of Mrs. Ames died the same day, at their house, March 4, 1864. Mrs. Ames has obtained considerable celebrity as an authoress, and for many years has written both poetry and prose, which have been contributed to the magazines and papers of the day. In April, 1845, William Miller, a native of Ohio, settled on section 30, nearly adjoining Mr. Ames. Mrs. Miller is still living on the place. His son, John C. Miller, was a member of the House of Representatives of this State in 1862. Truman A. Clough, one of the first settlers of New Buffalo, owned land on sections 19 and 20. He engaged H. Hebner to clear the land on section 19, and agreed to give him two acres of land in township 8 for each acre cleared in section 19, township 7. He built a cabin and cleared land to the extent of 20 acres, receiving therefor 40 acres lying on Galien River, where his wife still lives. Mr. Clough removed to the farm about 1850, and lived there until the death of his wife, when he returned to New York State. He sold his property to J. N. Wilkinson & Co. Zalmon Desbro located on section 30, where his widow (now Mrs. Daniel Magee) lives. George Garland settled on the southeast quarter of the same section. Arnold Pratt, an early settler of New Buffalo, settled on land adjoining Garland. Richmond Horton, in about 1846, settled on the southwest quarter of section 1, where he made a clearing and built a steam saw-mill. He afterwards sold to Silas Sawyer, and moved to Berrien Springs, where he was in terested in building the first grist-mill. He then moved to Ohio. Tobias M. Ray, from New York, settled on section 16, 30 and built a small water saw-mill on what is known as Ray's Creek, about 1847. He was killed years after by the bursting of a boiler while putting a steam-engine in his mill. About 1835 a lumber firm took up a tract of timberland on section 11, where they built a water-mill, and constructed a horse-railroad to the lake. This was afterwards taken by Heman J. Rogers and removed to his place on section 11. P. B. Andrews soon after settled on the place where he still lives. Mr. Andrews built the engine for the " Newburyport," the first steamer on the St. Joseph River. Amos Fisher located a farm on section 30 about 1850, and went to California, where he remained a short time, returned, married, and in 1853 moved on his farm, where he still resides. A school-house was built on his land early in 1853. Martha, the daughter of John W. Wilkinson, taught school there in the summer of that year. John W. Wilkinson, a native of Virginia, emigrated to Clarke Co., Ind., in 1833, and in 1847 came to New Buffalo, where he remained till 1854. His brother, Dr. James Wilkinson, was a physician there for several years. Another brotherf Joseph N. Wilkinson, then living in Alabama, now in Richmond, Va., became interested in the lumber business, and, as a member of the firm of J. N. Wilkinson & Co., purchased, in September, 1854, of Truman A. Clough, the greater part of section 19 and the southwest half of southwest quarter in section 20, for $10 per acre, John W. Wilkinson taking charge of it. A boardinghouse was put up, choppers hired, and lumbering was actively commenced. The lumber for the first building was purchased of Luman Northrop, who had a small saw-mill on section 23. The only improvement on the land when they came was a clearing of six or eight acres, and a log cabin 18 by 28 feet, built by Mr. Hebner. A store-house 20 by 36 feet was soon erected, and a pier was built out into the lake six hundred feet for convenience in loading lumber and cordwood. After the completion of the pier a steam saw-mill was erected, with an upright saw, an engine of 20 horse-power, and capacity of cutting 6000 feet per day. From 50 to 100 men were employed, mostly in the woods. Afterwards what is known as Greenbush Pier was built, and still later Pike Pier. From this latter a horse-railroad was built on section 17, extending east to the southeast quarter of section 14. The firm continued to purchase land until they had bought 2500 acres, varying in price from $4 to $6 per acre. A post-office was established at Wilkinson in 1858. Abner Clark, William Fisher, and J. W. Wilkinson were the postmasters. After Chickaming was made a post-office, with Edward Glavin as postmaster, the Wilkinson office was discontinued. Upon the completion of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, three post-offices were established, viz.: Sawyer post-office, in the north part of the township, at Troy Station, James Spaulding, postmaster; Lakeside post-office, at Wilkinson Station, John S. Gibson, postmaster; and a post-office at Union Pier, in the south part of the township, with William T. Green, postmaster. About 1853, Silas Sawyer, of Ohio, came to the township, purchased the place of Richmond HoPton, in section 1 234 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and the northeast quarter of section 10, built a steam sawmill, and by his persistent energy won a competence; but the extension of his business during the depression of the times following 1857 was the means of heavy loss. In 1873 he moved to Dallas, Tex., where he still resides. He was the first supervisor of the township after its organization. Bartlett J. Rogers, a native of Rochester, N. Y. (who had advanced money to the firm who built at the lake, on section 3), came here about the same time with Mr. Sawyer, and settled on the northwest quarter of section 11. He moved the mill from the lake to his farm, enlarged it, and was extensively engaged in lumbering. He remained here until about 1863-64, when he returned to New York. G. A. Orris settled on the northeast quarter of section 2. He now lives in Weesaw, near Hill's Corners. John Vickerman settled, about 1854, on the west half of section 10, where he still lives. S. F. Broadbeck and Hilliard settled on the southwest quarter of section 2. The widow of Hilliard, now Mrs. Ashley, still lives on the place. In 1854, Jerome W. Burnett purchased on the northwest quarter of section 14, where he still lives. In 1858 he sold a part to James A. Cook, who, in 1872, sold out and moved to Nebraska. The western part of the township that is accessible to the lake was largely and heavily timbered, and its early settlement was largely due to this fact. For many years the eastern part of the township was a wilderness, except the location made by Luman Northrup, on section 23. In 1860, Albert L. Drew, a native of Cass County, came into Chickaming, and bought 480 acres-the north half of section 26 and the northwest quarter of 25-Aug. 18, 1860. He built a log cabin immediately, and moved in with his family on October 23d of that year. His brother-in-law, Charles C. Sherrill, also a native of Cass County, bought one-half of Mr. Drew's land, in the winter of 1860-61, built a frame house, and moved his family there in the spring of 1861, at which time his house was half a mile from any road. They are both living on the places they then located. Mr. Drew is an active man in the township, and has filled the office of supervisor from 1873 to 1879. Mr. Sherrill is an active member of the Baptist Church, and a thrifty, energetic farmer. He was township treasurer from 1870 to 1877. John Martin settled, in 1860, on the southwest quarter of section 26. He was killed, in 1862, by an accident. Samuel Donovan, about 1862, settled on the southwest quarter of section 23; Horace Warren on the southeast quarter, and Andrew Carpenter on the southwest quarter of section 26. In the spring of 1861, Luman Northrop moved to Weesaw, giving as a reason that neighbors were getting too thick. David Adamson, an Irishman, came in 1861 with Mr. Sherrill, and located in the southeast quarter of section 26. He enlisted in the army, and soon after his house was destroyed by fire, and one of his children perished in it. About 1865, John Baker, John Findle, C. Hess, and George K. Barnhart, with their families, came in, and purchased the southeast quarter of section 25. About 1869 they, with oth* German families in Weesaw and Three Oaks, built an Evangelical church on the southeast quarter of section 25. At nearly the same time, Samuel Priest settled on northeast quarter of section 25. In 1862, Clement H. Goodwin, of Aurora, Ill., came from Galien, where he had been in business, and with his nephew, Richard M., hired the Wilkinson mill, which they ran for about a year, and purchased land on fractional section 25, where a saw-mill and a brick store were erected, and a pier built into the lake. They engaged largely in cutting and shipping cord-wood and in the manufacture of lumber and ties. A horse-railroad was built east to the west line of section 27. They had purchased large tracts of land on the north half of section 28, and had control of the land over which the road passed. Mr. C. H. Goodwin died about 1871. He was a prompt and active business man, possessed of great energy and tact. Richard M. Goodwin is to-day one of the foremost men of the township and one of its most active business men. He carries on a handle-factory, at Union Pier, in addition to his other business. John Frank and William Gowdy were settlers at Union Pier. John M. Glavin and Edward Glavin located a little north. John M. Glavin was in the Legislature of the State in 1867. O. R. Brown settled about 1861 on section 2, where he erected a steam saw-mill and carried on a large business for several years, and where he still lives. A horse-railroad was built from the Sawyer Settleient to the Fuller Pier, in the edge of Lake township. LUMBERING INTERESTS. This township produced a finer quality and larger quantity of oak and whitewood timber than any township of its size in the county. The first operations of importance were those of the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1847 they built a steam saw-mill on section 30, where there was a large body of fine oak timber. Upon the completion of their pier at New Buffalo, the mill was removed to that place. Andrews & Miller built a steam saw-mill on section 3 about 1851, and continued it till about 1860. In 1853 -54, Silas Sawyer bought on section 10, and built a steam saw-mill. The lumber was so heavy that for the first year of work his operations were confined to ten acres. About the same time J. N. Wilkinson & Co. bought a timber tract on sections 19 and 20. This was afterwards increased largely. The Wilkinson Company built the Wilkinson, Greenbush, and Pike Piers. A horse-railroad was built, and a large business was carried on in lumber, cord-wood, and railroad-ties. About 1855 two men from New York built a steam sawmill on section 11, and constructed a horse-railroad from there to the lake at the Fuller Pier. This afterwards passed to Bartlett R. Rogers, who continued it for some years. 0. R. Brown, about 1861, purchased the Andrews Mill, which was carried on about a year. Darius W. King, of Niles, about 1863, purchased the Greenbush Pier and used it for delivering cord-wood, of which large quantities were cut and shipped to Chicago. Upon his death, in 1865, the property was rented to J. M. K. Hilton, and was continued till 1868, when it was sold to Paul Cross. The Pike Pier was sold to J. M. K. Hilton, who was soon TOWNSHIP OP CHICKAMING. 235 associated with Horace R. Pike. It was carried on as a wood-yard for several years, passing into the possession of Mr. Pike. - About 1862 or 1863, A. L. & H. L. Drew built a steam saw-mill on section 26, which was continued about eight years. L. F. Wilcox also built a steam-mill, on section 15, which ran for some years. A mill was built at Union Pier, by Goodwin & Gowdy, about 1863. It is now in possession of Wm. Gowdy, and is still running. In 1873 a handle-factory was established near the railroad by Sanborn & Gowdy, and in 1875 it came into the possession of R. M. Goodwin, by whom it is still run. The Union Pier Handle-Factory was started first by Sanborn & Gowdy in 1873, and came into possession of B. M. Goodwin in 1875. It is situated on the line of the Chicago and West Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, about three miles from New Buffalo. The engine is 75 horsepower, and Mr. Goodwin has employed about 30 men. Shipments are made to Chicago and South and East. Union Pier contains also a post-office, saw-mill, and a brick store. The assessed valuation of the township of Chickaming in 1856 was $88,416, as shown by the assessment-rolls of that year. The roll of 1878 places the valuation of the township at $114,485. ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP. The townships of Chickaming and Three Oaks were set off from the territory of New Buffalo in 1856 by the Board of Supervisors. The order of the board for the first election of township officers was as follows: " Notice is hereby given that the first annual meeting for the election of township officers in each of the townships of Three Oaks, Chickaming, and New Buffalo, in the county of Berrien, State of Michigan, will be holden on the first Monday in April, A.D. 1856, as follows, to wit: In the township of Chickaming, at the store of J. N. Wilkinson & Co., and that Richard Peckham, Silas Sawyer, and Alfred Ames are duly authorized to preside at such township-meeting, and to perform all the duties required by statute in such cases made and provided." The election in Chickaming was duly held, in accordance with this order. The town records cannot be found, and the civil list given below is necessarily imperfect. The names have been gathered from assessment-rolls and other documents, as follows: SUPERVISORS. 1856, Silas Sawyer; 1857, Richard Peckham; 1858, John C. Miller; 1859-60, George Montague; 1861-62, John C. Miller; 1863-65, John M. Glavin; 1866, James Abner Wilkinson; 1867-68, John C. Miller; 1869, Oliver P. Newkirk; 1870, Richard Peckham; 1871, Oliver P. Newkirk; 1872, Wm. A. Keith; 1873-79, Albert L. Drew. CLERKS. 1856-57, A. B. Wilkinson; 1858-60, Richard Peckham; 1861-62, Richmond Horton; 1863-65, Frank Gowdy; 1866, Henry P. Nourse; 1867-68, Prank Gowdy; 1869-70, Michael Deady; 1871-72, Albert L. Drew; 1873, Frank E. Sawyer; 1874-79, Wm. A. Keith. TREASURERS. 1859, Freeman Pulsifer, 1860-67, Jephtha Pulsifer, 1868-69, James H. Spaulding, 1870-77, Horace Wilcox, C. C. Sherrill, 1878, Richard M. Goodwin, 1879, Hale H. Miller. The township, like many others in the State, is encumbered by railroad bonds, from which much trouble is growing, and the matter is now in the courts. SCHOOLS. While the territory now in Chickaming was in New Buffalo it was in one school district, but no school was held until 1847, when 9 children were gathered at Mrs. Ames' houseand taught by her. This was soon organized as District No. 1. The township now has 6 school districts, of which No. 3 has a graded school. The number of children, in 1878, in this district, between five and twenty years of age, was 136, and they were allowed 50 cents each of the public money. This district was organized Nov. 13, 1860. A school-house, costing $700, was built the next year. Mrs. A. L. Drew was the first teacher, and the number of pupils was 5. RELIGIOUS. The Union Pier Baptist Church was organized at Union Pier, Aug. 7, 1869, with 13 members, as follows: Wm. Fisher and wife, Mrs. J. A. Wilkinson, G. D. Vandy and wife, Hattie Vandy, Fanny Vandy, W. A. Gowdy and wife, E. Gowdy, Mrs. John Gowdy, and two others. The pastors have been as follows: Revs. Samuel Millis, E. L. Millis, J. G. Bostman, Henry Meachin. The church has at present 42 members. An Evangelical Lutheran Church was established on section 25, in the southeast quarter of the township, composed of the German families in the townships of Chickaming, Three Oaks, and Weesaw, in that neighborhood. A church was built in 1869. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN C. MORGAN. Ralph Morgan, the father of John C., was born in the State of New York on the 18th day of March, 1824. On arriving at manhood he acquired the profession of a dentist. His wife, whose maiden name was Chase, was a native of Massachusetts, being the daughter of a distinguished engineer, who designed the celebrated works for utilizing the water-power at Holyoke, in that State. Ralph Morgan died Dec. 31, 1878. John C. Morgan was born on the 13th day of February, 1856, in Chicopee, Mass. Eight days afterwards his mother died, leaving the son at that tender age without the loving care which only a mother can give. An aunt, however, living at Southampton, Mass., kindly consented to take charge of the child, and with her he remained until he was twelve years old. At this age he went to his father, who had removed to Greenfield, Mass. In 1867 his father married the second time, and in 1869 removed with his family to Michigan, locating on the farm known as Lake Side farm, in Chickaming township, Berrien Co., on which his son now resides. John C. Morgan, at the age of twentyone, married Arvilla, daughter of John S. and Ann E. Gibson. His children are Gay Ralph, born April 14, 236 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. f 1878; Donald St. Clair, born May 19, 1879. Mr. Morgan is employed in making cider, jellies, and sorghumsugar; also in raising all kinds of vine-seeds and sugarcorn, which he takes to the New York and Philadelphia markets. He owns a farm situated in the fruit belt of Michigan, called Lake Side farm, also a wheat farm of one hundred and sixty acres, called River Side farm, near the former. In politics he is a Republican, in religion a Liberal. Personally, he is an industrious, energetic, upright man, a fine specimen of the active, intelligent Michigan farmer. ALFRED W. AMES. The subject of this sketch was born in Westminster, Vt., in the year 1823. His parents died when he was quite young, when Alfred found a home with an uncle,-Ebenezer McIlvain,-an old soldier of the Revolution. From this scarred veteran, on his mountain farm, the lad listened to of him thus: " Mr. Ames was the pioneer of the Clay Banks, having settled here in 1844. He was an affectionate husband and kind parent, and universally esteemed as a neighbor and citizen." ~ CHAPTER XXXII. GALIEN TOWNSHIP.* Location and Topography-Original Land-Entries-Early Settlements, Mills, etc.-Organization of the Township and List of Township Officers-Galien Village-Schools-Religious Societies. THE township is a fractional one, containing 18 full sections north of the range line, and the north half of six sections south, and bordering on Indiana. It is bounded on the north by the township of Weesaw, on the east by Bertrand, on the south by the State of Indiana, and on the west by the township of Three Oaks. The surface is varied by undulating swells and low-browed forest-clad hills, and is in many places low and marshy. The soil is in part heavy clay and retentive, but the southern part is sandy loam. It was formerly covered with dense forests, and was known far and near as the " Galien woods." The timber was mostly beech and maple, interspersed with black walnut, whitewood, and ash. The water-courses are the streams that form the headwaters of Galien River. Three branches take their rise to the south, west, and middle of the township, and flow in a northerly direction, two of them uniting near the north line of the township, and the third uniting with the others in the south part of Weesaw. The head-waters of another branch rise in the east part of the township and in Bertrand, and join the main stream in Weesaw. The following list is of original purchasers of land on the several sections of Galien township: Section 1.-J. Coleman, - McMichael, S. Potter, - Talman, N. Wilson, N. and J. H. Wilson, A. Heald. Section 2.-C. B. Tuley, - Bulls, J. M. Harder, S. Garwood, B. Redding. Section 3.-James Rutter, D. H. Warren, R. Huston, S. Austin, S. Jones. Section 4.-Gilbert B. Avery, S. Barker, D. and J. Petrie. Section 5.-Dennis Fee, Edwin Ives, T. Roosevelt, F. Hutchinson, J. Gerrish, State. Section 6.-E. A. Elliott, Thomas Burch, G. B. Avery, Abiel G. Plummer, State. Section 7.-State, J. Smith, A. G. Spicer. Section 8.-Richard Spanzenbury, Thomas Burch, Joseph A. Pratt, E. Cazone. Section 9.-Thomas Burch, Richard Cranmore, J. Ward, W. and A. Miller. Section 10.-R. Cranmore, D. Andrew, W. Livingston. Section 11.-J. Piatt, E. Luther, D. Andrew, S. Garwood, M. S. Gaskell, S. Garwood. Section 12.-Baldwin Jenkins, S. Garwood, - Briant, B. Redding. Section 13.-John Dearmond, J. Edson, J. Needham, C. Doolittle, - Wilson, J. Egbert, A. Briant, J. Mandeville. Section 14.-A. Briant, W. Bendin, L. Briant, D. Andrew, B. Redding. Section 15. — Freeman, D. Livingston, D. Andrew, N. Huston, G. Birdsall, H. Salladay, J. Ryan. Section 16.-School land. Section 17.-J. D. Leffingwell, L. Rush, J. Davis, Ralph Hunt. * By A. N. Hungerford. ALFRED W. AMES. tales of battle and adventure until he became imbued with a passionate longing for excitement and change. Naturally, when the uncle passed away, the nephew, then eighteen years old, started for the West, arriving in Charlotte, Eaton Co., Mich., in September, 1841. He bought government land and made some improvements on.it, but becoming disheartened by sickness he sold it. In December, 1843, young Ames found himself in New Buffalo, Berrien Co. The next August he purchased a piece of wild land at what was then known as Clay Banks, now a part of Chickaming township. In October, 1844, he returned to Charlotte and married Mary Fisher, who was also a native of Vermont, and was an old schoolmate. In May, 1845, they removed to their forest home on the shore of Lake Michigan, where Mr. Ames resided until his death, which occurred in 1864. During this time Mr. Ames held several offices of trust in the township of New Buffalo, and also in Chickaming after it was set off as a separate township. He died of smallpox. In an obituary notice a neighbor who knew him well, spoke E,-ESIDENCE OF THE LATE HENRY RENBARGEFR, PRESENT RES. OF DAVID CUTHBERT, GALIEN TP, BERRIEN -CO., MICH. TOWNSHIP OF GALIEN. 237 Section 18.-R. R. Carlisle, J. J. Dutton, J. P. Johnson, - Asher, J. Lewis, T. Burch. Section 19.-J. W. Lykins, J. Lewis, J. Curry, William Ward. Section 20.-J. Curry, - Wilkinson, J. Unrugh, J. Huston, William Ward. Section 21.-J. Unrugh, J. Unrugh, Jr., J. Huston, D. Andrews, R. Husson. Section 22.-R. Soper, R. Husson, A. W. McCollom, T. Husson. Section 23.-John Lane, J. Egbert, R. Redding, J. H. Phillips, L. Cutler. Section 24.-J. Egbert, Isaac Phillip, Gabriel Dollinger, and John Redding. EARLY SETTLEMENT, MILLS, ETC. The territory along the St. Joseph River was settled several years before the land back from the river was sought after. The land was heavily wooded, and many of its sections were bought for the timber by parties owning mills in other townships, and it was not purchased by actual settlers until part at least of its timber was cut off. The earliest settlers of whom any information can be gained were Samuel Garwood, James H. Wilson, and John P. Johnson. Samuel Garwood settled on the northeast quarter of section 11 before 1836. He was the first treasurer of the township, at its organization in 1844. He afterwards removed to Iowa. James H. Wilson was a native of Virginia, and removed with his parents to Ohio when about eight years of age. In 1836 he came to this township, and located and purchased the southwest quarter of section 1, where he still resides. In 1837 he built the first saw-mill in the township, on the small creek that runs through his farm. The dam has been washed out, leaving the frame of the mill still standing. He married, in 1838, Miss Nancy Kingery, of Buchanan. Eight of his children are now living,-six by the first wife and two by a second wife. Sylvester K., the eldest, lives at Dayton, and is proprietor of the saw-mill at that place; Elmira married William Wilson, of Modena, Ill.; Winfield S. lives at Galien; Winslow C. and Merritt live at home; Semantha married Charles H. Dean, of Detroit; Clara B. and Nancy L., the youngest, are at home. Mr. Wilson was school inspector in 1846 and 1848, and treasurer in 1860. Wm. Burns was the first supervisor of the township. He settled there before 1843, on the southwest quarter of section 11, now owned by Stephen Dennison. He was prominent in the history of the town in its early days. Daniel Bollinger settled about the same time, where Mrs. Annie T. Ranger now lives, on the east half of section 20. He was the first town clerk. Wm. Hardy, about 1846, settled on the north half of section 14. His daughter now lives on the farm. John P. Johnson came to the township in 1834, and purchased a part of the east half of section 19, and part of the west half of section 20, and where Zachariah Kinne now owns. He afterwards removed to Iowa. He was one of the first justices of the peace in the township, and one of the foremost men. Obadiah Rittenhouse was a native of Pennsylvania, and settled on section 3, now owned by Solomon Rough, of Bertrand. Peter Critchett, an early settler, married his daughter. James Edson and his family settled in 1836, on the northwest quarter of section 13. The first election of the township was held at his house, April 1, 1844. Alvin Emery bought the northeast quarter of section 22, on the Soper Creek, where he built a mill at an early day. He was supervisor in 1845-47, and school inspector the same years. Moses Emery, a brother, was school inspector in 1854, and justice of the peace in 1853. Richard Huston settled on the southeast quarter of section 16, and northeast quarter of section 21. His son, Richard D., lives on the northeast quarter of section 8. Anselm Abshire was an early settler, and one of the first justices of the peace. John Unrugh, before 1840, settled on that part of the southwest quarter of section 23 which lies in this township, and still lives there. Henry Smith, a native of Ohio, came to this township in 1845, and settled on the south half of section 10. He moved to Oregon about 1849. Perry G. Magness settled near where Zachariah Kinney lives, on section 19. There were a few other men of families in Galien prior to 1844, and several hired men and farmers' sons who were voters. By the record of the town clerk there were cast in the township, in 1844, 30 votes; in 1845, 24 votes; and in 1846, 33 votes. The following persons came into the township during the year 1846, and soon after: Peter Critchett, a native of Pennsylvania, settled on the southeast quarter of section 4, after renting a year or two. He lived on this farm until 1878, and is now living in the village. Asher A., Noah, David, and Allison G. Spicer, brothers, emigrated from Ohio about 1847. Asher located on the southeast quarter of section 10 and southwest quarter of section 11; A. G. Spicer, on the northwest quarter of section 7, where Wm. Thompson now lives. Samuel Collins settled on the northwest quarter of section 17. Daniel Conant settled on a farm on the northwest quarter of section 10. He has a son living in Weesaw. George Partridge, a native of New Hampshire, emigrated, with his wife and family, in 1849, and located on the southwest quarter of section 11. He now lives in Galien village. William Valentine, from New York, settled in the southwest corner of the township about 1847, and built a mill there. About 1850, Samuel Scleigh emigrated from Pennsylvania, with his family. and located on the northwest quarter of section 16, where he built a mill, now known as the Penyard Mill. He was town clerk for many years. In 1859 the grand jurors for this township were David Miller and John P. Johnson. The petit jurors at the same time were Edson and Ashbury Baltimore. Settlements in the township were few prior to 1844. The population in 1845 was 141; in 1854, 404; in 1860, 528; in 1870, 856. The first steam saw-mill was erected at what is now the village of Galien, about 1851, by Clapp & Cheney. It was afterwards sold to C. H. Goodwin and to John L. Reed, and, in 1853, to George A. Blakeslee. Mr. Blakeslee is a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y. In 1851 he came through this region of country on a prospecting tour, and again in 1853, not intending to remain; but 238. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. at that time he purchased the east half of section 3, where the village of Galien now stands. At that time the sawmill and one log cabin constituted all there was on the property. The mill had an engine f 30 horse-power, and a capacity of cutting 5000 feet of lumber per day. In 1854 he built a store. When the post-office was established he was appointed postmaster, and has remained in that position to the present time. Mr. Blakeslee has a farm of over 200 acres on his homestead in Galien. He conducts the mercantile business, and buys the grain that comes to that market, and operates the 'large saw-mill and factory. The village plat was laid out by him in 1861. A large hall over the store is free for all religious services and other exercises of a public nature. He also owns a farm of 400 acres in section 28, in Weesaw. He is one of the foremost men in the society of "Latter-Day Saints" of the State and country. Richard W. Montross came to Galien, and commenced manufacturing handles on a limited scale, and from this small beginning has built probably the largest business of the kind in this section of country. He is an active, energetic, upright man, fair and honest in his dealings, and liberal to all charitable purposes, and is a valuable man in the township. Steam Saw-Mill and Handle-Factory.-In 1853, Geo. A. Blakeslee purchased the mill property of John L. Reed, and soon enlarged its capacity. In 1868 it was destroyed by fire, and was rebuilt in seventy days. It now has a capacity of cutting 25,000 feet of lumber per day, with an engine of 100 horse-power, and employs an average of 25 men. It manufactures lumber, planed and matched, and turns out 1,500,000 broom-handles annually. Shipments are made to all parts of the country, but mostly to St. Louis, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Schenectady. The Wolverine Handle-Factory.-The business now carried on under the above name was first started by Smith & Montross, in the mill of Mr. Geo. Blakeslee, from whom space and power were rented. Upon the destruction of that building by fire, in 1868, the business having become successful, Mr. Richard W. Montross decided to build a factory for himself, which he did on the present location. Additions were made from time to time to meet the trade, and now he has every facility for manufacturing and storing equal to almost any demand. Sales are made in all parts of the United States and in Europe and Australia, to the latter of which shipments are made monthly. He has a working capital of $50,000, and employs about 40 men and boys. Every kind of handle known to the trade is manufactured, and the shipments reach millions annually. Mr. Montross has a branch establishment at Paw Paw. ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP. The territory now forming Galien was in 1836 attached to Bertrand, upon the organization of that township, and in 1837 it was transferred to Weesaw, to which township it belonged until the organizing act for its erection was approved, Feb. 29, 1844, providing " That township 8 south, of range 9 west, in the County of Berrien, be, and the same is hereby, set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Galien, and the first township-meeting shall be held at the house of James Edson, in said township." In accordance with the provisions of the above act, the first township-meeting was held at the place mentioned in the spring of 1844, at which election 31 votes were cast and the following officers were elected: William Burns, Supervisor; Daniel Bellinger, Town Clerk; Samuel Garwood, Treasurer; William H. Willson, William Burns, John P. Johnson, and A. Abshire, Justices; Wm. Burns and Hiram S. Copley, School Inspectors. $25 was voted at this meeting for the support of schools. The expenses of the township, as shown by the records for 1847, were $75.25. For 1848 they were $40. At a town-meeting in April, 1846, it was voted, " That $22 of wild-cat money be sold to the highest bidder" [and which brought 50 cents], " the same to be applied to purchase a book for the use of the town treasurer." The supervisors, clerks, treasurers, and justices of the peace of the township of Galien, from its organization to the present time, have been as follows: SUPERVISORS. 1844, William Burns; 1845, Alvin Emory; 1846, Wm. Burns; 1847, Alvin Emory; 1848, John P. Johnson; 1849, Henry Smith; 1850-52, John P. Johnson; 1853-55, Perry Noggle; 1856, Wm. Valentine; 1857-58, D. D. Hinman; 1859-60, Perry Noggle; 1861, Geo. Partridge; 1862-63, Perry Noggle; 1864, Geo. Partridge; 1865, Wm. K. White; 1866, Geo. Partridge; 1867, Albert Clark; 1868, Wm. K. White; 1869-70, Geo. Partridge; 1871 -75, Stephen A. Dennison; 1876, Geo. Partridge; 1877, Perry Noggle; 1878-79, Benton R. Stearns. TOWN CLERKS. 1844-45, Daniel Bellinger; 1846, Hiram D. Copley; 1847-48, Daniel Bellinger; 1849-50, Samuel Scleigh; 1851, D. D. Hinman; 1852, Samuel Scleigh; 1853, S. H. Burns; 1854-55, P. G. Winchell; 1856-57, Freeman Yaw; 1860-64, David D. Hinman; 1865, Henry M. Blair; 1866, Freeman Yaw; 1867-72, D. D. Hinman; 1873-75, Alex. Emory; 1876-78, Ebenezer Harris; 1879, Timothy Smith. TREASURERS. 1844-45, Samuel Garwood; 1846-47, Asher A. Spicer; 1848, Daniel Bellinger; 1849-50, Asher A. Spicer; 1851, C. Borders; 1852-53, Jacob Jackson; 1854, Peter Critchett; 1855-59, Jacob Jackson; 1860-66, James H. Wilson; 1868-70, Freeman Yaw; 1871-73, Ebenezer Harris; 1874-77, Benton R. Stearns; 1878-79, Wm. W. Fry. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1844, John P. Johnson, William Burns, James H. Wilson; 1845, James H. Wilson; 1846, Wm. Burns, Samuel Collins; 1847, Daniel Bellinger; 1848, James H. Wilson; 1849, John Johnson, Freeburg G. White; 1850, Samuel Scleigh; 1851, T. G. Bobo, B. Lybrook, F. G. White; 1852, S. Scleigh, Jacob Jackson; 1853, S. H. Burns, Moses Emory, J. G. Winchell; 1854, E. Colby; 1855, G. L. Green; 1856, S. Collins, Jonathan Wills, D. D. Hinman; 1857, D. D. Hinman, E. J. White, Geo. Partridge, Geo. Blakeslee; 1858, Reuben H. Rice, Geo. A. Blakeslee, E. J. White, J. A. Cutshan; 1859, Ira Cowell, Isaac Batten; 1860, William Jewel; 1861, Henry Yaw, John A. Barber; 1862, Peter Critchett, John Shuley; 1863, Peter E. Swan, Wm. J. Closson; 1864, John Shuley, James M. Patterson; 1865, Wm. K. White, Peter Critchett, David Owen; 1866, G. A. Blakeslee, Zachariah Kinne, Albert Clark; 1867, D. D. Hinman; 1868, Peter Critchett, J. B. Dowling; 1869, Zachariah Kinne, Winslow C. Wilson, Alex. Emory; 1870, David Dingman, G. A. Blakeslee, Wm. F. Swem; 1871, Wm. K. White; 1872, Geo. A. Blakeslee, J. B. Dowling; 1873, Z. Kinne, Wm. W. Davis, Peter Ash; 1874, Peter Ash, Alex. Emory; 1876, Porter Churchill; 1877, John Shuley; 1878, Chas. A. Witter; 1879, Alexander Emory. MR,CYPUS TLRTN R.C THURSTON. MRS. C. THURSTO N. PROMO B.9r 8P4AOLEY, gBUcMAIN.Q V., I.." 7, , ,,, 11 1 O M d I I. 1! I -, 11 1,., 1. -: '. r -! 'tll -, .'I l'!f r" -7,Yr . q-, ' _ " , d.-. IPT- 1+, ,,- "'I"M m,, pq. o le'., "! V" -1,,, ": "M TIT-0-,_, M., _ -, -! -. ___ __ 4-,, F v;t U !O.; '%!?ts.or CYRUS THU RS TON, GAVI IN1,8ERRIEN CO.,MI CH. 1879. i-i r r 1 TOWNSHIP OF GALIEN. 239 1856. GALIEN VILLAGE. The village of Galien was laid out in 1861, by George A. Blakeslee, who located there in 1853, and owned the land on which the village stands. It now contains a population of about 500 inhabitants, with 90 dwellings, three dry-goods and grocery-stores, two drug-stores, and one hardware-store, two saloons, two handle-factories and saw-mills, one stave-factory, three blacksmith-shops, one wagon-shop, one shoe-shop, one church (German Lutheran), and three other church organizations (Methodist, Latter-Day Saints, and Disciples), two hotels, post-office, school-house, and one grist-mill. Incorporation of the Village.-An act incorporating the village of Galien, to embrace section 3 and the northwest quarter of section 10, was approved March 4, 1879. An election was held on the second Monday in March, 1879, at Hoskins' Hotel, and the following officers were elected: George A. Blakeslee, President; Richard Montross, Charles A. Witte, Peter Critchett, Edwin J. Fairfield, Bowles C. Smith, Ebenezer Harris, Trustees; Alexander Emery, Clerk; Timothy Smith, Treasurer; John Carl, Street Commissioner; George Partridge, Assessor. AVERY'S STATION. This place is on the west line of the township, and is a station on the Michigan Central Railroad. It lies mostly in Three Oaks, and is hardly of sufficient importance to be called a village. SCHOOLS. The first action of the township in reference to schools was at the first election (held April 1, 1844), at which time $25 was voted for use of primary schools. The township had been divided into districts while included in the territory of Weesaw. The board of school inspectors met Dec. 12, 1845, and granted certificates to David B. Copley and Martha Fleming. At a meeting held Dec. 13, 1847, school district No. 2 was reformed, to comprise sections 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 16, 21, and 22. Dec. 6, 1847, Sally Bauman received certificate to teach in district No. 2. At the regular town-meeting in April, 1848, it was voted to raise 50 cents to each scholar over four years and under eighteen years. April 29, 1848, Elizabeth Scleigh received a certificate as teacher. The return of scholars and school-money for the year 1848 was Scl District No. 1..................... " "( 1................ (t (" 2..................... " " 2..................... it " 3..................... holars. Primary holars.Money. Money. 48 $25.68 voted to build house 180.00 77 41.19 voted in money 57.75 36 19.26 1860. Scholar No. of District. 1...... 2....... 3...... 4...... 5...... 6...... 7.................................... 46................................ 35. o.......... o................... 26................................ 52................................ 19................................ 25 Totals....................... 203 1879. Primary Money. $21.16 16.10 11.96 23.92 8.74 11.50 $93.38 Library Money. $14.21 10.81 8.03 16.05 5.87 7.72 $62.69 Amount of primary money............................... $211.68 " " library "................................. 1.90 No. of District. Scholars. 1........................ 41 2....................... 57 3........................ 63 5........................185 7........................ 54 8........................ 41 Totals........ 441 Primary. $19.68 27.36 30.24 88.80 25.92 19.68 $211.68 Library. $0.18.24.27.80.23.18 $1.90 Total. $19.86 27.60 30.51 89.60 26.15 19.86 $213.58 VALUE OF SCHOOL-SITES AND HOUSES. District No. 1, frame........................................ $300 2, "............................................. 600 3, "............................................. 350 " " 5, brick...................................... 5500 " 7, fram e............................................. 400 " " 8, "............................................. 600 The brick school-house in the village was built in 1877 -78, the village being bonded for that purpose. The bonded indebtedness at this time is $1693.33. The following-named persons have filled the office of school inspector in Galien township from its organization to the present time: 1844, William Burns, Hiram H. Copley; 1845, Alvin Emery, Anselm Abshire; 1846, James H. Wilson, Hiram H. Copley; 1847, Alvin Emory; 1848, James H. Wilson, John P. Johnson; 1849, John P. Johnson, Henry Smith; 1850, Samuel Reynolds; 1851, Christopher Borden; 1852, John P. Johnson; 1853, William H. Johnson, D. D. Hinman; 1854, E. Colby, B. Lybrook; 1855, M. Emory; 1856, E. Colby, C. Thurston; 1857, D. D. Hinman; 1858, William Valentine; 1859, John Valentine, Isaac Wombold; 1860, Reuben H. Rice, Henry Yaw; 1861, Henry M. Blair; 1862, Cyrus Thurston; 1863, Julius W. Marsh; 1864, Henry Yaw, Ellis E. Taylor; 1865, Perry Noggle; 1866-67, J. B. Dowling; 1868, Ransom P. Goit, George W. Lee; 1869, J. B. Dowling; 1870-71, Alexander Emory; 1872, J. B. Dowling; 1873, Alexander Emory; 1874, J. B. Dowling, Cyrus Thurston; 1875, J. B. Dowling; 1876, G. A. Blakeslee; 1877, J. B. Dowling; 1878, Charles Valentine; 1879, J. B. Dowling. The office of superintendent of schools has been filled by the following-named persons: 1875-76, Timothy Smith; 1877, Cyrus Thurston; 1878, Bolls C. Smith; 1879, Cyrus Thurston. The Galien Board of Education for 1879 is composed of D. C. Smith, M.D., Theron Chilson, D. W. Severn, Alexander Emory, and B. R. Stearns. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. The German Lutheran Church was organized Nov. 25, 1866, with 12 members, at the school-house in the village of Galien. The Rev. William Braunwarth was the first Scholars. District No. 1........................ 59 " " 2........................ 49 " " 3........................ 26 Totals.........................134 Primary Money. $15.63 12.98 6.89 $35.50 The reports for the years 1849, 1856, 1860, and 1879 showed as follows: 1849. Scholars. District No. 1....................... 23 "( 2.........................32 ( " 3........................ 44 Primary Money. $7.82 10.88 14.96 Totals......................... 99 at 34 cents each $33.66 240 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. pastor. He was succeeded by the Revs. A. Lehmann, E. Kling, Frederick Walter, John Nollau, Julius Schumm, and A. Debus, who is the present pastor. The church was erected about 1869. The present membership is 16. The church at Three Oaks is under the same charge with this.. Latter-Day Saints.-The denomination to which this society belongs number in the United States between 100,000 and 200,000 members. They are followers of Joseph Smith, but do not accept the beliefs of Brigham Young, and claim that he is an apostate from original Mormonism. Polygamy is no part of their creed, and they have no connection with the Utah Mormons. The title is the " Reorganized Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with Joseph Smith, the son of the martyr, at its head." They were the first to send missionaries to Utah. The organization in the village and town of Galien was founded with 70 members, and now has about 40. It belongs to the Michigan district, in which there are five pastors. The Rev. William Kelly has charge of this church. Meetings are held in Blakeslee Hall. A Methodist Class was organized at the village in 1871, with 12 members. They number at present 4. Meetings are held in Blakeslee Hall. The Church of the Disciples was organized at Galien Centre in the spring of 1859, with about 30 members, by the Rev. William Roe, and has been held mostly in the same charge with the church of Buchanan. The organization was divided in April, 1879, a part remaining at the Centre, and part worship at the village of Galien. Both organizations number about 40 members. A church was built at Galien Centre, on the southwest corner of section 10, about 1869, and services are now held there once in two weeks by the Rev. Mr. Cowles. Services are held in Galien village, in the hall at Haskins' Hotel. United Brethren.-An organization of the above denomination was perfected about twenty years ago, but has not been kept in very good condition. It is now assuming new life and bids fair to be a prosperous organization. Services are held in the school-house about one mile south of Galien Centre. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. DAVID A. CUTHBERT. This gentleman was born Aug. 16, 1819, in Yorkshire, England. At the age of eleven years his father hired him out to work on a farm for twelve months.' He continued laboring as a farm-hand until he was twenty-seven years old, when he married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Arlington. Two children were born of this union, viz., David T., born June 15, 1847, and John A., born July 10, 1850. In 1853, Mr. Cuthbert decided to try his fortunes in America. His first stopping-place after arriving in this country was Rochester, N. Y., where, with his family and without means to go any farther, he was obliged to stay. But, used to labor, he soon obtained work, and as soon as he succeeded in getting money enough to get away, moved to Michigan, rented land in Cass and Berrien Counties until 1865, when he found himself possessed of means enough to purchase a home of his own, and bought at one time 40 and at.another 80 acres. Oct. 2, 1875, he had the misfortune to lose his wife. Being somewhat discouraged and unsettled at this affliction, he resolved to visit his native land; but upon again looking on those old familiar haunts of his boyhood all seemed changed. As he expresses it, " Everything looked so narrow that it did not seem like home." Returning to Michigan in 1877, in October, 1878, he married, for his second wife, Mrs. Louisa J., widow of Henry Renbarger. He has been in politics a Democrat, but declares himself untrammeled, and intends now to cast his vote for the candidate whom he considers best fitted for the office to be filled, regardless of party. In religion he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1849. His first wife was also a member of the same church. HENRY RENBARGER was a native of Indiana, born Feb. 25, 1830. His boyhood was passed on a farm, rendering his father such assistance as farmers' boys in those days usually were called upon to give. Soon after reaching his majority, and upon the 7th day of September, 1851, he was united in marriage with Miss Louisa J., daughter of John and Martha Martin. The following year he came to Michigan, renting land until 1855, then located on the farm where the family now reside, purchasing 160 acres, to which he afterwards added 36 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Renbarger were the parents of eight children, viz., Winfield S., born June 18, 1852; James A., March 9, 1854; Martha A., Oct. 12, 1856; George W., Feb. 4, 1859; Elsie M., Sept. 23, 1861; Nancy E., April 22, 1864, died May 19, 1864; Elmira L., born May 25, 1865; and John H., born May 28, 1868. Politically, Mr. Renbarger acted with the Democratic party. In religion he was what is termed a liberal, never belonging to any church organization, but left behind him a name honored and unsullied, respected by all who knew him, and a memory ever green in the minds of his friends and family. His death occurred upon the 20th day of September, 1876. MRS. MARY WITTER, formerly Mrs. Huston, was born in Ohio, Feb. 10, 1804. Her father, Jesse Frame, was a native of Virginia, removing to Ohio in 1803. Her mother's maiden name was Nancy Abshir, who was also a native of Virginia, and married Mr. Jesse Frame about 1779. Mrs. Witter was the third child in a family of twelve children, and was married to Mr. William Huston, Dec. 20, 1827, in Ohio, removing to Michigan in 1840, and settling where Mrs. Witter now lives. Mr. Huston died March 11, 1845, leaving six children to be provided for. Mrs. Huston succeeded by industry and perseverance in keeping the TOWNSHIP OF GALIEN. 241 family together until all had reached maturity. In 1852 she was married, the second time, to Samuel Reynolds, who died in February, 1857, there being only two weeks difference in the time of his death and that of her son, Jesse Huston, a promising boy of seventeen years. In 1859 she was the third time married, this time to Mr. John Witter, educational advantages and having seen but little of society, yet it will afford any one pleasure to visit her. She is ever ready to lend a helping hand to those around her needing assistance, and has always found enough of this to do; neighbors and friends calling upon her in sickness or when needing assistance, and always receiving it. Many It* / ' -, -/ MRS. MARY WITTER. and removed to Portage Prairie, where she remained nine years, or until the death of Mr. Witter. She then returned to her old home in Galien township, making her home with her daughter, Mrs. Weldon, who died in 1877, leaving her children to be cared for by her mother. Mrs. Witter is a remarkable woman; having had no early CYRUS THURSTON is a native of Pennsylvania, though his father and mother were both natives of New York. He was born Aug. 14, 1825, and was one of a family of five children,-four boys and one girl. One of the brothers died when grown, and the sister died when quite young. Cyrus was raised on a farm, remaining at home assisting his father about the farm until he was twenty-two years of age. June 8, 1848, he married Miss Hannah B., daughter of Jonathan and Ann Woolverton. Of this union have been born nine children, of whom five are living. Mrs. Thurston's mother was a relative of Col. Daniel Boone. Cyrus came to Michigan in the fall of 1853, renting land and farming until 1855, when he made his first purchase of eighty acres, on section 8 of this township. In 1846 he bought the present homestead of sixty acres, to which he has since added thirty acres, making a fine farm of ninety acres. His advantages for an early education were limited, but, 31 weaker minds would have been crushed by the sorrow that has overtaken her during her lifetime, having been called to mourn the loss of so many of her family,-four of her children have passed on before; but ever remembering that these dark clouds overshadowing her have silver linings, she goes on cheerfully fulfilling her mission. being anxious to secure a good education, he attended a high school two terms just before his marriage and the Michigan State Normal School one term after his marriage. This, with his reading and constant study outside of school, fitted him for teaching, and he then entered that profession, farming during the summer and teaching in the winter. He has taught in every district in his township except one; also has taught in Ohio and Indiana, and has filled the position of superintendent of schools. In politics he has always been a Democrat, and is now identified with those advocating hard money. In religion he is connected with that denomination known as the LatterDay Saints. Mr. Thurston has ever been an industrious and ambitious man, and by these good qualities has secured for himself and family a comfortable home. These facts must make memory a pleasure, and give zest to the enjoyments of this life. 'Nk 242 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I -. FRANK JERUE. The subject of this sketch was born in 1844, in Canada. Came to Berrien County in 1855. When he was about eighteen years old the war of the Rebellion broke out, and, loyal to his country, he responded to the call to arms, enlisting in the 25th Michigan Infantry, July, 1862. He served as a private until he was discharged, July, 1865. He was wounded at Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1864, and was then absent from his regiment five months, the only time he was absent during his term of service. Mr. Jerue made his first purchase of land in 1868, of forty acres, to which he has since added thirty acres, making a farm of seventy acres, which, though small, is an excellent and profitable one. His father and friends are all Democrats, but he has always been a firm supporter of the Republican party. Is a member of the United Brethren Church, he and his wife having united with it only a short time ago. They had previously been members of the Methodist Church. Mr. F. Jerue married Miss Clara, daughlter of George and Jane Parish, who were married in 1836 and reside in this county. They have had six children; two only are living, viz., Frank A. and Clyde S. Tlhe father and mother of Mr. Jerue were married in 1843, in Canada, and Mr. Jerue was the oldest of their eight children,-four boys and four girls. His father is now a resident of this county. R. B. HUSTON was born in Indiana, Nov. 15, 1829, and was the eldest son of Wm. Huston, a native of Ohio, but who removed to Michigan in 1835, being one of the first settlers in Galien township. His death occurred March 22, 1844; leaving behind a widow and five children, the widow still living. After the death of his father, R. B. Huston remained at home with his mother, assisting her in the management of the farm and care of the family until he was twenty-six years of age. May 4, 1856, he married Miss Martha A., daughter of Henry and Nancy Waterhouse. Ten children have been added to their family circle and two taken away again. Names and ages as follows: Rhoda L., born Oct. 18, 1858. Loretta A., born Sept. 13, 1860; died Dec. 26, 1878. George E., born March 7, 1862. Mary, born Aug. 11, 1864. Nancy, born April 12, 1866. John W., born May 30, 1869. Sylva A., born Feb. 7, 1871; died Aug. 2, 1872. Minerva M., born Feb. 11, 1874. Wm. J., born Jan. 10, 1876. Grace M., born May 5, 1877. After his marriage he remained at the old homestead for two years, then moved to his present home, a farm of one hundred and twenty acres; he also owns another farm of eighty acres one mile west of his residence. In the early settlement of the county the opportunities for securing an education were very limited; he attended a few terms of the district school, where he received his only education. Mrs. Huston's father and mother were natives of Vermont, where she was born March 25, 1839; was the youngest of six children. Her parents removed to Ohio when she was four years old, and from there to Galien, Mich., when she was thirteen years old, where she has since resided. In 1852, Mr. Huston and a brother of Mrs. Huston owned and ran the first grain separator ever used in Galien township. Also owned the first reaper and put up the first windmill. He has been engaged for several years in thrashing. At this time he is owning and running a steam thrasher. CHAPTER XXXIII. HAGAR TOWNSHIP.* Description of Location, Soil, and Surface-Settlements, Mills, and Early Roads-Township Organization and Civil List-Religious Organizations-Schools. HAGAR lies upon the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, and occupies as well the extreme northwestern corner of Berrien County. It is numbered town 3 south, in range 18 west, contains less than 19 sections, and is bounded on the north by the Van Buren County line, on the south by Benton township, on the east by Watervliet, and on the west by Lake Michigan. It is well watered by numerous streams, of which the largest is the Paw Paw River, flowing across the southeastern portion of the township. Like other Berrien County townships, Hagar was at one time a rich fruit-growing region, but latterly has lost much of its importance in that direction by the general prevalence of disease in the peach orchards. Apples and other fruits are grown to a considerable extent, and among Hagar's agriculturists might be named a score or more who are heavy fruit-growers. Although much attention is given to fruit, general farming is by no means neglected. The Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, passing through the township, with stations at Hagar and Riverside, furnishes convenient and quick access to markets fbr the products of the soil. Each of the stations named has a post-office. Neither rises to the dignity of a village, although the latter contains a store. The need of villages or stores in, the township is, after all, scarcely apparent, as Benton Harbor and St. Joseph naturally attract the business of the adjacent country, and may be reached in an hour from any part of Hagar. In the northern part of the township, near the lake-shore, there is much timbered land which is being industriously cleared by lumbering firms, one of which employs 80 men. The assessed valuation of this township is but $95,385, the least of any of the townships of Berrien. The presence of considerable tracts of unimproved land-indeed fully onehalf if not more of the territory in Hagar is timberedgives reason for this, but according to the way in which the country is being cleared, the assessed valuation will show a material increase within five years. Hagar is well supplied with schools, but has no church edifice within its limits, although two church organizations maintain public worship in school-houses. The township has neither grist-mill nor saw-mill, and has had but one of the latter, long since, however, in disuse. That portion of St. Joseph township now known as Hagar failed to invite, the attention of pioneers until after 1840, and even then only to a very moderate degree. The first white man to locate upon that territory as a settler was *By David Schwartz. (:: j a hOQePBssBsP;""' itl s B "b -~ t i " j: P ~P u:, JF.;~ *.,.ah) a,~;:~::: f . '41 i&' r~:::7~-;;: r, I-r:5a b irr 'P`U _:C~( 1 j:..P 14$t:'ci:'ti,~c";"x,i"f It *CX"'_~h x; *Z"rl.?"L4,;$jJ]`Aq - sl 8; It US tO N. -~t1, 34rw n -? Mli BI. HW S~T Z-~u, t i~ ;.''l''bgtkigPC';;aC,ekk ~.89 IiEZci9iYi~,J~: W-?sit'-~.'Cc. "r! DO 9 J /ns_~:: t Q ~t:?ru~;,t """""""""""""""""""" rr a~i;;,;rt;aP~ Irs IJIE (dn zh "-i 8~i: Jr\~ *Y.:J, *~;._*t:r z i, -5 J.I ii ts;In ':l*ln~U'r:,r f+ s i b*i P. u "'i. ~~~~ r~r ~-ru*rr,.~ ~r;nrr-u,;; a rr rlCic,~ FIJ*C-~lrlVI(C11 r, 4 iC; ~"i-~~i -il. aB RESIDENCE OF R.. B.HUSTON, GALELJTP, BERRIEN CO., MICH. C C. h t ~~ -* ~,a SB TOWNSHIP OF HAGAR. 243 IL — C Henry Hawley, a Canadian, who entered 160 acres on section 23, where Oscar Damon now lives. He conveyed his family to the place in the spring of 1839, and worked for a while in the midst of an uninhabited region, as if he really intended to make a permanent home in the wilderness, but his courage failed before the loneliness of his situation and the rather gloomy prospect before him. Settlers from St. Joseph had given him a helping hand at the outset, and gathered in force to put up a log cabin for him. He started cheerfully upon the task of clearing his land, and made up his mind to fight his way stubbornly against the disadvantages of a life in an unbroken country, but he grew tired of the business before he had cleared an acre of land, and, packing up his goods, took them and his flamily off to Indiana, where he lived until his death. In the summer of 1839, Charles Lamb, a Vermonter, came West with a young wife, and, tarrying a short time in St. Joseph (working meanwhile on the docks), moved with his wife and infant child upon what is now known as the Bundy Place, in Hagar, the northeast quarter of section 23. As there was no road to his new farm, he made the journey up the Paw Paw River in a canoe. The road from Hagar to Benton Harbor, Mr. Lamb helped to lay out some time after he became a settler, and that was the first road laid out in the township. Hawley was gone when Lamb moved in, and the latter's family was therefore the only one at that time in the territory now covered by Hagar. Mr. Lamb may therefore be called Hagar's first permanent settler. From Jan. 1, 1841, to July 4, 1842, Mr. Lamb kept a daily journal, and endeavored to note therein the progress of events in his new settlement. That journal, now in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. Anderson, of Hagar, is an interesting record, apart from its value as a memorial, and from its pages have been copied a few extracts, as follows: "Jan. 3, 1841, Sunday.-Had a great time comparing my present circumstances with those a year ago. Then alone here in the woods, with great horrors of mind from various causes; pecuniary circumstances the great disadvantage; no team, cattle to winter, and doubts of my success in getting a living here; no speedy prospects of a settlement so as to have neighbors. Within the past year four families have settled,-Pannel, McCrea, Bundy, and Farnum. Prospects look better; doubts gone. " Sunday, January 10th.-Tried to keep the Sabbath. Worked four and a half days for Johnson. Received for pay chain, hoe, and gun. Ai "Sunday, January 17th.-Chopped some; sick some; snowed some. "April.-Went to town on a raft. "May 30th.-Helped Bundy make his brush fence two and a half days. He helped me hoe corn one a half days. "June 20th.-William Allen came; glad to see a Vermonter. "Sunday, July 4th.-National anniversary independence; great thing to be truly independent; hope to be in part; gaining slowly; some different from two years ago; came from St. Jo with my axe, felled one tree; not a person here; now several. "July 25th.-Pannel moved from the settlement. "August 15th.-Had the dumps. " August 20th.-Mrs. Bundy died; for the first time the neighborhood came together to bury one of them. " September 24th.-Snowed all night and day; two and a half feet deep. " September 31st.-Snow all gone. "November 15th and 16th.-Made boots. "Jan. 1, 1842.-The old year has gone, and my prospects and cir cumstances are a little better than a year ago; shall try it another year; the settlement is progressing; Pannel's family gone; Oliver Sorrell's come; prospects of more; one has died. "February 13th.-Daniel Brant and family came into the neighborhood. "July 4th. —Hoed corn all day; not quite independent yet, but, to look it all over, think I am a little more so than I was a year ago; have some doubts whether there can be such a thing as perfect independence." A few years after his settlement (in 1845) Mr. Lamb moved across the Paw Paw River to where John Brown now lives, and resided there until his death, in 1846. Two of his daughters-Mrs. Roome and Mrs. Anderson-reside in Hagar. Mrs. Anderson is now the oldest settler in Hagar, although she was but a babe when she became one of its population. The second permanent settler in Hagar was Mathias Farnum, who made his first Michigan settlement in St. Joseph, in 1836, and there he was one of the first to work upon the docks constructed there. In the winter of 1839 he entered 160 acres of land, on what is now section 13 of Hagar. Mr. Farnum, with other residents of St. Joseph, had gone out into the woods and assisted in building cabins for Hawley and Lamb, in Hagar, and when Farnum decided to become a settler there also, his St. Joseph neighbors assisted him in putting up his log cabin. In December 1839, Mr. Farnum moved upon his new place, with his wife and child, and no doubt his coming rejoiced the heart of Lamb, who from that time forward emerged from his loneliness into the cheerful conviction that he had a neighbor, although that neighbor was more than a mile distant. Mr. Farnum lived in Hagar until 1860, when he removed to Watervliet, thence to Iowa, and later to the village of Benton Harbor, where he has resided since 1864. The settler who followed Farnum into Hagar was Nathaniel Bundy, who in 1840 started from Huron Co., Ohio, with his wife and four children, for Michigan. He halted at St. Joseph, and after working about the neighborhood a year, bought 160 acres, on section 14, in Hagar, of Robert Hollywood. Leaving his family at St. Joseph, he went into the woods with his axe and put up a log cabin, which being done, he moved his family into it, and in the spring of 1841 the new settlement included three families, and Chas. Lamb boasted two neighbors. Mr. Bundy lived on his place until his death, in 1872. James Bundy, Nathaniel Bundy's son, is the only child of the latter now living in the township. William McCrea was Hagar's fourth settler. He migrated from Canada to St. Joseph, Mich., about 1838, lived there until 1841, married a daughter of George Mills (a settler in St. Joseph in 1838), and moved then to Hagar, where he had entered 120 acres on section 14, built a log cabin, cleared two acres, and put in a crop. McCrea's nearest neighbor was Charles Lamb, who was three-quarters of a mile away. At the time of his settlement the road from Hagar to St. Joseph had been laid out, but the track was a narrow one through the woods, and extremely rough, as well as but faintly marked, except as an extended opening in the forest. Mr. McCrea lived upon his Hagar farm until Aug. 15, 1849, when he was killed by the fall of a tree. His widow married Mr. Anthony S. Bishop, and still lives in Hagar. Before McCrea came Francis Pannel, an Englishman, who remained but two years, when he sold out to Joseph 244 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. -1 Stratton, and moved to Benton township, where he died. Stratton stayed in Hagar but a few years, when, with his family, he moved to California. Crawford Hazard settled in 1841, but became afterwards a resident of Bainbridge, where he died. Lacy Brant and Daniel Brant, his brother, settled originally in Pipestone, whence they moved to Hagar, leaving there, after a short stay, for Pipestone. Oliver Sorrell was also an early settler in Hagar, but moved to Pipestone, where he now lives. Leonard Lull bought out one of the Brants, but soon sold out to Wm. Ferguson, and moved away. The Finch family settled in Hagar in 1845. Isaac Finch, with his wife, five children, and Mrs. Kimme, his grandmother, moved from Madison Co., Ind., to Niles township, in Michigan, and after residing there until 1845, changed their residence to Hagar township, where Isaac Finch, Jr., entered 40 acres of land on section 12. The Finches stopped with Matthias Farnum until they erected a log cabin upon their place. Alexis D. Finch, another of the sons, bought at the same time 50 acres of Mr. Farnum, on section 13, and there he still resides. The elder Finch lived with his son Isaac until his death, in 1853. Of Mr. Finch's five children who came to Hagar with him, those living in Hagar are Alexis D., Sarah Finch, and Mrs. William Huyck. When Mr. Finch settled in Hagar the only families residing on the west side of the river were the Bundys, Farnums, McCreas, and Lambs. Mr. Isaac Finch's grandmother, Mrs. Kimme, reached the advanced age of ninety-two, when she died in Hagar. She was buried upon the Farnum place. Her father, who died in New York, was one hundred and fourteen years old when he died. In 1848, William Flood, with his family and James Flood, his brother, left Ireland for America, intending to settle in the State of Wisconsin. They journeyed westward as far as Kalamazoo, Mich., where they remained two weeks, during which James and Williaml worked on the Michigan Central Railroad. They proceeded thence to St. Joseph, where they were induced by a fellow-countryman, James Murphy, to see Col. Fitzgerald, a Michigan land-owner, and from him William bought a quarter of section 27, in Hagar. Of course the Wisconsin project was abandoned, and William, with his family and brother James, went out " to Hagar. Considerable timber had been taken off the land for the docks at St. Joseph, and fortunately finding a lumberman's shanty upon the place, the Floods were enabled to proceed to housekeeping without delay. Even at that late date the country was very new, and about the only road in the vicinity of the Flood place was the St. Joseph road. James lived with his brother until 1852, when he moved upon 65 acres in section 34, that he had purchased in 1850. There he lives now. William lived on his place of first settlement until his death, in 1873, and there his widow survives him. Philip Lynch, with his sister and Philip Farley, came from Ireland in 1848. While on the way Farley and Miss Lynch were married at Albany, N. Y., and in a short time Farley and Lynch settled in company upon section 27, in Hagar township, where Farley still lives. Lynch purchased land on section 28, and is now living upon it. Sylvanus Cook, an early settler in Niles, moved to Wisconsin, whence, in 1849, he returned to Michigan and located in the northeast corner of Hagar township. He married a daughter of Isaac Finch, and died in Hagar in 1863. A. S. Bishop, now living in Hagar, settled in Bainbridge with his father, in 1844, and in 1850 removed to Hagar, where he married the widow of William McCrea, one of Hagar's earliest settlers. In June, 1848, Benjamin Harris and Uriah Harris, his father, of Morgan Co., Ohio, entered 160 acres each on section 12, in Hagar, at $1.20 per acre, and conjointly entered 36 acres on the same section, at $1.25. In October, 1850, Benjamin, with his family, migrated from Ohio to his Hagar farm, in company with his brother Abram, who settled upon a portion of the 160 acres entered by the elder Harris, the latter settling in Watervliet township. Both families were guests of Mathias Farnum until their own cabins could be erected. Benjamin Harris had a family of a wife and seven children, and shortly after they got into their new cabin all except Mrs. Harris and her infant babe were stricken with ague. Between taking care of her child, nursing the seven helpless ones, and attending to her household duties, the mother must have had a weary time, but she worked bravely through it all. At one time, being without flour in the house, she slipped hurriedly away, leaving the invalids to themselves, walked through the woods to Sprague Bishop's house, borrowed a sack of flour, and hurried home with it on her back, in season to cheer the suffering ones with renewed timely attentions. Physicians were scarce and hard to get, but Dr. Lindsley was persuaded to come over from Watervliet and look after the afflicted family. His bill for attendance was $80, and Mr. Harris says that it almost staggered him when he was told how much it was, for $80 in those days in the woods of Hagar was an immense sum of money. "However," says Mr. Harris, "I paid it after a while; but it was a tough struggle, I can tell you, to scrape that amount of money together then." Abram Harris died in Hagar in 1864. Benjamin still lives where he first settled. The region along the lake-shore was not settled until a comparatively late date, and even now there is much wild land in the north, especially on section 11, which contains scarcely any settlements. Quite a large tract in that region is owned by lumbering firms, who are rapidly making clearings, and shipping considerable timber and cord-wood to Chicago and other lake points. On the road running from the lake-shore to Hagar Station, William Edinborough and his brother Thomas, of Benton, were among the earliest settlers, in 1852 and 1854, respectively. When they came no one was living in the vicinity and the region was a wilderness. The first road thereabouts was the road just mentioned, which the Edinboroughs themselves laid out. Following the latter, the settlers were Asahel Hayes, J. T. Wisner, and Stephen Cook, and after them settlers began to multiply quite rapidly. The first settlement on the south side of the Paw Paw River, or, more properly speaking, in the southeastern portion of the township, was made by William Allen, who TOWNSHIP OF HAGAR. 245 worked for Charles Lamb a while in 1841, and removed soon to the south side of the river, upon the bank of which, not far from the present railway-bridge, he put up a shanty and kept bachelor's hall, where he was subsequently joined by Michael Smith, who, in 1838, at the age of fifteen years, left Cayuga Co., N. Y., via canal, and reached Buffalo, with 75 cents in his pocket. At Buffalo he shipped aboard a vessel bound for Chicago, and thence traveled to St. Joseph, Mich., where he arrived in October. He worked there until June, 1839, then engaged as a deck-hand on one of the steamers running on the St. Joseph. He lived in Indiana eighteen months, and there joined a hunting-party, which penetrated in 1840 into the territory now occupied by Hagar township. He lived in that vicinity with Gilson Osgood until 1842, when he purchased, of Smith & Merrick, 163 acres of land on section 26, in Hagar, for $3 per acre. He made no effort, however, towards settling upon it or clearing it, but finding William Allen living on the bank of the river, took quarters with him, and there the two continued to live for eighteen months, during which time they hunted and lived a free-and-easy life, while they also made an occasional clearing on Allen's land. They also "underbrushed" a road from Allen's cabin a mile southward on the section line. That road was afterwards improved, and is the one now on the line between sections 25 and 26. While Smith and Allen were living in their bachelors' cabin they did not suppose that there were settlers on the other side of the river, and one Sunday, hearing the barking.of dogs and reports of guns from that direction, they went over, expecting to meet with a band of Indians. To their surprise, however, they found white settlers, in the families of Charles Lamb, Nathaniel Bundy, and Joseph Stratton, the latter then running the ferry at St. Joseph, and visiting his family in Hagar only on Sundays. Neither Smith nor Allen did much towards clearing their respective farms until 1844, when Jeremiah Smith (Michael's father) came to Hagar fiom New York State, with his wife and family, and located upon Michael's 163 acres, Michael having previously put up a frame house upon it and cleared a few acres. As soon as he saw them comfortably settled, Michael went to Kalamazoo, where he made his home for the following fifteen years. He then returned to Hagar and took possession of his farm, where he yet lives. Upon Michael's return, his father bought 40 acres on the opposite side of the road, and resided there until his death. In 1844, Allen turned his attention energetically to cultivating his land, and lived upon it afterwards until he died. He married Sophia, daughter of Jeremiah Smith, that marriage being the first one celebrated on the south side of the river. His widow married Roswell Curtis, and still lives in Hagar. In 1844, James Stewart settled upon section 26, south of Michael Smith. He lived there until 1861, when he moved to Bangor. There he now resides, aged ninety-two years. The next settler was Roswell Curtis, who located upon section 25, opposite James Stewart. He married William Allen's widow, and still lives in Hagar. T I Wells Crumb, who followed Curtis, settled on section 26, and built a small saw-mill on Crumb Creek. Mr. Crumb moved afterwards to Coloma, in Watervliet township, where he is now living. Jeremiah Smith's two married sons, Abram and Henry, came to Hagar, with their father, in 1844, and located farms on section 24. Abram opened there the first blacksmithshop on that side of the river, and not long afterwards removed to Coloma, where he was also the pioneer blacksmith, and where he continues to this day to work at the forge. Henry is living in Hagar. William Scott, an early settler, sold out, about 1856, to George Patterson, and removed to California, where he now lives. George Patterson lives now in Coloma. James, his brother, who bought Abram Smith's place, changed his habitation to the northern part of the State, where he is now living. Robert Merrifield was a settler upon the south side of the river about 1843, but afterwards left for Berrien. Alfred Sensebaugh, who was an early settler on the south side of the river, was a preacher, and preached for some time, on both sides of the river, before the appearance in the township of any other minister. The first white child born in the township was William McCrea's daughter, Mary Jane, the date of whose birth was May 16, 1841. She is now living in Hagar, and is the wife of Thomas Muldoon. The first couple married were Oliver Sorrell and Malvina Brant. The wedding ceremony took place at the house of Mathias Farnum, and was performed by Dr. Lillibridge, of St. Joseph. Mr. Farnum, who relates the incident, does not remember that the wedding was attended by any demonstrative celebration such as sometimes marks a first marriage in a new settlement. He recollects, however, that there were at that time so few settlers in Hagar that there was not much of a chance for a hilarious time. The first saw-mill in Hagar, and the only one to the present time, was set up by Mathias Farnum and Alexis D. Finch, near the Farnum place. They bought the machinery in Watervliet and moved it to Hagar, where it was operated some time as a steam-mill. It was, however, dismantled a long time since, although the building, in a somewhat dilapidated condition, still remains. Until 1869, when the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad was completed to that point, Hagar had no postoffice. Previously the mails for the township people were sent to Coloma or Benton Harbor. Mathias, Farnum says that when he moved into Hagar, in 1839, there were no roads in the township, and the only thoroughfares of any kind were Indian trails or routes, by way of blazed trees, marked by his predecessors. The river, although shallow, served nevertheless a useful purpose to the Hagar pioneers, for by its aid they were enabled to journey to and from St. Joseph village much more conveniently than by the overland route through the woods. By reason of this convenience the want of a road to St. Joseph was not as sorely felt as it would have been otherwise, and indeed it was not until 1841 that a road to St. Joseph was laid out and made fit for travel. 246 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ~ TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL LIST. Hagar was originally a portion of St. Joseph township, and was set off as a part of Paw Paw township March 7, 1834. In response to a petition urged by a considerable number of inhabitants, it was set off as a separate township April 6, 1846. Hagar was named in honor of William Hagar, of St. Joseph, whose son-in-law, John N. Rogers, a justice of the peace, performed certain services in obtaining the organization of the town, and as a compensation claimed the privilege of naming it. The first townmeeting was held in the school-house of District No. 1, known as the Bundy school-house. At that meeting the inspectors of election were Wells Crumb, William McCrea, Alfred Sensebaugh, Mathias Farnum, Leonard Lull, and Charles Lamb, Jr. The clerks of the election were William Scott and Roswell Curtis. The town officials chosen on that occasion were as follows: Supervisor, Alfred Sensebaugh; Clerk, William C. Allen; Treasurer, Charles Lamb, Jr.; Justices of the Peace, William Scott, Joseph Stratton, Isaac K. Finch, Charles Lamb, Sr.; Assessors, William Scott, Joseph Stratton; School Inspectors, Alfred Sensebaugh, Joseph Stratton; Directors of the Poor, Crawford Hazard, Charles Lamb, Jr.; Commissioners of Highways, Nathaniel Bundy, A. D. Finch, Abram Smith; Constables, A. D. Finch, Samuel Hardenbrook, Henry Smith. Following is a list of those who have been elected supervisors, clerks, treasurers, and justices of the peace of Hagar from 1847 to 1879, inclusive: 1847.-Supervisor, Alfred Sensebaugh; Clerk, William C. Allen; Treasurer, William Scott; Justice of the Peace, Roswell Curtis. 1848. —Suervisor, William Scott; Clerk, Wells Crumb; Treasurer, William Scott; Justice of the Peace, Joseph Stratton. 1849.-Supervisor, Isaac K. Finch; Clerk, William C. Allen; Treasurer, Roswell Curtis; Justices of the Peace, Isaac K. Finch, Leonard Lull. 1850.-Supervisor, Isaac K..Finch; Clerk, Abram Smith; Treasurer, William C. Allen; Justices of the Peace, Isaac K. Finch, Alexis D. Finch, Charles Lamb. 1851.-Supervisor, Isaac K. Finch; Clerk, Abram Smith; Treasurer, William C. Allen; Justice of the Peace, Wells Crumb. 1852.-Supervisor, Isaac K. Finch; Clerk, William C. Allen; Treasurer, Sprague Bishop; Justices of the Peace, George Johnson, A. D. Finch. 1853.-Supervisor, George Johnson; Clerk, William C. Allen; Treasurer, Sprague Bishop; Justices of the Peace, William Scott, Sprague Bishop. 1854.-Supervisor, George Johnson; Clerk, Abram Smith; Treasurer, Sprague Bishop; Justices of the Peace, Crawford Hazard, A. D. Finch. 1855.-Supervisor, George Johnson; Clerk, A. D. Finch; Treasurer, Sprague Bishop; Justices of the Peace, A. D. Finch, Wells Crumb, Asahel Hays. 1856.-Supervisor, Asahel Hays; Clerk, Wells Crumb; Treasurer, Sprague Bishop; Justice of the Peace, George S. Andrews. 1857.-Supervisor, George S. Andrews; Clerk, Alonzo Hyde; Treasurer, Albert Swift; Justice of the Peace, N. L. Bird. 1858.-Supervisor, Sprague Bishop; Clerk, Wells Crumb; Treasurer, Michael Smith; Justice of the Peace, Roswell Curtis. 1859. —Supervisor, Sprague Bishop; Clerk, Roswell Curtis; Treasurer, Michael Smith; Justice of the Peace, Chester Curtis. 1860.-Supervisor, Sprague Bishop; Clerk, Thomas Roome; Treasurer, Cornelius Williams; Justices of the Peace, Roswell Curtis, C. C. Williams. 1861.-Supervisor, Sprague Bishop; Clerk, Thomas Roome; Treasurer, Cornelius Williams; Justice of the Peace, Thomas Roome. 1862.-Supervisor, Sprague Bishop; Clerk, Thomas Roome; Treasurer, William Ferguson, Justice of the Peace, S. G. Parker. 1863.-Supervisor, Sprague Bishop; Clerk, Thomas Roome; Treasurer, T. D. Pitcher; Justice of the Peace, Abel Barnum. 1864.-Supervisor, Stephen Cook; Clerk, Thomas Roome; Treasurer, T. D. Pitcher; Justice of the Peace, James Flood. 1865.-Supervisor, A. S. Bishop; Clerk, Thomas Roome; Treasurer, Lyman Cole; Justice of the Peace, Thomas Roome. 1866.-Supervisor, Albert Swift; Clerk, A. D. Finch. [From 1867 to 1871, inclusive, the records fail to give names of persons annually elected to be town officials.] 1872.-Supervisor, George S. Andrews; Clerk, C. H. Curtis; Treasurer, H. N. Sheldon; Justice of the Peace, Alby Emerson. 1873.-Supervisor, H. N. Sheldon; Clerk, C. H. Curtis; Treasurer, Daniel Cook; Justices of the Peace, Chester Curtis, James M. Pierce. 1874.-Supervisor, A. S. Bishop; Clerk, C. 1I. Curtis; Treasurer, Daniel Cook; Justices of the Peace, Roswell Curtis, Talma Hendricks. 1875.-Supervisor, H. N. Sheldon; Clerk, George S. Andrews; Treasurer, Daniel Cook; Justice of the Peace, A. H. Smith. 1876.-Supervisor, De Witt Guy; Clerk, Wm. H. Merrill; Treasurer, Daniel Cook; Justice of the Peace, C. Anderson. 1877.-Supervisor, De Witt Guy; Clerk, William H. Merrill; Treasurer, Daniel Cook; Justice of the Peace, B. K. Howell. 1878.-Supervisor, De Witt Guy; Clerk, William H. Merrill; Treasurer, Daniel Cook; Justices of the Peace, C. J. Anderson, Theodore Perry. 1879. -Supervisor, E. L. Kingsland; Clerk, Wm. H. Merrill; Treasurer, Oscar Damon; Justice of the Peace, W. L. Ruggles. The township board in 1879 was composed of E. L. Kingsland, Wm. H. Merrill, and C. J. Anderson, who composed also the board of health. The justices serving in 1879 were W. L. Ruggles, C. J. Anderson, Theodore Perry, Stephen Stanley. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. A Free- Will Baptist Church was organized in Hagar in 1863, by Rev. William Eastman, in the Bundy school-house. The members numbered 11, of whom the only ones called to mind are Mrs. Sarah Harris, Lavina Harris, Charles Harris, Miss Lovica Martin, Nathaniel Bundy and wife, and Mrs. Jane Cook. Methodists worshiped with the Baptists, but had no organization of their own. Mr. Eastman preached about a year, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Parks, after whose time there was no regular preaching. In about two years from the date of organization the church became so weakened in membership that it dissolved and experienced no revival afterwards. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Hagar, now worshiping in the Wisner school-house, was organized by Rev. Mr. Bliss, in Benton township, about 1859, with but few members, of whom there are mentioned W. Edinborough and wife, T. Edinborough and wife, J. Dickinson, and Asahel Hays and wife. Shortly after organization the church was transferred to Hagar township, where it has since continued its existence, feebly at times, and struggling against the want of members, but not losing its organization. At times the Congregationalists joined with the Methodists, and for a time a Congregational minister served in the pulpit. The membership of the Methodist class is now weak, and is confined to 8 persons, who manage, however, to have preaching once a fortnight in the Wisner school-house,-Rev. Mr. Whitwam, of Benton Harbor? supplying them. The class-leader and steward is Mr. L. W. Ruggles. There was a Methodist Episcopal class on I 'A'`' irk MISS.SARAH HANNAH. PHOTOS. BY SESSER. MR.JAS. HANNAH. MRS.JAS. HANNAH.:::-:.-:~::: ~ ~;.:::..1-~, ' -^~~, i:I: I -~~~ -- --- --; -~~ ~ -:-~~ ~ ~ ~. -~-,... i -~i,.::: ~~ z ' i ~; ~,: '';-'.'P -~ Ai~'~ ~71. vg -— V — iN tr-C,:~~~ RES. OF JAS. HANNAH, HAGAR TR, BERRIENCO.,MICH. t:X:r I I d0 TOWNSH~IP OF HAGA~R. 247 T HIP the south side of the river some years ago, but latterly it has had no existence. The Christian Church of Hagar, worshiping on the south side of the river, was organized in 1877, by Rev. Reason Davis, and had then a membership of 42. The membership is now 22. Services are held once every two weeks. Benjamin Carpenter and Lyman Cole are the deacons, Roswell Curtis the elder, and Charles Curtis the clerk. SCHOOLS. The first school-teacher in Hagar was Matilda Irwin, of Watervliet, who in 1844 began to teach in a log schoolhouse which stood where is now the Bundy school-house. She taught two terms, was then married to Alexis D. Finch, of Hagar, and after teaching one more term gave up her school. That school-house, in District No. 1, was the only one in the town until April 17, 1846, when District No. 2 was created. The school-house in District No. 1 was destroyed by fire in 1849, and replaced by the structure now in use. The condition of the schools in Hagar, Sept. 1, 1879, is shown in the following table: Number of districts....................................... 5 Number of scholars enrolled............................ 259 Average attendance....................................... 234 Total value of school property.......................... $3100 Number of teachers....................................... 9 Amount paid for teachers' wages...................... $770 School Directors: A. H. Bishop, District No. 1; Henry Smith, No. 2; J. Dickinson, fractional District No. 4; Chester Curtis, No. 5; Eber Austin, No. 6. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JAMES HANNAH. Among the venerable pioneers none are more worthy of a prominent place in the history of Berrien County than the gentleman whose name heads this brief sketch. He was born in Scotland, Feb. 20, 1820, and was the third in a family of eight children. His father came to America in 1826, settling in the State of New York; he was a farmer by occupation. James' younger days were spent the same as most farmers' boys,-assisting on the farm summers, attending district school winters. Industry, economy, and integrity were the first and last lessons of his boyhood. He remained at home until reaching his majority; then he went to Canada, where he hired out by the month in the lumber woods, remaining there seventeen years, commencing with twelve dollars per month, but was getting fifty dollars at the time he left. In 1861, October 14th, he married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Helen Gilkison. This union was blessed with one child, Sarah, born Jan. 3, 1863. Mrs. Hannah's parents were natives of Ireland. In the spring of 1862, Mr. Hannah and his young wife came to Michigan, settling on the farm where they now reside, which consists of one hundred and twenty-seven acres, on section 26, in the township of Hagar, having about one hundred acres improved. He has always given his undivided attention to farming in general, taking pride in raising the best of everything. He is fond of good horses, having raised some very fine ones since his location here. Commencing life with only his natural resources for his capital, a willing heart and strong arm, he cannot help looking back on his past success with pleasure. In politics he is a Democrat, though never an office-seeker; has often been solicited, but would not accept. In religion his views are liberal. Mr. Hannah's father died in 1850, at the ripe old age of eighty. Two brothers and one sister are still living, all that remains of their once unbroken family. ANTHONY S. BISHOP. Mr. Bishop, like many of the early settlers, traces his origin, with commendable pride, to a New England ancestry. He was born in Henderson, N. Y., Aug. 18, 1812, and was the oldest son of a family of eleven children, all but one of whom lived to maturity. His father, Asa Bishop, was born in New Hampshire, Nov. 7, 1785; died in Bainbridge township, Berrien Co., June 10, 1872. His mother, Polly (Sprague) Bishop, was born among the granite hills and evergreen slopes of Vermont, Aug. 23, 1792. She was married to Mr. Asa Bishop, in Henderson, N. Y., Jan. 10, 1807; died in Bainbridge, Dec. 29, 1851. They moved from Clayton, N. Y., to Bainbridge, in 1846, locating on the farm, then a dense wilderness, now owned and occupied by their youngest son, J. K. Bishop, where they lived up to the time of their death. The subject of this sketch was married to Clarinda, daughter of Perry and Thedora Babcock, in March, 1839, in Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y. In the fall of 1846 he came with his father to Michigan, where his wife died, March 13,, 1848, only living to enjoy two short years of pioneer life, leaving one daughter, Ione I. Bishop, born Sept. 15, 1841, in Clayton, N. Y. Mr. Bishop was again married, in March, 1849, to Miss Harriet E. Duvall, daughter of William and Lucy Duvall, in Bainbridge township, where she died April 21, 1850. Being somewhat disheartened, thinking that the hand of God had not dealt very gently with him, he then moved into Hagar township, where, on Dec. 26, 1850, he married his third and present wife, Mrs. Maria McCrary, widow of William McCrary. To this marriage were born five children, -Asa H., born May 23, 1852; Arthur S., born Aug. 12, 1854, died Oct. 15, 1854; Arthur B., born Nov. 14, 1856; Augustus S. and Augusta M. (twins), born Feb. 3, 1859 (Augustus S. died Oct. 17, 1859). George Mills, father of the present Mrs. Bishop, was born in Norfolk Co., England, March 17, 1792; was married, March 21, 1812, to Miss Martha M. Karr, who was born in Dumfiies, Scotland, Feb. 13, 1792. He was impressed into and served in the British army ten years and seven months; was sent to Canada in 1814, where he bought his discharge. He moved from Canada to Sacket's Harbor in the spring of 1829. In April, 1832, he enlisted in the American army; served in the Black Hawk war under Gen. Scott, and received his discharge at Mackinaw Island, Mich., in April, 1837. He moved from there to Chicago, where he remained one year; from thence to St. Joseph, Mich., in May, 1838; from St. Joseph to Hagar township, where he died Sept. 6, 1873, aged eighty-one. His wife, Martha M. Mills, died in Hagar, April 8, 1871, aged seventy-nine. Mr. 248 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY1 MICHIGAN. and Mrs. Mills raised but three children, of whom only one is living. Margaret was born in Cornwall, Canada, April 21, 1815; was married to John Forbes, May 28, 1835; died in St. Joseph, June 22, 1879, aged sixty-four. James Mills, born in Kingston, Canada, April 4, 1828; married, in St. Joseph, Jan. 3, 1848, to Miss Rachel Heston; moved to Hagar in 1848, where he remained until the late war, when he enlisted, in February, 1862, in the 12th was born, of Scotch and Irish parents, in Upper Canada, in 1815. He came to St. Joseph in 1836; was killed by a falling tree while working on his farm in Hagar, Aug. 15, 1849, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. To this marriage were born five children,-Mary J., born May 16,1841, was the first white child born in Hagar; Martha M., born Sept. 8, 1842; Thomas W., born Sept. 6, 1844; Maggie H., born Dec. 23, 1846; George E., born Oct. 27, 1848. Michigan Volunteers; was taken prisoner at the battle of Shiloh, Tenn., April 6th of same year, and died in Libby prison, July 12, 1862. Maria Mills, now Mrs. Bishop, was born in Kingston, Canada, Oct. 11, 1822; moved to St. Joseph with her parents; was married to William McCrary, March 30, 1840; moved to Hagar, December 10th of the same year, where she has since resided. Hers was the fourth family to settle in the town, and she is now the oldest settler in the town. William McCrary, her first husband, CHAPTER XXXIV. LAKE TOWNSHIP.* Situation, Soil, and Streams-The Pioneers of Lake Township-Civil Government and List of Officers - Highways- Manufacturing Interests-Villages-Societies and Orders-Public Schools-BurialPlaces-Religious Societies. THIS township borders on the lake-shore, south of Lincoln and Royalton, and west of Oronoko; on the south are the townships of Weesaw and Chickaming. It is a little more than a full Congressional township, there being about six sections in range 20. The lake cuts off small portions from sections 6 and 7, in range 19, but the township in that range is very nearly full. The territory embraced in the present limits of Lake township constituted a part of Oronioko until 1846, and was but little settled, except in * By John L. Rockey.::o MRS. ANTHONY S. BISHOP. In politics Mr. Bishop is a Democrat; though not radical, yet always speaking and voting its principles. He is a man of estimable character and a highly-esteemed citizen; has proved the fact by having been intrusted with the office of supervisor and town treasurer for fifteen years. The cause of public education has ever found in him a staunch supporter, and in matters looking to the advancement of the public interest he has always been found in the front rank. the eastern part, for a number of years thereafter. The surface is generally level, and in the interior low and swampy. The eastern tier of sections is somewhat undulated, and consists of fertile clayey-loam lands. Along the lake is a line of high sand-hills. Stretching from their eastern base is a plain of sandy lands, which are separated from the swamp farther east by a belt of fine country, which is elevated sufficiently to secure good drainage, and, having a loamy soil, affords good farming-lands. Much of the swamp, which is several miles wide and traverses the township from northeast to southwest, has been cleared up and drained to form meadow-lands, and will in the future be the richest part of the township. Heavy forests originally covered the surface of Lake, and for many years the lumber product was the principal source of revenue. Stockraising and the general farming interests at present engage the inhabitants, although fruit-growing is yearly increasingand will soon be one of the leading industries. Hickory TOWNSHIP OF LAKE. 249 Creek and its tributary brooks are the only streams in the township, and were formerly improved to supply the early settlers with the necessary water-power. In the interior of the township water for domestic purposes was procured with some difficulty, many of the wells being eighty-five feet deep. THE PIONEERS. The pioneers of Lake first found homes in the eastern part of the township, and the settlements were begun a little before the time when Michigan became a State. John Harner was among the first, if not the first, to begin the usual improvements in the township. He settled on section 25, near the Oronoko line, and still resides there, at an advanced age. He reared sons named Michael, John, and Levi, who also built up homes in that locality. A little later Horace Godfrey settled on the same section, on the farm now occupied by his son Japhet; and at a still later period John Starr settled on section 12, where he died a few years ago. In that neighborhood still resides one of his sons, Joel; other sons were Peter and Gabriel. Thomas Phillips settled, in 1836, in what afterwards became the Ruggles neighborhood, and lived there until his death, ten years later. One of his sons, Daniel, also died in that locality; Wear, after living in Lake a number of years, removed to Royalton, where he yet resides; William became a resident of Indiana, and Henry of California. One of the daughters, Catherine, became the wife of Henry Lemon, and died in the township in 1847. There were, besides, five other daughters in the family. In the spring of 1837, Phillips sold the mill-site on his land to Peter Ruggles and Erastus Munger, and the same year a saw-mill was erected by these parties on section 2. Peter Ruggles died there many years ago, but the mills always remained in his family. Two of his daughters grew to mature years, Sarah becoming the wife of William M. T. Bartholomew, and Emma, Mrs. James Lockey. Both yet reside in that neighborhood. In 1839, Henry Lemon settled near the Ruggles family, building a home on the eastern part of section 3, on which he lived until his death, in 1875. Four of his children attained mature years,-Margaret, who married Charles Ellengood; William T., who removed to Kansas; Joanna, the wife of D. S. Evans, of Lake; and John S., who died in the township in 1874. About the same time, 1839, Erastus Munger became a resident of this neighborhood, but, after 1846, removed to Berrien. Benjamin Lemon settled on section 24, in 1842, and has been a citizen of the township almost continuously since, being at present a resident of Stevensville. His daughter, Julia, became the wife of Japhet Godfrey, and yet lives in the eastern part of the township, where also reside the son, Charles L., and the other members of the family. On the Charles Lord place, on section 24, Bradley M. Pennell settled about 1843, and lived there until about twelve years ago, when he removed to Buchanan. Edward Ballengee, another early and prominent settler of this part of the township, also removed to Buchanan. In 1844, Comfort Pennell became a settler on section 12, and after a long residence there removed to Berrien. Harmon Bean 32 settled on section 11 the same year, or earlier. He died in the township, leaving several sons and four or five daughters. About the same time George Neidlinger settled in that neighborhood, and still maintains his residence there. He has reared a large family, the sons being Daniel, Peter, David, George, Elias, and Solomon. Henry Hess came probably a few years earlier, and settled on section 12. He died about thirteen years ago, leaving no family. About the same period of time, Jacob Vetter settled on section 13, but in the course of ten or twelve years located in the meadows, on section 34. David Hill and Ruel Blackman located on section 36, and yet live there. E. P. Morley settled on section 35, but subsequently removed to Weesaw. In 1845, John Lemon, a brother of Henry and Benjamin Lemon, settled on section 12, and died there about 1870. The same year Seely H. Curtis located on the farm now occupied by Dr. J. H. Royce; and the following year, 1846, Adney Hinman, on section 25; Levan and Hezekiah Heathman, on the same section; and C. S. Hyatt, in the same neighborhood. In 1847, John Shafer came to the township, settling first on section 25, but subsequently located on section 13, where he is yet a resident; and the same year Marcus Hand and Abner Sanders made temporary settlements in the eastern part of the township. The latter was afterwards a pioneer on section 30, and the former on section 16, on the present Philip Myers place. This part of the township was not settled prior to 1850, although a few clearings had previously been made. Among others who deserve a place among the pioneers of the township, for the service which they have done in opening the way for settlements in their respective localities, are Henry Ford, on section 30; V. P. Mead, on the same section; John H. Nixon and N. E. Landon, on the east half of section 27; J. W. Whipple, on section 31; John Soward and John Johns, on section 15; and Isaac Hathaway, on section 9. The condition of the settlements in the township, from 1848 till 1851, is shown by the following list of resident property-owners, from the assessment-roll for that period: Names. Sections. Daniel Phillips.............. 3 Wear Phillips..................... 3 Henry Lemon..................... 3 J. E. Munger..................... 2 Lewis Johns....................... 4 G. Newton.......................... 4 Abner Sanders................... 30 Comfort Pennell.................. 12 John Starr................. 12 George Neidlinger.............. 2 Gabriel Starr...................... 2 John Lemon....................... 12 Henry Hess....................... 12 Marcus Hand................. 13 J. W. Blackman............. 24 Seeley H. Curtis............. 24 John Harner...................... 25 Adney Hinman...................25 Benjamin Lemon................. 24 Levan Heathman................24 John Shafer........................ 25 Isaac Mellon...................... 25 Bradley M. Pennell............. 24 J. H. Hand........................13 John Quick.................. 23 Edward Ballengee............. 36 Ruel Blackman................. 36 Names. Sections. David Hill......................... 36 Jacob Shoemaker................ 37 E. P. Morley..................... 35 Jacob Vetter...................... 34 Horace Godfrey.................. 25 John Shafer........................ 25 Peter Ruggles................ 2 Peter Neidlinger................ 13 C. S. Hyatt......................... 13 Zaccheus Mead............... 13 William Weston.................. 13 V. P. Mead.................... 30 Charles Brong..................... 27 William S. Morley............ 14 H. Wareham....................... 23 Henderson Ballengee............36 A. C. Pennell...................... 36 Jason Parmenter................ 28 John Hendrickson............... 30 Francis Awrand................. 13 E. H. Walton.....................27 N. Williams....................... 27 A. T. Sherwood.................. 27 James Parkerton.................29 Samuel Parkerton.............. 29 Simon Berg........................ 15 Joel Blakeman.................... 30 250 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The township received many settlers from 1852 on, and seven years later the following were registered as the legal voters of Lake, although it is possible that not all the citizens of the township at that time are included. The figures opposite the names indicate the section on which they resided: Names. Sections. Francis Awrand................ 13 Harmon Beans............... 13 Amos Beans................ 13 Daniel Brown.............. 10 George Bridgman.............. 19 Levi Chase.........................30 Franklin Carr.................... 30 Dexter Curtis.....................25 Hiram Curtis..................... 19 Thomas Curtis........... 19 M. J. Dixon....................... 28 Robert Daniel............. 2 William D. Aker................ 17 Francis N. Elliott................ 11 Samuel Erwin....................25 Henry Ford...................... 30 Abel French........................ 34 H. L. Farnsworth................ 31 Abel Goddard.................... 30 Asel Goddard..................... 30 Horace Godfrey................... 25 Daniel Gates................... 15 Harvey W. Hawley.............20 John Harner, Sr................. 25 John Harner, Jr............... 25 Levan Heathman................25 James Heathman................29 C. S. Hyatt........................ 13 Marcus Hand..................... 16 Joseph P. Hunter............... 24 Bennett Heathman..............30 Henry Hess........................12 David Hill......................... 36 Levi Harner...................... 25 Adney Hinman..................25 Henry M. Hinman...............25 William Hendrickson...........25 Isaac Hathaway................. 9 Caleb Inman...................... 7 Christopher Johns.............. 15 Lewis Johns.................... 4 John Johns........................15 James Kaahr..................... 11 A. G. Knapp.......................30 N. E. Landon.....................27 Henry Lemon..................... 3 John Lemon....................... 12 Benjamin Lemon............... 24 George W. Lake............ 25 Names. Sections. Thomas Lightfoot............... 29 Zaccheus Mead.................... 17 Alfred Murray.................. 16 W.H. Merrifield................ 15 Solomon McKean................ 29 V. P. Mead......................... 30 Hugh McClellan.................. 23 John J. Moltinger............... 25 Emanuel Moltinger............. 25 Michael Moltinger............... 25 John H. Nixon................... 27 Freegrace Norton............... 21 Martin Norton.............. 19 George W. Newton.............. 19 Thomas Nevin.............. 19 George Neidlinger............... 2 George Neidlinger, Jr........... 2 George F. Niles.............. 2 Myers Nelson................... 25 Peter J. Piscator.................. 24 Samuel B. Parkerton............ 24 B. M. Pennell..................... 24 Nathan Pratt...................... 14 Comfort Pennell.................. 12 Z. B. Rathbun................... 21 George Raymond................. 21 David Smith...................... 28 Michael Sassaman............... 11 Henry Sassaman............... 11 Samuel Sassaman............... 11 Lewis Strong..................... 36 Gabriel Starr.................... 12 Joel Starr..................... 12 John Starr........................ 12 John Soward...................... 15 John Shafer.................... 13 Daniel Stannard............. 25 John A. Sperry............... 30 Abner Sanders.................... 30 Jared K. Terry................. 11 John Terry........................ 2 Franklin Vary.................... 2 George W. Wicks................. - W. Williams...................... 3 John Wright...................... 16 William Weston........... 30 John W. Whipple................ 31 P. Washburne..................... 36 I SUPERVISORS. 1867-68, David S. Evans; 1869, Franklin Weston; 1870-72, Isaac Hathaway; 1873-74, Norman E. Landon; 1875-76, William Williams; 1877, Norman E. Landon; 1878, Michael B. Houser; 1879, Norman E. Landon. TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1867, D. R. Sage; 1868, M. J. Morley; 1869-70, Solomon Maudlin; 1871-72, John Loop; 1873-74, Marshall C. Travor; 1875-76, 0. P. Miller; 1877-78, William Williams; 1879, Wesley Beattie. TREASURERS. 1867, Isaac Hathaway; 1868, James H. Hill; 1869-70, Samuel Moore; 1871, C. M. Smith; 1872-75, Albert Devoe; 1876-77, John H. Nixon; 1878, Calvin Myers; 1879, Thomas C. Hebb. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. Isaac Hathaway, Joseph Giles, M. J. Morley, L. Heathman, John Loop, Comfort Pennell, 0. P. Miller, William S. Whipple, Solomon Maudlin, Charles Lord, Japhet Godfrey, Samuel Marrs, Jeremiah Nodine, Isaac Hathaway, and Joseph Giles. HIGHWAYS. The township took measures immediately after its organization to locate and improve the necessary highways, which were first opened in the eastern part. The condition of the country and the meagre settlements made this work slow and burdensome. For many years there was no direct highway across the swampy lands in the central part of the township, and in the western part there were generally mere bridle-paths only until after 1858. By judicious subdivision into small districts the roads have been made to assume a fair condition. In 1879 they were in charge of John Shafer, as commissioner, and the following overseers: Samuel Marrs, John Haun, Wm. A. Feather, J. H. Royce, William McCarty, Japhet Godfrey, A. F. Morley, L. Meredith, Geo. Ennis, David Baley, William Shuler, Stephen Wright, Henry Kill, John R. Rees, John S. Barnhart, William S. Mead, Charles Hendrix, Benjamin Lemon, N. O. Carlysle, Isaac Clymer, V. B. Gulliver, and John Johns. The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad was constructed through the township in 1869-70, with a course parallel to the lake-shore, and about one and a half miles east. Stations have been provided at Brown's, on section 36; Morris, on section 8; and at Bridgman, on section 19. From these points the products of Lake are readily shipped, and the railroad has materially aided in developing the country and increasing its population. THE MANUFACTURING INTERESTS of Lake township have been confined chiefly to lumbermills and kindred factories. The first of this character was a saw-mill, erected on section 2, on the head-waters of Hickory Creek, by Peter Ruggles and Erastus Munger, in the fall of 1837. Here was eut some of the lumber which was used in the construction of the court-house at Berrien Springs. Afterwards a grist-mill was built, and was operated by the same power, both mills remaining the property of the Ruggles family until their discontinuance a few years ago. On section 24, Benjamin Lemon got in operation a saw mill in 1845, which went to decay, and a new mill, which was subsequently built by him on the same stream, has also gone down. After 1850, John Harner put up a saw-mill The population in 1860 was 557; in 1870 it was 1006; and in 1878 the assessed valuation of the real and personal property was $158,887. CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND LIST OF OFFICERS. The records of the township from its organization in 1846 till 1867 have been destroyed, but from fragmentary data found in the clerk's office it appears that at the first election, held at the house of Benjamin Lemon, 18 votes were polled, and that Bradley M. Pennell was elected Supervisor; Comfort Pennell, Township Clerk; and Benjamin Lemon and Daniel Phillips, Justices of the Peace. From 1846 till 1866 the following have been the supervisors: E. P. Morley, Comfort Pennell, Peter Ruggles, Abner Sanders, Marcus Hand, Bennett Heathman, N. E. Landon, and E. P. Morley; and the township clerks for the same period have been Comfort Pennell, E. P. Morley, J. W. Blakeman, Henry Lemon, John H. Nixon, R. L. Dudley, H. W. Hawley, and John H. Nixon. Since the latter date the principal officers have been the following: TOW~CNSHIP OF LAK~E. 251 S IP on section 13, which afterwards became the property of John Shafer, but is at present idle. On the southern township line, on section 32, a good steam saw-mill was erected about 1865, by Alonzo Sherwood, which was operated until the timber supply in that locality was exhausted. The lumber was conveyed to the lake by means of a tramway. At Brown's Station, O. R. Brown formerly had a mill, and at present one is operated there by A. L. Drew. Farther in the interior of the township Painter & Curtiss had an extensive lumber-mill, which was removed after a few years' operation. At that time the locality was known as Paintersville, and was the scene of busy activity. In the northern part of the township, at Morris Station, H. F. Mead has at present in operation a steam saw-mill capable of cutting 8000 feet per day. At this point was formerly another mill; and in other localities in the township saw-mills were kept in operation a short time or until the surrounding forests had been manufactured into lumber. The largest lumber-manufacturing establishment was near the present village of Bridgman. In the fall of 1856, George Bridgman, Warren Howe, and Charles F. Howe formed the "Charlotteville Lumber Company," and here began operations by building a steam saw-mill, at a cost of $20,000. At a point west, on the lake, a pier was constructed five hundred feet long, which was connected with the mill by a railroad more than a mile in length; and to various points in the forest a railway was made, the entire length of track being about seven miles. The rolling stock consisted of thirty-three cars and the engine " John Bull," which, it is claimed, was the first locomotive ever run in the United States.* The improvements cost $70,000, and the mill had a capacity of 25,000 feet per day. About seventy men were employed in the business, and the lumber found a ready sale in Chicago, whither it was conveyed from the pier by schooners. In 1863 the mill was destroyed by fire, and two other mills which were erected on the same site shared a like fate, the last one being consumed in 1870. The lumbering business here having declined, on account of the consumption of the forest products, a mill of smaller capacity was erected the same season (1870) by Mordecai Price. This was also burned in 1871. Soon after Whipple & Medaris put up a mill which was burned after a year's operation; and a third mill, on this site, put up by O. D. Rector, was also burned in 1878. The present mill was put in operation in January, 1879, by Codd & Price. Its capacity is 8000 feet per day. In 1870 a stave and heading factory was built east of the railroad station at Bridgman, which has been owned by various parties, and is at present operated by Hinkley, Higman & Co. The product is several million pieces per year, and more than a dozen hands are employed. In 1869, Webster & Whiten erected a tannery at Charlotteville, which was discontinued after several years' operation, and the building removed in 1878. The other manufacturing interests of the township are confined to the ordinary mechanic pursuits. A grist-mill is soon to be built at Bridgman. * This statement, however, is clearly erroneous. VILLAGES. In 1848 a village was projected on section 25, which received the name of Livingston. Eighty blocks were laid out, but nothing further was done to advance its claims to a place among the villages of the county, and the site soon became common farm property. Charlotteville, on section 19, was the first village in the township. It was founded by the " Charlotteville Lumber Company," in 1856, and for a number of years was composed wholly of the various interests connected with the business of that firm. The name was bestowed in compliment to Charlotte Howe, the wife of one of the proprietors. The place never attained great size, but was at one time the seat of considerable business. In 1870 another of the original proprietors, George Bridgman, platted a village half a mile east, on the railroad, where a station was located that year. The survey was made by E. P. Morley, and the village and station received the name of Bridgman.-This place has absorbed whatever interests were formerly at Charlotteville, and the entire locality is now known by the name of Bridgman. It contains a fine school-house with a number of business places and other interests, noted below. There are about 200 inhabitants. The Bridgman post-office was established in 1861 with the name of Laketon, but ten years later took the name of the village. Elijah Cowles was the first postmaster, and was succeeded in 1863 by George Bridgman, who held the office until 1870. The postmasters following have been George Wood, George Wells, William Babcock, and the present incumbent, Mrs. E. A. H. Greene. The first merchandising in the township was carried on by the " Charlotteville Lumber Company," from 1857 till the company discontinued, about five years later; and trade was thereafter continued by the successive mill owners Dexter Curtiax, Loop & Daniels, Sawyer & Mead, and D. B. Plummer. Meantime other stores were built, and in 1869 there were three general business houses, by C. M. Smith, George W. Wells, and M. C. Traver. Dr. J. F. Berringer had opened a drug-store before that period, which is yet continued in Bridgman by him. In 1871, Charles M. Smith put up the first store at the station, which is at present occupied by Benjamin Lemon. The next store was built several years later by Benjamin Weed, in which he engaged in trade, and was followed by Edward Palmer and Henry Chapman. In 1875, Thomas Hebb built the third store, and trade was there begun by Hebb & Howlett. The stand is at present occupied by J. T. Barnes & Co. Others in trade are Seekell, Sparr & Co. The first regular tavern in the village of Bridgman was opened in 1872 by George Maisner, and kept a few years. Near the depot the Thompson House had entertained the public since 1875. The township did not have any professional men prior to 1856. That year Dr. J. H. Royce engaged in the practice of medicine, and has continued since residing in the eastern part of the township. The second physician was Dr. Solomon Maudlin, who located at Bridgman, and still resides there, although not in active practice. The present physician there is Dr. J. F. Berringer, and other practitioners in the township have been Drs. Sober and Imme. 252 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The first and only attorney in the township has been George W. Bridgman, who has maintained a law-office at Bridgman since 1872. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Lake Lodge, No. 143, 1 0. O. F., was organized in 1870. Its membership increased rapidly, and the lodge has flourished steadily since its organization. The meetings are held in a hall in the western part of the village of Bridgman. Bridgman Lodge, No. 794,1 0. G. T., was organized in October, 1879, with 64 charter members. Joseph Codd, W. C. T.; T. C. Bridgman, W. V. T.; J. Duest, Sec.; and Charles Wheelock, Treas. At present the members number 90. PUBLIC SCHOOLS. In May, 1846, the school inspectors, Comfort Pennel, Edward Ballengee, and Henry Lemon, reported that they had divided the township into three school districts, No. 1, containing sections 35, 36, 25, and 26; No. 2, containing sections 23, 24, 13, and 14; and No. 3, containing sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, and 12. In October, the same year, Edward Ballengee, the director of District No. 1, made report that the children of school age (from four to eighteen years) in the district were 16, of whom 14 attended school. A term of three months' school had been taught, at a total expense of $15. Daniel Phillips, the director of District No. 3, reported that the children of school age in his district were 19. In 1848, No. 1 had 25 children of school age; No. 2, 19; and No. 3, 16. A few years later a number of new districts were formed and school-houses provided. These were at first rude and plainly furnished, the entire cost seldom exceeding $100. A better class of buildings took their place, and the appropriations for the maintenance of schools were liberally increased. The condition of the schools in 1878 is shown by the following, which we quote from the school report of that year: Number of districts............................................. 8 " " children of school age.......................... 392 " " "6 attending school..................... 260 Total value of school houses.............................. $4900 During the year 5 male and 11 female teachers were employed, and the schools were reported to be in a prosperous condition. Since 1867 the school inspectors have been M. J. Morley, Isaac Hathaway, Japhet Godfrey, Franklin L. Weston, J. W. Whipple, Harvey L. Drew, Wm. M. T. Bartholomew, N. E. Landon, Solomon Maudlin, and David S. Evans. Those who have been elected to the office of superintendent have been George W. Bridgman, Wm. Williams, Jeremiah Nodine, Michael B. Houser, and David S. Evans. BURIAL-GROUNDS. The cemeteries of the township are small, and were conveniently located to afford interments in the several neigh borhoods formed by the early settlers. The first was opened in 1850, on the northeast quarter of section 25; the next was opened three years later, at the Phillips school house; and a few years thereafter one was located in the western part of the township. Some of these are neatly kept, and contain appropriate monuments to the memory of those who had been among the pioneers of the county. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. The Methodists were the first to maintain public worship within the present bounds of Lake township. As early as 1846 a class of this faith was organized, at the school-house in the southeastern part of the township, by the Rev. George King, at that time preacher in charge of the Berrien circuit. Seeley H. Curtis was appointed leader, and the members consisted of persons belonging to the Hyatt, Heathman, Ballengee, and other families residing in the eastern part of Lake and the western part of Oronoko. In the course of a few years a revival ensued, which resulted in the conversion of nearly 100 persons. A class of Methodists has existed in the eastern part of Lake ever since, the place of worship being changed from one to the other school-house, to suit the convenience of the members in the respective localities. At present the meetings are held at the Ruggles school-house. The class has eight members, and Clinton Hyatt is the leader. Here, also, is maintained a Sundayschool of nearly 100 members, which is superintended by Sarah Bartholomew. In 1848, or later, a class was formed west of the Great Meadows, which had among its members the Williams, Shoemaker, and Sherwood families; but as these soon after removed the class here went down. The class at Bridgman became an organized body in 1865, V. P. Mead being the first leader. Here are at present 17 members, under the leadership of R. W. Plumb. The Sunday-school has 25 members, and Frank Weston is the superintendent. The services at this point are also held in the schoolhouse. There is no church building in the township of Lake, but a few years ago the Methodists erected a parsonage at the village of Bridgman, which is near the centre of the present circuit. The boundaries of the Methodist circuits in this and the adjoining townships have been subject to many changes. The circuits have borne various names, and generally embraced from six to eight appointments, numbering at present six, namely: Bridgman, Ruggles, Tryon, South Lincoln, Lincoln Avenue, and Stevensville. The names of the circuits and pastoral connection have been as follows: Berrien Circuit.-1846, Rev. George King; 1847, Revs. A. C. Shaw, A. Campbell, C. K. Ercanbrack; 1848, Revs. R. C. Meek, Tappan; 1849, Revs. H. Hall, B. F. Doughty; 1850, Revs. H. Hall, S. A. Lee; 1851-52, Revs. S. A. Osborne, S. Hendrickson; 1853, Rev. F. Glass; 1854, Rev. R. Pengelly; 1855, Revs. J. T. Robe, Thomas H. Bignall; 1856, Revs. W. C. Bliss, E. L. Kellogg; 1857, Rev. T. T. George; 1858, Rev. G. A. Van Horn; 1859, Revs. D. S. Haviland, D. Engle; 1860, Rev. L. M. Bennett; 1861, Rev. N. Cleveland; 1862, Rev. E. Beard. Charlotteville Circuit. (New Troy, Charlotteville, Lake, Spears, Tryon, Lincoln Avenue, Weesaw).-1865, Rev. John Byrns; 1866-67, Rev. Irving H. Skinner; 1868, Revs. William Friend, George Patterson; 1869, Rev. J. S. Valentine. Stevensville Circuit.-1870, Rev. J. S. Valentine; 1871, Rev. Irving H. Skinner; 1872, Rev. H. Taylor. I __ RESIDENCE OF ISAAC HATHAWAY, LAKE, MICHIGAN. TOWNSHIP OF LAKE. 253 Laketon Circuit.-1870-71, Rev. J. W. H. Carlisle; 1872, Rev. N. Mount. Bridgman Circuit.-(above united) 1873-74, Rev. V. H. Helms; 1875, Rev. Thomas E. Shenston; 1876, Rev. J. F. Wallace; 1877, Rev. J. R. Skinner.* The cause of Methodism in the above circuits has been greatly promoted by the labors of the Revs. Wm. Penland, Gould Parrish, Allen Conley, E. Allen, and Wm. M. Con nelly, local preachers residing in this part of the county, the former two yet living in Boyalton and Lincoln. Since 1850 the United Brethren in Christ have maintained services in school-house No. 2, in connection with appointments in other townships, forming a circuit. Among the early members were the Pennells, Lemons, Browns, Waltons, and others, being at one time a large and flourishing congregation. At present the membership is small. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ISAAC HATHAWAY. MRS. ISAAC HATHAWAY. ISAAC HATHAWAY was the third in a family of seven children, and was born in Seneca Co., Ohio, on the 7th day of August, 1833. His father, Z. Hathaway, was a native of Massachusetts, having been born in 1802. He removed to Ohio in 1825.t As he grew up, young Isaac assisted his father on the farm until he was eighteen years old, attending the district school in winter until sixteen years of age, when he entered Seneca County Academy, where he spent a part of two years. Wishing to buy a farm and make a home for himself, he visited Michigan in 1851, where he remained during the winter, examining various portions of the State. He was well pleased, and decided to locate in Berrien County as soon as he could earn enough to buy a home. Returning to Ohio, he started immediately for California, where he worked in the mines four years, sending his father the money to purchase from government the tract of four hundred and sixty acres on which he now resides. Returning from California, young Hathaway removed to his new home in Michigan in the fall of 1856, and began the improvement of his place, living with a family whom he had employed to " keep house" for him. On the 13th day of September, 1859, he married Miss Delia Hand. * The above has been compiled from data furnished by Rev. J. R. Skinner, preacher in charge Bridgman Circuit. t The following year he was married, his wife being a native of the State of New.York. One child only blessed this union, who was born on the 8th day of June, 1872, and died on the 3d day of the following month. Mrs. Hathaway's parents were natives of New York, who had removed to Michigan in 1845, and located in Lake township. They reared a family of six children, Mrs. Hathaway being the youngest girl. Mr. Hathaway is not a member of any Christian denomination. In politics he is a Democrat. He has filled the office of supervisor three terms, and that of justice of the peace fifteen years, having married seventy couples in that time. He has also represented his party as a delegate in several conventions, and is generally looked on as a leader of the people in this section. JOHN H. NIXON. The father of John H. Nixon was John B. Nixon, who was born in the State of South Carolina on the 17th day of November, 1789. His mother, whose maiden name was Peek, was a native of New Jersey, and was born on the 11th day of February, 1792. She was married to John B. Nixon about the year 1811. John H. Nixon was the fifth child in a family of nine, and was born in Fayette Co., Ind., on the 24th day of August, 1819. At the age of thirteen years he went to learn a trade, selecting that of mason. At sixteen, May, 1836, he accompanied 254 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. his father to Michigan. His father remained during the summer and fall, then returned home, and in the fall of 1842 brought his family back with him, John H. remaining until 1852. In that year, being then thirty-three years years old. He has never sought notoriety of any kind, and is rather retiring in his nature. Yet his fellow-citizens have, at divers times, insisted on his accepting various minor offices, he having filled all the official positions in his township, except that of supervisor. Mr. Nixon was formerly a Whig, then joined the Democratic party, and is now a Conservative. On the 7th day of February, 1849, Mr. Nixon married Mary, daughter of J. and Mary O'Keefe, who were of Irish descent. Eight children have been born to them, all of whom are now living, —viz., Mills H., born Oct. 16, 1850; Mary L., born Sept. 6, 1852; Louisa B., born Nov. 23,1854; John B., born Dec. 5, 1856; Charles M., born Nov. 27, 1858; Harvey C., born March 21, 1862; Frank, born March 16, 1864; and Dick, born Feb. 25, 1866. NORMAN E. LANDON. The subject of this sketch was born in 1824, at Salisbury, Conn. He was the youngest of a family of seven children-three boys and four girls. His father was a native of Connecticut, and his grandfather, Rufus Landon, was a soldier of the Revolution, serving under Gen. Schuyler when he marched to the relief of Arnold in Canada. At ''TTLE JOHN H. NIXON. old, he went to California, where he remained one year and eight months, working in the mines and at his trade during that time. He found, however, that gold was not to be picked up on every side, nor wealth to be had in a few days, but that labor of the hardest kind must be performed and the most severe privations must be endured. Many Photo. by Bradley, Buchanan. NORMAN E. LANDON. MRS. JOHN H. NIXON. indeed there were who, in those days of excitement, sought that renowned El Dorado, their minds filled with visions of wealth and splendor, but whose bones whitened the intervening plains, or who, if so fortunate as to reach their destination, were rewarded only with poverty, disappointment, and despair. In 1854, Mr. Nixon made his first purchase of land in Michigan, a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which is still his home. His advantages were few, and his education was acquired after he was twenty-one seventeen years of age Norman quitted the old homestead and commenced life for himself. Going to Kinderhook, N. Y., he learned the carpenter's trade, working there seven years and in Connecticut nine years. In 1858 he removed to Lake township, Mich., where he turned his attention to farming. He made his first purchase of land in 1858, becoming the owner of eighty acres on section 27, his present homestead. He has since added eighty acres to this. While in Kinderhook, Mr. Landon married, in March, 1847, Miss Allen, daughter of Horace and Clara Allen. Four children were born to them,-three girls and one boy. Mrs. Landon died May, 1868, in Berrien Springs. Mr. Landon married, as his second wife, Mrs. Laura, widow of Myers Nelson. He has no children by this marriage. Mrs. Nelson is a daughter of Lemuel and Ann Church, and is a TOWNSHIP OF LINCOLN. 255 I native of Ohio, being the fourth in a family of nine children. By her first marriage she was the mother of six children. Mr. Landon is a Democrat. He has been the supervisor of his township nine terms, and its treasurer and present jus Photo. by Bradley, Buchanan. MRS. NORMAN E. LANDON. tice of the peace, having filled that office six years. In 1864 was nominated by his party for county treasurer. Mr. Landon received his education outside of schools, as his advantages for an early education were few. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1856. Mr. Landon has ever been industrious and economical. By hard work and prudent management he has become possessed of a pleasant home, and he is justly esteemed by his neighbors as a good, practical farmer and a worthy, intelligent citizen. CHAPTER XXXV. LINCOLN TOWNSHIP.* Location and Topography-Settlements and Settlers-Organization and Officers of the Township-Manufacturing Enterprises-Fruit Interests-Hamlets and Villages-Patrons of Husbandry-Schools -Religious Societies. THIS is one of the lake-shore townships, lying south of St. Joseph and north of Lake. Until 1867 it constituted a part of Royalton, which forms the eastern boundary. In the government survey it is designated as township 5 south, in range 19 west. It is a fractional township. The east half of the eastern tier of sections is embraced within the limits of Royalton, and on the west Lake Michigan reduced the territory to an area two and a half miles on the north and about five miles on the south line. The general surface is level, and in places low and swampy. A belt of land of this nature extends through the township from south to north, about a mile west of the eastern line, being bordered on the west by Hickory Creek, which affords the principal drainage. Until recently it was unfit for cultiva* By John L. Rockey. tion, but since the country has been cleared up and dykes cut much has been rendered tillable. On the east line is a strip of clayey loam land, the beauty and fertility of which are not surpassed in the county. Here are a number of well-improved farms. West of Hickory Creek most of the country was originally barren, and was not improved until lately, the sterile appearance of the soil causing settlers to give other localities the preference. It has been found to be well adapted for fruit culture, and by proper treatment has been made very productive. In this part were formerly forests of pine, and clusters of these trees yet remain. The other parts of the township were timbered with the common woods, which formed in places dense forests, and the labor of clearing the ground was everywhere difficult. Besides Hickory Creek, there are a number of small brooks in the township, the St. Joseph River, in the extreme northeast, and in the southwest three lagoons, which, with the marshes bordering them, bear the name of the Grand Marais. They are sluggish sheets of water and render that part of the township swampy. Within the present territory of Lincoln one of the earliest settlements in Berrien County was made, as early as 1827, by Maj. Timothy Smith, who came from Ohio, and had been for a time a teacher at the Carey Mission. His location was in the northern part of what is now the township of Lincoln, near the east bank of Hickory Creek. His house was the place designated for the holding of the' first election for the township of (old) St. Joseph, which at its erection covered all of Berrien County north and east of the St. Joseph River. Maj. Smith was interested in the laying out of a paper village on the lake-shore in the western part of the town, but his project was not successful. Mr. Smith was the justice of the peace who performed the first marriage ceremony in the township of St. Joseph,-that of Calvin Bartlett to Pamelia Ives. He removed to New Buffalo, and was lighthouse-keeper at that place in 1839. Not long after the year 1849 he removed to California. For a number of years after Maj. Smith located in what is now Lincoln settlements in the territory of the township were made but slowly, and what few there were were for a long time wholly confined to the eastern part. Among the pioneers who succeeded Maj. Smith were Martin Lounsbury and Samuel Davis. The former settled on section 24 in 1842, on the place which has been occupied by David Myers since 1862. The only surviving member of the Lounsbury family is a son, residing in Kalamazoo. Davis settled on the section south the same year, but removed to Berrien after the county began to be settled. Two of his sons, Nelson and Andrew, are at present residents of Berrien village. In 1838, Gould Parrish moved to Berrien from Ohio, and worked on the new court-house, which was then building; after living in various parts of the country he settled on the southwest quarter of section 36 in 1843, and has lived there almost continuously since, being the oldest settler in the township. He reared eight children,-James A., of Mills Co., Iowa; William M., living at Stevensville; Arza G., editor of the Mills County Republican; and Ezra B., living in the same county. Three daughters attained womanhood, viz.: Mrs. Luther Hemmingway, of Sodus; * e b " 256 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Mrs. H. Williams, of Lincoln; and Mrs. Applegate, of Mills Co., Iowa. About the same time, or a little earlier, Harrison and John V. Nash and their mother made a beginning on section 34, but in the course of ten years sold to Benjamin Lemon, and moved to a place nearer Stevensville. Subsequently, John V. removed to Hagar, and Harrison to Oronoko, where both yet reside. In 1845, Leonard Archer became a resident of section 36, settling on the place now occupied by the family of Leroy W. Archer, who also came the same year, and who died there in the winter of 1878. Leonard Archer moved to Adams Co., Iowa, a number of years ago. Later in the season of 1845, Mrs. Mary Archer, the widowed mother of the above, came, with her family. Of these, James is yet living in the township; Elizabeth resides in Idaho; Ambrose and Norman are deceased; Hannah married Hiram Parce; Submit, Stephen Lamunion; and Mary is Mrs. Gould Parrish. Stephen Lamonion became a settler of the same section in 1847. He died in the township, leaving sons named James, Leroy, Norman, and Francis, who are yet residents of this neighborhood. His daughters were named Mary, Margaret, Nancy, and Almeda, three of whom yet survive and live in the southern part of the county. On the James Morrow place Alonzo Spear settled, after 1850, his son Charles coining the same time. Other sons were Lloyd and Isaac. The father died in the township, and most of the family removed. Stephen Bonnell came about 1854, and settled on section 36, on the place at present occupied by his widow, Elizabeth Bonnell. There were sons named Charles and Joseph, and two daughters. A brother of the above, Ogden Bonnell, came to the township about the same time. On the opposite side of the road, on section 35, Alexander Wilbur began improvements about the same period, and a few miles farther north were Andrew J. and Isaac Smoke. In 1854, Dr. J. N. Percell and his father-in-law, James Dunham, settled at Stevensville, and near by were Hiram Barnes, Philip and William Walworth, the pioneers in their respective localities. Other pioneers in their respective neighborhoods were Jacob Fikes, John Bort, Orrin Brown, Chester Phelps, John Graham, Artemas Walker, Henry Evans, William A. Brown, George Martin, and T. W. Dunham. The following names appear on the poll-register of the township of Royalton as legal voters (living in that part which forms the present township of Lincoln) prior to 1862, and were, therefore, among the early settlers: A. G. Abbe, E. L. Abbott, Christian Abraham, James Archer, Abijah Birdsey, William Byers, Orrin Brown, David N. Brown, Lyman Beeman, Henry 0. Beeman, Philander Beeman, Christopher Brown, Joseph Chapel, Powell Crickman, John Corrigan, A. D. Crandall, James Dunham, Hiram Dunham, L. W. Davis, John B. Danforth, Elias Davoe, Jacob Fikes, Hiram B. Gard, R. A. Gregg, Jacob Gardner, Samuel Green, Job W. Hollywood, Robert F. Hollywood, W. J. Hollis, L. K. Hyde, B. E. Johnson, Allen Johnson, Jacob V. Jeffries, W. D. Jeffries, Frederick Keeler, James K. Kinne, James Lamunion, John W. B. Leister, N. H. Lounsberry, John Mielkie, George N. Martin, Alexander McDonald, William F. Morrow, Nicholas Miller, Barnard Miller, Elias B. Miller, Daniel A. Miller, Elijah H. Myers, Thomas S. Myers, Harrison Nash, John V. Nash, Gould Parrish, James A. Parrish, John N. Percell, Hiram Parce, Chester P. Phelps, B. M. Quint, Moses B. Quint, Lewis Richards, Charles S. Richardson, Thomas Richardson, Andrew J. Smoke, Alonzo Spear, Henry S. Strickland, Ansel Stone, Mitchell Spillman, Charles Spear, Austin J. Sperry, William Smith, Jacob Van Deusen, Peter Van Deusen, Philip M. Walworth, John Wagner, Artemas Walker. From this time on the population increased very rapidly. In 1868 the following persons were assessed to pay a tax on personal property, and in most instances they were residents of the township at that time: Names. Section. Leroy W. Archer................. 36 James Archer..................... 26 Christian Abraham.............. 2 E. L. Abbott................ 9 W. W. Alport..................... 10 J. W. Brown...................... 15 Orrin Brown...................... 9 John S. Brown.................... 3 Alonzo D. Brown............... 3 Orrin J. Brown................... 11 Chester Brown..................... 11 Augusta Brown................... 11 William A. Brown............... 33 Christopher Brown.............. 26 D. N. Brown....................... 9 D. R. Baldwin..................... Philander Beeman............... 2 Charles Breithaupt............... 15 Elizabeth Bonnell............... 36 Gael Bronson..................... 14 Lyman Bronson.................. 23 Ozro Bronson.................... 23 Horace Bronson.................. 14 Daniel Bowker.................... 14 E. S. Caldwell.................... 9 A. H. Conkey..................... 11 A. D. Crandall.................... 28 L. W. Davis....................... 24 Richard Dobson.................. 13 Hiram Dunham................. T. W. Dunham................... M. N. Dunham................... W. E. Domoni.................... 25 Elias Davoe........................ Henry Evans...................... 23 Daniel Fisher..................... 16 D. M. Fisher.............. 32 Jacob Fikes........................ 2 Fuller & Peters................... 2 Rebecca French.................. 10 Jacob B. Gallinger............... 2 R. A. Gregg........................ 1 Frederick Gest.................... 3 John Graham..................... 11 A. 0. Griswold................... 32 Fred. Grahl........................ 27 William Hudson.................. 16 H. L. Huntington............... 3 I. M. Hill........................... George Higbee.................... 10 L. P. Haskell.................... Hiram C. Hess.................... 25 Jacob N. Jeffries................. 33 B. R. Johnson.................... 25 Allan Johnson............ 1 Wesley Jewell.................... 27 J. A. Johnson..................... James (G. Kinne.................. Samuel King....................... 24 J. W. R. Leister................. 16 John Lawler....................... 27 Leroy Lamonion................. 35 James Lamonion................. 35 Names. Section. Christopher Miller...............22 Barnard Miller..................12 David Myers......................24 Joseph C. Myers..................13 C. P. M artin......................23 John M ilke.................... 10 John Maginnis....................15 John V. Nash...........,,,28 Harrison Nash....................28 Nelson & Benjamin........,21 Ole Olson........................... J. A. Parrish......................23 Gould Parrish.....................36 Victor Plea........................21 Hiram Pendland..................13 John N. Percell..................21 Perley Putnam...................22 Chester Phelp....................9 Charles W. Peters...............2 Andrew Passoski................. 2 B. M. Pettit....................... 3 Submit Parce................... 36 B. M. Quint.......,, 28 O.W. Quint........................ 28 C. L. Richardson.................14 James M. Richardson..........23 John Reeder....................... 3 Charles Royce..................... 3 Wellington Stewart.............. 16 Charles Stewart..................16 S. T. Sm ith........................ 3 William B. Smith................3 George Smith.....................33 Ansel Stone........................25 John A. Stone....................25 John Stephenson................. Eri Stephens...................... 14 J. E. Stephens............. I,1 H. S. Strickland............,10 Michael Spillman................2 A. J. Smoke..........,, 23 John B. Shinn....................22 E. J. Stambeck...................3 Joseph Stiles...................... 3 Sutherland & Granger..........34 Henry A. Truax..................3 Nelson Upson..................... Jacob Van Deusen.........,15 Peter Van Deusen.......... 9 W. C. Van Patten...............1 William Walworth...............28 C. J. W illiams.................... 3 Henry C. Ward............ 3 J. G. W ells........................ 1 Harry Wood.......................26 A. A. Webster.....................11 D. A. Winslow....................9 John Wagner...............,25 L. A. W ilber.......................35 William T. White,............... 2 Artemas Walker..................14 Whitney & Vanvlear........ 2 The valuation of the personal property in the township in 1868 was $11,125; in 1878, $12,600. At the former period the entire valuation of Lincoln was $149,719, and at the latter, $152,460. The whole number of acres in the township is 13,584, a small proportion of which is owned by non-residents; and the average value is reported as $10.29. In 1868 the taxes of the township were about $1100, and in 1878, for the same purpose, nearly $1400. -% i.^...l.. - ^,^ w~*w^. -^,^.^^^ S 9, 0 < S ' E * X 0 '' E '.- 2' *' 0'Sf st^';ffi-' ''..^~W~ ~,,^^ II.v::.,.r. t 4-t I I r49r I/ I. I J DAVID'.M MYER S. MRS. D, MYERS.:, AAlli.. %, 4., 'o t- -.1. ESJULtNUE d)F VAVtU) rtYE S, I NCOLN,MICH. i O TOWNSHIP OF LINCOLN. 257 ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS OF THE TOWNSHIP. The township of Lincoln was erected and organized in 1867, the first meeting for the election of officers being held April 1, in that year; Abijah Birdsey, Wellington Stewart, and D. N. Brown presiding as inspectors. The Republican ticket received 106 votes and the Democratic 74. The officers elected were as follows: Supervisor, James A. Parrish; Clerk,,Robert F. Vanvlear; Treasurer, Alonzo D. Brown; Justices, Leroy W. Archer, O. W. Quint; Constables, John A. Sperry, A. II. Conkey, B. W. Quint; School Inspector, A. O. French; Road Commissioner, C. E. Spear. Since that time the principal officers of the township have been the following: SUPERVISORS. 1868, James A. Parrish; 1869, Leroy W. Archer; 1870-79, Alonzo D. Brown. CLERKS. 1868, R. F. Vanvlear; 1869-72, J. G. Wells; 1873-75, Martin Weiss; 1876, John F. B. Thompson; 1877, George W. McMaster; 1878, James A. Collins; 1879, William M. Smith. TREASURERS. 1868-70, A. D. Brown; 1871-79, Leonard Whitney. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE FROM 1861 TO 1879. Joshua G. Wells, John W. Leister, Alonzo D. Brown, Gould Parrish, Gottlob Ketler, L. E. Knowles, James Dunhamn, Charles E. Spear, Leonard Whitney, William Gifford, D. M. Warren, Silas Latta, Peter Van Deusen, Abel Goddard, William G. Mielkie, and Taylor V. Ward. PUBLIC THOROUGHFARES. It was with much difficulty that good roads were constructed in certain localities in the township. The yielding nature of the soil made it necessary to corduroy or plank the highways in many places, by which means they have been rendered not only passable, but, in most instances, they are in excellent condition. This is especially true of Lincoln Avenue, in the northeastern part of the township, which runs through a locality where the early settlers thought it impossible to build a road. The township has been divided into 14 road districts, which now (1879) are in charge of the following overseers: Adam Yound, William Gallinger, Erskine Danforth, William G. Mielkie, C. Kroenig, Henry Mielkie, Nathaniel Beardsley, T. W. Smoke, William M. Smith, George E. Smith, George Hollis, Charles Bonnelle, Henry Berendt, Christopher Miller. In February, 1870, the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad was completed through the township, and subsequently stations were located at Stevensville, Lincoln, and South Lincoln. MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. The first manufacturing establishment in the township was a saw-mill on Hickory Creek, on section 34. It was put up by Benjamin Lemon about 1852, and after being operated a number of years by him and others, was discontinued. At a later date H. S. Strickland erected a sawmill on the same stream, on section 28, which was carried on until a recent period. East of the present village of Stevensville A. L. Putnam got in operation a steam saw-mill about twelve years ago, adding a few years later a grist-mill. In 1875 the latter was destroyed by fire. 33 Some time about 1853 a water-power saw-mill was put up on section 10 by George Martin, which was operated by him until it went down; and on section 11 John Graham put in operation a steam saw-mill about 1864, which was destroyed by fire. Here is at present a good mill of about 1,000,000 feet capacity, owned and operated by E. A. Graham. On section 22 Victor Plea built a steam saw-mill in 1865, which was discontinued in 1871, and the machinery removed to Stevensville in 1873, where it formed part of a large lumber, fruit-package, and turning establishment, which was also swept away by a conflagration. At the site of his old mill Victor Plea put in operation a steam gristmill in 1869, but in a few years removed the machinery to a building erected for a mill on Hickory Creek, near by, where it was operated only a short time. In 1871, M. M. Dunham built a steam saw-mill at Stevensville, which became the property of L. R. Brown in the course of a few years, and was changed by him into a grist-mill in 1877. It is supplied with three run of stones and good machinery, and is the only flouring-mill in the township. Near Stevensville Fisher & Hoskin had a small steam saw-mill in 1867, which was burned soon after; and about the same time T. W. Dunham started a mill of greater capacity on the Grand Marais, which is yet operated to a certain extent. To facilitate the shipment of lumber Mr. Dunham erected a pier on Lake Michigan, from which schooners were laden. Other interests may have abounded a short time, but the foregoing have been the principal ones. LINCOLN FRUIT INTERESTS. Fruit-growing has become the controlling industry of the people of the township, the acreage increasing from year to year until thousands of acres are used for this purpose. Until 1863 much of the soil of the township was regarded as unfit for the cultivation of peaches and the small fruits, but the profitable nature of the business in St. Joseph and other townships induced the planting of several orchards, which proved successful beyond the anticipations of their owners. Other clearings were rapidly made, and the barren wastes were transformed into fruitful fields as if by magic, enriching their proprietors and giving employment to many men. The failure of the peach orchards caused a temporary decline of the business, which has again attained importance since the culture of small fruits has received attention. In 1878 the shipments of berries from the different stations in the township amounted to 44,713 half-bushel packages; peaches, 15,904 one-thirdbushel packages; and apples, 6899 barrels. The shipments of 1879 will greatly exceed the foregoing, having already reached, in July, 40,000 cases of berries. In 1872, before the failure of peaches, there were in the township 288 acres in strawberries; 104 acres in raspberries; 223 acres in blackberries; 35,154 grape-vines; 4092 cherry-trees; 140,987 peach-trees; 11,108 peartrees; 28,567 apple-trees, 2327 plum-trees; and 4631 quince-trees. The first farms were from 2 to 98 acres in extent, and the growers owning more than 10 acres were as follows: 258 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN... E. L. Abbott, B. W. Batchelor, A. D. Brown, Orrin Brown, E. S. Cadwell, J. A. Canavan, L. Carpenter, E. Danforth, H. R. Dusenberry, Jacob Fikes, Gordon Brothers, R. S. Goodell, R. A. Gragg, F. Graff, A. Halliday, William Hudson, C. Kaper, F. Croft, Thomas Mason, G. W. McMaster, R. Miller, B. Miller, W. G. Mielkie, John Mielkie, A. II. Morrison, C. Miller, D. Myers, W. M. Parrish, A. E. Perkins, C. W. Peters, B. M. Pettit, C. P. Phelps, I. S. Reed, W. Smith, Charles Stewart, J. E. Stevens, M. Spillman, P. Vandeusen, S. P. Wadsworth, A. Walker, D. M. Warnn, A. A. Webster, P. Weber, M. Weiss, A. E. Brush, T. W. Dunham, James Dunham, D. M. Fisher, H. C. Hess, Victor Plea, H. Putnam, HI. S. Strickland, J. Vandeusen, W. W. Allport, M. B. Cleveland, William J. Davis, P. D. Locke, A. N. Merriman, and M. H. Morris. HAMLETS AND VILLAGES. The first effort to found a village within the bounds of the township was made by E. P. Deacon, Hiram Brown, and Robert Richards, of St. Joseph. In May, 1836, they platted a number of lots at the mouth of the Grand Marais, on which was to be built a village to bear the name of Liverpool. The power was to be improved for manufacturing purposes, primarily to cut up the large forests of pine growing along the lake-shore. The proprietors never realized their object, the place remaining to this day a " paper city." North of the centre of the township, at South Lincoln Station, a post-office was established in June, 1879, with M. N. Lord as postmaster; and here a country store is soon to be opened, which will give the place the character of a country trading-point. Stevensville, an important railroad station on sections 21 and 28, is the only village in the township. It was laid out by Thomas Stevens, of Niles, who owned a large tract of land in that locality. In the same season an addition was platted by D. N. Brown. The place contains Methodist Episcopal and Protestant Methodist churches, several stores, hotels, shops, a good grist-mill, and about twenty houses. In 1871 the Stevensville post-office was established, with James Dunham as the first postmaster. The successive postmasters have been Solomon Fassett, Abel Goddard, and William M. Parrish. Several mails per day are received. No merchandising was carried on in the township prior to 1870. That year Victor Plea built a store near his mills, in which a stock of goods was placed by Boughton & Graham. In the early part of 1871, George Morrison moved the goods which remained unsold to the depot building in Stevensville, and for some time kept a store there. But William M1. Smith had the first store in the village. He engaged in trade in 1870, and continued until 1877, being succeeded by the present merchant, E. D. Collins. In'1871, Dr. J. N. Percell opened a drug-store, which he has since carried on, and a few years later M. Dunham began trade in a building in which William M. Parrish & Co. at present have a general store, having been in trade here since 1877. Fred. Sneck is the proprietor of a furniture-store, the upper story of which forms a grange hall, and there are besides a few small shops, which aid in making the place a good trading-point. The first tavern was opened by William Gifford, in a 'building which is at present occupied for this purpose by Charles Hart. In a well-appointed building near by George Morrison opened a public-house, which since his death has been carried on by his widow. Dr. E. M. Pettit, a homoeopathist, was for many years a physician in the township. Dr. A. D. Brown has resided in Lincoln since 1863, but has not been in the active practice of his profession. In 1854, Dr. J. N. Percell began the practice of medicine in the present township, and was its first physician. He still resides in the township, although no longer a practitioner. Drs. White and Hess were former physicians of Lincoln, and the present ones are Drs. Charles Hart and J. S. Beers. Lake Grange, No. 84, Patrons of Husbandry, was organized in Lake township in September, 1873, with 13 members, but since July, 1874, has held its meetings at Stevensville. At one time the membership numbered 100, but at present only 35 are reported. Charles Lord was the first Master, and was followed in this office by David S. Evans, Thomas Mason, and, since 1876, by Samuel Marrs. The Secretaries have been O. P. Miller, William A. Brown, and C. P. Phelps. Orrin Brown is the present Treasurer. SCHOOLS. The public schools of Lincoln have received more than the usual degree of attention bestowed on country schools, and are in the condition shown below: Number of districts........................................ 7 Children of school age.................................. 455 Number attending school.......................... 302 Value of school-houses....................................$5000 Expended for schools (school year of 1879).........$2185.98 The school inspectors from 1868 to 1879 have been L. W. Archer, Leonard Whitney, Artemas Walker, A. G. Parrish, William B. Sprague, Charles O. Jeffries, Gould Parrish, Martin Weiss, Charles Hart, and A. O. French; the school superintendents since the time these officers have been elected by the township, in 1875, have been A. D. Brown and A. O. French. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. The Methodist Episcopal was the first church to establish its forms of worship in Lincoln township. In June, 1847, Gould Parrish and others formed a class, at what was afterwards known as Spear's school-house, in the southeastern part of the present township, which had Samuel Davis as the leader, and other members from the Archer and Lamonion families. That winter a revival took place in this neighborhood, during which more than a hundred were converted, and which gave the class a large increase, among the members being persons belonging to the Smoke, Lounsberry, Parkerton, Porter, Wilbur, and other families. Preaching was had here from this time forward, in connection with appointments in the adjoining townships, the whole forming circuits, whose pastoral relations are given in the township history of Lake, in this book. The appointment is at present known as South Lincoln, and the class numbers 24 members, under the leadership of James Archer. 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II.II. :I:",.I I.I.,,1.,I.1, I., I.:.I.e,...'..., — 0-,. :,,, ,kI . , -1.: , I.,'..I1 I..,I I-",.;I, II,.,.I,-.I I,,.0-I.j I..- I,'' n,II.I I'.-,,c, I .,: '.",.1 ;, -".-:.I, I -I ".i..,., I,,.. 11:,.,I.-",I(")...6,I",, I,,;-.".-I ,.I- .-1.I..II ..oI...r, ;.! I.I.-1..I.I;1,,..Z%,I,:.-,I-,I- "I II,,.."IIII,.,: - I:.l. 1..,,:. 1,,,I.,,-,.I11 1,. ;,-. 1-:, -.. rrl --.. "II.I11,,,,,;o.,. I,,L:. -,,,"- ,',-. , ---_:,.',.I I II - II - I,- : , -, ` :,. II -,,.,. ,. " -c, - - ,.. I I,::- -'!;-: "'.',''..,!. -A . 1, -I II. '.elderly r G i:.:i_,, TOWNSHIP OF LINCOLN. 259 Nash school-house, in the western part of the township, and a class was formed which did not prosper until the following year, when George E. Smith became the classleader. C. O. Jeffries was one of the active members, and as a result of another revival, which occurred in the winter of 1867-68, 30 persons were converted, strengthening the class and giving it permanency. It is at present known as the Stevensville class, and George Smith is in charge of the 26 members composing it as their leader. The class at Lincoln Avenue has been supplied with preaching since 1867. It has at present 32 members, and William Johnson as the leader. The Sunday-school at that place is also superintended by Mr. Johnson, and has 50 members. The services at Stevensville are held in the Methodist Episcopal Church edifice, a neat frame building, which was erected in the summer of 1878, at a cost of $800. The building committee was composed of Edward Johnson, James Johnson, and the pastor, the Rev. J. R. Skinner. It was dedicated July 18, 1878, by Bishop Merrill, and is a comfortable place of worship. The present trustees are George Smith, James Johnson, William M. Parrish, Philo Hyde, and C. O. Jeffries. Stevensville and Lincoln Avenue are also parts of Bridgman circuit, whose history is given in connection with Lake township, to which the reader is referred for the names of the pastors who have served these appointments. In the Stevensville church a Sunday-school of 50 members is superintended by Lillie Putnam. The Protestant Methodist Church of Stevensville.-Since 1854 members who entertained the faith of this denomination have resided in the township, but it was not until 1867 that regular preaching was supplied. At the solicitation of T. W. Dunham, the Rev. Mr. Reeves came about that time to preach to the people residing in the western part of the township, and continued his services with some regularity more than two years. Other ministers followed, among them being Revs. Shepardson and Patterson. The present preacher is the Rev. D. M. Weaver. In 1876 a frame meeting-house for the use of the society was begun at Stevensville, but was not completed until the latter part of 1878. A protracted meeting was then held here which promoted a revival and secured an addition of 20 church members. The church has a total membership of 32. T. W. Dunham is the class-leader, and D. W. Percell the steward. A flourishing Sunday-school is maintained, which has Frank Hoskin for superintendent. The Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Joseph erected a building in the northern part of Lincoln, for the accommodation of its members in this township, in the fall of 1878, in which the pastor of that church preaches twice per month. A day-school for the promotion of secular and religious education has been maintained the past year. It was attended by 64 pupils. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. DAVID MYERS was born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, Sept. 25, 1825, and remained in Ohio and the Eastern States until 1855, engaged during this time in various kinds of business, as farming, working by the month, driving stock to the Eastern markets, working on the canal, etc. In 1855 he came to Michigan, settling in Niles township. There he purchased a saw-mill, ran it, and bought and sold lumber in partnership with Justice Corwin. In 1859 he sold out to his partner, and rented a farm east of Berrien Springs. In 1862 he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Royalton, cleared about forty acres, built a house and barn, and set out an orchard, remaining there until 1865, when he moved to Lincoln township on one hundred and twenty acres of land, it being one of the oldest farms in the township. He is still engaged in farming, fiuit-growing, and buying and selling stock. He has made a success of all these vocations. In 1858, Mr. Myers married H. J., daughter of Shadrach Ford. Mrs. Myers was born in Berrien township, Nov. 22, 1837,-her father being one of the first settlers in the county. L. W. ARCHER was born in the State of Vermont, Feb. 28, 1821. At the early age of seven years he moved to Orleans Co.bN. Y., where he remained five years, going from there to Upper Canada, and remaining two years; he then returned to Orleans County. After a short time he took the Michigan fever, as many were going from that portion of New York to Michigan, and he decided to try his fortunes in the new State. He stopped first at Niles, arriving there in 1845, remaining until 1860, when he settled in Lincoln township, where he remained until his death. Mr. Archer at the early age of sixteen years embraced religion, and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, and during his entire life was an active member, filling many positions of trust in the church. His death occurred Feb. 22, 1879, but the grim messenger found him at his post, and released him fioml his labors that he might receive his final reward. He left behind him a wife and four children, who, with many friends, mourn his loss. Mrs. Archer's maiden name was Lorinda Stone. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Archer have all nearly reached the estate of manhood and womanhood. DR. J. N. PERCELL. This gentleman was born in Mayfield, Montgomery Co., N. Y., Feb. 17, 1828. When but six years of age he lost his father, and was taken by his grandfather, Daniel Anderson, with whom he made his home until he was fourteen years old. He then removed to Johnstown, where lie attended the academy some four years; then went to Michigan, with his mother and stepfather (his mother having married again), and settled with them in the township of Brady, Kalamazoo Co. Two years later he took up his abode with his uncle, Archibald Anderson, and remained 260 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I with him three years, or until the latter's death. He soon after contracted with the government to carry the mails from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Coldwater and White Pigeon, Mich., but tired of the work in one year. Returning to Kalamazoo, he found employment in the nursery of Timothy W. Dunham, and about four years later went into the nursery business with James Dunham, at Buchanan. Dec. 12, 1852, he married Mary, daughter of J;mes and Elsie Dunham, and by her became the father of seven children, as follows: De Witt (married Elizabeth, daughter of D. M. Weaver, who is a licensed preacher of the Methodist Protestant Church); Frances M. (deceased); Almeda (deceased); Francis (deceased); Mary L. (deceased); John N.; and Irene M. In 1854, Dr. Percell removed to Stevensville, Berrien Co., in what was then Royalton township, now Lincoln. There he purchased eighty acres of land, but has since sold forty acres, and on this farm his son De Witt is now living. The doctor was educated at Johnstown Academy, New York, after leaving which he decided to study medicine, and attended several medical colleges. He entered upon the practice of his profession in 1854, at Stevensville, and continued until 1871, when he built and stocked a drug-store, and now pays his attention to the latter. He also is engaged to some extent in fruit culture. CHAPTER XXXVI. NILES TOWNSHIP.* Location, Topography and Water-Courses-The Carey MissionOriginal Entries of Land-Early Settlements in the TownshipEarly Mills and Mill-Sites-Early Roads-Organization of the Township-Township Officers-Schools-Old Bertrand Village. THE present township of Niles is bounded on the north by the township of Berrien, on the east by Cass County, By Austin N. Hungerford. on the south by the township of Bertrand and the State of Indiana, and on the west by the townships of Buchanan and Bertrand, from which it is mostly separated by the St. Joseph River. The surface of the township is undulating. In the southwestern part, along the St. Joseph River, precipitous bluffs rise along its banks, and back from the river on the west is the highest land in this part of the State. The land where stands the city of Niles was originally white-oak openings, and the soil is very well adapted to the production of wheat. In that section, within the bend of the river, are the heavy timbered lands where black walnut, basswood, beech, and maple grow abundantly. The soil of these lands is clay intermixed with sandy loam, and is well adapted to the production of every kind of grain. The soil on the west side of the river is mostly alluvial, and the surface gradually subsides into prairies in Cass County. The township is watered by the St. Joseph River, that flows from south to north through and along its entire length, being fed by several small streams. The only other considerable stream is the Dowagiac River, which enters the township near the northeast corner, flows southeasterly, and enters the St. Joseph about half a mile north of the corporation line of the city of Niles. THE CAREY MISSION. To Isaac McCoy, the Indian missionary, belongs the credit of the pioneer movement that opened the way and made a path through the trackless woods for adventurous spirits to follow. He was born in 1783, near Uniontown, Pa. His parents removed to Kentucky in 1789. He was married in 1803, and received a license to preach in 1804; emigrated to Indiana, where he preached among the Indians. On the 17th of October, 1817, he received from the United States Baptist Missions an appointment as missionary. After preaching in various places in Indiana and Illinois, he opened, Jan. 1, 1819, a school of six scholars, children of settlers, and one Indian boy of the Brothertown Indians. In 1820, at the request of Dr. Turner, the Indian agent, he settled at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he had the free use of buildings, and the school was commenced May 29th, with 10 English scholars, 6 French, 8 Indian, and one negro. On the 12th of March, 1821, the school numbered 39 Indian scholars. In June, 1821, in company with these Indians and Abraham Burnett, a young half-breed, as interpreter, who was one of the pupils and a son of the trader Burnett, at St. Joseph, he set out to meet a company of Pottawattamies, for the purpose of consulting with them on the subject of education and its advantages. On June 10th he met Topinabe, Chebass, and others at one of their villages. The advantages of education, knowledge of agriculture and mechanical trades, was explained to them as well as it could be through a mere lad. They visited at the village of Menominee, and again endeavored to explain to them the situation. They were received very kindly, and the desire was expressed to have them come to their villages and open a school. On the night of the 12th of June they arrived at a small village of Pottawattamies, on the banks of the St. Joseph River. In the afternoon of the next day reached the Bur TOWNSHIP OF NILES. 261 netts, at the mouth of St. Joseph River. They soon after returned to Fort Wayne. The Pottawattamies were in favor of the missionaries establishing a school in their midst, and agreed to assist in the endeavor to get a tract of land set apart for that purpose in the treaty to be held at Chicago in the summer of 1821. It was impossible for Mr. McCoy to leave home, but a teacher of the school was sent with full instructions, and Col. Trimble, of Ohio, a United States senator, called at the mission on his way to the treaty, and received from Mr. McCoy a written statement of the condition of affairs, and promised his earnest support. At that treaty-in Article 4-it was provided that a mile square should be selected on the north side of Grand River, and a mile square on the south side of the St. Joseph, and within the Indian lands not ceded, and that a blacksmith and a teacher should be provided by the government for each mission. This treaty was made Aug. 29, 1821, and ratified March 25, 1822. May 14, 1822, in company with three Frenchmen and Abraham Burnett, Mr. McCoy set out on a tour to the Pottawattamies. On the 16th he reached a French trading-house at Pare aux Vaches (Bertrand's), and passed on to the place where the Indians wished then to settle. On July 16th, of the same year, Mr. McCoy received from Gen. Cass an appointment to take charge of the Indian mission, with explicit and minute instructions. His yearly compensation was to be $400, and Mr. Sears, an assistant, received the same salary, and the sum of $365 per annum was allowed to the blacksmith. The sites were to be selected by the President of the United States, and were to be placed under the supervision of Mr. McCoy. Six reports were to be made in the course of the year,two to the Indian agent at Chicago, two to Governor Cass, one to the Secretary of War, and one to the Board of Missions. Governor Cass commissioned Mr. Charles C. Trowbridge to make definite arrangements with the Indians for the sites. The 10th of August was the day fixed to locate the site on the St. Joseph River, and a few days later than the 10th the site was located. On the 9th of October, 1822, a company of 22 persons left Fort Wayne for the new station on the St. Joseph, with the intention to erect buildings, after which the family were to be removed thither. They started with two oxwagons, one four-horse wagon, and four milch cows, and arrived October 19th. The place was named by the Board of Missions, Carey, in honor of one of the missionaries in Hindostan. The work of clearing, chopping trees, and hauling logs immediately commenced, and in a short time six log houses were built,-four for dwellings, one for a school, and one for a blacksmith-shop. November 11th, McCoy returned home and began preparations for removal to the banks of the St. Joseph; and Dec. 9, 1822, the company, consisting of thirty-two persons, started, with three wagons drawn by oxen, one drawn by horses, and driving fifty hogs and five cows. At dark on the 18th of December the party arrived at Bertrand's trading-post, and the next day reached the mission. While on their way from Fort Wayne, they encamped one night at a creek that enters the St. Joseph near the mouth of the Elkhart. Upon starting in the morning, Mr. McCoy named it, after his wife, Christina Creek, which name it still bears. The 1st of January, 1823, an invitation was given Topinabe, Chebass, and others of the principal men, to attend at the mission for a social visit. On the 27th of January of that year school was opened in the new schoolhouse, with thirty Indian scholars, all of whom were fed, lodged, and clothed at the expense of the mission. The house was yet without floor or chimney. In February the provisions they had brought with them became exhausted, and the teams that had been sent out to Fort Wayne had not returned. Mr. McCoy went out to see if he could find corn, and while traveling met Mr. Bertrand. Upon the situation being explained, he said, in broken English, " I got some corn,-some flour. I give you half. Suppose you die,I die too." With his little Indian horse loaded with corn and flour, Mr. McCoy returned at night, and found that a Pottawattamie woman had sent in some corn, and they were feasting upon the pool Indian woman's bounty. July 10th two Indians brought about two bushels of corn, and two traders, by the name of Rosseau, hearing of the scarcity of food, brought half their flour from fifteen miles distant. On the 13th of February the wagons arrived, with plenty of food and five boxes of clothing from Boston and Salem, Mass. On the 21st of February, Mr. Jolnston Lykins, afterwards a son-in-law of Mr. McCoy, arrived and took charge of the school. In April, Mr. McCoy went to Fort Wayne, and on the 16th started to return, with a Mr. and Miss Wright, who were to assist in the school, six hired men, and an Indian boy. They drove 12 head of cattle and 110 sheep. Upon reaching the river they made a large canoe, and floated down the river with part of their goods, and, after camping, the canoe became loosened and capsized, and flour, corn-meal, seed-corn, dried fruit, and other things were lost in the river. Many of their things were rescued some distance below. On the route, while camping at night, about 70 of the sheep rambled away, but all but one were recovered the next day. A severe rain-storm prevailed at the time, and the situation became very unpleasant. At Bertrand's trading-house they found a fire and plenty to eat, after which they soon reached their destination. Mr. Jackson, who was with Mr. McCoy at Fort Wayne, and came with the party at first, had charge of the smithery. In June, 1823, the mission received a visit from Maj. J. H. Long, Messrs. J. E. Calhoun, Thomas Say, Samuel Seymour, and William H. Keating, who were on their way to the source of the Mississippi. At this time, Mr. McCoy was on a visit to establish the mission at Grand River. Maj. Long says, in the account of his expedition, after mentioning other matters pertaining to the mission: "They have cleared 50 acres of land; 40 acres have been plowed and planted to maize. The mission family have a flock of 100 sheep, and are daily expecting 200 head of cattle from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio." One hundred and fifty arrived the 15th of June, the remainder were lost on the way or were left to recruit. Transportation of breadstuffs had to be made a distance of two hundred miles. The first report was dated July 1, 1823, and was made 262 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. to Governor Cass and Dr. Wolcott, the latter being United States agent at Chicago. They reported " 60 acres cleared and inclosed with a good fence." In summer the sound of a trumpet at daybreak called the family to rise, and the ringing of a bell to morning prayers. At half-past six the trumpet called to breakfast, and nine o'clock at night was the time for silence to rest over the mission. It was made a point to have the rules of the mission carried out with entire precision. In the latter part of October, 1823, Charles Noble was commissioned by Governor Cass to visit the mission, to examine and report its condition. He remained three days, and made a satisfactory report. Nov. 5, 1823, the missionaries received a valuable accession to their company in Miss Fanny Goodridge, of Lexington, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. William Polke and family came in the same month. A Sabbath-school was commenced by Miss Goodridge, and on the same Sabbath the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered for the first time in Western Michigan by Protestants. The clearing of land, plowing, sowing, and cultivating had been steadily carried on by hired men and the help of the Indians, and upon securing the proceeds of the farm 900 bushels of corn, besides garden vegetables, were obtained. The annual allowance from government for schools was $200, but in 1822 it was increased to $600, and $566 was obtained from government to assist in the erection of buildings. In 1824, Mr. McCoy made a tour to the Eastern States, and received in donations $1623 in cash. Mr. Robert Simerwell returned with him as a missionary, and remained in charge here until the closing of the mission. July 4, 1824, Mr. McCoy commenced preaching in the Indian villages in the vicinity. The Hon. John L. Leib, of Detroit, was appointed by Governor Cass to examine and report concerning the mission. He visited the station Nov. 2, 1824, and remained three days. The following is quoted from his report: " Besides the Rev. Mr. McCoy and his wife, three male and one female teachers, and one of these Robert Simerwell, is also a blacksmith, six men engaged in agricultural operations, improving buildings, procuring firewood, etc., five Indian women as domestics. "Two of the boys are learning the trade of blacksmith, and the others are occupied on the farm. All the girls except three or four can spin, knit, and sew. Two of them can weave plain cloth, and 294 yards have been manufactured in their loom since February last. " The yield of corn the past year was 1600 bushels,150 bushels of oats, 400 bushels of potatoes, 150 bushels of turnips, and 1000 heads of cabbage, besides other vegetables. "The Indian families in the neighborhood show considerable interest in agricultural pursuits, and have commenced to fence land and plow and plant." About this time, in the summer and fall of 1824, Mr. McCoy complained of the settlement of men on lands ceded to the United States, near the mission, whose principal design was to sell whisky to the Indians. Remonstrances were of no use, for they had little property and no reputa T tion to lose. Many of the Indians manifested a dislike to the trade in ardent spirits, but seldom could withstand the temptation to drink. Ezekiel French, a white man in the employ of the mission, was converted in the fall of 1824, and November 7th was baptized in the St. Joseph River. The ground was covered with snow and a fire was built on the bank for comfort. This was the first baptism administered in the river, or any of the waters flowing into Lake Michigan, by Protestants. November 15th, Ezekiel Clark, Charles Potter, and Jared Lykins were baptized. A few days later Gosa, an Ottawa, of Kalamazoo, brought to them the sixtyseventh Indian scholar from Grand River. Gosa afterwards became interested in and remained at the mission at Grand River. Jan. 12, 1825, three Indian pupils were baptized at the Carey Mission; on the 17th of same month four men. In February, 1825, the mission reported 90 persons. On the 17th March, 1825, Robert Simerwell and Miss Fanny Goodridge were married. After the Indians returned from their winter's hunt, they sought for lands near the mission to cultivate, and were supplied with plows, hoes, axes, etc., to assist them, and both men and women worked in the fields. Topinabe, the principal chief, and almost all his people settled south of the mission, and about 30 families were improving land rapidly and keeping live stock. At this time they reported 200 acres inclosed, 30 acres in corn, with an orchard of between two and three hundred peach-trees and a few apple-trees. In May of this year, 1825, they were erecting a flouring-mill, to operate by horse-power, having previously used a hand-mill. Prior to this time the flour was ground by hand, using two stones made from bowlders found near the mission. These millstones are in the possession of Dr. L. A. Barnard, of Berrien Springs, and are placed in the log house of the Pioneer Association. After the erection of the flouring-mill they were sold to Squire Thompson, and by him to John Johnson, Jr., from whom Dr. Barnard obtained them. During that summer the harvest of wheat was 300 bushels. The first to settle on land near them was a man from Indiana, who came on foot and alone to the mission, and settled as near the mission as possible, and for a time was dependent on them. He erected a little hut on the north bank of the St. Joseph River, and laid in a small stock of bread and meat and a barrel of whisky. In the spring of 1825 the sale of whisky increased to such an alarming extent that it threatened to destroy the results of the past labor. The Indians were induced to neglect their fields and improvements, and sell their clothing to procure whisky. Intoxication, rioting, and quarreling became prevalent, and the work of the missions seemed to be nearly at an end. During Mr. McCoy's absence Mr. Simerwell wrote to him as follows: "Our white neighbors T -, G, and E-, deal out whisky to the Indians plentifully, with which they purchase anything which the Indians will part with. The clothing of the Indians, farming and cooking utensils, are purchased for liquor. Articles manufactured for the Indians in our smithery have been seen in the stores of the whisky-sellers." TOWNSHIP OF NILES. 263 Mr. Lykins wrote as follows: " Sympathize with us, my dear brother, in our griefs, when I tell you every hope, every prospect for the welfare of the Indians around us, is prostrate, is entirely cut off. I entreat you to plead for their removal." From this time efforts commenced to get lands in the West to remove the Indians. Nov. 24, 1825, Mr. Jotham Meeker and Mr. W. M. Crosby joined the band at Carey as missionaries. On the 15th of September, 1826, Mr. McCoy left home to attend the treaty to be held upon the Wabash with the Pottawattami'es. At this treaty, which lasted nearly four weeks, there was granted to 58 Indians by descent, " scholars in the Carey Mission-School on the St. Joseph, under the direction of the Rev. Isaac McCoy, one quarter section of land, to be located by the President of the United States," and $500 worth of goods were allowed for the benefit of the pupils of the school. Mr. Lykins was appointed to make the selection. The dilatory action of government caused a great diminution of the benefits expected. Instead of being cared for and guarded, they sold their lands and lapsed in a considerable degree to their former state. Mr. McCoy had studied the Indian question thoroughly, and wrote a work entitled " Remarks on Indian Reform,' the principal design of which was to show the practicability of reform and measures to be adopted for its accomplishment. He says, " We discovered that our Indians could not possibly prosper when they knew they had no settled residence, and when the influx of white population, and with it the introduction of floods of ardent spirits, had already aided discouragements to their spiritless minds." A treaty was held at the mission Sept. 17, 1827, attended by Governor Cass and suite. At this treaty several small reservations were consolidated in one, $500 in goods were paid the Indians, and $2500 in money. In about twentyfour hours after the Indians were relieved of most of their money by the traders near, who supplied them liberally with whisky. On the 15th of October, 1827, Mr. McCoy took leave of the station, intending to be absent several months. He visited New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, where he had an interview with the President and the Committee on Indian Affairs, with a view of getting Indian territory set off. The mission, in the absence of Mr. McCoy, was in charge of Mr. Meeker, Mr. Lykins, and Mr. Slater. After his return he again left, on the 2d of July, 1828, on a tour of exploration west of the Mississippi, accompanied by three 'Pottawattamies and three Ottawas. In September, 1828, during the absence of Mr. McCoy on the western trip, Governor Cass and Col. P. Menard held a treaty at Carey Mission with the Pottawattamies for the purchase of land. At this treaty the land between the St. Joseph River and the lake, except the plot reserved mostly in the town of Bertrand, was ceded. The mission was drawing to a close, and in October, 1828, provision was made for government to pay for improvements made in houses, fields, and orchards, whenever the missionaries should remove. Mr. McCoy and Mr. Lykins were instructed to repair to regions west of Missouri and Arkansas, and report the condition of the country and suitable location for a mission. They returned to Carey on the 26th of June. On the 10th of July 37 Indian youths were still in the school. Difficulties had so accumulated around Mr. Simerwell at Carey, that when Mr. Lykins left that station, in April, he was fully convinced of the propriety of closing operations there as soon as was practicable." Pursuant to an arrangement with the Secretary Df War, the valuation of the improvements of Carey Mission was made on the 1st day of September, 1830, by Charles Noble, Esq., of Michigan, and Mr. Simonson, of Indiana. The improvements were appraised at $5080; the growing crops, after reserving enough for the use of Mr. Simerwell, at $641.50; in all, $5721.50. This sum was paid to the Board of Missions in Boston by the government, to be applied in establishing missions in the West. The school was discontinued, with the exception of seven or eight children, who remained with the family of Mr. Simerwell, who had leave to remain until he could make other arrangements. He remained a few months and located in the neighborhood, and thus ended the labors of that noble band of missionaries at the Carey Mission. On the 11th of August, 1833, there were gathered together at the Shawanoe Mission House, in the Indian Territory, 15 members of the Carey Mission Church, who organized a church, and continued the association and memories of the laborers at that place.* An incident in connection with Mr. McCoy is of historical interest, and worthy of a place in connection with the Carey Mission. It is given in a letter written by John C. McCoy, the son of the Rev. Isaac McCoy, to the Rev. G. S. Bailey, of Niles. This letter, which is dated " Wilder, Johnson Co., Kan., Oct. 13, 1878," has particular reference to the writer's mother. He says, "' My mother's maiden name was Christiana Polke, one of the younger children of Charles Polke. In 'Jefferson's Notes,' a small book by President Jefferson, is a certificate from the same Charles Polke to prove the charge against Col. Cresap for the murder of the family of the celebrated Indian chief Logan. He then lived in southwestern Pennsylvania. He afterwards moved to Nelson Co., Ky., where my mother was born. Before the birth of my mother the Indians captured the stockade fort,' Kinchelor's Station,' in which the settlers were collected (most of the men being absent at the time), killed the few men and many of the women and children, destroying everything, and carried away the surviving women and children as prisoners. Among these were the wife and three children of my grandfather, Charles Polke. These children were Judge William Polke, afterwards a prominent man in Indiana, Nancy, Ruby, and Eleanor Hollingsworth. They were taken to Detroit, where the British held possession, and where she (Mrs. Polke) was delivered of another child (Thomas), who died about one year ago, a wealthy citizen of Texas. "My grandmother was ransomed from the Indians by * The facts contained in this sketch of Carey Mission are taken from the journal of the Rev. Isaac McCoy, in the possession of the Rev. G. S. Bailey, D.D., pastor of the Baptist Church at Niles, and from the "Indian Treaties" in United States statutes at large. 264 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 7 - I some benevolent British officers, and remained for about three years in Detroit, supporting herself and child by her needle. The three other children were carried off by the Pottawattamie Indians to the St. Joseph River, probably in the vicinity of the Carey Mission (Niles). For three long years my grandfather supposed they had all been slain in the massacre at the burning fort. At last my grandmother found means to send him word of their condition. He traveled alone on foot through the trackless wilderness three hundred miles in search of his lost ones whom God had spared. He was treated with great kindness by the British officials, who gave him such aid for the recovery of his children as he desired. He went alone, and at last found them, two with one family of the Pottawattamies and one with another, by whom they were adopted. When grandfather found the two first, William and Eleanor, and they knew he had come for them, they both ran and hid themselves. They had forgotten their native tongue, and it was with difficulty that he finally induced their foster-parents to give them up or them to accompany him. This transpired certainly but a few miles from the site of the old Carey Mission, where many years afterwards another child, and sister of these lost captives, went through toil and tempest to repay the very same people (many of whom were still living), not with vengeance or injury, but with gifts of richer and more enduring value than gold." ORIGINAL ENTRIES OF LAND IN NILES TOWNSHIP. The following list is of the persons who made original entries of government land on the several sections of Niles township: Section 1.-Jesse Jones, B. Jenkins, A. Rogers, P. and D. W. Ritchie, F. Bronson, D. B. Howley. Section 2.-John Stone, C. Bordens and E. Huston, J. and J. W. Nye, J. Nye, Peter Nye. Section 3.-J. and J. W. Nye, William Ganwood, Ward, Olcott & Co., James Slater, Shelah Willis, Green and Renard, - Hannon. Section 4.-D. Redding and J. S. Griffin, T. R. Martin, R. E. Ward, Ward, Olcott & Co. Section 5.-William Lemon and T. R. Martin, S. Johnson and Henry Rice, N. Hawkins, John Johnson. Section 6.-C. Campbell, C. Pidge, Henry Rice. Section 7.-William Iredell and William T. Noel, J. Stephens and D. P. Pidge, Joseph Stevens. Section 8.-W. T. Noel, William Johnson, Luke Webster, and B. Lane. Section 9.-Ward, Olcott & Co., William T. Noel, J. Corner, T. B. Owen, S. Johnson, B. Lane, - Bronson. Section 10.-T. Olcott, Robert Fowler, - Beck, W. A. Perkins, C. Anderson, - Bronson, S. Johnson, W. Rensler, H. J. Slater, - Williams. Section 11.-H. J. Slater, J. Mason, C. Jewett, J. Vessey, J. Williams, J. Hartrich, John Ritter. TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 17 WEST.* Section 1.-W. M. Wray, H. G. Heath, J. Grove, N. Bacon, T. R. Grove, L. R. Stafford, Jr., John Redding, A. Griffin, Nicholas Weber, B. B. Kercheval. Section 2.-J. Bertrand, R. Benson, S. Bradbury, Bacon Wheeler, J. R. Finch, H. Bradbury, N. Weber. Sections 3 to 10.-Joseph Bertrand. Section 11.-Bacon Wheeler, H. B. Hoffman, Lewis Horton, J. Sils bee, C. K. Green. * Formerly that part of Bertrand east of the St. Joseph River. Section 12.-J. D. Dutton, C. K. Green, L. R. Stafford, J. Bertrand, Jr., L. R. Stafford. Section 13.-George Johnson, Robert Nixon, George Johnson, Otis Jones, A. Bennett, H. B. Hoffman, J. B. Finch, -- Mason. Section 14.-J. Silsbee, Madelaine Bertrand, Leon Bourassas. Section 15.-Madelaine Bertrand. Section 22.-Madelaine Bertrand. Section 23.-M. Bertrand, Bacon Wheeler, B. B. Kercheval, J. R. Weaver. Section 24.-D. Ingalls, J. Aldrich, W. Truitt, J. Nixon. TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 18 WEST. Section 1.-J. L. Kinzey, Edward Legg, J. Strymer, - Snyder and J. L. Kinzey, J. Johnson. Section 2.-John Snyder. Section 12.-C. Sparks, J. Legg, Joseph Stevens. Section 13.-W. Garner, A. Price, J. Stevens. J. Noel, S. Babcock. Section 24.-B. Lykins, D. Brown, W. Broadhurst, Ralph Camp, N. Cotton, J. Carberry, B. Chandler, R. Camp, W. Cotton. Section 23.-John Hunter. Section 25.-W. Broadhurst, J. Stephen. Section 12.-D. B. Hawley, J. Vessey, E. Huston, J. Redding, G. and W. Boon, John Ritter and Eli Ford, G. McCoy, James Kirk, Bronson. Section 13.-J. C;rberry, S. Benson, HI. Heath, D. Fisher, Eli Ford, Jacob Beeson, H. Chilson, A. Smith, Beeson & Co., John Marks, William Kirk. Section 14.-Eli Ford, S. Salee, Horace Parsons, John Raher, and R. Snodgrass. Section 15.-J. Hickman, S. Johnson, John Johnson, N. M. Beck. Section 16.-School lands. Section 17.-David Hopkins, Alex. Price, Thomas Lough, J. Sharp, and D. Brown. Section 18.-J. Comer and A. Price, William Garwood, R. Babcock and Isom Stevens, Joseph Stevens and D. Brown. Section 19.-D. Brown, William Broadhurst, W. Bronson and T. Voorhees. Section 20.-Rummel & Keck, James White, H. Rice and Benjamin Chandler. Sections 21, 22, 27, 28, 33, 34.-University lands. Section 23.-Stephen Salee, E. Lacey, Adam Smith, Ralph Snodgrass, E. and E. Lacey, T. K. Green, R. Clark, Joshua Comley. Section 24.-John Willson, A. Charles, William Justus, P. Clark, H. Langston, H. J. Slater, M. Willson, J. Ribble. Sectio, 25.-A. T. Rogers, G. Shurtes, A. Huston, J. Hoyt, Jr., and William Liston. Section 26.-Joshua Comley, - Lacey, G. Fosdick. Section 29.-F. H. Ives, William Cotton, H. Ferguson, F. N. Penwell. Section 30.-William Broadhurst, A. Bronson, F. Voorhees, - Perry, J. Willett. Section 31.-A. Chambers, B. Pittman, B. Martin, J. Van Buskirk. Section 32.-A. Moore, J. Chambers, T. J. Buckell, W. Carton. Section 35.-B. G. Parnell and D. T. and D. Wilson, D. Willson, Jr., A, Griffin, Joseph Bertrand, Jr. Section 36.-William Loston, A. Huston, A. Griffin, J. W. Griffin, N. Bacon. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. Soon after the land was surveyed in this part of the Territory, emigrants began to come in and locate. Among the first was one Stephen Salee, a Polander, who, after fighting in the Russian campaigns in 1814, emigrated to Preble Co., Ohio, where he kept a store, and in the late summer of 1828 loaded his household goods and his stock of merchandise, and, with his wife and two children, started for the West again, passing through Fort Wayne and South Bend. They came through the place which is now Niles, with their covered wagon loaded with three barrels of whisky, a sack of coffee, and other goods, and settled on section 23, about a mile and a quarter below the city. There Salee built a large log cabin, for both store and dwell TOWNSHIP OF NILES. 265 ing, and there he lived and kept store for many years.* He is well remembered by the old citizens, and his sons still live on the place. About the same time, and from the same place, emigrated John Kinzie, with his wife and eight children, of whom William Kinzie, then seventeen years old, was one. They followed the track made by the missionaries, and came through what is now the city of Niles, where there was then but one cabin. This was owned by Eli Bonnell, and stood near where Montague's hardware-store now stands, on the south side of Main Street. Above, on the river, near where the old brewery stands, and a few rods from the creek that flows into the river at that place, Abram Teitsort had a cabin. At his place the family stopped and drew water from his spring, and after a short rest passed on to the grove on the bank south from the Lacey dam, where they remained about two weeks in a vacant cabin. This was in September, 1828. Mr. Kinzie removed from this place to Pokagon Prairie before Walling, Lacey, Gray, and Justus came in. In 1829, at the place where Kinzie Creek crosses the county line, he built a dam and a saw-mill, which was in this township. In 1830 it was sold to George Boon, and passed from him to Lardner, who erected a fulling-mill. The dam is still used. William Kinzie married the daughter of Joseph Grice, who emigrated from Preble Co., Ohio, and settled on Pokagon Prairie in 1832. He was one of the volunteers in the Sauk war, and marched to Chicago with the troops. In 1847 he moved into Niles, and has since been a resident of the city, except a short time at Buchanan. Neil Sparks, in October, 1828, emigrated from Indiana and located on the bend of the river near Salee, on section 15. He had two sons, Levi and Spencer, and a daughter, who married Britain Jarvis. Joseph Stephens, a native of Rowan Co., N. C., removed to Wayne Co., Ind., when sixteen years of age, and afterwards lived five years in Kentucky with his grandfather. In 1828, in company with eight others, he went on a prospecting tour through Western Michigan, and on the return passed up the St. Joseph valley and visited the mission. Cornelius Sparks, one of the party, moved out to this township that fall and settled in the bend of the river. At the urgent solicitation of Sparks, he again visited here in 1829, and at that time left money with John Johnson to enter land for him. The 160 acres he purchased was the first sale in this region in Western Michigan. He moved his family in 1830. He entered land from time to time till he had 400 acres, and has given all his children good farms, and has 320 acres of valuable land left. He is still hale and hearty at seventy-five years of age. John Hunter emigrated to this county and settled, in 1831, on section 24, in the bend of the river, where Mr. J. Jones lived afterwards. He was a Methodist, and a class was formed at his house in 1832. He died in 1835. His son, Thomas J. Hunter, lived in Buchanan, and another son, A. G. Hunter, is living in Niles township. Benjamin Churchill came to St. Joseph in 1830, and in 1831 selected land on section 24, near Mr. Hunter, and * The first wedding in the township occurred at his house. It was of William Barlow. Pitt Brown, of Berrien, a justice of the peace, performed the ceremony. 34 where A. W. Bachelor now owns. He afterwards moved to Buchanan township, where he died. Darius Jennings married a daughter of his. Mr. Hunter was called by the Indians Mu-qua, meaning Bear, and Mr. Churchill Cheechueh, meaning Crane. John Stone emigrated in 1832 from Huron Co., Ohio, and located 600 acres on section 2. At that time there were no settlers between his location and Niles. The crossroads were not laid out until 1853 or 1854. Veazie and William Broadhurst came in a year or two after Mr. Stone. Daniel Brown located in the western part of the township in the spring of 1830, but sold out in the fall to William Cotton, who lived there many years. John Comer, about 1833, settled on section 9, where R. A. Walton lives. J. J. Hamilton settled in 1836 on section 15; P. D. Lawman on section 16; Joseph Stevens on section 12; and Henry Rice on section 6. William T. Noel, a native of Virginia, emigrated to this township in 1831, located lands on sections 7, 8, and 9, and settled where Dennis Clark now lives. In 1858 he left the country and emigrated to Texas, where he died. Simeon Bradbury emigrated to this township in 1832, and settled on section 2, township 8, and range 17, on the farm where he still lives. Timothy H. Ives emigrated to this township in August, 1835, from Tioga Co., Pa., with his wife and eight children, and settled on section 29, on the bank of the river, in the reservation. The family lived there until 1878. Francis, a son, is now living in Niles. Obadiah R. Weaver emigrated from Rhode Island to Jamestown, N. Y., and in 1818 to New Castle, Ind. In 1834 he came to Bertrand, remained a few days, and went to Berrien Springs, built a store for Edward Ballengee, and in the fall returned to Bertrand village and located a lot near the centre of the village. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, but was in the mercantile business for some time there. About 1840 he moved to Hamilton, Ind. One of his sons, Philander M., married Derinda, the granddaughter of Daniel Russell, who kept the first hotel at Bertrand village. Philander settled in Indiana until 1850, and moved to Niles township, where he lived ten years, and in 1860 moved to Buchanan. He was killed in a railroad accident at the crossing in the village of Buchanan, Oct. 8, 1874. Mrs. Weaver still resides in that village. Daniel Russell came to Bertrand in 1836. He was a native of Connecticut; moved to New York State, where he married, and remained until he came to Bertrand, where he kept the first hotel. He lived there until his death. He had but one son, Daniel, who settled in Indiana two miles from Bertrand village, remained thirteen years, and took up 100 acres on the northeast quarter of section 18, where he still lives. He has one son, Julius, living at Buchanan, and another, Edwin, who lives at Paw Paw. A daughter, Mrs. Philander M. Weaver, lives at Buchanan. EARLY MILLS AND MILL-SITES. In the fall'of 1827, Eli Ford came from Ohio to Pokagon Prairie. There was at that time no flouring-mill in the western part of the State, and the settlers were much in need of 266 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN..I one. Mr. Ford being an ingenious man, though not a miller or a mill-wright, determined to build a mill, provided the settlers would assist him. A site was selected for a dam on the Dowagiac Creek, at the site now occupied by the Cascade Mills. Money and labor were subscribed, and work was commenced early in the winter. The mill was a log building, and but one run of small stones were used. These were made for Mr. Ford by a Mr. Cronin from stone found in this section. In 1878 one of the stones made by Mr. Cronin for Mr. Ford in 1827, was obtained from the farm on. Dowagiac Creek, and is in possession of Mr. Hutton, a miller at Sumnerville, Cass Co. It was a bowlder, and, with the exception of the facing and furrows, is in its natural shape. Mr. Ford was assisted in the construction of the mill by David Ford, a mill-wright, from Pittsburgh, Pa. The first grist was ground in the spring of 1828, although the mill was not entirely finished. The bolt was supplied from muslin taken from a dress of Mrs. Ford, and from these primitive sources the first water-power mill in the county, and the first flouring-mill in Western Michigan, was started, and grain from long distances in all directions came to this mill. Soon after this was completed a saw-mill was erected, using water from the same race. The flouring-mill passed through successive changes, and is now known as the " Cascade Mills," which have four run of stones, and are owned by Badger & Barnard. In 1829, Ephraim Lacey and his sons, Elijah and David, purchased the water-power on the Dowagiac Creek, now occupied by the Linden Mills, and erected a saw-mill. The following entry is found in Elijah Lacey's day-book: "Oct. 5, 1829, To-day A. Thornbery and E. Chalfant commenced work at the saw-mill." "April 7, 1830, Today Noah Brookfield commenced tending the saw-mill." The books are headed, first, " St. Joseph," then " The mouth of the Dowagiac," and still later " The Dowagiac Mills." Timber was immediately sawed for the construction of a flour-mill, which was finished in the fall of 1830. The raising of this mill was a great event; men were few, and the first attempt was unsuccessful. A call was made throughout the country for reinforcements, and a few days later men gathered from different parts and the building was raised, but it required a jug of whisky to put the last bent in its place. Obed P. Lacey was the red-ribbon man of the settlement, but he was chosen to go to the village for the whisky. On his return, when near the mill, he hid the jug in the bushes, and returned without any. This caused dissatisfaction, and some went away; but it was soon brought forth from its hiding-place, and, under its exhilarating influence, the last bents went up with a will. The stones were manufactured out of the common bowlders of the section. The winter of 1830 was very severe, the race was frozen solid, and the settlers were obliged to return to hominy. This mill was afterwards sold to Putnam, and passed to G. A. Colby, then to Badger, who afterwards sold a half interest to Mr. Barnard, by whom it is at present owned, and known as the " Linden Mills." In 1847 what is known as the "Volant Mill" was erected, by S. K. Finley, with four run of stones, on the banks of the St. Joseph River, but receiving its power from the Dowagiac. It was sold by Mr. Finley to James M. Hale, and by him to D. & W. K. Lacey, in 1871. They, in 1875, removed the machinery of the Depot Mills to the Volant Mill, increasing the equipment to seven run of stones. In 1850, Elijah and David Lacey and Jacob Geltmacher built the Depot Mills, and in 1855 the same firm built the Dacota Mills. In 1863, Mr. Geltmacher purchased the entire interest of the Dacota Mills. In 1875 the Depot Mills were dismantled and removed to the Volant Mills. The water for the Volant and Dacota Mills is supplied from the same dam. In 1829 a dam and mill was built by John Kinzie on Kinzie Creek where the county line crosses the creek. It was sold in 1830 to George Boon, afterwards to William Bacon, and then to the Lardners, who erected a fulling-mill. The dam is still used. A flouring-mill was erected in 1830 by Joseph Bertrand on Bertrand Creek, now called the Brandywine; William Ray was the mill-wright. The location was where the wagon-road now crosses the old dam. It was afterwards sold to William McOmber, and was changed to a distillery. McOmber ran it for five or six years, when it was burned, but was soon rebuilt. Moses Finch built a saw-mill in 1831 at the mouth of the same stream. It was purchased by Maj. J. D. Dutton, and changed into a flour-mill with three run of stones. It afterwards passed into the hands of Cephas Mills. Both mills are now gone. EARLY ROADS. The commencement of the survey of a road from St. Joseph to Niles was made May 9, 1831, by Samuel Marrs, deputy surveyor, at the request of John Pike and Julius Brown, commissioners of Niles township. The road commenced at St. Joseph and passed through Royalton, Oronoko, Berrien, and Niles townships, to Niles. The survey was accepted by the commissioners June 4, 1831. A road was surveyed from the Indiana State line through Bertrand to Niles, and recorded July 18, 1831. This road began at the corner of sections 11 and 12 in range 2 east, of town 38 north, in Indiana, running north to Bertrand's Mills, intersecting the road from Newburyport to Niles on Main Street. A record bearing the same date shows the survey of a road from Pokagon to Niles. Beginning at the town line at end of road laid out by the commissioners of Pokagon township, Cass County, running south, intersecting Main Street at Fifth. Also a road intersecting the road from Indiana State line to the village of Niles; and one running from the east end of Main Street to the corner of G. Shurtes' farm. Several appeals were made this year. One dated July 20, 1831, was signed by William B. Beeson, T. B. Willard, Abner Stitson, George Fosdick, Henry Drew, Jacob Beeson, A. Huston, Jacob L. Kinzey, William Justus, Thomas Denniston, Hiram Chilson, Erasmus Winslow, Garrett TOWNSHIP OF NILES. 267 Shurtes, Joshua Comley, Eber Griswold, Adam Smith, and Morgan Wilson. The judges examined the several routes and ordered the two last vacated, and a new route to be surveyed, and declared it to be the public highway. The first route, from Bertrand's Mills to Niles, was ordered discontinued and vacated Aug. 27, 1831. ORGANIZATION OF TIHE TOWNSHIP. The territory that originally formed the township of Niles embraced all within the limits of Berrien County. On the 29th of October, 1829, Berrien County, with others, was set off, and November 5th of the same year the township of Niles was erected, and it was provided " that the first township-meeting shall be held at the house of William Justus, in said village," that is, the village of Niles.* An act was approved by the Territorial Governor, June 9, 1832, setting off from the township of Niles the townships of Berrien and St. Joseph, which townships included all the territory in the county of Berrien lying north of a line running from the east line of the county of Berrien directly west along the north line of the present townships of Niles, Buchanan, Weesaw, and Chickaming. The township of Bertrand was set off from Niles township March 23, 1836, and Buchanan, March 11, 1837; and on the 9th day of March, 1850, " all that part of the township of Bertrand which is east of the centre of the St. Joseph River, in township 8 south, range 17 west, be and is attached to the township of Niles." The first township election after the organization of the county was held on the 2d day of April, 1832. At that time the township embraced the whole county. Jacob Beeson was elected Supervisor; Cogswell K. Green, Township Clerk; Thomas K. Green and Alamanson Huston, Justices of the Peace; Eber Griswold, Constable. A few days later a special election was held, and Joseph Bertrand was elected constable and collector for the township, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Eber Griswold. The original records of the township of Niles are lost. The names of the town clerks are gleaned from the school records from 1832 to 1861 as follows: 1832, Cogswell K. Green; 1837, H. W. Griswold; 1838, Daniel Symmes; 1839-40, Jonathan Brown, Deputy Town Clerk; 1841, John 0. Palmer; 1842, Jonathan Brown; 1843, George W. Goodman, Deputy Town Clerk; 1844, George Goodman; 1845-46, David Aitken; 1847, R. R. Gibson; 1848, David Aitken, Deputy Town Clerk; 1849-50, Thomas T. Glenn, Deputy Town Clerk; 1851-55, Thomas T. Glenn; 1856, George W. Hoffman; 1857, Thomas T. Glenn; 1858-60, IHiram Brown; 1861, Benjamin F. Fish; 1862-63, no record; 1864-65, Joseph S. Bacon; 1866, Clinton Noble; 1867-68, William B. Davis; 1869, Samuel C. Thompson; 1870, John Stayton; 1871, Samuel C. Thompson; 1872-73, Jehu Stayton; 1874, Samuel C. Thompson; 1875, John H. Young; 1876, William Hildebrand; 1877, Amos T. Riddle; 1878-79, Samuel C. Thompson. The supervisors from 1832 to 1839 were: 1832-33, Jacob Beeson; 1834, Elijah Lacey; 1835, Jasper Mason; 1836-38, William F. Noel; 1839, Jonathan N. Brown. * Territorial Laws of Michigan, vol. ii. p. 786. The following-named persons were justices of the pecae from 1832 to 1841: 1832, Thomas K. Green, Alamanson Huston; 1834, T. B. Willard, Levi Mason; 1836, Joseph Stevens, William B. Beeson; 1837, John Varnum, Levi Mason, Isaac V. Comings; 1838, Samuel Hunter; 1839, Jonathan Brown, George Fox; 1840, Hiram Weese; 1841, Jonathan Brown. The following-named citizens of Niles have represented their district in the Senate and House of Representatives: SENATE. 3d Legislature, 7th District, Vincent L. Bradford, 1838-39. 5th " " " Elijah Lacey, 1840-41. 10th " 5th " Joseph S. Chipman, 1845-46. 17th " 19th " Royal T. Twombley, 1853. 18th " " " Rodney C. Paine, 1855. 20th " 18th " Franklin Niles, 1859. 21st " " " Elijah Lacey, 1861. 22d " " " Rufus W. Landon, 1863. 25th " 16th " Evan J. Bonine, 1869. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 1st Legislature, Cogswell K. Green, 1836. 4th " Thomas Fitzgerald, 1839. 8th " Obed P. Lacey, 1843. 10th " John Graves, 1845-46. 12th " Richard P. Barker and James Shaw, 1847. 15th " Samuel Street, 1850. 16th " John W. Butterfield, 1851. 17th " Harrison W. Griswold, 1853. 20th " William B. Beeson, 1859. 22d " Nathan Fitch, 1863. 23d " Evan J. Bonine, 1865-67. 25th " Julian M. Seward, 1869. 26th " John F. Coulter, 1871. 27th " Evan J. Bonine, 1873. The last census (1874) gives the following statistics, referring to the township of Niles: Population of the township, 1795; taxable land in Niles township, 25,746 acres; improved land, 19,009 acres; crops raised in 1873, wheat, 68,492 bushels; corn, 110,610 bushels; other grain, 15,547 bushels; potatoes raised, 12,580 bushels; hay cut, 1661 tons; wool sheared, 10,737 pounds; pork marketed, 304,840 pounds; butter made, 40,548 pounds; apples raised, 40,045 bushels; acres in orchards, 758; capital invested in flouring-mills, $48,000; barrels of flour manufactured, 25,850; value of flour, $155,100; capital invested in saw-mills, $5000; lumber sawed, 320,000 feet. SCHOOLS. Titus B. Willard was undoubtedly the first school-teacher at Niles. He taught in his double log house, in the summer of 1830. School was kept a short time, in the summer of that year also, in a log house that had been occupied by the Wilsons in the fall of 1829. That school was attended by Henry Justus, John Wilson, Emory Huston, and others. This place was bought, in 1830, by Rowland Clark, and is now owned by Mrs. Brethschneider. In the spring of 1832, Malvina Huston taught school in a house belonging to Col. Alamanson Huston, situated on Main Street, and now occupied by Alonzo W. Platt. School was broken up in May by the quartering of Gen. Williams' cavalry in the school-house. William B. Gray, of Niles, attended school at that time. The first school-house was erected in the fall of 1833, 268 HISTORY OP BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. on the northeast corner of Sycamore and Third Streets. Richard C. Meek was the first teacher in this house. The building was used for religious worship and public meetings, as well as for school purposes. In 1841 it was sold to John Tibbetts, who removed it to the corner of Sixth and Sycamore, where it is now used as a dwelling-house. A brick school-house, 30 by 38, with accommodations for 80 pupils, was erected on the same ground in 1846. John Phelps was the first teacher. The ground was sold to Jerome B. Griswold in 1867, and the proceeds were devoted to the construction of a school-house for colored children, on the corner of Cass and Fifth Streets. In April, 1836, a school was opened by A. B. Brown and W. N. Nevin, for teaching English branches, and the Latin and Greek languages. June 6, 1836, Miss Kennedy also advertised to open a female academy. On the 16th day of September, 1837, a special townmeeting was held at the house of Boswell and Babcock, in the village of Niles, for the purpose of electing three school inspectors, and at this meeting George Goodman, John G. Bond, and William T. Noel were elected to that office. On the 20th of the same month the inspectors elected met and organized by choosing John G. Bond chairman. At that meeting the township was divided into five school districts. During the year Districts Nos. 3 and 5 were divided, and three new districts were laid off and organized. At that time District No. 1 reported 92 children between five and seventeen years. District No. 5 reported 30 children between the ages of five and seventeen years. District No. 6 reported 100 children between those ages, and District No. 8 reported 22 children between the ages of five and seventeen years. March 31, 1838, the board of inspectors unanimously resolved that Districts Nos. 1 and 2 be consolidated as District No. 1. At an annual meeting held at the house of Brownell and Babcock, in Niles, April 2, 1838, Elijah Lacey, George Goodman, and Edward H. Hubbard were elected inspectors of schools. April 11th of that year the board of inspectors elected George Goodman as treasurer. A meeting of the legal voters of the township was called for Dec. 8, 1838, " for the transaction of such business as may be necessary to the establishment of a primary school." The following report was made by the school inspectors for 1838: Whole number of districts, 8; number from which reports were received, Nos. 3 and 4; number of scholars between the ages of five and seventeen years,-No. 3, 26; No. 4, 31; number of scholars in attendance,-No. 3, 19; No. 4, 27, time school was kept, 3 months; amount raised in each district,-No. 3, $174; No. 4, $100; number of scholars in attendance under five and over seventeen, No. 3, 2; No. 4, 3. The following is a list of school inspectors elected in the township since 1838: 1839, Elijah Lacey, Joseph Whiting, William B. Beeson; 1840, Joseph Whiting, John P. Healy, William Sampson;-; 1841, Joseph N. Chapman, Cyrus Dana, Abner P. Healy; 1842, Joseph N. Chap man, Cyrus Dana, Elijah Lacey; 1843, Joseph N. Chapman, * Andrew J. Clark was appointed in place of William Sampson, who removed from town. Cyrus Dana; 1844, Cyrus Dana; 1845, Rodney C. Paine; 1846, James M. Stuart; 1847, James M. Stuart, N. Bacon; 1848, N. Bacon, James Brown; 1849, N. Bacon, James Brown, William H. Powell; 1850, James Brown, N. Bacon; 1851, James Brown, N. Bacon; 1852, N. Bacon, Levi B. Taft; 1853, N. Bacon, Rev. John Booth; 1854, N. Bacon, Elijah Lacey; 1855, N. Bacon, Elijah Lacey; 1856, Elijah Lacey, George W. Hoffman; 1857, Elijah Lacey, William B. Beeson; 1858, Elijah Lacey, William B. Beeson; 1859, Abraham P. Knox, David O. Woodruff; 1860, Abraham P. Knox, David O. Woodruff; 1861, David O. Woodruff, Andrew P. Mills; 1865, George S. Hoppin; 1866, John E. Demott; 1867, Samuel C. Thompson; 1868, John C. Demott; 1869, Samuel C. Thompson; 1870, John C. Demott; 1871, Samuel S. Case; 1872, Levi Sparks; 1873, Hiram A. Edwards; 1874, Thomas R. Martin; 1875, Hiram M. Coan; 1876, Otto R. Moor; 1877, George W. Lambert; 1878, John E. Dernott; 1879, Hiram A. Edwards. An act of the Legislature was approved March 20, 1875, abolishing the office of county superintendent of schools. and providing for the election of a superintendent in each township to act with the school inspectors, and to examine candidates for teachers, and to grant certificates. In accordance with the law, the first election of superintendent was held in April, 1875. The following have been elected superintendents to the present date: 1875, Robert W. Kay; 1876, James R. Claffey; 1877, Horace G. Cowell; 1878, James R. Claffey; 1879, John J. Claffey. In November, 1843, the Western Collegiate Institute, under the charge and pay of the State University, of which it was a branch, was established; E. McIlvaine, of Pittsburgh, principal. The Niles Female Seminary, in charge of Miss C. Britain, and the Niles High School were in successful operation. In 1843 four districts in Niles reported numbers of scholars, and amount of money apportioned from the sum raised by the township of Niles for school purposes for that year: Children. Apportionment. District No. 1.................................... 172 $86.30 (" " 3............................. 39 19.56 " " 5................................. 48 24.08 " " 6................................... 40 20.06 Total................................................. $150.00 Apportionment of money from State school-fund for 1843: Apportionment. District No. 1.......................... $63.64 " " 3........................ 14.43 " " 5........................... 17.76 " " 6................................. 14.80 Total.................................................. $110.63 Apportionment of primary-school money of 1843, belonging to the township of Niles, among the several school districts of the town entitled to the same: Children. Apportionment. District No. 1............................... 207 $86.94 t" " 3................................ 55 23.10 " " 5................................. 46 19.32 " " 6................................. 47 10.74 "30............................... 28 11.76 Total................................................. $160.86 The first mention on the school records, of examination of a teacher by the inspectors, occurs Nov. 13, 1843, as follows: "Albert Heath was this day examined by the school inspectors; was found qualified, and received a certificate. " GEO. GOODWIN, Deputy Town Clerk." :::: -:::: ~::::::'7 t;7 6A1B-'l;-: i Z 4:~: i d tk;C 'i j:I!:*- ~t, i i;-t i lil i"?e a '~:~? j f n i.~L i Fi -is, "r i I J~a c'iX ULEy: "; &i Yi. j ~:, s t X i -i.~1 ~ i~. 3 1,a::%a-~:! ~;2:;i ~~ 5 t~ re ;::i:::::-8;: I i::::"p r~l6 th a " IZ.;r "z I 'r:YS:~a; Yi " ~c " i::1:;-iI St b-t 'Lt4.~:'ddP&mE~8~sr_ iLtblrt ~t r F P;r c Y" 1 X: 11-~ ".tm,~ P:elr d. Y -jilcC L i.*`' r" iMf BaWBIY~P/N s:,i; iS;' ""p~~8s3ib~ps'-'~ACb-4~-~~glYRYI,Y I :i~ I`;Jr ~ tS1RS -" rriR8atsr-~":~' ~ - —;0 ii**,J.i......,~~\'.11~ nr 1 ~?tZn ~/j ~;:::: II::::" i:: j e~ I ~r Lf 4 RESIDENCE OF BURTON JARVIS, NILES TP. BERRIEN CO.,MICH. I I C t \~, I TOWNSHIP OF NILES. 269 December 18th, of the same year, Charles Carmichael and John Dendney'were examined, and found qualified to teach a district school, and certificates were granted. March 31, 1845, "Abigail T. Willard was examined by the Inspectors, was found qualified, and received a certificate." In the summer and fall of the same year Sarah Drake, Lucy Merritt, and James G. Willard received certificates, and were declared "qualified to teach a district school;" November 6th, of' that year, G. H. Crocker, John H. Phelps, and William B. Hardy were examined, and received certificates of' ability " to teach a primary school." Miss Cordelia Hopkins was added to the list of primaryschool teachers in April, 1846. The following certificates were granted at the dates mentioned: Feb. 4, 1846, Miss Mary Ann Hall; August 21st, Miss Fanny L. Bailey; November 7th, Alexander R. Ball; December 21st, George R. Hopkins; Jan. 4, 1847, Nathan McCoy; March 27th, Miss Mary M. Kimmel; April 13th, Miss Maria Swift; May 29th, Miss Mary Frazier; June 4th, Miss Sarah Fisher; November 12th, Moses T. Graham; December 2d, Miss Harriet L. Parray; December 4th, Watson Scott. By the school report for 1849 the number of scholars in the township had increased to 1027, of which District No. 1 had 558. The amount of school-moneys received that year was $349.18. In June, 1856, as per report, there were 1403 children, of which District No. 1 contained 801. Amount of money received was $743.59. A law was passed April 1, 1850, entitled "An act to organize a school district for colored children in the village of Niles," by which it was provided " That the school inspectors be authorized to organize a school district, to be numbered as they shall direct, not described by metes and bounds, but composed of the colored children of said village between the ages of four and eighteen years." The district authorized above was organized at a meeting held at the colored Baptist church, July 1, 1850. The last report of the township before the setting off of District No. 1 as a union school district was in 1859, when 1696 children were reported, and the school fund was $811.42, of which District No. 1 reported 953 scholars, and its proportion of public money was $455.93. OLD BERTRAND VILLAGE. Daniel G. Garnsey was appointed by Congress to lay out a portion of the Detroit and Chicago road, and while in this section of country he was so much pleased with the advantages of the lands near the river at Parc aux Vaches for the establishment of a settlement that he interested friends in the idea, and an association called the Bertrand Village Association was formed of John M. Barbour, of Dunkirk, N. Y.; Joseph H. Williams, of Vincennes; Dr. Ingalls, of Dunkirk; Ira Converse, of Batavia, N. Y.; Joseph Bertrand and Daniel G. Garnsey, the latter of whom acted as manager and agent. Permission was obtained of Gen. Jackson, then President of the United States, to locate a village at that place, with the consent of Mrs. Joseph Ber trand, the land being held by her under an Indian title. Alonzo Bennett was selected as surveyor to lay out the village, which was done in 1833. Streets, blocks, and lots were laid out, and building soon commenced. The tradinghouse of Mr. Bertrand stood on the bank of the river below the Chicago road. Daniel Russell built the first hotel, on the south side of the Chicago road about eighty rods from the river. Joshua Howell, in 1836, built a four-story hotel on the south side of the Chicago road, by the bank of the river, and known as the Steamboat Hotel. It was afterwards taken down, shipped to Berrien Springs, and re-erected. Capt. John Silsby, in 1835, built a warehouse four stories high, on the river bank, on the north side of the Chicago road. Michael Leydell built the Union Hotel, in which the first town-meeting of Bertrand township was held, in 1836. In that year Bertrand village contained 3 hotels, 1 warehouse, 7 dry-goods stores, 2 groceries, 1 drug-store, and a postoffice. The village lots were offered for sale June 4, 1836, but instead of selling them to the highest bidder the company bid them in and held them at extravagant prices. At that time the decline and fall of Bertrand village commenced. A bridge was built across the river in 1837. The Catholic church was built the same year. A post-office was established, and has been maintained to the present time. James Williams was appointed postmaster in 1836, and was succeeded by A. W. King, Alvah Higbee, Benjamin H. Bertrand, Charles Seward, D. C. Higbee, Edward Easton, J. M. Seward, James Claffey, and D. C. Higbee, who is the present incumbent. It is now a part of Niles township, and has declined to a place of no importance. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. BURTON JARVIS, the son of Zadok and Lucy (Owens) Jarvis, who were natives of North Carolina, was born in Rowan County, in that State, Sept. 6, 1816. His father's circumstances were not of such a nature that the youth could be given extensive educational advantages, and his school-days altogether numbered about one year. In 1834 he emigrated to Michigan, and located first in La Grange township, Cass Co., afterwards in Pokagon. During the first years of his residence in Michigan he boated on the river in the summer, and chopped wood, etc., in the winter. Oct. 15, 1840, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Sparks, whose parents were also from North Carolina. In 1842 he became possessed of the land settled upon, and cleared the farm upon which he now resides. The place has ever since been occupied by him, with the exception of four years and a half spent in Niles and one year in Buchanan. Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis are the parents of five children, of whom but one-Lucy Ann, married, and living in Buchanan-now survives; three sons and a daughter having died,-one in infancy, one seven, one twenty-four, and one twenty-eight years old. Until 1844, Mr. Jarvis was a Democrat. He voted for James G. Birney; supported the Republican party until 1872, when he cast his vote for Horace Greeley; and since 1876, when he voted for Peter Cooper, he has been a Greenbacker. His farm consists of three hundred and 270 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. twenty-eight acres, which is in a high state of cultivation and very productive. His improvements can be seen in a view of his premises, which is given upon another page. DANIEL FISHER. Mr. Fisher's parents, John Fisher and Elizabeth (Shupe) Fisher, were of German descent, although natives of Giles Co., Va. Their son Daniel was born in the same county, near Parisburg, March 6, 1801, and after becoming of sufficient age employed his time at farming and working at I CHAPTER XXXVII. NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP.* Location, Topography, and Original Land-Entries-Early Settlements-Real Estate in New Buffalo in 1836-Township Officers -Resident Tax-Payers-Sketches and Reminiscences-Harbor Improvements-Village of New Buffalo-Schools-Churches-Societies. LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY, AND ORIGINAL LAND-ENTRIES. This township contains fourteen full sections, eight fractional sections in the southern tier, on the Indiana line, and six fractional triangular sections along Lake Michigan on the west. It is the most westerly township of the lower peninsula of the State. It is bounded on the northwest by Lake Michigan, on the north by Chickaming, on the east by Three Oaks, and on the south by the Indiana line. The surface is for the most part level, interspersed with slightly rolling land, and was originally timbered along the lake-shore with oak and some pine, and in the easterly part with beech, maple, ash, basswood, and oak. Lying along the coast of the lake, its soil is sandy and better adapted to the cultivation of fruit than grain, and to the former pursuit the attention of the people is mainly directed. The water-courses are the Galien River and one or two small streams that empty into the lake in the southern part of the township. The Galien is, in this township, a sluggish stream, running through Pottawattamie Lake, which, in an early day, was a body of water two miles long, half a mile wide, and in places ninety feet deep, but in the main shallow. Its surface was covered with wild rice, and wild fowl in countless multitudes frequented it in early times. This river flows from the east through Weesaw and Three Oaks, and is augmented by a south branch that rises in Indiana, enters the township near the centre of the west line, and flows northwesterly, forming a junction on section 36. This stream has Squaw Creek and Bloody Run as its branches. Galien River empties into Lake Michigan at New Buffalo village. The list which follows is of persons who entered government lands within the territory of the township of New Buffalo, and the sections on which such entries were made: TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 20 WEST. Section 31.-Henry Little. TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 20 WEST. Section 6.-J. Little, W. Hammond, T. A. Clough, - Camp, R. S. Morrison. Section 7.-F. Bronson; H. H. Camp, R. S. Morrison, W. Whittaker, J. Haas. Section 18.-W. Whittaker, P. Hunt, Jr., Thomas Maudlin, P. Hunt, Jr., W. Whittaker. Section 19.-W. Goit, J. Haas, B. Maudlin, W. Whittaker. TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 21 WEST. Section 36.-E. P. Deacon, W. G. Driving, J. H. & R. I. Kinzie, B. B. Kercheval. Section 35.-W. Goit, J. Redding, E. Goit, - Pratt, E. P. Deacon. TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 21 WEST. Section 1.-B. B. Kercheval, N. Willard, I. P. Warner, B. Carver, T. Kenworthy, G. Taylor. Section 2.-B. B. Kercheval, Beeson & Winslow, D. Robb. Section 3.-Winslow & Britain, C. K. Green..* By Austin N. Hungerford. Photo. by Ives, Niles. DANIEL FISHER. the blacksmith's trade, which he had learned. In June, 1829, he was married to Miss Lucinda McCoy, and removed the next year to what is now Howard township, Cass Co., Mich,-driving a six-horse team from Virginia to that place; he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of government land and settled upon it; he furnished the lumber for the first frame building erected in Niles; worked two months and a half for the Indians at Carey Mission; and upon the organization of Howard township was elected supervisor and treasurer, serving two terms in that capacity. Mrs. Fisher became the mother of seven children,-Paris Decatur, John Harvey, George McCoy, Daniel Madison, Harriet Maria, William Henry, and Giles Montgomery, -and died Nov. 9, 1867. July 8, 1873, Mr. Fisher was married to Mrs. Fannie (Harvey) Rathbun; and in March, 1874, removed to the township of Niles, Berrien Co., and located three miles north of Niles City, having rented his former home. For twelve years he has been a member of the Advent Church. Politically, he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, of which latter he has since been a supporter. Mr. Fisher has retired from active business, and is enjoying the comforts of life in a quiet way at his pleasant home near Niles. TOWNSHIP OF NEW BUFFALO. 271 Section 8.-I. P. Warner. Section 9.-G. Taylor, C. K. Green, D. Robb, W. Whittaker. Section 10.-D. Robb, C. K. Green, W. Whittaker, J. H. & R. H. Kinzie. Section 11.-D. Robb, C. K. Green, B. Poole, R. Carver, T. Clough, W. Whittaker. Section 12.-F. Kenworthy, F. A. Holbrook, A. Averill, Julius Hackley, F. Bronson. Section 13.-J. R. Brown, M. Pierce, B. Butterworth, E. N. Sheldon. Section 14.-J. R. Brown, J. Beeson, R. Goodrich. Section 15.-W. Hammond, W. Whittaker, F. Clough, D. Robb. Section 16.-School land. Section 17.-B. Carver, Sheldon & Co., I. P. Warner, I. O. Adams, F. A. Holbrook, R. Goodrich. Section 18.-R. A. Lamb, H. Bishop, I. P. Warner. Section 19.-Warner, Sherwood & Co., I. O. Adams, J. Gerrish, Wm. H. Adams. Section 20.-I. O. Adams, C. Jackson, F. A. Holbrook, I. P. Warner, R. Goodrich. Section 21.-J. Haas, W. Whittaker, P. Carver, I. P. Warner. Section 22.-J. Haas, F. Bronson, D. Robb, I. P. Warner. Section 23.-E. N. Shelton, F. A. Clough, 1. Bishop, - Trask. Section 24.-S. & G. Belden, E. N. Shelton, R. A. Lamb. TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 22 WEST. Section 24.-J. Little, R. A. Lamb. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. The township of New Buffalo originally comprised Chickaming, Three Oaks, and the present township. The west line of its territory bordered on Lake Michigan. The shore-line was sandy and shifting, now forming into dunes, varying in height, often reaching 40 or 50 feet, and then again reduced to a level and moved to other parts. The soil in the western portion was sandy, and offered few inducements for agricultural purposes. The first to take note of its commercial advantages was Capt. Wessell Whittaker, a resident of Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y., and for many years a captain on the lakes. In the fall of 1834 he was in command of the schooner "Post-Boy" (partly owned by Barker & Willard, of Buffalo). During a heavy gale, when the vessel was liable to be driven ashore, they ran for the mouth of a stream now known as State Creek. They were beached, however. The weather was intensely cold, and the captain and crew left the vessel, and walked to Michigan City, where they procured a conveyance, proceeded to St. Joseph, and notified the underwriters of the loss of the vessel. While passing the mouth of Galien River, Capt. Whittaker, after studying the surroundings, was impressed with its advantages for a harbor. After transacting his business at St. Joseph he visited the land-office, and entered the land on which the village of New Buffalo now stands, and soon after proceeded to Buffalo, N. Y. He laid out the land into blocks and lots on paper, and called it New Buffalo. He then exhibited the plan to his friends, expatiated on its advantages, and persuaded Jacob Barker and Nelson Willard, who were partners in business, to engage with him in the new enterprise, and sold to them the undivided one-half interest in the property for $15,000, afterwards reducing it to $13,000. Capt. Whittaker, Truman A. Clough, Wm. Hammond, and Henry Bishop started from Buffalo and Hamburg on the eighteenth day of March, 1835, overland, and arrived at New Buffalo the first week in April, calling, on their way, at Bertrand, on Alonzo Bennett, a surveyor and old acquaintance, and employing him to go with them and survey the village. Henry Bishop, now of Kalamazoo, was a clerk in the employ of Barker & Willard, and was sent by them to manage their interests. A log cabin, 15 by 24 feet, was first built, at the corner of Whittaker Avenue and Merchant Street, north of Seaman's Square. Along one side of the cabin pine brush was laid for a bed, and a fireplace was built in one corner. A road was then cut through from the lake to Talbot's mill, a distance of about five miles, from whence lumber was procured. Some lime was burned from marl found a short distance from this mill. Whittaker & Co. erected a frame building for a store and warehouse on water lot No. 1, at the foot of Whittaker Avenue. In this building was placed a stock of goods. Another building was erected adjoining, with an alley between. In this latter building Mr. Whittaker put a tenant, Mr. Cummings and wife, who opened their house for entertaining travelers. A sign was painted on a rough board by Mark Beaubien, since of Chicago, representing a man holding a horse, and also a decanter and glasses. Soon after this, Russell Goodrich, Truman A. Clough, Dr. Reuben Pierce, Myel Pierce, Simeon Pierce, Moses G. Pratt, and Festus A. Holbrook came by vessel from Buffalo, and soon bought lots. Building commenced rapidly. Russell Goodrich bought block 12, and erected a hotel on lot 2. Whittaker built a house for his family on block 24, lots 7 and 8, near a spring of good water, by the west ravine, that runs through the town plat north and south. Moses G. Pratt built where Dr. Moses M. Clark now lives. Dr. Reuben Pierce built on the corner of Barker and Merchant Streets, on block 23 and lots 1 and 2, where John Helm lives; Simeon Pierce, on block 23, adjoining; Thatcher Abbott, a brotherin-law of Whittaker, adjoining, on the same block and on lot 5; F. A. Holbrook and Alonzo Bennett, both on block 13. About this time Mr. Whittaker laid out a block as a gift to captains of vessels, as an inducement to them to settle in the place. Deeds were made for these lots, and the names will be found in another page. These lots were not settled upon by the parties, but were sold by them. This block was known as the "Seaman's Square," block 21. The family of Mr. Whittaker, consisting of his wife and four children, under the care of William Ratcliff, came from Hamburg, by Lake Erie, to Detroit, where they procured a team, and proceeded thence overland, arriving at New Buffalo in June, 1835. Mr. Ratcliff carried the first mail to Michigan City, and Moses G. Pratt drove the first stage and mail-wagon through to that place. At this time there were a number of others gathered in the new settlement, some unmarried. Their occupations were as follows: A. Bennett, surveyor; Henry Bishop, clerk; T. A. Clough, speculator; R. Goodrich, hotel-keeper; Henderson, F. A. Holbrook, Mundle, Doty, Dunham, A. and E. McClure, Ezra Stoner, and Washburn were carpenters; Haight, plasterer; Maudlin, farmer; R. Pierce, physician; S. Pierce and J. Hixson, sailors; Pratt, teamster; Whittaker & Willard, proprietors; Ira P. Warner, agent. The lots were valued and sold at from $150 to $300 each, one-third down. In the summer and fall of 1835 important accessions were made to the settle 272 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ment in the persons of James Little and Jacob Gerrish, of Boscawen, N. H.; Richard L. Phillips, of Erie Co., N. Y., a native of England; and in the spring of 1836, of Francis and Joseph G. Ames and Alvin Emory, of Canterbury, N. H.; and Ezra Stoner, of Frederick Co., Md. A demand for the improvement of the harbor was soon started. Meetings were held and many speeches made, but the usual delay followed this action. During the year 1835, Whittaker, McGivens & Co. built a mill, on section 1, on the south branch of Galien River. At the time of their preparation for this mill, they were warned by Governor Mason to appear at Niles and assist in the retention of the ten-mile strip along the Ohio line. Mr. Whittaker informed the Governor that he should arm his men with handspikes on the day set, which he did. He was also interested in a mill at State Creek, owned by the State Creek Mill Company. In March, 1836, the township was organized, and the first election held at Goodrich's Hotel. A list of the voters will be found on another page. In this year, also, Isaac 0. Adams, a native of Newburyport, Mass., but last from White Pigeon, E. T. Clark, and Timothy Harris built a house on lot No. 105, which was known as Bachelors' Hall, and which afterwards became famous as a convivial headquarters. The building remained until it was removed to make way for the railroad. In the fall of 1837, the Virginia Land Company, composed mostly of natives of Virginia, but the majority of whom lived in Laporte, Ind., purchased 640 acres of land, and laid it out into lots, Joshua R. C. Brown coming there to reside as agent. The members of the company were David Robb, Dr. G. A. Rose, Courtlandt Strong, De Witt Strong, Maj. John Lemons, Joshua R. C. Brown, Daniel Brown, James Whittam, and Jacob Haas. The books of Mr. Whittaker for 1837, from which these facts are gleaned, give the prices at that time, which may be of interest: Potatoes, 75 cents; oats, $1; corn, $1.50; butter, 37 cents; bacon, 16J cents; board, $3.50 per week; salt, $7 per barrel; beef, 6 cents per pound, by the quarter; whisky, 41 cents per gallon, by the barrel, and 75 cents at retail; team-work, $4 per day; common labor, $1 per day. Between the dates May 22 and July 26, in 1837, 95 consecutive entries occur of stage-fare charged, varying from $4 to $12. This entry also occurs: " Schooner Oregon left New Buffalo with 2358 bushels of oats, 1246 bushels to be delivered at Milwaukee; 1112 bushels were lost in a storm in Milwaukee Bay; also delivered 23~ bushels of corn. Left New Buffalo in April, and delivered oats at Milwaukee from the 1st to the 10th of May, 1837." Hiram and Solomon Gould were charged for use of lighter and labor in June, 1837. They owned a mill at New Troy, rafted their lumber down the river, and shipped to Chicago from the former place. Not far from this time Lieut. T. B. W. Stockton, of the regular army, was sent by the War Department to examine as to the feasibility of constructing a harbor at New Buffalo, and the report of the Navy Department was received May 1, 1838. Lieut. Berrien and Lieut. Rose were sent soon after to make a survey, and reported favorably. A lighthouse was built in 1839. In June, 1837, Elder Hascall preached in the diningroom of Mr. Goodrich's hotel, and, as the bar-room was near, some of the party were often thirsty, and retired for a few moments. The panic of 1837 had a depressing effect upon New Buffalo, as well as upon the whole country, but the company struggled along, firm in the faith that the plan was essential to the well-being of the universe. Prices ruled high, no help came, and in the winter of 1841-42 but two families were residents of the place,-Jacob Gerrish and Russell Goodrich. But the spring found a respectable number in the village, and from 20 to 30 votes were cast at the election. About 1840 the effect of speculation ceased, and money became very scarce. About the only thing that brought money into the country was non-resident taxes. Inhabitants took contracts for building roads at their own prices. The business of the country was carried on by barter and credit. About 1844 the schooner "Saranac" was built by Joseph Oates and Austin; in 1845, the sloop "Buffalo," by Amos Johnson; and in 1855, the schooner "Ellen Pike," by Alonzo Bennett. Non-residents were still holding their lands for high prices, and but few sales were made until about 1850, when the tide of German emigration began to flow in, and between that time and 1854 the following Germans settled in the places mentioned: Philip Edinger, on section 1; John Bahl, on section 15; Louis Kruger, John Walter, Fritz Klauss, and C. Dohl, on sections 13 and 14; Christian Gulesdorf, on sections 15 and 22; Fritz, Louis, Adolph, and Rinehart Siegmond, brothers, on sections 13, 19, and 24. Gust. Horn, Christolph Kamm and his son, Fritz Louis, and Fritz Schroeder, Roemer, Henry Luhr, and Carl Stannwell settled in the village. Since that time large accessions have been made of thrifty Germans, and the township is largely populated by them. About 1844, George W. Allen, of Laporte, Ind., purchased the interest of Barker & Willard, and spent a large sum of money in improving a road from New Buffalo to Springville, Ind. They built a grain warehouse, 60 by 120 feet and four stories high, on the north fraction of section 9, near the foot of Willard Street, hoping to make this an important shipping-point for Indiana grain. During the same year Alonzo Bennett, Thomas Comins, and J. R. C. Brown bought several thousand cords of wood, at 621 cents per cord, which was lightered out and delivered to vessels for the Chicago market; but even at this low cost the business did not prove successful. REAL ESTATE IN NEW BUFFALO IN 1836. Upon the purchase of the land on which New Buffalo is situated by Capt. Wessel Whittaker, in 1834, he proceeded to plat it, and induced Jacob A. Barker and Nelson Willard, of Buffalo, N. Y., to invest with him as before mentioned. On May 31, 1836, a division and valuation of the lots was made. The 79 lots, located in different parts of the village, belonging to Mr. Willard were valued at $29,520. The prices of a few of the lots are given: Lot 2, in block 3, $500; lot 5, in block 13, $275; lot 12, in block 16, $500; lot 7, in block 22, $600; lot 2, in TOWNSHIP OF NEW BUFFALO. 273 block 28, $800; water-lot 33, $900; lot 8, in block B, $375; lot 7, in block C, $475; lot 7, in block K, $300. Water-lots Nos. 18, 22, 25, 26, 29, and 30, belonging to Mr. Barker, were valued at $1000 each. SEAMAN'S SQUARE. The recipients of the gift lots in block 21 (Seaman's Square) did not occupy these lots, though they afterwards sold them. The following are the names of the captains designated by Capt. Whittaker: Levi Allen, Robert Wagstaff, Lester Colton, Samuel Chase, Charles Ludlow, James L. Baxter, Stephen R. Walker, John P. Ludlow, George Miles, Abi Allen, Ira Perkins, and H. F. Day. The lands purchased by the Virginia Land Company (names given elsewhere) in 1837 were as follows: the west half of northwest quarter of section 11, northeast quarter of section 10, east half of southeast quarter of section 10, southwest quarter of section 10, and southeast quarter of section 9. These lands were platted and divided into blocks and lots, and were held for many years. When Mr. Barker sold out, in 1844, the lands of the Virginia Company were mostly in the hands of the original proprietors; the only lands in the village that were sold in the early day by Mr. Willard, with a few exceptions, were the lands that were allotted in the division of 1836 to Mr. Whittaker. Of the 800 acres originally laid out and platted, seven-eighths in 1844 were in the hands of the original proprietors. About 1842-43 the prices were from $5 to $25 a lot, and upon the location of the railroad they advanced to from $100 to $500; but upon the extension of the railroad to Chicago a depreciation followed. Upon the incoming of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, prices again advanced. Farming-lands in New Buffalo township sold at from $2.50 to $5 per acre. From 1840-46 prices were from 75 cents to $3.50 per acre; in 1850, about $5 per acre; in 1856, about $15; from 1863-70, from $10 to $40. ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIP. The township of New Buffalo was erected by act of the Legislature, March 23, 1836. The text is as follows: "All that portion of the county of Berrien described by the United States survey as townships 7 and 8 south, of range 20 and 21 west, be and the same is hereby set off and organized into a separate township, by the name of New Buffalo, and the first township-meeting shall be held at the Goodrich tavern, in the village of New Buffalo, in said township." In accordance with this act, an election was held in the spring of 1836 at the tavern of Russell Goodrich. Thirtysix votes were cast, with the following result: Alonzo Bennett, Supervisor; Henry Bishop, Clerk; Daniel Washburn, Festus A. Holbrook, Thomas Maudlin, and Alonzo Bennett, Justices. Robert Crary and James Little were elected Commissioners of Schools; Reuben Pierce, Festus A. Holbrook, Alonzo Bennett, Ezra Stoner, and James Littre were elected Inspectors of Schools. One hundred and fifty dollars was voted for the support of schools. The names of the 36 voters at the first election are given, as a matter of interest: Alonzo Bennett, Henry Bishop, 35 T. A. Clough, Richard Comstock, W. E. Davis, George Dunham, Joseph Doty, R. Goodrich, F. A. Gilbert, Henry B. Hull, Joseph Henderson, F. A. Holbrook, Daniel Haight, James Little, Stephen Mix, Henry Mundle, Thomas Maudlin, A. McClure, E. McClure, Dr. R. Pierce, M. Pierce, R. L. Phillips, H. Pierce, Simeon Pierce, Moses G. Pratt, William Ratcliff, Ezra Stoner, Wessel Whittaker, Nelson Willard, John Wilson, Daniel Washburn, John Walker, and Ira P. Warner. But few of these voters are living in the township at the present time. The population of the township in 1840 was 123; 1845, 416; 1854, 873; 1860, 834; 1870, 1389. The township originally embraced the territory now known as Three Oaks and Chickaming, which townships were set off in 1856. At the organization of the township of New Buffalo, by some oversight, fractional township 8 south, range 22 west, was omitted from the organizing act, and remained attached to the township of Niles for some years. It was annexed to New Buffalo in 1843. TOWNSHIP OFFICERS. Following is a list of township officers of New Buffalo from its organization to the present time: SUPERVISORS. 1837-38, Alonzo Bennett; 1839, Reuben Pierce; 1840, Thomas Comins; 1841-42, Elkanah Ryther; 1843, Isaac 0. Adams; 1844, Levi Paddock; 1845, Henry Chamberlain; 1846, Valentine Bennett; 1847, Henry Chamberlain; 1848, no record; 1849, Richard L. Phillips; 1850, Isaac 0. Adams; 1851, Henry Chamberlain; 1852, Alonzo Bennett; 1853-57, Hale E. Crosby; 1858, James M. Patten; 1859, Alonzo Bennett; 1860, Joseph M. Goodrich; 1861, Philip Edinger; 1862, Abram I. Phillips; 1863, Richard S. Phillips; 1864, Abram I. Phillips; 1867-72, no record; 1873-75, George Werner; 1876, Alonzo Bennett; 1877, George Werner; 1878-79, F. Gerdes. TOWN CLERKS. 1837, Henry Bishop; 1838, A. Bixby; 1839-40, James Blain; 1841-44, William Ratcliff; 1845, Hale E. Crosby; 1846, Samuel Patrick; 1847, Dwight Plympton; 1848, no record; 1849, Samuel S. Clark; 1850-51, Joseph M. Goodrich; 1852-53, John G. Mason; 1854, Thornton Ewan; 1855, Thomas S. Ballard; 1856, Samuel Stratton; 1857-58, John D. Phillips; 1859, Samuel Stratton; 1860, Henderson Ballengee; 1861, Jacob Oppenheim; 1862, R. L. Phillips; 1863-64, John V. Phillips; 1865-66, no record; 1867, Seth Sheldon; 1868, George F. Collitt; 1869, no record; 1870-71, John C. Dick; 1872-78, Charles Deuell; 1879, Moses N. Clark. TREASURERS. Prior to 1839 the supervisor acted as treasurer, and the first election to that office was at the annual town-meeting of that year. The first to fill the office was Jacob Gerrish, 1840; Thomas Comens, 1841-44; 1845, Thomas Maudlin; 1846, Simeon Pierce; 1847-48, no record; 1849-51, Thornton Ewan; 1852, Truman A. Clough; 1853-54, Joseph G. Ames; 1854-58, Thornton Ewan; 1859, Joseph M. Goodrich; 1860, Isaac W. Martin; 1861, Louis Kruger; 1862-63, George Horn; 1864, Cornelius I. Bierstadt; 1865 -66, no record; 1867-70, Sadler Batter; 1871-73, Henry P. Nourse; 1874-77, Albert Kellogg; 1878-79, George Horn. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1837, Alonzo Bennett, Francis W. Ames; 1838, A. Bixby, Jacob Gerrish, and Sylvester Shead; 1839, Joshua R. C. Brown, Samuel Bennett, Jr.; 1840, Reuben Pierce, Levi Paddock; 1841, Thomas Comins, William Hammond, Richard Love, Levi Paddock; 1842, Richard Peckham; 1843, Richard Love; 1844, Festus A. Holbrook; 1845, Alonzo Bennett; 1846, Dwight Plympton; 1847, none elected; 1848, no record; 1849, Abel M. Brownlee; 1850, 274 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Henry Chamberlain: 1851, R. W. Smith; 1852, Joseph G. Ames, Benoni Newell; 1853, Erasmus N. Shead, Dwight Plympton; 1854, Nathan Maudlin; 1855, Samuel Stratton, Maben J. Marshall; 1856, Hale E. Crosby, Festus A. Holbrook, Alonzo Bennett; 1857, Wm. Aldrich, Hale E. Crosby;-1858, Thomas Maudlin; 1859, Samuel Stratton, Isaac W. Martin; 1860, Festus A. Holbrook, Thomas S. Webster; 1861, George Horn; 1862, J. V. Phillips, Thomas Maudlin; 1863, Henderson Ballengee, Henry Leland; 1864, Thomas S. Webster, John Murray, Ludwig Lubke; 1865-66, no record; 1867, John R. Hill; 1868, George Werner; 1869, no record; 1870, John C. Dick; 1871, Alonzo Bennett; 1872, George Werner; 1873, Charles Deuell, Moses M. Clark; 1874, Henry Leifken; 1875, George P. Nourse; 1876, George Werner; 1877, Charles Deuell; 1878^ Charles H. Schultz; 1879, Henry P. Nourse. INSPECTORS OF SCHOOLS. 1837, Samuel Bennett, Festus A. Holbroek, Reuben Pierce, Jonathan Hascall, Francis W. Ames; 1838, Alonzo Bennett, Samuel Bennett, Jr., Dr. Reuben Pierce; 1839, Reuben Pierce, Elkanah Ryther, Jacob Gerrish; 1840, James Blain, Reuben Pierce, Elkanah Ryther; 1841, Wm. Hammond, Elkanah Ryther, Jacob Love; 1842, Thos. M. Bennett, Richard Peckham; 1843, Joseph M. Goodrich, Richard Peckham; 1844, Samuel Patrick, Richard Peckham; 1845, Alonzo Bennett, Henry Chamberlain; 1846, Valentine Bennett, D. Gilman Wood; 1847, Richard Peckham, Hale E. Crosby; 1848, no record; 1849, Hale E. Crosby; 1850, Jesse Wasson; 1851, Hale E. Crosby; 1852, H. E. Crosby, Jos. M. Goodrich; 1853, James M. Patten; 1854, Joseph M. Goodrich; 1855, Hale E. Crosby, Wm. Chamberlain; 1856, Hale E. Crosby, Joseph M. Goodrich; 1857, Alonzo Bennett; 1858, John W. Carter; 1859, Nathaniel B. Pitt; 1860, Hale E. Crosby, John V. Phillips; 1861, Charles Hanville; 1862, John W. Carter; 1863, Charles L. Deuell; 1864, Joseph M. Goodrich; 1865-66, no record; 1867, J. B. Crosby; 1868-69, no record; 1870, Henry P. Nourse; 1871, Frederick Gerdes; 1872, Charles Eberling; 1873, George Werner; 1874, Charles Eberling; 1875-76, Alonzo Bennett; 1877, F. Gerdes; 1878, Charles Eberling; 1879, Henry E. Crosby. The tax-list for 1836, as taken by Jacob Gerrish, Ira P. Warner, and J. S. Doty, is as follows: RESIDENT TAX-PAYERS. Abraham Willard, Henry Bishop, Alonzo Bennett, Truman A. Clough, James A. Corse, Robert Craig, Joseph S. Doty, John Foote, Russell Goodrich, William Hammond, Festus A. Holbrook, Jacob Gerrish, James Little, Henry McCourt, Stephen Mix, J. Love, Richard Love, H. Little, Henry Mundie, Hugh McGiven, Thos. Maudlin, B. Maudlin, Moses G. Pratt, Myel Pierce, Reuben Pierce, Simeon Pierce, Ezra Stoner, Thomas Thorp, Wessel Whittaker, Nelson Willard, Ira P. Warner, Willard, Whittaker, Barker & Co. The assessed valuation of resident tax-payers was $41,786. Wessel Whittaker was the largest individual tax-payer, his tax being $30.00. Amount of resident valuation, $41,786; amount of non-resident valuation, $106;684; total, $148,470. SKETCHES AND REMINISCENCES. Capt. Wessel Whittaker was a man of a noble, generous nature, and his house furnished a home for all it could hold. He was of untiring energy and great perseverance. His early life had been passed on the lakes, and he had acquired habits which in those days were common, and which were greatly to his disadvantage. He died in 1841, at New Buffalo, leaving a wife and four children. The family removed to Terre Coup6e Prairie, Ind., where the youngest son, Alanson, still resides. Alonzo Bennett is a native of Brookfield, Orange Co., Vt. He came to Niles, Berrien Co., in September, 1833, and shortly after removed to Bertrand. He was educated as a surveyor in Erie Co., N. Y., and was employed to survey the village of Bertrand by the Bertrand Association. The proprietors of the New Buffalo tract passed through Bertrand, on their way to New Buffalo, in the spring of 1835, and employed him to go with them and survey the village, which work he completed in March or April of that year. In January following he married, in Erie Co.. N. Y., and moved to New Buffalo. Hie was elected the first supervisor of the township, in 1836. He followed his occupation of surveyor, was elected to several positions of trust in the township, and in 1838 was elected county clerk, re-elected in 1840 and 1842, and elected to the Legislature in 1842. He returned to New Buffalo in 1845. He was in the employ of the Central Railroad for two years, and served the company as surveyor and paymaster. At the expiration of his term he engaged in the mercantile business until 1856, and for a short time was editor and publisher of the Vindicator. He removed to Buchanan and to Southern Illinois, and moved to Chicago, where he resided five years, when he returned to New Buffalo, and is now in the express and drug business. His son, A. M. Bennett, is in Chicago; Wm. Bennett, in Kansas; and two daughters, living in Niles, Mrs. C. Jackson and Mrs P. A. Ballard. Richard L. Phillips was a native of Oxfordshire, England, and came to this country in 1832, and to New Buffalo, from Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y., in the spring of 1835. Nov. 11, 1839, he married Mary C., the daughter of Joshua R. C. Brown. He lived in the place most of the time until his death, in 1868. He was a man of great energy, but was seriously afflicted with rheumatism in his later days, which confined him to the house nearly half the time; he yet succeeded in maintaining his family and accumulated a competence. Joshua R. C. Brown, one of the Virginia Land Company, was a native of Virginia, and came to Laporte, Ind., and thence to this place in 1837. He lived on Barker Street. His death took place in 1862. His daughters, Mrs. R. L. Phillips and Mrs. J. T. Hopkins, live in New Buffalo; a son lives at Niles, two daughters in Virginia, one in Indiana, and one in California. He returned to Laporte, Ind., about 1838, and to this place in 1846, where he bought the Goodrich property and continued the hotel business until his death. He was a hospitable landlord and a gentleman of the Virginia school, with some peculiarities. An anecdote is related of him as follows: A traveler was stopping with him, and upon being asked if he would have some bacon and greens, which was a favorite dish of Mr. Brown's, asked if that was the only meat he had, and upon being answered in the affirmative, replied, sneeringly, that he did not eat bacon and greens; upon which Mr. Brown emphatically said, " Get out of my house, sir! A man that don't eat bacon and greens is not a gentleman." Henry Bishop came with Whittaker, and clerked for Whittaker & Co., but in 1838-39 left, on account of his health, and went to Kalamazoo County, and is now a pros perous business man in the village of Kalamazoo. Truman A. Clough came to New Buffalo with the first settlers, but returned to Hamburg, N. Y., about 1840, and came back, TOWNSHIP OF NEW BUFFALO. 275 in 1850, to Chickaming, and in 1854 again went back to New York. Russell Goodrich was a long time, prior to his coming West, proprietor of a noted hotel at Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y. He died at New Buffalo about 1850. His son Jasper was a prosperous man in Chickaming, and died a few years ago. His son Joseph M. was for a time a farmer in the township, then a merchant in the village. He removed to Chicago in 1869, where he was in the commission business, and died about 1875. Albert E., after being a steamboat clerk for some years, became a steamboat owner, and for the last twenty years has owned several very important lines on Lake Michigan. A man of ability and great energy, he has amassed a handsome fortune. Festus A. Holbrook became a farmer in New Buffalo township, and at the present time is living with a grandchild in Three Oaks township, in his eighty-ninth year. James Little and Francis W. Ames died in the sickly season of 1838. Thomas Maudlin, a venerable man, lives on the farm which he settled, in the eastern part of the township. Dr. R. Pierce moved, about 1840, to Terre Coupee Prairie, Ind. He was distinguished for many years as a physician, and died about 1858. His son, R. W. Pierce, is now a leading physician of Buchanan. Simeon Pierce went to Lake Station, Ind., and is now a retired merchant of Valparaiso, Ind. Nelson Willard had large interests in New York, and did not remain here long. Isaac O. Adams, who perhaps did more to improve New Buffalo than any other person, was a kind-hearted, genial man. He went to Chicago about 1853, where he still resides. He was a man of culture and fond of story-telling. The following is told of him: " The peninsula known as north fraction of section 3 was speculation property, and was sold in undivided interests. At a time when property was at its lowest value a man came to the place from Connecticut who owned one undivided nineteen-hundred and twentieth interest. Finding no purchaser, he inquired of Mr. Adams how he could best secure a division. Adams replied he might get a division in chancery, but it would be expensive. The man anxiously pressed Mr. Adams to know what he had best do, that he might know how and where his property was. Adams answered by saying,' You better go up to Uncle Jacob's (Mr. Gerrish) and borrow a two-bushel bag; go over there, fill it with sand, take it home with you, and you will have about your share."' It is not known whether the advice was accepted. Jacob Gerrish, coming in 1835, kept a record of events from that time to his death, in 1858, from which many facts in this history have been gleaned. His desire to see New Buffalo prosper led him to advance money to every undertaking that he supposed would advance the interest of the place. His house was open to all who came. The poor and suffering had only to ask to receive. HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS. The cause that led to the settlement of New Buffalo was the apparent availability of the Galien River and Potta wattamie Lake for a harbor. The advantages were seen at a glance by Capt. Wessel Whittaker in 1834, and 100 acres of land were secured by him very soon after the settlement was fairly inaugurated. Meetings were held, speeches made, and the usual enthusiasm incident to such enterprises kept the minds of the settlers in a high state of excitement. Petitions were sent to Congress, which, after the usual delay, received some attention, and an appropriation was made for a lighthouse. The site was selected and stakes were set Sept. 6, 1838. Plans and specifications were made, and contracts were advertised. The journal of Jacob Gerrish of July 10, 1839, contains the following: " Lots of people in to the lighthouse letting; Hixon builds the house." The location was on a point of land in the north fraction of section 9, about a quarter of a mile from the mouth of the river. Sand dunes of from 30 to 60 feet in height were between it and the mouth, on which were growing trees from 18 to 20 inches in diameter. In the course of time the river and the lake washed away these shifting sands, and about 1857 the house was undermined and fell, for it was founded upon the sand. The lighthouse and keeper's house were built of brick and whitewashed, a large bowlder of limestone found near by furnishing the lime. Isaac 0. Adams burnt the brick. The buildings were finished in March, 1840. Timothy S. Smith was appointed the first keeper, under Van Buren. Wm. Ratcliffand his wife moved into the keeper's house June 1, 1840, Mr. Smith living with them. The keepers who succeeded him were Elijah Pressey, under Harrison; Reuben Smith, under Polk; and Joseph Miller, under Taylor. It was demolished about 1857, and has not been rebuilt. Soon after the incorporation of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, they determined to make New Buffalo their western terminus, and work was commenced in the fall of 1817. The company built a bridge across the Galien River and two long piers into the lake, to make the point accessible for steamboats. This work furnished employment to a large number of men and caused a general revival of business. Capt. Eber B. Ward put on the lake a line of steamers connecting with the morning and evening trains for Chicago. At the time of building the piers it was believed that New Buffalo would be the western terminus of the road, and the village received an impetus by the erection of a large hotel and other buildings to accommodate the travel and traffic. Steamers ran in connection with the road till its completion to Chicago about 1852, when they were withdrawn. The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, now the Chicago and West Michigan, was completed, Sept 7, 1870, from Pentwater, Oceana Co., Mich., to New Buffalo, where it connects with the Michigan Central Railroad. VILLAGE OF NEW BUFFALO. The plat of the village was laid out in 1835, by Nelson Willard, Jacob A. Barker, Wessel Whittaker, and Russell Goodrich. It was incorporated as the village of New Buffalo, March 28, 1836. Its officers were a president, recorder, and six trustees, to bear the title of president and trustees of the village of New Buffalo. It embraced the whole of section 10 and the east half of section 9, being situated about midway on the lake line of the township, and fronting Pottawattamie Lake on the north. 276 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. i: - -- - -—; — -I Alonzo Bennett was the first president of the village. Jacob Gerrish was president in 1838 and treasurer in 1839. The corporation lapsed about 1840. The village was again incorporated in 1869, as noticed farther on. As near as can be ascertained the postmasters have been as follows: Dr. Reuben Pierce, Jacob Gerrish, Thomas Comins, Alonzo Bennett, Dwight Plympton, Alonzo Bennett, Joseph M. Goodrich, and George R. Weed, who is the present incumbent. The second act of incorporation was approved April 3, 1869, and the election for officers was held April 5th of the same year at the school-house in the village. The result was as follows: Sadler Butler, President; George F. Collett, Recorder; James McCarter, Frederick Gerdes, David Terwilliger, Harry H. Gilbert, Ludwig Lubke, and Dwight Plympton, Trustees; John McGlavin, Treasurer. LIST OF OFFICERS. Presidents.-1870, Sadler Butler; 1871-72, Ransom S. Hastings; 1873, Henry P. Nourse; 1874, Alonzo Bennett; 1875, Henry Liefkien; 1876-77, George Weimer; 1878, Alonzo Bennett; 1879, John V. Phillips. Recorders.-1870, J. C. Dick; 1871, George D. Butler; 1872, John C. Dick; 1873-78, John V. Philips; 1879, Claus H. Scholtz. Treasurers.-1870, William H. Weed; 1871-72, George Weimer; 1873-75, Frederick Gerdes; 1876, Christian Guhlstorf; 1877, Charles Kruger; 1878-79, Christian Goldstorf. Trustees.-1870, L. M. Woodmansee, Albert Kelling; 1871, Alonzo Bennett, William Armstrong, Sadler Butler; 1872, Charles Kruger, Moses M. Clark, William Mittelman; 1873, Louis Eggert, Henry Weigel, Fritz Kamm; 1874, Charles Kruger, Herman Beutlen, Henry Liefkien; 1875, Henry Wiegel, Louis Eggert, Albert Kelling; 1876, Charles Kruger,Henry C. Wiegel, David Terwilliger; 1877, Henry Wiegel, Christian Doll, Jacob Hiler; 1878, Charles Deuell, Fritz Kamm, Charles Kruger; 1879, HIenry P. Nourse, John Peo, Alonzo Bennett. Tie charter was repealed May 28, 1879, to take effect Aug. 28, 1879. SCHOOLS. The first school-house was built of boards, in 1836, and is still standing, owned and occupied by C. H. Schultz. The lot is now owned by Mrs. R. L. Phillips. A new school-house was built on a lot adjoining, which was removed and replaced with a larger, two-story one. The first school district was recorded March 15, 1837, known as District No. 1. Francis M. Ames and Irwin McClure, commissioners of schools. At a town-meeting April 19, 1838, it was voted to raise $400 for the payment of teachers' wages for that school year. The inspectors of schools formed Districts Nos. 2, 3, and 4, described as follows: District No. 1, consisting of sections 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24, in township 8 south, range 21 west. District No. 2, consisting of sections 4, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, township 8 south, range 20 west. District No. 3, consisting of sections 2, 3, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, and 24, township 8 south, range 20 west. District No. 4, consisting of sections 29, 30, 31, 32, in township 7 south, range 20 west; sections 5 and 6, town ship 8 south, range 20 west; sections 25 and 26, township 7 south, range 21 west; and sections 1 and 12, township 8 south, range 21 west. Feb. 16, 1839, a certificate of qualification as teacher was granted to O. H. Phillips. Miss Mallory commenced teaching school April 17, 1838. She was examined April 18, 1838, and received a certificate. Oct. 19, 1844, a certificate was granted as teacher to Miss Craney; and November 2d, of the same year, to Miss Elizabeth Chamberlain. On the 20th of March, 1845, there was received from the town treasurer $32.25 for library purposes, and May 3d, Hale E. Crosby was appointed librarian. Forty-six volumes were purchased. August 1st, of the same year, 60 volumes were added, and 21 volumes in 1847, 93 volumes in 1850, and 41 in 1851. In 1847 the districts reported as follows: District No. 1, number of children of school age, 109; No. 2, 27; No. 3, 32. The record of apportionments of moneys and books in 1848 was, District No. 1, 109 scholars, $32.70, 109 volumes; No. 2, 27 scholars, $8.10, 29 volumes; No. 3, 32 scholars, $9.60, 35 volumes; No. 4, 12 volumes. Upon the organization of Chickaming and Three Oaks, in 1856, a change was made in districts, and a division of the property was also made, and the several amounts were turned over to the new districts. In 1865 a report was made as follows: District No. 1, number of scholars, 157; received from dog-tax, $54.19. No. 2, number of scholars, 42; received from dog-tax, $14.17. No. 3, number of scholars, 80; received from dog-tax, $27.61. No. 5, number of scholars, 31; received from dog-tax, $11.03. The report of schools for 1879 showed: District No. 1, scholars, 230; apportionment money, $111.15; library money, $1. No. 2, scholars, 68; apportionment money, $32.85; library money, 29 cents. No. 3, scholars, 77; apportionment money, $37.20; library money, 33 cents. No. 4, scholars, 45; apportionment money, $21.73; library money, 19 cents. CHURCHES. Methodist Episcopal Church.-The first class was organized at New Buffalo, in 1847, at the school-house. The following notice is in the journal of Jacob Gerrish: "Sunday, June 24, 1838, Meeks preached in the forenoon;" July 8, 1838, "had a sermon from Mr. Meeks," undoubtedly the Rev. Richard Meek, of Niles; Aug. 4, 1838. "Meek preached in the morning." Afterwards the Rev. Daniel Smith, of Galena, Floyd Co., Ind., preached there. About 1844, the Rev. Mr. Kellogg. In 1847-48, Thomas McCool. Alanson C. Stuart was a contractor and also a local preacher. Among the members of the first class were Mrs. J. R. C. Brown and J. W. Wilkinson, who was first leader, Geo. Barnes and wife, and Dwight Plympton. Regular preaching was not supported until 1852, when the Rev. J. W. Robinson was stationed there. He was succeeded by the Revs. A. C. Beach, T. Hendrickson, Milo Covey, G. W. Chapin, G. A. Van Horn, E. Beard, E. L. Kellogg, J. Hoyt, D. C. Woodward, A. J. Van Wyck, J. S. Hicks, J. S. Valentine, A. T. Gray, W. Matthias, E. A. Tanner, G. W. Goslin, and Isaiah Wilson, who is the present pastor. Meetings were held in the school-house and at various places. In 1861 and 1862 the present church was built. The society numbers about 40 members. ~1::i::'.~.:: r ~.~ ~~;::~ ~:~ ~ I ~~ ~~~~~~;:-::: ~;~: i ~~-.~ (~;: ;s ~~ ~~ ~~.: ~~ ~ ~:;~. ~: - ~: \:;:: ~~; ~~ ~~.;::~ ~;;..i-~ ~;. 1~~ ~~~ ~..-~; ~ V'. -:.'. i..,$,i I I RES. or JOHN MURRAY, VNEwBUFFALO,BERRIEN Co.,MicH.,1879 I ~ ~I ~ I:i I~ i0 rI.1r TOWNSHIP OF NEW BUFFALO. 277 German Evangelical Church.-This church was organized Nov. 13, 1858, by the Rev. Charles Haas, of Michigan City. The first pastor was the Rev. Charles Buffinger, succeeded by Loffler, Emil Werer, Geo. Weiser, Diedrich Behrens, Dahlmann, - Hoch, Christian Reiser, and John Stanger, who is the present pastor. The society numbers at present 64 members. The church was built in 1862, and finished in 1863. Services were held for some time in the building formerly used by the Congregational society, on block 23. Baptist Church.-The society was organized June 3, 1876, as a branch society of Union Pier Church, and organized as a separate society April 9, 1879. The first meeting was held at the house of the Rev. R. H. Spafford. The society at first consisted of 19 members, and now numbers 76. Mr. Spafford is still the pastor. The society purchased a dancing-hall, and converted it into a church. The Sunday-school has 133 pupils,-E. D. Rundell, Superintendent. Two branch Sunday-schools are also connected with it. Bethel Mission, in Laporte Co., Ind., has 66 pupils,-J. T. Fields, Superintendent. West Road Mission is also in Laporte Co., Ind., and has 78 pupils,-E. D. Rundell is Superintendent. St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception.The Catholic church at New Buffalo was built in 1858 by Father De Neve, and completed in 1860. It was blessed by Father Cappon, assisted by Father Steiner. It stands on the northwest corner of Buffalo and Whittaker Streets. Its communicants include about 35 families. SOCIETIES. Harmonia Lodge, No. 144, I 0. O.. F.-This society was organized Aug. 11, 1871, and contains at present 27 members. It is composed entirely of Germans,-Albert Kelling is the Noble Grand. New Buffalo Lodge, No. 84, 0. O. F..-This lodge was organized July 18, 1861, and has at present 30 members,-David Tenvilleyn, Noble Grand. New Buffalo Encampment, No. 79, 1. 0. O. F., organized in 1877. Has at present 22 members,-Claus H. Schotz, Chief Patriarch. Working Men's Association of New Buffalo.-This society was organized in October, 1877, and is composed entirely of Germans. It numbers 43 members,-Fritz Kamm, President. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN MURRAY. James Murray, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Ireland, on the 31st day of March, 1800, and emigrated to the State of New York when eighteen years old. His wife, whose maiden name was Slater, was born in Rhode Island, on the 3d day of December, 1806. Mr. and Mrs. Murray were married on the 19th day of March, 1824, and the former departed this life on the 15th day of September, 1840. John Murray was the oldest of his father's family. He was born in Owasco, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and moved to Huron Co., Ohio, when about seven years of age. After his father's death he remained with his mother, taking charge of the property and keeping the family together. Feb. 1, 1849, at the age of twenty-four, he married Amanda M., daughter of Richard and Abigail Allison. She was a native of Warwick, Orange Co., N. Y., born March 31, 1831, and, with her parents, went to Peru, Huron Jo., Ohio, when she was about two years old. Mr. Murray farmed in Ohio for five years, when he moved to Michigan, and bought the farm where he now resides. His first purchase consisted of ninety-two and a half acres, to which he afterwards added forty-eight acres. He also owns a farm in the State of Indiana. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Murray, viz.: Cecelia, born in Ohio, Jan. 15, 1850; Cordelius, born in Ohio, Jan. 16, 1853 (died Oct. 20, 1854); Viola M., born in Michigan, May 22, 1860; Ginevra A., born in Michigan, Dec. 15, 1863 (died May 22, 1865). The two surviving children are both married and settled near the old homestead. Mr. Murray's advantages for an early education were limited. Schools at that time were poorly taught, and he was enabled to attend only a short time during the winter terms. In November, 1864, Mr. Murray enlisted in the United States service, and was enrolled in Company H, 9th Michigan Infantry, remaining with the army until the close of the war. He never wished to be elected to any public office, and consequently never held any. In politics he is a Republican; in religion, a liberal. Mrs. Murray was at one time connected with the Christian Church. Mr. Murray learned early in life that the road to success is one open only to strong hands and willing hearts. He early established methodical business habits, and his energy and perseverance have rendered his life a success. Richard Allison, father of Mrs. Amanda M. Murray, was born at Warwick, Orange Co., N. Y., Jan. 29, 1799. His wife, Abigail Brooks, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., Nov. 6, 1801. In her youth she was considered one of the best singers in Brooklyn, and for a number of years was leader of the choir in one of the churches in that city. Her marriage to Richard Allison took place July 19, 1828. The children of this marriage were eight in number, but of them only two are now living, namely, Mrs. Amanda M. Murray and Mrs. Phoebe J. Camp, of Wakeshma, Kalamazoo Co., Mich. Mrs. Allison died in Peru, Huron Co., Ohio, May 24, 1842. In 1865, Mr. Allison moved from Ohio to Michigan, and died there Jan. 18, 1867. RICHARD PHILLIPS was born on the 26th day of October, 1810, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. At the age of twenty-two he emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, but only remained there during one winter. He then proceeded to Canada, where he stayed about two years, going from there to Buffalo, N. Y., in 1834. He came to New Buffalo in 1835, in the employ of Mr. Nelson Willard, who brought the first load of dry goods ever landed at the place. On the 11th day of November, 1839, Mr. Phillips was married to Mary C., daughter of J. R. C. and Jane Brown, of Virginia. Of 278 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. this union have been born six children, viz.: Charles L., born Aug. 22, 1840; Mary J., born Feb. 26, 1842, died May 21, 1858; Elizabeth, born October 31st, died same day; Sarah A., born Dec. 8, 1844; Catherine E., born Dec. 17, 1846; and Emnma A., born April 19, 1849. Mr. Phillips settled at Michigan City, Ind., soon after his marriage, where he remained six months. He then moved his family to Hudson, Ind., and at the end of another six months, to Laporte, in the same State. He remained Green Bay, in 1848. He remained at this employment for two years, but his health growing worse instead of better, he was obliged to abandon his life on the lake. Mr. Phillips was originally a Whig in politics, but subsequently joined the Republican party, whose principles he ever supported with all the firmness of character and tenacity of purpose for which he was distinguished. He represented his township as clerk and supervisor, attending to the duties of the latter position when unable to walk, being RICHARD PHILLIPS. MRS. RICHARD PHILLIPS. there until 1842, when he returned to New Buffalo. After staying there until 1845, he returned to Michigan City, but in 1847 he made his last move back, and located himself permanently at New Buffalo. Until this time he had been engaged in the mercantile business, but in 1847 he engaged as clerk on a steamboat, thinking the change would be beneficial to his health, as he was a great sufferer from disease. He served as clerk of the steamboats " Detroit" and "Sam Ward," running on the latter from Chicago to St. Joseph, in 1847, and on the former from Chicago to CHAPTER XXXVIII. ORONOKO TOWNSHIP.* Location and Natural Features-Berrien Springs Village and Early Settlers-Early Village Proprietors-Pioneer Merchants-Pioneer Manufacturers-Early Public-Houses-Steamboats on the St. Joseph-Physicians-" Berrien Grays"-Post-Offices and Postmasters -Village Organization-Interior Pioneers-Township Organization and Township Officers-Churches-Cemeteries-Schools-Manufacturing Industries-Orders and Societies. LOCATION AND NATURAL FEATURES. THIS township, designated as town 6 south, range 18 west, is located in the midst of the' fertile region which borders the St. Joseph River, and which is widely noted as a great fruit-producing territory. Oronoko is bounded on the north by Royalton, on the south by Buchanan, on the * By David Schwartz. accompanied by his faithful wife as he rode to and fro in his buggy. Mr. Phillips, after many years of intense suffering from rheumatic gout, died on the 15th day of December, 1868. Both he and Mrs. Phillips were devoted members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. After her husband's death, Mrs. Phillips successfully managed her affairs, keeping the family together until one after another of her children were settled in married life. She has lived to see them all well established in the world, and now resides on the lot adjoining the old homestead. east by Berrien, from which it is separated by the St. Joseph River, and on the west by Lake. The river-bottoms, once held in high esteem by the early settlers in Oronoko, and found very productive, were liable to frequent overflow, and, although fertile, were ultimately abandoned by the husbandman. The surface of the township is undulating, and the soil being generally susceptible of high cultivation, the farming population is, as a class, a prosperous community. Small fiuits are grown in abundance, and in the cultivation especially of grapes the farmers find a thriving and profitable industry. Wolf's Prairie, a tract of about 1000 acres, occupied in part by the village of Berrien Springs, is a fruitful plain, and is the only prairie in the county save that of Bertrand. There are yet no railway lines entering the township, but railway projects looking to that end have been urged, and indeed in some cases have made some progress, although TOWNSHIP OF ORONOKO. 279 I failure has thus far attended all efforts in that direction. Stage communication with Niles and St. Joseph is a daily convenience, while a steamboat packet makes daily trips up the river from St. Joseph. BERRIEN SPRINGS VILLAGE AND EARLY SETTLERS. The spot now occupied by Berrien Springs was originally known as Wolf's Prairie, and hither came John Pike, with a large family (his wife and eight children), in the summer of 1829. Pike was originally from North Carolina, and later from Ohio and Indiana, whence he came to Michigan. Stopping at Carey Mission a few weeks, he pushed on down the river, with his family and household goods in a pirogue, to Wolf's Prairie. That part of the country had not been surveyed, and Pike had pre-empted a few acres on the river-bottom. The land he cleared, and upon which he put up a log house, is now occupied by a portion of the " Shaker farm." Pike was the first white settler in what is now Oronoko township, and for a year after their arrival his family were the only occupants of the territory. Pike stayed until 1832 (although he sold out to Geo. Kimmel in 1831), and removed to Royalton, where he died. There still lives his son William, himself a pioneer. In the year of Pike's settlement-1829-George Kimmel, of Somerset Co., Pa., visited Wolf's Prairie on a prospecting tour, and, fancying the country, entered about 300 acres lying thereabout. He returned to Pennsylvania, however, and did not settle upon his new purchase until two years afterwards. In 1830, Francis B. Murdock, a son-in-law of George Kimmel, received from the latter 120 acres of the land tract on Wolf's Prairie, and, with his family, consisting of wife and one child, set out in that year from Bedford, Pa., for his new possessions. The journey was made in part on a raft, upon which the family floated down the Dowagiac and St. Joseph Rivers. Murdock put up a log house near the site of the James Graham place, and divided his time between clearing his land and practicing law whenever opportunity offered. He was the first lawyer to practice in Berrien County,-though the practice was limited,-and was appointed judge of probate in 1833. In consequence of his wife's ill health, he removed southward in 1835, and ultimately to San Jose, Cal., where he now resides. His daughter, Eliza, born in October, 1831, was the first white child born in what is now Oronoko township. She afterwards married Mr. Clifton Gardner, and still lives at Berrien Springs. Mr. Murdock's son, George H., who is the editor of the Berrien County Journal, came to Wolf's Prairie with his father.and mother, at which time he was but one year old. With Pitt Brown and Horace Godfrey, Mr. Murdock the elder was an original proprietor of the village of Berrien Springs. George Kimmel, to whom reference has already been made, returned to Wolf's Prairie in May, 1831, with two sons-Wellington and John-and several laboring men. Among the latter was Jacob Shoemaker. Mr. Kimmel cleared land upon what is now known as the Shaker farm, and after preparing for their comfortable maintenance, went back for his wife, and other children, in June, 1833. He put up on Lemon Creek, in 1832, the first saw-mill in the settlement. The frame of that mill still forms a part of Ransom & Martin's grist-mill. Kipamel resided in Oronoko until his death. One of his daughters is Mrs. Peter Kephart. George Kimmel was in his day one of the great land-owners of the West, being at one time the proprietor of upwards of 10,000 acres in the State of Michigan alone. He died in January, 1849. Pitt Brown, a man of note in the county, came from Venice, near Sandusky, Ohio, in the summer of 1831, with his two children and his nephew, Horace Godfrey (Brown and Godfrey having been millers together at Sandusky). They floated down from Dowagiac on a raft, and landed at the foot of the hill, near the present Ferry Street bridge, in July. Brown and Godfrey had entered, in partnership, 80 acres of land near the river, and upon the spot now occupied by Stowe's bowl-factory, where they put up a log shanty. This edifice was soon enlarged, and Pitt Brown opened there the first tavern in the township, and about the same time put a scow ferry-boat on the river at that point. Brown was appointed the first postmaster, commanded the steamer ' Davy Crockett" for a while, was supervisor of Berrien township from 1833 to 1841, and occupied altogether an important place in the early history of Berrien County. He kept store a few years in company with Robert E. Ward, and with him also established a distillery. He retired from business in 1840, took up his residence near where the Defield House stands, and died in 1842. His widow still lives in Berrien Springs. Horace Godfrey, who came to Berrien County with Pitt Brown, went back to Sandusky shortly afterwards, married and returned to Berrien, where he busied himself a brief space of time in farming, and removed eventually to Lake township, where he died and where his widow still lives. Lyman A. Barnard, a neighbor and fellow-workman with Pitt Brown in Venice, Ohio, left that place in 1828, and, with Abraham Townsend, made his home in what is now called Pokagon, Cass Co. February 14th of that year he went, with Mr. Townsend and others, to a place now known as La Grange Prairie, and there Mr. Townsend christened the new tract in honor of La Grange, the family home of Gen. Lafayette. Barnard and Townsend remained upon the place and began to cultivate the soil. In 1830, Barnard made his first visit to Wolf's Prairie, and during the ensuing two years labored more or less at La Grange Prairie. In 1832 he built a fifteen-ton sloop, named it the " Dart," hauled it with ox-teams overland to the St. Joseph River at Niles, and then floated down to St. Joseph. He sailed the "Dart" eight months between St. Joseph and Chicago, when, his health failing, he left the lake and went up the river. He took service with Pitt Brown, as clerk and ferryman, and eventually married Brown's sister. He bought the ferry from Brown and established a rope-ferry, to the great convenience of travelers. Mr. Barnard has been a resident of Berrien Springs since 1832. In 1847, Dr. Barnard became a practicing physician in the village, and for a long time enjoyed honorable distinction in his profes sion. His home is still in the village, but he has latterly taken no active part in public affairs. R. E. Ward came to the village in 1835, from Albany, 280 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I.. N. Y., engaged in business with Pitt Brown, eventually failed, and moved to Detroit, where he died. Ward is said to have christened the place Berrien Springs,-a name that it has borne since about 1840. George Brong, a New Yorker, opened the first blacksmith-shop in this vicinity, in 1834, just below where the Defield House now stands. He remained about four years, and then removed, with his family. to Weesaw township, where he died. Stephen Wood came from New York State in 1834, with his family, and located on the river's bank below the site of the Defield House. Wood was a carpenter, and after following his trade for some time removed to a farm near the village, and there lived until his death. His wife was one of Pitt Brown's sisters. One of his daughters married James M. Platt; another is now living in Niles. Burr Benton, from Ohio, who came hither about 1832, is referred to as having been " a sort of a constable." He occupied a small piece of land back of where the Defield House stands. After a sojourn of about six years he removed to Buchanan, and thence to Weesaw, where he died. Stephen Leonard, a young man, came to the village in 1833, from New York, in company with Susan Taylor, an elderly lady,-sister to Lyman A. Barnard's step-mother. They occupied a place near the present Warren Howe place, on Ferry Street. Leonard worked among the settlers at whatever he could find to do, and after a residence of about fifteen years went farther west. Susan Taylor died in Berrien Springs. Jacob Shoemaker, already mentioned as having come to Wolf's Prairie with George Kimmel, worked for Kimmel a while, and then engaged in boating on the river. He bought about two acres of land in the Indian Fields, and until 1850 was a boatman and gardener by turns, moving in the year named to the far West. Joel Davis, whose mother was Pitt Brown's first wife, came to Berrien shortly after Brown's advent, and busied himself with the cultivation of a few acres of land lying below the hill. He died a few years after his arrival. John Ackerman and John Armstrong, brothers-in-law to Adam Small, came, with their families, from Bedford Co., Pa., to Berrien Springs in 1836. Ackerman bought a small place in the village, and worked at farming until his death, in 1854. His widow now lives on the old place. Armstrong was a carpenter, and worked at his trade in the village until 1852, when he went to California to seek his fortune. For a time he communicated with his family, but his communications ceased after a brief space, and to this day Mrs. Armstrong, who lives in Berrien Springs, has heard nothing more from him or about him. Uziel Williams, then a young man, came from Ypsilanti, Mich., in the fall of 1835, and opened a tailor's shop in a log cabin that stood upon the ground now occupied by the Defield House. He followed the business five or six years, and then moved upon a farm west of the village. Shortly afterwards he went to Missouri and there died. Orrin Wood, brother of Stephen Wood, the carpenter, had a shoe maker's shop in the log cabin occupied by Williams the tailor. He was there for four years, when he died. None of his descendants are known to be living in the township. James M. Watson, now a justice of the peace at Berrien Springs, came to the village from St. Joseph in 1838, and was employed as engineer by R. E. Ward, at his distillery on the river. Watson was a skillful engineer, and after leaving the distillery served on the river as engineer on the "Matilda Barney," " Davy Crockett," " Pocahontas," " Indiana," "Algoma," "Niles," and other famous river craft. O. N. Bostwick, a man somewhat advanced in years, and the father-in-law of R. E. Ward and Dr. Murray, was in the employment of Brown & Ward, as clerk and bookkeeper, in 1836, and died after two years spent in their service. John L. Schell, a brother of George Schell, who came from Pennsylvania in 1835, left his home in Bedford Co., Pa., in the fall of 1835, and located in Berrien Springs. In 1837 he moved to Berrien township. David Shoemaker, a potter, came to Berrien Springs in 1836, in company with Ackerman and Armstrong, and here remained with his family about two years, doing odd jobs. He removed to Berrien township in 1838, and his wife dying in 1844, he returned to Pennsylvania. Eli Hill was a man of considerable prominence in the village about the year 1836, when he came from Avon, N. Y., and purchased the larger portion of the tract occupied by Berrien village. He made some building improvements, and was engaged in erecting a hotel upon the lot now occupied by Kephart's drug-store, when he died, about 1840. One Gibbs came to Berrien about 1835, and after a residence of a year or two moved to Illinois. George Ewalt and George Essick came to the village together from Bedford Co., Pa., in 1836, both being young men without families. Ewalt was a carpenter, and worked at his trade in the village until 1856, when he moved to a farm a mile and a half west of the Springs, where he still resides. Ewalt married a daughter of William Lemon. Essick was a tailor, and for a time pursued his calling in the village. Shortly after 1858 he opened the hotel built by Eli Hill, on Ferry Street, and after he ceased to be a landlord he became a tinner. He resided in the village until his death. Two of his daughters-Mrs. Henry D. Howe and Sophronia Essick-live in the town. EARLY VILLAGE PROPRIETORS. Berrien Springs village was originally known as Berrien, and as such was surveyed and platted, in August, 1831-; by Samuel Marrs, deputy surveyor, for the proprietors, Pitt Brown, Horace Godfrey, and Francis B. Murdock. When R. E. Ward located in the village, in 1835, he called the place Berrien Springs (and had its name changed by the post-office department), because of the presence near there, on the east bank of the river, of sulphur and other medicated springs; and by that name it has been commonly known since. These springs, it may be remarked, contain valuable properties, but their present inaccessibility, by reason of being located in a marshy district, impairs their useful. ness. Measures are on foot, however, looking to the opening of easy and convenient communication. In 1837 the village was designated as the county-seat of Berrien, and naturally this important accession gave its af TOWNSHIP OF ORONOKO. 281 fairs a healthful and vigorous impetus, which has continued to make the community moderately prosperous. PIONEER MERCHANTS. About the year 1831, Thomas Love and Edward Ballengee came from Virginia, and opened a store in a small log house which they put up on the hill near where the Defield House stands. In 1832 their log store was destroyed. by fire, and directly afterwards they built a frame store on the river's bank, at what is now the west end of the bridge. The two stores named were small affairs, and in 1834 Love & Ballengee erected near their second store a third one, of considerable pretensions to size. The firm sold out, in 1836 or 1837, to Andrew J. Murray & John Wittenmeyer. The latter had previously kept store in the building opposite Love & Ballengee, where Pitt Brown & R. E. Ward opened a store about 1835. Brown & Ward failed, and, as related, Wittenmeyer succeeded them, purchasing the stock of goods that John F. Porter, of St. Joseph, had sent to Berrien Springs, to be sold by Adam Small, a clerk for Brown & Ward. When Wittenmeyer bought out Love & Ballengee he took in Dr. Andrew J. Murray as a partner. They sold out to W. G. Ferson, of Niles, who was in turn succeeded by B. D. Townsend. Townsend kept the store about eighteen months, and then sold to his clerk, James M. Platt. Platt closed the building, and, following the tide of civilization, took a store on the hill upon the site now occupied by the Reed House. Townsend had built the store, and C. W. Angell kept it for a while. Platt moved it to the corner where he afterwards put up his fine brick block, and upon the erection of the latter removed the frame structure to the adjoining lot. It is now occupied by N. J. Davis as a store. The store at the foot of the hill, built by Love & Ballengee and closed by Platt, was eventually moved to the top of the hill, and forms now a part of the store of P. Kephart & Son. Mr. Platt continued in the mercantile trade in Berrien Springs until his death, in 1874. Aiken, Smith & Co. kept a small store on the hill after 1842. In 1843, Dr. Philip Kephart (who settled in Berrien Springs in 1841) opened a general store, and has been a store-keeper in the village ever since. In 1848, Thomas L. Stevens & R. W. Landon opened a store in the frame building built by the Sons of Temperance, upon the lot opposite Platt's corner. Mr. William Dougherty, now residing on a farm near Berrien Springs, came to the village from Washington city, in 1838, with a stock of goods, built a store on Ferry Street, at the top of the hill, and from 1838 to 1843 carried on business as a merchant. For a time he retired from trade, but resumed it in 1852, and continued at his old stand from that date until 1865, since which time he has been living in retirement. PIONEER MANUFACTURERS. As already narrated, George Kimmel put up in 1832, on Lemon Creek, the pioneer saw-mill. There was a lot on the river-bank donated by the town proprietors for a saw mill lot, and upon it, about 1833, Pitt Brown and R. E. Ward built a saw-mill, which, however, they put to little if any use, their object in erecting the structure being 36 doubtless to avail themselves of the benefit of the donation. The property was idle most of the time until 1838, when Ward & Brown converted it into a distillery, in which R. C. Payne, of Niles, was also interested. A grist-mill was added, but proved a failure. The distillery passed into the I" possession of Wmi. F. McOmber, and lastly to Garrow, Smith & Co. The history of the early attorneys and physicians, and of the press, will be found in the general chapters. EARLY PUBLIC-IIOUSES. Pitt Brown was the pioneer tavern-keeper of this section, and between the years 1831 and 1840 his hostelry, below the hill on the river-bank, was a popular resort, known far and wide. After Brown retired from business, Jacob Statler was the landlord, and after him David Wilson, following whose retirement the building was destroyed by fire. John Defield built the first tavern, ' on the hill," in 1842. The house is still known as the Defield House, and is owned by his widow. Eli Hill, who became the proprietor of the town in 1836, by purchase of the interests of Pitt Brown, Horace Godfrey, and Francis B. Murdock, began in 1836 to build a hotel on the corner now occupied by P. Kephart as a drug-store. Hill died before he could finish the structure, which was not completed until several years afterwards, and not opened as a hotel until 1859, when Geo. Essick became the landlord. He was succeeded by Andrew Marrs, in 1861, and Marrs sold in turn to Robert Wickoff, during whose time the place was burned. A wing of the building was saved, and moved by one Carey to where the Reed House now stands. Carey kept tavern in it, and in 1870 sold to Otis Reed, who added to it, and made the present Reed House of it. STEAMBOATS ON THE ST. JOSEPH. The steamer " Newburyport," owned by Capt. White, of Buffalo, and commanded by Capt. Samuel Woodford, navigated the St. Joseph River in 1832, and was the first boat to reach Berrien Springs. She attempted to go as far as Niles, but grounded, and returned to St. Joseph in a damaged condition. Later she was put in the trade between St. Joseph and Chicago, and after making a few trips went ashore and broke in pieces. In 1833 the " Matilda Barney," commanded at one time by Ebenezer E. Farley, traded as high up the river as South Bend; and in 1834 the " Davy Crockett," whose captain for a time was Pitt Brown, appeared as a rival to the " Barney." The river trade was considerable then, and at a point opposite Berrien Springs Eli Ford built a great warehouse, where considerable freight for the interior was landed, and where vast quantities of the products of the surrounding agricultural region were taken for shipment down the river. The " Barney" and " Crockett" were in commission for some time, and managed to make river history somewhat animated. Following these boats were the "Pocahontas," "Indiana," " Algoa," " Niles," and others, all famous in their day. PHYSICIANS. Andrew J. Murray, who was a partner also with Mr. Wittenmeyer as storekeeper at Berrien Springs, was the first 282 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. physician in the village. He opened an office in 1836 where Mr. J. Shearer now lives, at the corner of Marrs and Mechanic Streets. Mr. Murray practiced in Berrien Springs until 1839 or 1840, when he removed to St. Joseph, and subsequently to Niles, where he died. He is still remembered as an excellent physician and worthy citizen. Dr. Chamberlain came in 1837, and became associated in practice with Dr. Murray, but remained only a year, when he removed to Michigan City, Ind. He now resides in Elkhart, Ind. In 1841, Philip Kephart engaged in the practice of medicine at the "Springs," but continued it actively only until 1843, when he engaged in mercantile pursuits. Since 1843, Mr. Kephart has been in business in the village, and is now, as he has been for years, one of the leading merchants of the place. Eli Hill, who purchased considerable property in the village in 1836, practiced medicine occasionally until his death, in 1840, although he did not aim to be a regularly practicing physician. In 1843, C. C. Wallin opened an office, and remained until 1849. He is now living in Chicago. Charles W. Angell practiced from 1846-49, and in 1847 Lyman A. Barnard (still living in Berrien Springs) became one of the village physicians. Between 1849 and 1850 he had the field to himself. S. C. Bartholomew, Dr. Barnard's contemporary, came in 1850 and practiced until his death, in 1858. Meanwhile J. L. Bugbee practiced one season, and in 1851, Dr. Henry Leader came in and remained until 1860, when he removed to Pokagon, where he died. Subsequently the physicians were B. F. Delaplaine, J. S. Fowler, H. J. Wilcox, W. F. Mason, Edward Hall, Dr. Hayes, J. D. Bowman, Dr. Ludwig, J. S. Martin, S. T. Armstrong, W. F. Reiber, O. Wheeler, and T. W. Anderson. The last two named are now (September, 1879) the practicing physicians of Berrien Springs. THE "BERRIEN GRAYS." In 1845 military ardor permeated the bosoms of some of the eminent citizens of Berrien Springs, and as a consequence they formed a militia company, enrolled it in the service of the State, and urged the enterprise forward with great vigor. The company was called the " Berrien Grays," and elected, at the organization, Jacob Statler captain; Ezra D. Wilson and George Kimmel, lieutenants. J. M. Watson was orderly sergeant; Adam Small, drummer; and Uziel Williams, fifer. The company uniform was gray, trimmed with black, and, it is said, made a showy appearance. The Grays enjoyed frequent parades, and became locally famous; but the vigorous enthusiasm which attended the birth of the command lessened as time advanced, and within a few years grew so feeble that the organization passed out of existence. THE RIVER FERRY. Pitt Brown was the first one to put on a ferry at the village. He started it in 1831, and continued it several years, when Lyman A. Barnard, who had been doing the work upon it, bought the business and put on a rope-ferry. John Defield and Jacob Statler followed Barnard, Statler operating it until 1844, when the building of a bridge at that point put an end to the ferry. The first man to cross Pitt Brown's ferry was, to use Pitt's own expression, a boy. At all events, when Brown put his boat off from the Berrien Springs shore on its first trip, it had aboard Amos Farley and a lad named E. A. Brown (brother to Darius Brown). " Hello, my lad," exclaimed Mr. Brown, "you are the first man ever carried over this ferry, and a good deal of an honor it is to you in the bargain." POST-OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS. A post-office was established in 1831, and Pitt Brown appointed postmaster. He kept the office in the bar of his tavern, which stood at the foot of Ferry Street, upon the site of Stowe's bowl-factory. At that time there was but little postal business transacted at this point, for the charge of " two shillings" postage made letter-writing too great a luxury to be indulged in except upon urgent necessity. Berrien was then a mail-station on the route between Niles and St. Joseph, and the passage of the river was effected by means of a ferry. It happened, one day in early winter, while Lyman A. Barnard was operating a " ropeferry" at that point, that Mr. Huston, the mail-carrier, arrived from Niles at the river's bank, and found the stream so choked with ice that the ferry-boat could not cross, while the ice barrier was too thin to permit the passage of a man over its surface. In this emergency Barnard got the mail over by crossing on the ferry-boat rope and pushing the mail-bag before him, it being understood, however, that Barnard didn't "walk" the rope; he simply sat astride of it, and drew himself along with his hands. Although the mail was over, the carrier was still on the wrong side of the river, and likely to stop there. Pitt Brown bargained, therefore, with Barnard to carry the mail to St. Joseph; and before setting out the latter repaired to Brown, early in the morning, to be sworn in as mail-carrier. Brown was in bed, and upon Barnard's entrance sat up and thus delivered the form of oath: " You swear by the eternal God to carry the mail to St. Joseph; that you will not open it; and that you will deliver it to no man but the postmaster at St. Joseph." Barnard set out upon his journey, but had not gone far when he was overtaken by Brown, who said that upon reflection he had concluded to go on to St. Joseph himself, and so they both conveyed the mail in safety to its destination. Whether Brown thought the oath administered to Barnard was not strong enough, or whether he thought he was exceeding his prerogative in appointing a mail-carrier, are matters of conjecture, for he never explained. It is only certain that he saw the mail safely conveyed to its destination. Brown was the postmaster until his death, in 1842. During his time, upon a petition started by R. E. Ward, the name of the post-office was changed to Berrien Springs. Upon Brown's death the office passed to Thomas Love, who was succeeded in 1845 by George Essick, who kept tavern on what is now the site of Kephart's drug-store. Joseph Faulker, who opened the first harness-shop in Berrien Springs, succeeded Essick in 1849, and held the office until his death, in 1853, when Adam Small, who had served as deputy under Pitt Brown and Thomas Love, was appointed, and continued until 1860. Lyman A. Barnard was postmaster from 1860 to 1870, TOWNSHIP OF ORONOKO. 283,.. save for a period of six months, when D. G. W. Gaugler was the appointee, and to him succeeded Sylvester Smith. The latter gave way in 1873 to Fred. McOmber, the present incumbent. The business of the office during the quarter ending June 30, 1879, was: Amount received for sale of stamps, $242.98; money-orders issued, $5893.78; money-orders paid, $1667.42. VILLAGE ORGANIZATION. Berrien Springs was incorporated Oct. 15, 1863. On the 26th of August, 1863, 73 citizens applied to the board of supervisors for a village charter, and against this application, on October 10th, nine citizens entered a remonstrance. The former petition was granted, however, and Oct. 15, 1863, Berrien Springs became an incorporated village. The territory incorporated is described in the act as follows: "Commencing at a stake on the left bank of the St. Joseph River, in the northern line of Hamilton Street; thence running south, 48~ west, on the northerly line of said Hamilton Street 71-1 chains, to where the northerly line of Bluff Street, if extended, would cross the said northerly line of Hamilton Street; thence south, 88~ west, 30 chains, to the centre of the Berrien and St. Joseph road; thence due south 57/7j7 chains, to the centre of the Terre Coupee road; thence due east 45~29^ chains, to a stake on the left bank of the St. Joseph River, from which a sycamore-tree, 28 inches in diameter, bears south 27~ west, and is distant therefrom 21 links; thence following the left bank of the river to the place of beginning." The supervisors appointed J. W. Howe, Charles D. Nichols, and Daniel Terriere to be inspectors of election, which was ordered to be held at the court-house on the first Monday in December, 1 63. At that election Philip Kephart was chosen President; O. A. Dudley, Clerk; and Preston Boon, B. F. Pennell, James M. Platt, S. G. Armstrong, James Graham, and Samuel J. Davis, Trustees. The persons who have served as presidents and clerks of the village from 1864 to 1879, inclusive, are named as follows: PRESIDENTS. 1864, Philip Kephart; 1865-66, James Graham; 1867-69, P. Kephart; 1870, L. A. Barnard; 1871, J. W. Howe; 1872, P. Kephart; 1873-74, James Graham; 1875, B. F. Pennell; 1876-77, R. D. Dix; 1878, Aug. Kephart. CLERKS. 1864, Daniel Terriere; 1865, G. H. Murdock, B. F. Feather; 1866, B. F. Feather; 1867, George H. Murdock; 1868, J. S. Martin; 1869-70, B. F. Feather; 1871, Daniel Chapman; 1872, B. F. Feather; 1873-74, E. M. Wansborough; 1875-78, C. F. Howe. The officers chosen for 1879 were: President, B. F. Pennell; Clerk, T. L. Wilkinson; Treasurer, George Claar; Trustees, Thomas W. Anderson, H. H. Boon, C. D. Nichols, A. C. Pennell, W. F. Reiber, T. T. Webster; Street Commissioner, A. J. Mealoy; Assessor, S. H. Smith; Constable, T. T. Elliott; Marshal and Engineer of Fire Department, Jefferson Dalrymple; Poundmaster, Preston Boon. The village was reincorporated in 1867, by Legislative act, and in 1878, for the purpose of receiving power to control liquor-license matters, it was incorporated under the general law. Berrien Springs contains a population of about 1000 people, and during court-terms presents an especially industrious and lively appearance. Mail communication with Niles and St. Joseph is daily, while there is also tri-weekly communication by steam-packet with St. Joseph. There has long been a strong disposition to place the village in railway communication with other points, and it is probable that such an event will be consummated within perhaps a twelvemonth. The village owns a tract of 26 acres, which it is proposed to lay out as a public square and fair-grounds. Other improvements would rapidly follow the building of a railway to this point, and it is, moreover, likely that with the advent of a railway line the fine water-power of the St. Joseph would be extensively utilized by manufacturing capital. INTERIOR PIONEERS. In the summer of 1831, Hezekiah Hall, of Euclid, Ohio, came to Berrien, and found Lawrence Cavanaugh and family living upon the river-bank, about two miles above the present village of Berrien Springs. He made a bargain with Cavanaugh to pay the latter $500 for his claim upon 160 acres, and returned at once to Ohio to bring his family to Michigan. In September of that year they made the start from Euclid, accompanied also by William F. St. John, his family, and his brother, John H., all being neighbors in Euclid. Three wagons, drawn by a pair of horses and two yokes of oxen, conveyed the company from Ohio to Michigan, and after a tedious journey through forests and over " no thoroughfares" they reached, without mishap, the bank of the St. Joseph River, opposite Mr. Hall's new landpurchase. Here they crossed the river on two canoes lashed together, and in a brief space of time were securely settled upon Cavanaugh's old place,-that worthy having removed to the opposite side of the river, not before, however, compelling Hall to pay $1000, instead of the agreed $500, for the land he sold him. Hall, being on the ground, and in a manner forced to accept the bargain, did so to be sure, but with an ill grace, and many a strong protestation, no doubt. William F. St. John remained with his family upon Hall's place until he could find a location, and shortly thereafter settled upon a place near Hall. Remaining there a few years, he sold to Samuel Wilson, and removed to Berrien Springs, where he resided until his death. His son Luther now lives in the village. John St. John, William's brother, did not fancy the country, and went back to Ohio after tarrying a short time in Michigan. Hezekiah Hall passed his days on his river farm, leaving a widow. She married John Wittenmyer, and a second time became a widow. She now resides with her son, Chauncey A. Hall. Mrs. Wittenmyer recalls, with vivid recollection, her early experiences amid the wilds of Michigan and her first terror at the appearance of Indians, who showed themselves with remarkable promptness, although in no wise dangerous neighbors. Often her husband used to go to Niles, to mill, leaving her alone with her children, and at such times, she says, she felt the full force of her unpleasant situation. She was not only greatly apprehen sive of danger, but lonely to a degree that was appalling. At such times her terrors were increased by the appearance at her cabin of Indians, but she kept up a brave heart, 284 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. nevertheless, although as it happened the savages were harmless enough. She often saw them in grand carousals and fantastic dances on the river-bluff, opposite her cabin, and became after a while not only friendly with the savages, but learned, moreover, to talk in their language, of which she retains a faint knowledge to this day. Lawrence Cavanaugh, of whom Hall bought his land, came from La Grange Prairie and settled upon the place, with his family, as early as 1830, and was, according to some authorities, the second white settler in what is now Oronoko township. As has been seen, he removed in 1831 to what is now Berrien township. In April, 1832, Henry Freed, with his wife, his son Abram, his daughter Annie (now Mrs. Joseph Feather, of Oronoko), his daughter Mary (now the wife of Louis Storick, of Oronoko), his grandson, Samuel F. Summers (a lad of about fifteen), and Joseph Feather, left the eastern part of Pennsylvania, with a five-horse team, for Michigan, where they proposed to create new homes in the then wilderness. Joseph Feather was paying devoted attention to Annie Freed, and wished to marry her, but Annie's father declined to let Joseph have the maiden unless he joined them in their movement to Michigan, and that is how Joseph Feather came to be a Western pioneer. At all events, that is the story related by Samuel F. Summers, who came in company with Feather and the Freed family. The party consumed six weeks in journeying from their Pennsylvania homes to Niles, passing through Ohio and the Black Swamp country, and camping out en route every night. When Niles was reached, Joseph Feather and Abram Freed constructed a lumber-raft, and floated down the St. Joseph to Berrien village, while the rest of the company continued the journey through the woods to that point by land. Arrived at Berrien, they pitched their tents upon the lot now occupied by the Defield House, where they improvised a cabin by first placing a pole in the crotches of two adjacent butternut-trees, and then upon the ridge-pole thus formed inclining the planks composing young Freed's raft, so that when completed the structure looked something like an Indian wigwam. At the rear end of this "cabin" Henry Freed's wagon-box did duty as a bedroom for the old folks, while the younger members of the party stowed themselves as best they could. At the time of their arrival, says Mr. Summers, the prairie grass upon what is now the village of Berrien Springs was as high as a man's head. As the incidents of Joseph Feather's settlement have been presented in another part of this chapter, here will be told simply what befell the Freed family, since Feather pursued a separate line of action upon arriving at Berrien. Henry Freed located 80 acres of land upon section 23, while Abram located a farm upon section 24. The elder Freed leased a piece of land (about four acres) near the river, and, assisted by the boys, put in a crop of corn and buckwheat, his family continuing to reside in the cabin erected upon their first arrival. While these crops were growing, Henry Freed and young Summers used daily to go out to the former's farm to clear land (having cut a road from Berrien to the farm) and build a cabin, as a move towards the removal of the family thereto. Meanwhile, Abram Freed worked upon his farm, all hands usually returning at night to the Freed " mansion" near the river. Early in the winter, all being in readiness for them, Mr. Henry Freed moved his family out to their new home, Summers going with them. Abram Freed put up a shanty on his own place and kept bachelor's hall. Mr. Summers tells how, one day, while he and Henry Freed were chopping away for dear life, the latter cut his foot badly, but being a man of strong will, he wrapped a rag about his foot and kept on with his chopping. Presently the blood from the wound saturated the cloth, and flowed so freely that Mr. Freed's footsteps were marked by blood. Still he kept on chopping, after adding another bandage made of a portion of Summers' flannel shirt, until, grown weak from loss of blood, he told the lad he would have to give it up, and so they started for their home at the river,-nearly two miles distant. They hadn't gone far when Freed fainted. Summers, who had all along been afraid the wolves would scent the blood and attack them, was in sore trouble, but acting promptly, left his grandfather lying on the ground, hurried to the river, procured a horse and hurried back again, mounted the wounded man and thus got him home, although he was well-nigh convinced, after leaving him, that the wolves would descend upon poor Mr. Freed before assistance could be got for him. Happily the wolves held off, but it was, nevertheless, a trying ordeal. In 1839, young Summers, being then aged twenty-one, bought his grandfather's farm, and leaving it in charge of William-F. St. John, returned to Pennsylvania on foot, in company with Abram Freed,-the former going for the purpose of learning the trade of a tanner and the latter to look for a wife. Before he departed Abram gave his father a life-lease of his (Abram's) farm, and the elder Freed thereupon moved upon it, after having sold his own. About 1844, Abram returned and took possession of his farm, his father having died. Shortly after returning, Abram wounded himself with an axe while at work upon the place, and from the injury death resulted soon afterwards. Summers came back with a wife, in 1845, reoccupied his farm, and has continued to live there to this day. Abel Garr, a young man, came from Indiana to Berrien in 1834, having entered land in Oronoko, upon section 21, where he now lives. He worked in the village at the carpenter's trade for a brief time after his arrival. Then moving out upon his farm, he began to clear it, while he kept bachelor's hall, and there he has continued to reside ever since. Joshua Feather, of Snyder Co., Pa., set out from there in the fall of 1835, with his wife and three children, in a one-horse wagon, for Michigan. They spent the winter in Stark Co., Ohio, and in the spring of 1836 pushed on for Berrien, where they arrived in May. After sojourning upwards of a year with a Mr. Brown, near Berrien Springs, Mr. Feather moved upon section 7 in 1837, where he had entered 80 acres, and to that subsequently added 120 acres. Mr. Feather was the pioneer in what is now known as the Feather settlement, and lived an honored and useful life, dying in December, 1878, at the age of seventy-two. His sons, John A., Daniel T., and Joshua, all live on section 7. TOWNSHIP OF ORONOKO. 285 A daughter, Mrs. William H. Harner, also lives in Oronoko. William Lemon, one of the earliest settlers in what is now Berrien township, built a saw-mill in 1832 upon Lemon Creek, one mile east of Berrien Springs. In 1835 he bought George Kimmel's saw-mill, in what is now Oronoko township, and, removing his family thither, continued to reside there until his death, in 1851. He was a citizen of prominence, filled numerous public positions, and was generally esteemed. Of his family of eleven children there are now living Mrs. John Tate, of Berrien; Mrs. Comfort Pennell, Mrs. George Ewalt, and Andrew Lemon, of Oronoko; and William Lemon, of Cass County. In the spring of 1832, Joseph Feather, of Union Co., Pa., set out alone and on foot for Michigan, intending to locate at Berrien. When he reached Alexandria, on the Juniata, he overtook Elenry Freed, of Union County, traveling, with his family, towards the same destination, and so they all came on together. Reaching Berrien village, Feather, who was a carpenter, concluded to go to St. Joseph, and there he worked for Fowler Preston and James Lord at cabinetmaking. He returned after a while to Berrien and finished the inside of a house for George Kimmel. Having located 80 acres of land west of where he lives now,-on section 23, -he returned to Pennsylvania in the fall of 1832, and in the spring of 1833 set out once more for Berrien, in company with his sister. He put up a house in the village, and there kept house with his sister for the next three years, during which he worked at his trade. Meanwhile his brother-in-law, Samuel Schemaly, came from Indiana and went upon Feather's place, where he remained about eighteen months, and then moved upon a place (of his own) south of Jesse Helmick's, where he lived until his death, in 1878. In 1836, Feather took possession of his place, and since that time has continued to reside there. In 1835 there came to Oronoko a small band of settlers, who journeyed in company, from Bedford Co., Pa. There were in the party Jacob Statler and his family, Tobias and Josiah Whetstone, Abram Small, John G. Schultze, Eliza Whetstone, and George Schell. Statler's family consisted of himself, wife, and one child. They traveled, with a twohorse wagon, via Pittsburgh, crossed the Maumee River, and reaching Berrien Springs at night, stopped at Pitt Brown's tavern. Statler and Josiah Whetstone each subsequently purchased 80 acres on section 14. Whetstone still lives on his old place; Statler removed to Niles about 1860, and now lives there. Tobias Whetstone bought a farm on section 10, but followed boating on the river for some time. In 1852 he went to California, whence he returned in 1859, and since then he has resided on his farm. John G. Schultze entered 200 acres on section 28, where he still lives. He is now the owner of 550 acres of land, and esteemed one of the wealthiest farmers in the county. Adam Small entered the service of Brown & Ward as their clerk, and served in other stores until 1851, when he became a merchant on his own account. He lives now on his farm on section 16. George Schell worked about Berrien two years, and then went to Iowa, where he now lives. Of the persons who landed here in the company above mentioned in 1835, all are still alive save the infant child of Jacob Statler. After the Whetstones settled here they sent for their father, Abram, who made the trip alone on horseback. He resided with them until his death. Elisha Hall settled in 1833, upon section 27, and entered 220 acres. He remained about fifteen years, then removed to Missouri, and lastly to Indiana, where he died in 1879. Samuel Singer, with his wife, his brother William, and his wife's sister, came from Pittsburgh in 1835, and located upon 240 acres in section 18. Singer's health was poor, and after a two years' stay he returned to Pittsburgh, and shortly after 1840 sold his place to James Walton, who has since then lived upon it. It is told of Singer that when upon his new settlement he undertook to put up a frame house he, in his ignorance of house-building, reversed the usual order in putting on the " siding," and didn't discover his error until the next rain-storm filled his domicile with water. Wm. Singer remained in Oronoko until 1836, and then moved to Niles. William Webster, from Virginia, with a large family, and his son-in-law, William Barlow, were settlers in Berrien in 1833, upon the tract now occupied by Rose Hill Cemetery, near Berrien Springs. Barlow remained but a short time and Webster about ten years. Stephen Purdy worked on Geo. Kimmel's farm at a very early date, and moved, in company with Henry Hoffman. another of Kimmel's workmen, to Illinois, where he bought a farm. Purdy was a widower, and reputed, moreover, as a man of homely appearance. One day C. W. Brown, of Laporte, was traveling from Berrien towards Illinois, and Lyman Barnard said to him, " If you meet Purdy out there give him my regards." "But," returned Brown, "I never saw Purdy; how will I know him?" Replied Barnard, " You can't miss him. Just drive on until you meet the homeliest man in Illinois, call him Purdy, and you can't be mistaken." Sure enough, while Brown was driving through the Sucker State he passed one day upon the highway a man of exceedingly ugly countenance. " That," said Brown to himself, " is Purdy, and no mistake," and turning his head he called out, " How are you, Mr. Purdy?" "Hello!" returned the man, "how did you learn that my name was Purdy?" Thereupon Brown came up with him, and narrated Lyman Barnard's directions. Purdy was heartily amused at the circumstance, and inviting Brown to his house, entertained him as a guest for the next three days. While Purdy lived in Berrien he fell seriously ill, and becoming convinced that he would die, exacted of Dr. Murray a promise that he might be buried under the hill, with his head sticking out, so he might see the steamers pass. Joseph S. Barnard, the father of Lyman A. Barnard, should have had previous mention. He moved from Ohio to La Grange Prairie, Cass Co., in the fall of 1828, and remaining there until 1833, came to Berrien. In 1832 he was appointed judge upon the circuit embracing Cass and Berrien Counties, and served on his appointment some time after his settlement in Berrien. He was a man of intelli 286 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. gence, took a conspicuous part in the affairs of the time as a county official, and was otherwise a prominent citizen. After a useful existence he died in 1852, in Berrien Springs, at the home of his son Lyman, although he had been living on his farm six miles west of the village. Jesse Helmick and Wm. Murphy came together from Warren Co., Ohio, on horseback, in 1835, and located land in Oronoko township,-Murphy on section 29 and Helmick within a mile of him. They returned to Ohio for their families, which they conveyed to their new homes in Michigan in two wagons, each drawn by four horses. Murphy survived the change, however, but a few years, dying in 1838. His widow removed to Missouri. Helmick and Murphy intended to buy the land intervening between them so they could be neighbors. Other parties knowing this, bought the tract, thinking Helmick would pay a large price for it, but he refused to buy a foot of it, and removed at once to the place he now owns. Helmick was a blacksmith, and sturdily plied his calling for some time after settling upon his new location. He had a family of six children when he came hither, and has still living in the township three sons and one daughter. The old gentleman himself, now known as Judge Helmick, is still residing on his farm upon section 34. He has reached the ripe age of eighty-three, and although otherwise hale and hearty, he is incapacitated for active labor by reason of an accident, by which (in 1876) he became permanently crippled. When Mr. Helmick first came to the township he and all the members of his family were at one time prostrated with the ague. Physicians were scarce, and so the sick ones lay for some days, unable to help themselves or each other, and unable to obtain help. A good angel came to them, however, in the person of Stephen Farley, of Berrien, who, in view of the great prevalence of ague about then, abandoned his little farm to itself, and for a while devoted himself, like a good Samaritan, to the care of the afflicted, and a wondrous deal of good he did, too, without money or reward of any kind. Oliver Spaulding, with his wife and two children, left Merrimac Co., N. H., in May, 1836, for the West, and on the 27th of that month landed at Niles. The trip was made via Erie Canal, steamboat on Lake Erie, and stage from Detroit, in what was then considered the remarkably quick time of seventeen days. Mr. Spaulding bought of one Lowe 160 acres on section 26, in Oronoko, and moved upon it with his family without delay, save that necessary to the erection of a cabin, his wife and children being meanwhile domiciled at the house of Hezekiah Hall. Mr. Spaulding lived upon the place until 1860, when he removed to Royalton township, where he now resides. In 1836, John and Lewis Storick, of Union Co., Pa., left it for Berrien Co., Mich., in company with their father, John's family, and the wife of John G. Schultz, who had migrated from Pennsylvania to Berrien the year before. John Storick had a wife and five children; Lewis, his brother, was unmarried. The entire party traveled overland to Berrien, and upon their arrival the Storicks tarried a while with Abram Freed, one mile west of Berrien village, and shortly afterwards moved to Abel Garr's, on section 21, where the families remained until John and Lewis put up a log cabin and cleared a portion of 160 acres of land which they had entered in partnership. After Lewis married, the brothers divided their land, and still live upon their original possessions, Lewis having increased his to 340 acres, and John his to 160. Lewis Storick, Sr., the father of Lewis and John, settled upon 40 acres north of Lewis, Jr. After his wife's death he sold his farm, and went to live with Abel Garr, at whose house he died. May 13, 1835, Samuel Wilson and his wife, his son, Ezra D., and two daughters-one of whom was accompanied by her husband, Henry Tudor, and seven children-started (a company of thirteen) from Spencer, Worcester Co., Mass., for Michigan. They traveled from Spencer to Albany by stage and private conveyance; from Albany to Buffalo via the Erie Canal; from Buffalo to Detroit, via Lake Erie, on the steamer " Charles Townsend;" and at Detroit they purchased three teams, with which they made the journey overland to Berrien, where they arrived June 13th; the trip from Detroit having occupied ten days. Tudor located upon the farm now owned by his widow, where he died in 1836, and his son Samuel upon section 24. Samuel Wilson, with his family, lived upon Tudor's place until 1837, when he moved upon a farm in the southeastern part of the township that he had bought of William St. John in 1836. Upon that place his son, Ezra D., now resides. Mr. Wilson died in 1865. Besides Ezra D., his living children are Eunice W. Wheeler, of Oronoko, and Louisa W. Curtis, of Cass County. Henry Hess came with George Kimmel from Pennsylvania in 1833, and worked on the latter's farm a year. In 1834 he went to Europe and brought back a wife, with whom he continued to work for Mr. Kimmel. In due time he bought a farm of his own, and resided on it until his death. His widow still resides on the old place near Singer Lake. Morris Upright came from New York as early as 1834, but he disliked the country, and after a stay of two years returned to New York. Samuel Sale, a pioneer from Virginia, located in 1831, about a mile up the river from Berrien village. He died after a four years' residence, and has left no descendants in the township. Jonathan Knight, now living upon section 11, came from Champaign Co., Ohio, in 1836, with John Gillespie and Nathan Fitch, both of the latter settling in Berrien township. Knight was a chairmaker, and after working in the village at his trade some years located upon the place he now occupies. Bethuel and Ebenezer Farley came to Oronoko about 1833, with their father. Bethuel and his father located upon the farm on section 23 now occupied by Bethuel Farley, and there Farley the elder resided until his death. Ebenezer Farley followed the river as a boatman, and after a while went to California, where he died. Amos Gray located in Berrien village in 1837, and worked there at his trade as carpenter during the ensuing eight years, some of which time he spent in assisting at the erection of the court-house. In 1844 he moved upon the farm he now occupies (on section 35), and there has since resided. Mr. Gray appeared first in Michigan in 1829, TOWNSHIP OF ORONOKO. 287 I I from which time until his settlement in Berrien he was busily engaged in Michigan and Indiana in his occupation as a mill-wright. FIRST EVENTS. The first birth in the new settlement was, as has been mentioned, a daughter to Francis B. Murdock, now Mrs. Clifton Gardner, of Berrien Springs. The first white male child born was Frank, a son of Joseph Feather, who first saw the light early in 1832. There is some diversity of opinion touching the identity of the first couple married. Joseph Feather, still living near Berrien Springs, was married by Pitt Brown, in 1833, to a daughter of Henry Freed. Before that, A. M. Brownell, of St. Joseph, was married by Pitt Brown to Lucy Ann, a daughter of 'Squire Brown. Joseph Feather, who was a carpenter and coffin-maker for the village at large in 1832, says the first person buried near the village was one Wilson, a captain on a keelboat plying on the St. Joseph. Capt. Wilson was interred in what are now called the Indian Fields. The first death in the village was doubtless that of an infant son of Francis B. Murdock, born in Berrien Springs in 1832. He was buried on the place now called the Shaker farm, and his remains still lie in a grave covered by the farm barn. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION. Oronoko township was originally a portion of Berrien township, from which it was set off in 1837, and named by Governor Mason, doubtless in honor of Oronoko, the Indian chief. William Lemon didn't like the name, and was heard to say, " Why didn't he name it Old Bill, and have done with it?" It then included the territory now occupied by Lake township, which was organized in 1846. Until 1847 portions of Berrien and Oronoko townships were on either side the St. Joseph River, and the larger portion of Berrien Springs was in Berrien township. This condition of things was unsatisfactory, and in the year last mentioned the river was made the dividing line between the townships. The first township-meeting in Oronoko was held in the house of Wm. F. St. John, April 3, 1837. Jesse Helmick was the moderator, Wm. Lemon, John L. Shell, and Jacob L. Kinsey were inspectors of election, and Hezekiel Hall, clerk of election. The names of those who have served the township as supervisors, clerks, and treasurers from 1837 to 1879, inclusive, will be found herewith appended: 1837.-Supervisor, Edward Ballengee; Clerk, William F. St. John; Collector, Alexander Turner. 1838.-Supervisor, William Lemon; Clerk, William F. St. John; Collector, Daniel H. Farley. 1839.-Supervisor, William Lemon; Clerk, William F. St. John; Treasurer, William Lemon. 1840.-Supervisor, Joseph S. Barnard; Clerk, William F. St. John; Treasurer, William Lemon. 1841.-Supervisor, Joseph S. Barnard; Clerk, Jacob Statler; Treasurer, William Lemon. 1842.-Supervisor, Joseph S. Barnard; Clerk, Jacob Statler; Treasurer, William Lemon. 1843.-Supervisor, Abel Garr; Clerk, Jacob Statler; Treasurer, William Lemon. 1844-45.-Supervisor, William Lemon; Clerk, Jacob Statler; Treas urer, James M. Watson. 1846.-Supervisor, Gilbert B. Avery; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, John Armstrong. 1847.-Supervisor, Jesse Helmick; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Aaron Van Patten. 1848.-Supervisor, Jesse Helmick; Clerk, Adam Small. 1849.-Supervisor, William Lemon; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Aaron Van Patten. 1850.-Supervisor, John Garrow; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Lyman A. Barnard. 1851.-Supervisor, Josiah Whetstone; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, James M. Watson. 1852.-Supervisor, Josiah Whetstone; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Joseph W. Smith. 1853.-Supervisor, Josiah Whetstone; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Joseph W. Smith. 1854.-Supervisor, Josiah Whetstone; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Lyman A. Barnard. 1855.-Supervisor, Lyman A. Barnard; Clerk, Edward Lewis; Treasurer, James Graham. 1856.-Supervisor, Jonathan Knight; Clerk, David Platt; Treasurer, James Graham. 1857.-Supervisor, R. L. Dudley; Clerk, Preston Boon; Treasurer, C. Gorham. 1858.-Supervisor, R. L. Dudley; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Stephen Wood. 1859-60.-Supervisor, Charles F. Howe; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, R. L. Dudley. 1861.-Supervisor, Charles D. Nichols; Clerk, Francis H. Bartholomew; Treasurer, James M. Watson. 1862.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Howe; Clerk, John Boal; Treasurer, Jacob Ewalt. 1863.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Howe; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, Henry Stemm. 1864.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Howe; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, David Essick. 1865.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Howe; Clerk, Henry Stemm; Treasurer, David Essick. 1866.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Howe; Clerk, John Boal; Treasurer, Henry Stemm. 1867.-Supervisor, Adam Small; Clerk, John Boal; Treasurer, D. H. Reiter. 1868.-Supervisor, John P. Vedder; Clerk, Adam Small; Treasurer, D. H. Reiter. 1869.-Supervisor, John P. Vedder; Clerk, George S. Pardee; Treasurer, D. H. Reiter. 1870.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Howe; Clerk, Charles D. Nichols; Treasurer, D. H. Reiter. 1871.-Supervisor, Aaron Van Patten; Clerk, L. B. Marquissee; Treasurer, D. H. Reiter. 1872.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Howe; Clerk, L. B. Marquissee; Treasurer, George Claar. 1873.-Supervisor, Charles F. Howe; Clerk, Isaac Rogers; Treasurer, George Claar. 1874.-Supervisor, Charles F. Howe; Clerk, L. B. Marquissee; Treasurer, George Claar. 1875.-Supervisor, Zachariah Fisher; Clerk, L. B. Marquissee; Treasurer, Augustus Kephart. 1876.-Supervisor, Zachariah Fisher; Clerk, George Claar; Treasurer, Augustus Kephart. 1877.-Supervisor, Zachariah Fisher; Clerk, D. G. W. Gaugler; Treasurer, Peter J. Filkins. 1878.-Supervisor, Zachariah Fisher; Clerk, Charles F. Howe; Treasurer, Aaron Van Patten. 1879.-Supervisor, Henry Stemm; Clerk, D. G. W. Gaugler; Treasurer, Aaron Van Patten. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. William Lemon, Jesse Helmick, Hezekiah Hall, and William F. St. John were chosen at the first township election, in 1837, for four, three, two, and one years, respectively. Each succeeding year one justice was chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of one of the four in office, the number of justices serving being at all times four. Those so elected after 1837 were as follows: 288 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 1838, William F. St. John; 1839, Jesse Helmick; 1840, Peter Ruggles; 1841, Jacob Statler, - Daniel McParly; 1842, Uziel Williams; 1843, F. D. Johnson; 1844, Oliver Spalding; 1845, Jacob Statler; 1846, Amos Gray; 1847, John S. Foot; 1848, Morris Frost; 1849, Jesse Helmick, Ebenezer McIlvain;* 1850, Oscar A. Dudley; 1851, Ebenezer McIlvain; 1852, John Garrow, William E. Lemon; 1853, Jesse Helmick; 1854, John W. Murphey; 1855, William S. Merrill, Nathan Helmick;*- 1856, Samuel Sleigh, James Farrell,* John Weaver;*- 1857, Jesse IHelmick, H. Hinchman;* 1858, Hiram Hinchman; 1859, Amos Gray; 1860, Wm. Taber,Charles D. Nichols; 1861, Preston Boon; 1862, Leonard S. Parce,-' Preston Boon; 1863, R. J. Tuttle, Daniel Terriere;* 1864, Westley Stowe; 1865, Jas. M. Watson; 1866, Robert Hastings; 1867, Zachariah Fisher; 1868, Westley Stowe; 1869, Norman E. Landon; 1870, Robert Hastings; 1871, Zachariah Fisher, — Darius Brown; 1872, John Boon, Amos Gray;'- 1873, George H. Murdock,* Lewis Fisher; 1874, Robert Hastings,* Amos Gray; 1875, Burns Helmick,* Jas. M. Watson; 1876, Jas. M. Watson; 1877, George H. Murdock; 1878, Robert Hastings; 1879, Charles D. Nichols. The affairs of the township are under control of what is known as the Township Board, composed, according to law, of the supervisor, the justice of the peace longest in office, and the township clerk. The Township Board for 1879 included, therefore, Henry Stemm, James M. Watson, and D. G. W. Gaugler. The Township Board acts also as a board of health. April 1, 1879, the township was clear of debt, and had $204.56 in the treasury. The total assessed valuation for 1879 was $404,675. The total tax was $6913, of which $4135.93 were for school purposes. Beginning with 1838, Oronoko has furnished of its citizens for county offices the following: County Clerks, Geo. H. Murdock and Chas. E. Howe; Registers, F. D. Johnson, Chas. F. Howe; Sheriffs, A. B. Munger, John Wittenmyer, James Graham, Chas. D. Nichols; Treasurers, Win. Lemon, Chas. D. Nichols; Surveyor, Amos Gray; Judge of Probate, E. McIlvaine. CHURCHES. Although opinions conflict as to when and by whom the first sermon was preached in Berrien village, it seems to be agreed that the first sermon was delivered by a Methodist minister. Methodist missionaries to the Far West were somewhat plentiful in the days of 1833 or thereabouts, and it was about that year that Rev. Mr. Cobb preached in the house of George Brong what is supposed by some to have been the pioneer sermon. Cobb returned occasionally and preached at Berrien more or less for the space of a year. Others maintain that before Mr. Cobb's advent a young man professing to be a United Brethren preacher held religious services occasionally in a log cabin near Pitt Brown's tavern. He rode a long circuit, and managed to reach Berrien about once a month. This preacher was a young man without conspicuous talent, and evidently poorly paid, but he was an earnest and energetic worker nevertheless, and was doubtless always eagerly welcomed at a time when public religious teachings were rare though much desired. It is told that he was so poor that his clothing was in rags, and that one Sunday, after his sermon in Berrien, he was approached by Dr. Mur ray, who asked him if it were against his principles to receive a donation on the Sabbath. "No, sir," promptly replied the preacher, whereupon Dr. Murray took him down to his store and decked him out from head to foot in a new suit of clothes. Methodist Episcopal Church of Berrien Springs.-This church was organized some time in 1835, by Rev. Richard Meek, who was the first preacher regularly assigned to preach at Berrien. Previous to that the Elkhart Conference sent out numerous missionaries, who stopped occasionally at Berrien, but their coming was always irregular and uncertain. The early records of the church are not in existence, but from oral testimony it appears that the members of the first class formed by Mr. Meek were Warren Wood and wife, George Brong and wife, Martin Friley and wife, and Lucy Farley. Directly after the organization of the class it was joined by Jesse Helmick and wife, Morris Upright, and Mrs. Wm. Murphy, then new-comers into the settlement. Martin Friley was the first class-leader, but was soon succeeded by Morris Upright. The first steward was George Brong. After Meek's time, Revs. McCoole and Owens were on the circuit, each preaching every alternate fortnight. The congregation worshiped in the town school-house until 1845, when the church edifice now in use was built. The membership, which numbered 102 in September, 1879, was divided between two classes, viz., the Berrien Springs class, with 75 members, worshiping at Berrien Springs, and the Oronoko class, with 27, worshiping in the Grange Hall, in the southeast part of the township. The officers of the former are: Trustees, B. Farley, J. S. Helmick, C. D. Nichols, R. Rennie, and Joel Benson; Stewards, J. S. Helmick, C. D. Nichols, B. Farley, R. Rennie, Geo. H. Martin, Wm. B. Edson; Recording Steward, B. Helmick; District Steward, C. D. Nichols. Of the latter the officers are: Trustees, Jesse Helmick, B. Helmick, R. V. Clark, Joseph Beach, Wm. Tabor, Elias Palmeter; Stewards, Jesse Helmick, B. Helmick, R. V. Clark; Recording Steward, B. Helmick; District Steward, C. D. Nichols. The church was awaiting in September, 1879, the assignment of a pastor, the term of the service of the last pastor, Rev. John Hoyt, having expired early in the month. The Evangelical Association.-This congregation was organized in 1854, by Rev. Mr. Eckert, in the residence of Lewis Evans, on section 8. Previous to that time members of the faith used to assemble in the houses of John Storick, in Oronoko, and John Harner, in Lake township, to listen to preaching by missionaries Stephay, Ruh, Kulp, Platz, and others. Eckert was a missionary, and it was at the solicitation of Lewis Evans that he undertook the task of organizing a church. The members were few in number at first, and included Lewis Evans and his wife, his son Edward, his daughters Mary and Margaret, and Daniel T. Feather and wife. John Schneider was the first exhorter, Daniel T. Feather the first steward, and likewise the first class-leader. Among the pastors who preached for the congregation at an early period of its existence were Revs. Uphaus, Kreiger, Ude, David Garl, Speck, Gomer, Rigl, and Allsbach. * To fill vacancy. TOWNSHIP OF ORONOKO. 289 I Public worship was held in a town school-house until 1873, when upon the erection of Salem church that edifice was used, in common with the Lutherans, and has been so used since. Services are now held oice every two weeks by Rev. C. Ude, of St. Joseph. The church membership is 38; the class-leader is J. Boal; the steward, Daniel T. Feather; and the exhorter, F. Fleischer. St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Berrien Springs, was formed May 27, 1871, as the Bethlehem Congregation, when twenty-six persons became members of the congregation. Their names were Joseph A. Becker, David M. Foster, James Simpson, D. G. W. Gaugler, J. J. Becker, Joshua Shaffer, Peter Wenn, Kate C. Feather, Lizzie M. Gaugler, Sarah Peck, Mary Shaffer, Elizabeth Becker, Mary C. Foster, Ella E. G. Whetstone, Jane Riggin, Mary Ann Toney, Amelia Reiber, M. F. Hills, Ann Hills, Wm. F. Reiber, John Burke, Sarah A. Burke, Mary K. Ewalt, George Doty, Uriah Schaffer, Eliza Schaffer. The church officers at the organization were Joseph A. Becker and David M. Foster as elders, and William F. Reiber and John Burke as deacons. The officers now are: Trustees, Joseph A. Becker, T. W. Anderson, L. B. Marquissee; Deacons, D. G. W. Gaugler, T. W. Anderson; Elders, Joseph A. Becker, William F. Reiber. The congregation worshiped in the United Brethren church until 1873, when the present neat edifice was prepared from a school building purchased of the town. Rev. B. F. Hill was the first pastor, and following him were Revs. J. N. Morris, Samuel Kelso (who resigned March 31, 1879), and F. W. Wetherwax, the latter being in charge September, 1879, when the church membership numbered 40. The Sunday-school attached to this church numbers now 75 scholars, and has a library of three hundred volumes. Mr. L. B. Marquissee, the present superintendent, has occupied that position since early in 1877. Mount Tabor (Evangelical Lutheran) Church.-May 10, 1863, Rev. John Boon organized the Mount Tabor congregation, with 29 members. They set forth as follows: " We, whose names are hereunto attached, living in the county of Berrien, State of Michigan, desiring to promote the glory of God and secure the salvation of ourselves, our children, and our neighbors, and believing that the Bible is the word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and also believing that the doctrines of God's word are purely taught and its ordinances are properly administered in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of these United States, as represented in the General Synod of said church, do organize," etc. iThe names of the constituent members appearing upon the church records are Michael, Sophia, William, and Lavina Harner, Michael Harner, Jr., George and Mary Ann Smith, John and Lydia Heim, James Storick, wife, and daughter, Mrs. St. John, R. J. Tuttle, Malvina C. Tuttle, Sarah and Lavina Smith, Elizabeth J. Allen, Alvina Edwards, Mary A. Storick, Mariah Lockinaw, Andrew and Mrs. Bihlmire, Emma Brocius, Stephen Harner, Mary A. Murphy. The church organization was effected in a township schoolhouse, where worship was held for a brief period thereafter, 37 until the erection, in the southwestern portion of the township, of the church building now in use. Rev. John Boon served as the first pastor, and during the five years of his ministry added four members to the church. In 1867, Rev. D. H. Reiter, a German Reformed minister, took charge as supply, and remained until April, 1871, when Rev. B. F. Hill, of the Synod of Northern Indiana, was called as pastor. Mr. Hill's successors have been Revs. S. Kelso and F. W. Wetherwax, who is now the pastor in charge. The church has latterly declined in membership, which includes now about twenty persons. For 1879 the elders were Michael Harner, Sr., and John H. Sunday. The deacons were Michael Harner, Jr., and Sanford Marsh. Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church.-This church was organized, April 8, 1860, by Rev. John Boon. The constituent members were six in number, as follows: Joshua Feather, Sr., Moses and Mary Feather, Isaac Hartlein, Leah Starr, and Lydia Moyer. On the same day were added Joel Starr, Joshua Feather, Jr., Mary Ann Feather, Lavina Richards, Mary Broceus, Matilda Hartlein, Susanna Feather, Mrs. Moses Feather. Moses Feather was chosen elder, and Isaac Hartlein deacon. The congregation was small at first, and gained strength but slowly. Services were held in a township school-house until 1873, when a church was built in the Feather settlement. The membership is now about forty, and the officers as follows: Elders, Moses Feather and Adam K. Stemm; Deacons, Wm. H. Harner and John S. Stover; Trustees, Ira Stemm, Wm. H. Harner, and Moses Feather. United Brethren in Christ.-One Sabbath in May, 1844, two frontier missionaries-Thomas J. Babcock and Elmsley Lamb-reached Berrien Springs and attended the Methodist Episcopal Church services that day in the town school-house. Upon the termination of the services Mr. Babcock arose and said that if there were in the village people desirous of forming themselves into a United Brethren congregation he would make an appointment, and speedily return from a contemplated western journey to effect the organization. His proposition met with favorable encouragement, and returning soon afterwards he organized the church of the United Brethren in Christ in the town school-house, May 20, 1844. The names of those who joined the congregation at that time were Tobias Whetstone, Elizabeth Abbott, Mary Lemon, Lavina Lemon, Erasmus Curtis, Abram Statler, Samuel Tudor, Hannah Brown, Stephen Leonard, Dennis Benton, Sarah Curtis,. Mary Curtis, Elizabeth Gleaner, John Cowen, Benjamin Borders, Fannie Ackerman, Caleb M. Clark, George Ewalt, Sally Ann Seward, Mary Florida, Elizabeth Curtis, Jane Maddern, Elmira Smith, Samuel Benton, J. W. Cheney, Laura Cheney, Thomas L. Wilkinson, John Lemon, Elizabeth Irwin, Warren Wood, Edwin Bowen, Abraham Whetstone, Isaac and Catherine Lemon, Wm. Lemon, Eliza Whetstone, John Borders, Margaret Lemon, Julia Dougherty, Eunice Barnard, Adam Small, Joseph Farquhar, George Erwin, David Moore, John Tate, Sally Ann Blackmore, Wm. Erwin, Elizabeth Young, Joseph F. Irish, Anthony Miller, Comfort Pennell, John Armstrong, Abigail Painter, James Erwin, Joseph and Ann Feather, 290 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I Sarah Gray, Morah Wood, Margaret Erwin, Susannah Tudor, Moses Burke, Isaac Mellon, Delia Ann Blackman, Sarah Ann Borders, Rebecca Morris, Eli Raver, Leonard Maddern, Mary Ann Burke, Ursula Hand, Rebecca Miller, Jane Erwin, Wm. M. Abbott, Nancy M. Friday, Ellen J. Rush, Wm. Strong, Aaron P. Morris, Catherine Mellon, Sarah Jane Brong, N. W. Thompson. An entry upon the church records, in the handwriting of Thomas J. Babcock, sets forth as follows: " Took charge of the church May 20, 1844, with - members; left in 1845, with eighty members." Thomas L. Wilkinson was the first class-leader; James Erwin and Isaac Lemon the first trustees. Worship was at first held in the town schoolhouse, but in 1845 a church was built and is still in use. Revs. Babcock and Lamb preached to the congregation until 1845, when Rev. J. B. Slight took charge. The imperfectness of the church records precludes the presentation here of a list of the ministers who followed Mr. Slight. In September, 1879, Rev. E. F. Light was the pastor, William Stahl was class-leader, Tobias Whetstone was the steward, and Comfort Pennell, George Ewalt, and William Stahl the trustees. The church membership is 43. The Sunday-school attached to this church numbers 107 pupils, in charge of nine teachers and Superintendent J. M. Willis. CEMETERIES. Oronoko contains four cemeteries, of which the chief one is Rose Hill, at Berrien Springs. This grave-yard is likewise the oldest one in the township, having been laid out in 1837. It contains now three and one-third acres, is handsomely located upon a commanding elevation in full view of the St. Joseph River, and is embellished with several fine monuments, including a memorial shaft to the citizens of Oronoko who fell in the war of the Rebellion. The other township cemeteries are Salem Cemetery, at Salem church, Maple Grove, in school district No. 4, and Oak Grove, one mile west of Maple Grove. THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. The soldiers' monument in Rose Hill Cemetery is a plain marble column, which was procured by private subscriptions, and set up as a memorial in 1874. Upon one side of the column is the following: " In memory and to the honor of the soldiers of Oronoko township who died in the service of their country in the Rebellion of 1861. "' They died that the nation might live.' "-LINCOLN. Upon a second appear the names: "Lieut. Ed. Hurson, E. H. Bartholomew, Jas. Beall, W. Brayman, Levi P. Brown, Wm. Calhoun, N. Cleaveland, E. N. Cleaveland, C. H. Davidson, W. H. Dennison, Comfort Estes, Amos Goff. "'Thus sleep the brave who sink to rest, With all their country's honors blest.'" Upon a third side: " Martin Gubby, Hart Granger, Joseph Gubby, Aaron Hiser, Joel Kerr, Rodney Knight, Isaac Lamb, Wm. W. Leader, J. H. Matthews, N. Morlan, Nathan Place, Isaac Quirk. "'Sleep deep! Sleep in peace! Sleep in memory ever! Wrapt each soul in the deeds of its deathless endeavor." On the fourth side are the names: M. Pangborn, G. R. Rogers, J. Shunkwilder, J. R. Simons, Stephen Simons, Alonzo Sischo, Thomas Streets, H. F. Summers, John Treadwell, Levi Trimm, Miles Woods, Joseph Vetter. " ' Forget not the dead who fought for us."' SCHOOLS. Weightier and more pressing business engaging the attention of those who led the van in settling Wolf's Prairie, the matter of public education was not pressed until the winter of 1833; indeed, until that time the population was so small that it was but a little band of children that could be gathered even then, and Nathan Helmick, known as lame Nathan (a brother of Judge Jesse Helmick, now living in Oronoko), who taught the first school, in 1833, was not overrun with pupils. Mr. Helmick taught in an old log cabin which had been put up by William Barlow, in what is now known as Barnard's Grove. In 1834 school matters had improved, the settlement had materially increased, and accordingly a school-house was built, and from that time onward the cause of education flourished. During the winter of 1834-35 there were three teachers, to wit: Thomas Love, the storekeeper, A. B. Smith, and William Singer, of Pittsburgh. With the organization of the township, in 1837, schools received increased attention, and flourished during the subsequent years. Now Oronoko is excellently provided with schools. The first school inspectors appointed by the township were William Lemon, Jesse Helmick, and Hezekiah Hall. There are now in the township seven school districts. District No. 1 includes the village of Berrien Springs; No. 2 is in the northwest; No. 3 is on the St. Joseph road; No. 4 in the southwest; No. 5 in the southwest; Nos. 6 and 7 in the west. A statistical report of the union school at Berrien Springs is given elsewhere. Statistics touching other school districts are given below, as per the district reports, dated Sept. 1, 1879: District No. 2:* Number of scholars, 45; average attendance, 44; value of school property, $300; amount of teachers' wages, $150. District No. 3: Number of scholars, 48; average attendance, 48; value of school property, $600; amount of teachers' wages, $220. * District No. 4: Number of scholars, 69; average attendance, 71; value of school property, $600; amount of teachers' wages, $201. District No. 5: Number of scholars, 57; average attendance, 49; value of school property, $1800; amount of teachers' wages, $175. District No. 6: Number of scholars, 37; average attendance, 29; value of school property, $500; amount of teachers' wages, $182. District No. 7: Number of scholars, 42; average attendance, 34; value of school property, $100; amount of teachers' wages, $100. John H. Sunday was chosen school superintendent for 1879. The school inspectors for that year were Harmon Cowens, John H. Sunday, and D. G. W. Gaugler. Berrien Springs Union School.-Upon the passage of the union school law Berrien Springs village assumed direct control of its schools, located in township school District No. 1. A commodious and handsome frame school edifice, surmounted with a tower, was erected in 1874, at a cost of about $7500, including land, and remains to-day a * From the reports for 1878. TOWNSHIP OF ORONOKO. 291 striking architectural ornament of the village. From the school report for 1879 it is learned that the district is clear of debt and has in the treasury $291.22. The receipts from district taxes in 1879 were $2200, and the actual expense for the support of the school for that period was $1619. The school has seating capacity for 275 pupils, but had during 1879 an average attendance of only 210, out of an enumeration of 247, which latter shows a falling off of 24 from the enumeration of 1878. There are three departments, including a high school and four teachers, Henry G Hipp being the principal. The school board is composed of Messrs. R. D. Dix, Darius Brown, Jacob Boon, Joel Benson, Harlow Vinton, Wm. F. Reiber. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. Although the St. Joseph River furnishes excellent waterpower along the border of Oronoko township, it is not utilized, for the reason that lack of transportation facilities to market towns checks the development of manufacturing enterprise. In the course of time a line of railway will doubtless pass though Berrien Springs, and in that event the village will naturally become a manufacturing point of some importance, since nature has already provided ample means towards that end. The old wooden structure standing near the bridge in Berrien Springs, and used by Stowe & Brother as a woodenbowl factory, was erected in 1857 by Gorham, Dudley & Boon, as a flour-mill, and it passed successively into the hands of Wm. Pears, -- Glover, Mr. Horton, and Ransom & Randall. The latter removed the machinery of the mill to the grist-mill now operated by Ransom & Martin, on Lemon Creek, and for five years the old mill on the riverbank stood idle. In the spring of 1879, Stowe & Brother took hold of it and began to make wooden bowls. The business was temporarily suspended in the autumn of 1879, but with a probability of early resumption. A. G. Shearer started a planing-mill in the village in 1870, and in 1873 H. D. Howe became associated with him. The firm of Shearer & Howe still run the mill, in which they manufacture siding, matched flooring, etc., and do scroll-sawing and wood-turning. In connection with the planing-mill they operate also a cider-mill. Besides the industries mentioned there are in the village Jacob Boon's wagon-shop, Peter J. Filkins' cooper-shop, and other minor manufactories. Alfred Bowles has a steam saw-mill near.Singer Lake; Ezra D. Wilson operates a saw-mill three miles southwest of the Springs; and a mile west is the steam saw-mill of Ransom & Martin. ORDERS AND SOCIETIES. Western Star Lodge, No. 39, F. and A. M., was instituted Jan. 10, 1850. Previous to that date it was conducted under dispensation from Nov. 28, 1849, the date of the first meeting, when there were nine members. The first officers were R. W. Landon, W. M.; Wm. Dougherty, S. W.; Michael Hand, J. W.; Ethan A. Brown, S. D.; Everett Webster, J. D.; 0. D. Snow, Treas.; Wm. F. St. John, Sec.; Morris Boss, Tiler. The foregoing and Geo. R. L. Baker included the original members. The membership is now 75, and the officers as follows: L. B. Marquissee, W. M.; R. A. Wheeler, S. W.; Daniel Robinson, J. W.; E. D. Wilson, Treas.; Wm. F. Reiber, Sec.; A. W. Marrs, S. D.; - J. D.; E. F. Armstrong, Tiler; Aaron Van Patten and T. C. Spalding, Stewards. The Worshipful Masters since the lodge organization have been, in the order of their service, R. W. Landon, Michael Hand, Everett Webster, E. A. Brown, Cornelius Gorham, E. A. Brown, C. Gorham, R. L. Dudley, E. A. Brown, C. D. Nichols, James Graham, E. A. Brown, A. W. Marrs, E. A. Brown, Michael Hand, A. W. Marrs, E. A. Brown, Edward Hall, L. B. Marquissee, William H. Miller, L. B. Marquissee, N. M. Claypole, L. B. Marquissee. The lodge owns a handsomely-furnished hall at Berrien Springs, in which assemblies have been held since November, 1875. Regular meetings are held every Wednesday in each month on or before the night of full moon. Berrien Springs Lodge, No. 323, 1 0. 0. F., was instituted March 17, 1879, with charter members as follows: E. D. Cook, Geo. W. Rowe, D. G. W. Gaugler, R. A. Demont, Geo. W. Caruthers, Joel Benson, John H. Stover, Jas. Smith, Alex. J. Malloy, Norman Nimms. The first officers were E. D. Cook, N. G.; Geo. W. Caruthers, V. G.; D. G. W. Gaugler, Rec. Sec.; R. A. Demont, P. Sec.; Geo. W. Rowe, Treas. Although but six months of age, the lodge numbers a membership of 50. Regular meetings are held every Monday night in the hall over the post-office. The officers Sept. 1, 1879, were G. W. Caruthers, N. G.; Norman Nimms, V. G.; W. P. Harmon, Rec. Sec.; R. A. Demont, P. Sec.; Geo. W. Rowe, Treas. Oronoko Lodge, No. 69, A. O. U. W., was organized May 23, 1879, with 17 members. The officers elected at the organization still remain in office, and are: R. A. Demont, P. M. W.; R. D. Dix, M. W.; C. B. Watson, Sec.; W. F. Reiber, F.; W. H. Miller, G. F.; L. St. John, O.; L. B. Marquissee, G.; G. W. Rough, Rec.; Jacob Boon, I. W.; Otis Reed, O. W. The membership is now 21. Regular meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month in the I. O. O. F. Hall. Mount Tabor Grange, No. 43, P. of H., was organized Aug. 5, 1873, with the following members: Joseph Beach and wife, Stephen Harner and wife, P. Helmick and wife, William M. Tabor and wife, Orlando Nelson and wife, Christopher Raver, J. C. Beach, D. Sylvester and wife, A. Green and wife, Richard Edwards and wife. William M. Tabor was the first Master and B. Helmick the first Secretary. Until August, 1877, the grange held meetings in the dwellings of its members. A fine grange hall was completed and occupied at that time. It is located in the southeastern part of the township, and cost to build $1200. The members number now 59. The officers chosen for 1879 were W. J. Jones, M.; Mattie J. Helmick, Sec.; Chester Fisher, Trcas.; Thos. J. Crandall, Overseer; Joseph Beach, Chaplain; A. Green, Steward; A. D. Stowe, Assistant Steward; George Reese, Lecturer; Mrs. A. D. Stowe, Lady Assistant Steward,; Mrs. Sarah Jones, Ceres; Miss Nellie McOmber, Flora; Miss Ettie Fisher, Pomona; Mrs. E. A. Green, O. G. Berrien Springs Grange, No. 40, P. of H., was organI 292 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I I --- —--------- ized in 1873, but declining in strength in 1879, was in that year dissolved. The Berrien Springs Cornet Band was organized in 1878, by Professor G. W. Chadwick, of Warsaw, Ind., who, in response to a call, spent a brief period in Berrien Springs in the training of the band. Mr. G. W. Caruthers, who was chosen the first leader, still continues at the head of the organization, whose force includes eight brass instruments and two drums. The band renders frequent and effective service in the local field, and enjoys a creditable reputation as a company of skilled performers. The Red Ribbon Club, organized in 1877, has now about 150 members, and officers as follows: Charles B. Watson, President; Mrs. Chas. B. Watson, Robert Rennie, and Mrs. David Essick, Vice-Presidents; F. A. Brayman, Sec.; C. D. Nichols, Treas.; John Costello, F. S.; R. D. Dix and Jennie Boon, Marshals; J. R. Miller, Chaplain. Regular meetings are held every Tuesday evening in Red Ribbon Hall. The Berrien Springs Debating Society, organized in 1869, meets for public discussion during the winter seasons. The officers for 1879 were Clifton Gardner, President; Augustus Kephart, Secretary and Treasurer. The membership in September, 1879, was 12. The Young People's Picnic Association of Berrien County was organized Aug. 9, 1877. Annual meetings are held in Barnard's Grove at Berrien Springs, and those occasions have thus far witnessed the gathering of a joyous multitude and the passage of a happy time. A Grand Army of the Republic Post and Ladies' Library Association flourished in Berrien Springs a few years ago, but they passed out of existence before 1877. Berrien County Pioneer Association.-This association, composed, as its name indicates, of those who participated in the pioneer settlement of Berrien County, was organized Sept. 22, 1875. Its members-now numbering upwards of 300-have held yearly reunions since then on the first Wednesday in June, in Barnard's Grove, near Berrien Springs, and at these meetings have gathered not only Berrien pioneers, but people from various parts of the State, as well as from other Western States. On the occasion of.the reunion in June, 1879, the number of persons in attendance was estimated at fully 10,000. The exercises at these pioneer meetings consist of diversified entertainment, historical addresses and the narration of old settlers' reminiscences forming naturally the leading features, while pleasing amusements and feasting add much to the cheerfulness of the occasion. CHAPTER XXXIX. PIPESTONE TOWNSHIP.* Settlements and Pioneers in Pipestone-" Shanghai Village"-Early Industries-The German Settlement-Township Organization and Officers-Schools-Churches-Eau Claire-Pipestone Grange-A Memorable Wind-Storm. PIPESTONE, named after the large creek which flows through the township from east to west, is numbered town *By David Sehwartz.' 5 south, in range 17 west, and lies on the eastern line of the county, having Bainbridge township on the north, Berrien on the south, the Cass County line on the east, and Sodus township on the west. A considerable portion of the township, estimated at onetenth of the territory, is swamp-land, the major portion thereof being on the north and east. In the latter district is the " big meadow," the largest of the swamp tracts, which covers nearly 1000 acres. The roads through these swampy lands are very bad at their best, and are at times well-nigh impassable. Measures are, however, now in progress by which it is hoped to reclaim the " big meadow," and eventually the other swampy regions. Certain it is that this land, when reclaimed, will be exceedingly valuable. Liberal attention is given to the production of fruit, and of apples the annual yield is exceedingly large. The soil is favorable to the bountiful growth of wheat and corn, the average yield of the former being twenty bushels per acre. Instances have been cited of thirty-eight bushels per acre in 1879. The surface of the country is uneven, and water-courses are plentiful. Pipestone Creek, the largest of these, flows from the northeastern corner of the township westward to the St. Joseph River, and affords at Shanghai good waterpower. The market-towns are Benton Harbor and Dowagiac. The two villages in Pipestone, Shanghai and Eau Claire, have post-offices, but these ar6 small settlements. SETTLEMENTS AND PIONEERS IN PIPESTONE. The southern and western portions of Pipestone fell into the hands of Eastern land speculators soon after the township survey. Nearly all of these land-owners lived in New York State, among the most prominent being Lawrence, Corning, Bushnell, and Voorhies. As they bought the most of their land from the general government at one dollar and a quarter an acre, and sold it to settlers at two dollars'and a half, their investments paid them handsomely. Although the territory now covered by Bainbridge and Watervliet received settlers as early as 1835, that portion of Bainbridge now called Pipestone did not attract much attention until 1837, and for some time after that settlements were slow; while in the north and eastern portions, where the land was swampy, there were scarcely any settlers even as late as 1847. The first white settler in the township was undoubtedly James Kirk, a Virginian. Mr. Kirk's brother William had moved from Virginia to Niles in 1830, and James Kirk, actuated by a desire to leave a country where slavery prevailed, and by the invitation to join his brother, moved in in 1833, with his wife and two children, from his Virginia home to Niles. After residing there four years he determined to seek a home in some newer region, and in the fall of 1836 set out, in company with Robert Newell, of Niles, on a land-prospecting tour. They followed Indian trails and section lines, marked by blazed trees, until coming one day to a cold spring on section 20, in what is now Pipestone, Mr. Kirk determined to locate a farm that should take in that spring. He returned with Newell to Niles, entered eighty acres on the section mentioned, and in April, 1837, set -out, with- his family, from Niles in a lumber-wagon 'I I r-qI nFN RESIDENCE OF (lEUR(it C. HARI MAN, PIPESTONE IR, ERRIEN UO.,MICH. TOWNSHIP OF PIPESTONE. 293 I drawn by a pair of oxen. Newell, it may be noted, was not impressed with the value of the lands he had seen, and concluded to remain in Niles. Mr. Kirk's family had by this time increased to seven children, and so when the family move was made for the Pipestone country there were in the company nine persons. The journey was a tedious one of two days, and was made over roads much of which Kirk was compelled to cut for his passage through the woods. The first night was passed at the house of Henry Rush, in Berrien. The second night saw the family upon their new possession, and there, erecting a cloth tent near the spring, they passed the night, the only civilized tenants of a vast forest resounding with the cries of wolves, and familiar to no human tread save that of the red man. On the following day Kirk, assisted by his boys, the eldest of whom was but eight years of age, erected a pole shanty. Later in the year neighbors came from Bainbridge and Berrien and assisted Kirk in putting up a comfortable and commodious cabin of split logs. Of the seven children mentioned there are now five living, viz., Mrs. Israel Williams, of Kansas; Joseph S. Kirk, of Iowa; John T. Kirk, of California; Mrs. Sarah Query, of Kansas; and Joseph A. Kirk, living upon the old farm. Isaac H., the eldest of the seven, entered the military service during the Mexican war, and died on his way home. William D. lived in Pipestone until his death, in 1865. Aug. 20, 1837, while Kirk was still living in the pole shanty, he became for the eighth time a father. The child was a daughter, and enjoyed the distinction of being the first white child born in the township. She was named Mary Ellen, and, as the widow of William Penland, still lives in Royalton township. Although Mr. Kirk took at no time a prominent part in the public affairs of the township, he was well known far and near, and much respected. He was a man of much humor, and numerous stories are in existence of his quaint sayings and love of the ludicrous. He remained upon the place of his first location until the day of his death, and lived long enough to see the wilderness of his early days become a country of fruitful farms. Mr. Kirk was the only settler in Pipestone until some time during the summer of 1837, when Dr. Morgan Enos came from Millburg, with his wife, and located upon 160 acres lying in sections 18 and 19, which he had entered the previous year, while visiting his brother Joab in Benton township. William Boughton, living on the Territorial road, near Millburg, in Bainbridge, had in 1836 attempted to cut out a road from the Territorial road to section 18, in Pipestone (where he had entered land), but gave up the task before completing much of it. When Dr. Enos was about ready to set out for his Pipestone farm he, with Crawford Hazard and Nathaniel Brant, finished the road that Boughton had commenced, and over it Dr. Enos moved his family and possessions to a log house previously put up there for him by Hazard, Brant, and others, who had cleared also a half-acre of land about the cabin and sown it with turnip-seed. Dr. Enos then em ployed Brant, Hazard, and two men named Pelch and Vandeveer to cut a road through to Henry Rush's, in Berrien, and from section 18 to Larue's saw-mill, in what is now Sodus. Brant and Hazard, of whom mention has been made above, were early comers in Bainbridge, and after assisting Dr. Enos to settle in Pipestone continued to work for him, and made Pipestone township their home. Hazard, who had a family, settled upon a place of his own north of Dr. Enos, and lived there until 1844, when he moved to Hagar and bought out Oliver Sorell. Nathaniel Brant, who was a young bachelor, worked for Dr. Enos a few years, and on April 29, 1840, married Martha, daughter of Crawford Hazard. The wedding ceremony was performed by 'Squire David S. Rector, at the residence of the bride's father, and is remembered as the first marriage in the township. The occasion had been anticipated by the country roundabout, and preparations were made for the entertainment of a numerous company, but almost impassable roads kept many of the promised guests at home, although there were at hand sufficient numbers to have a generally merry time. Upon Brant's marriage he became a settler in Pipestone, and located upon a farm in section 17. In 1844 he sold out and settled in Bainbridge, the purchaser of his place being Oliver Sorel, who came from New York to Watervliet, in 1836, to work for Smith & Merrick; lived afterwards in St. Joseph and Hagar, and selling his farm in the latter place, in 1844, to Crawford Hazard, moved in that year to the Brant farm in Pipestone. He sold in 1854 to William R. Hogue, and moved to the northern part of the township, where he now lives. Morgan Enos was a skillful physician, and, upon his settlement in Pipestone, practiced medicine whenever duty called him. He was for many years the only physician in that region, and acquiring a business that called him far and near, came to be exceedingly well known. Called in haste one day to attend one of James Kirk's sons, he found that the lad had, while chopping in the woods, completely severed one toe and cut another, so that it hung simply by the skin. The boy's mother, upon answering his alarm, had hastily replaced the hanging toe against the portion whence it had been cut; and when Dr. Enos arrived he found the toe back in the exact spot from which it had been taken, and cleverly bandaged. " Madam," said he, " what did you call me for? I couldn't do a neater job than that if I were to try for a thousand years. That's what I call ' healing at the first touch.'" During his later years, when old age began to tell upon him, Dr. Enos retired from active practice, and lived at his ease until his death, in September, 1868. Two of his children-Mrs. R. L. Webster and Juliette Enos-live at Shanghai, the birthplace of Mrs. Webster, who was the second child born in Pipestone township. The year 1837 brought a number of other settlers into Pipestone, among whom were Robert Ferry, Elijah Pratt, William Boughton, Stephen Smith, and Loren Marsh. First in order of settlement was Robert Ferry, who followed close upon Morgan Enos in the pioneer work. He came over from Ireland in 1835, worked as a farmer's hand in New York State two years (during which time, in 1836, he entered a piece of land on section 27, in Pipestone), and in 1837 entered upon his Michigan estate, and set himself resolutely at the business of clearing his lanm. He was 294 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. - - a bachelor then, and from 1837 to 1839 lived in his little log shanty, with no companion save his dog. He was alone in the vast wilderness, two miles or more distant from the nearest settler; he heard no sounds save those of howling wolves, and saw no human faces except such as belonged to the red-skins, who occasionally looked in upon him, always, however, in a friendly spirit. He worked away faithfully, and, managing by occasional trips with government surveyors to earn a little money, he was enabled to add to his landed possessions. This standard of thrift and industry which he thus early set for himself grew with him through life, gave him at one time the ownership of upwards of 1000 acres of land, and enabled him at his death to leave a farm to each of his five sons. In 1839, Mr. Ferry married Joanna, a daughter of Jacob Ridenour, a settler in Pokagon in 1837. On the last day of 1839 he brought his wife to his Pipestone home, and there Mrs. Ferry has lived to this day. She says that for three months after she began her pioneer life she saw no woman except an Indian squaw once in a while. Deer, she relates, were so plentiful and so tame that they frequently came past the cabin in herds, without manifesting timidity, and killing a deer was a very simple and easy matter. Wolves were excessively troublesome, while bears played havoc with small stock. Mrs. Ferry remembers how wolves often came to her very door-step, attracted by the odor of cooking meat; and that it was not infrequently the case that Mr. Ferry had to chase wolves and even bears from his cabin door. Once he discovered a bear hugging one of his pigs and actually eating it alive. On another occasion a hog which Ferry had brought from Pokagon was attacked by a bear, and being happily delivered by Ferry from death became apparently so thoroughly disgusted with its perilous existence that it disappeared that night, and appeared in a few days at the home of its former owner in Pokagon. Mr. Ferry lived on his old farm until his death, in 1875; and upon the place where his strong energies had put forth their most earnest efforts a marble shaft marks his last earthly home. Elijah Pratt came from New York, with his wife, and settled upon section 21. He went to California in 1850, and died on shipboard while on his return voyage. William Boughton settled upon section 18, and with Joab Enos subsequently laid out Pipestone village. He was a man of stirring energy and obtained much local prominence. He was the first postmaster, and at the time of his death, in 1864, was serving his second term. None of his descendants now reside in the township. Stephen Smith, a bachelor of advanced years, and Loren Marsh, his adopted son, came in company from Erie Co., N. Y., to Pipestone. Marsh had a wife and two children, and with Smith settled upon section 21. Marsh died soon after his settlement, and according to the best obtainable authority his was the first death in Pipestone. He was buried on the Smith farm, on section 21, and there the curious may see in a clump of briers the spot where his bones still lie. Thomas, his son, lives in Watervliet. Loren Marsh's widow married David Puterbaugh, and died many years ago. Smith lived to be very old, and died in Pipestone. David Puterbaugh, now living on section 26, resided in Berrien township with his father, from 1836 until the latter's death in 1838. David then entered 40 acres of land on section 27, in Pipestone, but did no work upon the place until the winter of 1839. After that, for nine years, he lived on the farm in the winter seasons, and during the summers boated on the St. Joseph River, while his place was looked after by his brother Abram. When David finally left the river, in 1848, and became a permanent settler, Abram, his brother, bought 80 acres on section 28 of Robert Ferry. Two years afterwards, while clearing his land, he was killed by the fall of a tree. David moved to his place of present residence in 1853. His were the first recorded cattle ear-marks in the township books, under date 1842, and were noted as " a square crop off left ear and slit in right." Among the settlers of 1840 were Joseph Large, who located upon the northeast corner of section 10, lived there until 1875, and then moved to Texas. Spencer Bishop, a New Englander, settled upon section 7; there he lived until 1858, when he died by his own hand. William M. Abbott located upon section 29, on land owned by Philo W. Boyd, whose sister Abbott had married. He moved from the township after a brief stay. Joseph F. Yaw, a New Yorker, settled in the northern part of the township. He entered the military service during the civil war of 1861 -65, and was killed in action. His wife died soon after their settlement, and was buried at Berrien Springs. Grist-mills were few and far between in that region in 1840, and as " going to mill"' meant a journey of several miles, the settlers were called upon to exert their inventive faculties in more ways than one when the stock of meal or flour ran low. Mrs. Brant says she astonished her neighbors one day with a feast of johnny-cake, and when asked to explain how she got the meal, related that she improvised a corn-mill by pounding her corn in a tin pan perforated at the bottom with small holes, and her model, it is said, was adopted by many with gratifying results. Log-rolling bees were prominent and useful features in pioneer life. Each man took turns in helping his neighbor to clear a piece of land large enough at least to produce a respectable crop. In this way a newly-arrived settler would be enabled to get a clearing in a short time. Sometimes quite a company participated in the " bee," although, as a rule, there were about enough to average four acres a day. All who could, turned out, for in those days fraternal sympathy was the ruling spirit. David Puterbaugh says that when the settlers began to multiply he was engaged twenty-two successive days at log-rolling bees with his ox-team. Clearing land by moonlight was a common occupation with some of the settlers. For them the hours of labor could not be too long or too many. They were impatient to hurry an enterprise which at best must be slow, and not only on moonlight nights but on nights when the stars only shone did the woodman's axe ring the death-knell of many a forest monarch. Indeed there were some settlers who, having to labor upon other farms during the day, that a little ready cash might be obtained, were compelled to work far into the night on their own places as the only way possible towards the clearing of their land. The emergencies Vl. I "I N 51- - FIRGT HOM.N TH WO4 O N URI, VIP ESTONEI Pi tJ9,RR IEN UO,,IVIC H. a~ TOWNSHIP OF PIPESTONE. 295 of the time were of a truth pressing, and only heroic'remedies would apply. Mrs. Robert Ferry recalls the fact that in the absence of matches it was imperatively necessary to keep a constant fire. One winter day their fire went out, and there were at hand no means for rekindling it. Their nearest neighbor was Martin Friley, living three miles away in Berrien, and for Friley's house Ferry accordingly set out in search of a fire-brand. He returned in good time, waving the brand in triumph, and a cheering sight it was, too, to the eyes of his wife, who had, during his absence, occupied the roof of the cabin, where, in the rays of the sun, she found trifling relief from the penetrating cold. As to the matter of " going to mill," Ferry frequently shouldered his grist, trudged eight miles to Pokagon, and brought back his flour by the same conveyance. In 1845, eight years after the township received its first settler, Pipestone contained a population of 277. Nine years later, or in 1854, the population had increased to 785. SHANGHAI VILLAGE. The village known as Shanghai is set down in the Postal Guide as Pipestone, which has been its post-office name since the office was first established, in 1846. Previous to that time William Boughton and Joab Enos laid out a village upon the site, called it Pipestone, and disposed of a few lots; but somehow the growth of the enterprise was exceedingly- slow, and for a long time it existed only on paper. Previous to 1846 there were no mail facilities nearer than Berrien Springs, but in that year Wm. Boughton secured the establishment of a post-office at that point and was himself appointed postmaster. No store was established there until 1856, when John Garrow set up as a merchant. Meanwhile, in 1853, the village was rechristened and called Shanghai, as a tribute to Morgan Enos' fondness for the Shanghai breed of fowls. The story goes that Dr. Enos, visiting New York to bring his daughter Sophronia back from school, brought also a few Shanghai eggs, and in the chickens raised from those eggs he took such pleasure that some one declared the village ought to be called Shanghai. The idea gaining popular favor at once, the name was by common consent adopted and has been retained to this day. Mrs. R. L. Webster, now living at Shanghai, is the doctor's daughter, and the one who conveyed the eggs in question in her lap all the way from New York State to Pipestone. Mr. Boughton was postmaster from 1846 to 1857, when he was succeeded by Lyman Dunbar, who retired in 1861 in favor of Mr. Boughton's return to the office. The latter retained it until his death, in 1864, from which time until 1866 0. S. Boughton, who had been deputy under William Boughton, had charge. Miss C. C. Sabin was appointed in 1866, and in 1868 gave way to Angelia Webster, who in 1874 relinquished the place to J. F. Haskins, the present incumbent. The merchants who succeeded Mr. Garrow at Shanghai have been as follows: Ambrose Watkins, Miss C. C. Sabin, Charles Walker, Mortimer Quackenbush, Sylvester Parks, Chambers & Tatman, and L. P. Vandenhoff; Mr. Parks and Mr. Vandenhoff being at present the village merchants. Besides the two stores there are in the village a dozen or more residences, a graded school, and two blacksmith-shops. EARLY INDUSTRIES. Although Pipestone Creek furnished, near Pipestone village, excellent water-power when William Boughton laid out the place, no especial effort was made to utilize it. Joab and Morgan Enos built a saw-mill, in 1844, on the creek, three-quarters of a mile north of the village, and later Morgan Enos put up a saw-mill at the village. Above the firstnamed mill Daniel P. Pidge erected, in 1845, a tool-shop, where he did all kinds of blacksmithing and manufactured knives, bells, etc., in a small way. James A. Kirk, of Pipestone, has in his possession one of the "Pidge" butcher-knives. It bears the imprint of " Pidge" in bold characters, but is a poor specimen of a knife for all that. In the second story of Pidge's shop A. D. Snow plied his trade of carpenter, and a little farther up the creek Joab Enos had a turning-lathe. A turning-lathe was also set up at the village soon after by John Enos. The Joab and Morgan Enos saw-mill was erected for them by Robert Cassiday, a Niles mill-wright, who in 1854 moved into Pipestone and bought the property of Joab Enos. The mill is now occupied by Wm. L. Clark. The saw-mill started by Morgan Enos at the village was allowed in after years to go to decay. The first grist-mill was a primitive affair. In 1847, Blandon A. Pemberton built a little log mill on the creek flowing through section 31, and continued its operation about six years. A hand-bolt was in this mill, a useful but simple affair, and the milling business, as may be judged, was limited in its scope, but still a convenience, as it saved many a journey to Berrien. The second grist-mill in the township, and the only one now there, was put up at Shanghai by William and Samuel Enos and Robert L. Webster. The machinery for it was taken from the old Lacey mill at Niles. The mill property belongs now to the Davidson Gardner estate, and is occupied by E. H. Adams. Dr. Fowler built a saw-mill on section 1, and sold it to Gilbert Leech, from whose possession it passed, in 1861, to Peter and James H. Nostrand. In 1873 they abandoned the old water-mill, and built near it a steam saw-mill, which they now operate. The only manufacturing interest now in Pipestone, besides those noted above, is the steam saw-mill of James Hawes, on section 15, erected in 1874. THE GERMAN SETTLEMENT. The northeastern portion of the township contains many Germans, and is known as the German settlement, although there are in that quarter quite as many Americans as Germans. Dr. Fowler, who built a saw-mill on section 1, and John Rowe, who rented the mill, were perhaps the first comers. Mr. Rowe is still a resident, upon section 12. Isaac Tice, of Cass County, owned about 3000 acres, lying chiefly along the eastern tier of sections in Pipestone and the west tier in Cass County. Of him many Germans purchased lands. The German advance-guard came in 1850, when William Hackstatt, Henry Stevens, Henry 296 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I Tulker, and - Neimeyer, with their families, journeyed from Cincinnati, in company, to Pipestone. Hackstatt (who, with Fred. Schleipp, had prospected for land in Pipestone in 1847) had bought a soldier's land-warrant for 200 acres on section 12, and of the 200, Henry Stevens afterwards bought 80 acres from William Buck, to whom Hackstatt had sold. Hackstatt found an abandoned log school-house on his place, and he proceeded to utilize it as a residence, and as such it served him some time. Stevens still lives on section 12. Neimeyer returned to Ohio and Tulker settled in Cass County. When the Hackstatt party came in they found a wild and almost unsettled country. The only roads they found were narrow paths through the woods. John Rowe was already there, and opposite him was John Schinefelt, who moved in 1867 to Iowa. On the south was David Walter, and west of Walter was David Moore. Peter Kramer, the father of Mrs. William Hackstadt, came from Cincinnati in 1851, and after living a year with his son-in-law went back to Ohio, whence he returned to Pipestone in 1854, and settled upon section 11, where he died. In 1853, J. C. Runkle, of Ohio, bought of Josiah H. Swisher 80 acres on section 1, and entered 80 acres on sections 1 and 2. He settled in that year on section 1, upon which the only other settler then was Gilbert Leech, who owned and operated the old Fowler saw-mill. Campbell McCoy lived on section 2, and died there in 1863. George Srackengast, who came with Runkle, settled upon section 2, and lives there yet. At that late day, even, there were no traveled roads in that quarter. The roads the settlers used were such only as they cut out themselves. In 1854, Aaron Claussen came, with his family, from Pennsylvania to Michigan, and remaining awhile in Berrien Springs opened a harness-shop there. That he soon gave up, and in the fall of the same year bought 40 acres of land on section 13, in Pipestone, and located upon it without delay. His place was in the heart of the woods, and for a long time, even after he settled, deer used to play about his house and pass in droves. Mr. Claussen entered the military service during the war of the Rebellion, as a member of the 12th Michigan, and died in hospital in Arkansas, in 1865. When the Claussens came in their neighbors on the south were Darius Ely and Daniel Trowbridge, and on the north Joseph Walter and Julius Hackstadt. In the same year James Nostrand came, with his son Peter and the latter's family, from Onondaga Co., N. Y., and made a settlement on section 14, upon a place owned by the widow of David Moore. That farm had been partly cleared, but the neighboring country was generally wild. The elder Nostrand returned to New York, and in 1861 Peter located on section 1, where he had bought land and the old Fowler saw-mill of Gilbert Leech, and where he still lives. In 1857, Frederick Wolf settled upon the place he now occupies, and in 1858 Frederick Furst located upon a place adjoining him on the east. Proceeding southward, along the eastern line of the township, note may be made of the settlement, in 1853, of Darius Ely, who in that year started from Ohio for Cali fornia. He stopped in Pipestone to visit Daniel Trowbridge (his wife's father, who had settled in Pipestone two years previously, upon section 23), and was persuaded by Trowbridge to remain as a settler. He bought 160 acres on section 23 and 160 on section 24, and while he was building a frame house on his place lodged his family in an old log cabin on the Widow Moore's farm. When Ely moved in there were, besides Trowbridge, the settlements, near by, of David and Josiah Gano, W. Farrow, and J. De Witt. Trowbridge died in 1858, and Ely in 1867. In the southeast the earliest settlements were made by William M. G. Ridenour and Cyrus Tatman, who came in 1849. West of them, in the same year, Norman Preston made a settlement; and west of him, on section 34, still earlier in the same year, Miles Davis located upon 80 acres, purchaqed of Lawrence, a land speculator. The country about him was wild, and settlements were few. His neighbors on the north were Robert Ferry, David Puterbaugh, and Truman Reed; on the south was George Caldwell; on the east there was no one between his place and the town line, three miles distant; on the west his nearest neighbor was Edward Hart, two miles away. Hart sold his place to W. Smythe Farmer, of New York, who settled in Pipestone in 1848. Since that time Mr. Farmer has steadily added to his landed possessions, and he now owns about 2000 acres, 800 of which are under cultivation. Following the east-and-west road from " Cassiday's Corners," we find that Robert Cassiday, who settled in the State in 1829, and in Niles in 1832, moved from the latter place in 1854 to Pipestone, where he settled on section 18, and took charge of the Enos mill property, his purchase of which had led him to locate in the township. A mile or more eastward, on section 17, Theodore Clark, of Ohio, settled in the same year, and opposite him, in the following spring, C. E. Jennings located, on section 8. Upon the place bought by Clark there had been three different settlers, to wit, Alonzo Brant, Joseph F. Yaw, and J. T. Burbank, each being named in the order of his settlement. After Burbank sold to Clark he bought a place on sections 9 and 16 from Hiram Ryther, who thereupon left the township. In the spring of 1855, A. R. Robinson bought a place on section 9 of Elliott Chamberlain, who was the original settler there in 1853. Robinson's neighbors were Peter Worth, Mrs. Reams, and Philip De Witt. In 1855, Jacob Puterbaugh came from Berrien and settled north of the road; A. J. Tibbs settled south, on section 16, in 1856; and Andrew Jackson, a colored man, settled on section 14. William Green was a settler before 1849; and on section 3 John Sutherland was a settler in 1856. His farm was an unbroken forest, and before he settled neither the east-andwest road nor the north-and-south road, which now bound his farm on two sides, had been laid out. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. Pipestone, belonging to the territory originally set off to Bainbridge and Royalton, was created a separate township in 1842, under the Legislative act of February 16th of that year, and then extended west to the St. Joseph River. It is generally understood that the township name was derived ii A~ v, t~;,. i MILES DAVIS. M RS.MILES DAVIS. RESIDENCE OF MILES DAVIS, PIPESTONE TOWNSHIP BERRIEN CO., MICHIGAN. a TOWNSHIP OF PIPESTONE. 297 from that of Pipestone Creek, but how the creek came by its name is not so clear. The first meeting was held at the house of William Boughton, shortly after organization, and at the election then held, 27 votes were cast. The full list of officials then chosen is as follows: Supervisor, James B. Larue; Clerk, Morgan Enos; Treasurer, Loren Marsh; Justices of the Peace, J. B. Larue (two years), Loren Marsh (three years), Ebenezer Farley (one year), David S. Rector (four years); School Inspectors, James Kirk, Loren Marsh, James B. Larue; Highway Commissioners, Ebenezer Farley, David S. Rector, James Kirk; Directors of the Poor, William Boughton, Morgan Enos; Constables, David Puterbaugh, Hiram Rector; Overseers of Highways: District No. 1, Robert Ferry; District No. 2, Loren Marsh; District No. 3, Morgan Enos; District No. 4, Spencer Bishop; District No. 5, D. S. Rector; District No. 6, Solomon Foster. The inspectors of this first election were James B. Larue, William Boughton, John M. Enos, Morgan Enos. The second election was held at the house of David S. Rector, April 3, 1843. From that date to and including 1879 the township has annually chosen its chief officials as follows: 1843.-Supervisor, J. B. Larue; Treasurer, William H. Rector; Clerk, Morgan Enos; Highway Commissioners, Ebenezer Farley, Spencer Bishop, William M. Abbott; School Inspectors, J. B. Larue, Joab Enos; Justice of the Peace, Ebenezer Farley. 1844.-Supervisor, J. B. Larue; Treasurer, Spencer Bishop; Clerk, Morgan Enos; Highway Commissioners, E. Farley, D. S. Rector, Loren Marsh; School Inspector, J. B. Larue; Justice of the Peace, J. B. Larue. 1845.-Supervisor, J. B. Larue; Treasurer, Spencer Bishop; Clerk, Morgan Enos; Highway Commissioners, Elijah Pratt, Edward Buckman, D. S. Rector; Justice of the Peace, Josiah Hawes. 1846.-Supervisor, J. B. Larue; Treasurer, D. S. Rector; Clerk, 0. S. Boughton; Highway Commissioners, Joseph F. Yaw, William II. Rector, David Puterbaugh; School Inspectors, I. W. Chadwick, 0. S. Boughton; Justice of the Peace, 0. S. Boughton. 1847.-Supervisor, J. B. Larue; Treasurer, D. S. Rector; Clerk, 0. S. Boughton; Highway Commissioners, Ebenezer Farley, Spencer Bishop, D. S. Rector; School Inspector, Daniel P. Pidge; Justice of the Peace, Ebenezer Farley. 1848.-Supervisor, J. B. Larue; Treasurer, D. S. Rector; Clerk, Josiah Hawes; Highway Commissioner, D. S. Rector; School Inspector, Morgan Enos; Justices of the Peace, J. B. Larue, B. A. Pemberton. 1849.-Supervisor, Joab Enos; Treasurer, A. Buckman; Clerk, J. F. Haskins; Highway Commissioner, William Green; School Inspector, I. W. Chadwick; Justices of the Peace, M. Reese, D. S. Rector. 1850.-No record. 1851.-Supervisor, Joab Enos; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, 0. S. Boughton; Highway Commissioner, Spencer Bishop; School Inspector, William Green; Justices of the Peace, H. C. Fenton, H. A. Ryther, B. A. Pemberton. 1852.-Supervisor, Josiah Hawes; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, 0. S. Boughton; Highway Commissioners, H. A. Ryther, Ebenezer Farley; School Inspector, Morgan Enos; Justices of the Peace, D. Trowbridge, Ami Whitney. 1853.-Supervisor, E. Farley; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, J. H. Reese; Highway Commissioners, William Horton, 0. S. Boughton; School Inspector, I. W. Chadwick. 1854.-Supervisor, D. Trowbridge; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, 0. S. Boughton; Highway Commissioners, A. Buckman, D. S. Rector; School Inspector, Lyman Dunbar; Justices of the Peace, J. F. Yaw, R. Cassiday. i 38 1855.-Supervisor, M. Enos; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, 0. S. Boughton; Highway Commissioners, G. Srackengast, Theodore Clark; School Inspector, D. A. Clark; Justice of the Peace, Joseph Walter. 1856.-Supervisor, R. E. Hull; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, Theodore Clark; Highway Commissioners, G. Srackengast, John Rush, P. De Witt; School Inspector, A. T. Watkins; Justices of the Peace, Darius Ely, S. Correll. 1857.-Supervisor, D. Ely; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, A. T. Watkins; Highway Commissioners, W. P. Wells, C. E. Straight, John Stump; School Inspector, Theodore Clark; Justices of the Peace, William Hogue, J. Hemingway. 1858.-Supervisor, M. Enos; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, John Garrow; Highway Commissioner, W. P. Wells; School Inspector, R. Cassiday; Justice of the Peace, J. F. Haskins. 1859.-Supervisor, C. E. Straight; Treasurer, W. Boughton; Clerk, 0. S. Boughton; Highway Commissioner, Sheldon Roberts; School Inspector, A. T. Watkins; Justice of the Peace, W. H. Rector. 1860.-Supervisor, R. J. Tuttle; Treasurer, J. F. Haskins; Clerk, Theodore Clark; Highway Commissioners, G. Srackengast, H. Trowbridge; School Inspector, N. Garrow; Justices of the Peace, John Davis, Martin Reese. 1861.-Supervisor, J. Walter; Treasurer, J. F. Haskins; Clerk, E. G. Jones; Highway Commissioner, H. Trowbridge; School Inspectors, Theodore Clark, James Hogan; Justices of the Peace, G. Srackengast, Darius Ely. 1862.-Supervisor, D. Gardner; Clerk, Miles Davis. 1863.-Supervisor, 0. S. Boughton; Treasurer, Joseph Walter; Clerk. R. Calvin; Highway Commissioners, A. R. Robinson, G. Srackengast; School Inspector, W. Friend, Jr.; Justice of the Peace, W. Friend, Sr. 1864.-Supervisor, W. S. Farmer; Treasurer, Joseph Walter; Clerk, R. Calvin; Highway Commissioners, S. Trowbridge, W. R. Hogue; School Inspector, D. Hullrey; Justice of the Peace, C. Tatman. 1865.-Supervisor, G. Srackengast; Treasurer, 0. S. Boughton; Clerk, W. R. Hogue; Highway Commissioners, W. R. Hogue, E. D. G. Ridenour; School Inspector, W. Friend; Justices of the Peace, James Hogue, J. Conkling. 1866.-No record. 1867.-Supervisor, 0. S. Boughton; Treasurer, J. F. Haskins; Clerk, W. L. Hogue; Highway Commissioner, R. A. Calvin; School Inspector, John Clark. 1868.-Supervisor, J. F. Haskins; Treasurer, Miles Davis; Clerk, W. L. IIogue; Highway Commissioner, S. E. Lapham; School Inspector, J. D. Bowman. 1869. —Supervisor, J. F. Haskins; Treasurer, J. II. Conkling; Clerk, W. L. Hogue; Highway Commissioner, P. De Witt; School Inspector, C. E. Jennings. 1870.-Supervisor, J. F. Haskins; Treasurer, J. H. Conkling; Clerk, W. L. Hogue; Highway Commissioner, H. Stevens; School Inspector, R. A. Calvin; Justices of the Peace, J. F. Haskins, G. B. Tatman. 1871.-Supervisor, J. F. Haskins; Treasurer, J. H. Conkling; Clerk, Anson Lewis; Highway Commissioner, A. M. Green; School Inspector, John Clark; Justice of the Peace, John Clark. 1872. —Supervisor, J. F. Haskins; Treasurer, J. H. Conkling; Clerk, Anson Lewis; Highway Commissioner, P. De Witt; School Inspector, R. A. Calvin; Justice of the Peace, J. H. Conkling. 1873. —Supervisor, J. F. Haskins; Treasurer, J. H. Conkling; Clerk, John Clark; Highway Commissioner, Jacob Aumach; School Inspector, R. Reese; Justice of the Peace, G. B. Tatman. 1874. —Supervisor, J. H. Conkling; Treasurer, A. Lewis; Clerk, W. L. Hogue; Highway Commissioner, F. W. Elliott; School Inspector, R. A. Calvin; Justices of the Peace, R. M. King, D. Gardner. 1875. —Supervisor, J. H. Conkling; Treasurer, A. Lewis; Clerk, W. L. Hogue; Highway Commissioner, R. Cassiday; School In spector, R. A. Calvin; Justice of the Peace, Theo. Clark. 1876.-Supervisor, J. H. Matthews; Treasurer, W. C. Pegg; Clerk, W. L. Hogue; Highway Commissioner, A. Lewis; School Inspector, O. S. Boughton; Justices of the Peace, R. A. Calvin, J. F. Haskins. 298 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I 1877.-Supervisor, J. H. Matthews; Treasurer, W. C. Pegg; Clerk, W. L. Hogue; Highway Commissioner, A. Lewis; School Inspector, John Clark; Justices of the Peace, W. Green, C. W. Haskins. 1878.-Supervisor, M. Davis; Treasurer, W. C. Pegg; Clerk, J. H. Matthews; Highway Commissioner, William Collins; School Inspector, A. Lewis; Justices of the Peace, John Clark, J. F. Haskins. 1879.-Supervisor, M. Davis; Treasurer, D. Johnson; Clerk, J. H. Matthews;*' Commissioner of Highways, William Collins; School Inspector, A. R. Trowbridge; Justice of the Peace, John Clark.t The members of the township board for 1879 were Miles Davis, R. A. Calvin, J. F. Haskins, and John Clark. The school inspectors were John Martin (School Superintendent), A. R. Trowbridge, Anson Lewis. The justices of the peace were J. F. Haskins and R. A. Calvin. In 1859 that portion of town 5 in range 18 west lying east of the St. Joseph River was set off from Pipestone and called Sodus. Upon the organization of the township, in 1842, the resident highway-tax payers numbered 29, as follows: Road District No. 1, Robert Ferry, David Puterbaugh, Palmer Reed. Road District No. 2, Loren Marsh, James Kirk, Nathaniel M. Brant, Elijah Pratt, Stephen Smith, Crawford Hazard. Road District No. 3, Morgan Enos, William Boughton, John M. Enos, Henry Enos. Road District No. 4, Spencer Bishop, Joab Enos. Road District No. 5, D. S. Rector, David Rector, Wm. H. Rector, Daniel Baker, Jonathan S. Foster, James B. Larue, Hiram Rector, Nicholas Hall. Road District No. 6, J. S. Foster, Ebenezer Farley, J. W. Brewer, David Michael, Francis Vershaw, -- McDougal, J. B. Larue, N. B. Smith. SCHOOLS. It seems very clear that the first school in Pipestone was one taught by one George Lundy, a teacher from " York State," who came out in 1840 with Aaron and Barzilla Collins. Loren Marsh had vacated a log shanty in which he had lived on section 20, and Lundy, succeeding in creating an educational interest in the community, established a school in the Marsh shanty. He taught only during the winter of 1840 and 1841, after which a school was established at Shanghai. Lundy's scholars were twelve in number, and included three adults, Robert Ferry, Aaron and Barzilla Collins, besides James Kirk's seven children, and Lyman and Clarissa Frisbee,-nephew and niece of Elijah Pratt. July 2, 1843, school districts were created as follows in town 5 south, range 18 west, covering the whole or portions of sections named. No. 1.-Sections 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 15,16, 22. No. 2.Sections 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 35, 36. No. 3.Sections 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20. No. 4.-Sections 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34. The condition of Pipestone's public schools Sept. 1, 1879, is shown in the following table: * Resigned, and John Clark appointed. t Failed to qualify. Number of districts (fractional, 4)............... Number of children of school age................ Average attendance.................................... Public money........................................... Number of school-houses (frame, 7; brick, 3).. Value of school-houses................................ Teachers.................................................. Amount paid for teachers' wages................. 10 537 494 $348.72 10 $7850 20 $1863.50 CHURCHES. The first public religious worship in Pipestone was held in 1837, in the house of James Kirk, by Rev. T. P. McCoole, who with Revs. Knox and Burns rode the country over in the service of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and made it an especial business to plant the gospel in new settlements. These three ministers managed during the four years succeeding 1837 to hold services at Mr. Kirk's house about once every four weeks. Meanwhile Morgan Enos' father-in-law, known as Priest Clark, visited the settlement occasionally, and at Enos' house held Presbyterian services. Worship was thus continued by Mr. Clark for some years. William Boughton, a Close-Communion Baptist, enlisted the services of a Rev. Mr. Day, who preached frequent Baptist sermons at Mr. Boughton's house. It is told of Mr. Day that, during the course of one of his sermons, he said, with much apparent enthusiasm, "What a happy man Father Boughton must be: he has one daughter capable of teaching her neighbors and another standing by her side to assist her." The fact that Mr. Boughton's daughter was a school-teacher seemed to Mr. Day to reflect considerable glory upon the father. At Kirk's house Martin Friley and Hiram Hinchman, residents of Berrien, delivered occasional sermons, and Methodist Episcopal services were held there more or less until 1847, when a school-house being built at Shanghai, measures were taken to organize a class. Revs. McCoole and Woods held a protracted meeting in that year and formed a class of 54 members, of whom Daniel P. Pidge was class-leader. The class was attached to the Bainbridge circuit, and for a year or more Mr. Woods, who was a blacksmith in the employ of Daniel P. Pidge, acted as local preacher. Succeeding McCoole on the circuit at an early day were Revs. E. L. Kellogg and Ransom Goodall. The Shanghai schoolhouse was used as a place of worship until 1867, when the society built a fine church north of the village. The church membership is now 56, and the officers are: Trustees, J. F. Haskins, W. S. Farmer, Robert Cassiday, Theodore Clark, A. J. Tibbs; Class-Leader, vacancy; Pastor, A. N. Eldred; Stewards, W. S. Farmer, C. H. Burbank, Milo Jennings. The Sabbath-school has about 60 pupils, and is under the superintendence of William S. Reese. Preaching and Sunday-school exercises are enjoyed every Sunday. United Brethren.-Previous to 1855, members of the United Brethren faith in Pipestone worshiped occasionally in the Shanghai school-house and the school-house on section 9, but effected no organization until that year. The class numbered 12 members, and included Joseph Reems and wife, Thomas Hoadley and wife, Helen Worth, and Jacob Puterbaugh and wife. The organization of the class was effected by Rev. Mr. Abdell, of the St. Joseph Conference, and the leadership given to Jacob Puterbaugh, who I-.~i~ i:I;:;-:';::~ ~~-: ~ ~:::: : _j:i —;_._ _:: I -: rl I:'::(~,.I-::~ irr- ri:::::l~::i;~:::';:-;:-:::: :.I:i:::-: —I;.) — c ~,?~Y::iir::.i~~;"p;l::::::::j —:::::-; — ~;.:;;-:.:~: a o r"": F1 I: z "" t~ ze~~.i, ~:":-r~;:~!~.::~ O:."1:~ici~:~:I ii.. R d O W zi i _ ;F'R;:: ~ -~~~:.~~:"f~;3i ':I 0).(:~l:-;i:::_:~ — ~i:::::::-.:::.-.i::::'._:~:.I: -: ~:~-: ~ _ rP1,:::: -:;:~`:: —:i::::I:-;:::::~;::I-:I ~.r:r,~`.~i:::;-,i-.~i:l:_:l;:;: __ i:;:.:~:j b;:::" s;~ '~~ 4XC~: I~'.`:~'~-::I.I:i::;::::: "uqg,,;;~.. ~: ~ : ~:-::.:;:.:::;ili:~ -,li::!i::; ~l::::::~.-ia ~li;~:::'ti:~,i:~:i;;-,ii:- -.: ~:-:i~:lr: - ''i~l::.:ii-;i: ::i-'i:::::iilr:li:; i-.I:;_-~1 t: Y ~?c"u,,::ii'"~I-:~ ~~:i- "B-:~; " —; ~:_~ z!~S:d Y f,Ib t:~ i~s: r. ~I.~-I~'.~~r`~''. I Ig \ w r? ~Hizai::~I Z C::j:~ i~:d#:~~-~: P:i ~~;: 911iiIC -1; i-i:- _i:41;,,,,,q;d-; 'rxi,:::: "::::i i;:;:lr~:l:::::.;: ::i: 9' i;:';` ~, ~~;:i~: ~ 1:4t' i:i I CS.~-, x I i-:!S;~ I:I-j ia: o r:, ^r;;; d I1-`I1 aid. ~ i::~ f: 0 ~u ll t0 e00 0 0C3007 04i S~t S 00X;~iSt \70' 0 7 00!,00: f...................... *i. \.. '" \s,\0%,iE;:0f:\D:: 0f;:S:A:::f: o f0;SS:tV0SS:0d;Sd~udS;0000;;f ~t 0f0:f0;fff0C:0f;Ai 05t ftt0:: TOWNSHIP OF PIPESTONE. 299 is the leader at present. Mr. Abdell was the pastor for a time, and since his term the church has been served by Revs. F. L. Forbes, Henry Hardy, John Surran, J. B. Slite, and others. The present pastor is Rev. J. H. Pattie, who preaches once in two weeks. Services were held in the school-house on section 9 until 1875, when the present church edifice was erected, at which time Rev. Mr. Webster was the pastor. The church grew apace in strength after organization, and before the close of the first year of its existence numbered 40 members. In 1879, however, the membership was but 25. The trustees then were Charles Haskins, Win. Lavineway, and Jacob Hartzell. Sabbath-school sessions are held in the church every Sunday. The pupils number 40. The superintendent is Walker Willis. An United Brethren class was organized at Shanghai at a comparatively early day, and subsequently merged into the class at Sodus. Reference thereto is made in the history of Sodus. Wesleyan Methodist.-A Wesleyan Methodist Church was organized in Berrien township in 1855, and transferred in 1858 to Eau Claire, in Pipestone, where a reorganization was effected, with 6 members, Jesse Gray being chosen the first class-leader at that point. After an existence of ten years, the class at Eau Claire was reduced to but a handful of members, who thereupon joined a class located at the red school-house, on section 20, at which time Wm. Brown was leader of the red school-house class. After a further existence of a few years, the red school-house class was discontinued, but in 1876 a reorganization was effected at Shanghai, with 16 members, when Rev. Wm. S. Williams was placed in charge, and William Clark chosen classleader. Since 1876, Revs. O. S. Gurnell, O. Tapley, and Homer Gane, of the Pipestone circuit, have supplied the preaching, which is provided every Sunday, at the Shanghai school-house. Mrs. Elizabeth King is now the leader of the class, which has a membership of 23. The church stewards are David J. Reams and Abigail Buckner. The Sunday-school' has 30 pupils, under the charge of Charlotte Haskins (superintendent) and 8 teachers. First German United Evangelical Zion Church.-For some years previous to 1871 the Germans living in the northeastern portion of Pipestone met for occasional worship in the school-house on section 1, a majority of the worshipers adhering to the Evangelical faith. Preaching was obtained as it best could be, and although services were held at irregular periods, they were counted upon as often as once a month. It was not, however, until October 11, 1871, that a church organization was effected, at which time the following members were enrolled: William Krohne, Henry Bachman, Frederick Holle, Frederick Wolf, Henry Horstman, Frederick Furst, John Thumm, J. H. Rush, Frederick Miller, Jacob Thumm, Frederick Bachman, Chas. Bachman, Michael Bowman, Julius Hackstadt, William Hackstadt. Earlier, by some years, a burial-place had been laid out by some of the leading Germans near the school-house, and in 1872 the church now used was erected upon the cemetery lot. The preachers who served previous to and since the organization of the church have been Revs. Fuerchter nich, Henry Meyer (who lived in Pipestone and occupied the pulpit three years), Hermann, Fuertag, Schroeppel, Copelge, and Nusbaur. The latter has been the pastor since 1876, and preaches once every fortnight for the Pipestone congregation. The church membership is now sixteen. The trustees are Frederick Wolf, William Martin, and H. Horstman. The secretary is William Langley. Eureka Hall, a neat and commodious frame edifice in the southern part of the township, is frequently used for religious worship. It was built in 1877, at a cost df $1200, by a company of Pipestone citizens for a public hall, and in the agreement between the proprietors it was stipulated that the building should be open at all times for the use of any religious denomination absolutely free of charge. EAU CLAIRE. The post-office on the south, known as Eau Claire, was established in 1861, through the efforts of William Smythe Farmer. Henry Rush was appointed postmaster, and kept the office in a store just over the Pipestone line in Berrien. When Mr. Farmer sought to have a post-office established there, he hit upon Eau Claire (meaning " clear water") as a neat name, and christened the place accordingly. Edwin Hart was the first storekeeper on the Pipestone side, and upon his retirement Geo. E. Tatman succeeded him. When Rush gave up the office, in 1874, Tatman was appointed, and removed the office into the Pipestone portion of Eau Claire. In 1877, Patrick Stapleton succeeded Tatman as storekeeper and postmaster, and still fills both positions. PLEASANT VALLEY POST-OFFICE. In 1870, Charles Bachman, living at Krohne's Corners, succeeded in having a post-office established at that point. He was appointed postmaster, and used to go to Dowagiac twice a week for the mail. Bachman wearied of the office, and it fell to Sullivan Claussen, who was succeeded by Chas. Hartelrode, and when the latter resigned no one cared to take the place, whereupon the office was discontinued. PIPESTONE GRANGE, No. 194, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY, was organized in 1873, with 33 members. Meetings were held in town school-houses until 1877, when a grange hall was built on section 16. The Masters of the grange since its organization have been W. Smythe Farmer, John Clark, Philip De Witt, and John Clark (present and second term). The grange membership is now twenty-nine. The officers are John Clark, Master; Philip De Witt, Overseer; Mrs. Philip De Witt, Lecturer; Cassius Hogue, Steward; Henry Bowman, Assistant Steward; Maria Robinson, Chaplain; Alvin Robinson, Treas.; Anson Lewis, Sec.; Helen Clark, Ceres; Josephine Lewis, Pomona; Christina Bowman, Flora; Sarah Hogue, Stewardess. A MEMORABLE WIND-STORM. On the night of May 26, 1860. that portion of Pipestone lying along the southern line of section 9 was visited by a violent tornado, which occasioned within a narrow limit not only serious destruction of property, but loss of life. Mrs. A. R. Robinson, one of the sufferers from the disaster, relates the story as follows: Shortly after eleven o'clock upon 300 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. the night in question Mrs. Robinson was awakened from sleep by a roaring sound, and, springing hastily to the window, was at once struck senseless by a sudden blow, and at the same instant the house-a log cabin-was utterly demolished. Rain had been falling during the day, and at night was accompanied with violent thunder and vivid lightning. This was the condition of the elements when the house fell, while inky darkness added to the horror of the scene. In the house were Mr. and Mrs. William Worth and Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, with their two children,-the children being lodged in the second story. The house and its occupants were precipitated to the ground in a confused mass, but, as fortune would have it, no one was fatally injured. Mrs. Robinson had been struck upon her head by a falling log, but immediately recovered consciousness, and groped, with her husband, through the ruins after the children, one of whom was found to have a broken arm. With her in her arms, Mrs. Robinson, accompanied by her husband carrying the other child, and by the Worths, sought shelter at Philip De Witt's house, on the opposite side of the road. Upon nearing De Witt's house they heard cries of distress, and knew that his family had also met with disaster. Hasty investigation revealed that the De Witt house -a frame structure-had been lifted bodily from its foundation and thrown upon its side, dislodging the inmates from their beds, and hurling upon them broken timbers, beneath which some of them were painfully confined. Working with desperate energy, those who were unharmed succeeded in rescuing the imprisoned ones, by which time other neighbors arrived, who conveyed the wounded to temporary homes. Mr. De Witt's four-year-old son was taken out in an unconscious condition, lingered but a few days, and died. The bed which contained another young child of De Witt's was blown through a window into the adjoining lot, with the child still in it, and so little was the latter disturbed that she simply cried out to know " why her ma had left her out in the rain?" The storm, when at its height, was confined to a narrow limit, and concentrated its strength in the vicinity of the Robinson and De Witt places, no similar disasters occurring elsewhere in the township at the time, and the wind being in fact but moderately felt at other points. The blow was over in an instant, as if opposing blasts had met in battle array, and after a moment's conflict had parted and fled. The theory generally accepted was that strong southeast and southwest currents crossed each other at the scene of disaster, and by their suddenly-combined force had leveled every obstacle with the ground. So great was the power of the tornado that the bed upon which Mrs. Robinson's children had been sleeping was carried half a mile, and lodged in a swamp; a length of stovepipe Was carried from Mr. Robinson's house to a place three miles distant; great trees were blown down, peach-trees were stripped of their bark, fences were scattered far and wide over the fields, twenty of Mr. Robinson's hens were killed (many of which had their feathers blown off as complete as if picked by hand, while some were actually disemboweled), and to cap the climax grains of wheat were blown from Robinson's house into an old stump, where they were found as deeply imbedded as if shot into it from a gun. Altogether. this was a memorable incident in the lives of those who witnessed it, and to some of them at least the shock was so severe that to this day the recurrence of a wind-storm occasions extraordinary terror. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ROBERT CASSIDAY. We have had occasion to mention the subject of this sketch several times in connection with the early history of this township and Berrien County. Thinking that his many friends might be pleased with an account of his personal career, we give a brief sketch of his life. Robert Cassiday came to this State from Northern Ohio as early as the fall of 1829; spent that winter in St. Joseph County, where the village of Constantine now stands, and manufactured from a bowlder the first pair of millstones that ever ground wheat or corn in St. Joseph County. Subsequently, in the year 1832, moved to Berrien County, and in the year 1834 he married Sabrina Park, of Geauga Co., Ohio, and settled in Niles, where he continued to reside until 1854, when he moved to his present farm, where he has since lived. Mr. Cassiday is one of the few men who has seen a half century pass since first coming to the State of Michigan, and one of the very few living, of whom there will soon be none, who came into Western Michigan before 1830. The remembrance of a people prosperous and enjoying a high state of civilization is due to those who bore the burden and toil of its early settlement. GEORGE C. HARTMAN. This gentleman, the second in a family of four children, was born in Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y., July 6, 1822. His father was a native of New York, and his mother of Connecticut. At the age of twenty-two he left home and spent a number of years in traveling throughout the United States, remaining four winters in New Orleans, and finally stopping in Brooklyn, N. Y., where he met Miss Kate F. Farmer, who became his wife on the 23d of August, 1851. Her father was a native of New Jersey, and her mother of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman became the parents of six children, of whom five are now living. In the fall of 1851, Mr. Hartman visited Michigan, and in 1854 located in the township of Pipestone. In 1860 he occupied his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which was then covered with heavy timber, and he has since cleared one hundred and seventy acres, being now the owner of a finely-improved farm and a pleasant home. In politics he is a Republican, but not in any sense an office-seeker. He was reared a Presbyterian, but neither he nor his wife belong to any religious body. Their four sons are living at home, and their daughter is married, and living in the town of Sodus. The work of clearing up a farm is always attended with extreme labor and many hardships, even though the adjoining region may be thickly settled, and Mr. and Mrs. Hartman are, in this sense at least, true pioneers. - - - 7; I - I I ill., -:-j,, o I ,w s;" 1: 1:, i I ir I 1.:1 I SARAH: WELLS. / +: f \ MRSM.C. PRESTO N. AMASA PRESTON.,., N. C. PRESTON. 4~ v / I/ / > Hl (: RESIDENCE OF THE LATE NORMAN C. PRESTON, PRESENT RES. orFMLTON PRESTON, rPESTONETBERRIENCO.,MICH.,1879. TOWNSHIP OF PIPESTONE. 301 JOSIAH GANO. This gentleman was the eldest in a family of six children, and was born May 22, 1827, in Paris, Ohio. His father, John Gano, removed at an early day from Virginia to Ohio, and in the latter State became acquainted with and married Jane Kelsey. Josiah Gano lived with his father tained one hundred and sixty acres, and was in the midst of the heavy timber, the nearest road being one mile distant. Mr. Gano worked zealously to clear and improve his farm, and his labors were crowned with most gratifying success. He died April 15, 1875, and Mrs. Gano and her children have since managed the affairs of the farm. Mr. Gano was possessed of a good common-school education. JOSIAH (IANO. MRS. JOSIAH GANO. until he was twenty-three years of age, when he was married to Miss Margaret Calvin, daughter of Robert and Margaret Calvin; their union being consummated July 3, 1850. Their children, six in number,-two sons and four daughters,-are all living. After his marriage Mr. Gano worked his father's farm about four years, and in 1854 removed, with his family, to Michigan, settling in Pipestone township, Berrien Co. The place on which he located conAMASA AND NORMAN C. PRESTON. Amasa Preston, father of Norman C. Preston, was born in Connecticut, Dec. 2, 1788. When he was ten tyears of age he moved, with his parents, to the then western wilds of Ohio, settling in Portage County, and remained with his parents until his marriage, April 25, 1811, to Electa Johnson, a native of Massachusetts. He raised a family of six daughters and two sons,-Aliso and Norman C., the latter (the youngest son) being born in Portage County, Aug. 25, 1814. In 1838 the family removed to Van Wert Co., Ohio, where Norman entered one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, which he cleared and improved, and there he made his home for ten years. Sept. 10, 1846, Norman Preston married Mrs. Sarah Cook, who was a native of Richland Co., Ohio, born Sept. 25, 1829, but at the time of her marriage a resident of Van Wert County. In the fall of 1848, accompanied by his parents and two sisters, he removed to Berrien County, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in the township of Pipestone, upon which, with his father, he lived until his death, which occurred July 31, 1862. Hie was universally be In politics he was a Republican, but always respectfully declined to accept office. His religious views were of a liberal nature. Mr. Gano at one time suffered the loss of his buildings by fire, and met various other losses, but at his death left his family in comfortable circumstances. His loss was sincerely and deeply mourned, and a loving wife awaits the summons of the death-angel, when she shall join him in a better land. loved and respected. His widow and three children (Zoetta, Milton, and Artlissa) survive. In his will Mr. Preston made provision for the care of his aged father and mother while they lived. His mother died April 26, 1863, and his father married Mrs. Sarah Allen, March 13, 1864. The latter, notwithstanding she was sixty-five years of age, was as active as a girl of twenty years; she celebrated her eightieth birthday in September, 1879, at the home of Mrs. Sarah Wells. Her husband, the father of Norman C., died April 2, 1873, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. lIe was a devoted Christian, and a member of the church for over sixty years. Mrs. Norman C. Preston married, Sept. 13, 1863, Washington P. Wells. They resided on the estate until her son attained his majority, when they moved on to a small place which they had purchased, and which was formerly a part of the homestead. The fruit of this union was two children, Asa W. and Sarah E. Wells. Mr. Wells' death occurred Aug. 31, 1876. Mrs. Wells is still living in her home, enjoying the society of her children, and of many kind and endeared friends. Milton Wells is living upon the old homestead, which he 302 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. is improving and beautifying. On the 29th of October, 1879, he was married to Miss Alice Trowbridge, an estimable young lady of the same township. THOMAS EVANS was born in Wales, March 5, 1828, and was the sixth in a family of twelve children. His father, John Evans, emigrated, with his family, to the United States in 1838, and settled in Portage Co., Ohio, where he remained until his death, in March, 1849, his occupation having been that of a farmer. Thomas Evans remained at home with his mother, working on the farm, thrashing and at various other employments, until April, 1852, when he went to California. His stay in the new El Dorado was of short duration, however, and in October, 1853, he returned to Ohio. Jan. 25, 1854, he was married to Miss Margaret, daughter of David and Elizabeth Jones, who were also natives of Wales. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Evans are four in number: Allie E., born Nov. 29, 1856; Charles D., born Jan. 21, 1859; Henry J., born March 10, 1860, died Aug. 16, 1871; Frank F., born Oct. 16, 1863. In November, 1854, Mr. Evans and his wife came to Michigan, and after paying his bills at Berrien he had eighteen dollars left. The journey from Berrien to Sodus, eight miles, was performed on foot. In July, 1855, Mr. Evans purchased eighty acres of land, on which he now resides, and paid for it mostly by chopping cord-wood. He has since made an additional purchase of two hundred and twenty acres, and is now a successful and enterprising farmer. His early advantages for obtaining an education were limited, and aft3r coming to this country he attended school but very little. Mr. Evans voted for two Democratic Presidents, but has since been a staunch Republican, and during the great civil war maintained his position by volunteering and serving in Company I, 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. In 1867, Mr. and Mrs. Evans joined and have since been members of the United Brethren Church. WILLIAM RIDENOUR. This gentleman was born in the State of Ohio, May 18, 1830, and was the sixth of a family of seven children, the offspring of Jacob and Lettie (Brown) Ridenour. Jacob Ridenour was a native of Maryland, and at an early age removed to Ohio with his father, who was a German by birth. The wife of the latter was born in Virginia, in 1795, that being also the native State of her father. Her mother, who was a native of Kentucky, survived to the great age of one hundred and four years. The parents of William Ridenour are still living, at an advanced age. In the fall of 1832 they removed to Michigan, and located near the Crystal Springs in Cass County. When William had reached his sixteenth year he made his first purchase of land, including forty acres in Cass County, paying for the same at the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and laboring by the month in order to earn money to meet the payments. His life away from home was, therefore, begun as a farm-hand for wages usual at the time. By industry, perseverance, and economy he at length was in possession of a well-im proved though small farm. In 1854 he disposed of it, and purchased that on which he now resides, a view of which is inserted in this work. In this same year (1854) he was married to Miss Brown, who bore him two children. They, with their mother, were all buried by the stricken husband and father during the year 1861. In June, 1862, Mr. Ridenour was married to Mary, daughter of Henry and Lodema Shaul, who were natives of New York, but removed to Michigan when their daughter was but seven years of age. This union has been blessed with one child, a son, Henry, born May 27, 1863. The advantages for obtaining an education were limited in Mr. Ridenour's case, as the backwoods schools were hardly up to the standard of those of the present day. His religious views are of a liberal nature, and in politics he is a Republican. MRS. MARY (PATTISON) BURTON. This estimable lady was born in Leicestershire, England, Jan. 3, 1815, and was the youngest in a family of three children. Her mother died about 1818, in England, and MRS. MARY (PATTISON) BURTON. her father emigrated with his children to America in the same year, settling at Philadelphia. For five or six years the daughter lived with a family in Washington. On the 23d of January, 1833, she was married to James Burton, who was also a native of England, and who had come to America in 1827, and settled in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Burton became the parents of five sons and four daughters, and five of the number are now living. After living in different localities for several years, Mr. Burton settled, with his family, in the township of Pipestone, Berrien Co., Mich., on what is now the Burton homestead, where his death occurred, Sept. 13, 1854. A farm of eighty acres was left to his widow and seven children. Mr. Burton was acknowledged to be an honest, industrious man, a good manager, a worthy citizen, and a TOWNSHIP OF PIPESTONE. 303 generous and true friend. Mrs. Burton died in 1878, and her loss was mourned by a large circle of friends. Her presence at the bedside of the sick was a comfort; her benevolence was bounded only by her means. William and Edward Burton, sons of the above, cause this biography and the accompanying portrait to be inserted in this volume. William served three years during the war as a sergeant in the 17th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. These gentlemen are both Republicans. Their father never took an active part in politics. MILES DAVIS, the seventh child in a family of nine,-five sons and four daughters,-was born Sept. 12, 1830, in Cambria Co., Pa. His parents were natives of Wales, and emigrated to America early in the present century. They were married in Pennsylvania, Feb. 8, 1816, and removed to Ohio in 1844. In 1848 they settled in Pipestone township; Berrien Co., Mich., where Mrs. Davis died the same year, and where Mr. Davis died, March 20, 1879. Miles Davis remained at home until after the death of his mother, when he took up his abode with his brother, and continued to live with him until March 22, 1856, when he was married to Miss Phoebe Fisher, daughter of Ambrose and Mary Fisher. Their children are L. L. Davis, born MIay 10, 1857, died March 25, 1858; Effie A. Davis, born March 16, 1859; William B. Davis, born Jan. 24, 1862. In 1854, Mr. Davis purchased eighty acres of land, included in his present home on section 34, and has since become the owner of one hundred and sixty acres on section 35. His school days were not of long continuance. He attended district school about three months in the year, and assisted in his father's farm-work the balance of the time, until the death of his mother. He is an industrious and successful farmer, and can view with conscious pride the present happy home, the outcome of years of toil. Among his townsmen he is prominent and respected, and has been placed by them in numerous offices, —treasurer, town clerk, etc.-and is now serving his second term as supervisor. In politics he is Democratic. Both he and his wife have been members of the Christian or Disciples' Church since 1864. The parents of Mrs. Davis were natives of Portage Co., Ohio, and were married Aug. 25, 1830. In 1845 they moved to Michigan. They were the parents of ten children,-five sons and five daughters. Mrs. Davis, the oldest daughter, was born May 5, 1838. Her father, who was born Nov. 13, 1813, died Sept. 12, 1853; her mother was born May 11, 1812, and is now making her home among her children, of whom six are living. MORGAN ENOS, M.D., was the third in a family of seven children, and was born ifi Cayuga Co., N. Y., April 23, 1804. His father was a native of Connecticut, and his mother of Massachusetts, and from this sturdy New England stock the doctor derived the attributes which enabled him to win an honorable position as a self-made man. His early days were spent in school, until he became of sufficient age to assist his father on the farm, when he only attended school winters, working for his board. As soon as his education was sufficient to qualify him to teach, he entered the arena as an instructor, at the same time continuing his studies. At the age of twenty he began the study of medicine with Dr. Crowley, and afterwards studied with Dr. C. C. Cady, and MORGAN ENOS, M.D. attended lectures at Geneva College. About 1828 he commenced the practice of medicine in Wayne Co., N. Y., and was married in that county, at Huron, to Elizabeth Clark, daughter of William and Sophronia Clark, who were also natives of Connecticut. Four children were the fruit of this union, and all are now living. In 1837 the doctor and his wife removed to Michigan, remaining-in Benton township until the fall, when they located in Pipestone township, where the doctor followed farming and continued in the practice of his profession. His death occurred Sept. 24, 1868. Dr. Enos was a man universally respected and honored, and many fiiends mourned his loss. He was a Whig in his early days, and eventually became a Republican. He represented his district one term in the State Legislature, and also held numerous township offices. He was for some years supervisor of Pipestone township, and was its first clerk. Mrs. Enos outlived her husband ten years, and died Oct. 14, 1878. She was in every respect an estimable lady. The religious views of Dr. Enos and his wife were liberal. Two of their children are married. The oldest —now Mrs. Webster-resides on the old homestead, and her sister Juliet makes her home with her. The latter causes the accompanying portrait of her father to be inserted in this work. 304 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. CHAPTER XL. ROYALTON TOWNSHIP.* Early Settlements and Settlers-Township Organization and Civil List-Schools-Churches-Fruit Grange. ROYALTON, numbered as town 5 south, in range 18 west, is but a fractional township, and contains about nineteen sections. On the north it is bounded by Sodus and St. Joseph, on the south by Oronoko and Lake, on the east by Sodus, and on the west by Lincoln. Its northern and eastern borders are defined by the St. Joseph River, which flows in a tortuous course, and marks the dividing line between Sodus and Royalton. Royalton is a rich agricultural town, and an excellent fruit-growing region. Among the most extensive fruitgrowers may be mentioned William H. Tryon, Dr. E. Hall, Abijah Birdsey, the Hollywood brothers, Mrs. Sarah Taylor, William Pike, H. H. Roe, Lewis Scofield, H. L. Scofield, and Henry Ashhoff. The nearest railway stations are at Stevensville, in Lincoln township, and at the village of St. Joseph. SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS. William Pike, now living in Royalton township, assisted, with his father, John Pike, at the first white settlement in Royalton, and is to-day the " oldest inhabitant" of that region. John Pike, originally from North Carolina, went from there to Ohio, thence to Vigo Co., Ind., and in 1829 to the river bottom near Berrien Springs. He remained there until 1832, when he removed to Royalton with his wife and six children, of whom the only one now living is William Pike. He entered and settled upon 80 acres in the northwest corner of the present township, near the river, the place being now owned by Abijah Birdsey. At the same time he entered 80 acres on section 7, which he afterwards gave to his son William, and upon a portion of which the latter now resides. Three years afterwards he entered 80 acres adjoining the farm upon which he settled. There he resided until about 1842, when, his wife dying, he moved to Indiana, and eventually to Iowa in 1859, where he died in 1867, aged eighty-eight. William Pike lived with his father on the Royalton farm from 1832 to 1834, when he removed to St. Joseph and there remained six years. In 1840 he returned to Royalton, and, with his axe, gun, dog, and eighteen pence in his pocket, took possession of the farm his father had given him, which was then an unbroken forest. Wolves and Indians became familiar to his sight, but he kept steadily at his task of clearing the land, and upon that place he has continued to live and thrive to the present day. The settler next following John Pike was Jehial Enos. He was a young bachelor who came to Michigan in 1829, and in that year was employed as cook and "packer" for the surveying party, which then, under Lucius Lyon (afterwards member of Congress), surveyed that portion of Berrien County lying between the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan. Enos' business as a "packer" required him * By David Sohwartz. to carry provisions and other supplies through the woods from supply-stations to the surveying-camp, and a very uncomfortable and troublesome time he had of it. William Pike was also a " chain-man" in the same surveying party. In the summer of 1832, Mr. Enos entered 80 acres adjoining John Pike, spent some time thereafter in St. Joseph, and then settled upon his farm, where, however, he remained but three years, when he moved to Millburg, in Benton township, his present abode. The next settler upon Enos' place was Josephus Gard, who acquired it in 1835 from a Mr. Porter, a non-resident. Gard lived on the farm until his death in 1838. Some of his descendants live in the county, but none now reside in the township. Joseph and Edward Smith were sons of Timothy S. Smith, who laid out in 1834 a village called Royalton (then in Royalton township, but now in Lincoln), and located in 1833 upon land occupying the present northeast corner of the town, in the bend of the river. Mr. Smith had settled some five or six years before that time on the east bank of Hickory Creek, in what is now the township of Lincoln. Previous to that time the Smith boys had been boating on the river, but after buying farms settled down and were for a while industrious husbandmen. In a short time, however, they sold out their land. Edward soon entered a farm on section 8, where he remained about ten years, and then, selling to James Carlton, went to California, where he is still living. Joseph died in Royalton soon after selling his farm. In the spring of 1834, David Shearer and Eli, his son, with Adam J. Briney, of Darke Co., Ohio, journeyed in company on horseback to Michigan for the purpose of locating land. They visited William Lemon, of Berrien township (whom they knew well), and upon asking his advice as to where they had better settle, were informed that he knew where there was land that would suit them. Thereupon he accompanied them to what is now section 19, Royalton township, and the land proving acceptable they subsequently entered upon that section, David Shearer 160, Eli Shearer 80, and Briney 160 acres. Briney and the Shearers returned to Ohio, and in the fall of 1834 David Shearer started with his family for the Michigan farms. David Shearer, a widower with seven children, had married a widow with six children, so that when he started for Michigan he had a family of thirteen children to bear him company, besides Abner Shearer, a nephew, who remained in Michigan only about a year. David Shearer was originally from North Carolina, and removed thence to Kentucky, and from there to Ohio. The journey from Ohio to Michigan was made with four two-horse wagons, and after cutting a road from the St. Joseph road to section 19, they landed safely upon their new lands in the almost trackless forest. While the sturdy members of the family engaged in the hurried construction of a log cabin, all hands were rudely sheltered by the side of a prostrate tree, where they had their abiding-place and " kept house" until the more convenient cabin was prepared for them. Eli and his wife lived with the old folks until Eli completed a cabin for himself, and then they turned their attention to clearing their land and preparing for crops. In that portion of Royalton no settlers had preceded the la w~ %.**, I7 Among the citizens of Royalton township none have a more creditable position in its society than has Henry Ashoff, who was born near Herford, Westphalia, Prussia, May 1, 1827. His early life was spent with his father on a farm. At the age of eight he entered school, attending until he was fourteen, being allowed only two weeks' vacation in twelve months. The educational system in Prussia is one of the best, and America may well take pattern. At the age of fourteen he left school, working on the farm in summer, and being taught in winter by a private teacher, reciting astronomy and natural history. At the age of twenty-one he was drafted into the Prussian army (1848), serving three years as grenadier in Berlin. He entered as private, and at the end of the first year was promoted and put on duty at headquarters, serving the last year as corporal and teacher. He was honorably discharged on the 21st of September, 1851. Returning home, he assisted his father on the farm for the next twenty months. In May, 1853, he sailed for America. The vessel upon which he embarked was a sail-vessel by the name of "Magdalane," one hundred and sixtyfive passengers were aboard. He landed August 25th, at New York. He went from there to Philadelphia by boat. He had just nine dollars when he landed, a stranger in a strange land, unable to speak anything but the German language. After staying in Philadelphia one week, he passed over to New Jersey, hiring to work in a brick-yard at one dollar per day. He was taken sick immediately, and for three weeks was unable to work. He was obliged to sell his watch and a part of his clothes to pay his bills. Returning to Philadelphia, he entered a hospital, where he remained for nine weeks. As soon as he was able to leave the hospital he again tried farming, going twenty miles from Philadelphia, and hiring for the small sum of five dollars per month. Soon after he was employed as a hand on the railroad, working on a tunnel which was then being built in Bucks Co., Pa. Having a desire to push farther west, he started for Chicago; remaining there but a few days, he passed over to St. Joseph, landing there the 13th of September, 1854, working in a saw-mill in summer, and chopping cord-wood in winter. April 15, 1855, he married Mrs. Emma M., widow of John Randal, and oldest daughter of Joseph Gard, of St. Joseph. Six children blessed this union, viz.: James B., Viola, Martha, Hiram, William, and Mary. Viola is the wife of John Geisler, living in Watervliet. Mr. Gard deeded to Mr. Ashoff eighty acres, where he now lives. He has since added twenty acres. This farm is located in Royalton township, section 20. Mr. Ashoff owns land in St. Joseph and Lincoln townships, and has cleared eighty acres since he has been in this State. Mrs. Ashoff died Jan. 4, 1873. Aug. 6, 1873, he married for his second wife Elizabeth Kniebes, of Bainbridge, widow of Christian Kniebes, and daughter of William Duckshier. In politics Mr. Ashoff is a Democrat. His integrity and uprightness won the confidence of his fellow-citizens, and he has been chosen to many positions of honor and responsibility; and he has ever discharged their duties with credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of the people. Among the offices which he has held are the following: elected township treasurer in 1858, held the office six years; in 1866 supervisor and school inspector, serving six years in each; in 1869 justice of the peace, still holding the office; in 1872 appointed treasurer by the township board; in 1873 re-elected supervisor for three years; in 1875 elected to the State equalization board at Lansing; in 1876-77 reelected treasurer. He has been appointed administrator to settle up several estates, always giving entire satisfaction. Mr. Ashoff has been a member of the Evangelical Church for twenty years. He has held different offices in the church, having been class-leader for eighteen years. He has been filling offices of trust, both in State and Church, almost all the time since his first arrival in America. In reading this short sketch of the eventful life of Mr. Ashoff, the correct conclusion of any one must be that he is no ordinary man. His early education, so thoroughly instilled, has prepared him to fill any office of trust into which he may be placed. In connection with his education, his energy and industry have made him such a man that the community in which he lives can but regard him as one whom they cannot well lose, or, if lost, whose place cannot be filled. What a pleasure it must be, when life is drawing towards its close of activity, for one to look back on its varied shadows and sunshine, its struggles and triumphs, and feel that they have lived to some purpose, having benefited mankind in having lived. Such a one, surely, is Mr. Ashoff, who has devoted so much of his time for the good of those around him, not only to municipal affairs, but his time and talents have been given to the cause of his Master; this he can review certainly with a calm and serene feeling, born of an unfaltering trust in One "who doeth all things well." f i I TOWNSHIP OF ROYALTON. 305 Shearers, and they were as much apart from communion with their own race as if they had been cast adrift upon the ocean. They had no time, however, to think of the loneliness of their situation, for they had that to engage their attention which gave them no leisure for idle thought, and so they worked bravely amid the wolves and Indians, and grew contented with their lot. " Going to mill" was one of the unpleasant features of existence, but it was one of necessity and importance. Although there was a mill at Niles, the Shearers chose to go to Prairie Ronde, thirtyeight miles distant, and to that point the journey was often made. In those days of unbroken roads a trip of seventysix miles was no slight affair, and that it was going to mill under difficulties may easily be understood. David Shearer lived upon his farm until his death, in 1865. Of the thirteen children who came to Royalton with him, those now living are Eli Shearer, Andrew Shearer, Sarah Briney, Catharine Boughton, and Lizzie Edwards. When the Shearers came in, Clark Pennell and his father were keeping what was known as a tavern, on the St. Joseph road, near the present bridge over the Buckhorn Creek. Pennell's log tavern was a shabby concern, so saith the report of those who knew it, but it was much frequented by travelers passing between St. Joseph and Berrien, and drove a flourishing trade for a while. The Pennells grew tired of the business and the country in a short time, however, and moved to Indiana in 1835. One Spencer succeeded as the landlord, and after an experience of about a year, relinquished the tavern to D. M. Drum, who kept it several years and proved its last proprietor. The place was long known as the Buckhorn tavern, by reason of the presence over the tavern-shed of a pair of buck's horns, placed there by William H. Tryon, the slayer of the bucks. Early in the fall of 1834, Rowland Tryon and his son, William H., made the journey on foot from Indiana to Royalton in search of land, and decided to locate 80 acres upon section 29, in Royalton. Tryon the elder visited the land-office'at Kalamazoo to enter the farm. Upon his arrival, in the evening, he learned that some other person was determined upon entering the same lot, and, the land-office being then closed for the day, Tryon resolved to be up bright and early the next morning for a move on the office, for fear the other man might get in ahead of him. At daylight, accordingly, he was astir, and soon afterwards took his place at the land-office door, so that as soon as the agent appeared he made his application, effected his entry, and was happy, which was far from the condition of feeling enjoyed by the other, when, applying at a later hour to enter the land, he learned that some one had been before him. Having secured his farm, Mr. Tryon and his son returned to Indiana, and began to make arrangements for the transportation of the entire family, consisting of father, mother, and five children, to Michigan. The country was new, and roads of any kind few and far between. When the Tryon family came to Royalton, in 1834, the road from Berrien to St. Joseph was being cut out, and at that time offered but a poor thoroughfare for the traveler. The Tryons camped out upon their new farm and lived a week, when they moved into a small log cabin, hastily built by Mr. Tryon and his two sons, William and John. They managed to make 39 it do that winter, and in the spring, with the assistance of neighbors, who came promptly to their relief, they effected material improvements in the family dwelling, and in the fall brought it forward to the dignity of a double log house. During the winter succeeding the arrival of the family, William, the eldest son, managed, with some assistance from his father, to clear considerable land, so that in the spring they were enabled to make a respectable start towards raising crops. Old Mr. Tryon, who had been a sailor, did not take at first with much enthusiasm to the business of clearing land, and William was therefore called upon to take the lead in pioneer labor. He has resided in Royalton since his first settlement, and still lives upon section 29. His father died upon the old place in 1875, and his mother in 1878. His brother John, who came with the family from Indiana, is also a resident of Royalton. When Mr. Tryon moved in, his nearest neighbors were Eli and David Shearer and a man by the name of Bogart, who was living on the river's bank, upon the place now occupied by Dr. E. Hall. Bogart is supposed to have located there with his family as early as 1833, but in 1837 removed to Missouri. In October, 1835, Adam J. Briney, wTo had, with the Shearers, located land in Royalton the year before, concluded to move, with his wife and four children, to his new farm, although he had for a twelvemonth been hesitating to make the change. With him also came William Miltenberger, with his wife and child, and William Baumgartner, a young man fired with an ambition to explore the western wilds,-these being all residents of Darke Co., Ohio. They had also in their company Eli Shearer and wife, who had returned to Ohio from Michigan for a hurried visit. The journey was made with wagons, and upon reaching Royalton Briney and his wife located at Eli Shearer's house, where they remained two weeks, by which time Briney had put up a cabin on a place adjoining Shearer. He had there 160 acres, upon which he resided about ten years, when he removed to a place on section 19, north of his first location, and there he lived until his death, in 1875, leaving a widow, who still lives on the place. William Miltenberger, whose mother had married David Shearer, resided at her house upon his arrival in Royalton with his wife and child, and for a year or so labored upon his own and the farms of neighbors. At the expiration of that period, having entered 80 acres upon section 30, he moved upon his farm, and there still resides in the log house into which he first moved. Baumgartner remained in Royalton but a short time, doing service as a farm laborer, and then returned to Ohio. He came back to Michigan after a while, and worked about here and there, eventually settling, however, in Royalton, upon section 18, where he now lives. David Ball was a settler in Royalton as early as 1834, upon section 13. Little can be said of him, save that he had a family of four children, and moved out of the township in 1839, after selling his farm to Robert Hollywood. Hollywood was a linen-bleacher in Ireland, and, coming to this country about 1820, became a sailor. He sailed the lakes with Captain White, on the steamer " William Penn," from Buffalo to Chicago, during the Black Hawk war, and 306 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. afterwards, in 1834, was commander and owner* of the steamboat "' Davy Crockett," which plied on the St. Joseph River. After navigating the " Crockett" about four years that vessel was lost at a place on the river now known as Crockett's Island, and Captain Hollywood then took charge of the ferry at St. Joseph. In 1839 he purchased the farm of David Ball, in Royalton (120 acres), and moving upon it, remained there until his death, in 1851. His sons -Robert T. and Job W.-now occupy and own the estate, to which they have added 90 acres and made it one of the finest and most profitable farms in Royalton. In the fall of 1831, Theodore C. Abbe, of Oswego, having purchased land in the township of St. Joseph, in Michigan, visited Massachusetts, where his widowed mother and family were living, and persuaded them to remove to the West with him. In the spring of 1832, accordingly, Theo trip to Detroit via the Erie Canal and Lake Erie, and started from Detroit for Niles with a team; but the roads proved to be so bad, that after proceeding less than onehalf the distance he and his children abandoned the wagon and footed it to Niles, a distance of nearly one hundred miles. After sojourning in Niles about two weeks, Mr. Danforth went to St. Joseph, where he busied himself for a year at various matters, and then purchasing a farm in Royalton, upon section 7, moved there in the spring of 1838. Mr. Danforth remained upon that farm until 1850, when he moved to the residence of his son, J. B. Danforth, upon section 12, the latter having located there in 1847, and resided there until his death, in 1858. The only one of Mr. Danforth's children now living in Royalton is J. B., above mentioned. About 1840, Dennis Kelley, residing in Chicago, moved, A. G. ABBE. MRS. A. G. ABBE. dore, his mother, sister, and two brothers sailed from Oswego for Detroit. At the latter point they procured an ox-team and lumber-wagon, with which they proceeded to Niles. There a pirogue was obtained, and in that the family, except A. G. Abbe, one of Theodore's brothers, and the lumber-wagon, sailed down the St. Joseph River to Royalton village, while A. G. drove the oxen overland to that place. A. G. lived in Royalton until his brother Theodore died, and then he became a river boatman. He plied on the St. Joseph nine years, worked at his trade as carpenter two years more, and in 1847 located upon a farm in Royalton township, entered with zeal and energy upon a pioneer life, and although a settler after many others in that town, made his home upon land covered with timber, and untouched until then by the woodman's axe. Mr. Abbe has resided in Royalton since his settlement in 1847, and still lives upon the farm which then became his home. Samuel Danforth, a widower with four children, left Onondaga Co., N. Y., in 1837, with two of his children, for the West, intending to locate in Michigan. He made the with his family, to Michigan, and purchasing 120 acres in Royalton, on section 21,settled upon it without delay. This land is now owned by Dr. E. Hall and by the S. P. Phillips estate. One Hogart, who had occupied the place at an early date and moved away after a short sojourn, had cleared about 15 acres, and when Kelley arrived he found matters happily so far advanced that he began straightway to raise crops. He lived on the place twelve years, when upon the death of his wife he sold out and moved to Niles. Of the eight children who came to Royalton with Mr. Kelley all are living, but only one of them (Michael) resides in Royalton. Luther K. Hyde and Samuel Davis, brothers-in-law, residing in Wayne Co., N. Y., left that country, with their families, June 13, 1843,-Hyde having seven children and Davis six. They traveled with a two-horse team to each family, and started for Illinois, where they proposed to settle. They reached Niles, Mich., without mishap, where Davis fell sick, but after a week's halt they went forward. Hyde was opposed to locating in Illinois, while Davis was opposed to locating anywhere else. When they had got as far as Pigeon River, Ind., however, Davis allowed himself to be persuaded in favor of a settlement in Michigan, and from * This statement conflicts with that given of the " Crockett" by J. W. Brewer, Esq., of St. Joseph. See pp. 42, 43. TOWNSHIP OF ROYALTON. 307 Pigeon River, therefore, the party came to a rest again in Bertrand, Mich. Finding an empty log cabin in the woods, they lodged their families therein and looked about for land. Davis traded his horses, wagon, and harness for 80 acres in what is now Lincoln township. Hyde went to Berrien Springs and worked with his team until December, 1843, when he bought a farm in Royalton. The place contained 50 acres, and had belonged to one Gilson, who in passing down Buckhorn hill one day with his team fell from his wagon and was run over and killed. For that 50 acres Mr. Hyde gave his horses, harness, and fifty dollars, and upon the farm he has since then continued to reside. Alanson Risley, of Illinois, emigrated to Michigan in 1846, and made a bargain with Asa Knapp for 160 acres of land upon section 25, in the township of Royalton, which Knapp had bought with the intention of making a permanent home of it, but after chopping upon it a halfday he became convinced that he did not wish to stay there. Returning to Illinois, whence he had come, he sold the property to Risley. The latter moved upon it with his wife and two sons, and it continued to be his home until the spring of 1862, when he died. One of his sons, named Wait, entered the Federal army during the war of the Rebellion, and died on Ship Island, Miss., a member of Company B, 6th Michigan Regiment. Ward, another son, lives in Texas. A daughter, Mrs. Samuel Spry, lives in Royalton, on her father's old farm. Mr. Risley was a hardy pioneer, and found a wide field for the exercise of his industry upon the land he had bought, for it was covered with timber, and what made his pioneer's task a hard one was the fact that he had to work for others to get money enough to keep his family until the crops could mature, and thus between working for fifty cents a day upon other farms, and clearing the land and tilling the soil upon his own at odd hours, and very frequently at night, he managed to struggle on until he could realize on the produce. He set out an orchard also, and to pay for every tree he had to work two days, at fifty cents a day. Nathan Taylor, of Indiana, was a settler in 1847 upon section 18, where Mrs. Sarah Taylor now lives. Taylor moved to Missouri, where he now resides. Jeremiah Case, of New York, made a brief settlement in Royalton about 1840. After a residence of a year or more he set out to return to New York, but died en route. - Settlements in Royalton progressed very slowly from 1834 to 1844, and in the latter year much of the territory was an unbroken forest. In 1840 the population was but 246, and in 1845 had increased so slowly that it was but 284,-the census of both years including also what is now Lincoln township. The first saw-mill was put up by David Shearer, on Yellow Creek, and the second one by Eli Shearer, on the same stream. The first steam saw-mill was erected by Alexander Fulton, on William Miltenberger's place. Thb mill building is still there, but it was dismantled some time ago. Alexander Fulton came from Prairie Ronde to Royalton in 1843, and located upon section 32, where he lived until his death, and where his widow still resides. William Pike relates that during the winter of 1831 -which, by the way, was made famous by an almost unpreAs cedented snowfall-he was engaged in hauling goods between St. Joseph and Berrien, and after the river froze used to make the trip via the river to Royalton, and thence by road to Berrien. The snow lay at one time so deep upon the ground that he was two days making the journey from Berrien to St. Joseph. About the close of that winter he was transporting a load of flour in bags from Niles to the lower country, and reached the river at Berrien Springs only to learn that the ice in the river was too weak to bear a load, and likely to break up at any moment. Pike was determined, however, to get his load over, and so he shouldered his 15 two-bushel bags of flour, one at a time, and carried them across the river at a lively foot-pace. It was risky business, and indeed he came very near being swamped; but the work was completed, though the strain, both mentally and physically, was so severe that, although the incident occurred nearly fifty years ago, Mr. Pike has never fully recovered from the effects of it. Royalton had an early settler known as Cowen, who was an eccentric genius, and so singular in his manner that he was sometimes considered a lunatic. He worked at first for John Pike, and after a while bought of Pike 40 acres of land in Royalton, and built upon it a rude cabin, although he did not attempt to do much towards clearing his land. One day he cut his throat, and declared he would die. The neighbors insisted, however, upon preventing such a result, and procuring a surgeon, soon saw him restored to strength. After that event he grew more moody and morose than ever, and presently disappeared. His land was sold at auction for $50, which barely sufficed to pay his debts; but he never reappeared in Royalton. Some time afterwards he was reported as having been seen " going West," and that was the last heard of him. Hunting was a popular pastime, and game of almost all kinds was plentiful. William Tryon and Eli Shearer were among the most famous hunters of those parts, and were, indeed, often matched in skill against Indian hunters, whom they surpassed on frequent occasions. The first white person born in Royalton was a son of Jehial Enos. The first couple married were Rachel Pike and Jas. Hutchinson, at John Pike's house, by 'Squire' Lemon, of Berrien. The first death was that of Sarah, a daughter of John Pike, whose infant son was the second person to die in the township. MARRIAGE EXTRAORDINARY. Report says that in the long ago one of the township justices was sent for to perform a marriage ceremony, but being unable to leave his business, he deputized a young man to " perform the duty," believing, in the innocence of his heart, that he could empower a deputy in such as well as other matters. Strange to say, the deputy performed the ceremony, and the married pair accepted the dispensation in perfect faith until a few years afterwards, when learning the true facts in the case, they made haste to get married according to law. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL LIST. Royalton, originally a portion of St. Joseph township, was set off in 1835, and in that year David M. Drum was 308 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. chosen supervisor. The original limits of Royalton included the territory now occupied by the townships of Lincoin, Royalton, and Sodus. Lincoln was made a separate district in 1868. Pipestone (including what is now Sodus) was set off in 1842. The early records, dating from 1835 to 1852, were destroyed by fire, and the only obtainable list of township officials dates, therefore, from the year last named. The names of the persons who were annually elected between 1852 and 1879, inclusive, to be supervisors, clerks, treasurers, justices of the peace, and school inspectors are given below: 1852.-Supervisor, Richard Brown; Clerk, William Williams; Treasurer, Albert G. Abbe; Justice of the Peace, Alexander Fulton; School Inspector, Noble W. Thompson. 1853.-Supervisor, Samuel Davis; Clerk, William Williams; Treasurer, A. G. Abbe; School Inspector, A. G. Abbe; Justices of the Peace, Samuel Tryon, John Bacon. 1854.-Supervisor, William Stevens; Clerk, John Bunker; Treasurer, A. G. Abbe; School Inspector, Chester Sherman; Justices of the Peace, N. W. Thompson, A. Fulton, A. G. Abbe, Wm. H. Tryon. 1855.-Supervisor, A. G. Abbe; Clerk, John Bunker; Treasurer, W. W. Conley; School Inspector, Thomas Harwood; Justices of the Peace, Allen Conley, W. H. Tryon. 1856.-Supervisor, N. W. Thompson; Clerk, E. E. Cady; Treasurer, William Williams; School Inspector, James Carlton; Justice of the Peace, Richard Brown. 1857.-Supervisor, N. W. Thompson; Clerk, William G. Taylor; Treasurer, William Williams; School Inspector, G. N. Odell; Justice of the Peace, Benjamin Lemon. 1858.-Supervisor, N. W. Thompson; Clerk, James Carlton; Treasurer, John Bunker; School Inspector, Gould Parish; Justices of the Peace, N. W. Thompson, Merwin Barnes, G. Hettler. 1859.-Supervisor, N. W. Thompson; Clerk, James Carlton; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, Chester Sherman; Justices of the Peace, Gould Parish, Alonzo Spear. 1860.-Supervisor, James Carlton; Clerk, Burt Sterling; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, Albert H. Carlton; Justices of the Peace, Thomas Odell and G. Hettler. 1861.-Supervisor, James Carlton; Clerk, Andrew J. Smoke; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, Greenleaf N. Odell; Justice of the Peace, Jacob Van Dusen. 1862.-Supervisor, James Carlton; Clerk, Andrew J. Smoke; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, Chester Sherman; Justice of the Peace, John Purcell. 1863.-Supervisor, James Carlton; Clerk, Andrew J. Smoke; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, Albert H. Carlton; Justice of the Peace, Richard Brown. 1864.-Supervisor, James Carlton; Clerk, Julius H. Birdsey; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, Edward P. Clark; Justice of the Peace, Gottleib Hettler. 1865.-Supervisor, David N. Brown; Clerk, L. W. Stanley; Treasurer, Joseph Chapel; School Inspector, 0. D. Parsons. 1866.-Supervisor, 0. D. Parsons; Clerk, James A. Parish; Treasurer, Joseph Chapel; Justices of the Peace, Gould Parish, J. W. Robards; School Inspector, Leroy W. Archer. 1867.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, John M. Hankins; Treasurer, William Penland; School Inspectors, James Carlton, Oliver Spalding; Justices of the Peace, William Penland, Henry Ashoff, O. C. Spalding. 1868., —Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, John M. Hankins; Treasurer, Wm. Penland; School Inspector, A H. Carlton; Justice of the Peace, Oliver C. Spalding. 1869.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, John M. Hankins; Treasurer, William H. Tryon; School Inspector, Henry Ashoff; Justice of the Peace, Frederick Sourbier. 1870.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, John M. Ia ankins; Treas urer, William H. Tryon; School Inspector, Oliver C. Spalding; Justices of the Peace, Henry Ashoff and William Stevens. I I 1871.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, John M. Hankins; Treasurer, Wm. H. Tryon; School Inspector, Henry Ashoff; Justice of the Peace, William Penland. 1872.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, Lewis B. Tryon; Treasurer, John M. Hankins; School Inspector, Oliver C. Spalding; Justice of the Peace, Edward Boyer. 1873.-Supervisor, John S. Beers; Clerk, Lewis B. Tryon; Treasurer, Andrew J. Dispennett; School Inspector, Henry Ashoff; Justices of the Peace, Adam Sinn, George Merwin. 1874.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, Lewis B. Tryon; Treasurer, George H. Scott; School Inspector, A. H. Carlton; Justices of the Peace, Henry Ashoff, R. D. Collyer. 1875.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, Lewis B. Tryon; Treasurer, George H. Scott; School Inspector, Henry Ashoff; Justice of the Peace, J. M. Brown. 1876.-Supervisor, Henry Ashoff; Clerk, Carlton L. Bunker; Treasurer, George H. Scott; School Inspector, Henry Ashoff; Justices of the Peace, John Bort and Nicholas Miller. 1877.-Supervisor, A. H. Carlton; Clerk, A. J. Dispennett; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, J. W. Hollywood; Justices of the Peace, John M. HIankins, A. Sinn, G. C. Rockey. 1878.-Supervisor, A. H. Carlton; Clerk, A. J. Dispennett; Treasurer, Henry Ashoff; School Inspector, W. Martin; Justices of the Peace, Henry Ashoff, W. Penland, D. Keller, R. Phillips. 1879.-Supervisor, A. H. Carleton; Clerk, A.'J. Dispennett; Treasurer, A. Sinn; School Inspector, J. W. Smoke; Justices of the Peace, George Merwin (Henry Ashoff and Wm. Penland also justices in 1879); Highway Commissioner, William Matthews; Drain Commissioner, Andrew J. Penland; School Superintendent, A. H. Carlton; Constable, Fayette Bort. The affairs of the township are conducted by a Township Board, whose members, in 1879, were Wm. Penland, Albert Carlton, and A. J. Dispennett, who also composed the Board of Health. On April 1, 1879, the town was clear of debt, and had in the treasury, including school funds, the sum of $323.35. Two miles north of Tryon's Corners is the town hall, a neat but plain frame edifice, which is the only public building in the town. The assessed valuation of property in Royalton in 1879 was $160,475. SCHOOLS. The first school taught in the central portion of the town is supposed to have been conducted in a log school-house near Tryon's- Corners, by a Mr. Wilson, whose advent occurred in about 1840. His successor in the same school was one William Price, of whom it is said that he was an able school-teacher. An early teacher in the northern part of the town was Miss Hastings,-now Mrs. James Stevens, -who taught in a log school-house on the St. Joseph road, in section 18. Royalton has now one fractional and five full school districts. The school directors are A. H. Carlton, Lewis Scofield, H. A. Smith, David Kelley, Geo. T. Pallen, and J. H. Evans. Statistics touching these schools, as per report of Sept. 1, 1879, are herewith given, as follows: number of scholars of school age, 381; average attendance, 325; value of school property, $4400; amount paid for teachers' wages, $1024. CHURCHES. About 1844, Rev. Thomas J. Babcock, a traveling mis sionary, organized a United Brethren class in a log schoolhouse on Rowland Tryon's place, but the organization failed to prosper, and was short-lived. Previous to that MRS. WILLIAM H. TRYON. r>-^/ y >j /%^^/? (^ OIA WILLIAM H. TRYON. Among the many prominent men whose portraits and biographies appear upon the pages of this book, none is more worthy of note than William H. Tryon, who was born in Stanford, Fairfield Co., Conn., May 15, 1816. Some lives are spent where they first see light, but Mr. Tryon does not belong to that class, he having lived in the following States: Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana. In 1836 Mr. Tryon settled on land in Royalton township, section 29, where he now resides. Roland Tryon, father of the subject of this sketch, came to Michigan in 1836, bringing only a part of his family; the others followed soon after. He entered eighty acres of land that his son William now owns; he also entered land in other townships, living long enough to see his family all well settled. He died at the advanced age of ninety-four years. William has added eighty acres to the entry of his father; erected a large brick house in the place of the small and inconvenient one that was first built; has improved his farm and made of it a very desirable place; has been one of the largest fruit-growers in the township. Mr. Tryon has not only been engaged in farming and fruit-raising, but carried on a general store in Royalton for six years. He has also been a grain-dealer in Chicago. His neighbors, and the citizens of the township and county, have ever regarded him as a man whom they could trust, and have placed him in many positions of honor. Among the offices he has filled are the following: director of the National Bank at St. Joseph, two years; justice of the peace, four years; township treasurer, two years; coroner, six years; and notary public, six years, holding this office at the present time. He has all his life taken a decided political stand, and is an out-and-out Republican. He is also a member in good standing of the Masonic lodge in St. Joseph, and also of the Odd-Fellows. On the 17th of April, 1844, he married Mary E., daughter of Jonathan and Deborah Kent. Four children blessed their union, but death invaded the family circle and claimed two, viz.: William R. and Orleanna A. Minte is the wife of Jesse B. Hamilton, living in Lansing, Mich.; Charles E. married Miss Celestine P. Collier, and is living at home with his parents. Mrs. Tryon was born in Chatham, Morris Co., N. J., Sept. 7, 1826; and in 1851 joined the Methodist Church. In the early settling of this State there was plenty of wild game; this afforded sport for many of the people, none enjoying it more than Mr. Tryon, who was a very successful hunter. As an instance of his success, he narrates making a score of thirty-seven deer, sixteen coons, six wild turkeys, and nine swarms of bees in a forty-days' hunt; also, as an experience of the early days, of having made a visit to New Jersey from Michigan by the way of the lakes, being thirty-seven days on the way; the cause of this being the condition of the boat; after starting out it was discovered to be leaking, and the water had to be bailed out by the men, it taking them twenty-four days to go from St. Joseph to Detroit. 0 S:I TOWNSHIP OF ROYALTON. 309 in 1832, or soon after-Rev. William Davis, of Indiana, with other traveling missionaries of the United Brethren Church, used to preach at John Pike's house once in four weeks. The congregations were small, of course, but the members thereof were faithful attendants, and held in high esteem the precious privilege of public worship, although they enjoyed it but once a month, and traveled in some cases a long way to do it. After a while a United Brethren congregation was organized, but lapsed after a brief existence. Rev. Mr. McCoole, a Methodist Episcopal missionary, preached occasionally in the town in 1833 and 1834, and after that other preachers of that faith made visits, but no class was formed until 1864. The Baptists have been worshiping for some time past in the town hall, and for a-year or more have had preaching once in two weeks by Rev. J. E. King, of Sodus, but they have as yet effected no organization. The Eavangelical Association.-A German Church was organized in Royalton in January, 1860, by Rev. C. Ude, and the class then formed, with Henry Ashoff as leader, was called the Emanuel Class of the Evangelical Association in North America. In 1860 a house of worship was erected upon Henry Ashoff's farm, where it is still located. Since the organization of the church Mr. Ashoff has served as the class-leader the most of the time, and for an extended period as superintendent of the Sabbath-school. Among the preachers who have occupied the church pulpit have been Revs. Ruh, Alsbach, Reigel, Spech, Haug, Gomes, Meek, Paullin, and others. The church membership is now about 30, and is composed exclusively of Germans. Church services are always conducted in the German language, save as occasion demands a change at protracted meetings. The Sabbath-school includes about 50 scholars, and is in charge of 7 teachers, the exercises being conducted in the German language. The school was organized in 1861, when Gottleib Hettler was chosen superintendent. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized April 8, 1866, by Rev. John Byrnes, and was attached to the Michigan Conference in the Niles district. Previous to that, May 23, 1864, a Methodist Episcopal class was formed, with 11 members, but dissolved shortly thereafter. The names of those who joined Mr. Byrnes' class in 1866 are given, as follows: G. Hettler, William and Catherine Penland, Laura Sranley, Ansel Scott, Debbie Parsons, Phoebe Covert, Mary Roberts, Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Reuglands, W. C. Penland, Caroline Boswell, Joan Tryon, S. W. Stanley, G. Foster, D. H. Fogle, Nancy Baker, Elizabeth Reese, Martha A. Hettler, Mary Tryon, Elizabeth Fogle. March 25, 1867, when the class was revised by Rev. Irving Skinner, it contained 28 members. Mr. Skinner was the pastor two years, and was followed by Revs. Friend, Valentine, Shinston, Wallace, and Joseph Skinner. Worship has always been held in the Tryon school-house, save for a period of three years, when the location was at the Risley school-house. Preaching is now provided once every two weeks. The members number now 16. The class-leader is Ansel Scott; the steward, William Penland. The Sabbath-school, which meets every Sunday, comprises from 30 to 40 scholars, under the charge of Superintendent Ansel Scott and three teachers. The Christian Church, now worshiping in the Risley school-house, has a membership of 70, which was its strength when organized Oct. 28, 1878, by Rev. Reason Davis. Mr. Davis is still the pastor and preaches once a month. Mrs. Anderson preached, for about a year, a monthly sermon, so that the church was enabled to have worship once a fortnight. Mrs. Anderson's visits have been recently discontinued, but it is thought that Mr. Davis will be engaged to preach once a fortnight instead of monthly. Carl Bunker is the present elder, J. H. Evans and Samuel Spry the deacons, and David Shearer the secretary and treasurer. POST-OFFICE. A post-office was established in Royalton in 1843, and Mr. Boughton appointed postmaster. He kept tavern on the St. Joseph road, where A. H. Carlton now lives, and had the post-office in his tavern. John Wetherell succeeded him both as tavern-keeper and postmaster, at the same place, where, too, Gould Parrish was the third incumbent. After Mr. Parrish's time the office was discontinued until 1861, when George H. Scott secured its revival and his appointment as postmaster. He held the office until 1865, when it was again discontinued. In 1874 it was reestablished at Tryon's Corners. A. J. Dispennett, who was then appointed, is still the postmaster. The office has now daily mail communication. FRUIT GRANGE, No. 104. This, the only secret order in the township, was organized in 1873, with the following members: J. S. Beers, M.; J. W. Robards, O.; A. Scofield, S.; J. Knight, G.; B. S. Green, Sec.; L. B. Tryon, Treas.; J. M. Brown, Asst. S.; Ella Brown, Lady Asst. S.; H. Rantfrow, Chapl.; R. M. Ballinger, Lect.; E. Corywell, Ceres; Anna Fogle, Flora; Celeste Tryon, Pomona; Mrs. R. M. Ballinger, Mrs. Mary Robards, Mrs. Martha Scott, Mrs. Harriet Knight, Mrs. Lavina Rantfrow, Mrs. Grace Tryon, Mr. and Mrs. V. R. Cromer, and George Cromer. The grange is flourishing, with a membership of 50, and owns a commodious hall at Tryon's Corners. The officers chosen for 1879 were: J. M. Brown, M.; L. B. Tryon, O.; A. Scofield, Sec.; M. Sherman, Treas.; Charles Brown, S.; George Fogle, Asst. S.; Nancy Sherman, Chaplain; George Rockey, Lecturer; S. Knight, G.; Mrs. L. Rantfrow, Lady Asst. S.; Mrs. M. E. Ross, Ceres; Mrs. R. J. Dispennett, Pomona; Mrs. George Rockey, Flora. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. DR. EDWARD HALL was born near Manchester, England, April 15, 1830, and emigrated to the United States in the fall of 1838, with his mother, five brothers, and three sisters; his father, Thomas P. Hall, having preceded them one year. After a very stormy passage of sixty-one days they landed at Boston, on Thanksgiving day, and it was truly a thanksgiving day to those storm-tossed pilgrims. The family proceeded at once to Lowell, and all that were old enough went to work with 310 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. their father (who followed calico-printing for forty-five years) in the celebrated Merrimac Print-Works. After the death of their mother, which occurred in November, 1843, I.. found employment on farms near Laporte, Ind. Edward worked for Dr. B. C. Bowell three years, when he began the study of medicine, which he continued for four years. Graduating at the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, he began the practice of medicine at Delhi, Delaware Co., Iowa. In 1855 he was joined by his father and four brothers, who lived with him until the winter of 1856-57, when they all removed to Lyon Co., Kansas, where they remained until 1861. Then the doctor moved back to Laporte, Ind., and in 1862 removed to Berrien Springs. Here he remained eight years, and, by close attention to his profession and strict integrity, built up a large practice, and was surrounded by a host of very warm friends. In the spring of 1870, in consequence of failing health, he removed to Royalton township and engaged in fruit-raising. His family consists of a wife and six children, having married Lorinda C. Roe, Aug. 24, 1854. Their children are four sons, viz., W. C., T. H., E. L., and A. R., and two daughters, Lorinda E. and Mary E. Hall. Dr. Hall says of his father, " He was a native of London, England, lived to the age of eighty-seven years, and had not a day's sickness in his long life, and only a day or two at its close." The doctor has led an active, useful life in his profession, than which none gives more opportunities for doing good. He has been faithful to this profession, and the years of his practice have been wholly devoted to his work, losing no time by sickness, not having been confined to his bed twenty-four hours in forty years. DR. EDWARD HALL. the family was broken up for about a year, when they came together again near Worcester, Mass. After a residence there of a year the father and six of the children emigrated, in a wagon, to Monroe Co., Mich. After remaining there one year and a half, two sons, Edward and Thomas, started again westward, and, walking across the State of Michigan, GEORGE H. SCOTT. MRS. GEORGE H. SCOTT. GEORGE H. SCOTT was born in East Poultney, Vt., June 19, 1817. Spent his early life at home. When fifteen years old he entered the store of Wim. P. Myers, in East Poultney, as a clerk; stayed three years, at a salary of fifty dollars a year, with boarding and washing. At the end of this time he decided to learn a trade. Selecting that of tinner, he contracted for three years' apprenticeship, for which he was to receive one hundred and fifty dollars. At the end of two years his brother, Reuben Scott, decided to move West, and urged George to accompany him. He not having filled his contract as to his trade, had to make some arrangement about that. Mr. Judd, his employer, gave him one hundred dollars for the two years he had spent in his shop, charging him ninety dollars for the time yet to be made up, leaving George but ten dollars for his two years' labor. TOWNSHIP OF ROYALTON. 311 The two brothers left Vermont May 1, 1837, arriving at St. Joseph, Mich., in twelve days, coming by stage to Schenectady, N. Y.; thence to Buffalo by packet on the Erii Canal, taking stage again to Erie, Pa.; then to Toledo by boat, to Niles by stage, and from Niles to St. Joseph by steamboat on the St. Joseph River. Here the brothers decided to go into business, opening a hardwarestore, which business they engaged in three years, when they were burned out, losing heavily. In 1840 bought out a grocery, running this four years. In 1843, George built a vessel, selling his interest out to his brother as soon as it was completed, again engaging in business in the firm of Warren Chatman. At the end of the first year another partner was taken into the business-Francis Finegan; remained here until 1850; then selling out, he went to speculating in cord-wood, shipping to Chicago; the business increasing, he took Curtis Boughton as a partner. In another year's time they bought a saw-mill, taking as partners in this L. F. Warner and Riley F. Gragg. At the close of the year this firm dissolved, leaving the firm Scott & Warner. At the end of two years, the war of the Rebellion breaking out, and troops being called for, Warner enlisted, selling his interest to Scott, who managed the business until 1871. In 1854, Scott and Boughton bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, Scott moving on the farm in 1861. In the transfer of their property Scott retained fifteen acres of the original purchase, to which he has since added eighty acres. He also owns other land,one farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which is the home of his son, George M. In all he has two hundred and seventeen acres. In politics Mr. Scott is a Republican, and has filled several offices of trust, among which are the following: postmaster in Royalton for seven years, town treasurer three years, deputy postmaster at St. Joseph (1840) two years. On the 14th day of December, 1843, he married Eliza, daughter of David and Charlotte Gragg. Of this union were born five children, viz.: George M., C. H., Emily L., Charles R., Linda M. All are living. Mrs. Scott died Sept. 19, 1872. JOHN BORT. MRS. JOHN BORT. JOHN BORT. Among the many gentlemen whose biographies appear on the pages of this history, none better deserve mention than he whose name stands at the head of this sketch. He was born Nov. 25, 1810, in Herkimer Co., N. Y.; his early life was spent on a farm. At the age of twenty he left his father, hiring as a farm-hand for two years at thirteen dollars per month. He then went to Canada, working in a saw-mill at twenty-six dollars per month. Oct. 10, 1832, married Mariette, daughter of Otis and Mary Smith. Mrs. Bort was born Feb. 24,1826, in Herkimer Co., N. Y. After his marriage Mr. Bort rented his father's farm, remaining there two years. At this time his father-in-law dying, he was appointed administrator of his estate; seven years passed before this was settled, there being a minor heir. For four years he engaged in farming, first in Jefferson and then in Herkimer County. Removing to Peters' Corners, he engaged in harness-making; from that he went to traveling, selling fanning-mills and pumps. In 1844, Mr. Bort settled in this county, purchasing a farm of one hundred and seventeen acres in Niles township; he sold this and removed to Royalton township, now Lincoln, where he bought one hundred and forty-four acres; again buying one hundred and sixty-four acres in Royalton township, to which he removed, and on which he is now living. His principal employment while on the Lake farm was raising fruit. Feb. 1, 1848, Mrs. Bort died, leaving four children, viz.: Otis S., Sophronia M., Mary J., and Charles E. Jan. 2, 1850, he married, for his second wife, Sophronia, daughter of George Getman. Of this union were born six children, viz.: Albert, Fayette, Harrie G., Eddie G., Jay E., and Mariette. Albert is living in Nebraska, the others are at home with their parents. Mr. Bort's father raised a 312 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. family of twelve children,-all living but one; two living in Michigan, one in Iowa, one in Wisconsin, and the others in New York. Mr. Bort is the ninth child, and he is now sixty-nine years old. His father died in 1870, aged eightythree years, having been twice married, his first wife dying in 1823, and the second in 1877. Mr. Bort is an active, energetic man, anxious for the advancement of the country around him. He organized the first school on the lake, opening the school with only three scholars; has been school director and commissioner for two years. It has been his fortune nearly every time he has changed his residence, to stop where they had a schoolhouse to build, and he has assisted in building four schoolhouses. Mr. Bort was ambitious to improve both his mind and his circumstances; this led him to employ diligently both his time and means, and as a result he has achieved a success in life which favorably contrasts with the beginning of his career. CHAPTER XLI. ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP.* Description of the Township, its Settlement, and Pioneers-Organization and Township Officers-Early Roads and Road Districts-St. Joseph Village-Manufacturing Interests-The Railroad-St. Joseph Secret Orders-The Public Schools-Religious SocietiesCemetery. THIS is the smallest township in the county, and is situated on the lake-shore, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, from which it takes its name.t In the government survey it is known as town 4 south, in range 19 west. It has a triangular shape, and is bounded on the east by Benton, and south by Lincoln and Royalton townships. Only a little more than seven full sections are embraced within its limits. The principal streams are the St. Joseph and Paw Paw Rivers and Hickory Creek. The former enters the township from the south, nearly a mile west of the southeast corner, and after flowing almost parallel with the lake for two miles and a half, turns to the west and, receiving the waters of the Paw Paw, which flows from the northeast, discharges into Lake Michigan. In its course through the township it embraces several islands and bayous, and there is not sufficient fall to afford waterpower. The peninsula formed by this stream is a plateau elevated from forty-eight to fifty-five feet above the lake. Its soil is a rich sandy loam, with occasional small belts or outcroppings of clay. It was originally well covered with oak, maple, beech, whitewood, ash, and hickory, with small clusters of pine. Most of these have been removed, and the surface presents an open and well-improved landscape. On the peninsula formed by the Paw Paw River the surface is less elevated, and the soil is sandy and comparatively * By John L. Rockey. t The original name, "St. Joseph," was first given to the mission established at the mouth of the river about 1700, and designated in the records of the Catholic Church as " The Mission of St. Joseph of Lake Michigan." St. Joseph was the patron saint of Canada, or New France. sterile, much of it being unfit for cultivation. Along the rivers the surface is somewhat marshy, but upon the eastern line of the township there is a belt of very fine land, which has been highly improved. Although the soil is adapted to the cereals, market-gardening and fruit culture have become the leading industries of the people outside of the village of St. Joseph. At this point the first settlement was made. An account of the Jesuit Mission, and other early occupancy, is given in the general history of the county, as also of Capt. Hinckley's entrance to the harbor in the fall of 1827, while on his way to Fort Dearborn (Chicago) with supplies for the garrison. The harbor was at that time called " Saranac" by the sailors. William Burnett and his son James also had a trading-post here from about 1785 till after 1825. The old Burnett trading-post was something more than one mile up the river, in an apple-orchard set out by the elder Burnett. A part of the orchard still exists, and the remains of the trading-post are-or were in recent yearsto be seen. James Burnett, son of William Burnett, was here in 1829. He laid no claim to land, but followed his occupation of a trader with the Indians, and was traveling from place to place. THE PIONEER SETTLERS were Calvin Britain and Augustus B. Newell. The former was born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., in 1800, and came to Michigan in 1827. For a short time he was connected with the "Carey Mission," and was at St. Joseph in 1827 and 1828, but in 1829 pre-empted land at that place with Augustus B. Newell. The lands were surveyed by government in 1829 and 1830, and Sept. 30,1830, they purchased the lands they had pre-empted. Mr. Britain took up his residence here in 1829, and remained a citizen of the township until his death, Jan. 18, 1862. He was a member of the Legislative Council of the Territory, which office he held till Michigan became a State, and served in the Legislature as a representative and senator under the old constitution. In 1852 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor. He remained a single man. In 1837 his father, Gen. Calvin Britain, came to St. Joseph to live, but died in 1840, at the age of seventy years. Maj. Britain had his home with Augustus B. Newell, who came in 1829, and built the first house (which was of logs), intended for permanent use in the township. He also built the first tavern, but died soon after, in 1832. Benjamin Chandler came in the early part of 1829, and built a house near Newell's, but farther up the bluff. He died in the place many years ago. In May, 1829, Capt. Daniel T. Wilson came from Niles, where he was engaged with his brother in a tanning business. He settled in St." Joseph, and, with the exception of a few years, lived there until his death, Oct. 25, 1878. At the time he came one Leephart, a trader, lived on the east side of the river. In September, 1829, his father came to live in the township, but died in the course of four or five years. Calvin Bartlett came the same season. In November, 1830, he married Pamelia Ives, who had come with Mr. Nelson's family. The ceremony was performed at the " Mansion House," by Maj. T. S. Smith, and was the first wedding in the town *4! I fl PARK HOTEL, S. H. BROWN, PROPRIETOR, ST JOSEPH, MICHIGAN I 0 TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. 313 ship. To this couple was born the following year a son,Amos Carroll,-who was the first native white child. In his manhood he became well known as a steamboat captain. The elder Bartlett died in the township in 1851. On the 12th of July, 1829, Benjamin C. Hoyt became a member of the St. Joseph settlement, and continued a prominent citizen of the township until about 1873, when he moved to Mississippi. Maj. T. S. Smith* and William Huff first settled in Royalton before 1828, but soon after became residents of St. Joseph. Mr. Smith was the first keeper of the lighthouse in New Buffalo, in 1840. He was a very portly man, and an inveterate joker. In 1853 he went to California. Huff became a merchant in St. Joseph, and died there in 1848. In a few years his family also removed to California. About 1830, L. L. Johnson settled on the lake-shore, a mile north of the village. He subsequently removed to Wisconsin. John Wittenmeyer came in the same or the following year. He was one of the early merchants. When the Mexican war broke out he went into the army, and rose to the rank of colonel. He died soon after his return home. James F. Lord, a carpenter and joiner, came in 1831, and in 1847 removed to Chicago. In the same year Fowler Preston, also a carpenter and joiner, moved to St. Joseph. He was an active citizen, and died in 1842. Members of his family still live in the township. In 1832 came Dr. Amos S. Amsden, a native of New York, who was prominently identified with the place until his death, about 1849. Thomas Fitzgerald, a native of Herkimer Co., N. Y., emigrated to Indiana, and was a member of the Legislature of that State in 1828. He removed to St. Joseph, with his family, June 22, 1832, having received the appointment of lighthouse-keeper. He was regent of the State University in 1837, bank commissioner in 1838, and upon the resignation of Gen. Cass as United States Senator he was appointed to fill the vacancy. After his retirement from that position he removed to Niles, and at his death, in 1855, was probate judge of the county. He was the first attorney in St. Joseph. In 1832, Edward P. Deacon came from Erie, Pa., and associated himself with William McKaleb, a native of Maryland, in building the first saw-mill that year. He removed to Boston, where he died, and McKaleb returned to his native State. Leverett Plumb emigrated to Chicago from Ohio, and bought a lot, but after living there a short time, and thinking Chicago never would be much of a place, moved to St. Joseph, with his family, in 1832. He, with Philip Andrew, built the engine for the mill of Deacon & McKaleb, erected in 1832, and in 1833 put the engine in the " Matilda Barney," and was the engineer the first season. He went to Detroit and put the machinery in the " Davy Crockett," and brought the vessel to this port in 1834. Mr. Plumb lived here until his death, in 1859. His daughter, Mrs. Reynolds, is living in the village of St. Joseph. In 1833, Thomas Conger, a lawyer, settled in the town* In an act to divide the Territory into townships, approved April 12, 1827, which contains a section organizing the township of St. Joseph, provision is made that the first town-meeting be held at the house of Timothy S. Smith, in said township. 40 ship, but about 1848 went to California. Jeremiah Wilson came the same year, and died in 1835. In 1834 and 1835 a large number of persons settled at St. Joseph, among them Hiram Brown, from Rochester, N. Y. After living'in the village until 1848 he moved to Chicago, but has resided at St. Joseph since 1862, and he JOSEPH W. BREWER. and Joseph W. Brewer are about the only citizens left that came at that early period. The latter has served the township as justice of the peace since 1853. Jabez N. Rogers lived in the township from 1834 till 1848, when he removed to Berlin, Wis. John F. Porter remained from 1835 to 1846, when he returned to New York. Rodney C. Paine was here a few years, about this period, when he became a resident of Niles; Talman Wheeler, from 1835 till 1850, when he removed to Chicago; and Edwin Richardson, a teacher, also came in 1834. He removed to Berrien, and served as register of deeds. R. R. Duncan became a resident of St. Joseph about 1834, and resided there until his death. For about thirty years he was actively engaged in business. George, Edward, and Benjamin Kingsley came from Utica, N. Y., about the same period, and took a prominent place among the pioneers. Benjamin Kingsley is still a citizen of St. Joseph. In 1834, Curtis Boughton came from Ohio, and settled on the Niles road, south of the village, and has continued his residence in the township since. His father, Gaius Boughton, came a few years after; and among other pioneers in the southern part of the township were the Abbe and Gard families. Members of the latter are yet among the active and prominent citizens of St. Joseph. In addition to the foregoing, among the prominent pioneers prior to 1840 were the Olds, Stewart, Johnson, and Martin families, James Randles, Wm. Axtell, A. M. Brownell, M. Chauncey, Moody E. Merson, John Harris, Robert Hollywood, Wm. Patterson, Asaph Preston, S. R. Russell, Isaac Pangborn, Winm. C. Weaver, J. H. Wells, Solomon Smith, Samuel Hicks, R. P. Stinson, Samuel Sutherland, F. A. Hull, and Charles C. Sutton. In 1864 the population was 1681; in 1870, 3000; in 314 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN...... -.... 1874, 3288. The valuation in 1860 was $207,234; and in 1870, $426,451. ORGANIZATION AND TOWNSHIP OFFICERS. The early bounds and divisions of St. Joseph township are fully noted in the general history of the county. By an act of June 9, 1832, St. Joseph was made to embrace the territory at present included in the townships of Watervliet, Hagar, Benton, Sodus, Royalton, Lincoln, and the north four tiers of sections in Lake, Oronoko, and Berrien; and the first election was to be held at the house of Augustus B. Newell. On the 17th of March, 1835, Royalton was formed to include the territory south of township No. 4; and by the organization of Benton, March 11, 1837, St. Joseph was reduced to its present bounds,-about 7i sections in township No. 4, range No. 19. No records prior to the final subdivision are known to be in existence. From other sources it is learned that in 1834 William Huff was Supervisor, Amos B. Amsden Justice, and B. C. Hoyt Clerk; and in 1836 William Huff was Supervisor, Jabez N. Rogers Clerk, and John F. Porter, John P. Davis, and William McKaleb Justices. At the election held at the " Mansion House," April 3, 1837, 57 votes were polled, and the following elected: Supervisor, William Huff; Clerk, Jabez N. Rogers; Justices of the Peace, Daniel Olds, J. N. Rogers, James Randles, J. G. James; Assessors, Talman Wheeler, Fowler Preston, B. C. Hoyt; Collector, William H. Stewart; Constables, B. H. Sweet, William H. Stewart; Poormasters, Daniel Olds, A. S. Amsden; Road Commissioners, L. L. Johnson, John Wittenmeyer, Israel Kellogg; Path masters, William H. Stewart, Isaac Moffatt; School Commissioners, William Huff, Thomas Fitzgerald, John Wittenmeyer; School Inspectors, B. C. Hoyt, James Randles, Thomas Fitzgerald. Since 1837 the principal officers have been the following: SUPERVISORS. 1838, John F. Porter; 1839, James F. Lord; 1840-42, Fowler Preston; 1843-44, B. C. Hoyt; 1845, L. S. Lillibridge; 1846, Andrew Murray; 1847, Thomas Fitzgerald; 1848, A. M. Church; 1849, Talman Wheeler; 1850, William M. Lister; 1851, A. M. Church; 1852, A. II. Morrison; 1853, L. F. Warner; 1854, A. H. Morrison; 1855, D. A. Urmston; 1856, Joseph Gard; 1857, F. I. Parks; 1858, Theodore Pew; 1859-60, F. I. Parks; 1861, A. D. Brown; 1862, Warren Chapman; 1863-68, Daniel Chapman; 1869, Warren Chapman; 1870, Curtis Boughton; 1871-74, Warren Chapman; 1877, A. H. Morrison; 1876, Edward M. Edwards; 1877, Asa E. Perkins; 1878-79, Edward M. Edwards. CLERKS. 1838, E. H. Kuhr; 1839-41, J. N. Rogers; 1842, B. F. Fish; 1843, Talman Wheeler; 1844, A. M. Church; 1845, M. D. Gragg; 1846, Charles F. Howe; 1847, A. P. Stinson; 1848, M. D. Gragg; 1849 -53, A. P. Stinson; 1854, R. S. Duncan; 1855, E. L. Griffith; 1856, David M. Crane; 1857-58, L. J. Brown; 1859, John Burke; 1860-61, Charles J. Smith; 1862, William M. Smith; 1863-64, Robert Vanvlear; 1865-66, J. J. Drake; 1867-68, J. W. Brewer; 1869-70, Hiram Brown; 1871, A. H. Scott; 1872-76, Joseph W. Brewer; 1877, Junius H. Hatch; 1878, William H. Maynard; 1879, Nelson C. Rice. TREASURERS. 1839, Robert B. Martin; 1840-41, B. C. Hoyt; 1842, Charles C. Sutton; 1843, James F. Lord; 1844, George W. Kingsley; 1845, Maurice Fitzgerald; 1846, Harvey Gould; 1847-48, Maurice Fitzgerald; 1850-52, B. C. Hoyt; 1853-55, B. M. Springstein; 1856 -57, S. H. Sutherland; 1858, Hiram C. Guernsey; 1859, Henry L. Hatch; 1860, George W. Kingsley; 1861, E. C. Hoyt; 1862, D. W. Porter; 1863, L. G. Moulton; 1864, Joseph W. Brewer; 1865, Henry Smith; 1866, Horace K. Langley; 1867, Henry Zerambo; 1868, Edward Kingsley; 1869, F. C. Jordan; 1870, Charles H. Moulton; 1871, Henry M. Brown; 1872-74, Robert F. Stratton; 1875-76, John Wallace; 1877, Joseph J. Pearl; 1878-79, Edwin F. Platt. The justices of the peace since 1838 have been as follows: George C. Thompson, J. N. Rogers, L. S. Lillibridge, Cruger Walton, Jabez N. Rogers, Joseph Gard, Dexter Straight, Timothy S. Smith, A. P. Stinson, Horace W. Guernsey, Moses Chapman, Joseph W. Brewer,* C. C. Sutton, John T. Smith, Charles R. Brown, Hiram Brown, John A. Donaldson, John M. Enos, Nathaniel Robbins, Daniel Chapman, A. H. Bean, Henry Mowston, Frederick A. Hull, Charles F. HIowe, Amos S. Amsden, L. Plumb, John Wittenmeyer, Wm. M. Liston, B. C. Hoyt, Wm. Chapman, A. M. Brownell, L. F. Warner, Samuel Holland, Elijah Knapp, Edward Kingsley, Charles Molhagen, B. C. Lewis, W. Guernsey, John Thomas, Junius H. Hatch; At the April meeting in 1848 the question of granting license for the sale of spirituous liquors in the township was submitted to the voters, 69 of whom declared in the affirmative and 56 opposed. A subsequent test of the minds of the people reaffirmed the decision. EARLY ROADS AND ROAD DISTRICTS. Territorial roads were laid out to the mouth of the river St. Joseph as early as 1830, an account of which will be found in the general history. The first record in reference to roads is the division of the townships into road districts, and bears date March 27, 1838. By John Wittenmeyer and Lemuel L. Johnson, commissioners of highways, it was ordered, " That all that part of the township lying south of the St. Joseph River, and that part north of St. Joseph River and south of Paw Paw River, be District 1; all the remaining part of the township be District 2." The first recorded road was laid out three rods wide, commencing at the quarter-section corner on the section line between sections 27 and 34, in township 4 south, of range 18 west, following said section line westerly one and a half miles, thence westerly, terminating at the road opened by Eleazer Morton, running from or near said Morton's house to section 33, in town 4 south, range 18 west. The New Buffalo road was surveyed and established June 17, 1839, and opened by an order by the commissioner, Nov. 1, 1842. A road was laid out from Royalton to St. Joseph on the north side of St. Joseph River: commencing on the south line of section 36, town 4 south, range 19 west, at a stake four chains west of the quarter-post; thence running northerly, intersecting the town line near Phelps. following the town line some distance, touching the quarter-post on the east line, section 24, and intersecting the Territorial road 2-1r chains south of section corner, being over three miles in length. A road was surveyed and established Nov. 14, 1839, commencing on the Territorial road on the line running north and south, through the centre of section 15, in town * Continuously since 1853. I7 HON. ALEXANDER HAMILTON MORRISON, of St. Joseph, Mich., was born at Quebec, Canada, Feb. 22, 1822. He is of Scotch and American parentage. His mother was a descendant of Col. John Jessup, who, for his fidelity to Charles I., was rewarded by Charles II. with a large tract of land on the Hudson River. This tract, known as Jessup's tract, became historic, through its confiscation by the State of New York after the Revolutionary war. His father, Rhoderick Morrison, was a merchant and trader, and a member of the old Northwestern Fur Company. He was one of the few partners who successfully resisted the attacks upon that company made by Lord Selkirk, in the interests of the Hudson Bay Company. At the age of sixteen, Alexander Hamilton removed to Chic ago to seek his fortune. That city then contained less than four thousand inhabitants. He was engaged there three years with David Ballantine, a celebrated contractor on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. At the age of nineteen he went into active business on his own account as a merchant and contractor on public works in Illinois and Iowa. In 1850 he moved to St. Joseph, Mich., where he has since resided, engaged as a merchant, lumber-manufacturer, and railroad-builder. In connection with James L. Joy he constructed the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, two hundred and fifty miles in length, and managed it for six years. Mr. Morrison and C. G. Wicker, of Chicago, were also joint owners and operators of the Dakota Southern Railroad, and of the Sioux City and Pembina, a branch of the Dakota Southern. In politics he was formerly a Whig, but now votes and works with the Republican party. In 1851 he was chairman of the board of supervisors of Berrien County. In 1852 he was a candidate for presidential elector on the Scott ticket. In 1856 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1860 he was elected to and served in the House of Representatives, and for three sessions was chairman of the committee on State affairs. In 1861, President Lincoln appointed him commissary of subsistence in the regular army, but he declined the appointment. In 1862 he became collector of internal revenue for the second district of Michigan. From 1866 to 1869 he was assessor of the same district, and for six years a member of the Republican State committee; was on the staff of Governors Bingham and Wisner from 1854 to 1861; he has been connected for twenty-five ygars with the Masons and Odd-Fellows; has been Master of Occidental Lodge at St. Joseph, and was the first Noble Grand of Burnett Lodge, Independent Order of Odd-Fellows. In religion he is a liberal. In 1878, Mr. Morrison erected inSt. Joseph the most extensive wooden-ware manufacturing establishment in the Northwest,-indeed, as much so as any establishment of its kind East or West,-to which he added, in 1879, several more buildings for the manufacture of pails and other articles directly from pulp made of straw and hay. (A cut of the establishment above named, of which he is the sole owner, appears on another page of this work, together with his residence.) Mr. Morrison attends personally to the financial part of his business, aided by his only son, Don Morrison, a lad of eighteen years, who is being schooled by his father how to handle successfully large numbers of men without friction, and to good advantage. Jan. 17, 1848, Mr. Morrison married Julia A. Reynolds. They have four children living. The vast fruit products of the St. Joseph region are sent from docks owned by Morrison & Joy, in their transportation to Chicago and other lake ports. During a business career of over thirty years, Mr. Morrison, with three exceptions, was unknown to the courts as suitor, juryman, or witness. He has traveled through the West, South, and East; and in his varied positions of trust and business has met and entertained, at his residence in St. Joseph, many of the distinguished men of the United States. I i TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. 315 4 south, range 18 west, thence along Paw Paw River to another road known as the Coldwater road, established Nov. 14, 1839. Jan. 23, 1840, a road was established from Millburg south and east to the town line. Jan. 21, 1840, a road was established from Territorial road to the town line, four miles and twelve chains in length. April 6, 1840, it was voted to raise money to reimburse the corporation of St. Joseph for money expended on the causeway across the marsh east of the St. Joseph River, opposite St. Joseph village; and at an adjourned meeting in May, it was voted to raise $1000 to finish the east end of causeway and reimburse the corporation of St. Joseph. March 22, 1841, the township was redistricted, forming eight districts. June 12, 1841, the commissioners declared the following streets public highways: Wayne, from the bridge to Ship Street; Ship, Main, and State Streets, and all that part of Water Street commencing at the steam-mill and running to the Michigan Hotel. Aug. 23, 1841, application was made to the commissioner to discontinue that part of the old Niles road fiom the village of St. Joseph through the westerly part of the seminary lands to the Abbe place. Talman Wheeler and eleven other disinterested persons were summoned, and a report was made. After due consideration the petition was grantedSeptember 27th. By an act approved April 1, 1840, Morgan Enos and Jacob Allen were appointed commissioners to lay out and establish a State road from La Grange to St. Joseph. Sept. 27, 1841, the commissioners oY St. Joseph were directed to record the survey of that part which ran through St. Joseph township. FRUIT CULTURE. The fruit interests of Southwestern Michigan have raised St. Joseph to a prominent position as one of the principal points in the region which has been termed the " Great Fruit Belt of Michigan." Nearly the entire township, where the soil is tillable, is devoted to fruit culture, more than 2000 acres being devoted to this purpose, and hundreds of citizens find occupation in shipping the various fruits to market. Until within a few years this country was pre-eminently adapted to the cultivation of the peach, which here attained great perfection and almost invariably yielded bountifully. From a " Catalogue of Fruit-Growers," prepared by L. J. Merchant in 1873, it appears that the seedling peach was grown in St. Joseph as early as 1829. As settlers came in, nearly all of them planted a few seedling peaches, and in 1839 some grown in the garden of B. C. Hoyt were shipped to Chicago. About the same time Capt. Curtis Boughton bought peaches by the barrel and in dry-goods boxes, and carried them to Chicago. In 1842, B. C. Hoyt procured buds of improved varieties from Long Island to start a nursery; and in 1844, lie sent a few baskets of Crawfords to Chicago, which the boys peddled out at ten cents each. From that time on, improved varieties have been cultivated. One of the first large orchards of budded peaches-130 trees-was set out in 1849 by Capt. Curtis Boughton. Since that time orchards containing as many as 5000 trees have been planted, and the pro duct in the township for 1868 was 507,134 packages of peaches alone, and 28,283 bushels of berries. The influence of Lake Michigan, and the diversity of soil in the township, also enables fruit-growers to cultivate successfully pears, plums, quinces, apples, cherries, grapes, and the various kinds of berries; and since the failure of peaches, owing to the appearance of the disease called the "yellows," small-fruit culture has become the prominent industry; and although not as profitable as peach-growing, is yet a source of considerable revenue. Among the fruit-growers in St. Joseph in 1873, who cultivated more than six acres, were the following: Thomas Archer, Emile Birkholm, A. B. Chamberlain, L. Collins, F. Ewald, Joseph Gard, Gordon Family, Garrett Garrettson, B. C. Hoyt, David Judson, J. II. Langley, William C. Lombard, A. N. Napier, 0. Olson, H. T. Plumb, E. Reed, C. H. Sherwood, Robert Spink, S. C. Wilson, J. A. Wischer, John Wallace, P. P. Allen, L. C. Crittenden, E. V. Green, J. Jakeway, J. N. McMichael, William J. Nott, W. C. Perry, Frank Pullen, S. Southworth, R. Williams, R. J. Sawyer, M. Plumb, Curtis Boughton, Thomas H. Botham, D. Comings, E. W. Collins, P. Finnegan, John F. Gard, IH. W. Gustin, S. F. Heath, D. S. Hulett, S. G. Langley, A. C. Lightfoot, Daniel Murphy, N. W. Napier, R. D. Parker, B. F. Pixley, George W. Selden, H. C. Smith, John Whittlesey, A. O. Winchester, Benjamin Williams, J. Aylsworth, G. W. Church, Joshua Ells, Charles Hull, H. R. Labaugh, Z. D. Nickerson, 0. A. Osborne, Robert Pullen, A. D. Rowley, J. R. Webb, B. Lombard, W. H. Wakelee, A. Adamson. ST. JOSEPH VILLAGE. This thriving village is finely situated mainly south of the St. Joseph River, on the peninsula formed by that stream and Lake Michigan. The land forms an elevated plateau, giving the place a situation whose beauty and healthfulness are scarcely surpassed in the State. West of the village is the broad expanse of Lake Michigan, white with the sails of an immense commerce, and healthful with its invigorating breezes. Sweeping round from the southeast is the St. Joseph River, on whose waters are borne the products of the interior of the county to the mouth of the stream, which constitutes a safe and convenient harbor, where lie at rest vessels from the lake; and south are the fertile lands of the township, which have been transformed into a vast and productive fruit-garden. The village is regularly laid out, with wide and well-shaded streets. It contains many fine residences and public buildings, and has a population of some three thousand inhabitants. Until 1829 this locality was an unbroken forest of heavy timber, except about half an acre on the farthermost point of the bluff, which has been used as a burial-ground by the Indians. Various articles of Indian occupancy, as kettles, hatchets, and trinkets, have been found from time to time as the banks broke away, and when the ground was leveled for the park which skirts the brow of the hill. This clearing was made by the followers of Robert de La Salle in 1679, and the winter of 1680-81. After the destruction of the old French fort that stood upon it, the Indians occupied the ground for a general camp when engaged in fishing and hunting in this part of the county.* After the treaty at the Carey Mission, Sept. 28, 1828, attention was directed to this place as an eligible site for a future * See general chapters. 316 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. city, and discerning its importance, Calvin Britain, a former teacher at the mission, made claim to some of the lands near the mouth of the river in the following year. He was joined by Augustus B. Newell, and together they preempted the most desirable part of section 23 in 1829. Newell built a log cabin at the foot of the hill east of the clearing, which was the first house in St. Joseph occupied by actual settlers. Britain was a single man and had his home at Newell's. In 1830 the survey of this part of the county was finished, and on the 30th of September of that year Britain and Newell purchased the lands they had already secured by pre-emption. Some time after this, in 1831, Calvin Britian laid out a village on the south bank of the St. Joseph River, which he called Newberryport, in honor of Oliver Newberry, of Detroit.* This name the place bore until it was changed by legislative enactment to its present title, St. Joseph. Considering the general condition of the settlements in the western part of the county, St. Joseph grew rapidly, having at this time more than 25 houses. It had been designated the county-seat when Berrien County was organized in 1831, and remained the seat of justice until 1837. Its future was so promising that application was made to the Legislative Council in the early part of 1834 for corporate privileges. The act was approved March 7, 1834, and from this period dates the municipal history of St. Joseph. The corporation comprised all of section 23, in range 19, and the authorities were to be known by the title of " The President, Trustees, and Freemen of the village of St. Joseph." In 1857 the limits of the village were extended to embrace all of section 24 lying south and west of the river St. Joseph, and at present about one square mile of territory is-comprised within the bounds of the corporation. By the provisions of the incorporating act, the township Board of Officers-William Huff, Supervisor; Amos S. Amsden, Justice; and B. C. Hoyt, Clerk-presided at the first village election, held at the school-house, on the first Monday in May, 1834, and declared the following persons the choice of the freemen for the respective offices: President, Thomas Fitzgerald; Clerk, B. C. Hoyt (appointed); Treasurer, E. P. Deacon; Trustees, B. C. Hoyt, James F. Lord, William McKaleb, Calvin Britain, John Wittenmeyer; Marshal, Fowler Preston. The sum of $400 was levied upon the taxable property of the village to defray the expenses of the corporation the first year. In 1835 the levy was increased to $1000. As this was a heavy tax, and money was scarce, an ordinance was passed, Jan. 23, 1836, which authorized the marshal " to take promissory notes from the residents of the village for the unpaid part of the tax, which (notes) may be paid by digging and burning stumps in the streets at 25 cents per stump." There is no record to show that the inhabitants generally complied with this proposition to pay their taxes; but it is remembered that some of the trustees claimed that it was a great measure of relief, and would free the streets of many unsightly obstructions. * Another account says the place was called Newburyport, from the town of that name in Massachusetts.;. Considerable attention was early paid by the Council to the improvement of the streets of the village, the establishment of ferries on the river, and the building of a bridge across the same. In February, 1836, a meeting of the citizens was held, and a resolution passed that the corporation loan $10,000 to build a bridge across the St. Joseph River, on the old ferry road, and another near the mouth of the Paw Paw; both to be free from toll. The same year, Thomas Fitzgerald, Benjamin C. Hoyt, and Fowler Preston were appointed a committee to establish a ferry on the St. Joseph, so that the increasing travel might be accommodated. In March, 1837, the Council established rates of ferriage as follows: For a wagon or carriage and over two oxen or horses..$0.62~ For a wagon or carriage, one or two oxen or horses.....37~ For a man and horse.............................................25 For a single horse, ox, or cow................................. 12 For a person on foot, etc......................................12~ Below is given a list of persons liable to pay State tax in the township of St. Joseph for the year 1837, dated Jan. 2,1837:t James Dalton, John H. Harris, Eleazer Morton, John P. Davis, William McKaleb, Axtell & Chauncey, James H. Enos, tavern-keepers; Matthew Cavanagh & Co., William Haff, Dudley & Holloway, John F. Porter, John Wittenmeyer, A. S. Amsden, Stewart & Sawyer, Sullivan & Fish, Samuel Pottle, merchants; John F. Porter & Co., John Griffith & Co., forwarding and commission merchants; Daniel Olds & Co., Parsons, Lathrop & Butler, John Wittenmeyer, grocers. In 1839 the bridge across the St. Joseph River was completed, but there was an indebtedness of $4000 on it. It was a toll-bridge. The builders, Messrs. Stewart, Sawyer & Co., were to have the use of the bridge for a term of fourteen years, and to charge the tolls before given, provided that the corporation might at any time assume the bridge by paying a fair proportion of its cost. The village has long enjoyed free bridges, and its streets compare favorably with those of other villages in this part of the State. The Council also adopted precautionary measures against fires, and, in 1835, enacted ordinances for the protection of property against fire. Three years later, a reservoir twelve feet square was constructed on the corner of Ship and State Streets, and buckets and ladders were provided. On the 21st of March, 1867, the Legislature empowered the village by a special act to borrow money, in sums not exceeding $10,000, and to issue the bonds of the corporation to pay the same, to purchase a fire-engine and equipments, to build an engine-hous9, and to construct reservoirs. The purposes of this act were not immediately realized, but, in April, 1870, the Common Council accepted Hose Company No. 1, which had been formed with 19 members, and Neptune Fire Company, No. 2, which numbered 35 members. Of the latter company, D. W. Porter was the foreman, and W. A. Preston the treasurer. In 1876 both companies were disbanded. In 1877 the occurrence of two destructive fires caused the Council to provide for better fire-apparatus, and the formation of new companies. St. Joseph Fire Company, No. 1, was approved by the Council t At the time the list was made out St. Joseph embraced Benton and Bainbridge. In the spring of that year Benton and Bainbridge were set off as separate townships. DR. LYMAN COLLINS. RESIDENCE OF Un. LYMAIV CULLIN i, bT. JOSEPH, bERRIEN G.O.,MICH. TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. 317 I July 28, 1877. It had originally 52 members, and at present has about 60. T. T. Ransom, Chief Engineer; C. C. Sweet, First Assistant; E. B. Perkins, Second Assistant; G. W. Platt, Captain of the Hose Company. Since 1877 the corporation has owned a No. 3 Silsby steam fire-engine, a hose-cart with 1000 feet of rubber and 300 feet of leather hose. Four reservoirs, holding 20,000 gallons each, have lately been constructed at convenient points in the village, and the entire outlay for protection against fire since 1877 has been nearly $4000. The apparatus is housed in a small building near the City Hall. The latter was donated to the village authorities by the school board, in'July, 1871, for the above purpose, and was formerly the school-house in the upper part of the village. It has been fitted up to contain the necessary village offices, and affords a large room for general meetings. In 1878 the receipts of the village from liquor licenses were $1646.09; and from all other sources $1158.01. The total disbursements were $2777.67. At present the finances of the village are in a healthy condition, the entire debt being less than $100. The principal officers in 1879 were the following: President, A. K. Webster; Recorder, Hiram W. Ray; Treasurer, Edward D. Schnader; Trustees, Daniel Chapman, Abel W. Wells, Montgomery Shepard, James Forbes, Henry Grimm. From 1834 to 1879 the officers were as follows: PRESIDENTS. 1834, Thomas Fitzgerald; 1835, Calvin Britain; 1836, Thomas Conger; 1837-41, John F. Porter; 1842, Thomas Fitzgerald; 1843 -44, Calvin Britain; 1845, Talman Wheeler; 1846-47, Thomas Fitzgerald; 1848-49, Talman Wheeler; 1850, William M. Liston; 1851-53, B. C. Hoyt; 1854-55, J. W. Brewer; 1856-57, B. C. Hoyt; 1858, F. I. Parks; 1859, B. C. Hoyt; 1860-61, Oliver Stevens; 1862, B. M. Springstein; 1863, Oliver Stevens; 1864 -65, Warren Chapman; 1866, Edward Kinsgley; 1867, 0. W. Oviatt; 1868, R. B. Duncan; 1869, J. H. Donaldson; 1870, 0. W. Oviatt; 1871, J. J. Pearl; 1872, A. E. Perkins; 1873, Edward Pulver; 1874, A. E. Perkins; 1875, A. H. Morrison; 1876, A. E. Perkins; 1877, A. K. Webster; 1878, George E. Smith; 1879, A. K. Webster. RECORDERS. 1834, B. C. Hoyt; 1835, Thomas Conger; 1836, James Randles; 1837 -41, Charles A. Morton; 1842-43, J. N. Rogers; 1844, W. H. Sullivan; 1845, W. C. Hammell; 1846-47, Dexter Straight; 1848-52, A. P. Stinson; 1853, Damon A. Winslow; 1854, J. H. Sutherland; 1855-58, H. W. Guernsey; 1859-62, J. W. Brewer; 1863, A. P. Stinson; 1864-69, J. W. Brewer; 1870, Hiram Brown; 1871-75, J. W. Brewer; 1876-78, H. C. Rockwell; 1879, Hiram W. Ray. MARSHALS. 1834, Fowler Preston; 1835, J. Wittenmeyer; 1836, A. M. Brownell; 1837, William M. Stewart; 1838, Bill Jones; 1839-43, Fowler Preston; 1844, J. Fitzgerald; 1845, Robert Wilson; 1846, W. Chapman; 1847, William Bradford; 1848-53, D. O. Ramsay; 1854-55, William Bradford; 1856-57, E. Kingsley; 1858, W. J. Boice; 1859, E. Kingsley; 1860, A. J. Barlight; 1861, D. Nicholson; 1862-64, Conrad Noate; 1865-66, T. H. Botham; 1867, Conrad Noate; 1868-70, N. H. Terry; 1871, S. Hannum; 1872, L. M. Alas; 1873, Daniel Loftus; 1874, J. J. Pearl; 1875, C. Rigney; 1876, J. J. Pearl; 1877, C. Rigney; 1878, John Slattery; 1879, Samuel Hannum. GENERAL COMMERCE. The commerce of St. Joseph has been an important element in promoting its early growth, and received the pro I I I I tection of the government soon after the village was founded. In the latter part of 1831 a lighthouse was commenced opposite where the mouth of the river then was, and in front of the present lighthouse. A. P. Stinson was one of the early keepers of the light. The present lighthouse, built after the model so common on the great lakes,-a combined tower and keeper's house,-was erected in 1859. The light is elevated about ninety feet above the surface of the lake, and can be seen about ten miles away. For many years John M. Enos was the keeper of this lighthouse, and since his death it has been in charge of his widow. The mouth of the river was formerly narrow, and more or less obstructed with sand. It was very difficult to enter the harbor, if the wind blew from the north or west, and many lives were lost in such attempts. On account of the shoal water the heavier vessels were obliged to anchor outside, where they were unloaded by means of lighters. In 1836 the government commenced the improvement of the harbor. The workmen located themselves on the sand-banks on the north side of the present harbor, and began building the north pier. This had the effect of directing attention to that locality as the possible site of a village, and as the speculative spirit was then rife, Messrs. Gurdon S. Hubbard & Co., capitalists from the East, secured the tract of land lying between the Paw Paw River and the lake, which they laid out into lots, calling the place North St. Joseph. At that time some of the sand-hills were sixty feet high, and from $15,000 to $18,000 was expended in reducing them to a grade, building docks, and making other improvements. The plat contemplated a place of large proportions; and for the accommodation of the manufacturing interests of the embryo city a canal was projected from the Paw Paw to the lake, which was to be lined with factories. A warehouse and a few other buildings were erected on the north side; but the location was unfavorable for a good business point, and it soon reverted to its original condition. On the south side real estate was held at fabulous prices by a few owners, whose avaricious policy prevented the village from making a substantial growth at a most favorable period. A large amount of capital which sought investment at St. Joseph was thus diverted to other points, and not until many years later did a more liberal policy prevail. Since 1836 the harbor has been very much improved by extending the piers several hundred feet into the lake and dredging the bed of the river. A light has been placed on the farthermost point of the southern pier, and as there is about thirteen feet of water over the bar, the harbor is one of the best on the eastern shore of the lake. About 1836 the river trade began to assume importance. At first, keel-boats and scows were employed to carry the exports from Niles, Berrien, and other points to the mouth of the river, but in 1832 the first attempt was made to navigate the St. Joseph by steam. A small craft, named, after the village, the " Newburyport," commanded by Capt. John F. Wight, proceeded up the river as far as Berrien, where she ran aground and was brought back to the village in a damaged condition. The following year E. P. Deacon and William McKaleb built a steamboat at St. Joseph, which they called the "Matilda Barney." Joseph Fish . 118 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. baugh, of Pittsburgh, was the carpenter, Philip B. Andrews, now of Chickaming, built the engine, and Leverett Plumb put it in and served as engineer the first season. Daniel T. Wilson was the captain of the boat. It plied about ten years between St. Joseph and Niles, and occasionally went to South Bend. It soon had a competitor for the river trade in the "Davy Crockett," which was brought to this port in 1834 by John Griffith & Co. In the spring of 1835, Benjamin Putnam took command of the " Davy Crockett," and in August of that year the boat ran upon a rock several miles above Berrien Springs, damaging it so badly that it had to be dismantled. The locality is yet known as " Crockett's Defeat." A little later the "Patronage" was built by Hull & Co., who used the machinery of the old " Davy Crockett." Capt. Hull was in command, and the boat ran a few seasons. About 1838 the " Pocahontas" was built by James Randall for Wheeler & Porter. It was an excellent boat, with an 80 horse-power engine, but could not be profitably used on account of its large size, and was withdrawn after several seasons. In 1843 the " Indiana" was launched at Constantine, and navigated the waters of the St. Joseph until 1848, when she was taken to Chicago as a tug-boat. Joseph W. Brewer was in command of this boat, which was one of the few that were able to make the trip from St. Joseph to Niles and return in a day. At the same time the " Algoma," Edward Smith commander, plied between Mishawaka and St. Joseph. The " Niles" was placed on the river about 1845, by Beeson & Co., of Niles, and was employed between that city and St. Joseph until about 1853. From 1835 till 1848 the river trade was so large that not only the foregoing boats were employed, but also a number of keel-boats and small steamers. Among the latter were the " Mishawaka," the " John F. Porter," and the " Michigan." In 1834 the first cargo of wheat was shipped from the port by Hiram Brown, of the firm of John Griffith & Co. In 1842 more wheat was shipped from St. Joseph than from Chicago, and the village was the second shipping port in the State, Detroit being the first. The following year, however, Chicago was the greater grain market, the shipments from that port being 688,907 bushels, while those of St. Joseph were only 418,114. After the railroad was built through the eastern part of the county, but little wheat was shipped from the port; and as the merchants availed themselves of the more speedy transportation, the entire shipping business on the St. Joseph and Paw Paw Rivers declined to so small an amount that only a few small boats were retained. After 1850 the lumber trade became quite important, and many million feet were shipped from St. Joseph annually. The country began to settle up about this period, and since the timber supply has been exhausted, the principal exports have been farm products, mechanical work, and fruit, the latter constituting the chief article. The river trade is carried on by a small steamer, which plies between St. Joseph and Berrien Springs, and several fine steamers and propellers sail daily between St. Joseph and Chicago. The first boat between these ports, the " Pioneer," went to pieces on the bar at St. Joseph in July, 1834. I Some years later Capt. Ward placed the " Huron" on the lake to make connection with a line of stages from the East, whereby the trip from Detroit to Chicago was made in thirty-six hours. Since that time there have been many vessels of good capacity and fine accommodations, and but few casualties have occurred which involved loss of life. The destruction of the " Hippocampus," in the fall of 1868, was one of the most disastrous. It was occasioned by her being overloaded (the cargo being composed of some 8000 baskets of peaches), and by leakage round her propeller shaft, which filled her after compartment, and caused her to go down, stern foremost. At present the " Corona," one of the fine steamers belonging to the Goodrich Transportation Company, makes six trips per week between Chicago and St. Joseph, and other boats from the first-named place touch at St. Joseph daily. In 1868, before Benton Harbor became a port, the number of vessels which entered the harbor of St. Joseph was 892, and their tonnage 138,093; in 1878 the number of vessels was only 287, but the tonnage amounted to 101,534. For many years R. B. Duncan was the collector of the port, but in 1860 the custom-house was discontinued. Upon its re-establishment, in 1862, Hiram Brown was appointed collector, and still fills that position. In 1878 a United States life-saving station was located at St. Joseph, and provided with the most approved apparatus. A full crew is maintained, in command of Captain Joseph A. Napier. Amos B. Hinckley erected the first warehouse on the harbor at St. Joseph, in 1830, near where was afterwards the well-known " Checkered Warehouse." It was a small building, having only one room, and was built on a log foundation, laid up "cob-house" fashion. The " Yellow Warehouse" was also a prominent business place, and for many years a conspicuous landmark. There are at present at St. Joseph several thousand feet of dockage, and warehouse capacity sufficient for the business of the place. The forwarding and commission firm of John Griffith & Co., which began business at St. Joseph in July, 1834, was one of the first in the place, and continued a number of years. Hiram Brown was the resident member of the firm. In a year or two John F. Porter & Co. became a contemporary forwarding firm, and at a little later period came Britain, Chester & Co., in the yellow warehouse. Subsequently Holt, Palmer & Co., whose business was managed by Otis Clapp, were forwarders at this place. R. C. Paine, Mathias Teatzel, and Wheeler & Porter were also prominent commission merchants and general forwarders. The latter firm was succeeded in 1850 by A. H. Morrison, who is still interested in this branch of business. H. M. Williams is also in the forwarding business. GENERAL BUSINESS INTERESTS. As early as 1785, William Burnett established a tradingpost on the St. Joseph, in the upper part of the village, for traffic with the Indians. This was continued by himself, or son James, until 1829; and it is said that they amassed fortunes. In 1800 their exports of furs and peltries amounted to more than $100,000. In July, 1829, Benjamin C. Hoyt came to St. Joseph, and soon after established a trade which extended through forty years. Other early A,W WELLS, H,C,WA R D, THE MICHIGAN BASKET FACTORY oFA.W.WWELLS & Co, ST, JOSEPH, v! ICH. A/,A UFrCTUhSff-, OFBAS/Ei7s fP.uiT PACr/ S E SF O LL f I OS. w;w, C UUrtH. J O H N H IGMA N,JR. TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. 319 merchants were William Huff, Dudley & Holloway, John F. Porter, John Wittenmeyer, Amos S. Amsden, Stewart & Sanger, Samuel Potter, Daniel Olds, Lathrop & Butler, Sullivan & Fish, Daniel T. Wilson, R. B. Duncan, and Samuel R. Russell. Among the principal merchants since 1840 have been the following: James E. Stevens, J. E. & J. B. Sutherland, B. F. King, John Martin, F. A. Potter, C. C. Sweet, W. B. O. Sweet, Platt & Brother, Charles Stewart, J. Jacobson, James Forbes, T. T. Ransom, Z. Rice & Son, George E. Smith, John Yaw, H. M. Zekind, E. C. Palmer, E. D. Crane, John Leach, and M. & A. Shepard. Some of these are yet in trade, and the general mercantile houses of the village are large and well stocked. In the different branches of trade there are about fifty stores and shops. Augustus B. Newell had the first public house in the place, in a log building at the foot of the hill. In 1831 he erected the " Mansion House," near the site of the present "St. Charles Hotel," and kept it several years. The " Michigan House" was the second hotel. It stood at the foot of the hill, on the west side of State Street, and was opened in 1834. The landlords in 1837 were Wm. McKaleb, Axtell & Chauncy, and James Dalton, the latter of whom was on the north side. In 1840 the present "Perkins House" was built and opened by William Huff. It is the oldest public house in the village. About 1867, B. C. Hoyt erected a very fine three-story brick hotel on the bluff near the harbor, which was known by his name until recently, when it received its present title,-the " Lake View House." In its appointments it is a fine house. On the opposite side of the street Charles Kreiger erected the fine fourstory brick hotel-the " St. Charles"-a year after the Hoyt House. It was kept by him a few years, but is at present unoccupied. The " Park Hotel" was erected as a private residence by James E. Stevens, and was adapted to hotel purposes a few years ago by the present proprietor, Samuel Brown. Besides the foregoing, travelers are also well entertained at the " National Hotel" and the " Guernsey House," and at other small hostelries. A branch of the "Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of Michigan" was established at St. Joseph about 1835, in charge of Thomas Fitzgerald. He was succeeded by R. C. Paine, and the bank was in the present residence of Hon. A. H. Morrison. At a little later date a banking company was formed and a " wild-cat" bank established in a building which stood on the site of the present National Bank. It was called the " Commercial Bank of Michigan," and Talman Wheeler was the president. Its existence was of short duration. In 1856, B. C. Hoyt began a banking business, which was afterwards shared with E. C. Hoyt. A fine office was occupied and the bank was successfully conducted for ten or twelve years. The First National Bank of St. Joseph was established in September, 1871, with a capital stock of $50,000 and the following directors: W. E. Higman, F. Jordan, S. F. Heath, C. H. Sherwood, E. Nickerson, W. H. Tryon, and C. Stewart. W. E. Higman was the first president and is still serving in that capacity. F. Jordan was the first cashier, and the present ones are James Baley and 0. 0. Jordan. The bank does a flourishing business. The fol lowing are the present directors: H. C. Higman, E. Nickerson, J. Baley, John Higman, Jr., and W. E. Higman. In 1831 the first post-office was established, with Calvin Britain postmaster. The present incumbent is B. F. King. Among others who have discharged the duties of postmaster are Reuben Scott, Wm. H. Sullivan, Thomas Fitzgerald, C. C. Sutton, B. C. Hoyt, Horace W. Guernsey, Janes N. Witherell, Henry M. Gustin, Theodore L. Reynolds, and Charles Stewart. St. Joseph was designated and made a postal money-order office in 1866. The business of the office is large, and four daily mails are received. Damon A. Winslow states that the St. Joseph Herald, A. E. Draper editor and publisher, was the first paper published in the village, and that its existence ceased after a few numbers had been issued in 1836. The subsequent history of the press is given in a general chapter. At present the papers are the Traveler and Herald, Republican (both weekly), and the Lake Shore Daily News. In 1832, Thomas Fitzgerald came to St. Joseph as the pioneer attorney, and soon after James Randles, Jabez N. Rogers, and Cruger Walton resided in the place. Fitzgerald moved to Niles. Thomas Conger, E. E. Cady, C. R. Brown, C. W. Ormsbee, James H. Canfield, J. E. Chamberlain, and others were formerly attorneys in the village; and the present resident members of the bar are Damon A. Winslow, Geo. S. Clapp, C. B. Potter, A. H. Potter, W. R. Lyon, N. A. Hamilton, T. J. De Puy, Law C. Fyfe, and J. C. Watson. In 1833, Dr. Amos S. Amsden located at St. Joseph, and was probably the first physician in the place. He remained until his death, about 1849. Among other physicians of the regular school were Drs. Lillibridge, Johnson, Murray, Camp, Wheeler, and Corydon Parker. At present there are in practice Drs. R. D. Parker, David B. Crane, Lyman Collins, A. K. Webster, R. F. Stratton, and A. H. Scott. Dr. E. M. Pettit was the first homoeopathic practitioner, and still continues. Dr. J. L. McLin, of that school, is also in practice. Drs. R. Pengelly and Louis Ludwig formerly resided here. Dr. Samuel W. Holland, an eclectic physician, has been at St. Joseph since 1852. Among the dentists of St. Joseph have been Drs. Wilson, Bidwell, Stump, and Shepard. The present dentists are Drs. H. C. Rockwell, H. H. Ray, and H. W. Ray. MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. Most of the manufactories of St. Joseph are of recent origin, and until a few years ago only the common industries were carried on. Lately, considerable attention has been directed to manufacturing, and proper encouragement has been given by local improvement societies and the village authorities, giving the place a promising future in this respect. The first machinery was operated in a saw-mill which was put up in 1832 by Edward P. Deacon and William McKaleb, between Main Street and the Bayou Bridge. The engine was built and set up by Philip B. Andrews (now of Chickaming) and Leverett Plumb. Five or six years afterwards a man named Scott had a small foundry in the village, and later a tannery was car 320 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ried on by - Swartwout, and a brewery by Charles fruit-packages by hand, in the township of Lincoln, cutting Krieger. the splints from planks. Other improvements followed, and At a more recent period the village has had a boiler- horse-power was used. In the fall of 1865 he patented a factory and the shops of the Michigan and Lake Shore berry-box, the use of which became very general, and which Railroad Company. The latter have been moved to Mus- solved the problem whether it would pay to grow small kegon. The only iron-working establishment is the ma- fruits, as it was furnished to growers for the nominal sum chine-shop of Anderson & Colman, on Water Street, which of one cent, and by its use fruit remained in good condition was put in operation in the fall of 1878. A two-story until it reached the consumer. Mr. Wilcox is also the building 24 by 60 feet is occupied, and 7 men are em- patentee of other useful machinery for making fruit-packployed. ages and cases, and has lately devised an ingenious machine The St. Joseph Merchant-Mills, Lee & Wells proprie- for the manufacture of planed shingles. The present steamtors, are located on the opposite side of the street, having factory is located near the railroad depot, and gives employtheir rear on the river. They were built about 1858, by ment to 40 men. John Swartwout, and enlarged by John P. Edwards. A The Industrial Spinning- and Knitting- Works are in the frame building 60 by 75 feet is occupied, and there are same locality. They were established in 1878 by S. F. five runs of stones driven by an 80 horse-power engine. Cooper & Sons, and have since been managed by J. W. The capacity of the mill is 100 barrels per day, and em- Hart. The main factory is 40 by 100 feet, two stories ployment is given to 10 men. high, with large engine-house, dry-rooms, and store-houses Iinkley, Higman & Co.'s Lumber-, Stave-, and Heading- connected. The machinery has been in operation since Mills are on the site of a saw-mill which was built and October, 1878, and embraces two sets for making cotton operated years ago by the Pew brothers. About 50 men and woolen yarns, and knitting- and weaving-machinery for are employed, and the product is 4,000,000 feet of lumber the manufacture of hosiery, mittens, and underwear. More per anrium and 120,000 staves per week. A large quantity than 100 operatives are employed, and the products of the of barrel-heads are also cut, and much of the material is factory have been received with much favor by dealers. manufactured into barrels in a cooperage which is also car- A.. Morrison's Wooden- Ware Works have also been ried on by the firm. in operation since 1878. The factory is on the canal, in the H. W. Williams' Lumber-Mills, in the same locality, eastern part of the village, and embraces eight buildings, were built in 187Q, by Smith & Brown, but have been namely, the main shop, 40 by 120 feet, two stories high; operated by the present proprietor since 1875. It is sup- turning-shop, 36 by 70 feet, three stories high; dry-kilns, plied with good machinery, and is capable of cutting 15,000 24 by 144 feet, three stories high; warehouse for manufeet in ten hours. The power is furnished by a 45 horse- factured goods, paint and varnish shops, office, etc., which power engine, and 26 men are employed. are warmed by steam and hot air. The motive power is The Champion Planing-Mill, and Sash- and Blind-Fac- furnished by a 120 horse-power engine, and 150 hands are tory, W. A. Preston proprietor, has been operated on the employed in the daily production of 2000 pails, 360 tubs, present site since 1872, and was begun in the southeast broom-handles, clothes-pins, and pail and tub handles. The part of the village in 1862. Fourteen men are employed in capacity of the factory admits of a larger product, and is inthe manufacture of all kinds of builders' materials, and lately creased from time to time. a shop for making boxes for canned goods has been added, TE RAILROAD. which employs 8 men more. All these mills are operated o ir con St. Joseph was the first contemplated terminus of the principally on hard woods, and are favorably located for busi- Mic n C l R, i i a IT 1 ~ 11Michigan Central Railroad, as is shown in the chapter on ness on the St. Joseph River and the ship-canal. There also internal improvements in the general history. There also The Michigan Basket-Factory of A. W. Wells & Co.,. a a.. l will be found a full description of the Chicago and West on Water Street, was established near the south pier in M, o y te C o ad M n L Michigan, originally the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore 1867, by Wells, Ward & Wilcox, and was first operated in Railroad. It is sufficient to say here that the completion of the manufacture of fruit-packages. Changes in the firm ee of.. s in te fm the road between New Buffalo and St. Joseph was celebrated followed, some of the members retiring, and W. W. Cook. an by a grand jubilee on the 2d of February, 1870, and that and John Higman becoming connected. In 1874 the firm d Jn Hi n b ig c. 14 t f ir it was extended northward the following year. The station of A..Wells & Co. purchased the interests of the is located at the foot of the bluff, below the village. "St. Joseph Basket Manufacturing Company," on Water Street, which had been organized some time previously, and ST. JOSEPH SECRET ORDERS. has since carried on its business there. The works have It was the purpose of the writer to make the following been enlarged, and at present embrace a shop three stories society sketches more complete, but the absence of the high, 50 by 60 feet, and a large iron warehouse, 40 by 90 proper records, and the indifference of the official members feet. The best machinery is used, and a large variety of who were asked for information, necessitates him to limit work is manufactured, which finds a ready sale. One hun- the accounts to a simple statement of the facts connected dred and twenty-five men are employed, and three car-loads with their organization. of baskets and fruit-packages are shipped daily. Occidental Lodge, No. 56, F. and A.., was the first William R. Wilcox & Co.'sFruit-Package and Veneer. established in the place. It was instituted in 1852, with ng-Factory is the pioneer of this branch of industry in L. Church, W. M.; J. Enos, S. W.; A. P. Stinson, J. l:Berrien County. In 1864, Mr. Wilcox began making W.; A. B. Leeds, See.; and Phineas Pearl, Treas. RESIDENCE OF HON.-A. H. MORRISON, ST JOSEPH I MICH. A. H. MORRISON'S MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENT, ST. JOSEPH, MICH. :: TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. 321 I 1 The lodge at present has 66 members, and its principal officers are A. H. Scott, Jr., W. M.; H. M. Zekind, S. W.; C. H. Moulton, Sec.; and John Wallace, Treas. Pomona Lodge, No. 28, F. and A. M., has held its meetings as a chartered body since Jan. 13, 1871. 0. W. Oviatt was the W. M. at that time; A. K. Webster, S. W.; and R. B. Duncan, J. W. These offices are at present filled by John F. Gard, W. M.; L. C. Fyfe, S. W.; Samuel Richey, J. W.; T. J. De Puy, Sec.; H. W. Guernsey, Treas. The membership of the lodge is small. Its meetings are held in Odd-Fellows' Hall. Calvin Britain Chapter, No. 72, R. A. M., was instituted April 20,1870, with the following original members: Lawrence Phillips, Samuel G. Langley, H. M. Zekind, A. B. Leeds, Joshua Feather, Fred A. Potter, Alfred Shepard, P. D. Montgomery, and A. J. Brush. In 1879 the chapter had 40 members, and H. M. Zekind, H. P.; Alfred Baldrey, K.; Horace W. Guernsey, S.; Law. C. Fyfe, Sec.; and John Wallace, Treas. St. Joseph Council, No. 44, R. and S. M. A., was instituted Nov. 23, 1875, with the following officers: F. A. Potter, T. I. M.; J. J. Pearl, D. I. M.; C. S. Boyle, P. C. W.; Alexander Elon, C. of G.; A. B. Bisbee, G. S. and S.; H. M. Zekind, C. of C.; J. W. Brewer, Recorder; and John Bell, Treas. The council has at present (1879) 22 members, and the following officers in the order named above: Alexander Elton, J. H. Fassett, Geo. S. Clapp, Alfred Baldrey, J. J. Pearl, E. F. Platt, J. W. Brewer, and Law. C. Fyfe. Burnett Lodge, No. 119, 1. 0. O. F.-On the 26th of May, 1868, a charter for a lodge with the above name and number was granted to A. H. Morrison, A. E. Perkins, C. H. Chamberlain, O. W. Oviatt, and W. R. Graham. The lodge has maintained a flourishing existence ever since, and assembles in a neatly-furnished hall. St. Joseph Encampment, No. 37, I. 0. O. F.-This order received a dispensation from the Grand Encampment of Michigan, Dec. 30, 1869, and on the 18th of February, 1870, received a charter from the same source. The constitutent members were Lawrence Phillips, H. M. Zekind, Orrin W. Oviatt, Joseph J. Pearl, C. H. Chamberlain, J. W. Smith, H. Noel Elkington, John M. West, John F. B. Thompson, Edward M. Edwards, and Charles H. De Witt. The encampment has prospered, and enjoyed a liberal increase of membership. St. Joseph Lodge, No. 92, 1 0. G. T.-This temperance organization was instituted March 11, 1879, with 31 charter members and the following principal officers: William B. Plumb, W. C. T.; Miss Adelia Smith, W. V. T.; E. M. Plumb, W. R. S.; Henry Reder, W. F. S.; Miss Jennie Clapp, W. Treas.; Will Hart, W. Marshal; and George Jennings, P. W. C. T. The lodge has been very prosperous, having already, in August, 1879, more than 100 members, and promises to be a valuable agency in promoting the temperance cause. A few other societies have had an existence in the vil lage, but as they have long since disbanded, and the records have not been preserved, no account of them can here be given. 41 I ST. JOSEPH PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The people in the settlement were early interested in the cause of education. A log school-house was erected in the southeast part of the village, where the ground begins to descend eastward on Church Street, between Pearl and Market. The following passage from the village records indicates that the school-house was built before 1832: " At a meeting of the freemen of the village of St. Joseph, held at the school-house (it being the usual place of holding town-meetings), on the first day of May, 1834." This meeting was the first village election. Edwin Richardson came in this year, and taught in this log school-house. At a meeting of the village council, Nov. 25, 1835, it was, on motion, ordered, " That all proceedings heretofore had on the subject of building a school-house in the village of St. Joseph be declared void. On motion, Fowler Preston is hereby authorized to purchase lumber and contract for building a school-house in the village of St. Joseph, that shall not cost to exceed $500." The building then erected has long been known as the " Old White School-House," and stands now on the corner of Ship and Main Streets, and is used as a marble-shop. It still belongs to the corporation. About 1840 a dwelling-house belonging to Charles Ranous was purchased by Dr. Talman Wheeler, moved down on the lot where the Methodist church now stands, fitted up for a school, and donated by him for that purpose. The Rev. - awley, a clergyman, now of Van Buren County, was the first teacher, and remained three years, preaching occasionally in the Old White School-House. Among the early teachers were Donald C. Snyder, Miss McNamana, and Miss Clarinda Searles. It is remembered as the " Old Red School-House." The building now used as a city hall was erected by the district in 1858-59, and used as a school-house until the completion of the present brick structure. It stood on the site of the present school building. The first records of the board of school inspectors of the township of St. Joseph that are preserved are found in an old volume in the township clerk's office. The first recorded meeting of the board was held on the 10th day of April, 1837. There were present Benjamin C. Hoyt, Thomas Fitzgerald, and James Randles, who composed the board. After organization the board adjourned until Saturday, May 16th. At the time appointed the board was in session, and it was ordered, " That all that part of St. Joseph in Fractional Township No. 4, South of Range 19 west, be formed into a School District, and designated as Dist. No. 1," and that the first meeting of the inhabitants of District No. 1 be held at the school-house in said district, on Saturday, the 27th day of May. It was also ordered, " That all that part of St. Joseph set off by the State Legislature as Paw Paw township be formed into a school district, and designated as No. 2, the first meeting to be held at the house of I. Moffatt, on the first Monday of June next." It was fur ther ordered, " That Benton Township, as set off by the State Legislature, be formed into a school district, and designated as No. 3, and the first nmeeting to be held at the house of Jehial Enos, on the first Monday of June next." 322 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. _ ~ __ The school inspectors' report, dated Oct. 17,1837, showed as follows: " Number of districts in St. Joseph township, 3; districts which had reported, 1, viz., district No. 1; number of scholars in district No. 1 of school age, 110; number attending school under five and over seventeen years of age, 10; whole number attending school, 107; length of time a school has been taught by a qualified teacher, five months and two weeks; amount of money received of school inspectors, none; amount received for use of library, none; amount raised in each district, $185; purposes for which it was used, $90 for teachers, $20 for bookcases, $50 for incidental expenses, $15 for desk, $10 for library; books used in each district school, Murray's Reader, American First Class Book, Hale's History of the United States, First Book of History, Olney's Geography, Parley's Geography, Peckham's Grammar, Comstock's Philosophy, Blake's Philosophy, Daboll's Arithmetic, Adams' Arithmetic, Colburn's Arithmetic, Webster's Spelling-Book, Walker's Dictionary. " School in the above-mentioned district was taught by two experienced and qualified teachers, one male and one female. A school has been taught most of the year by one of the teachers; a tuition school is in the district. " L. S. LILLIBRIDGE, "GEO. C. THOMPSON, "IRA C. DOE, "Inspectors of Schools in the Township of St. Joseph." Nov. 8, 1838, District No. 4 was formed from District No. 3, and comprised sections Nos. 13, 14, and east half of 15, in township 4 south, range 18 west. March 1, 1829, at a meeting of the Board of Inspectors the collector of school-tax reported as collected $80.67; the township received, from primary-school fund, $70. It was ordered that both these sums be applied to District No. 1.* The report for 1842 has reference to but one district, containing 97 scholars between five and seventeen years of age, and 113 attending school. In 1843 three districts were reported, and in 1846 the sum of $42.16 was apportioned to District No. 1, " there being no other district in the township." Fractional school districts were made with Royalton and Benton in 1854-55. At the present time the township comprises one district. The report for 1879 shows as follows: number of districts, 1 Director, R. F. Stratton; number of children between the ages of five and twenty years, 884; whole number of children attending school during the year, 663; number of school-houses and construction, 1 brick and 1 frame; number of pupils who can be seated, 800; value of school property, $40,000; number of qualified teachers, 1 male, 13 females; total wages paid teachers during the year,-males, $806; females, $2715.95. The financial report of same date shows, 1 RECEIPTS. Money on hand Sept. 2, 1878....................... $685.25 Two-mill tax...................................... 488.20 Primary-school fund................................ 410.44 District taxes for all purposes.................... 1,042.03 Raised from all other sources....................... 162.68 Total resources for the year......................... 12,182.65 EXPENDITURES. Paid male teachers................................... $806.00 Paid female teachers.................................. 2,715.95 Paid for building and repairs....................... 200.00 Paid on bonded indebtedness...................... 5,782.00 Paid for all other purposes......................... 1,777.80 Amount on hand Sept. 1, 1879..................... 900.09 Total expenditure for the year.................... 12,282.65 Bonded indebtedness of the district Sept. 1, 1879.............................................. 36,600.00 Total indebtedness of the district Sept. 1,1879 36,600.00 Number of private or select schools in township 1 Number of pupils attending private or select schools........................................... 20 Early Teachers.-The first examination and certificate granted by the school inspectors was that of Harry Lyon, Nov. 6, 1839; and others followed as they are here given: John I. Beaup, Nov. 14,1839; Amos Gray, Nov. 28, 1839; William Jones, Oct. 2, 1841; William L. Jakeway, Nov. 11, 1842; John Mitchell, Dec. 9, 1843; A. S. Burt, May 18, 1844; Miss Ruth Mead, March 27, 1845; Donald C. Snyder, Nov. 12, 1847; A. Van Sawn, Oct. 26, 1848; Angeline Woodruff, April 28, 1853; Oscar McClaugherty, Jan. 4, 1854; Romelia M. Spencer, March 30, 1854; E. E. Fish, May 15,1854; Seymour L. Butes, May 18, 1855; Miss E. Butes, June 11, 1855; L. J. Brown, June 13, 1857; Marcelia Brown, July 25, 1857; A. D. Brown, Nov. 21, 1857; A. Aldrich, Elizabeth Dunn, Belle Chapman, and Mary J. Condon, April 3, 1859; Flavilia Quint, Delia A. Brown, L. Valeria Abbott, A. J. Wood, Nov. 12, 1859; Miss Abbott, Nov. 26, 1859; A. L. Aldrich, April 13, 1861; William R. Lyon, Helen Haight, Sept. 7, 1861; Adaline Brown, Mira Abbott, Nov. 2, 1861. Library.-The following is taken from the records, and is the first record of any action being taken thereto, but in the school report of 1838, under the head of " Purposes for which it was used," is noted " $10 for library." " At a meeting of the Board of School Inspection, held at the ' National,' on Saturday, March 22, 1845, present, A. Murray, Chairman, R. E. Ward and A. M. Church: ' whereas, upon mature deliberation, and assisted by advice of eminent council, the Board unanimously agreed to expend $47-5%0 in purchasing books for a school library. The Board selected the Massachusetts School Library, consisting of 38 volumes, and 62 volumes from Harper's Library, in all amounting to 100 volumes, for the sum of $47.50, for which an order was given on the treasurer.' "A. M. CHURCH, Township Clerk. The books were received April 9, 1845. July 13, 1845, 27 volumes were added by purchase. Additions were again made in 1861, and May 14, 1868, 75 volumes were added. In the spring of 1874 the library was given to the Union District, and has increased by purchase by students and donations of citizens and the use of library fund to 487 volumes. The Union School.-In 1859 all that part of the town ship south and west of the St. Joseph River was organized as a district for the maintenance of a union school, which was opened under the principalship of Dr. A. D. Brown, * It will be remembered that in the report made in 1837 the township claimed three districts,-Paw Paw and Benton, as first organized. In this report Districts Nos. 1 and 4 only are claimed, the latter set off from District 3 the November previous. V TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. 323 and other early principals were A. L. Aldrich and W. R. Lyon. In 1871 the present school building was, begun, and it was completed in 1872, at a cost of $40,000. The plans were prepared by Rufus Rose, and the builders were Daly S. Moore and Harrison Paine. The superintending committee were W. S. Maynard and John Whittlesey, and the other members of the Board of Education were Wm. C. Stewart, Geo. S. Clapp, B. Williams, and J. W. Brewer. The edifice has a fine location on a spacious lot, and is built of brick and stone, 86 by 102 feet, three stories high, with basement. There are fourteen school-rooms and a number of recitation-rooms, which are heated by hot-air furnaces. The building presents a fine appearance, and its erection reflects great credit on the village and township. In 1879 the Board of Education was composed of E. D. Crane, Moderator; Wm. E. Higman, Assessor and Treasurer; R. F. Stratton, Director; and John H. Lee, James A. Canavan, and Geo. E. Smith. The entire enrollment of pupils in the district was 850, and the expense of maintaining the schools $5550. J. H. Fassett, A.M., has been the superintendent of the schools for the past four years. He has been assisted by an able corps of ten teachers, and the instruction imparted has been thorough and extensive, giving the people excellent educational advantages at home. In the Heath neighborhood, which forms a joint district with that part of Benton township lying east and south, is a very fine school-house, in which excellent schools are maintained for the people living east of the St. Joseph River. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. In St. Joseph, as well as in most other places in Western Michigan, the Methodist missionaries were the first to proclaim the gospel to the early settlers. It is believed that the Rev. Erastus Felton, a member of the Detroit district of the Ohio Conference, visited this part of the State in 1829, and preached several times as part of his work in the St. Joseph Valley. In 1830 the Rev. L. R. Gurley was his co-laborer. In the following year a separate mission was formed, still bearing the name of St. Joseph, which was attached to the Laporte district of the Indiana Conference, and retained that connection until 1839, when it became a part of the Michigan Conference. That year (1831) the missionaries were the Revs. Benjamin Cooper and William Sprague. A number of changes in the districts and circuits followed. Since 1856 the appointment has constituted a station. The ministers who have preached at St. Joseph, as appointees of Conference or other authority, from 1832 till the present time (1879) have been the following: 1832, Revs. R. S. Robinson, G. L. Bostwick; 1833, Rev. Newell S. Smith; 1834, Rev. R. S. Robinson; 1835, Rev. E. L. Kellogg; 1836, Revs. Thomas P. McCool, R. C. Meek; 1837, Rev. W. Todd; 1838, Revs. J. Ercambrack, F. Arnold; 1839-42, Revs. F. Gage, D. Burns, F. B. Bangs; 1843, Rev. T. Jakeway; 1844, Rev. Charles Barnes; 1845, Rev. E. L. Kellogg; 1846, Rev. R. Pengelley; 1847-48, Rev. R. Goodale; 1849, Rev. George King; 1850, Rev. E. R. Kellogg; 1851, Rev. T. Clark; 1852, Rev. J. W. Robinson; 1853, Rev. W. T. Jenkins; 1854, Rev. T. H. Bignall; 1855, Rev. T. Jakeway; 1856-57, Rev. W. C. Bliss; 1858 -59, Rev. Thomas Lyon; 1860-61, Rev. R. Pengelly; 1862, Rev. A. Y. Graham; 1863-64, Rev. L. M. Edmunds; 1864-65, Rev. J. I. Buell; 1866, Rev. T. Edwards; 1867-70, Rev. Joseph Jones; 1871, Rev. J. T. Iddings; 1872-73, Rev. R. C. Crawford; 1874, Rev. W. H. Perrine; 1875, Rev. G. S. Barnes; 1876-79, Rev. I. R. A. Wightman. The labors of Father McCool in 1836 secured a permanent place for Methodism in St. Joseph. The members of the class which was formed about that time constituted the germ from which sprang the present First Methodist Episcopal Church.-So encouraging was its future in 1836 that it was proposed to at once build a meeting-house, the project being encouraged by many people who did nol belong to the class. An unfortunate circumstance* caused the withdrawal of the latter support, which prevented the project from being carried out, and for many years the purpose to erect a place of worship consecrated to Methodism could not be given effect. Neither did the members of the class increase proportionately, there being in 1846 only 18 persons belonging to it. In Ransom Goodale's pastorate (1847-48) 16 persons were added, but the members were poor, and the interest in religious matters at St. Joseph was very meagre.t The meetings were held in the school-house and other places, and all those years the village had no church edifice. In 1856 the idea to provide a special place of worship again took hold of the minds of the people, and for this purpose a board of trustees was selected, which was composed of Theodore Pew, Franklin Pew, John Spink, Leicester Olds, and Charles Marsh. They entered upon their duties June 13, 1857, and the various plans for building a house were considered. It was finally determined to build a frame edifice, 38 by 58 feet, and provide it with a tower and bell. This house, built after many sacrifices and efforts, was appropriately dedicated, Aug. 18, 1859, by the Rev. Hooper Crews, of Illinois. About the same time a parsonage was begun, but was not completed until several years later. The aggregate value of the property was set at $6500.:- Some of the members of the congregation wished to introduce instrumental music as a part of the service, and it was proposed to introduce a bass viol. This proposition met with decided opposition on the part of the minister and some of the members of the church, and disaffection and lack of interest in the proposed church was the result. t The religious condition of the people of St. Joseph in the early years of the settlement is exemplified by the following incident, related by Hiram Brown, Esq., of St. Joseph: In 1843 the Rev. Hiram Kellogg, of Oneida Co., N. Y., was appointed president of Knox College, Galesburg. While on his way to assume his duties he arrived at St. Joseph by stage early one Sunday morning, and stopped at the " Mansion House," then kept by Judge Daniel Olds. Not wishing to travel Sunday, he decided to remain. It did not seem to him that the day was observed as it should be by the people, for they were engaged as on week-days, and many were pitching quoits in front of the tavern. Mr. Kellogg, on inquiring if there was a church in the place, was informed there was not. Wishing to be quiet, he inquired of Judge Olds if there was any person in St. Joseph who feared the Lord. The judge replied, "No," but after a moment's reflection, said, "Well, yes; there is Hiram Brown, up the street a little ways; I guess he fears him a little," and directed him to the residence of Mr. Brown, where he called, and was invited to stay. He related the incident, and, after a little conversation, they found that both were from the same section in the East, and that the reverend gentleman was well acquainted with the friends of Mrs. Brown. lIe was requested to preach, and accepted the invitation. Notice was sent out to the people, who gathered at the old white school-house and listened to a good sermon. Mr. Kellogg remained two days before continuing his journey. 324 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The church soon suffered from a disaster, which greatly retarded its prosperity. On the 21st of June, 1866, the meeting-house was destroyed by fire, involving an almost total loss. Chastened but not disheartened, the society took immediate steps to rebuild. In the spring of 1868 the basement of the present handsome brick edifice was ready for occupancy, and in the summer of 1869 the church was formally dedicated by the Rev. Dr. Hatfield, of Chicago. The entire cost was nearly $23,000, which left a debt that was not fully liquidated until within a few years. The church presents an attractive appearance, and has ample accommodations for the congregations which assemble at this place. It is at present controlled by Trustees G. S. Clapp, Francis Jordan, S. T. Cooper, W. P. Ward, and W. S. Maynard. The church has enjoyed many revivals, from which have generally resulted large additions to the membership. The season of religious awakening which occurred in the winter of 1876-77, under the pastoral labors of' the Rev. I. R. A. Wightman, especially is notable in this respect, about 130 persons being received into membership. Although the aggregate membership of the church has been very large, so many changes have taken place that at present there are only 190 persons in full connection; yet the work of the church is in a flourishing condition, and constitutes an important factor in the religious history of the village. A Methodist Sunday-school has been maintained at St. Joseph nearly as long as the church has had an existence there. It has 240 members, and W. P. Ward is the superintendent. The Congregational Church of St. Joseph was organized by a council of ministers and laymen from the neighboring churches, April 27, 1854. The meeting was held in the old school-house, which was also the place of worship until a church was built, and the constituent members were the following: James B. Sutherland and wife, David B. Crane and wife, Samuel Maynard, Mrs. John King, Ann Olmstead, Fannie Stowe, Isabel Mahue, and Jane Vanderbeck. On Sunday, April 29th, after the formation of the church, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered by the Rev. Thomas Jones, Rev. William Osborne assisting. There was also a baptism of children, and James B. Sutherland was ordained to the office of deacon. On the 3d of May, 1854, the church applied for connection with the Kalamazoo Association, and being received, has remained a part of that body. The first few years of the history of the church were uneventful. The pulpit was supplied by Revs. Osborne, Lucas, and others, and at the end of four and a half years but 11 additions had been made to the membership. About this period, Aug. 29, 1858, the Rev. Edward Anderson became the pastor of the church, but was not installed until Feb. 1, 1860. On the 19th of September following he was dismissed; but after a short vacancy he was succeeded in the pastorate by the Rev. Cherry, who remained with the church two years, and whose labors gave the congrega tion a good increase of members. From 1863 till the beginning of 1865 the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. George H. Miles, a young man, whose preaching was attended with success. As the fruits of two revival yeasons, 28 new names were added to the church roll. Mr. Miles' earthly career was closed by death, Aug. 2, 1874. Early in 1866 the Rev. J. B. Fairbanks commenced preaching for the church, and on the 3d of June began a pastorate which was terminated in July, 1870. In this period 13 members were dismissed to help form the church at Benton Harbor. Towards the close of 1870 the Rev. M. M. Colburn became the pastor of the church, and faithfully served it until his death, in the sixth year of his pastoral connection. His special mission appears to have been to build up the Christian character of his congregation, and he died greatly esteemed for his piety and worth. Soon after his decease the Rev. John Cunningham began to supply the pulpit, continuing his ministrations a year. His labors resulted in many conversions and 24 additions to the church membership. On the 1st of January, 1878, the Rev. A. S. Wood began his duties as pastor, and yet gives the congregation acceptable service. His labors have not been fruitless, but have brought more than 40 into the fold of the church, which is at present in a very prosperous condition. The entire membership of the church, from its organization to the present, has been nearly 250, about one-half of whom remain to constitute the present members. Of these, 4, namely, James B. Sutherland, L. Whitney, J. H. Lee, and D. J. Wells, are deacons of the church; and the functions of this office have also been performed by Messrs. Burbank, Richardson, B. Comings, Daniel Cook, F. Pannell, E. Knapp, A. L. Aldrich, and A. E. Brush. The first meeting-house was completed during the pastoral connection of the Rev. Edward Anderson, but being too small to accommodate the growing congregation, it was enlarged in 1870, a fine pipe-organ supplied, and a conference- and prayer-room constructed. It forms a plain, commodious frame edifice, affording a pleasant spiritual home for the congregation. The trustees at present controlling these temporalities are J. H. Lee, Clerk; M. Shepard, Treasurer; H. A. Truax, Z. Rice, J. B. Sutherland, and W. R. Lyon. Prayer-meetings and a flourishing Sunday-school have for many years been sustained, both being recognized as valuable auxiliaries in the promotion of the work of the church. St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church.-It is known that Jesuit Fathers established a mission where is now the village of St. Joseph about the year 1700, but its history is involved in almost complete obscurity. The present Catholic congregation of St. Joseph, as we learn from Father Thiesen, was established in 1849, with six families as its congregation. The services were first held in the old schoolhouse, now used as a marble-shop, on Ship Street. In the course of a few years the frame building at present used as a school-house by the church became the place of worship. In this services were held about once a month by-priests belonging to the congregation of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Ind. Some of these priests were Rev. Fathers Saurin, Quints, Baroux, and Schilling. Commencing about 1857, the Rev. John De Neve, re .I '''.~ ~ 1 ~-~~~~':~... :;~-~;.;.-~~-; ~~~ J ji j ST JOSEPH'S CATHOL ST JOSEPH, MICH. 'U' L'H/UHM H f TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. 325 siding at Niles, attended St. Joseph several years. Being recalled to Europe, his successor at Niles, the Rev. J. Cappon, and his assistants, the Revs. Charles Quinkelberger and Joseph Van Waterschoot, continued to attend St. Joseph regularly once a month until 1865. By this time the congregation had increased to about 100 families, all the Catholics living within fifteen miles of St. Joseph attending its services. It now became necessary to have a resident priest to supply all their wants, and the Rev. Joseph Van Waterschoot came in that capacity. Through his energy and good management the congregation continued to prosper, and in 1869 the foundation was laid for the substantial and attractive brick church which stands on the corner of Ship and Church Streets. It is 45 by 114 feet in dimensions, being the largest public building in the village. The corner-stone was laid July 21, 1869, by the Right Rev. Henry Luers, Bishop of Fort Wayne. All but the steeple of the church was completed in 1871, and on the 28th day of April, 1872, the church was appropriately dedicated by Rt. Rev. C. H. Borgess, Bishop of Detroit. The cost of the church and its furniture has been about $18,000. Its trustees in 1879 were John Martin, Robert Hosbein, Patrick Finnegan, Joseph Hauser, and Colomb Rigney. In November, 1874, Father Van Waterschoot was relieved from the charge of the congregation, at his own request, and the Rev. Joseph Thiesen, the present priest, was appointed to take his place. He left St. Joseph esteemed by all who knew him. Under Father Thiesen's tutelage the congregation continues to prosper, numbering at present 125 families, with 400 communicants and 60 Sunday-school children., The First Regular Baptist (German) Church of St. Joseph was organized Jan. 30, 1860, with 21 members, by the Rev. William Grimm. He also became the first pastor of the church, remaining about twelve years. In 1872 the Rev. Carl Domm entered upon a pastorate, which continued a little longer than a year. His successor was the Rev. David Zwink, who sustained the pastoral relation to this congregation about five and a half years. Since September, 1878, the pastor has been the Rev. A. Freitag. The church has enjoyed an encouraging degree of prosperity, and has at present 150 members. W. Smith and W. Binning are the deacons. In February, 1860, a small frame meeting-house was begun for the congregation, and was dedicated May 6th in the same year. It has since been improved and a gallery added, giving it seating capacity for 300 persons. The present trustees are H. Grimm, W. Binning, and F. Ewalt. A Sunday-school of more than 100 members is maintained by the church. W. Smith is the present superintendent. The Church of the Evangelical Association was organized about 1860. Its members held their first meetings at the houses of those composing the class,-some 12 or 15 in number. The church prospered, and in 1868 the brick meeting-house which had been erected by an English Baptist society was purchased as a place of worship, and has since been used for that purpose. The property is valued at $1000. The controlling board of trustees are Philip Madinger, Peter Rister, and H. Eckert. I I The aggregate membership of the church has been more than 100, but at present there are only 35 members. These are under the pastoral direction of ministers appointed annually for St. Joseph circuit, which embraces, also, appointments in Royalton, Lake, and Weesaw townships. Since 1860 the preachers in charge have been the Revs. C. Ude, B. Ruh, E. M. Houk, E. H. Hess, Jacob Young, O. Ragdetz, John Meek, William Remka, Reuben Riegel, Peter Burch, Peter Bitner, and, since 1878, C. Ude. The Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Joseph. -This congregation was organized in 1867, of members who had previously belonged to the Lutheran Church in Bainbridge and others, and embraced originally about 25 persons. The Rev. John Fiertagg was called to serve as the first pastor, and served a year. He was succeeded by the Rev. Nicholas Sorgel, who remained until 1875. Since April, 1876, the Rev. E. C. Georgie has been the minister of the church, which has, in the main, had a prosperous existence. At present it embraces 40 families and 150 communicants. The official members are Deacons J. Shafer, J. Henning, and C. Kroening; Trustees A. Priebe, F. Steeb, and J. Keller. Worship is regularly held at St. Joseph in a small frame meeting-house, which was built soon after the congregation was organized. In Lincoln township a place for meetings and school purposes was secured in 1878, and at both points catechetical instruction is imparted, and from four to eight months of school maintained, in which secular and religious instruction is given. The congregation has adopted, and is governed by, the Unaltered Augsburg Confession. The First Universalist Church of St. Joseph was formed some time about 1865, of several dozen members, but discontinued after about ten years. Its history, consequently, is meagre, and gleaned from unofficial sources. The meetings were first held in the school-house, but a brick edifice was soon after erected as a place of worship on Broad and Court Streets, which was used, although never fully completed. In 1877 it was destroyed by fire. Among the trustees of this building were James E. Stevens, Simeon Wilson, Samuel G. Langley, and Warren Chapman. The church at one time had more than 50 members, but the number declined to so few that the organization could not be kept up. Among the ministers are remembered the Revs. Button, Lang, and Wood. Christ Episcopal Church has also become extinct. It was organized some time after 1870, and had B. F. Pixley and William J. Nott as the first wardens; and vestrymen, C. C. Sweet, Thomas Archer, John Reeder, Damon A. Winslow, J. H. Perkins, E. C. Palmer, A. H. Morrison, and William Ricaby. The services were held in the " City Hall," and the Rev. V. Spaulding was the rector. An abated interest in the welfare of the new church and the removal of members caused it to decline before it had become fairly established. A Baptist society which formerly flourished in St. Joseph transferred its interests to the township of Benton, where its history is fully given. The St. Joseph African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1871, with six members, by Rev. W. T. Langford, presiding elder. Rev. Mr. Jason was appointed 326 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. to take charge of the spiritual interests of the new body, which has maintained a slow but constant growth, and at present has 25 members, under the pastorship of Rev. John Myers. Other preachers have been Revs. George W. Benson, H. H. Wilson, Johnson Burden, L. D. Crosby, and John A. Jordan. A small frame meeting-house was built in 1871, which was placed under the trusteeship of F. Lound, Stephen Busby, and William Hart. The present trustees are Thomas Phillips, Nathan Lynch, and Robert Singer; and the stewards are N. E. Miller, Alexander Jones, and Nathan Lynch. A Sunday-school is maintained, at which the average attendance is 35. The Young Men's Christian Association closes the list of religious societies in St. Joseph. It was called into life in December, 1875, and had originally 12 members, with John E. Sutherland, President, and James G. Jennings, Secretary. At present the members number 150, and E. W. Bovee is President; J. E. Roberts, Vice-President; Law. C. Fyfe, Secretary; and 0. C. Jordan, Treasurer. Besides those already named, Willis W. Cooper served as president in 1878, being Mr. Sutherland's successor. The association has prospered, and not only sustains religious meetings but since January, 1876, has maintained a free reading-room, supplied with select literature, which is open daily from eight A M. till ten P.M, and is well patronized. CEMETERY. The only cemetery in St. Joseph is controlled by the township authorities, and is kept up by appropriations made from time to time. It contains about five acres, and is lot 55 on section 26. It was purchased May, 1849, and has naturally a good location. There are some fine monuments, but the general appearance of the grounds is not in keeping with the improvements of the township. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. DR. LYMAN COLLINS. At the close of a long and useful life, it must be a pleasure to be able to transmit to our children and friends a history of a life well spent, a good character formed and maintained. As an instance of this we present to the readers of this work Dr. Collins. Few men have spent as many years, and all of them so worthily, in the pursuit of their profession as he who has given forty-one years of faithful, intelligent labor in the service of his fellow-men. Dr. Collins is of English descent. His father, Benjamin Collins; emigrated from Cape Cod, Mass., to Herkimer Co., N. Y., in 1802. In 1819 moved to Stafford, Genesee Co., N. Y. In 1832 to Randolph, Portage Co., Ohio. The doctor was born in Litchfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y., Nov. 6, 1803. He spent his early life at home, leaving at nineteen years of age to engage in teaching; he taught six years. While engaged in teaching his leisure hours were employed in the study of medicine, reading with Professor Jared P. Kirtland, of Poland, Trumbull Co., Ohio; attending lectures at Fairfield College, Fairfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y. Received a diploma from college in 1828. February, 1829, commenced the practice of medicine at Ravenna, Ohio, remaining there thirty-one years. Received an honorary degree from the medical college at Cleveland. Moving to Michigan in 1860, he engaged in the practice of his profession ten years longer, then retired from his profession. When the doctor moved to St. Joseph, Mich., he engaged quite extensively in the fruit-growing business. July 21, 1830, married Miss Harriet, daughter of Hon. Elisha Whittlesey. Four children have been born of this union; two only are living, one in St. Joseph, the other in Chicago. In 1841, Dr. Collins was appointed postmaster in Ravenna, which office he held four years. Mrs. Collins was born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, Oct. 13, 1810. This noble couple have walked life's journey together for nearly fifty years; they have passed through sunshine and shadow in their home, but no discordant sound has been heard, and to-day, more than ever, they enjoy each other's society. They received a letter, soon after they were married, from an intimate friend living in Batavia, N. Y., by the name of C. Gilman, giving them advice, which they have attempted to follow, and many others might be benefited by the same advice,-that is, " To keep up a little courtship so long as they live." They can review the past with satisfaction, and look into the future with no apprehension. J. C. CALDWELL was born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, June 11, 1841; from 1849 until 1854 lived in Westmoreland Co., Pa.; from 1854 until 1858 in Van Buren Co., Mich. Up to this time had been with his father, Hugh Caldwell. He then commenced life for himself by hiring for six dollars per month to Mr. Isaac Schnorf, a farmer in Niles township. At the end of six months made an arrangement with his employer to work for his board, and go to school during the winter. When the year closed he had so faithfully and willingly done the work assigned him that he was again hired by Mr. Schnorf, and remained with him eight years, except one year of this time which he served in the Rebellion, enlisting in the 12th Regiment Infantry as a private; was discharged in 1862. In 1864 he married Lizzie, daughter of Jacob Schnorf. Of this union were born three children, the eldest dying before being named; the other two are Imogene and Elliott. After his marriage Mr. Caldwell engaged first in the grocery business, then farming,- first on a rented farm for two years, and six years on a farm of fifty acres, which he bought in Niles township. At the end of the six years went into livery business,-first at Cassopolis, Cass Co., one year, then at Niles three months, finally settling at St. Joseph in the same business. There, at this time, he can be found, an active business man, one whom his neighbors and the citizens of the place speak of as a man reliable and trustworthy. I - J. CALDWELL. 14L- —.r I f TOWNSHIP OF SODUS. 327 WALTER DONALDSON. The gentleman whose name is seen at the head of this sketch was born in Ravenna, Portage Co., Ohio, May 17, 1848. In the spring of 1860 his father, with his family, moved from Ohio to Michigan; buying land, he went into fruit-growing. Walter was then a lad of twelve years; he Photo. by Sesser. assisted his father here on his fruit-farm until he was twenty years old, when he left home and engaged in the harness business. At the expiration of two years he was employed as an agent representing fire insurance, and at this time represents several leading companies, doing a large business. Jan. 2, 1872, he married Miss Frances B., daughter of Derastus and Mary H. Harper. They have two children, viz., Bessie, born Aug. 17, 1873; Raymond B., born Oct. 15, 1875. In the fall of 1878 he went into the boot and shoe business in St. Joseph, where we find him engaged at this time running a large business. Mr. Donaldson is an active business man; he has received no assistance from any one; he owes his present position to his own exertions, his perseverance, integrity, and uprightness in all his business relations, retaining the confidence of all with whom he is associated. CHAPTER XLII. SODUS TOWNSHIP.* Description, Settlement, and Settlers-Roads-Township Organization and List of Officers-Religious Worship-Sodus Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. SODUS, a fractional township (known as town 5 south, range 18 west), lying on the east bank of the St. Joseph River, contains but about twenty sections, which, however, * By David Schwartz. cover a fine farming region. The surface of the territory is generally level, and the soil being well adapted to the culture of fruit, that branch of agriculture is extensively pursued, although the peach yield, formerly a source of considerable annual revenue, has latterly failed for a few years. The township is bounded on the north by Benton, on the south by Berrien, on the east by Pipestone, and on the west by Royalton, from which latter it is separated by the St. Joseph River. Pipestone Creek, which flows through the northern part of the township into the river, furnishes good water-power for three grist-mills and two saw-mills. No railway has yet traversed the township, and as at a recent election the citizens opposed aid to a projected line, railway communication is scarcely to be regarded as a thing of the near future. Indeed, the market-towns of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph are so convenient of access that no urgent need of a railway is apparent. Sodus possesses an important milling interest, which has been encouraged by the fine water-power of Pipestone Creek, although that power, abundant until lately, is said to be decreasing. The site of James B. Larue's saw-mill, the first mill erected in the township, is occupied by Orlando Cowles' grist-mill, besides which there are on Pipestone Creek the grist-mills of Kinney & Rector and Haskins Brothers. These mills drive a flourishing trade, and gain considerable business from even Royalton, whose inhabitants prefer in many instances to go to mill in Sodus rather than in St. Joseph, which latter is at least somewhat more convenient. Besides the mills named, there are, on Pipestone Creek, Orlando Cowles' saw-mill and John Randall's saw-mill and bending-works. As to postal facilities, the town has a daily mail, and has had a post-office since the township organization, in 1860. Francis Finnegan was the first postmaster; the second was De Golyer King, the third David Daniels, and the fourth Robert Hogue, who is the present incumbent. The town has no village; neither has it a store or place of trade of any description within its limits. This condition of things is, however, of but trifling inconvenience, since Benton Harbor is quickly and easily reached, and since, too, journeys to that point are frequent and necessary in the general course of events. SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS. In the summer of 1835, William H. and David S. Rector, two brothers, living in the town of Sodus, N. Y., conceived the project of traveling westward for the purpose of prospecting for the improvement of their fortunes. They made a journey by way of the great lakes as far as St. Joseph, and engaged at once in the business of boating on the St. Joseph River. Of that method of gaining a livelihood David soon grew weary, and in the autumn returned to New York, followed in December by his brother William. In the spring of 1836 they determined to return to Michigan, and took with them a younger brother named Hiram. At Buffalo they bargained to take charge of the keel-boat " Niles," which was to be towed to St. Joseph, and David, Hiram, and three other men embarked on board the " Niles." Soon after leaving Buffalo a violent storm arose, and the " Niles," parting company with the steamer 328 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. that was towing her, drifted upwards of one hundred miles. When the storm abated the five drifting mariners manned the oars, and brought the "Niles" safely into port at Cleveland, after what may be easily understood to have been a somewhat perilous time. Finally, the three brothers reached St. Joseph, and after a brief season spent with William and Hiram in riverboating, David made an engagement to assist in the erection of a saw-mill on Pipestone Creek (in what is now section 3 of Sodus township) for James B. Larue, then employed in the lumber-trade in St. Joseph. David Rector worked for Larue three years, and in 1839 moved upon a tract of 120 acres, now in section 14 of Sodus, where he now lives. That piece of land he had entered in 1837, and at odd times during his three years' service with Mr. Larue he did something towards clearing it. In 1836, David Rector, the father of the three brothers, came from Sodus, N. Y., to St. Joseph with the rest of his family, and, entering 40 acres of land adjoining his son David's farm, moved out with his family in the fall of 1837, Hiram also accompanying him. There the elder Rector lived until his death, in 1862. Hiram lived with his father a few years, and then moved to a farm upon section 23, where he has since continued to reside. William H. Rector lived in St. Joseph until 1842, when he too became a pioneer, and settled upon a farm adjoining those of his father and brother David. There he died Dec. 6, 1878. The only children of David Rector now living in Sodus are David S. and Hiram,-the oldest residents in the township and worthy representatives of Sodus' pioneer settlers, -themselves in the very front rank of those who came to make homes within the forest wilds. James B. Larue, of whom mention has been made in the foregoing, migrated from New Jersey to Michigan in 1835, and located at St. Joseph. He purchased considerable land in what is now Sodus, and, as already observed, built a sawmill on Pipestone Creek in the year 1836. At this mill, which was the first mill erected in the township, and in short the first improvement of any kind, he sawed lumber and transported it to St. Joseph, where he lived and traded as a lumber merchant. In 1841, Mr. Larue gave up his residence in St. Joseph, and located, with his family, upon a farm near his Pipestone Creek saw-mill. There he remained, milling and farming, until 1850, when he took the California gold fever, and emigrated, with his family, to the Pacific slope, where he died. When Larue put up his mill, in 1836, there was one white settler in the town, and he was the pioneer of that region. His name was Scott, and his location was on section 22, near the river, where Luke Sharrai now lives. There he put up a log cabin and cleared a few acres of land, but he moved away after a brief sojourn. Closely following Scott was Charles Palmer, who came from New York, with his wife, in 1837, and located upon a 40-acre farm in section 15. He too grew tired of his new home very soon, and trading his forty acres to William H. Rector for a gun and an old horse, departed for other scenes. Scott and Palmer were settlers, it is true, but they remained so short a time that their historical prominence in that direction cannot be considered as very important. David Rector the elder, who was next to Palmer in order of settlement, must, accordingly, be regarded as the pioneer among the permanent settlers. For some years after David Rector located in the township settlements were few and slowly made. Mr. David S. Rector says that when he was married, in 1843, he had no neighbor, save his father and brother, nearer than two miles. He says that the settlers were exceedingly few in number at that date, and that when a residebt could, upon arising in the morning, hear the distant crow of a rooster, it made him feel as if matters were indeed getting pleasant and neighborly after all. Land along the river was in the hands of speculators, who, deeming that section worth a trifle more per acre than that of the interior, held it at first at such high figures as to frighten away all purchasers. About 1840, the speculators receded from their original views, and the river lands then began to receive inhabitants. Joseph W. Brewer, from Ohio, was among the first to locate in that region. He had been living at St. Joseph, and boating on the river. About 1840 he bought a tract upon section 16, where Mr. Thaddeus Drew now lives. About that time, too, Ebenezer Farley located land on section 22, but continuing himself to run on the river, as he had been doing for some time, he engaged laborers to clear his land for him. Upon his marriage, soon afterwards, he moved to his farm, and there continued to reside with his family until 1854, when he left for California. James McDougall, of Montgomery Co., N. Y., made a journey in 1837, with his son Elijah, aged fifteen, from New York State to Michigan, via the Erie Canal and the lakes. He purchased of one Noyes 40 acres of land in Royalton township, and with his son went upon the place at once and began to clear it. He sent word to his wife to join him, and she, with seven children, traveled in 1839 to their new Michigan home, by way of the canal and lakes, and found upon her arrival that her husband had busied himself to some purpose in preparing a comfortable house and in making the land productive. Unfortunately for Mr. McDougall, he failed to obtain a good title from Noyes, and so, despite the fact that he had paid money on account of the purchase and had expended much labor upon the farm, he was obliged to relinquish it in 1840, and lost both his labor and the purchase-money he had paid. He remained in St. Joseph a short time, and in 1841 purchased of James B. Larue 130 acres of land on the St. Joseph River, in partnership with Francis Versaw, formerly of Canada, later engaged in the West in cutting out State roads and boating on the river, and at the time of his land purchase with Mr. McDougall living in St. Joseph. McDougall and Versaw went together to the land, began to clear it, and put up a cabin. Soon after, Versaw married one of McDougall's daughters, and dividing the 130 acres with his father-in-law, took that part now owned by James A. Kright, on section 10 in Sodus. Mr. McDougall's part is now owned by David Moore. McDougall lived there until 1872, when he moved to Nebraska, and there he still resides. His children now living in Sodus are Mrs. Francis Versaw and Mrs. Hannah Finnegan. Mr. Versaw remained on his farm until 1853, when he removed to his present place of residence, on section 15. 'NVOIHO/II 'snooS 'HSnU ' r JO-3s1 la ~ — ~~ I I _ '3k OH 070 2, r:1 IP;':'"P3"8ak i~ * A TOWNSHIP OF SODUS. 329 When McDougall and'Versaw moved in there was no river-road, and they were the first ones to cut out anything like a thoroughfare in that vicinity. At that time Luke Sharrai had a farm on the river, where he now lives, but he was not occupying it himself. Sharrai came from Canada when but eight years old, with his father's family, which consisted of the parents and eight children. They journeyed by water to Detroit, and from that point they traveled almost the entire distance on foot to Bertrand, in Berrien County, where they settled in 1828. When Luke became a stout lad he took employment on a St. Joseph River keelboat, and followed the river for several years. As already mentioned, he purchased a farm on the river —a place where Scott, the first settler, squatted, and where, after Scott, one Foster took up his habitation,-and engaged his brother Tenos, then living in Bainbridge, to occupy and cultivate it for him, while he (Luke) continued to follow the river. Tenos lived upon the place about a year, and then moved upon a place of his own, adjoining that of Luke. The latter gave up his river employment soon after, and settling on his farm, has lived there until the present time. Previous to occupying it himself, he employed his brother-in-law, a Mr. Lapham, and after him Benjamin Beny, to cultivate the place, but neither remained long, Mr. Sharrai eventually taking possession in 1847. Asa T. Tinkham came from New York in 1844, and located, with his family, in Sodus, where he had purchased 40 acres. Mr. Tinkham resided there until a few years ago, when he moved to Hagar township. Peter Shook, an aged man, visited what is now Sodus in 1844, in the interest of an Ohio nursery, and sold quite a number of fruit-trees in this region. Believing'the river lands to be capable of producing liberally, he bought a farm from Edward Smith, a resident of Royalton, and set out an orchard. He sent to Ohio for his wife and four children, and began to devote himself to fruit culture with considerable energy, but death ended his projects in 1846. His widow moved to St. Joseph County, and died there in 1877. Shook's farm was purchased by Peter Sharrai (brother to Luke), of Bainbridge, who settled upon it with his family in 1846. He remained there until 1854 (selling his farm to Wallis Tabor, who still resides upon it), when he emigrated to Kansas, but returned in 1868 to Sodus, where he has since continued to reside. Luke Versaw-brother to Francis-moved from New York State in 1845, with his wife, to Michigan, and bought of Napoleon Smith 40 acres of land on the river, the farm being the one now occupied by Ernest Tabor. In 1850 Versaw left Michigan for the Pacific, whence, however, he returned in 1851 and settled upon the farm which he now occupies. Other early settlers on the river were a Mr. Ferguson and his son-in-law, Jacob Young, who subsequently left the township and have to-day no descendants therein. John Cowen, who settled near Ferguson, sold his place to Hiram Herrick and moved to Royalton. S. H. Salpaugh and Cicero Towner, of New York, located on the river in 1851. Mr. Salpaugh still lives on the place he first occupied. In the part of the township removed from the river, mention may be made of Benjamin Clifton, of South Bend, Ind., 42 who in 1845 purchased 500 acres of land on section 24, and with his family moved upon his possessions. He lived there until 1856, when he moved to Berrien, after selling the larger part of his purchase of 500 acres to Mr. John Gano. In 1844, Isaac W. Chadwick, a young man living in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., started from home for Wisconsin, where he intended to locate. When he reached Buffalo he became so favorably impressed with the reports he heard there of the advantages of Michigan, that he resolved to go to that State instead of Wisconsin, and journeying by way of Lake Erie to Detroit, walked from that place to Pipestone township, where he found one Mr. Abbott, a friend, with whom he stopped. There Isaac was joined soon afterwards by his father and mother, with whom came also two children. They all lived with Mr. Abbott until May, 1845, when Isaac bought 40 acres of land on section 11, now in Sodus township, the place being the present property of De Golyer King. The land was new, and Isaac with his father entered at once upon the business of clearing it. All lived there until 1854, when they removed to Iowa, where they remained three years, but, disliking that region, returned again to Sodus, where Isaac bought the place he now occupies, and with him there his father lived until his death, in 1873. Isaac's brother William, who came out in 1844 with his father, worked in various places until 1847, and then settled upon a place now occupied by the United Brethren church in Sodus, his purchase having been made from Hickson W. Field, who had sold land to Isaac, and who was the speculative owner also of large tracts of land in the vicinity. William followed Isaac to Iowa in 1855, returned to Sodus in 1860, went back to Iowa in 1862, and now lives there. Abner Buckman, a young man living in Ohio, walked to Michigan in 1844, and visited Pipestone township, where he remained two years, and then located in the present township of Sodus, upon the place he now occupies. The country was new, and Mr. Buckman was a pioneer in that part in every sense of the word. His brother Edward, who settled near him about 1842, died there in 1860. James Haskins, now of Pipestone, was then a settler upon the place now occupied by John Buckman; and adjoining Abner Buckman on the west was Hiram Ryther, who soon moved away after selling out to Daniel Lawrence, who died there. The property is now occupied by his heirs. Jonathan Foster and his father Solomon worked at Larue's saw-mill when it was being erected, and subsequently settled in the town, although not permanently. Jonathan was a strong Methodist, and frequently preached on Sundays at the town school-house. He was radical in his religious views, and sought upon every occasion to urge them upon whoever chanced to be near. One day, sitting with other laborers at dinner, he took occasion to lecture one Doyle, a Catholic, and persistently attempted to convert him to the Methodist faith. Doyle was much annoyed but not convinced by Foster's arguments, and more than once requested him to desist. Foster, however, plied his persuasive efforts all the more, until his victim, becoming incensed beyond endurance, suddenly put his hand 330 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. into the gravy-dish, and with one swoop of his arm so bespattered Foster with the greasy liquid that he fled in confusion and dismay from the scene, and never after attempted to argue theologically with the emphatic Doyle. Among the early settlers of Berrien County who are now living in Sodus is John B. Rush, who came with his father, Henry Rush, from Virginia to Berrien township in 1835; George Keigley, who settled in the county in 1840; and Wallace Tabor, who settled at about the same time. Sarah Dunbar, wife of Lyman Dunbar, and daughter of John Johnston (who settled in Berrien County, 1825), was the first white female child born in Berrien County, and now lives in Sodus. Her brother, born at the same place and two years earlier, died at the age of twelve years. Many of the early settlers in Sodus followed the river for a livelihood, even after becoming settlers, for that avenue of industry offered a means of obtaining funds to supply pressing necessities, of which the pioneers invariably stood in need without possessing the means to obtain them. As a general rule, what ready money they could command went for their land, and while awaiting the growth of crops they were of course compelled to labor for others to obtain the needed cash for the family support. Employment on the river was almost always obtainable, for the river carrying trade in the pioneer days engaged many boats and many people, and so it was that the Sodus pioneers, like the pioneers in all the river townships, were boatmen to a greater or less extent. Luke Sharrai, who has been mentioned as having followed the river for some time after he bought land in Sodus, built the first finished frame house in the town. Ebenezer Farley, also a boatman and a steamboat captain, erected the first frame for a house, but he did not finish it, and thus Sharrai's seems entitled to the precedence. ROADS. The State opened roads in 1842, running north and south through the township, but town roads were at that time exceedingly few. Even at that date many settlers were compelled to cut out roads to the farms upon which they proposed to locate. Along the river this want of roads was not so badly felt, because the river itself offered an excellent thoroughfare by which pioneers could reach river farms, and for this reason there appeared to be no haste towards laying out roads in that region. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL LIST. Upon the application of John Gano and 243 other citizens of Pipestone, a portion of that territory was set off and organized, Oct. 11, 1859, into a separate township with the name of Sodus. At a preliminary meeting of the applicants, Mr. David S. Rector was called upon to suggest a name for the proposed township, and when he presented the name of Sodus, in recollection of Sodus, N. Y., whence he came to Michigan, that designation was adopted. The first township-meeting was held at the Rector school-house, on the first Monday in April, 1860, and from that time to 1879, inclusive, the offices of supervisor, clerk, and treasurer have been filled by the following-named persons: 1860.-Supervisor, B. S. Carpenter; Clerk, R. E. Hull; Treasurer, James Trowbridge. 1861-62.-Supervisor, Josephus Fisher; Clerk, James S. Twitchell; Treasurer, P. W. Webb. 1863.-Supervisor, Josephus Fisher; Clerk, Luther Hemingway; Treasurer, P. W. Webb. 1864-66.-Supervisor, Josephus Fisher; Clerk, Charles T. Hogue; Treasurer, N. C. Brown. 1867.-Supervisor, Josephus Fisher; Clerk, Luther Hemingway; Treasurer, Charles T. Hdgue. 1868.-Supervisor, Josephus Fisher; Clerk, Charles T. Hogue; Treasurer, P. W. Webb. 1869.-Supervisor, Frederick T. King; Clerk, Charles T. Hogue; Treasurer, Orrin Brown. 1870.-Supervisor, Josephus Fisher; Clerk, Frederick F. King; Treasurer, David Daniels. 1871.-Supervisor, Luther Hemingway; Clerk, Frederick F. King; Treasurer, F. R. Cowles. 1872-73.-Supervisor, Frederick F. King; Clerk, Charles T. Hogue; Treasurer, William L. King. 1874-75.-Supervisor, Frederick F. King; Clerk, Charles T. Hogue; Treasurer, Josephus Fisher. 1876.-Supervisor, Robert M. Hogue; Clerk, Charles T. Hogue; Treasurer, Josephus Fisher. 1877.-Supervisor, Robert M. Hogue; Clerk, Charles T. Hogue; Treasurer, Orrin Brown. 1878.-Supervisor, Orson Ingalsbee; Clerk, Joseph H. Davis; Treasurer, John F. Hogue. 1879.-Supervisor, Orson Ingalsbee; Clerk, John G. Fisher; Treasurer, John F. Hogue; Commissioner of Highways, Josephus Fisher; Superintendent of Schools, Robert M. Hogue; School Inspector, Charles T. Hogue; Constables, Allen J. King, John Deaner, A. W. Sherwood. The justices of the peace serving in 1879 were Orson Ingalsbee, William L. King, and Robert M. Hogue. The township board was composed of John G. Fisher, Orson Ingalsbee, and Robert M. Hogue. The assessed valuation of the township in 1879 was $136,878. SCHOOLS. In 1845 a town school was established in that part of Pipestone now known as Sodus, and from that date the educational interests of the youth of that section have received liberal attention. Sodus contained in 1879 seven school districts, of which two were fractional. The board of inspectors comprised R. M. Hogue, Charles T. Hogue, and John G. Fisher. The school report made Sept. 1, 1879, gave the following statistics for the year ending at that date: Number of districts, 7; number of children of school age, 355; total value of school property, $3925; amount paid for teachers' wages, $1142. RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. Settlements were so few during the years preceding 1845 that neither teaching nor preaching were demanded, since, in the one case, there were but few children to receive such benefit, and in the other the little community was not able to provide adequate support for a minister however much religious worship might be deemed a necessity. The histories of the churches of the township are given below. United Brethren Church.-A class of this denomination was organized in Sodus, in 1861, at the Rector school-house, with a membership of upwards of 30. The class worshiped at the school-house until 1869, when, a union with the United Brethren class of Shanghai being effected, a house of worship was built in Sodus, and in it services have since TOWNSHIP OF SODUS. 331 been held. The membership is now 40. The class-leaders are John Q. Buckman and John Franz. The pastor is I. W. Pattee, and the trustees John Q. Buckman, John Rush, and John Franz. The Sodus Methodist Episcopal Class was organized as the Lower Pipestone Class, March 31, 1858, with the following members: James A. Kright, leader, and Cynthia A. Kright, Luke, Sophia, Frank, Rebecca, Levi, and Michael Versaw, Samuel, Grace, and Emma Garrett, Leander McDougall, Frank and George Williams, Theda Franklin, Lois Hemingway, Mary Jane and George Hemingway, Nancy Ann McDougall, Martha Jane Hemingway, Nehemiah and Polly Ann Babcock. Rev. Thomas T. George was the preacher in charge of the class, which was attached to the Berrien circuit, Kalamazoo district, Michigan Conference. In 1860 the name of the class was changed to that of Sodus, and in 1878 it was attached to the Millburg circuit. The preachers in charge following Mr. George were Revs. S. D. McOmber, George A. Van Horn, D. S. Haviland, E. D. Bacon, Francis Glass, J. H. Richards, E. L. Kellogg, David Burns, N. M. Steele, J. N. Odin, and A. N. Eldred, the latter being the pastor at present. Services are held in the Tabor school-house once every two weeks. The class has a present membership of 20. Joseph Wyrick is the leader, and Horace Tabor steward. The Bethel Class was organized by Rev. J. R. Odin, in the union church, March, 1877. In September, 1878, when Rev. A. N. Eldred, the present pastor, took charge, the members numbered 19, as follows: Orrin Brown, Daniel and Rebecca Moore, Mary Stump, W. S., Elizabeth, and Clarence Burdick, Adeline Earl, Amanda Nye, Frank, Rebecca, Melinda, and Marian Versaw, Celia Barker, Harriet, Bessie, and David Clinton, Levi Deaner, and Mrs. McGoldrick. Orrin Brown has been the class-leader since the organization. The membership is now 17. Services are held once every fortnight in the union church. The Christian Church.-The Christian, or Disciple, Church was organized about 1867, in the Mount Pleasant school-house, by Elder William Roe, of Buchanan. The articles of faith adopted at the organization read as follows: " We, the undersigned, pledging fidelity to Jesus as the Messiah, being planted upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, and taking the Bible as our only rule of faith and practice, do band ourselves together as a congregation of disciples of Jesus, and do covenant with God and each other to observe the ordinances of the Lord's house and to the best of our ability to attend to all duties and obligations devolved upon us in the Word of life." The signers were Josephus Fisher, Charles T. Hogue, William Gano, John Calvin, Sarah Garrison, Jane Gano, Sarah Stevens, Harriet Carpenter, Roby A. Olney, Sarah O. Merrill, Anna Garrison, Mary Kelsey, Lucinda Gano, Phoebe A. Fisher, Mary Evans, Hannah Brehart, Louisa Gilbert, Hannah Hogue, Hester A. Davis, Joseph A. Davis, John Carpenter, Eliphaz Stephens, Samuel Roberts, Nathan Olney, John Gano, Abram Evans, John Fisher. The first elders chosen were Josephus Fisher and Charles T. Hogue, the deacons John Calvin and William Gano, and the secretary Charles T. Hogue. The pastors succeeding Mr. Roe were Revs. Edmondson, Reese, and Lucas. There is at present no pastor, but the vacancy is likely to be filled soon. Preaching is ordinarily provided once every two weeks in the Mount Pleasant school-house. The church membership is now 90. The deacons are Charles T. Hogue, Orlando Hart, and Alva Pegg. The elders are Josephus Fisher, Joseph Davis, and Henry Burton, and the secretary Charles T. Hogue. The Union Sunday-school meets every Sabbath in the union church. Joseph Strome is the superintendent, and he is assisted by five teachers. The attendance of scholars has reached as high as 100, but numbers at present only about 50. The Church of God.-This society was organized in 1855, at the Stump school-house, by Rev. Mr. Gillespie, and had as members the following: John Stump, Sr., and wife, J. B. Harman and wife, George Crall and wife, George Deerduff, Daniel Stauffer and wife, John B. Stauffer and wife. The first elders chosen were John Stump, Sr., and George Crall, and the first deacon George Deerduff. The pastors of the church following Mr. Gillespie have been Elder R. H. Bolton,-the general evangelist, who preached for the society four years,-Revs. Bright, Bassore, Hull, White, Redding, and Oliver. In 1871 the society completed a house of worship in the northern part of the township, designated it as the Union Church, and dedicated it February 6th of that year. The trustees then chosen were George Deerduff, George B. Crall, Joseph Strome, James A. Kright, and Jacob B. Harman. The church grew in strength during the first decade of its existence, and in 1865 numbered 72 members. Subsequent to that period removals weakened it, and latterly it has for some time been without a pastor. Efforts are now being put forth looking towards a revival of the society, with a good promise of success. SODUS GRANGE, No. 123, P. OF H. This grange was organized Nov. 10, 1873, with the fol. lowing members: F. F. King, M.; Josephus Fisher, O.; Henry Burton, L.; John E. King, Chaplain; Charles T. Hogue, Sec.; Orlando Hart, Treas.; William Burton, Steward; Samuel Roberts, Assistant Steward; Ernest Tabor, G.; Jennie Burton, Ceres; Louisa King, Pomona; Lizzie Tabor, Flora; Sarah Stump, Lady Assistant Steward, and Israel M. Allen, John J. Murphy, Abraham Likes, Albert Shell, Phineas Brant, John C. Fisher, John K. Calvin, Leonard M. Keen, Edwin Burton, Wallis Tabor, F. King, Julia Tabor, Hannah Hogue, Phoebe A. Fisher, Urania Fisher, Mary J. Shell, Nettie Murphy, Ellen Snow. The grange meets every fortnight at the Mount Pleasant school-house. The officers are now Jacob Helmick, M.; Charles Rector, 0.; Louisa King, L.; William Burton, Chaplain; Charles Hogue, Sec.; Josephus Fisher, Treas; Edwin Burton, Steward; Israel Allen, Assistant Steward; Charles Lamore, G.; Mary Burton, Ceres; Georgiana Lamore, Flora; Hannah Hogue, Pomona; Alice Fisher, Lady Assistant Steward. Oct. 1, 1879, the membership of the grange was 50. 332 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN B. RUSH. Among the representative farmers of Sodus township we find John B. Rush, who was born in Frederick Co., Va., July 18, 1825. The father-Henry Rush-moved to Ohio about one year and a half after the birth of John B., settling in Greene County, seven miles from Xenia, the county-seat, where he purchased eighty acres of land, and engaged in farming for ten years. In 1836 he moved to Berrien township, Berrien Co., Mich., where he entered ninety-nine acres of land. June 8, 1851, John B. Rush married Mahala, daughter of Joses and Hulda Reames. Of this union were born eight children, viz., Hulda J., born July 2, 1852; Uceba B., born Sept. 20, 1854; Nancy E., born Aug. 15, 1856; Ida E., born Oct. 8, 1858; Henry J., born June 5, 1861; John F., born May 18, 1863, died June 27, 1867; William E., born July 12, 1865; Almeda E., born June 1, 1871. After his marriage, Mr. Rush rented his father's farm for four years. In 1853 he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Royalton township, now Sodus; moved on this farm in 1855; built a small frame house, which is still standing, and can be seen just in the rear of his new home, a view of which, accompanied by the portraits of himself and wife, can be seen on another page of this work. He settled in Michigan when to be a farmer here required something more than plowing the ground and sowing the grain; for felling the timber, rolling logs, burning brush, etc., was the work that preceded the easier and more desirable work in farming. Mr. Rush has been a member of the district school board ever since he has been in the township. For thirtytwo years he has been connected with the United Brethren Church; ten years of that time has served as trustee of that church. Is in politics a Democrat. Mahala Rush died Jan. 11, 1873, in Berrien Co., Mich. In her fifteenth year she joined the United Brethren Church, of which she remained a faithful member until she heard the welcome summons, " Come up higher." She was ever ready to help the afflicted, and had a kind word for all. The careworn servant of God always found a home at her house. Her husband and children deeply feel their loss. JOSEPHUS FISHER. No citizen of Sodus township is more closely allied with all its interests than the subject of this sketch, Josephus Fisher, who was born in Portage Co., Ohio, Oct. 14, 1828. His educational advantages were limited. Schools of that day were not good, and if they had been of the best, farmers' sons were then needed at home, and usually went to school only a few months in the winter. On July 4, 1850, Josephus married Miss Phebe Ann, daughter of John and Jane Gano. They have had six children, the first-born dying before being named; John,-at this time clerk of Sodus township; Usania, Alice, George, and Edna. Four are living, two married and two living at home. After his marriage, Mr. Fisher farmed in Ohio four years on a farm given him by his father. In January, 1854, he moved to Sodus, purchasing ninety-six acres on section 24. He found some difference in farming this land and the cultivated farm he had left in Ohio. His first home here was such as all the early settlers had,-a log house. He has made an addition of one hundred and eight acres to his farm, and many improvements on it. JOSEPHUS FISHER. In 1861 he was elected supervisor of Sodus township, and filled this position ten and a half years and resigned. He was elected treasurer, which office he filled five years. In 1879 he was elected highway commissioner. He is a member of the Grange Lodge, No. 123, of Sodus township, and was Master one year. At this time he is Treasurer of the lodge. He is a Republican in politics. He has been a member of the Disciples Church for twenty-six years, serving as elder of this body for ten years. His father's family consisted of nine children,-six girls and three boys,-all living in different States. Mrs. Fisher's father was one of the early settlers of the county. Her father's family consisted of six children,-three boys and three girls,-four of whom are living in Sodus township. CHAPTER XLIII. THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP.* Location and Natural Features-Original Entries of Land-Settlement of the Township-Organization and List of Township Officers -Village of Three Oaks-Avery Station-Post-Offices in the Township-Town-Hall and Library-Schools-Churches-Societies and Orders. LOCATION AND NATURAL FEATURES. THE territory now embraced in Three Oaks township was originally a part of New Buffalo, but was set off in 1856 by the Board of Supervisors. The name of Three Oaks was first given when the postoffice was established in 1854, in consequence of three very large oak-trees standing on the south side of the railroad, * By Austin N..Hungerford. TOWNSHIP OF THREE OAKS. 333 near the west line of section 2, and near enough together to give, when in full leaf, the appearance of being one tree. The territory of Three Oaks comprises all (except the west range of sections) of township 8 south, in range 20 west, and all (except the western one) of the south tier of sections in township 7 south, of range 20 west. The surface in the south and southeast part of the town is high and rolling, and the soil is warm and loamy. The northeasterly part of the township, embracing parts of sections 1, 12, and 13, are marsh lands. The remaining portions of the township are undulating, with a rich clayey soil. For grass the township is not excelled by any section of the county. It is also good for corn, and as the country is improved and worked, the adaptability of these lands for wheat production is more and more apparent. The territory of Three Oaks was originally covered with timber, with no openings or prairies. The kinds of timber were, as in order named, maple, beech, elm, bass, ash (white, black, blue, and gray), sycamore, oak, cherry, hickory, but ternut, black walnut, whitewood or tulip, tamarack, black mulberry, cucumber, hackberry, ironwood, soft maple, with a little pine. The timber was of large growth, with thick underbrush. The marshes on section 13 supplied the early settlers with a fair quality of hay. Those in parts of sections 11 and 12 produced many bushels of cranberries each year until 1846, when the vines were nearly destroyed by fires set by hunters. From the first settlement up to the hard winter of 1842 -43, the common red deer were quite abundant, but that winter nearly exterminated them. In 1853, '54, '55 deer were again very abundant, and large numbers were killed each year. From 1855-67 they were common; as many as 40 to 50 were killed each year. From 1867 to 1874 they were less common, from 5 to 20 only killed each year. They are occasionally seen now. Black, red, and striped foxes and gray squirrels, partridges, quails, and pigeons were common, though not abundant. Until the marshes were improved massasaugers were plenty, but they are quite rare now. The township is well watered by the south' branch of Galien River, which rises in Indiana and flows northerly and westerly to the southwest quarter of the township, when it runs northwestly and joins a smaller branch in the southwest corner of section 8. The main branch runs westerly through the northwest corner of the township. ORIGINAL ENTRIES OF LAND. The following list is of original purchasers of land from the government on the different sections in Three Oaks township. TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 20 WEST. Section 32.-E. M. Shelton, V. L. Bradford, J. M. Curtis, Rathbone & Chapin. Section 33.-V. L. Bradford, A. Cummings, R. Brown, Jr., J. Soule, W. B. Clark, Sherwood & Co., D. Robb. Section 34.-S. Pierce, William Hammond, A. Johnson, N. Willard, J. Pierce, F. Camp. Section 35.-J. Pierce, - Gilbert, G. B. Avery, Conrad Elmendorf, Moses Chamberlain, R. C. Brayton. Section 36.-Sherwood & Co., N. Willard and H. Bishop, R. S. Morrison, N. Willard. TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 20 WEST. Section 1.-G. B. Avery, H. Rounds, D. Robb, Elkanah Ryther, Alonzo Bennett, H. M. Boyce, Thomas Stranage and Seymour B. Sprague. Section 2. --- Hammond, E. Stoner, D. Robb, M. Chamberlain, John Stauffer. Section 3.-Truman A. Clough, W. Hammond, J. Stauffer. Section 4.-Rathbone & Chapin, D. Robb, Wiseman & Laffin, J. Temple, D. Robb. Section 5.-W. Hammond, J. Little, Joseph Archer, Wiseman & Laffin, J. Temple. Section 8.-Alton Buel. Section 9.-J. Temple, T. Maudlin, D. Robb, W. B. Clark. Section 10.-Benjamin Carver, D. Andrews, D. Robb, R. Love, N. Willard. Section 11.-D. Andrews, T. Kenworthy, Seth Smith, Othniel Russell. Section 12.-H. Chamberlain, B. Brandon, B. Newell, E. Ryther. Section 13.-H. Chamberlain, W. P. G. McMagness. Section 14.-V. Nash, N. Johnson, D. Andrews, E. Collin, R. B. Hughes, J. Henderson, E. Ryther, G. Smith. Section 15.-D. Robb, J. Fuller, D. Andrews, M. Chamberlain, J. Love, J. Haas. Section 16.-Isaac Love, Ira L. Banes, R. Goit, Daniel Smith, Davis & Warren. Section 17.-J. Love, T. Maudlin, D. Robb, G. Taylor, B. Maudlin, R. Love. Section 20.-J. Haas, G. Schniebel, F. Bronson, Benjamin B. Kercheval. Section 21.-F. Bronson, C. Jewett, D. Robb, C. K. Green. Section 22.-J. Love, Isaac 0. Adams, M. Chamberlain, William N. Smitzer, Wessel Whittaker. Section 23.-F. Bronson, W. Whittaker, D. Andrews, T. Bronson. Section 24.-S. Shead, R. Love, J. Hatfield, T. K. Green, W. P. G. Magness, W. Goit. SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWNSHIP. The supposed harbor advantages of New Buffalo led many of the early settlers of that village to buy up the lands adjoining, with a view to speculation rather than settlement, and of course these were held at speculation prices. The financial disasters of 1837 defeated the hopes of making New Buffalo a great business centre. During a few succeeding years non-residents held the land, and but few sales were made until 1850, when more rapid emigration commenced. The land was wet by reason of the large timber and heavy underbrush. Upon the building of the Michigan Central Railroad, the consequent demand for cordwood and lumber made large openings, and the lands began to be reclaimed. It is estimated that the average annual cut of cordwood in the township from 1850 to 1875 was 12,000 cords, valued from $18,000 to $30,000. The timbered lands were covered largely with leeks, which often started in the spring before the snow was off, and were of great assistance to the early settlers in furnishing pasturage for cattle. If milch cows fed upon them the butter made from their milk had a strong leeky taste, and no one unless accustomed to it could eat it. To accomplish the feat with success it was said to be necessary to eat an onion first. For many years butter-buyers were very careful in buying to be sure that the butter was not thus offensively flavored. A story in point is told of Jacob Luther, who was for a long time a merchant, both at Dayton and Buchanan. A woman came to his store one morning with a package of butter which she asked him to pur chase. He replied that he would like it very much if it was not " rampy." She answered by saying she had often heard about ramps, and drawing one from her pocket, which 334 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. she had plucked from the roadside, asked him if that was a ramp. He said it was. She replied she wanted him to make sure, and asked him to taste it and tell her. He did so and told her it certainly was one. She then opened her package of butter for his examination. He declared it to be the finest butter they had taken in for some time, purchased it, and sent it to his own home. Upon reaching home at noon his wife met him with the remark, " Jacob, why did you send up such rampy butter?" He then discovered how neatly the old lady had deceived him. The first settler in the township was Richard Love, a native of Ohio, who in the spring of 1835 bought land in the east half of the northwest quarter of section 24, at the foot of a high hill and near a large spring. His son, William M. Love, owns a part of the original farm. Sylvester Shead, and his son, Erasmus N. Shead, natives of New York, settled here about 1836. Harry H. Shead now lives where his father, Sylvester, settled, on the east half of section 23. William H. Valentine, living on section 24, is a son of William Valentine, who was an early settler in Galien township, adjoining. John Hatfield, a native of Virginia, settled about 1836 in the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 24, where George Ray now lives. P. G. Magness, of North Carolina, also settled on section 24, where Daniel Savage lives. Vincent Nash and Enoch Lewis, of Virginia, settled on section 14. D. F. McCaskey owns where Mr. Nash settled. Levi Paddock, a native of New York, settled on section 22, now owned by E. Sherwood Martin, a native of Indiana. Mr. Paddock was for several years justice of the peace, and was supervisor in 1844; he was a man of great physical strength. He died in 1873, at the age of ninety years, a few miles south, in Galena, Ind. Joseph Love, a brother-in-law of Richard and Elkanah Ryther, and Robert R. Laine, of Tennessee, settled on section 17. Mr. Osgood lately owned the property settled on by Laine. Geo. Fisher settled adjoining Wm. Hammond, on section 34. John Love, a son of Joseph, settled on section 15, where Judson Sawin lives. The land settled by Love and Ryther is now principally owned by the heirs of. Thomas McKie. Joseph Love, who settled on section 17 prior to 1840, was a man of good judgment and strong sense, but without education. He had been involved in several petty lawsuits, and was not always satisfied with the decision of the justice who tried the suits. He desired to be elected a justice of the peace, and asked one of his neighbors to support him for that office. His neighbor replied, "Uncle Joe, you may know law enough, but you cannot read or write." "No matter about that," said Uncle Joe; " Jake (his son) can read and John can write, and I can judge them all like the d-l." The people, however, did not like the idea, and Uncle Joe was not elected. William Hammond, one of the early settlers, was a man of great energy and one of the local politicians, who was officious in the town caucuses, and sometimes was a delegate to the Democratic county conventions. Vincent Nash, now living on Rolling Prairie, Ind., was a good talker. Many years ago, Mr. Henry Chamberlain called at Sylvester Shead's, and making inquiry as to the health of the family, was informed that Mrs. Shead was quite ill. Expressing some surprise, and asking what the matter was, Mr. Shead, with a laugh, for which he was noted, said, " Well, Nash came up here yesterday morning, and he and the old lady had a talking-match and Nash beat her, and she was so ashamed of being out-talked by a Hoosier that she went to bed sick;" and the old gentleman had a hearty laugh. Moses Chamberlain, a native of New Hampshire, came to New Buffalo in 1836, and located ten 80-acre lots in the present townships of New Buffalo, Three Oaks, and Chickaming. He intended to settle on the lake-shore, but soon after the prospects of New Buffalo were ruined, and he did not settle until 1843, and then moved to the southeast quarter of section 15, Three Oaks. He reserved the southwest quarter of section 2, where the village of Three Oaks now stands, and the northeast quarter of section 20, in Chickaming, on the lake-shore, and the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 23, in Chickaming township, now owned by Thomas McKie.. A saw-mill, the first in the township, was early erected on this section by David H. Cottrell. Mr. Chamberlain did not remove to this place with his family until 1843, when he came around by the lakes and landed at Chicago, and then moved by teams to New Buffalo, arriving Oct. 7, 1843. He stopped with Jacob Gerrish, and in the winter following came to the lot on section 15, Three Oaks. Here he erected the first frame house in the township, and on the place now owned by his son, the Hon. William Chamberlain. The children of Mr. Chamberlain now living are the Hon.' Mellen Chamberlain, of Boston; Mary F., now Mrs. Hale E. Crosby, of New Buffalo; and Henry and William Chamberlain, now living in Three Oaks. The Hon. Mellen Chamberlain was at one time chief justice of the municipal court of Boston, and is at present librarian of the Boston City Library. The Hon. Henry Chamberlain, who in 1854 commenced the settlement of the village of Three Oaks, was supervisor of New Buffalo township in 1845, before Three Oaks and Chickaming were set off; was elected to that position when only two weeks past twenty-one years of age, and held the office for many years. He was a member of the Legislature of Michigan in the session of 1849; Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan in 1852; was nominated for Governor, in opposition to Governor Bagley, in 1874, by the Democratic and Liberal parties, and defeated by only 5000 votes, against a Republican majority of 57,000 the year before. The Hon. William Chamberlain, the youngest son, is living at Three Oaks, and engaged in mercantile business. He was elected township clerk when twenty-one years of age, was postmaster six years, county superintendent of the poor nineteen years, president of the Berrien County Pioneer Society, president of the village of Three Oaks, elected to the House of Representatives in 1870-72, elected to the Senate in 1876-78, and prominent as member of various committees on charitable and penal institutions. He was president pro tempore of the Senate, Jan. 17, 1879. In the same year that Moses Chamberlain came in Samuel P. Webb and Asa H. Jacobs settled on section 35, where Jacobs built a saw-mill, to which, in 1846, a small TOWNSHIP OF THREE OAKS. 335 grist-mill was added. The property is now owned by Henry Platt and Levi Morrow. No other settlers came in until after the opening of the Michigan Central Railroad, when, in 1850, Henry Chamberlain settled on section 2, where he built a cabin and commenced clearing up the land where the village of Three Oaks now stands. Thomas Stanager settled on the southeast quarter of section 1, now Avery's Station, where he still lives. Soon after, 10 or 15 families located near them, on the line of the railroad, but few or none of them became permanent settlers. In the fall of 1852, John Louis Hess, a native of Switzerland, after living in Pennsylvania, Chicago, and other places, bought of Henry Chamberlain 80 acres of the east half of the northeast quarter of section 9, and 20 acres of the east half of southeast quarter of section 3, lying south of the railroad, where he still lives. His son, Samuel Hess, has long been justice of the peace, and was county treasurer six years. He is now living at Three Oaks. Frederick Rhulow settled in the village. His property was purchased by Henry H. Pike, and was laid out as part of the village plat. Jacob Houser, Joseph Strahle, Max Wetzer, and others from Bavaria and Switzerland, became permanent settlers, and were forerunners of the large German settlement in the township. Dr. Hiram B. Wilcox, a native of New York, came to an adjoining township in Indiana in 1834. He attended lectures at Chicago and at Cleveland, graduating at the latter place. He practiced his profession at Galena, Ind.; but for twelve years previous to his removal to Three Oaks, in 1860, his practice reached into the southern tier of Berrien County. He still lives in Three Oaks. E. Sherwood Martin, a native of New Jersey, bought the farm of Levi Paddock in 1846, and is still living on the farm. Three sons are in business at Three Oaks. Abram, a brother, settled on section 23. A son, Isaac, is living in Three Oaks. There were six of the brothers,Martin, who came about 1848; John Abram and Sherwood settled in this township; Isaac, Jacob, and William settled on land adjoining in Indiana. Gilbert B. Avery, a native of Connecticut, came here in 1854, with Thomas Love, and built a steam saw-mill at Avery's Station. At that time he was master mechanic of the Michigan Central Railroad, a position which he held for twenty years. He lived in Detroit until 1859, when he removed to Avery's Station. He was afterwards master mechanic of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. His widow still lives at Avery's. Thomas Love, a native of Virginia, was clerk of the county from 1844 to 1848, acting treasurer of the county for many years, and is now county surveyor. He built the mill at Avery's Station, with Mr. Avery, in 1854, and then moved to the place where he still lives. He first settled at Berrien Springs, the county-seat, where he was largely engaged in lumbering, and he was early one of the foremost men of the county. Six brothers-John, Thomas, Anthony, William, Charles, and Edward McCarten-all settled near the intersection of New Buffalo, Chickaming, and Three Oaks about 1863. John settled in this township, in section 32, purchasing the greater portion of the section. His family are still living there. The brothers are near the township line,-William and Thomas living in New Buffalo, and Anthony, Charles, and Edward in Chickaming.* ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP. The township of Three Oaks, with that of Chickaming, was taken from the territory of New Buffalo and organized by action of the Board of Supervisors in the year 1856, the order of the board directing the holding of the first election being as follows: "Notice is hereby given that the first annual town-meeting for the election of township officers in each of the townships of Three Oaks, Chickaming, and New Buffalo, in the county of Berrien, State of Michigan, will be holden on the first Monday in April, A.D. 1856, as follows, to wit: "In the township of Three Oaks, at the school-house near Chamberlain's side-track; and that Abram Martin, J. D. Fitch, and Henry Chamberlain are duly authorized to preside at such township-meeting, and to perform all the duties required by the statute in such case made and provided. "By order of the Board of Supervisors of Berrien Co., Mich., March 10, 1856. " WILLIAM S. MERRILL, Clerk of t/ie Board of Supervisors." The first township-meeting was held in accordance with the above order. Ninety-one votes were cast, and the following-named officers were elected, viz.: Henry Chamberlain, Supervisor; E. Sherwood Martin, Henry Chamberlain, Thomas Love, Justices of the Peace; Cyrus C. Ryther, Township Clerk; Samuel K. Donovan, Township Treasurer; Nathaniel Finch, William Chamberlain, Erasmus N. Shead, Commissioners of Highways; George W. Shead, Nathaniel Finch, Richard A. Newell, Henry M. Blair, Constables; J. D. Fitch, School Inspector; Samuel P. Webb, John C. Collins, Directors of the Poor. Overseers of Highway: District No. 1, Harry H. Shead; No. 2, Abram Martin; No. 3, William Nash; No. 4, Daniel Smith; No. 5, George Myers; No. 6, Thomas Love; No. 7, George Hatfield; No. 8, Nathaniel Finch; No. 9, John Hess; No. 10, Robert R. Sawin. The following is a list of the supervisors, town clerks, treasurers, school inspectors, and justices of the peace of the township from 1857 to 1879, inclusive: SUPERVISORS. 1857-58, Thomas Love; 1859, Henry Chamberlain; 1860, Jonas L. Hicks; 1861, Thomas C. Bradley; 1862, Henry Chamberlain; 1863-64, James L. McKie; 1865, Samuel W. Chamberlain; 1866, Henry Chamberlain; 1867-68, Samuel Hess; 1869, James L. McKie; 1870, J. M. K. Hilton; 1871, Edward K. Warner; 1872 -73, Isaac W. Martin; 1874, John D. Greenamyer; 1875-76, Peter Strehle; 1877-78, William H. Breece; 1879, James L. McKie. TOWN CLERKS. 1857, William Chamberlain; 1858, James L. McKie; 1859, Jacob M. Smee; 1860, Samuel W. Chamberlain; 1861, Samuel Hess; 1862, Frederick P. Warren; 1863, Hiram B. Wilcox; 1864, William Chamberlain; 1865-66, Hiram B. Wilcox; 1867, Thomas C. Bradley; 1868-76, William H. Breece; 1876-77, Daniel F. Brommerscheim; 1878, Henry N. Chamberlain; 1879, Daniel F. Brommerscheim. TREASURERS. 1857, Samuel K. Donovan; 1858, Luther Sage; 1859-60, Samuel Hess; 1861, Thomas C. Bradley; 1862, James L. McKie; 1863, John Martin; 1864, Samuel W. Chamberlain; 1865-66, Horace * The history of Three Oaks and New Buffalo is largely prepared from information furnished by the Hon. Henry Chamberlain. 336 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Wg. _... R. Pike; 1867, Luther Sage; 1868-69, William K. Sawyer; 1870 -71, Isaac W. Martin; 1872-73, Peter Strehle; 1874, Thomas McCann; 1875-76, Henry N. Chamberlain; 1877, Lycurgus Jeffries; 1878-79, Peter Strehle. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1857, Jonas L. Hicks; 1858, William Chamberlain; 1859, Jonas L. Hicks; 1860, William Chamberlain; 1861, John S. Martin; 1862, William Chamberlain; 1863, Jacob M. Smee; 1864, Julius D. Fitch, John S. Martin; 1865, Isaac W. Martin; 1866, Porter B. Parry; 1867, Isaac W. Martin; 1868, Frederick P. Warren; 1869, Julius D. Fitch; 1870, James W. Ransom; 1871, Perry G. Drew; 1872, Joshua Chatterson; 1873, George M. Valentine; 1874, James L. McKie, Henry Bennett; 1875, Henry H. Bennett; 1876, Thomas Love; 1877, Isaac W. Martin; 1878-79, James H. Hatfield. SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 1875, Porter B. Parry; 1876-77, Calvin W. Conner; 1878, Frederick F. Sovereign; 1879, Porter B. Parry. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1857, Erasmus N. Shead; 1858, Henry Chamberlain, Abram Martin; 1859, Thomas Love; 1860, Thomas C. Bradley; 1861, Erasmus N. Shead; 1862, Henry Chamberlain, Samuel Hess; 1863, Ebenezer S. Martin; 1864, Samuel Hess, Thomas Love; 1865, Erasmus N. Shead; 1866, Robert. D. Cross, Julius D. Fitch; 1867, Thomas Love; 1868, Samuel Hess; 1869, William K. Sawyer, Dewitt C. Miller; 1870, Jacob M. Smee, Thomas C. Bradley; 1871, Thomas Love; 1872, Jacob M. Smee; 1873, William K. Sawyer, Dwight Warren; 1874, Dwight Warren; 1875, Thomas Love; 1876, Samuel Hess; 1877, William K. White; 1878, James Atwell; 1879, Dwight Warren. VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS. In January, 1850, Henry Chamberlain, then living on the farm with his father, about a mile and a half south of the present village, had an offer to furnish 2000 cords of wood, at 7s. 6d. per cord, to be delivered on the cars at the side-track where the village of Three Oaks now stands. Owning land at that place, he took the contract, and while furnishing the wood was enabled at the same time to clear his lands without additional expense. In the year 1854 he, with Joseph G. Ames, erected a store at this place, and commenced selling goods. The Michigan Central Railroad passing this point made it a business centre. A post-office was established, under the name of Three Oaks, fromm three large oak-trees standing near each other. The township upon its organization assumed the name. In the same year a shoe-shop was opened by Samuel Hess, a blacksmithshop by Simeon Turner, and a saloon by Nathaniel Finch. The first plat of the village was made by Henry Chamberlain, Dec. 30, 1857. Its growth was slow until 1863. Saw-mills were built in 1857, by Nathaniel Finch; 1863, by John M. K. Hilton, Asahel W. Fitch; and 1866, by Duncan McNichol. A stave- and heading-mill was built in 1862 by Frank Smith, on lot 30. It was known as the "Coffee-Mill." Handle-factories were built in 1868, by Budlong & Bennett; in 1869, by Jesse Sheffield; in 1874, by N. D. Lovely. The first school-house was built of hewn logs, on lot No. 1, and is still standing. The house now in use was built in 1877. One was built in 1857, an addition in 1867, and it is now used as a Lutheran church. The town hall was erected in 1866, the Congregational church in 1870, the Methodist Episcopal church in 1878. From 1863 to 1876 a large number of business houses were erected and occupied. The present population is about 500 within the village limits, and about 200 near the limits. The village at present contains four churches (Congregational, Baptist, German Lutheran, and Methodist), a post-office, school-house, depot, express-office, three general stores, two drug, two hardware, four groceries, two saloons, two milliner, two wagon, and two blacksmith-shops, one livery-stable, two meat-markets, one bakery, one photograph-gallery, three boot- and shoe-stores, one barber-shop, one cooper-shop, two harness-shops, one saw-mill, two handle-factories, one printing-office,* two jewelry-shops, and five physicians. The act of incorporation of the village of Three Oaks was approved March 20, 1867. By that act it was provided that " All that tract of country situate within the township of Three Oaks, in the county of Berrien, in the State of Michigan, which is known and described as follows, to wit, the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter and the west half of the southwest quarter of section 2; the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter of section 3; the east half of the northeast quarter of section 10 and the west half of the northwest quarter of section 11, township 8 south, of range 20 west, be and the same is hereby made and constituted a town corporate, by the name, style, and title of the village of Three Oaks." In accordance with the act of incorporation, an election was held on the 2d day of April, 1867, for the election of officers. At that meeting 61 votes were polled, and the following village officers were elected: William Chamberlain, President; Horace R. Pike, Robert D. Cross, Benjamin Sheffield, Rudolph B. Goit, Trustees; Thomas C. Bradley, Recorder; Luther Sage, Treasurer. At the first meeting of the council the streets on the village plats were named, and it was ordered that the recorder make, or cause to be made, a map of the village, for the use of the council. The following is a list of presidents, trustees, recorders, and treasurers from 1867 to the present time: PRESIDENTS. 1868, William Chamberlain; 1869, William K. Sawyer; 1870, Robert D. Cross; 1871, Henry Chamberlain; 1872-73, Thomas McCann; 1874, John D. Miller; 1875, Owen Churchill; 1876, William Chamberlain; 1877-78, James L. McKie; 1879, Edward K. Warren. TRUSTEES. 1868, Isaac W. Martin, M. F. Wilcox; 1869, John D. Miller, James L. McKie; 1870, Jesse Sheffield, John M. K. Hilton; 1871, E. L. Miller, Charles Close; 1872, E. G. Ely, Henry Landers; 1873, Isaac W. Martin, Jacob M. Smee; 1874, Simeon Francis, Peter Strehle; 1875, Rudolph B. Goit, Charles Close; 1876, Joshua Chatterson, Samuel Hess; 1877, Emanuel G. Ely, Isaac W. Martin; 1878, Samuel Hess, Joshua Chatterson; 1879, William H. Breece, Owen Churchill. RECORDERS. 1868-70, William H. Breece; 1871, James McKie; 1872-74, William II. Breece; 1875-78, D. F. Bommerscheim; 1879, Henry N. Chamberlain. TREASURERS. 1868, Luther Sage; 1869; Josiah Martin; 1870, Edward K. Warren; 1871, E. G. Ely; 1872, Erasmus N. Shead; 1873-74, Emanuel (}. Ely; 1875, Jacob M. Smee; 1876-78, Peter Strehle; 1879, Henry N. Chamberlain. * The Michigan Independent is published here. Its history is found in the " History of the Press" in the general history. E~S, 0 FRANK JER UE, GALI/EN, BERRIIEN Co-,M/ CH / A, Fo H '1t VE7lLRLY, Tj iREE-E OMIHGN IEN COMICHIGAN. *. II IJ ts l i I ofo TOWNSHIP OF THREE OAKS. 337 Village Plats and Additions.-The first plat of the village made by Henry Chamberlain, dated Dec. 30, 1857, consisted of about five acres, on the south side of the railroad. The first addition was by Cyrus Ryther, Jan. 24, 1860, of two acres south from first plat. Second addition by Henry Chamberlain, Nov. 10, 1863, 12 acres north of the railroad. Third addition by Henry Chamberlain, Dec. 13, 1864, 20 acres north and east of last mentioned. Fourth addition by Mrs. Henry Chamberlain, Aug. 4, 1865, 10 acres east of Ryther's addition. Fifth addition by Benjamin Sheffield, Nov. 20,1866, 15 acres north'of last. Sixth addition by Henry H. Pike, Nov. 28, 1866, 10 acres west of Chamberlain's third addition. A seventh addition, known as Friedel's addition, has been made since the last named. The Tempest Fire Company of Three Oaks was organized May 5, 1875, with Charles Close foreman. A handengine was purchased by the corporation in the same year. The present members of the company are 30. The officers are Peter Strehle, Foreman; C. Vollman, Assistant Foreman; A. F. Martin, Secretary and Treasurer. AVERY'S STATION. This settlement is located on the east line of the township. The first improvement was made there in 1854, by Gilbert B. Avery and Thomas Love, who built a large steam saw-mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1859, but was rebuilt and is still standing. A post-office was established in 1856. Mr. Avery was the first postmaster. The settlement contains a post-office, about 20 houses, and has a population of about 100. POST-OFFICES IN THE TOWNSHIP. The first post-office was established in the township in 1849, and was called Spring Creek. It was situated in the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 23. The mail was received weekly from New Buffalo. Samuel P. Webb was the first postmaster. The office was also held by George Drake. It was discontinued in a few years. The post-office at Three Oaks was established in 1854. Joseph G. Ames was the first.postmaster. He was succeeded by Henry Chamberlain, William Chamberlain, Charles M. Valentine, and Wm. K. Sawyer, who is the present incumbent. The post-office at Avery's, a station on the Michigan Central Railroad, was established in 1856. The postmasters of that office have been Gilbert B. Avery, Thomas Love, and Edward Avery, who still holds the office. TOWN HALL. It was voted to raise $800 to build a town hall at the town-meeting, April 4, 1864. H. Chamberlain presented a deed of two lots for that purpose in the village of Three Oaks, situated north of the school-house. On these lots the town hall was erected. TOWNSHIP BOUNTY TO VOLUNTEERS. A meeting of twelve electors, held Aug. 2, 1864, petitioned the township clerk to call a special meeting, to take 43 into consideration the propriety of raising a bounty for volunteers serving in the Union army in the war of the Rebellion. In accordance with this petition, a special meeting was held Aug. 18,1864, at which it was voted to offer a bounty of $100 to each accepted recruit on the township quota under the call of July, 1864; and the township board was authorized to issue bonds for that purpose. The same action was taken on the call of December, 1864. TOWNSHIP LIBRARY. The first action towards the establishment of a township library was taken at the township-meeting, April 4, 1859, when it was voted to raise $25 for the purpose. In 1860, $25 was raised for library purposes, and the amount received from fines ($13.36) was added. The amount of fines for 1861 was $17.40. Since that time the sum of $25 has been raised annually for library purposes. The present number of volumes belonging to the library is 369, as shown by the last report. SCHOOLS. The first school-house in the township was built about the year 1840, near the northeast corner of the northwest quarter of section 23. It was built of cherry logs, and was known for years as the Cherry school-house. It was 10 by 14 feet inside, and 8 feet to peak of roof, with puncheon floor, one window, and flattened logs set on pins for seats. A school had been taught for a few weeks in some of the cabins of the early settlers. The first teacher of whom anything is now known was Elizabeth Chamberlain (daughter of Moses), who taught in the summer of 1844. The first frame school-house in the western part of Berrien County was built in District No. 3, in this township, in 1847. Moses Chamberlain, his son Henry, and E. Ryther were the persons who, after much effort, succeeded in getting a tax voted for the purpose. Thomas M. Bennett was the first teacher. The first school-house built in the village of Three Oaks was of hewed logs, and is still standing, on the corner of Elm and Ash Streets. It was built by subscription, Henry Chamberlain paying three-fourths of the cost. The following items are taken from school reports, as filed in the township clerk's office: April 11, 1857, at a meeting of the school inspectors the districts were numbered anew for the township, they having held prior the numbers of New Buffalo. District No. 5 was changed to No. 1. Districts Nos. 2 and 3 remained the same. September 11th of the same year District No. 4 was formed; and Oct. 29, 1857, at a meeting of the school inspectors of New Buffalo and Three Oaks, a new district was formed, part in each township, to be called No. 5. May 20, 1857, the primary-school fund amounted to $89.57, and was apportioned as follows: District No. 1, $37.63; No. 2, $28.62; No. 3, $23.32. The following school statistics of the township are from the school report for 1879: number of districts, 5; number of scholars, 479; number of school-houses, District No. 1, 1 frame and 1 brick, valued at $5960; No. 2, 1 frame, valued at $500; No. 3, 1 frame, valued at $350; No. 4, 1 frame, valued at $300; No. 5, 1 frame, valued at $500. 338 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. District No. 1, Three Oaks, has an indebtedness of $1700. The remaining districts are free from debt. CHURCHES. The Congregational Church.-The church of which this is a record was first organized in New Buffalo as the "Union Church of New Buffalo," and was formed Sept. 18, 1844, under the charge of the Rev. Elnathan Davis, who was assisted by Moses Chamberlain, Theron J. Wilcox, David M. Hunt, Jacob Gerrish, and Joseph D. Oates. The original members of the church were Moses Chamberlain, Mary F. Chamberlain, Elizabeth Chamberlain, Theron J. Wilcox, Jacob Gerrish, Maria A. Gerrish, Helen Wilcox, Julia B. Pressey, Lavinia Howe, Joseph D. Oates, and David M. Hunt. At a subsequent meeting, held in October of the same year, eight members were added to the church, and December following four more. The name of the church was changed by consent, March 12, 1848, to that of the " First Congregational Church." The first pastor was the Rev. Elnathan Davis, who remained about one year. In May, 1851, the Rev. P. B. Parrey, who was pastor of the church at Buchanan, preached at Spring Creek and at New Buffalo occasionally. In 1852 he removed to New Buffalo, and presided over both congregations a year or two. The Rev. Josiah D. Crosby, of Ashburnham, Mass., spent parts of 1857-58 preaching both at Three Oaks and New Buffalo, closing his labors in July, 1858, and was succeeded in October of that year by the Rev. Waters Warren, who preached about two years. The Rev. J. D. Crosby again resumed charge of the church in October, 1861, and remained about one year. April 30, 1865, the Rev. P. B. Parrey became pastor over the Congregational Church at Three Oaks, and has occupied the pulpit mostly till the present time. The church membership is 103. The church edifice was erected in 1870 at Three Oaks, and was dedicated by the Rev. H. A. Reed, of Marshall, Mich. A Sabbath-school was first started in 1858, and has at the present time about 75 pupils. E. K. Warren is the superintendent, and A. B. Wright librarian. The Methodist Episcopal Church.-The first class in the township was organized at Spring Creek school-house about 1850. The first members of the class were Abram Martin and wife, Richard Love and wife, William Valentine and wife, and Elkanah Ryther and wife. Among the first preachers at that place was the Rev. J. W. Robinson. The Rev. Daniel Smith was a minister of the Protestant Methodist Church, and also preached here at an early day. During the summer of 1852 the Rev. J. W. Robinson, then stationed at New Buffalo, preached where the village of Three Oaks now stands, in the house of Henry Chamberlain. Another Methodist class was organized in Three Oaks, in 1867, by the Rev. Daniel C. Woodward, who was also the first pastor. The first members of the class were Ebenezer McGee, leader, Diadama McGee, R. B. Goit, Lucretia Goit, William R. Levy, Julia Levy, Rachel S. Anderson, Daniel Savage, John Redman, Lucinda Redman, Mary Edson, Mary J. Hopkins, E. Ryther, Catherine Ryther, Samuel Pinnell. A church edifice was built in 1878, of brick, at a cost of $2000. The present membership is 50. The Sabbath-school contains an average of 85 pupils. J. R. Hill is superintendent. The first minister who preached in this section of country was the Rev. J. W. Robinson, at the Spring Creek school-house, where the first class was formed. The ministers who succeeded him were the Revs. Beach, Hendrickson, Chapin, Beard, Kellogg, Valentine, Van Horn, Van Wyck, Hicks, Woodward, Hoyt, Gray, Van Sire, J. T. Tanner, W. S. Goslin, and Isaac Wilson, who is the present pastor. The Baptist Church.-This church was organized in 1867, in district school-house No. 3, Chickaming township, with about 15 members. Rev. Charles G. Manly was the first pastor. He was succeeded by the Revs. E. S. Millis, Israel Wilkinson, Sherman Hendricks, R. H. Spafford, and Israel Wilkinson, who is the present pastor. The church has at present 85 members, and a Sundayschool containing 60 pupils, with Charles C. Sherrill as superintendent, who also has charge of two Sunday-schools connected with the church; one is located in district No. 1, with 20 pupils, the other in district No. 3, Chickaming township, with 80 pupils. There are also two others in charge of the church: one in southeast corner of section 30, and numbers 35 pupils (M. S. Sherrill is superintendent), and district No. 5, Three Oaks township, contains 30 pupils, C. C. Brown superintendent. The church was built at Three Oaks village in 1869-70, at a cost of about $3000. The First German United Evangelical St. John's Congregation was first organized, November, 1866, at the village of Three Oaks, with 15 members. The church was built in 1877, and the congregation at present numbers 38. The first pastor was the Rev. W. Braumwarth, who has been succeeded by Revs. Julius Schumm and A. Debus, the present pastor. The Church of the Disciples.-This society was organized at the house of Dr. H. B. Wilcox, Feb. 19, 1868, with 25 members. Josiah Martin was elected elder, which office he retained until his death, in 1878. David Martin was elected deacon, and still holds the office. Services were held from house to house until the completion of the German Lutheran church, when they occupied the church with that society. Among the ministers who preached occasionally were the Revs. Wm. M. Roe, P. T. Russell, and Mitchell. In the fall of 1877 the Rev. C. F. Mortimer became pastor and remained six months. They were without a pastor until May, 1879, when the Rev. C. F. Cole assumed charge, and is the present pastor. The church now numbers 59 members. They were in a low condition from 1872 to 1875. and were then reorganized. The elders of the society are Dr. H. B. Wilcox and Abram Martin; deacons, David Martin and Andrew Carpenter. The German Methodist Church.-The first meeting for organization of a class was held in a small log house that stood in the field of Frederick Rickerts, in section 10, near the village of Three Oaks, and was at the time unoccupied. Meetings were held there for some time, and then at private houses. Upon the completion of the English Methodist church services were held at that place, and preaching is TOWNSHIP OF WATERVLIET. 339 now had there once in three weeks. The Sunday-school enrolls 20 pupils. John Berkhart, Superintendent. The constituent members of the first class were Charles Wagner and wife, Jacob Kriess and wife, Frederick Rickerts and wife, and L. Rickerts. Charles Wagner was the leader. The first minister was the Rev. Jacob Reichter, and he was succeeded by the Revs. K. A. Lober, Carl Kluckhohn, Richard Fickenscher, Jacob Bletoch, Peter Schaeffer, William Wilke, Itermann, F. Fertkon, William Keller, Philip Walker, F. Werth, Henry Lemka, and Hanka, who is the present pastor. The church is in the Michigan city charge. SOCIETTES AND ORDERS. Three Oaks Lodge, No. 239, F. and A. M. —The charter was granted to this lodge Jan. 8, 1868. The officers were Henry Chamberlain, Worshipful Master; Owen Churchill, Senior Warden; James S. Bird, Junior Warden; Rudolph B. Goit, Treas.; Christopher Loney, Sec.; A. A. Archer, Senior Deacon; Daniel Savage, Junior Deacon; Silas Russell, Tiler. The membership, Jan. 10, 1879, was 85, and the officers for 1879 are Henry N. Chamberlain, Worshipful Master; William H. Breece, Senior Warden; Henry M. Russell, Junior Warden; Thomas McCann, Treas.; John A. Thursby, Sec.; William H. Dakin, Senior Deacon; Orrin L. Churchill, Junior Deacon; William Decker, Tiler. Three Oaks Lodge, No. 842, 1 0. of G. T.-This lodge was instituted April 4, 1875. The present membership is about 60. The present officers are A. B. Wright, Worthy Chief Templar; Nellie Martin, Worthy Vice-Templar; Henry L. Hess, Worthy Sec.; Mattie Reeves, Worthy Financial Sec.; Simeon Sutherland, Worthy Marshal; Emma Hill, Worthy Inside Guard; Charles Bradley, Worthy Outside Guard. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. EDWARD VETTERLEY was born on the 15th day of September, 1833, at Wagenhausen, a village in Switzerland. In 1844 his parents emigrated to the State of New York, bringing Edward, two brothers, and one sister with them. There he remained a number of years, and then removed to Three Oaks, Berrien Co., Mich. On the 13th of June, 1869, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Heosi, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Heosi. Mr. Vetterley was in the employ of the Michigan Central Railroad Company over ten years, always proving himself worthy of the trust and confidence placed in him. The remainder of the time he carried on his farm with good success. He had a good German education, although his advantages were rather limited, as he never attended school in America. He was in politics a Democrat. He was a member of the German Evangelical Church from 1849 until the time of his death, and was ever found ready to do his duty as a zealous Christian. He was an affectionate husband and loving father, as well as an estimable man and worthy citizen. His death occurred on the 23d day of March, 1874. His widow, Mrs. Vetterley, is one of the few women who are capable of acting as the head of a family, and she has successfully managed the estate since the decease of her husband. CHAPTER XLIV. WATERVLIET TOWNSHIP.* Description-Early Settlements-Watervliet Village-Coloma Village -New Coloma-Settlements in Watervliet after 1842-Soldiers of 1812-Physicians-Township Organization and Civil List-Religious Societies-Schools-Societies and Orders-Curious Relic. WATERVLIET, the extreme northeastern township of Berrien County, retains the original town allotment of six miles square, and occupies a fruitful agricultural territory, peopled by a community of thrifty and prosperous agriculturists. The township boundaries are the Van Buren County line on the north and east, Bainbridge township on the south, and Hagar township on the west. Its designation is town 3 south, range 17 west. The surface of the country is generally level or gently undulating, and, near the centre of the township, diversified by two moderately large sheets of water, known respectively as Paw Paw Lake, and Little Paw Paw Lake, while numerous water-courses and ponds, scattered here and there, provide a picturesque prospect and bountiful irrigation. Paw Paw Lake occupies nearly the whole of section 15 and portions of sections 10, 11, 14, 16, and 21, and covers upwards of 1200 acres. Its waters are clear and well stocked with fish. It has upon its borders an inviting stretch of country, and is, during the pleasant season of the year, a place of popular resort for picnic parties, anglers, and others in search of recreation. The Paw Paw River, an exceedingly crooked stream, flows through the centre of the township, from east to west, and empties into the St. Joseph River at Benton Harbor. The Chicago and West Michigan Railroad passes through Watervliet, generally along the river's course, and, having stations at Coloma and Watervliet, gives the town excellent railway conveniences. The two villages of Coloma and Watervliet are the centres of considerable trade; they have valuable mill interests, and annually send forward by railway large shipments of fruit and grain,-Watervliet especially making a fine showing in respect to the latter commodity. The township, although largely devoted to the cultivation of fruit, is also a rich grain-producing region. Among the farmers are a few families of Indians, who are located in the north, and who, in common with their brethren of adjoining townships, have sought to make a mark as tillers of the soil, but their success, as a rule, is not great. Watervleit's assessed valuation in 1879 was $260,000. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. The first settlement made by the white man in what is now Watervliet township was begun in 1832, at a point on * By David Schwartz. 340 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. -— I I I..... the Paw Paw River about three-quarters of a mile above the present village of Coloma, and on the opposite shore. Shingle-makers first invaded that locality, and the place was therefore known as " Shingle Diggings." The narrative of the rise and progress of the Diggings, as gathered from Mr. Stephen R. Gilson, now living in Coloma (and himself a resident in Watervliet longer than any one in the township), is given as follows: In October, 1834, Mr. Gilson, of Chautauqua Co., N. Y., in which his father was a pioneer, rode, in company with a friend, to Sandusky, Ohio, intending to stop a while in Michigan, and then to push on to Chicago, which he proposed to make his future home. From Sandusky young Gilson traveled on foot via the Maumee country, and so barren was that region of population that in thirty miles' travel he saw but one house. Happening to know Stephen Purdy, who was living at Berrien Springs, in Michigan, Gilson bent his steps thither and visited his friend, with whom he remained several days, during which time he tried, but unsuccessfully, to obtain employment. Learning that Levi Ballengee, then stopping at Wilson's tavern, in St. Joseph village, was in want of a shingle-maker for his place on the Paw Paw, Gilson went down and bargained with Ballengee to assist him in getting out 125,000 shingles. Together they set out for Mr. Ballengee's place in November, 1834, and there in due time Mr. Gilson began his Western career as a shingle-maker. Mr. Ballengee's location, as already indicated, was a short distance from the present village of Coloma, across the Paw Paw, and there he had been living with his wife some time. How he came to be there may be told in relating the story of the first white settlement there and the circumstances immediately following it. In 1832, Job Davis, of Cass County, made the first landentry in the territory now occupied by Watervliet township. His purchase embraced 150 acres on section 21, and he went upon the place intending to get out lumber and shingles for the St. Joseph market. Tiring of his-enterprise, however, before he had fairly tried it, he disposed of his interests to Messrs. Griffith, Hoyt & Hatch, who joined for the purpose of digging a canal from Paw Paw Lake to the Paw Paw River, building a saw-mill on the Paw Paw, and engaging to a liberal extent in lumbering, B. C. Hoyt (a St. Joseph merchant) being the managing partner of the firm. Davis had already got out a frame for a saw-mill, had it on the ground ready to put up, had begun the construction of a dam, and had dug a mill-pit, so that Griffith & Co. found matters in such a state of progress that they looked forward to a speedy completion of the projected improvements. At this juncture, however, one Sumner stepped in and disarranged their plans. Mr. Hoyt, of the lumbering firm, had sued Sumner on a store account, and Sumner determined to be revenged. Knowing that Griffith & Co., by a singular oversight, had failed to acquire a right to the land opposite their mill property, where their dam must necessarily touch, Sumner entered the land in question, and then forbade Griffith & Co. building their dam on his land. This was something which Griffith & Co. had not contemplated, and an obstacle which they were powerless to remove, for Sumner utterly refused to sell his land to the mill firm at any price, and thus, unable to prosecute their work, Griffith & Co. were compelled to abandon it. Upon first beginning operations they surveyed and laid out a town near the proposed mill-site, and sought to induce settlements, with the implied understanding that the canal and mill would make the neighborhood a lively and valuable business point. One of the first to act upon the promise of future advantage held forth by Griffith & Co. was Levi Ballengee, who bought of Mr. Brown, of St. Joseph, 80 acres of land near the site of the new town, and put up, first, a log cabin and then a frame of considerable size, of which he proposed to make a house in which to board the men to be employed by Griffith & Co. The failure of Griffith & Co. (their lands, etc., being transferred to the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of St. Joseph) left Mr. Ballengee with his boarding-house frame on his hands as a piece of useless property. Being there, however, he resolved to remain, and thus it happened that, being in St. Joseph in search of a workman, he found Mr. Gilson, and entered upon the business of shingle-making as the founder of " Shingle Diggings." The narrative returns now to the time-November, 1834-when Gilson joined Ballengee in shingle-making. Ballengee and Gilson worked industriously at that business through the winter, visiting St. Joseph occasionally, by way of the river, in canoes. During the winter, Rumsey Christy of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., came to the Diggings, with his wife and three children, " squatted," put up a cabin, and commenced making shingles on his own account. In the spring of 1835, Hiram Ormsby, with his family, joined the little colony, and shingle-making began to be lively. About this time Mrs. Christy died. This was the second death in that locality, and the first in the Diggings proper. Job Davis' wife had died soon after his settlement, in 1832. Her remains were at first deposited near the mill-site, but afterwards conveyed to the Sumnerville cemetery. The next shingle-maker was Isaac Youngs, who came in with his family in 1835, followed by Erastus Barnes, Henry H. Selter, and others. In 1835, Gilson went back to New York State for his family, brought them without delay to the Shingle Diggings, and becoming a resident there, commenced making shingles on his own account; he, like a majority of the shingle-makers, "squatting" where it suited him, and making shingles where he could find desirable timber. For three years the business of shingle-making was carried on with much spirit, quite a number of people were engaged in it, and, the Diggings grew to the dignity of an important settlement. In 1837, Gilson had prospered so well that he purchased that year all the shingles made in the Diggings. He bought at one time 1,300,000, and employed Indians to run them down the river to St. Joseph, upon reaching which place he had a force of 20 redskins, whose performances in taking the shingles out of the river and landing them on the dock are said to have been very lively and interesting. All the shingles made at the Diggings were thus transported to St. Joseph to market, and as there was a good demand for them the Diggings became a thriving place. r j 1 II i: I WARD01BRANT. MRS.EOWARD BRANT, I t; i";i RESIDENCE OF EDWARD BRANT, WATERVLIETTP., BERRFENCO.,MICH. ; ---:i_ C TOWNSHIP OF WATERVLIET. 341 So well did it flourish as a settlement that in 1837 a school was desired, and the inhabitants of the Diggings applied to the township (St. Joseph) for assistance in supporting a school. The application being denied, the shinglemakers remembered that E. P. Deacon had agreed to clear the " school land" near the Diggings, and that he had failed to complete the work. They proceeded therefore to take possession of the timber remaining on the land, worked it up into shingles, and, with the proceeds of the sale thereof, started a school by engaging Mary Youngs (a daughter of one of the shingle-makers) as teacher. She taught about six months in the log cabin used by Job Davis as his residence when he first settled there. Lydia Kingsley, of St. Joseph, was afterwards engaged, and taught in a log schoolhouse put up in the woods. That school, however, was the last one tauglht in that neighborhood. The Diggings was not without the benefit of public religious teachings. In 1837, Simeon Woodruff, a Presbyterian minister and settler in Bainbridge, preached occasionally at Mr. Gilson's house. The first child born in the Diggings was Mr. Christy's, the second was Mr. Ormsby's, and the third Mr. Gilson's. In 1838, the material for shingles being exhausted, the shingle-makers departed for other places,-Mr. Ballengee to Missouri, Gilson, Youngs, and Selter to Bainbridge, and the others farther east and west. Shingle Diggings became therefore an abandoned settlement, and at this point drops out of the history of the township. Moses Osgood, living at Perch River, Jefferson Co., N. Y., in 1836, engaged that year to accompany Isaac Moffatt-Smith & Merrick's land-agent and manager-to Michigan, and upon his arrival in Watervliet worked about the mills. In the following year he sent for his family, and after that continued to live in Watervliet village about two years, working meanwhile for the mill firm. He then bought 40 acres of land on section 19, a mile and a half west of the site of Coloma, and after living there five years sold out, in 1842, to James Paul, who had just come from Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and who lived upon the place until his death, in 1872. The farm occupied by Paul is the one now owned by William Merrifield. Upon selling out to Paul, Mr. Osgood bought a place directly opposite, and in 1844 sold that to John Merrifield, of New York State, just then arrived. Mr. Osgood then moved to a farm a half-mile east, changed again a mile farther east, went to Schoolcraft, Mich., where he remained about four years, returned to Watervliet township, where he settled, near the Coloma burying-ground, and lastly moved to a place on section 20, where he died, in 1876. His widow lives on the place now with her son-in-law, Mr. Glidden. Mr. Osgood was the pioneer of the territory into which he moved in 1838, after leaving Watervliet village, between which place and his farm there was not a single settler. WATERVLIET VILLAGE. The first improvement made at what is now known as Watervliet village was effected in 1833, by Sumner & Wheeler, who put up a saw-mill on Mill Creek, near the present site of Swain & Olney's saw-mill. It will be remembered that in the history of Shingle Diggings, reference is made to Mr. Sumner as having interfered materially with Griffith & Co.'s mill-building enterprise. After that affair Sumner & Wheeler built the saw-mill on Mill Creek, and employed two brothers named Van Dusen, from Prairie Ronde, to run the mill for them. The mill was a small one, propelled by a " flutter wheel," but managed to turn out considerable lumber, some of its first work being the timber for the boarding-house frame which Mr. Levi Ballengee erected at Shingle Diggings. The Van Dusen brothers lived in a slab shanty near the mill, and were, beyond question, the first white inhabitants at that point. The Van Dusens managed the mill until 1835, when one Crocker, a mill-wright, rented it, and moving, with his family, upon the place, took possession. In 1836, Jesse Smith, of the firm of Smith & Merrick, of French Creek, Jefferson Co., N. Y., visited this section to make arrangements for clearing large tracts of land which the firm owned in what are now the townships of Bainbridge, Watervliet, and Hagar, the greater portion being in Bainbridge, in that district now covered by the German settlement. Mr. Smith was accompanied by Israel Kellogg and several laborers, the latter of whom, under the direction of Mr. Kellogg (who acted then and afterwards as Smith & Merrick's representative and land-agent), did some work at clearing land and built a saw-mill near Sumner & Wheeler's, which latter Smith purchased, and leased that, as well as the new one, to Crocker. Lumber was low, and as Smith preferred to turn his attention to clearing land and putting in wheat,-which he did to a great extent,he paid but little heed to the firm's milling interests. Smith returned to New York in 1836, leaving Kellogg to look after the firm's interests, and in that same year Smith & Merrick sent out Isaac Moffatt with thirty-two Frenchmen to finish the work on the Michigan lands. Moffatt and his men sailed from Buffalo in a vessel belonging to the firm, and loaded with all sorts of supplies for the new settlement. Moffatt got his men and supplies safely to Watervliet, and at once put up a store about opposite where Walden's store now stands. He built also a grist-mill, which, with the saw-mills, he rented to Crocker. His men were set to work digging a tail-race (the one now used), building a dam, and clearing land, and as his force numbered upwards of forty, there was already a community worthy the name of a settlement. It is said of the thirtytwo Frenchmen brought out by Moffatt that they used to eat a barrel of pork every three days. Of them only two are known to be living in the vicinity of Watervliet,-Edward Eber, a farmer, in Hartford township, and Felix Rossette, a tavern-keeper, in Hartford village. A third-John Ladeaux-died in the county almshouse in 1879. The mills soon passed from Crocker to John Stronner, who was, in 1846, succeeded as tenant by James Redding, who was running them in 1848, when Smith & Merrick sold out their entire mill property to Isaac N. Swain, then living in Concord, Jackson Co., Mich., but previously of Jefferson Co., N. Y. Besides the mill property, Mr. Swain bought 960 acres of land thereabout, and further converted a tannery building that had been put up at that point by William Tilman, into a grist-mill, into which he put two 342 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. run of stones, the old grist-mill being abandoned and afterwards moved into the village, one-half being now used as a residence and the other as a cooper-shop. Mr. Swain soon found an opportunity to sell his mills to Medbury & Aldrich, and removed then to Monson, Mass. Medbury & Aldrich replaced the saw-mill with the large mill now used by Swain & Olney, and during their possession the grist-mill was destroyed by fire and rebuilt. They sold out to Jason Carr, who, in turn sold the saw-mill to a Mr. Shanks, and continued to operate the grist-mill himself. In 1858 there came a great flood that washed away the dam, bulkheads, etc., damaged the mills seriously, and overflowed the surrounding country. When Carr saw the ruin that had been wrought to the mill property he was so affected that he fell down and died. Shank was made a bankrupt, and became, it is said, a fish-merchant (the first available business he could turn his hand to), in his desire to do something. Carr & Shanks having carried the property along under mortgage to Mr. Swain, the latter was compelled to take it back after the disaster, and from 1858 to 1862 he permitted it to remain in the condition brought about by the flood. In the last-named year, however, he organized the firm of Swain, Olney & Fisher, who built a new dam, made necessary repairs, and set the mills in motion once more. Mr. Fisher sold his interest to Parsons & Baldwin, when the firm-name was changed to Swain, Olney & Co., and as such remained until 1874, when Parsons & Baldwin retired, leaving the firm of Swain & Olney to continue the business, which they have done until the present time. The firm have at times employed as many as 40 or 50 men in their mills, but have at present a force of only 15. Their saw-mill is fitted with 52 saws, including 1 gang and 1 slabber, capable of sawing 30,000 feet of lumber daily. At present the cut is about 6000 feet per day. The grist-mill has three run of stones, and is devoted chiefly to custom work. In 1856, H. R. Holland built a saw-mill on Mill Creek, east of the village, and in 1870 sold it to Justus Sutherland, who added a grist-mill with three run of stones, which began to grind wheat March 4, 1873. These mills have been operated by Mr. Sutherland since 1870. Jonas Ivery was the pioneer blacksmith at Watervliet, the date of his settlement being 1837. His daughter was married to Martin Tice, of Bainbridge, in 1838. Ivery moved from Watervliet to Millburg, and afterwards to the far West. Stores.-The first store opened in Watervliet was the one started by Isaac Moffatt in 1836, when he came to the country with his company of 32 Frenchmen. His store was called the " Mill Store," and the stock put into it was the cargo of supplies Moffatt brought in his vessel from Buffalo. This mill store was kept by Moffatt and Israel Kellogg, in the interest of Smith & Merrick while that firm controlled the mill property, and when they sold out to Swain of course Swain took the store also. When Swain came in, Redding retired from the mills, and started in a store known as the" Variety Store." Thus there were two stores-this was in 1848-for the first time in the history of Watervliet. When Redding died (in 1849) he was succeeded by Clay & Ensign, and after a time Ed. Goodale, who had been a clerk at Swain's, commenced on his own account as a storekeeper. He sold to Wheeler & Gates, and afterwards the succession of storekeepers was Holland & Smith, W. W. Allen, H. C. Matran, Matran & Burnside, and Parsons & Baldwin. The mill store was continued by Swain until Swain, Fisher & Olney came in, and after that Parsons & Baldwin took it,-the latter firm opening their present store when they retired from the mill business. The general stores now in the village are those of L. D. Walden, Parsons, Baldwin & Co., and W. W. Allen. Tucker & Jaffrey have a drug-store, Pierce & Welsh a hardware-store, Daniel Woodward a meat-market, A. G. Wigeant a furniture-store, Silas Tooley a harness-shop, and Mrs. Pierce a millinery. Besides these stores, there are blacksmith-shops, cooper-shops, shoe-shops, etc. Taverns. The first house of entertainment in Watervliet was a boarding-house for mill hands, opened by W. W. McKee in a building which stood opposite the site of Walden's store. This building was afterwards sawed in two, and is still doing duty,-one-half as Bradt's blacksmith-shop and the other as Mr. Teetzel's-residence. When Mr. Swain became the mill proprietor, he built a store and tavern upon the lot now occupied by Walden's store, the mill store having to that time been on the opposite side of the road. The tavern built by Mr. Swain was, like McKee's house, primarily intended as a boarding-place for the mill hands, but as both places accommodated travelers they were taverns, although not called so. In 1867, Swain's store and tavern were destroyed by fire. The store only was rebuilt, and it is still standing. The public-house now kept in the village by Samuel Wolcott was built for a tavern by John Lake in 1847, but not opened as such until ten years afterwards. Andrew Bartlett was the first landlord. His successors have been Abram Smith, - Hibbard, P ockett, William Brown, and Samuel Wolcott, the present proprietor, who has been in possession since 1870. Post-Office.-The post-office at Watervliet village was established in 1849, when Isaac N. Swain was appointed postmaster. Prior to that time Mr. Swain had a contract with such of the inhabitants as favored the arrangement to obtain their mail at the Bainbridge post-office twice a week. At the close of the first year of the contract, Mr. Swain succeeded in inducing the government to establish the Watervliet office. James B. Lindsley succeeded Mr. Swain, and in 1856, B. B. Tucker took possession of the office, to relinquish it, in 1860, to Wm. Brown, the tavernkeeper. W. W. Allen was appointed in 1868, and kept the office in his store until 1877, when he resigned, and E. R. Welsh, the present incumbent, received the appointment. Railway Depot.-Upon the completion of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, to Watervliet, in 1869, L. A. Mason was appointed depot agent. In 1871 he was succeeded by W. E. Walden, who still occupies the place. In 1869 a grain-elevator was attached to the depot. Large quantities of grain are annually shipped from this station, while the shipments of fruit during the season are consid TOWNSHIP OF WATERVLIET. 343 erable, one shipper alone having forwarded 2000 barrels of apples in 1878. Peach shipments have risen to such an aggregate that 3000 baskets were sent out on one train during the busy era. In 1878 about 15,000 baskets were shipped to Chicago from Watervliet. The Village Plat.-Smith & Merrick laid out the village, and gave to it originally the narrow strip occupied by Main Street between the creek and the river. Mr. Swain made several additions, notably the addition south of the railway-track known as " Newtown," where great improvements in the way of a blast-furnace and other manufactories were promised. For some reason the schemes failed, although the town lots were sold and improvements to some extent were made there. COLOMA VILLAGE. About 1840, John Williams, of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., made his appearance in Watervliet with his family, and being unable to purchase a farm, agreed with Israel Kellogg, resident land-agent for Smith & Merrick, to work a tract of land on what is now the site of Coloma village. Kellogg put up a log house for Williams upon the spot now occupied by Dr. Baker's house, and built for him also a frame barn, which stood a little west of where the libertypole stands. Williams worked the place about two years, but with little success. He afterwards removed to Bain' bridge, and died there. Adam Prouty took the place after Williams' departure, but remained only two years and then moved away. George Becker, of Jefferson Co., N. Y., who had traveled with his wife and six children from Buffalo to St. Joseph by way of the lakes, happened along about the time Prouty moved out (May, 1844), and took possession of the cabin. He purposed, however, remaining there but a short time, as he had before leaving his New York home exchanged his farm there with Smith & Merrick for 80 acres in the southern portion of Watervliet, near Michael Humphrey's farm. To that place Becker soon moved his family, but shortly afterwards exchanged it for a farm south of Coloma, where he died in 1873, and where his widow now lives. James S. Johnson (a tailor), of Yates Co., N. Y., settled in St. Joseph Co., Ind., in 1837, and in May, 1844, in company with George C. Merrifield, of that place, visited Michigan. In partnership they bought of Smith & Merrick 320 acres of land, that embraced the tract upon which Williams and Prouty had worked, and of which they had cleared about 140 acres. Johnson and Merrifield sowed the land to grain and returned to Indiana for their families. Merrifield's family refusing to move, he sold his interest in the Michigan farm to Johnson, and the latter packed up, and with his wife and three children set out for Watervliet. Upon their arrival they occupied the log house in which Williams, Prouty, and Becker had lived, and there they continued to reside until Johnson's death, in 1847. Abner Crossman, of Bainbridge, took a portion of Johnson's farm, married Johnson's widow, and after living on the place a little while, moved to a farm just east of Watervliet, where he died, and where his widow still survives him. Stephen R. Gilson, of whom mention was made in the history of Shingle Diggings, who turned the first furrow in Watervliet, and who in 1838 became a settler in Bainbridge, went afterwards to Chicago, and in 1844 returned to Watervliet, where, on section 20, he bought of Arthur Bronson, of New York, 60 acres of land, upon which tract (at Coloma) he is still living. When Gilson settled there the only inhabitants in the vicinity were George Becker and his family, to whom allusion has already been made. The Johnsons did not come on until a little later, and lived there until 1847. In 1849, Stephen R. Gilson and Gilson Osgood made the first important improvement there in the erection of a water saw-mill on "Tannery Creek." In 1850, Gilson sold out his interest in the mill to Austin Boyer, who sold in turn to Gilson Osgood, who, becoming then sole proprietor of the concern, changed it to a steammill. Gilson Osgood, alluded to in the foregoing, was a man of considerable importance in the early settlement of Watervliet, and was connected in an especially conspicuous way with the history of Coloma. He moved from Ohio to Battle Creek, Mich., in 1839, and in 1841 left that place to settle in Watervliet township, in response to the solicitations of his brother Moses, who had preceded him. Gilson came on with his wife and three children, bought 60 acres of land of Smith & Merrick, adjoining his brother Moses' place on the south, in section 30, and remained with him until his own log cabin was completed. While living on his. farm he undertook, in 1849, the erection on Tannery Creek of a saw-mill, in company with S. R. Gilson, and at the same time removed his family to a place near the mill. He had been appointed the agent for Israel Kellogg, who had been the representative of the land-owning firm of Smith & Merrick, but had removed to Kalamazoo. Osgood also joined Martin Musser, Odell, and Clark in building a tannery on Tannery Creek, and put up a shanty, into which he put a small stock of goods, and called it a store. Although not a very extensive one, it was nevertheless a great convenience to the neighboring settlers, and deserves, moreover, distinct mention as the first store opened in the place now known as the village of Coloma. Israel Kellogg kept a store in that neighborhood before Osgood opened business, but Kellogg's store was a quarter of a mile or more west of the site of Coloma. Dickerville.-The story goes that when Gilson Osgood opened his store his first day's trade was a heavy one, for the announcement had gone forth, and many gathered from far and near. Money was at that time an exceedingly scarce article in the backwoods, and the customers brought generally an assortment of farm produce to exchange with Mr. Osgood for his " store-goods." Indeed, fully ninetenths of his business on that first day was in " dicker," and the idea being started that the just budding village should be called " Dickerville," popular opinion recognized the appropriateness of the designation, and " Dickerville" it was christened, and so remained until 1855, when Stephen Gilson changed it to Coloma. Mr. Osgood's store stood near the present Osgood House, and in time was replaced by a store of much more elaborate pretensions, in which Mr. Os good carried on business some years. The Osgood House property he bought in 1858, and materially improved, since which time it has remained in the possession of the family, 344 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I -his widow and son (Marcus) now residing there. In 1867, Mr. Osgood removed to the village of St. Joseph, where he was landlord of the Perkins House until his death, in 1868. Prominently identified, during his residence in Watervliet township, with the history of that portion of Berrien County, he occupied a conspicuous place in the local events of his time, and as the agent for the sale of Smith & Merrick's extensive landed property, he came to be widely known, and much respected. Merchants.-Israel Kellogg has already been mentioned as having kept a store at Watervliet village, and later near the site of Coloma village; but, as he was not on the site of the village, he cannot be considered as one of its pioneer traders. Gilson Osgood opened the first store, which, with his sawmill, gave " Dickerville" a start in 1849. The storekeepers at Coloma, dating from Mr. Osgood's time, may be named in their order of location, as follows: Henry L. Harris, B. F. Osgood, Perry & Marvin, Redding & Gilson, J. H. Marvin, G. W. Longwell & Co., Dickinson & Stoddard, Marvin & Osgood, Marvin & Woodward, William Stoddard, Minot Ingraham, A. D. Allen, John Sherman, Hamilton & Miller, Luce Bro.'s, Alonzo Vincent, John Brough, John Thomas, Theodore Russell, R. Hewsons & Co., T. J. West & Co., Lysander Vincent, Hewson & Grant, Vincent & Gammer, H. W. Peck & Co., R. R. Hewson, Ryno & Gilson (drugs), Mrs. I. T. Howe, H. W. Peck, Mrs. Miller. The storekeepers of Coloma are now Minot Ingraham, John Thomas, Ryno & Gilson, Vincent & Gammer, R. R. Hewson, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. I. J. Howe, H. W. Peck. Mills and Tannery.-It has already been observed that Stephen R. Gilson and Gilson Osgood put up a saw-mill on Tannery Creek, at Coloma, in 1849, and that Martin Musser and others built a tannery on the same stream. Osgood put steam-power into his saw-mill in 1850, and in 1852 the explosion of its boiler, April 19th, entailed a sad calamity in the killing of two children,-Charlotte Osgood and Shumway Musser,-who, with other children, were playing about there at the time. Other people were injured and the mill was badly damaged, but no further loss of life was occasioned. Upon his return from California, Stephen Gilson erected a steam saw-mill at Coloma, on the bank of the Paw Paw. After that Ira Wilks began the construction of a grist-mill on Tannery Creek, but got no further than the completion of the frame. Roland Osgood and John W. Knapp finished it, put in the machinery, and started it in 1861. It changed owners several times until 1866, when Sawyer Ball came into possession. In 1876 it was damaged by a flood, and in 1877, Mr. Ball replaced it with the present steam mill, which has three run of stones, and does a flourishing custom business. The tannery built by Musser and others has been in disuse since 1878. Its last occupant was John Thomas, who carried it on from 1865 to 1878. P. C. Weimer has a saw-mill in Coloma, in connection with which he operates a basket manufactory, and between the two enterprises carries on a lively trade. Pioneer Blacksmith.-Abram Smith, who opened the pioneer blacksmith-shop on the south side of the Paw Paw, in Hagar, was also the pioneer blacksmith in Coloma. He settled near the place in 1845, and when Gilson & Osgood built their saw-mill, in 1849, Smith did all the mill blacksmithing. He put up the frame of the house built by Ives Wallingford in 1850,-the first frame house in Coloma. The lumber of which that house was built was the first lot sawed by Gilson & Osgood's mill. Mr. Smith is still pursuing his old business of blacksmithing in Coloma. The Coloma Post-Office.-Prior to 1857 the people at Coloma and vicinity received their mails at Watervliet village. In that year an office was established at Coloma, and Dr. H. M. Marvin appointed postmaster. He was succeeded in 1859 by J. H. Marvin, who retired in 1861 in favor of C. C. Perry. Mr. Perry's successors have been J. H. Marvin, A. I. Brush, J. H. Marvin (third term), and Lysander Vincent, who was appointed in 1874. The Name Coloma.-In 1850, Stephen R. Gilson, his son Warren, and one Anton Timart, a tanner, of St. Joseph. fitted out a team and wagon for California, and at the same time Calvin Dickson, of Watervliet, and Wallis Taber, of Bainbridge, fitted out another, both parties starting in company for the land of gold. When Gilson left for California, in 1850, "Dickerville" contained, besides his own, the families of Gilson Osgood, Ira Wilks, Martin Musser, Abram Coleman, Charles Bostwick, and Abner Crossman. In 1853, Mr. Gilson returned from California, conveyed his family to Benton (they had remained behind in Dickerville), and after a two years' sojourn there he returned to his old place in Watervliet township, made a purchase of considerable property in that vicinity, put up a. steam saw-mill on the bank of the Paw Paw, platted the village, and setting aside the time-worn and not very euphonious appellation of Dickerville, gave it the name of Coloma, in remembrance of the village near which he lived during his stay in California. Coloma is the Spanish name of a fragrant and beautiful flower that grows on the Pacific slope. The Taverns of Coloma.-In 1851, Charles Bostwick discontinued the select school he started in 1849 and sold the school building to Moses Sargent, who converted it into a tavern. One Hibbard was the landlord after Sargent's time, and in 1858 Gilson Osgood bought the property, materially added to and improved it, and opened i( as the Osgood House. As such it has been known ever since, and has been conducted by an Osgood; Marcus, a son of Gilson Osgood, being now the landlord. In 1871, Minot Ingraham built the St. Cloud Hotel at the railway depot, and is still its proprietor. NEW COLOMA. In 1869, pending the completion of the railroad to that point, certain land-speculators, to secure the location of the railway-station on its present site, donated the ground for it, and having, in anticipation of such a move, purchased quite a land-tract near there, laid out village lots, and used extraordinary efforts to sell them and to convince prospective purchasers that the building of the railway-station at that point would create a new village which would entirely extinguish old Coloma and enrich those who were fortunate enough to secure their village lots. Some sales were made, dwellings and stores began to embellish the plain, and everything seemed to indicate that the new Coloma would really j:i ~~:~ ::~: ~~~ i:. I::.~ ~~: "~~~I~-... i._ ~I-. ~ ~..1 ~~ — ~~.;~ " i _~ ~:: tES. OF J ULt-'H KNA t, WATERVLI ET I R, BERRIEN CO.,MICH. TOWNSHIP OF WATERVLIET. 345 eclipse the old town. But its growth was suddenly checked by the reluctance with which the neighboring people patronized the business enterprises of the new town, and by the persistency with which everybody, except owners of lots in the new village, stood by the old town. As a result, New Coloma closed its stores for want of patronage; people who had promised to pay for lots forfeited them, and the original speculators, having advanced much money to pay for improvements, found them left on their hands. Naturally, they were bankrupted, and New Coloma became a barren reminder of promised greatness, which is much its aspect to-day. SETTLEMENTS IN WATERVLIET AFTER 1842. The hard winter of 1842-43 is still vividly recollected as a season of exceedingly cold weather and deep snows. Much hardship and suffering were experienced by settlers, and upon their stock especially the rigors of that period entailed considerable loss of life. Traveling about the country was oftentimes a matter of difficult undertaking, for the heavy snows frequently made the roads impassable for days. Game perished for lack of food, and instances are related by dwellers in Watervliet of wild turkeys coming into the village and feeding tamely upon corn thrown to them,-the depth of the snow in the country and its long continuance having deprived them of their usual means of subsistence. One man tells how he went out into the woods one day in search of his cows and found no less than seven deer lying upon the snow, dead of cold and hunger. Altogether the " hard winter" was a memorable one, and will scarcely be forgotten by those who passed through it. During the hard winter of 1842-43, Alonzo and Austin Beaman came to Watervliet from New York, with their families, and settled on adjoining farms,-Alonzo on what is known as the Yates place, and Austin on section 1, the farm being now known as the Stickney place. Austin sold to Stephen Hastings, moved to Watervliet, where he kept Swain's boarding-house a year, went to Hartford, and in 1865 returned to Watervliet, where he died in 1874. Stephen Hastings, above spoken of, was from Massachusetts, and upon purchasing Beaman's farm was joined by his brother Rufus, both of them living on the place together. Stephen afterwards bought another farm on the same section, and died there in 1851. Rufus now lives in Hartford. Alonzo Beaman sold his farm in 1851 to Abram Yates, who lives on it now, Beaman removing to Iowa, where he has since remained. The farm once occupied by Rufus Hastings is now owned by Zephaniah Stickney. When the Beamans settled they had no neighbors nearer than Watervliet village. That part of the country was unbroken, and as to roads they were, of course, out of the question. Lucy, daughter of Austin Beaman, the first white child born in the township on that side the river, lives now in Watervliet village. In the summer of 1844, James I. Redding, of St. Joseph Co., Ind., came to Watervliet, with his wife and seven children, and moved into a building which Israel Kellogg had been using for a store and dwelling, but which was then abandoned, Kellogg having gone to Kalamazoo to live. This old store just stood west of the present Osgood House, 44 and there Kellogg lived and traded a short time after he removed from Watervliet village, although from all reports he could not have traded very extensively since his stock of goods was small, as was his store. Redding had bought his farm of Smith & Merrick through Gilson Osgood, but he did not like the place, and after remaining about a year and a half gave it up and moved to Watervliet, where he rented Smith & Merrick's mill, and afterwards opened a store there, which he continued to keep until his death, in 1849. Of the seven children who came to Michigan with him in 1844, the only one living in the township is Mrs. Russell McKee. Simeon Hawks, of Franklin Co., N. Y., started for Michigan in 1844, with his wife and eight children. At Rochester the old folks and four of the youngest children halted a while, the four eldest children going on, and the parents following soon afterwards; all met at Watervliet, according to previous understanding. They lived in the village long enough to enable Mr. Hawks to buy of Smith & Merrick a farm on section 24, east of the village, and to put up a cabin, when all moved out there. In the following year-that is to say, 1845-Erasmus D. Earl and wife, the latter being Mr. Hawks' daughter, came to Watervliet and located on a farm near the Hawks family. The elder iHawks died on the old place in 1864, and there his son Cortes now lives. Of the eight children who came with the paternal Hawks in 1844, those living in the township are Mrs. Henry Hutchins, Cortes, and Azar Hawks. Mr. Earl moved to Iowa in 1857, and still resides there. John Merrifield, of New York State, was a settler in Watervliet in 1844, and upon his arrival bought Moses Osgood's 80-acre farm, on section 30, upon which 25 acres had been cleared and broken; Osgood having also set out an orchard of 100 trees. The elder Merrifield died there in 1851. Of the sons who came out with him, William and S. P. now live in the township. The spring of 1844 brought also Jarrett Ingraham and his family to Berrien County from New York State. They journeyed overland to Bainbridge, where Mrs. Joseph Vincent (one of Ingraham's daughters) lived, and remained with her until fall. Ingraham located in Watervliet, where he had bought several hundred acres of land, on sections 4 and 5. At the time of Mr. Ingraham's location there no settlers were on that side of the river except Austin and Alonzo Beaman. Mr. Ingraham had intended half of his land-purchase for his son Minot, who, with his wife and child, joined his father in the fall of 1845, by which time the elder Ingraham had underbrushed a road from the river to his place, and on the latter had put up a log cabin, into which Minot moved for a temporary home. When Minot came, the only roads thereabout were the St. Joseph and Paw Paw road, passing east and west between Coloma and Riverside. In the following spring he was chosen a highway commissioner, and did some effective work in laying out much-needed roads. It is worthy of note that the two-horse carriage in which Minot Ingraham and his family traveled from Detroit to Watervliet (having shipped it via Lake Erie from Buffalo) was the first vehicle of that description ever owned in the township. In the spring of 1845, besides assisting in laying out 346 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I I roads, Minot Ingraham joined with Stephen R. Gilson in establishing a ferry across the Paw Paw River at Coloma. The elder Ingraham exchanged his Watervliet farm, in 1848, with George Peters for a farm in Bainbridge, where he died in 1852. Peters sold the Ingraham tract to Andrew Pitcher in 1850. Minot lived on his farm until 1869, when he moved to Coloma, where, in 1871, he built a hotel and store, near the railway-depot, and where he now lives. The original 280 acres he bought through his father he still owns, and leases to his sons. Ives Wallingford, with his wife and four children, moved from St. Joseph Co., Ind., to Watervliet in the spring of 1844, having bargained with Alfred Sensebaugh for land on section 19, which Sensebaugh had taken from Smith & Merrick on contract, cleared and broke 20 acres, and then turned the contract over to Wallingford. The latter moved his family into a log school-house, and lived there until his own shanty was finished. Mr. Wallingford lived on the farm until 1850, when he moved into what is now the village of Coloma, and there, in that year, built the first frame house erected there. It stands yet, adjoining the Osgood House on the southwest, and is occupied as the residence of Mr. Shaner. Since 1850 Mr. Wallingford has resided in Coloma. Abner Bratton, of Genesee Co., N. Y.. was a settler in 1844, having moved into Calhoun County in 1838, and from there to Watervliet in 1844. He bought 80 acres on section 19, adjoining William Merrifield on the east, of Smith & Merrick, and after living there three years moved to a farm on section'30, where he died in February, 1876. His son Milo lives in the township, on section 31. In April, 1845, a party of 13 entered Watervliet in company from Elkhart, Ind., whence they had journeyed in wagons. The party included Crain Valentine, his wife, and five children, Martin Musser (Mrs. Valentine's brother), his wife, and four children. Valentine bought 40 acres on section 28, on the Watervliet and Coloma road, and Musser 80 on the same road half a mile west. Musser put, with Gilson Osgood, Odell, and Clark, a tannery on Tannery Creek, and removing afterwards to 40 acres east, near Watervliet, put up a second tannery. Musser went to Nebraska in 1864, and now lives in Kansas. Mr. Valentine still lives upon the place he settled in 1845. When Valentine and Musser settled there was no inhabitant on the east-and-west road passing from Watervliet to Coloma, except the Redding family. The road itself was but a single wagon-track through a wilderness of blackberry bushes, and passable only with considerable difficulty. In October, 1844, Ira Wilks, of Orange, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, engaged with William Fairbanks to take a drove of cattle from Orange to Berrien Springs, Mich., and while there he bought 93 acres of land on section 21, in Watervliet, belonging to one Williams, a lawyer of Cleveland. He visited Chicago, and returning to Ohio, prepared to remove as a settler to his Michigan purchase. In October, 1845, accordingly, he set out from Orange with his father, Nathan, his mother, his brother-in-law, Abram Coleman, and the latter's wife,-the company traveling overland in wagons drawn by horses and oxen. Arriving in Watervliet, they moved into a cabin on land previously occupied by Martin Musser, and lived there until places of their own could be prepared for habitation. Coleman and the elder Wilks bought of Smith & Merrick 40 acres each on section 28. Wilks died there about a year after his arrival. Coleman died on his farm in 1870. Ira Wilks lived in Watervliet until 1870, and then went to Iowa, whence, returning not long after, he resumed his residence in Watervliet, and still lives there. He relates that when he came, in 1845, the only traveled road was the St. Joseph and Paw Paw road, which in Watervliet was at best a rough thoroughfare, confined by a high growth of bushes to a single track just wide enough for one wagon, and provided at stated points with " turn-outs." Harvey Kingsbury was a settler in 1845 upon a farm east of Watervliet village, and in the same year William Duvall, with his family, moved from Bainbridge to section 31 in Watervliet, where he had bought a farm of a Mr. Angell in 1844. At the same time he bought 80 acres south of Watervliet village, which he sold to John Tyler. He lived upon section 31 until his death, in 1878. His children now living in the township are Mrs. Briggs Gould and G. G. Duvall. Henry R. Holland, originally of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., went to Chicago in 1844, and in 1846 came to Watervliet village, where he put up a blacksmith-shop opposite the saw-mill, and purchased also an unfinished dwelling-house begun by Cornelius Williams, the house being now the residence of Mr. Van Natter. Mr. Holland became somewhat famous as a maker of axes, and people came frequently from Paw Paw and points equally distant to buy Holland's axes. In 1849 he went to California, but soon returned, in 1850, and entered a farm near Watervliet village, on sections 23 and 26, where his son Edward lives. In 1856 he opened a store in Watervliet village, as one of the firm of Holland & Smith, and continued in the trade until 1859. Mr. Holland removed to Missouri some time ago, but visits Michigan frequently to look after his interests in the State. Delos Bryant settled in Hagar in 1845, coming from Calhoun Co., Mich. He located in 1847 upon section 29 in Watervliet, and after living there until 1870 removed to Coloma, which is now his home. W. W. McKee (a brother-in-law of Isaac N. Swain), now a resident on the Watervliet and Coloma road, came in February, 1848, to Watervliet village, with his wife and seven children, having traveled by team from Ohio, in which State he had been a settler two years. Mr. McKee bought a farm of I. N. Swain, but during the ensuing seven years continued to reside in the village, meanwhile cultivating his place. In 1855 he moved there with his family, and since then has made it his htome. Mr. McKee says that when he became a resident of Watervliet village, in 1848, there were living there the Reddings, Dr. Wheeler, H. R. Holland, Cornelius Williams, Philo Woodruff, and the Stoughtons. On the present road to Coloma were the Wilks, Valentines, and Colemans. On the east were the Tamlins, Hawks, Kingsburys, and Smalls. On the south the nearest neighbor was distant three miles. Jesse Woodward, a Vermonter, came West in 1849, and joined his brother Abner in Hagar township. He remained there a few days, and then established his family in Dicker TOWNSHIP OF WATERVLIET. 347 ville, while he busied himself with the task of clearing a tract of 120 acres of land on section 21, which had belonged to Griffith, Hoyt & Co. In 1850 he moved his family, and there made his home until 1876, when lie changed his residence to Coloma, where he now lives. Abner, his brother, just mentioned, left Hagar in 1854 and settled upon a farm adjoining Jesse, where he died in 1857. In the fall of 1850, Uriah Harris, of Ohio, settled with his family upon 118 acres of land formerly occupied by Gilson Osgood. He died there in 1865, leaving a widow, who now resides in Coloma. In 1850, also, Andrew Pitcher, of Bainbridge, bought of George Peters 280 acres of land on sections 4 and 5, which Peters had bought of Jarrett Ingraham. Pitcher lived on the place until 1873, when he moved to Coloma, which has since been his residence. When Pitcher settled there the only family in that region north of the river was that of Minot Ingraham, and the only house between Pitcher's and South Haven was that of a Mr. Youngs. Elkanah Carter, who lives just west of Coloma, was in 1838 a resident of Watervliet, having in that year come from New York State to work for Smith & Merrick. He returned to New York in 1840, and in 1865, making his second trip to Watervliet, became a permanent settler. SOLDIERS OF 1812. On section 6, in the northwest corner of the township, lives William H. Shiver, whose father, John, living, at the age of ninety-foul: near his son's place, was a soldier of the war of 1812, during which conflict he served as teamster. He was at a later period in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company, and occasionally tells of his rugged experience while in the latter service,-a service, he says, full of danger, hardship, and suffering, although not devoid of a certain kind of interest. William Shiver settled on section 6 in 1858, and at that late day there were but three houses between his place and Coloma,-the houses of Mr. Van Hoesen, Charles Roome, and Moses Osgood. Shiver bought his land of Isaac K. Finch, and when he moved upon it it was all a forest except one acre. Deer were exceedingly plentiful, roads were few and poor, and the pioneer's existence in that quarter brought quite as much of privation as it had in other portions of the township fifteen years before. Another old soldier living in Watervliet is George Smith, father of Sebastian Smith. He came to the township in 1859, since which time he has lived with his son. He served eight months in the war of 1812-15, and although in his eighty-eighth year is a man of fine, commanding physique, promising fair to enjoy at least another decade of life. PHYSICIANS. Dr. J. H. Wheeler was the first physician to locate at Watervliet (in 1846), although before his time Dr. J. H. Crawford, the first settled physician in the township, used to practice at Watervliet occasionally, but at no time did he live there. Dr. Wheeler moved subsequently to Coloma. Dr. B. B. Tucker commenced medical practice in Water vliet in 1857, and since that time, until recently, he has pursued his profession in the village. He is now virtually retired from active practice, although still conducting a pros perous drug business, with which he has been concerned for many years. Following Dr. Tucker the physicians in Watervliet may be named as Drs. Lamb, Lindsley, Dunning, R. B. Lawrence, L. B. Foster, and S. D. Walden, the latter three being now the practicing physicians of the place. The first physician to practice in Watervliet has already been named in Dr. J. H. Crawford, who in 1841 settled about a mile south of the site of Coloma, near Becker's Lake. Dr. Crawford did not intend to practice medicine when he became a settler, but circumstances, aided by.frequent appeals for his services, led him to take it up, and he soon acquired a practice that employed about his whole time and took him over a wide range of territory. Although business was good, the country did not agree with Dr. Crawford,-that is to say, sickness began to fasten itself upon him as well as upon others, and succumbing evertually to illness and the loneliness of his situation in a wild country, he returned to Ohio, his place of former residence. So anxious was he to get away that, being too ill to walk or sit up even, he caused himself to be conveyed eastward upon his sick-bed. Dr. Crawford's successor as a practitioner in the township was Dr. J. H. Wheeler, who settled in Watervliet village about 1846. Upon the death of his wife he removed to Coloma, and after practicing there for a time occupied a farm west of the village, and not long after left the township. In 1855, Dr. H. M. Marvin came to Coloma, and with the exception of one year, spent in the government service, has practiced continuously in the village until the present time. While Dr. Marvin was serving as surgeon in the United States army, in 1864, Dr. Hamilton practiced in Coloma about four months, until his death. The physicians are Drs. Marvin, Wakeman, Ryno, and Baker. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL LIST. Watervliet, originally a part of St. Joseph township, was set off as a part of Paw Paw township March 7, 1834, attached to Bainbridge April 2, 1838, and was set off in 1846 from the latter as a separate township. The township records dating from 1846 to 1868 were destroyed by fire in 1867, and thus much documentary evidence bearing upon Watervliet's early history is lost, while the list of township officials can be given only from 1868 to the present time. The township was named from Watervliet village, which was originally known as Waterford; but that name being borne by another postal station in the State, a change was made to Watervliet, a Dutch term signifying "flowing water." The affairs of the township are directed by a township board, whose members in 1879 were W. M. Baldwin, Supervisor; W. A. Baker, Township Clerk, and Abram Smith, Justice of the Peace. The school inspectors were R. R. Lawrence, Sawyer Ball, and Wm. A. Baker. The justices of the peace were Sawyer Ball, Abram Smith, Oscar Terry, and E. H. Goldman. The following list is of persons who have filled the offices of supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and justice of the peace from 1868 to the present time: 348 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. _ _I 1868.-Supervisor, James H. Marvin; Clerk, H. C. Matran; Treasurer, James W. Weimer; Justices of the Peace, William Brown, Isaac B. Standish. 1869.-Supervisor, James H. Marvin; Clerk, W. M. Baldwin; Treasurer, J. W. Weimer; Justice of the Peace, Austin Beanan. 1870.-Supervisor, James H. Marvin; Clerk, Charles C. Perry; Treasurer, J. W. Weimer; Justice of the Peace, J. H1. Marvin. 1871.-Supervisor, William H. Merrifield; Clerk, Charles C. Perry; Treasurer, J. W. Weimer; Justice of the Peace, George A. Ray. 1872.-Supervisor, Joseph W. Weimer; Clerk, Edwin R. Havens; Treasurer, Marcus Osgood; Justice of the Peace, Charles C. Perry. 1873.-Supervisor, Sawyer Ball; Clerk, Edwin R. Havens; Treasurer, Marcus Osgood; Justice of the Peace, Austin Beaman. 1874.-Supervisor, S. P. Merrifield; Clerk, Edwin R. Havens; Treasurer, Charles Kennicott; Justice of the Peace, Edwin R. Havens. 1875.-Supervisor, S. P. Merrifield; Clerk, Edwin R. Havens; Treasurer, Charles Kennicott; Justices of the Peace, Elias R. Welsh, George A. Ray, Sawyer Ball. 1876.-Supervisor, P. A. Bowe; Clerk, E. R. Iavens; Treasurer, John W. Knapp; Justices of the Peace, Sawyer Ball, Oscar Terry. 1877.-Supervisor, S. P. Merrifield; Clerk, Sawyer Ball; Treasurer, W. M. Baldwin; Justice of the Peace, Abram Smith. 1878.-Supervisor, S. P. Merrifield; Clerk, John Thomas; Treasurer, William Baldwin; Justice of the Peace, R. N. Van Matter. 1879.-Supervisor, W. M. Baldwin; Clerk, William A. Baker; Treasurer, John W. Knapp; Justices of the Peace, E. H. Goldman, Oscar Terry. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Coloma. - The early records of the Coloma Methodist Episcopal Church are lost, and the fragments of history obtainable about the first days of the organization are necessarily meagre. About the year 1844 a Methodist class was formed at a schoolhouse about a mile west of Coloma, and from the fact that a hill near there, known as Mount Hope, was donated to the church for a cemetery, the class was named Mount Hope. It may be here observed that the soil of Mount Hope proving unsuitable for the purpose, the proposed cemetery was not established there. Among the members of the Mount Hope class whose names can be recalled were Martin Musser and wife, Robert and Eliza Merrifield, James S. Johnson and wife, Jeremiah Smith and wife, Alfred Sensebaugh and wife, J. H. Crawford and wife, -Martin Musser being the class-leader. After Coloma began to assume the dignity of a village, the class changed its place of worship to that point, and continued to use the township school-house until the completion at Coloma, in 1859, of the Congregational church edifice, which from that time until October, 1879, served as the place of meetings. At the time last mentioned, the Methodists dedicated a handsome church of their own, which they had built at Coloma during the summer. From 1844 to 1847, when the church was attached to the Silver Creek circuit, the pastors were Revs. A. C. Shaw, I. C. Abbott, and E. House. From 1847 to 1856, when it was attached to the St. Joseph circuit, the pastors were Revs. T. P. McCool, E. L. Kellogg, Ransom Goodall, Geo. King, B. F. Doughty, Charles Barnes, Thomas Clark, J. W. Rob inson, W. F. Jenkins, Milo Corey, T. H. Bignall, R. Watson, S. Hendrickson, T. G. Jakeway, Charles Barnes. Since 1856 the church has been attached to the Coloma circuit, and the pastors have been Wm. Stafford, T. G. Jakeway, E. L. Kellogg, J. Hoyt, H. M. Joy, A. J. Eldred, H. Caldwell, Rowland Soule, G. S. Harder, H. Penfield, D. C. Woodward, E. D. Bacon, F. Glass, H. Hall, T. Edward, J. P. Force, C. C. Olds, V. Mason, I. B. Tallman, G. C. Elliott, G. W. Gosling. A. R. Boggs,-the latter being the pastor, October, 1879. The membership is now 60, and church affairs are prosperous to a gratifying extent. The officers are as follows: Class-Leader, Delos Bryant; Trustees, J. M. Guy, T. Becker, J. M. Worden, T. R. Gilson, S. Bachman, E. Carter, A. W. Crumb, D. Bryant, T. Carter; Stewards, J. M. Guy, T. Becker, S. Bachman, J. M. Worden, A. E. Kingsley. The pastor holds services each Sunday, and preaches each Sunday also in Watervliet village. A Union Sunday-School, supported by the Congregationalists and Methodists, has sessions each Sunday in the Congregational church. The scholars number 40, and are under the charge of Sawyer Ball, superintendent, and a corps of 8 teachers. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Watervliet.-The church now worshiping at Watervliet village, and attached to the Coloma circuit, was organized about the year 1846, although the exact date of that event, as well as early events of interest, cannot be recited, for the reason that the early church records are lost. James I. Redding was the first class-leader, and for twenty-three years, or until 1869, the church met for worship in the Watervliet school-house. In the year mentioned the church edifice now in use was erected. The list of pastors who have served the church will be found identical with that given in the history of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Coloma, since both churches have always been in the same charge. The church trustees are now W. W. Allen, Oscar Terry, S. C. Price, Sebastian Smith, and J. J. Brooks. W. W. Allen, Oscar Terry, and A. N. Woodruff are the Stewards, C. H. Johnson the Class-Leader, and John Worden the District Steward. The church membership is 69. A Union Sunday-School, with a flourishing membership of from 80 to 100 scholars, meets in the church every Sabbath. Mr. George Parsons is the superintendent, and is assisted by 12 teachers. The First Congregational Church.-Pursuant to a call to organize a Congregational Church in Watervliet, a council convened in Coloma, June 16, 1853, with Rev. Wm. C. Denison as moderator and Rev. Eleazer Andrus as secretary. Certificates were presented by Rev. William H. Osborn, Charles C. Johnson, Ives Wallingford, James Scott, Lucina Marvin, Lucina Marvin Osborn, Maria Wallingford, Mrs. Scott, Lucy Ann Crumb, Sarah M. Johnson. Rev. William H. Osborn, formerly a Free-Will Baptist minister, was engaged as pastor, and Charles C. Johnson chosen deacon. The first sacrament was administered by Rev. Thomas Jones. Preaching was at first held in the "Dickerville" school-house. March 26, 1854, 10 members were received into the church. Rev. Mr. Osborn ceased his labors with the church in June, 1856, from which time to June, 1857, there was no minister. Elder A. Rowe was then called to the charge, at which time the church membership was exceedingly feeble and scattered, and, to quote from the church TOWNSHIP OF WATERVLIET. 349 records, "religion was in a low state." Jan. 9, 1858, there was an upward movement, when 13 members were added, and James Patterson elected deacon. In 1855 the erection of a church edifice was begun, but the completion lagged until 1859, when the house was dedicated; the Home Missionary Aid Society eventually coming to the assistance of the church in the matter, while members of the Methodist Church likewise gave some aid, wherefore the structure was known as the Union Church. Elder William B. Campbell began his term as pastor in 1860. From 1865 to 1867 there was no regular pastor, but in the latter year Rev. E. M. Shaw assumed charge, and remained one year. Upon the retirement of Mr. Shaw the church ceased its active existence, although still retaining its organization, and this condition of affairs endured until December, 1876, when Rev. W. B. Williams, superintendent of missions, revived the church, preached a few times, restored a measure of the lost strength, and in September, 1877, secured Rev. N. D. Lamphear as pastor. Mr. Lamphear was in charge October, 1879, when the membership was 25. At that time, E. P. Luce and J. L. Marvin were officiating as deacons. Christian Church.-In 1857, 35 persons met in the red school-house, just over the river from Coloma, and by Elder B. I. Curtis were organized as the Christian Church of Coloma. Jesse Woodward, who was then chosen deacon, has continued in that office to the present, James Stalker being now a deacon with him. Succeeding Elder Curtis the pastors have been Elders Ira B. Winch, - McGeorge, - Wilson, -- McDaniel, G. W. Sherman, - Norman, and Reason Davis. Upon beginning his term of service, in March, 1878, Mr. Davis inaugurated a spirited revival, and so fruitful were his labors that at the close of the revival 130 persons had been received as members of the church. Mr. Davis still serves as pastor, and preaches in the school-house "across the river"; and although the membership of the church is claimed to be 125 no church edifice has yet been erected. Previous to 1875, when the members of the faith in Deerfield worshiped with this congregation, the membership reached at times as high as 200. A flourishing Sabbath-school, in charge of James Stalker, is attached to the church. Jesse Woodward, one of the first members of the church, served as superintendent of the Sabbath-school fifteen years previous to 1876. BURIAL-GROUND. The village grave-yard first used is still to be seen, but it has long been a disused, forlorn-looking place. Four or five weed-covered graves, surrounded by a picket fence, are there, and near there is what is said to be an Indian mound, where Indian bodies were once buried, and where bones have been turned over by the pioneer plowshare. In the old grave-yard John Stronner buried two children, and there also Mr. Miller, a brother of James Redding's wife, was buried. SCHOOLS. Reference has already been made elsewhere to the first school and first school-teacher in Watervliet. Especial attention is called to the fact that in its earliest days Dickerville was chosen as the location of a select school of some pretensions. Charles Bostwick erected in 1849 a goodsized building, which he opened as a school, and of which he promised something more than ordinary in the way of educational achievements. Bostwick himself was a teacher, and to assist him in conducting the school he engaged S. P. Merrifield, then, as now, a resident in the neighborhood. Under their administration the institution flourished for a time, but upon the establishment of common schools it lost its prestige, and being discontinued, was succeeded in the same structure by a tavern, now the Osgood House. The condition of the schools of Watervliet, Sept. 1, 1879, as shown in the report for that year, was as follows: Number of districts, 7 (5 whole, 2 fractional). Number of children of school age, 570. Average attendance, 442. Value of school property, District No. 1, $1500; No. 2, $2500; No. 3, $100; No. 4, $500; No. 5, $250; No. 7, $600; No. 8, $800; total, $6350. Whole number of teachers, 16. Amount paid for teachers' wages, $1693.50. School directors, District No. 1, S. Shoup; No. 2 (graded school), Oscar Terry; No. 3 (fractional), Ch. Becht; No. 4, Perry Johnson; No. 5 (fractional), Milo Baker; No. 7, J. H. Jones; No. 8 (fractional), G. W. Blackman. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Coloma Lodge, No. 162, F. and A. M., was chartered Jan. 13, 1865, with the following members: John L. Marvin, W. M.; W. W. McKee, S. W.; Milo Bratton, J. W.; Archibald Stewart, A. I. Brush, Gilson Osgood, Marcus Osgood, J. C. Pike, J. H. Marvin, and B. B. Tucker. The Worshipful Masters who have served since 1865 have been J. L. Marvin, B. B. Tucker, J. H. Marvin, W. W. McKee, Milo Bratton, H. M. Marvin, Archibald Stewart. The membership Oct. 1, 1879, was 34, when the officers were J. L. Marvin, W. M.; Archibald Stewart, S. W.; James Hanna, J. W.; Marcus Osgood, Sec.; Jesse Woodward, Treas.; H. M. Marvin, S. D.; Thomas Becker, J. D.; George Golden, Tiler. Henry Chamberlain Lodge, F. and A. M., No. 308, was organized Jan. 17, 1873, when B. B. Tucker was chosen Master, B W. Sutherland, Senior Warden, and J. W. Knapp, Junior Warden. The Masters of the lodge since organization have been B. B. Tucker, B. W. Sutherland, and S. D. Walden. The membership is now 22, and the officers are S. D. Walden, M.; B. W. Sutherland, S. W.; John Hammill, J. W.; L. J. Barnard, Sec.; J. S. Burnside, Treas. The lodge holds its sessions in Watervliet village. Coloma Lodge, No. 140, 1 0. 0. F., received its charter Jan. 20, 1871, and as charter members had I. B. Winch, J. 0. Keith, Jesse Woodward, George Strong, and E. Brant. There are now 45 members, and officers as follows: G. G. Duvall, N. G.; R. R. Hewson, V. G.; M. V. Buchanan, R. S.; J. M. Luce, P. S.; Martin Miller, Treas. Regular sessions are held every Wednesday. Degree Lodge, Daughters of Rebecca, No. 19, was chartered Feb. 22, 1879, with 20 members, but worked from February, 1874, under dispensation, as Lodge No. 73. The membership was 30 in October, 1879, when the officers were Mrs. S. E. Miller, N. G.; Mrs. M. V. Buchanan, V. G.; Agnes Duval, R. S.; Mrs. George Hewitt, Treas.; Mrs. S. Shupe, F. S.; J. H. Jones, D. G. M. 350 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Oviatt Lodge, No. 160, I 0. O. F., was organized April 27,1871, with the following members: R. C. Brown, N. G.; T. A. Pockett, V. G.; W. W. Allen, Sec.; Cortes Hawks, Treas.; and H. E. Holland, Wesley Vincent, and C. H. Johnson. Members received at the first meeting were S. D. Walden, D. C. Johnson, H. B. Bradt, J. V. Hone, Darius Chatfield. The lodge worked under dispensation until Jan. 18, 1872, when a charter was granted. The Noble Grands of the lodge since its organization have been R. C. Brown, T. A. Pockett, S. D. Walden, C. H. Johnson, D. S. Newton, H. B. Bradt, S. C. Price, Darius Chatfield, D. C. Johnson, H. E. Holland, Henry Gammer, J. D. Wigeant, D. A. Wright, D. Randall, and Darius Chatfield. The membership is now 28 and the officers as follows: D. Randall, S. P. G.; D. Chatfield, N. G; P. 0. Bowe, V. G.; H. B. Bradt, Sec.; Lute Jaffrey, P. Sec.; Charles Johnson, Treas.; Duane Wigeant, I. G. Regular meetings are held every Monday night in Watervliet village. The Watervliet Silver Cornet Band flourished briskly for a space of six years. It was organized by S. D. Walden in 1872, with 13 pieces, and until 1878, under the leadership of Mr. Walden, was an affair of some consequence. In that year the band was dissolved and the property sold. Home Grange, No. 188, P. of H., was organized Dec. 30, 1873, at the house of Michael Smith, in Hagar township. The charter members were Lyman Cole, Lucinda Cole, William Jeffrey, Almira Jeffrey, De Witt Guy, A. Barnum, S. A. Barnum, Alfred Smith, Mary Smith, Isaac Farnum, Angeline Farnum, Michael Smith, Margaret Smith, George Merrifield, Belle Merrifield, Roswell Curtis, C. H. Curtis, Emma Curtis, C. D. Stanley, M. R. Stanley, Franklin Ripley, Leonard Dade, Sarah Dade, J. C. Lewis, Porter Buckley. May 12, 1877, Coloma was declared to be the centre of jurisdiction, and the grange domicile was therefore removed to that village, where it has since remained. The membership Oct. 1, 1879, was 30; the officers were Miram Fish, Master; J. L. McKean, Lecturer; H. W. Peck, Steward; E. Buckley, Assistant Steward; I. K. Shimer, Overseer; Mrs. Deetrick, Chaplain; William Collier, Treas.; Helen Finch, Sec.; R. Lee, Gate-Keeper; Mrs. Jane Huyck, Ceres; Sarah Fish, Pomona; Mahala Collier, Flora; M. M. Shimer, Lady Assistant Steward. Watervliet Grange, No. 149, was organized in 1873, and in 1876 losing much of its membership to newly-organized granges in the neighborhood, was dissolved that year. Watervliet Lodge, No. 903, 1. 0. G. T., was organized Oct. 28, 1875, with members as follows: S. M. Shirey, L. Reuseau, C. A. Hawks, Mrs. Delano, E. Shirey, F. Griffith, A. Griffith, H. Gammer, S. H. Dill, E. Delano, L. Delano, E. N. Delano, M. S. Slater, G. Hutchinson, E. Hutchinson, E. R. Holland, D. C. Johnson, Mrs. Ganmmer, S. L. Randall, D. S. Wigeant, C. F. Teetzel, W. Griffith, S. S. Dill, D. A. Wright, L. E. Dill, I. M. Dill, W. Teetzel, J. E. Dill, Flora Johnson, P. L. Delano. The Past Worthy Chief Templars are D. C. Johnson, S. L. Randall, S. H. Dill, Mrs. Knapp. The present membership is 45. The officers are D. C. Johnson, W. C. T.; Mrs. Delano, W. V. T.; Mrs. Bradt, W. Chap.; Hayes Dill, W. Sec.; L. E. Delano, W. A. S.; R. E. Wigeant, W. F. S.; Uriah Wood, W. T.; Mertie Burke, W. M.; John McDonald, W. D. M.; Tempie Wigeant, W. I. G.; Perry Newcomb, W. O. G.; Minnie Brooks, W. L. H. S.; Myra Spencer, W. R. H. S.; Mrs. Knapp, P. W. C. T. Coloma Lodge, 1. O. G.'T., No. 652, was organized in 1859, but thriving poorly, lapsed into inactivity. In 1869 there was a reorganization, with 14 members,/and for a few years matters prospered; but in 1877 another era of inaction set in, and from that time to the present the lodge has had no meetings. The Order of United American Mechanics, said to be the only one of its kind in the State, was organized March 9, 1878, with 24 members, and for a time held regular sessions at Watervliet village, while a permanent prosperity appeared to be assured. After a time, the interest of the members flagged, and sessions of the organization have been very few during the past year. Efforts are being made to revive the matter, but the show for success is by no means flattering. CURIOUS RELIC. A curious relic was discovered at Watervliet in 1837, during the digging of the race for Smith & Merrick's mills. Joseph Matran, one of the workmen, and now a farmer of Bainbridge, turned up with his spade a tooth of enormous size. It passed into the hands of scientific men, and was produced for discussion in numerous assemblies of the learned, who decided that it had belonged to some creature larger by far than the elephant or any other beast of the present day, and among whom it created for a time a very marked sensation. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. EDWARD BRANT. This gentleman is the son of Mason and Almira (Tobias) Brant, and one of a family of six children. He was born in Ionia Co., Mich., May 7, 1845. His father was a native of New York, and his mother of Ohio. The elder Brant was a farmer by occupation, and removed to Ionia Co., Mich., in 1838. He went to California in 1849 and died there, leaving his wife and children to struggle for their own maintenance. Mrs. Brant again married, sold her home in Ionia, and came to Berrien County, accompanied by four of her children. Edward Brant remained with his mother until he had reached the age of thirteen years, when his services were hired by a man named Andrews, and for six months' work he received a shirt and a pair of overalls! His stipulated wages were five dollars a month, but were never paid. His subsequent experience was more encouraging, Messrs. Cassidy and Pearl paying him in full for his labor. For six years he was in the employ of Pierce & Co., extensive lumber dealers, who furnished work for sixty men, Mr. Brant being their foreman. At the age of twenty-one he married Miss Martha Carpenter, of Covert township, Van / LAKE VIEW FARM."- RES, OF HARVEY. C. SHERWOOD, WATERVLIErT T, BERRIEN CO.,MICH. TOWNSHIP OF WATERVLIET. 351 Buren Co. Her parents, who were natives of Canada, had a family of eight children, and settled early in Michigan. Her mother died when the child was but three years old, and her father's death occurred in 1869. About the time of his marriage Mr. Brant purchased twenty acres of land, which is included in his present farm of three hundred and sixty-three acres. This place has an excellent grain-producing soil, and is well adapted also to the raising of stock. Its owner has at present a fine flock of sheep, and besides his farming operations is extensively engaged in lumbering. His possessions in timber-land aggregate about eight hundred acres, in Berrien and Montcalm Counties, and he gives employment during the entire year to about forty men. Mr. and Mrs. Brant are the parents of four children, viz.: Mason, born Jan. 7, 1867; Carrie, born Nov. 11, 1869; Ida, born Aug. 7, 1871; Mertie, born May 15, 1879. The meaning of the appellation " self made man' is often perverted, but in the case of Mr. Brant the title is deservedly appropriate, and the result of his labors is an excellent example of what may, through industry, perseverance, and shrewd business tact, grow from a small beginning. HARVEY C. SHERWOOD. Mr. Sherwood, who is the son of Amos and Mary. (Campbell) Sherwood, and the seventh in a family of eleven 3hildren, of whom six are now living, was born Feb. 9, 1835, in Onondaga Co., N. Y., of which his mother, who was of Scotch descent, was also a native;. his father was born in Connecticut, but was of English descent. His parents were married in Onondaga County, Jan. 25, 1821. Mr. Sherwood remained at home until he was of age, and was given a thorough academical and scientific education, attending different seminaries and the academies at Homer and Onondaga Valley, graduating in the year 1853. His father, who in early life was a merchant, became afterwards a farmer, but remained an active business man, and died about the time his son reached his majority. H. C. Sherwood then went to Syracuse and engaged in business with his brother, Le Grand Sherwood. In 1865 their copartnership was dissolved by mutual consent, and H. C. Sherwood continued in business as a wholesale and retail grocer until 1870, being quite successful. In the latter year he disposed of his business in Syracuse and came to Michigan, and began improving his present fine farm, known as " Lake View," on the bank of Paw Paw Lake. Until 1875 lie only spent his summers here, returning for the winters to Syracuse, but in that yeai' he removed with his familyconsisting of his wife and one son, Robert H., born Jan. 12, 1864, who is now at Olivet College-to Michigan, where he permanently located. Mr. Sherwood was married, Sept. 4, 1861, to Elizabeth, youngest child of D. Alvord, one of the first to engage in the manufacture of salt at Syracuse, and who settled in Onondaga County in 1796. The present home of Mr. Sherwood consists of four hun dred acres, lying on Sections 11 and 12, in the township of Watervliet, and is especially adapted to fruit-raising. Mr. Sherwood already has forty acres set with peach, apple, and pear-trees, and sixteen acres of peach-trees are in fine bearing condition, the net profit from this source alone having been over ten thousand dollars in three years. This farm, when it became the property of Mr. Sherwood, was covered by a thick growth of timber, but at present about three hundred and fifty acres are improved and in a state of cultivation. Mr. Sherwood also pays considerable attention to the introduction of fine stock, which none appreciate better than he, and he is the present owner of two hundred Merino sheep, thirty head of cattle, and nine horses, some of the latter being of the famous Percheron Norman breed of draft horses. He raises considerable grain of various kinds; also owns a tract of fine timberland lying in Allegan and the southern part of Berrien Counties. He takes great pride in his farm, and labors to make it a model of its class. He is a member of the State Pomological Society, and takes deep interest in its affairs. He is also a member of the executive board of the Western Michigan Agricultural and Industrial Society. Politically, he has been a life-long Democrat. He and his wife united with the First Presbyterian Church of Syracuse, N. Y., soon after their marriage. W. W. ALLEN may be justly ranked among the self-made men of Watervliet township. He was born Aug. 28, 1836, in Stafford, Genesee Co., N. Y., and was the oldest in a family of four children. His parents-Albert and Sophronia (Tanner) W. W. ALLEN. Allen-were natives of New York. In 1837 his father came to Michigan and located at Jackson, where he remained about one year and removed to Geauga Co., Ohio, where he died in 1844. His occupation bad been that of a miller. Two of his children, a son and a daughter, also died within the same time, and his widow was left with two children and but little means. She returned to Genesee 352 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. County, N. Y., and W. W. Allen made his home with an uncle, on the latter's farm. His mother with her youngest child moved to Paw Paw, Mich., where she was married to Mr. N. R. Woodruff, and settled in the town of Bainbridge, Berrien Co. Her son remained with his uncle until he was twelve years old, when he followed his mother to Michigan, and for seven years lived with them in Bainbridge. At the end of that time-or at the age of nineteen-he engaged as clerk in the store of E. Smith & Co., at Paw Paw, and remained with them five years. In 1860, in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., he was married to Miss Jennie Irving, who was the youngest in a family of four children. Her parents had formerly resided in Canada, but were of Scotch descent, and removed to New York when the daughter was quite young. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are the parents of two children: Irving W., born April 26, 1863, and Blanche W., born Feb. 4, 1867. After his marriage Mr. Allen settled in Watervliet, and engaged in the mercantile business, which he has since continued, with marked success. His stock has been enlarged at various times until he has at present one of the finest stores in the county, and its name-" The Centennial Store"-is familiar to all. Mr. Allen began with a limited capital, but his credit was excellent and he was proved worthy of confidence, and his success in business is indeed gratifying. His early educational advantages were extremely limited, and beyond " subtraction" the principles of arithmetic were a blank to him. Politically he is a Republican, and cast his first vote for the lamented Lincoln. For nine years he held the office of postmaster, and finally resigned, as his business affairs occupied his time too fully to admit of his attending to the office. Mr. Allen and his wife united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1874. The parents of Mrs. Allen died when she was young. Mr. Allen is now the only living representative of his father's family,-except his mother,-his brother's death having occurred in the winter of 1873. JOSEPH KNAPP, son of Nathan Knapp, is one of a family of ten children, and was born in Tioga Co., Pa., July 18, 1835. His parents were natives of New York, and his father was a soldier in the war of 1812. The son remained at home until he was twenty-seven years of age, acquiring a fair education. In 1853 his father removed to Michigan and located at Berrien Springs, and two years later changed his residence to Watervliet township, and purchased land on section 17. He died Sept. 12, 1877, his wife's death having occurred April 12, 1874; both are buried in the Coloma Cemetery, and a fine monument to their memory has been erected by their son, Joseph Knapp. Joseph was married March 19, 1862, to Mrs. Maria Clark, of this township, and by her is the father of three children,-Edward, born April 30, 1863; Hiram, born July 6, 1865; Annette, born Oct. 20, 1867. After his marriage, Mr. Knapp settled on forty acres on section 17, where he still resides, having since added to it ninety-six acres. Mrs. Knapp had three children by her first husband, and Elisha, the oldest, is now living with Mr. Knapp. In 1871, Mr. Knapp engaged in the manufacture of fruitbaskets, and has been very successful in that business. In 1874 his building, with all its machinery, was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt within sixty days, and he now gives employment to a number of persons, varying from twentyfive to thirty-five. In April, 1875, he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. Feb. 27, 1876, he was married to Mrs. Josephine Warner, a native of Vermont, from which State her parents-also natives thereof-removed to Michigan in 1856, after having spent a few years in Massachusetts. By her first husband she had one child,-Olive H. Warner, who was born in Williams Co., Ohio, Nov. 26, 1863. In political matters, Mr. Knapp is a Republican, although he claims the privilege of voting for the persons who seem to him best fitted for office. He is a member of the Christian Church, and donates liberally to all religious denominations. S. P. MERRIFIELD. This gentleman was born Sept. 12, 1827, in Benton township, Yates Co., N. Y., and is one of a family of eleven children,-seven sons and four daughters,-all now living. His mother's maiden name was Simmons, her family being S. P. MERRIFIELD. very highly esteemed. When the son was five years of age, his father removed to Potter, in Yates County, where he remained until 1844. In that year he emigrated to Michigan, and settled on section 30, Watervliet township, Berrien Co., where he died, in October, 1851, having reached the age of sixty-six years. S. P. Merrifield assisted on the home-farm until he was twenty-two years of age, when he left for the purpose of attending school, but was prevented by sickness from so doing. Returning to the old neighborhood in New York, he remained two years, working on a farm summers and teaching school winters. In the fall of 1851 he began attending school at Oberlin, Ohio, where he remained six months. He subsequently spent two years in traveling, visiting several Western States, and occasionally obtaining employment at teaching. In 1857, while in 4 Il INC;.~ Rilli ~~:: -Rqg, RON::*, I-:4:L'~~-:::': ~~l —..::::-Ii_:ii-:c,:;:,:~::!_I —:M R:::: - j-::::: ~:;::~::: ~_~~..;~ -, _ VIES O PO ONAPOIN - P W PW A K:- ROP~rOF EBA TIA S I14 VVAERVIETP. BERIECO p I MICH:: TOWNSHIP OF WEESAW. 353 Ohio, he was married to Miss S. A. Dayton, the only daughter in a family of six children. Her mother, a native of Connecticut, died in 1856, and her father, whose native State was New York, died in the spring of 1859. After his marriage Mr. Merrifield remained on the farm of his father-in-law, in Ohio, nearly fourteen years. His only child, Adin, was born Oct. 14, 1858, and in March, 1879, journeyed to California, where he is now residing. In 1871, Mr. Merrifield removed to Michigan, and settled on the place he now occupies, in Watervliet township. Mr. Merrifield was formerly a Republicafn in politics, and held the positions of supervisor and school inspector five years. He has more recently united with the Greenback party. For seven years he attended to his duties as an ordained minister of the Universalist Church, in connection with his occupation as a farmer, but is at this time a liberal Spiritualist. His entire life has been a busy one. SEBASTIAN SMITH. This gentlenan, the son of George Smith, is the third in a family of five children, and was born May 11, 1826, in Redfield, Kennebec Co., Me., of which town his parents were also natives. When he was thirteen years of age Sebastian Smith went to New Brunswick, where he lived and worked with his uncle, Oliver Smith, until he was twenty-four. July 9, 1850, while in the province named, he was married to Miss Harriet, daughter of John and Rebecca Barker, and by her was the father of five children, three of whom are now living. In 1849, before he was married, his uncle died and left him executor of his will. In 1854, after the final settlement of his uncle's business, he came to Michigan, and selected a site for a future home, and sent for his fanily, which arrived in the fall of 1855. His uncle's affairs were in such a state that he could pay his nephew nothing, and the latter, upon his arrival in Michigan, was the possessor of the very small sum of fifty cents; but he soon found employment at rafting lumber for the firm of Medbury & Aldrich, who had just become proprietors of the Watervliet Mill. He remained in their employ nearly two years. In the fall of 1856 he formed a copartnership with Henry R. Holland, and together they built a saw-mill on Mill Creek, and operated it two years, when they dissolved partnership. At that time Mr. Smith had accumulated one hundred dollars in cash, as the result of his extreme labor. The panic of 1857 dealt roughly with him, he only saving one hundred and sixty acres of land (on which was an incumbrance of fifteen hundred dollars), ten thousand feet of lumber, and five bushels of corn (which he never received), and seventy-five cents in cash. He again found employment in rafting lumber, and in 1868 built a house on his place which cost sixteen hundred dollars, his father furnishing him with means to pay off the indebtedness upon his land. In 1859 his house was destroyed by fire, but was replaced in ninety days. To this farm he has made numerous additions, and now owns five hundred and thirty-two acres, of which two hundred and fifty are improved, sixty being included in an apple orchard. Mr. Smith has been an extensive shipper of fruit; in 1878 45 one car-load of apples-one hundred and fifty barrels-was shipped from his orchard direct to London. The farm shown in the view accompanying this notice is located on section 14, about two miles from the homestead, and one mile north of the village of Watervliet; it contains one hundred and twenty acres, twenty of which are set to fruit, and twenty more will be utilized in the same way in 1880, when Mr. Smith's entire orchard will contain one hundred acres. Mr. Smith is a Democrat in politics and belongs to no religious body. Until he was thirteen his years were spent on his father's farm, where he found plenty of hard work and but small opportunity to obtain an education. By perseverance, however, aided by his mental and physical vigor, he became possessed of much practical knowledge, which fitted him for the duties of life in no small degree. CHAPTER XLV. WEESAW TOWNSHIP.* Description and Original Land-Entries-The Early Settlers-LandOwners in 1844-Township Organization and List of OfficersNew Troy Village-Hill's Corners-Schools-Religious Societies. THE township of Weesaw contains 36 full sections, and is bounded on the north by the township of Lake, east by Buchanan, south by Galien, and on the west by the townships of Chickaming and Three Oaks. It is quite destitute of abrupt elevations, and is more nearly level than any township in the county. The northwesterly and central portions of the township are low and marshy, much of which has been reclaimed, making excellent grass-land. The eastern portion is high rolling land, well adapted to grain crops. The western part embraces rich loamy lands of very fine quality. West and southwest of New Troy there is a large admixture of sand. Originally the township was heavily timbered with beech, maple, ash, basswood, whitewood, and black walnut, largely the two latter. The township was delayed many years in its settlement from this fact, and sections were purchased for the timber by parties owning mills, and who held the land until the timber was cut off. The land is now in fine condition, and in the possession of an enterprising, thrifty people, and the future prosperity of Weesaw is assured by the energy of its inhabitants. The township has but few lakes, and its roads are nearly all straight and in excellent condition. Its principal water-course is the Galien River and the branches that form it. The northern branch rises in the north part of Buchanan township, and flows westerly, with many windings mainly through the second tier of sections from the north line, and joins the main stream formed there by the confluence of this and other branches. The largest branch rises in Galien and flows northerly. Thence the river flows west through New Troy and passes into Chickaming township. Blue Jay Creek rises in the southwest part and flows westerly, and joins the large branch on section 20. The original entries of government land on the several -* By Austin N. Hungerford. 354 HISTORY OF BERRIEN sections of Weesaw township were made by the followingnamed persons, viz: Section 1.-R. W. Landon, G. Kimmel, W. Stephens, J. Hickman. Section 2.-G. Kimmel, Mary J. Gould, Henry Blinn, Chas. P. Beard, J. H. Armstrong, W. Bardin, W. Stephens. Section 3.-Chas. F. Beard, J. W. Willis, R. W. Landon, John Orris, M. J. Gould, P. Humphrey, T. Dennison. Section 4.-R. W. Landon, Isaac Sherwood, Elisha Alvord. Section 5.-D. Murry, J. Smith, Townsend & Co. Section 6.-J. Sherwood, S. Gould. Section 7.-S. Gould, R. S. Morrison, E. Hitchcock, A. Edwards, B. Redding, C. W. Reed. Section 8.-W. Stevens, Townsend & Co., B. Redding, H. Gould, C. J. Lanman, J. Front. Section 9.-Wm. Smith, Elisha Alvord, E. Grice, W. Stephens. Section 10.-W. Stephens, John II. Armstrong, -- Kimmel. Section 11. —Armstrong, - Stephens, J. Garwood, S. Garwood, J. Rush. Section 12.-J. Hickman, W. Dodd, W. Stephens, - Martin. Section 13.-J. Harris, T. D. Vail, J. Rush, J. Maple. Section 14.-Wood & Roof, T. D. Vail, Andrew Caton, W. & L. C. Redding, Arthur Squim, Ozman Eddy. Section 15.-J. Turner, J. Darwin, J. Turner and J. Redding. Section 16.-School lot. Section 17.-J. Rush, N. Willard, B. Butterworth, H. Gould, J. Redding, H. A. Ranstead, J. Murphey. Section 18.-B. Butterworth, J. Murphey. Section 19.-H. A. Ranstead, - Stephens, S. Gould, C. Hoag, B. Butterworth, S. Edes, D. G. Jones. Section 20.-N. Willard, J. Rush, S. Cannon, J. Mitchell, 11. Bement. Section 21.-W. Scott, T. H. Richardson, Patrick Sullivan, John McDonnell, Daniel Darby, L. L. Harding, Morris Dulin. Section 22.-Wm. Hollabrough, Wm. Stephens, D. G. Bouton, S. L. Maynard, M. Turner, Lewis Benton, J. B. Phyle. Section 23.-Elisha Alvord, J. Wills, Sr., Lydia Ingersoll, W. Ernhart, Eli Hubbell, J. P. Ingersoll, B. F. Pennell, J. W. Utley. Section 24.-J. Parote, J. Wills, N. Millard, W. Ernhart, J. Ryan, J. Jack. Section 25.-W. Stephens, J. Allen, N. Wilson, T. Helves, J. A. Stokes. Section 26.-J. Wills, J. A. Stokes, J. H. Rugg, D. Sharp, J. Davis. Section 27.-V. L. Bradford, Silas Stearns, Henry B. Hoffman. Section 28.-V. L. Bradford, J. Snyder, M. Dulin, E. Murdock. Section 29.-J. Mitchell, W. Scott, Ruel Blackman, Jas. Smith, T. M. Bennett, J. Bennett, N. Millard. Section 30.-Townsend & Co., N. Millard, W. Massar, J. Turner, J. Gerrish, W. White, N. Turner. Section 31.-G. B. Avery, J. Gerrish, Wm. Scott, John Burch, J. Curry, C. Thomas. Section 32.-W. Cash, W. B. Gray, R. Hunt, N. Millard, V. L. Bradford. Section 33.-V. L. Bradford, John Hunt, J. Snider, H. B. Hoffman. Section 34.-E. Murdock, Sally Batts, M. M. Price, O. Paddock, Vail Smith, Wm. Stearns, M. Paddock, C. Clopp. Section 35.-Simeon Berry, S. S. Ford, J. L. Allen, A. Dow & Co., H. B. Hoffman, W. Cash, B. Redding. Section 36.-W. Stephens, F. Hutchinson, J. W. McKinley, - Cochran, J. Front, B. Redding. THE EARLY SETTLERS. The territory that comprises this township remained entirely unsettled until about 1836, when the first pioneers came in. Squatters had been on the land in different parts, but left no permanent improvements. Among the first to settle were Phineas Stratton, Timothy Atkins, and others, about 1836. Phineas Stratton was a native of New York, and located on 40 acres in the southwest quarter of section 7. His son James lived on the homestead. Another son, Nathaniel, married, in 1843, a daughter of Mrs. Murdock, who lived for some time on section 34, and is now at Sau COUNTY, MICHIGAN. gatuck, Allegan Co. Harvey lives at New Troy, and John at Michigan City. Timothy Atkins was a native of Southern Ohio, and came here about the same time as Stratton. He lived in what is now New Troy. Several of those who came in about that time did not locate on farms, but lived near the mills and worked in them. Charles McCracken was also at New Troy, and was township clerk in 1844-46. He died mysteriously at that place, and parties were arrested, but nothing was proved and they were released. Sidney S. Ford located in the village. He was a justice of the peace in 1839. Stephen Hobart settled also at Troy, and was elected treasurer of the township in 1839, and in 1847 moved to Buchanan and died there. He was from Ohio. William H. Gould settled first at New Troy. He was supervisor in 1842, 1844-47. He moved west to Missouri. John Rugg lived in the township, on the northeast quarter of section 20. He was a justice of the peace in 1839. He afterwards removed to Niles township. Erastus Hart also lived in the township, and was justice of the peace in 1847. George Brong was a blacksmith, and lived about a mile north of Hill's Corners, on the northeast quarter of section 2. He was a justice of the peace in 1843. Rugg; Hart, and Brong were the only families who lived out of New Troy in the township before 1840. Ezra Stoner was the first town clerk, in 1837, and justice of the peace in 1839. Joseph G. Ames and'Hiram Gould (a brother of Solomon and William) were commissioners of highways. Samuel Garwood also filled that office, but he was located in what is now Galien township. Solomon Gould, a brother of Hiram, was located at the settlement of New Troy, and he, with Hiram, built the first mill. He was one of the first justices. John J. Knapp was also here before 1840, and located on the southeast quarter of section 18. During and after the year 1840 settlers came in rapidly. Pitt J. Pierce, a native of Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y., went to Ohio when twelve years of age, and emigrated to Weesaw in the spring of 1840. He located 160 acres on the east half of the southwest quarter and west half of the southeast quarter of section 9. He still lives on the farm. Arnold W. Pierce, the eldest son, lives at New Troy, and is the town clerk, a position he has held for nine years. A daughter, Lucinda, married Richard Jennings, and lives at New Troy. Alpheus Hill, a native of Connecticut, emigrated to Ohio, and in 1840 to Weesaw, settling in New Troy, where he remained until the spring of 1846, when he removed to what is now known as Hill's Corners. He was a justice in 1841. Abner, the eldest son, cut the first trees at the Corners, and is now living at New Troy. Edward, another son, kept the first store at Troy, and died there. His widow married A. A. Morley; his daughter Mary married P. J. Pierce; Elmira married William S. Pierce; Maria married Henry H. Pike, of Niles; Louisa lives in La Porte, Ind. William S. Pierce, a brother of Pitt J., came in about the same time, and located on the northwest quarter of ..... ~-.C-, -,, --, -.-: -,.1. - I I -- ~ - i- -— ~; ~ - ~ r~- I --- -" c~ '"-: lh I ----I ':";,;, -:/.. ' I: il /1 I, f: * ': S:: " t. -;., — t-t 1 '. \.: 1: -.: GEORGE BOYLE9 Y MRS. GEORGE BOYLE. I)i B " =" r-: ~;~ i- ~ ~e '~ n, —:~~~ ~ — ~~~~:--~ -- RESIDENCE or GEORGE BOYLE, WEESAW TP., BERRIEN CO, MICH. TOWNSHIP OF WEESAW. 355 section 10, adjoining his brother. His son lives on the place. A son, Albert, is in California. He was town clerk in 1847-49. William Strong, in 1841, settled on the northeast quarter of section 2, where his son now lives. Henry Searles settled at the Corners in 1845. Samuel Washburn settled, in 1842, on the southeast quarter of section 3. He was treasurer in 1844-46 and 1849. Hiram Wells located on the northwest quarter of section 11, in 1845, where Peter Smith now owns. He was town clerk in 1848. All the settlers mentioned above located in the north part of the township before 1845. In June, 1840, Matthew M. Paddock, a native of Washington Co., N. Y., bought 200 acres of land in the south half of section 34, in the township of Weesaw, and 40 acres adjoining, in the northwest quarter of section 2, now in the township of Galien, and built a cabin on the 200 acres. He still lives on the farm. He was justice of the peace in 1844, and town clerk in 1850. When he settled there were no families west of him. John Unrugh, John P. Johnson, and Richard Huston lived south of his place, in Galien. Settlers were few in that section for ten years succeeding 1840. About 1842 the family of Ephraim Murdock located the northwest quarter of section 34, where his widow, with her youngest son, still lives. Her eldest son, John, lives on the southeast quarter of section 32. Robert Eaton settled, about 1846, on the southwest quarter of section 25, now owned by A. T. Hall. Hugh Lamb, with his wife and sons, emigrated from New York State, and purchased the John Rugg farm, on the northeast quarter of section 26, in October, 1851. His son William settled on the northwest quarter of section 25, east of his father, where he still lives. Alexander lives on the southwest quarter of section 36, and Thomas lives south of his brother Alexander, on the same quarter section. Curtiss lives on Terre Coupee Prairie. Elijah Hall purchased 120 acres in Weesaw, in the southeast quarter of section 36, and 80 acres adjoining it on the east, in Buchanan township. He lived on the 80 acre tract for a time, but now lives in Weesaw. Benjamin F. Pennell and Union Pennell, brothers, emigrated to this township about 1849, and located in the northeast quarter of the township, near New Troy. Benjamin F. was supervisor from 1850 to 1858; Union was treasurer from 1853 to 1859, and justice of the peace two terms, from 1852. Ambrose A. and Thomas Morley came to New Troy in 1853, and built a mill on the river. Ambrose was the first postmaster; he is still living at Troy, and keeps the hotel. Dr. A. B. Herman, a native of Ohio, came to Niles township, where he lived a short time, and in 1855 came to Troy and established practice there as a physician. He now lives in Buchanan. Alonzo Sherwood is a son of Seth Sherwood, one of the earliest settlers on the St. Joseph River, in Niles township. He settled on the north half of section 5, originally entered by D. Murray. He engaged largely in lumbering and farming. A horse-railroad was run for several years from his Oak Grove saw-mill, along the line of the township, to.Brown's Station on the railroad and to Brown's Pier on the lake. Mr. Sherwood purchased 240 acres in Weesaw, and 240 acres in Lake township. He was supervisor in 1869, '70, and is now (1879) a member of the Legislature. The Land-Owners in Weesaw in 1844, as shown by the assessment roll of that year, were as follows: Stephen Hobart, William Strong, Joseph Thornton, Alpheus Hill, George Brong, Samuel M. Washburn, Joseph Williams, P. G. Stratton, Samuel Stratton, C. Wheeler, Pitt J. Pierce, William S. Pierce, William H. Gould, John J. Knapp, Erastus Hart, John Rugg, W. M. Maynard, S. C. Maynard, Mary Murdock, M. M. Paddock, N. Stratton, T. Atkins, John Porter, Charles McCracken, Francis Finnegan, J. H. Armstrong, J. Hickman, W. Stephens, T. Den. nison, Isaac Sherwood, H. Alvord, D. Murry, J. Smith, Townsend & Co., Sherwood Gould, John Law, E. Hitchcock, A. Edwards, C. W. Reed, B. Redding, C. J. Landmann, E. Alvord, W. M. Smith, J. Garwood. S. Garwood, J. Rush, W. Dodge, Martin, J. Harris, T. D. Vail, J. Maple, Wood & Rapp, W. Redding, L. C. Redding, Osmer Eddy, J. Redding, J. Turner, J. Dawson, R. Butterworth, H. A. Ranstead, N. Willard, S. Gould, C. IHoag, S. Edes, D. G. Jones, J. Mitchell, H. Bennett, W. Scott, - Richardson, J. B. Uhle, J. Willison, W. Earnhart, M. Willis, P. Y. Parrote, M. Ryan, M. Jack, N. Willson, T. H. Ives, M. A. Stokes, J. Davis, V. L. Bradford, H. F. Hoffman, Y.. Mitchell, T. M. Burnett, A. Bennett, W. Massey, Y. Garrish, W. White, Y. Bursch, T. Thomas, R. Hunt, W. Cash, Paul Smith, Sally Butler, A. Daw & Co., T. Barry, J. W. McKinly, T. Hutchinson, W. Stephens, Y. Frost, W. Hall. The lands in the village of New Troy were at that time held as follows: N. Willard & Co., the larger part of blocks 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 24. Francis Finnegan on block 3; R. C. Payne on blocks 3, 4, 18, 10, and 11; A. Hill on block 3; Stephen Hobart, 10 and 11; Samuel Stratton, 3; Charles McCracken, 11; W. H. Gould, 11 and 1-3; A. Calvin on block 11; Strand on 3; P. Castle, blocks 3, 4, 5; Sanford on 11; Strand on blocks 12, 13, 17, and 18. Valuation for 1844, $25,401. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND LIST OF OFFICERS. The act that created the township of Weesaw, approved March 20, 1837, provided that " All that portion of the county of Berrien designated by the United States survey as townships 7 and 8 south, of range 19 west, be and the same is hereby set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Weesaw, and the first township-meeting therein shall be held at such place in said township as the sheriff of the county of Berrien shall designate and appoint." In the organization of the township of Bertrand, in the previous year, the territory now known as Galien-being township 8 south, of range 19 west-was attached to Bertrand. In the erection of Weesaw this was taken from Bertrand and became part of the territory of Weesaw, to which it belonged till Feb. 29, 1844, when it was set off as Galien. The township in 1840 contained but 142 inhabitants; 1845, 155; 1854, 404; 1860, 753; 1870, 1243. 356 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The records of the township were kept on loose sheets of paper until 1841, and the names of officers prior to that time are gleaned from highway reports, oaths of office, and other papers. The officers of the year of organization are not known, except Ezra Stoner, the first township clerk, who, as such, entered a record of a road Nov. 15, 1837. Joseph G. Ames, Hiram Gould, and Samuel Garwood were commissioners of roads; John P. Johnson, justice of the peace. The principal township officers from 1839 to the present time have been as follows: 1839.-Joseph G. Ames, Supervisor; Ezra Stoner, Town Clerk; Ezra Stoner, John Rugg, Solomon Gould, and Sidney S. Ford, Justices of the Peace; Stephen Hobart, Treasurer. 1841.-James Edson, Supervisor; James H. Willson, Jr., Town Clerk; James Edson, Treasurer; John P. Johnson and Alpheus Hill, Justices of the Peace; Matthew M. Paddock, School Inspector. 1842.-William H. Gould, Supervisor; Daniel Bellinger, Town Clerk; Samuel Garwood, Treasurer; M. M. Paddock and William H. Gould, School Inspectors. 1843.-William Burns, Supervisor; Daniel Bellinger, Town Clerk; Samuel Garwood, Treasurer; George Brong, Justice of the Peace; Daniel Bellinger, Samuel M. Washburn, and William Burns, School Inspectors. 1844.-Wm. H. Gould, Supervisor: Charles McCracken, Town Clerk; Erastus Hart, Matthew M. Paddock, Justices of the Peace; Samuel M. Washburn, Treasurer and School Inspector. 1845.-Wm. H. Gould, Supervisor; Charles McCracken, Town Clerk; Samuel M. Washburn, Treasurer; Joseph Thornton, Justice of the Peace; Lorenzo Thornton, School Inspector. 1846.-Wm. H. Gould, Supervisor; Charles McCracken, Town Clerk; Samuel M. Washburn, Treasurer; B. F. Pennell, M. M. Paddock, Justices of the Peace. 1847.-WWm. H. Gould, Supervisor; Wm. S. Pierce, Town Clerk; Stephen Hobart, Treasurer; Samuel Stratton, Erastus Hart, Justices of the Peace; Lorenzo Thornton, School Inspector. 1848.-Wm. H. Gould, Supervisor; Hiram Wells, Town Clerk; John H. Rugg, Treasurer; Pitt J. Pierce, Justice of the Peace; B. F. Bennett, School Inspector. 1849.-Benjamin M. Lyon, Supervisor; Wm. S. Pierce, Town Clerk; Samuel M. Washburn, Treasurer; William S. Pierce, Levi Logan, Benjamin M. Lyon, Justices of the Peace; Truman Royer, John J. Knapp, School Inspectors. 1850.-Benjamin F. Pennell, Supervisor; Matthew M. Paddock, Town Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer; Daniel B. Mead, School Inspector; James W. Wells, Justice of the Peace. 1851.-B. F. Pennell, Supervisor; Daniel B. Mead, Town Clerk; James W. Wells, Treasurer; Hiram Wells, Justice of the Peace; Benjamin M. Lyon, School Inspector. 1852.-B. F. Pennell, Supervisor; D. G. Brown, Town Clerk; Samuel M. Washburn, Treasurer; Union Pennell, Justice of the Peace; D. B. Mead, School Inspector. 1853.-Samuel M. Washburn, Supervisor; Win. S. Pierce, Town Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer; Samuel Stratton, Justice of the Peace; B. F. Pennell, School Inspector. 1854.-Benjamin F. Pennell, Supervisor; Wm. S. Pierce, Town Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer; Otis Stearns, John J. Knapp, Justices of the Peace; Thomas Morley, School Inspector. 1855.-B. F. Pennell, Supervisor; Robert Eaton, Town Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer; Daniel Holmes, David Beard, Justices of the Peace; B. F. Pennell, School Inspector. 1856.-B. F. Pennell, Supervisor; Wm. H. Streeter, Town Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer and Justice of the Peace; A. B. Herman, School Inspector. 1857.-B. F. Pennell, Supervisor; Robert Eaton, Town Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer; Daniel Oyler, Hiram Wells, Justices of the Peace; B. F. Pennell, Robert Eaton, School Inspectors. 1858.-B. F. Pennell, Supervisor; Benjamin McDaniels, Town -Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer; Benjamin McDaniels, Job Gaunt, Justices of the Peace; W. W. Fuller, School Inspector. 1859.-Theodore A. Hoskins, Supervisor; Wm. S. Pierce, Town Clerk; Union Pennell, Treasurer; B. F. Pennell, School Inspector; M. M. Paddock, John Brown, Justices of the Peace. The records from 1859-67 are missing. From the latter year to 1879 the officers have been as follows: 1867.-Ebenezer P. Morley, Supervisor; Reuben M. Shafer, Town Clerk; Samuel Smith, Jr., Treasurer; Richard V. Clark, Thomas J. Osborn, School Inspectors; John C. Marks, Justice of the Peace. 1868.-Ebenezer P. Morley, Supervisor; W. W. Kempton, Clerk; Samuel Smith, Jr., Treasurer; William S. Morley, Justice of the Peace; Peter Smith, School Inspector. 1869.-Alonzo Sherwood, Supervisor; W. W. Kempton, Town Clerk; Samuel Smith, Jr., Treasurer; Henry Searls, Justice of the Peace; John S. Painter, School Inspector. 1870.-Alonzo Sherwood, Supervisor; W. W. Kempton, Town Clerk; Samuel Smith, Jr., Treasurer; Burr Benton, Justice of the Peace; William R. Gondar, School Inspector. 1871.-Benjamin C. Sandford, Supervisor; Arnold W. Pierce, Town Clerk; L. Francis, Treasurer; B. C. Sandford, Justice of the Peace; Union Pennell, School Inspector. 1872.-Benjamin C. Sandford, Supervisor; Arnold W. Pierce, Town Clerk; Lothrop Francis, Treasurer; Levi Logan, Justice of the Peace; William Spooner, School Inspector. 1873.-George Pierce, Supervisor; Henderson Ballengee, Town Clerk; Lothrop Francis, Treasurer; John T. Beckwith, Justice of the Peace; Evan L. Fitch, School Inspector. 1874.-E. P. Morley, Supervisor; A. W. Pierce, Town Clerk; Austin Adams, Treasurer; Otis Stearns, Justice of the Peace; Alvin Morley, School Inspector. 1875.-E. P. Morley, Supervisor; A. W. Pierce, Town Clerk; Henderson Ballengee, Treasurer; Alvin Morley, Superintendent of Schools; Otis Stearns, School Inspector; James E. Borden, Justice of the Peace. 1876.-George Pierce, Supervisor; A. W. Pierce, Town Clerk; H. Ballengee, Treasurer; L. H. Dunning, Superintendent of Schools; Reuben Shafer, School Inspector; Milton Morley, Justice of the Peace. 1877.-George Pierce, Supervisor; A. W. Pierce, Town Clerk; Gottlieb Hagerly, Treasurer; Daniel Holmes, Justice of thePeace; Joseph M. Rogers, Superintendent of Schools; William R. Gondar, School Inspector. 1878.-George 1ierce, Supervisor; Gottlieb Hageley, Treasurer; A. W. Pierce, Town Clerk; Otis Stearns, Justice of the Peace; Joseph M. Rogers, Superintendent of Schools; Peter Smith, School Inspector. 1879.-John T. Beckwith, Supervisor; A. W. Pierce, Town Clerk; Peter Smith, Treasurer; James E. Borden, Justice of the Peace; George H. Riley, Superintendent of Schools; Andrew J. Norris, School Inspector. NEW TROY VILLAGE. About 1836, Solomon and Hiram Gould located the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 7, and the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 8, and built a saw-mill at what is now the village of New Troy. It was known as the" North Mill." Nelson Willard, of Buffalo, N. Y., Joseph G. Ames, of New Hampshire, and Ezra Stoner, a native of Maryland, bought an undivided half of the land and the water power, and built on the other side of the stream a mill which was known as the "South Mill." At that time the residents of the village were Solomon Gould and wife, Hiram Gould and wife, William H. Gould, and the mother of the Goulds. Stoner and Ames were single men. Timothy Atkins, Charles McCracken, Sidney S. Ford, and Alanson and John Pidge were also residents. / '.' t.. I:,-'I: I,~ 4 "t i, i {i ~.l, G. F. PENWELL. M R.FI 'F-t EELL. ',IC z -v r..'!,,t 1C i, 1 I mI RESIDENCE OF MR. i.r.. rI rIWLLL, VVEESAW IP., LERRIEN GO.,MICH. I, i~ TOWNSHIP OF WEESAW. 357 Phineas E. Stratton lived a short distance from the settlement. The village of New Troy was platted in 1837. The lots were divided between Goulds, Willard, Stoner, and Ames, the mill property known as the " mill reserve" being held in common, each occupying their mill-sites. Solomon and Hiram left the village about 1838. Joseph G. Ames was supervisor in 1839, and the same year bought a farm on Terre Coupee Prairie, in Bertrand, where he was supervisor in 1841 and member of the Legislature in 1844. He afterwards moved to New Buffalo, and thence to Three Oaks, where he died. Ezra Stoner was the first township clerk, but soon after left there. The mill property became virtually abandoned. It came afterwards into possession of Luman Northrop and Francis Finnegan, and was for many years the subject of litigation, which ceased when, in 1853, it came into the possession of the Morleys, who re-erected a saw-mill on the site of the Gould mill. The lumber manufactured by the Gould mill was rafted down the river to New Buffalo, and lightered to vessels on the lake. Edward Hill, son of Alpheus Hill, started the first store, and soon after kept a tavern. Anson Hays started the first public-house. The post-office was established about 1860. Ambrose A. Morley was the first postmaster, and was succeeded by Dr. C. Bostwick, George B. Hiller, and Charles Smith, who is the present postmaster. The village now contains about 170 inhabitants, 35 dwellings, a public hall, a church, post-office, hotel, school-house, four general stores, a drugstore, two blacksmith-shops, wagon-shop, woodenware-factory, saw-mill, grist-mill, and one physician. HILL'S CORNERS. This settlement is located at the intersection of sections 1, 2, 11, and 12, and was first settled upon by Alpheus Hill in 1846. A post-office was started in 1854, with Wm. S. Pierce as postmaster. He was succeeded by Elijah Strong, Charles Beard, and Aaron E. Gardner. It has since been removed. Henry Searles settled near the Corners in 1845. Hiram Wells also settled here the same year. The settlement now contains a store, a church (Baptist), post-office, blacksmith-shop, and a few dwellings. SCHOOLS. The first school of which anything can be learned was taught in Troy about 1842, by Miss Louisa Hill, now of Laporte, Ind. It was taught in a log house standing on the bank where Ambrose A. Morley's barn now stands. The first record of schools is in 1843, when the districts were recorded as given below: district No. 1, composed of sections 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21; district No. 2, of sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, both in township 8, range 19; district No. 3, of sections 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, and 36, in township 7; district No. 4, of sections 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33, same township; district No. 5, of sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, and 18; district No. 6, of sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, the last two being also in township 7; districts No. 3, 4, 5, and 6 were in what is now Galien. A new school district was formed Jan. 29, 1846, composed of sections 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35. The township was redistricted June 19, 1847. Sarah Ogden was examined and received a certificate to teach school in District 5, Dec. 26, 1843. William M. Willson received certificate Dec. 5, 1844, and John Johnson, Jan. 13, 1845. The following school report was recorded Aug. 5, 1853: Scholars. Money Rec'd. District No. 1.............................. 44 $28.75 " " 2................................. 18 17.71 " " 3................................. 44 28.75 The township was redistricted March 20, 1854. The apportionment of mill-tax for schools May 1, 1855, was as follows: Scholars. District No. 2 (fractional with Lake)...... 3 " " 5.................................. 23 " " 6................................... 22 " " 1.................................... 35 ( 3.................................... 32 " " 4 (fractional with Buchanan) 24 Totals........................................ 139 Money Rec'd. $1.20 9.16 8.76 13.94 12.75 9.56 $55.37 The school report for 1879 shows as follows: number of children of school age: District No. 1, 70; No. 3, 144; No. 4, 51; No. 5, 55; No. 6, 36; No. 7, 50; No. 8, 62. Value of school-houses: District No. 1, frame, $3000 (Hill's Corners); No. 3, frame, $4500 (Troy); No. 4, frame, $500; No. 5, frame, $1300; No. 6, frame, $400; No. 7, frame, $1000; No. 8, frame, $100. Districts Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are whole districts, and 1 and 4 are fractional. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. Methodist Episcopal Church of New Troy.-As early as 1840 preaching was held occasionally in this section by the Rev. William Morley, of Portage Prairie, and a class was soon after formed. No organization was perfected for several years, and preaching has been only occasional. In 1863 the present church was built. The society now has three classes, and numbers about 75 members. They are supplied with preaching by the ministers having Dayton and Galien in charge. Their names will be found in the history of the Dayton Church, in the township of Bertrand. The Baptist Church of Weesaw.-A meeting was held in the school-house at Berrien, Feb. 8, 1845, for the purpose of consultation as to the propriety of organizing a Baptist Church. It was decided to call a council, and letters were sent out to different churches to meet on Saturday, February 22d, at ten o'clock. Meeting was called, but as no delegates appeared it was adjourned until March 29th, when the council convened,-Elder Pratt, of South Bend; Elder Price, of Cassopolis; Elder Stecker, of Edwardsburg; Elder Tenbrook, of Niles; and brethren Deacon J. Rudd, J. Warren, J. B. Corey, B. D. Townsend, and others. Sermon by Elder Pratt. It was unanimously agreed to organize a Baptist Church, to be known as the First Baptist Church of BeArien. The constituent members were John S. Foot, Clark Boss, John B. Nixon, Morris Frost, Union Pennell, Oliver Spaulding, Adna Hinman, Hiram Wells, Levi Logan, Thomas Freed, Silas Stearns, Julia Foot, Nancy Nixon, S. M. R. Nixon, Catherine Green, Amanda S. Pennell, Jo 358 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. anna Spaulding, Ruth Hinman, Juliet Frost, Sabey Frost, Amy A. Carpenter, Wealthy Wells, Martha Caton, Caroline Logan, Mary Boss, Elizabeth B. Pennell, Zilpah A. Stevens, and Sarah Freed. John S. Foot was chosen deacon Aug. 11, 1845. The society held their meetings for several years at schoolhouses in the different parts of the country, and in 1854 it was decided to build a house of worship at Hill's Corners. This was done, and the edifice was first used June 3, 1854. It was called Galien Church for several years, and in 1876 the name was again changed to the Baptist Church of Weesaw. The first pastor was Daniel B. Mead, who commenced his labors in June, 1848. He was succeeded by the Revs. John Master, S. L. Bulis, A. E. Simons, D. D. Joslyn, William Simons, Charles D. Manley, Joseph Goodrich, B. P. Russell, Moses M. Meacher, R. H. Spafford, and Charles A. Smith, who is the present pastor. The present membership is 36. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. GABRIEL F. PENWELL was born Oct. 3, 1826, and is a son of A. C. and Sarah Penwell. His father was born December, 1797, in New Jersey. His mother, Miss Sarah Rope, was a native of North Carolina, was born Nov. 20. 1801, and married Mr. Penwell in Indiana in 1825. To them were born ten children, Mr. G. F. Penwell, the subject of this sketch, being the oldest. He remained at home with his father, assisting on the farm until twenty-one, when he was married to Miss Eda Ann Morris. After marriage Mr. Penwell moved to Missouri, remaining there about two years, and during that time buried his wife and the two children who were born to them. He then settled in South Bend, Ind., where he was again married, in 1852, to Miss Rebeccad Reeves. In the spring of 1858 he came to Michigan, settling in the town of Galien; he engaged in the lumbering business, and built a mill the same year. Mr. Penwell was divorced from his second wife, and in June, 1855, was again married, this time to Miss Harriet Harner. They have had ten children, four now living. This wife died Aug. 19, 1874, and, Dec. 31, 1874, Mr. Penwell was again married to Mrs. Maria J. Dutton, widow of the late George Dutton, a native of Michigan. She was a daughter of Salem and Harriet Taylor. Mr. Taylor was a native of Kentucky, Mrs. Taylor, of Vermont, and were married in South Bend, Ind., in 1837,Mrs. Penwell being the oldest in a family of nine children. Mrs. Penwell had four children by her first husband, Mr. G. D. Dutton, only two of whom survive, burying her husband and the other two during the year 1869. In politics Mr. Penwell is an unswerving Democrat. Socially, he is affable and genial, possessing an ardent attachment to friends, and gives to deserving objects with an open hand. Since he came to Michigan in 1853, he has by industry and perseverance accumulated considerable property, successfully carrying on farming and lumbering, owning at one time two thousand two hundred acres of land in this town. He is at present the proprietor of the handle-factory shown in his sketch, is still enjoying good health, and has every reason to feel gratified over his eventful and successful life. GEORGE BOYLE was born Dec. 3, 1835, in Lake township, of this county. His father's family consisted of thirteen children. His' parents were Germans, and came over to America about 1831, settling on a farm, where George first learned to love the life of a farmer. He assisted his father on the farm until he was twenty years old. At that time he married Ann, daughter of Mary and John Husted, settling on a farm of seventy-five acres, given him by his father, in Oronoko township. He sold this land in 1864, and bought where he now resides. His first purchase was one hundred and fifty-one acres, to which he afterwards added one hundred and two acres, making for himself a home of which any man should be proud. This farm has been well managed, he being one of the largest and best farmers in this part of the country. His early educational advantages were limited. In politics he is a Republican, in religion a liberal. Mr. and Mrs. Boyle have had seven children, viz.: Samantha L., born May 12, 1858, died Oct. 10, 1859; Thomas E., born Aug. 1, 1859; Laura A., born June 27, 1861; Sarah A., born June 29, 1864; Ira G., born Oct. 17, 1869; Melvin G., born July 12, 1874; Myra M., born Aug. 19, 1876. Mr. Boyle has been a successful business man. His capital has been.his health, his industry, and his ambition. With a proper use of these no man could fail. These qualifications were just what was required in a new country, and by their practical application his success was insured. D~ *Ar tQ aw9 COURT HOUSEAND COUNTY OFFICESVAN BURNu Co., PAW PAW,MICH. VAN BUREN COUNTY.* CHAPTER XLVI. ERECTION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY -LOCATION OF COUNTY-SEAT. Erection, Boundaries, and Organization of the County-Location of the County-Seat-Organization of Townships-Township Changes. THE early history of Van Buren County, which is synonymous with that of the Indians who roamed through its forests, is given in the chapters devoted to both counties which begin this volume, while the account of its settlement by the whites is to be found in the various townships; this and the following chapters are devoted to those matters which concern Van Buren County at large, but have no connection with Berrien County. The county of Van Buren was formed by an act of the Legislative Council of Michigan, approved Oct. 29, 1829, which created no less than thirteen counties at once, viz.: Washtenaw, Ingham, Easton, Barry, Jackson, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Hillsdale, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, and Berrien. Eight of these were named after the President, the Vice-President, and the six cabinet officers. This county, it is hardly necessary to say, took its name from Martin Van Buren, of New York, subsequently President of the United States, but then just becoming prominent in national politics, having been called to the office of Secretary of State by President Jackson on his inauguration in the month of March preceding. The section (of the act before mentioned) erecting and bounding this county reads as follows: "SEC. 8. That so much of the country as is included within the following limits, viz.: beginning where the line between ranges 12 and 13 west of the meridian intersects the base line, thence west on the base line to the shore of Lake Michigan, thence southerly along the shore of said lake to the intersection of the line between townships 2 and 3 south of the base line, thence east between said townships to the intersection of the line between ranges 16 and 17 west of the meridian, thence south on the line between said ranges to the intersection of the line between townships 4 and 5 south of the base line, thence east on the line between said township to the intersection of the line between ranges 12 and 13 west of the meridian, thence north on the line between said ranges to the base line, be and the same is hereby set off into a separate county, and the name thereof shall be Van Buren."t The formation of a county at that period, however, by no means necessitated the exercise of the usual functions pertaining to a county, or even made it certain that there * By Crisfield Johnson. t Territorial Laws, vol. ii. page 736. were any people living within boundaries designated by the Council or Legislature. It merely indicated that in the opinion of the State authorities the territory described in the act would make a good county at some future time. On the 4th of November, 1829, the Governor of the Territory approved an act of the Legislative Council temporarily attaching Van Buren and several other counties to Cass County for judicial and legislative purposes. The following day, Nov. 5, 1829, the territory of Van Buren County, already described, with a large territory lying north of it, and several survey townships of Cass County, were formed into the township of Penn. On the 29th of March, 1833, the north part of that portion of Penn lying in Cass County was formed into the township of Volinia, and the territory of Van Buren County was attached to it for township purposes. That territory was formed into the township of Lafayette on the 26th of March, 1835. The details in relation to these changes are given in the sketch of the organization of the townships. It was not until the year 1837 that the people of Van Buren County were deemed sufficiently numerous to justify them in assuming the responsibilities of local self-government. On the 18th day of March in that year an act organizing the county was approved by the Governor of Michigan, which had then become a State. The sections pertinent to our history read as follows: "SEC. 2. That the county of Van Buren be and the same is hereby organized, and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which by law the inhabitants of the other counties of this State are entitled. "SEC. 3. All writs, prosecutions, and other matters now pending before any court, or before any justice of the peace, to which the said county is now attached for judicial purposes shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution; and all taxes heretofore levied shall be collected in the same manner as though this act had not passed. "SEC. 5. The Circuit Court for the county of Van Buren shall be held for one year from the first day of November next, at such place as the supervisors of said county shall provide in said county, on the first Monday in June and December in each year, and after the first day of November, 1838, at the seat of justice in said county. "SEC. 8. There shall be elected in the county of Van Buren on the second Monday of April next all the several county officers to which by law the county is entitled." The act by its terms went into effect on the first Monday of April, 1837. The first election of county officers was held, in accordance with the law, on the second Monday of 359 360 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. -- I.... April, 1837. The following officers were elected: Wolcott H. Keeler and Jay R. Monroe, Associate Justices; Jeremiah H. Simmons, Judge of Probate; Samuel Gunton, Sheriff; Daniel O. Dodge, Treasurer; Nathaniel B. Starkweather, County Clerk; Jeremiah H. Simmons, Register of Deeds; Junia Warner, Jr., John R. Haynes, and Humphrey P. Barnum, Coroners; Humphrey P. Barnum, Surveyor. In the September following, at a special election, Andrew Longstreet was elected sheriff in place of Samuel Gunton, resigned, and Joshua Bangs, treasurer, in place of Daniel 0. Dodge, resigned. Not only was the county formed seven and a half years before its organization, but a county-seat was provided for it more than a year previous to that event. In 1835 the Governor, acting under a general law, appointed three commissioners-Charles C. Hascall, Stillman Blanchard, and John W. Strong-to locate the county-seat of Van Buren County. These commissioners selected the site of the present village of Lawrence as the proper place for the county-seat. Deacon Eaton Branch, of Lawrence, says the commissioners stuck the stake designating the site of the court-house in the centre of the public square in the village of Lawrence. Whether there was some informality in the proceedings or whether it was necessary to pass a supplementary act we know not, but on the 28th of March, 1836, a law was enacted authorizing the Governor to confirm the action of the commissioners, which reads as follows: "SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Michigan that the Governor be and he is hereby authorized to issue his proclamation confirming and establishing the seat of justice of the county of Van Buren at the point fixed for said seat of justice in said county by Charles C. Hascall, Stillman Blanchard, and John W. Strong, commissioners appointed for that purpose, as appears by their report on file in the office of the Secretary of State; provided that the proprietors of said seat of justice for said county shall pay into the treasury of this State the amount advanced from the Territorial treasury for said location, with interest thereon from the date of such advance, and shall produce the certificate of said payment to the Governor within sixty days from the passage of this act." But when the county was organized most of the few inhabitants lived in the western part, and Paw Paw was more convenient for them than Lawrence. Moreover, few and poor as were the accommodations at Paw Paw, they were still fewer and poorer at Lawrence. So, as will have been observed, section 5 of the act organizing the county provided that the Circuit Court should be held at such place as the supervisors might direct until the 1st day of November, 1838, and after that at the seat of justice of the county. At the first meeting of the supervisors, on the 27th of March, 1837, a resolution was adopted (quoted under the head of" Organization of the County") which " decided that the courts of said county be held at the school-house in the village of Paw Paw." On the 18th of March, 1838, an act amending the act organizing the county was approved, which reads as follows: "SEC. 1. That all Circuit Courts to be held in and for the county of Van Buren previous to the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty, shall be held at such place within the said county as the Board of Supervisors for said county shall direct. " SEC. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force on and after the first day of November next." At the meeting of the supervisors on the 25th of October, 1838, the board adopted the following resolution: " Pursuant to an act entitled 'An act to amend an act to organize the counties of Ionia and Van Buren,' approved March 18, 1838, the supervisors of said county of Van Buren decided that the Circuit Court for said county shall be held at the school-house in the village of Paw Paw." The courts were accordingly held at the place designated during the two succeeding years. As the time approached when the county business was to be done at the legal seat of justice,-viz., at Lawrence,-it was found that the weight of influence was still in favor of keeping it at Paw Paw. Petitions to that effect were accordingly sent to the Legislature, and that body was persuaded to pass, and the Governor to sanction, the following law: " An act to provide for the vacation of the present seat of justice of Van Buren County, and to locate the same in the village of Paw Paw, in said county. "SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Michigan, that the countysite of Van Buren County be and the same is hereby vacated and removed to the village of Paw Paw, in said county, upon such land as shall be deeded to the county for that purpose; Provided, That the quantity of land shall not be less than one acre, to be located under the direction of a majority of the County Commissioners or the Board of Supervisors, as the case may be, who are hereby required to make such location and fix the site for such county-seat in said village within one year from the passage of this law, and to take a deed of the land aforesaid, to them and their successors in office, for the use and purpose of the county of Van Buren, and shall have the deed recorded in the register's office in that county; and provided, further, That the title of said land so to be conveyed as aforesaid shall be good, absolute, and indefeasible, and the premises free from all legal incumbrances. "SEC. 2. All writs which have been or may be issued out of the Circuit Court of said county since the last term thereof, whether the same were made returnable at the village of Paw Paw or at the present county-seat, shall be returned to and heard and tried at the village of Paw Paw aforesaid, at the time they were made returnable. " SEC. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. "Approved March 6, 1840." From that time to the present Paw Paw has been the legal as it had previously been the actual seat of justice of Van Buren County. There was, however, some difficulty in regard to the pre cise place in Paw Paw where the court-house should be located, as appears by the records of the Board of Supervisors and commissioners. On the 1st day of April, 1840, ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS. 361 I the County Commissioners, who were then eercising the functions of a Board of Supervisors, adopted the following resolution: "Resolved, That the site for the seat of justice for the county of Van Buren be, and the same is hereby, located and fixed in that portion of block number eleven known as lots number one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight, in the village of Paw Paw, being the same land appropriated for that purpose by the proprietors of said village, the aforesaid location being made agreeable and in conformity with the act of the Legislature of the State of Michigan approved March 6, 1840. "Resolved, That the clerk of said county be, and is hereby, required to procure quit-claim deeds from the proprietors of said village for the land mentioned in the foregoing resolution, and cause the same to be recorded in the register's office of this county." On the 30th day of January, 1841, the Board of Commissioners adopted the following resolution: "It appearing that the title of the site for the county-seat, as located and fixed by the Board of Commissioners on the first day of April, 1840, not having been perfected, therefore it is resolved that the act or resolution of the commissioners locating and fixing the site for the seat of justice in the county of Van Buren on block number eleven in the village of Paw Paw is hereby annulled and vacated." It was then resolved and determined by the board that the site for the seat of justice of the county of Van Buren (the title having been given) be located and fixed on block No. 40 in the village of Paw Paw. On the 8th of April, 1842, Isaac C. W. Millard gave the county a warranty deed of lots 5, 6, 7, and 8 in block 12 in Paw Paw, and received in return a perpetual lease of block 41. On those lots the court-house was built, and there justice is supposed to have had its seat to the present day. ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS. The first legislative action affecting the township organi zation of Van Buren County was a law passed by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, approved by the Governor on the 5th of November, 1829, one section of which reads as follows: " All that part of said county (Cass) known as townships Five and Six, and the north half of township numbered Seven south, in ranges Thirteen and Fourteen west, and the county of Van Buren, and all the country lying north of the same which is attached to and composes a part of the county of Cass, shall form a township by the name of Penn, and the first township-meeting shall be held at the house of Martin Shields, in said township." It is evident that most of the inhabitants of the new township resided in Cass County, while Van Buren and the country north of it was included within its legal jurisdiction for the benefit of any straggling settlers who might locate there. On the 29th of March, 1833, an act was approved organizing Allegan County into Allegan township, and attaching it temporarily to Kalamazoo County, which separated the northern country from Van Buren County. On the same day a law was approved setting off township 5 in range 13, and also in range 14 (being the north part of that part of Penn township which was in Cass County), as the township of Volinia, leaving Penn township to the south and entirely separate from Van Buren. By the same.46 I act Van Buren County was attached to Volinia township for all township purposes. It remained thus until the 26th day of March, 1835, when it was formed into the township of Lafayette, the boundaries of which corresponded with those of Van Buren County. Lafayette was organized by the election of officers in the spring of 1836, the county being still temporarily attached to Cass. On the 11th of March, 1837, just a week before the organization of the county, an act was approved dividing Lafayette into the seven townships of Antwerp, Clinch, Lafayette, Decatur, South Haven, Lawrence, and Covington. Antwerp comprised township 3 south, in range 13 west, having the same boundaries as now. Clinch comprised townships 1 and 2 south, in range 13 west, and the same numbered townships in range 14. Lafayette was composed of township 3 south, in range 14 west, its boundaries being the same as those of the present township of Paw Paw, except that the latter has received a small addition from Waverly. Decatur embraced township 4 in range 13, and township 4 in range 14, being the present townships of Decatur and Porter. South Haven consisted of township 1 in range 15, townships 1 and 2 in range 16, and the same numbered townships in range 17, being the present townships of South Haven, Geneva, Columbia, Covert, and Bangor. Lawrence was composed of townships 2 and 3 in range 15, and township 3 in range 16, being the present townships of Arlington, Lawrence, and Hartford. Covington was composed of township 4 in range 15, and the same numbered township in range 16, being the present townships of Keeler and Hamilton. The subsequent formations and changes have been as follows: Covington was discontinued by act of the Legislature on the 22d of March, 1839. The east half of it (township 4, range 15) was made the township of Alpena, while the western half (township 4, range 16), together with township 3 in the %same range (taken from Lawrence), became the township of Keeler. The name of Alpena was changed to Hamilton on the 19th of March, 1846. On the same day Hartford was formed from Keeler, comprising township 3, range 16. Waverly, Almena, and Arlington were erected on the 16th of February, 1842. The first two embraced the whole of the territory of Clinch, which was thus annulled. Waverly comprised townships 1 and 2 in range 14, being the present Bloomingdale and Waverly; while Almena occupied the same numbered townships in range 13, being now known as Pine Grove and Almena. Arlington, taken from Lawrence, had the same boundaries as now, being township 2 in range 15. Bloomingdale, Columbia, and Porter were formed on the 19th of March, 1845. The first, taken from Waverly, consisted of township 1 south, in range 14 west. The second, taken from South Haven, occupied township 1 in range 15 and the same numbered township in range 16, being now known as Columbia and Geneva. The third, taken from Decatur, consisted of township 4, range 13, its present territory. Pine Grove was formed by the Legislature from Almena 1 362 HISTORY OP VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I on the 17th of March, 1849, its boundaries, which were the same then as now, including township 1 south, in range 13 west. Marion was the first town organized by the Board of Supervisors, and was formed from South Haven on the 11th of October, 1853. Its name, however, was changed to Bangor by the board on the 14th of the same month. Its boundaries were the same as now, comprising township 2, range 16. Geneva was formed from Columbia by the supervisors on the 5th of January, 1854, comprising its present territory, -township 1 south, range 16 west. Deerfield was formed from South Haven by the same authority on the 8th of October, 1855, consisting of township 2, range 17. Its name was changed to Covert on the 29th of March, 1877. The name of the township of Lafayette was changed to Paw Paw on the 15th of March, 1867. CHAPTER XLVII. COURTS-RECORDS-COUNTY BUILDINGS- CIVIL LIST. Establishment of Courts-Circuit Court-County Court-Probate Court-The Register's and Treasurer's Offices-Record of Wolf Bounties-County Buildings and Property-The Old Jail-The Court-House-The Present Jail-Poor-House and Farm-The Present Fire-Proof Building-Van Buren County Civil List. ESTABLISHMENT OF COURTS. THE following is quoted from the first record of the Board of Supervisors of Van Buren County, and is an account of their action in accordance with the act organizing the county: " 1837. The supervisors of the towns of Van Buren met at the village of Paw Paw on the 27th day of March, A.D. 1837, and organized by appointing D. O. Dodge clerk, the business of said meeting being for locating the place for the Circuit Courts of said county. Whereupon it is decided that the courts of said county be held at the schoolhouse in the village of Paw Paw. "D. O. DODGE, Clerk'." In accordance with this action, the first court was held in the frame school-house situated on Gremps Street, Paw Paw, on a lot north of where John G. Sherman now lives. Court was held there until the court-house was completed, in 1844. The following is the first record of the Circuit Court in Van Buren County: "STATE OF MICHIGAN, "VAN BUREN COUNTY. "Be it remembered, that at a stated session of the Circuit Court of the State of Michigan within and for the county of Van Buren, begun and held, pursuant to law, at the court-house in Lafayette, in said county, on the first Monday (being the 6th day) of June in 1837, present, Hon. Epaphroditus Ransom, Circuit Judge, Wolcott H. Keeler and Jay R. Monroe, Esqs., Associate Judges, the grand jury I being called, the following persons appeared and answered to their names, to wit, Peter Gremps, Jeremiah H. Simmons, Joseph Woodman, Rodney Hinckley, Joshua Bangs, Edwin Barnum, John Reynolds, John D. Freeman, George S. Reynolds, Dexter Gibbs, Joseph Luce, Asa G. Hinckley, E. L. Barrett. " Peter Gremps was appointed by the court foreman of this grand jury, and was authorized to issue subpoenas for and administer oaths to witnesses. The grand jurors were sworn and received the charge of the court and retired; after a few moments' deliberation they returned to court and reported that no business was brought before them, and they knew of none for their consideration. "No business was brought before the court, and the court adjourned without day. "Signed in open court the 6th day of June, 1837. " EPAPHRODITUS RANSOM, "Presiding Judge." The December term, 1837, was held before the same judges. A petit jury was called, consisting of Philotus Hayden, Zebina Stearns, Aaron Barney, Beman O. Keeler, Hale Wakefield, George Ransom, Wells Gray, Joel Tomlinson, Daniel A. Alexander, Joseph Butler, Jacob S. Carrier, Lewis Johnson, Robert Nesbitt, and George S. Reynolds. The first case brought up for trial was that of Robert Nesbitt vs. George S. Reynolds,-an appeal from the judgment of a justice of the peace. Proofs and allegations were presented and the jury retired, and after due consideration returned and rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, for the sum of sixteen dollars and forty-two cents. The court affirmed the decision, and the costs were also directed to be paid by the defendant. There was no further business before the court at that time. The circuit judges who have presided over the courts since the organization of the county are as follows: Epaphroditus Ransom, June term, 1837-48; Sanford M. Green, March term, 1848-49; Charles W. Whipple, April term, 1849-52; Abner Pratt, March term, 1852 -57; Benjamin F. Graves, September term, 1857-66; George Woodruff, October term, 1866-67; Flavius J. Littlejohn, April term, 1867-69; Charles R. Brown, August term, 1869-74; Darius E. Comstock, July term, 1874-75; Josiah L. Hawes, the present incumbent, from April term, 1875. COUNTY COURT. The County Court was established by law in 1846, and the first term was directed to be held on the first day of March, 1847. An election was held in Van Buren County in November, 1846, when the Hon. A. W. Broughton was elected county judge and John R. Haynes second judge. The court convened at the day appointed in the courthouse at Paw Paw. Present, Hon. A. W. Broughton, Judge. The first case brought up for trial was that of James Scott vs. George S. Reynolds. This court was discontinued in 1850. COURTS-RECORD OF WOLF-BOUNTIES. 363 PROBATE COURT. Of the first proceedings of this court no record can be found prior to 1858, as the early records of this office were destroyed by fire. The first probate judge was Jeremiah H. Simmons, who held the office for two terms. REGISTER'S OFFICE. This county being attached to Cass County prior to its organization, all deeds, mortgages, and other legal papers pertaining to Van Buren were kept at the county-seat of that county. Transcripts of such papers were made from the Cass County records, and are on file in the register's office at Paw Paw. The first deed on record bears date November 3, 1831, and was given by Jacob and Elizabeth Charles to Samuel Morris, conveying eighty acres,-the west half of the northwest quarter of section 35, township 4 south, in range 14 west. The first deed recorded after the organization of the county was made April 7, 1837, by which Wolcott H. Keeler and Elizabeth, his wife, of Covington, conveyed to Truman Foster, of the same township, the northwest quarter of section 11, township 4 south, in range 15 west, for the sum of one thousand dollars. The first mortgage owned bears date Oct. 13, 1835, and was given by Martin Wolcott to William Corry. The land on which it was a lien was the northeast quarter and southeast quarter and the north half of the northwest quarter of section 1, township 3 south, in range 15 west. The marriage records contain as the first record the marriage of George S. Reynolds to Rebecca Luke, bearing date July 24, 1836. Signed, Daniel O. Dodge, Justice of the Peace. TREASURER'S OFFICE. The earliest valuation of the property of the county by townships, on record in the treasurer's office, was made in 1839, and is as follows: CLINCH. Non-resident real estate................................ 163,252 Resident real estate..................................... 21,504 " and personal.................................. 5,596 Total................................................ $190,352 RECORD OF WOLF-BOUNTIES. In looking over the proceedings of the Board of Supervisors, we have found recorded numerous accounts of bounties voted and paid for the slaughter of wolves in the county. It has suggested itself to us that a list of the payments, with the names of the recipients, might be interesting to some of our readers, both as showing who were the wolfhunters of the pioneer days, and as portraying the advance of civilization corresponding to the decrease in wolfslaughter. At the first meeting of the supervisors, on the 27th of March, 1837, they adopted the following resolution: " Voted to raise five dollars per head for each wolf and panther which may be killed the ensuing year, and that the county treasurer pay for each one so killed in said county out of any moneys remaining, after paying the county expenses, in his treasury." Although the vote provided a bounty for killing panthers, we have not been able to discover a single record of a payment for that. service. Either panthers were very scarce, or the hunters were not disposed to meddle with such very unpleasant subjects. Besides the county bounty of five dollars there was a State bounty of eight dollars,-which was paid by the county authorities and refunded by the State,-making in all thirteen dollars for each wolf. At the meeting in October the accounts were audited and allowed of Luther Branch, for four wolves, $52; John Condon, three wolves, $39; Joseph Butler, one, $13; CahCah (an Indian), one, $13. By November, 1838, the county bounty had been raised to $8, and the commissioners voted $16 to Thomas Green, for the joint State and county bounty. By July, 1839, the State and county bounties had both been reduced to $4, making a total of $8 for each wolf. At the meeting of the commissioners in that month the accounts were allowed of John Williams, for two wolves, $16; John Condon, three ditto, $24; Henry Potter, two ditto, $16; Amos S. Brown, Jr., eight ditto, $64; Luman Brown, three ditto, $24. In November, 1839, the following accounts were allowed: John Little, one wolf, $8; CahCah, ditto, $8; Daniel Wilcox, ditto, $8; Amos S. Brown, ditto, $8; James Scott, ditto, $8. In December, 1839, John Little, one wolf, $8. Total for 1839, twenty-four. In April, 1840, Daniel T. Pierce, one wolf, $8; Amos S. Brown, Jr., ditto, $8; John Little, ditto, $8; Wells S. Brown, ditto, $8; Luman Brown, ditto, $8. In June, 1840, Amos S. Brown, Jr., one wolf, $8; Henry Mower, two ditto, $16. In October, 1840, Henry Mower, one wolf, $8. In November, Henry Coleman, one wolf, killed by A. Manly, $8; Daniel Wilcox, one ditto, $8. In December, Austin Walden, one wolf, $8; James Johnson, ditto, $8. Total for 1840, thirteen. July, 1841, A. S. Brown, Jr., four wolves, $32; Wells S. Brown, one ditto, $8; Jonathan N. Howard, one ditto, $8. October, John Smith, one, $8. December, George W. Springer, one, $8; Harpman Salisbury, two, $16; Martin Allen, one, $8; Clark A. Lapham, one, $8; Simon 0. Keeler, one, $8. Total in 1841, thirteen. January, 1842, Harpman Salisbury, two wolves, $16; ANTWERP. Non-resident real estate................................ Resident and personal................................. Total................................................ LAFAYETTE. Non-resident real estate.............................. Resident and personal.................................. Total................................................ DECATUR. Non-resident real estate............................... Resident and personal.................................. Total................................................ SOUTH HAVEN. $33,535 30,521 $64.056 $29,287 28,016 $57,303 $60,806.77 23,781.00 $84,587.77 Non-resident, resident, real estate and personal.. $160,219.10 ALPENA. Non-resident real estate................................ $52,241 Resident and personal.................................. 21,384 Total........................................... $73,625 LAWRENCE. Non-resident, resident, real estate and personal.. $123,649.90 364 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. John Smith, one, $8. March, 1842, G. W. Springer, one wolf, $8; Harvey Potter, two, $16; C. A. Lapham, two, $16; Theodore E. Phelps, one, $8; Horatio N. Phelps, one, $8. In September of this year the supervisors voted to pay $5 in addition to the bounty already allowed by law for each full-grown wolf, and $2.50 for each whelp. This, in December following, gave James Scott, for two wolves, $26; William Wilson, one ditto, $13; Cah-Cah, one ditto, $13. Total in 1842, fourteen. In March, 1843, allowed Peter Dopp, one wolf, $13; H. Howard, ditto, $13. October, Notawawis, one, $13; CahCah, one, $13; Elizur Hogmire, one, $13. Total in 1843, five. In 1844 there is no record of any bounties being paid. The supervisors seem to have thought that it was not yet time to stop killing wolves, for they raised the reward so that the State and county bounties amounted to $20 per wolf. Under this stimulus the hunters went zealously to work, and in October, 1845, acounts were allowed of John Longwell, one wolf, $20; John Condon, ditto, $20; Orson Atkins, ditto, $20; Joseph Brown, ditto, $20; William Impson, five young wolves, $50. This seems to have been considered rather too good a crop, and on the same day that the accounts were allowed the supervisors voted that $5 county bounty should be paid for each grown wolf and $2.40 for each whelp, and no more. The State bounty was then evidently $10, and in October, 1846, payments were made as follows: Nahum B. Eager, one wolf, $15; Harvey Barrett, three ditto, $45; Aaron Kinsman, two ditto, $30. On the 13th of October the county bounty was entirely abolished by the board, leaving only the State bounty. Total number killed in 1846, six. As the State bounty was $10, however, there was still a considerable inducement to use the rifle or the trap, and on the 2d of October, 1847, Aaron Kinsman received, for one wolf, $10; Francis McMinn, ditto, $10. About this time the State bounty seems to have been reduced to $8, for during the same month we find records of payment to Charles E. Michelson, for one wolf, $8; James Wood, five wolf whelps, $20. Total for the year, three wolves and five whelps. In January, 1848, Oliver S. McOmber received, for one wolf, $8. From that time there were no more cases reported until the 13th of October, 1851, when Hiram Ewalt produced proof of having killed one full-grown wolf, for which he received $8. One year later Joseph Mimtucnaqua, an Indian, received the usual $8 from the State through the Board of Supervisors, and this ended the chapter. So far as appears, this was the last wolf slaughtered in Van Buren County, the deed being very appropriately performed by one of the race of hunters who were long the lords of all this land. THE COUNTY BUILDINGS AND PROPERTY. THE OLD JAIL. As early as the 23d day of June, 1838, before the county-seat was permanently located at Paw Paw, the Board of Supervisors, at a special meeting, took the following action: "Voted, that the sheriff be authorized to build a suitable building to serve for a jail for said county; the expense of said building shall not exceed four hundred dollars. "Voted, that the jail shall be built on the ground appropriated for that purpose by the proprietors of the village of Paw Paw in said county." The same year the Board of County Commissioners superseded the Board of Supervisors. At their first meeting, held on the 21st of November, 1838, they approved the vote of the supervisors directing the sheriff to build a county jail. At an adjourned meeting of the commissioners held on the 19th of January, 1839, the amount allowed for building a jail was extended to six hundred dollars. The structure in question was accordingly erected in the spring of 1839; and at a special meeting of the commissioners held on the 3d of June, 1839, they audited the accounts of Mason and Avery for building jail, $450. Other accounts on jail, $124.05. Total, $574.05. This jail was built of hewed logs laid upon each other, and was about 30 by 20 feet in size. It had two stories; the lower one being occupied by three cells and a small hall, while the upper one was intended for the use of the jailer's family, and was reached by stairs on the south side. It was situated on the outside of St. Joseph Street, between Brown and Lagrave Streets. THE COURT-HOUSE. On the 1st of April, 1840, the site of the court-house was fixed on block 11 in Paw Paw, but on the 30th of January, as already mentioned, it was changed to block 40. The county offices were kept in a private building belonging to Joshua Bangs, and in January, 1841, it was resolved by the commissioners to hire the building another year for fifty dollars. At the same time they allowed school district No. 1, in the township of Lafayette, the very moderate sum of three dollars for the use of the school-house by the Circuit Court. On the 8th of February, 1841, the commissioners met "for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety and measures for building a court-house," but adjourned without action. On the 1st of March, 1841, they passed the following resolution: " Resolved, That the sum of four thousand dollars be, and the same is, hereby appropriated for the purpose of building a court-house in and for the county of Van Buren." They then directed William Mason to draft, or cause to be drafted, the plan for a court-house. Nothing more was done until the 2d day of April, 1842, when the commissioners resolved to contract for building a court-house, provided that responsible parties would agree to furnish the materials and build it for not over three thousand dollars. On the 7th of April the commissioners gave notice that they would receive propositions for building the court-house until noon of the 8th of that month,an exceedingly short notice. On the 8th of April Reuben E. Rhodes and Stafford Godfrey entered into a stipulation with the commissioners, agreeing to build a court-house, according to the specifica lions on file in the county clerk's office, within eighteen months from that date, and thereupon the commissioners gave them an order on the treasury for two thousand four COUNTY BUILDINGS. 365 hundred and ten dollars. Henry N. Rhodes gave a bond to finish the mason-work in the same time for four hundred and ninety-four dollars. Isaac W. Willard, as before mentioned, gave the county a deed of lots 5, 6, 7, and 8, on block 12, in Paw Paw, as a site for the court-house; and the commissioners paid to J. T. Noyes three hundred and thirtyone dollars to clear the lots of incumbrances. Josiah Andrews was appointed to oversee the building of the courthouse. The work of building the court-house was not completed within the specified time, but in the summer of 1844 it drew near its close. On the 14th of August, in that year, the Board of Supervisors (which had resumed its former authority) ordered the purchase of twenty-four chairs for the court-house. The following day the workmanship and material of the court-house, built by Churchill & Godfrey (who had taken the place of Rhodes & Godfrey as contractors), was declared to be according to the contract. On the 18th of October, 1844, a resolution was passed allowing the citizens of Paw Paw to grub up such trees on the court-house lot as should be designated by a committee consisting of Major Heath, John Ramsey, and C. P. Sheldon, provided they would fill up the holes. Courts were held in the court-house in the autumn of 1844. The court-house thus built, which is still occupied for that purpose, is a plain white frame structure, on the south side of Main Street in Paw Paw, with a steeple upon it, and in size and appearance very much resembles a village church. THE PRESENT JAIL. During the October session, 1854, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution designating the village of Lawrence as the location of the county-seat, and submitting the question of removal thither to the people. On account of this action, the leading citizens of the village of Paw Paw, for the purpose of retaining the county-seat at that place, presented to the board, at the January session in 1855, an agreement, in which they pledged themselves to " erect, build, and complete, in a good and substantial manner, at our own expense, and without cost or cllarge to the county, a good and substantial jail, for the use of and to be the property of said county. The jail to be constructed of such materials and to be of such size, construction, and finish, and be located on such lot or place in the village of Paw Paw, as shall be designated or ordered by the Board of Supervisors, or a committee of the board duly appointed by the board and authorized by them to make such designation, and to be fully completed, to the acceptance of the board, or its committee duly appointed, by the first day of January, 1856, and which shall be worth, when completed, not to exceed $3000. Provided, that the Board of Supervisors will pass a resolution not to take any further proceedings to present the question to the vote of the people, and wholly abandon the same." This agreement was accepted on the part of the supervisors, and the jail was erected on its present location. In January, 1856, the Board of Supervisors resolved itself into a " committee of the whole, to examine the jail building." After the examination it was moved and carried that the jail be accepted and the bonds canceled. POOR-HOUSE AND FARM. Some action had been taken previous to 1865, by the Board of Supervisors, in reference to a poor-house farm, but with no results. On the 8th day of October, in that year, the superintendents of the poor of the county urged upon the board, then in session, the necessity and importance of purchasing a farm for the use of the county paupers. On the 11th of October the committee on county buildings recommended the board to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of good farming land, partially under improvement, for poor-house purposes. After due consideration it was decided to purchase, and Robert Nesbitt, J. B. Potter, and Charles Sellick were chosen a committee to make a selection and report the location, price, etc. On the 3d day of January, 1866, this committee reported several farms, with description of location, soil, improvements, and prices. Several of the farms were visited, and it was finally decided to purchase the farm of Rufus Tillou, in the township of Hartford, containing one hundred and seventy-three acres, for forty dollars per acre. The committee reported this farm as " containing one hundred and seventy-three acres, with one hundred acres improved, thirty acres chopped, and twenty-five acres timbered, a good orchard of fifty bearing-trees (mostly apples), a substantial house twenty-eight by twenty-eight feet, barn thirty-three by fifty, with addition fifteen by thirty-three feet. This farm is located on the south side of the Watervliet road, three miles west of the village of Lawrence, and is the northeast quarter of section 13 and the south part of the southeast quarter of section 12." The purchase was consummated, and the place in question has since belonged to the county. The buildings were improved and enlarged from time to time to their present condition.* THE FIRE-PROOF BUILDING. Efforts had been made several times to provide a safe repository for the county records, but not until Oct. 21, 1873, was any action taken that promised success in that direction. At that time Messrs. Barnum and French were appointed a committee to draft plans and specifications for county offices. On the 13th of January, 1874, Mr. Cox was added to the committee. On the 6th of January, 1875, the records of the county were reported unsafe, and on the 8th of the same month a resolution was passed by the supervisors appropriating one thousand dollars to erect a fire-proof building for the use of the county officers, provided the citizens of Paw Paw would raise the sum of two thousand dollars. The building was erected in the summer of 1875, and completed in September of that year, at a cost of four thousand dollars. " The superintendents of the poor, in their report to the Board of Supervisors in December, 1879, earnestly urged upon the board the importance of greater facilities and increased accommodation for the poor of the county. The statistics given below are taken from that report. The poor-house contains twenty-seven paupers. Sixty permanent paupers are kept by the county outside of the poor-house. Twenty-one insane persons are kept at the asylum at Kalamazoo, at an annual expense of $2059.80. The amount paid out for farm expenses in 1879 was $2299.57, with a credit from products of $583.82. Total expenses for the year, $9509.92. Value of farm, $6840. Value of stock, $1131.55. 366 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. VAN BUREN COUNTY CIVIL LIST. In this list are given the names of those citizens of the county who have held State or county offices, with the date of their election or appointment thereto. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTOR. 1860, Philetus Hayden. STATE SENATORS. 1849-50, John McKinney; 1851, Philetus Haydon; 1853, Fitz H. Stevens; 1855, Lyman A. Fitch; 1859, Philetus Haydon; 1863, Samuel H. Blackman; 1867-69, Nathan H. Bitely; 1871, George Hannahs; 1873, David Anderson; 1875, Albert Thompson; 1877, William 0. Packard. MEMBERS OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (STATE). 1842, Fernando C. Annable; 1844-45, John Andrews; 1846, Josiah Andrews; 1847, Philetus Haydon; 1848, John McKinney; 1849, John Andrews; 1851, Morgan L. Fitch; 1853, Charles P. Sheldon; 1855, Joseph Gilman; 1857, Elisha J. House; 1859, Fabius Miles; 1861, Jonathan J. Woodman; 1863-65, Jonathan J. Woodman, Buel M. Williams; 1867, Jonathan J. Woodman, Amos S. Brown; 1869-71, Jonathan J. Woodman,* William H. Hurlbut; 1873, Samuel H. Blackman, Emory H. Simpson; 1875, Alexander D. Copley, George B. Yeckley, William Thomas;t 1877-79, James E. Ferguson, E. Parker Hill. MEMBERS OF STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. Convention of 1836, Charles B. Avery; Convention of 1850, Isaac W. Willard; Convention of 1867, Samuel H. Blackman and Charles Duncombe. CIRCUIT JUDGE. 1874, Darius E. Comstock, held till his death, in the year 1875. JUDGES OF PROBATE. 1837-40, Jeremiah H. Simmons; 1844, Frederick Lord; 1848-52, Elisha Durkee; 1856-60, Augustus H. Nash; 1864, Chandler Richards; 1868-72, George W. Lawton; 1876, Alfred J. Mills. COUNTY JUDGES. 1846, Aaron W. Broughton; 1850, Jason A. Sheldon. SECOND JUDGES. 1846, John R. Haynes; 1847, Frederick Lord; 1850, Lyman G. Hill. ASSOCIATE JUSTICES. 1837, Wolcott H. Keeler, Jay R. Monroe; 1841, Evert B. Dyckman, John R. Haynes; 1842, John R. Haynes, Henry Coleman; 1844, W. H. Keeler, David Van Antwerp. CIRCUIT COURT COMMISSIONERS. 1838, Wolcott H. Keeler, Peter Gremps, Morgan L. Fitch; 1840, Andrew Longstreet; 1841, Lyman G. Hill; 1852, John R. Baker; 1854-56, Nathan H. Bitely; 1858, Samuel H. Blackman; 1860, Hiram Cole; 1862, John B. Upton; 1864, Joseph W. Huston; 1866, George W. Lawton; 1868, Ashbel H1. Herron; 1870, William H. Tucker; 1872, Benjamin F. Heckert; 1874, Oran W. Rowland; 1876, Albert Jackson; 1878, John Knowles. PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.: 1840, Aaron W. Broughton; 1842, Frederick Lord; 1844, Aaron W. Broughton; 1847, John R. Baker; 1849, Samuel H. Blackman; 1850, Frederick Lord;l 1852, Wm. N. Pardee; 1854, Frederick Lord; 1856, Nathan H. Bitely;ll 1858-60, Chandler Richards; 1862, Hiram Cole; 1864-70, John B. Upton; 1872, Darius E. Comstock; 1874-78, Benj. F. Heckert. * Speaker in 1869 and 1871. t Elected to fill vacancy caused by death of Mr. Ycckley. t Walter Clark, a lawyer of Kalamazoo, was temporarily appointed by the court to act as prosecuting attorney at the terms held in Van Buren County in 1839, and perhaps earlier. On the 14th of December, 1839, the supervisors of Van Buren County voted Mr. Clark $50, as a year's salary as prosecuting attorney. - First election of prosecuting attorney by the people. 11 Mr. Bitely was elected but could not qualify, as he was not a member of the bar of this State, although he had been admitted to practice law in Ohio. TREASURERS. 1837, Daniel 0. Dodge; 1838, Joshua Bangs; 1840, Frederick Lord; 1842-44, John McKinney; 1846, Theodore E. Phelps; 1848-52, Emory O. Briggs; 1854, Alexander H. Phelps; 1856-58, John M. Redlan; 1860-62, Aaron B. Dyckman; 1864, Samuel H. Blackman; 1866-70, Edwin Barnum; 1872-74, Stephen W. Duncombe; 1876, Hannibal M. Marshall; 1878, Stephen W. Duncombe. REGISTERS. 1837-38, Jeremiah H. Simmons; 1840-42, Fitz H. Stevens; 1844, Emory 0. Briggs; 1846, Elisha C. Cox; 1848, Joseph Cox, Jr.; 1850, Wm. H. Hurlbut; 1852, Eusebius Mather; 1854, Edward A. Thompson; 1856, Samuel G. Blackman; 1858-60, Thomas B. Irwin; 1862-64, Stephen W. Duncombe; 1866, E. Parker Hill; 1868, Don C. Rogers; 1870, Milan D. Richardson; 1872-74, Kirk W. Noyes; 1876-78, Samuel Ellis. SHERIFFS. 1837, Samuel Gunton; 1838, Andrew Longstreet; 1840, John McKinney; 1842, William Hill; 1844, John Smolk, Jr.; 1846, William Hill; 1848, Henry C. Clapp; 1850, William Hill; 1852, Henry C. Clapp; 1854, William Hill; 1856, Noble D. Richardson; 1858, John H. Stoddard; 1860, Calvin Durkee; 1864, Noble D. Richardson; 1866, Edwin K. Farmer; 1868-70, William R. Sirrine; 1872-74, John E. Showerman; 1876, John Wachsmuth; 1878, Nathan Thomas. COUNTY CLERKS. 1837, Nathaniel B. Starkweather; 1838, Edward Shultz; 1840, Jeremiah H. Simmons; 1842, Joseph Gilman; 1844, James B. Crane; 1846, Lyman H. Fitch; 1848-50, S. Talmadge Conway; 1852, Franklin M. Manning; 1854-56, Stillman F. Breed; 1858, S. Talmadge Conway; 1860-62, Martin Ruggles; 1864-66, Ashbel II. Herron; 1868-70, Oran W. Rowland; 1872-74, Samuel Holmes; 1876-78, Henry S. Williams. SURVEYORS. 1837, Humphrey P. Barnum; 1838, John D. Compton; 1840, Eleazer H1. Keeler; 1842, Alonzo Crane; 1844-46, Samuel H. Blackman; 1848-52, Jeremiah H. Simmons; 1854, William H. Harrison; 1856-58, Samuel A. Tripp; 1860, Orville B. Abbott; 1862, Peter J. Speicher; 1864, Charles J. Monroe; 1866, Charles D. Lawton; 1868-70, Almon J. Pierce; 1872, Augustus H. Teed; 1874-78, Almon J. Pierce. CORONERS. 1837, Junia Warner, Jr., John R. Haynes, Humphrey P. Barnum; 1838, Lyman G. Hill, Levi 11. Warner; 1840, Junia Warner, Jr.; 1842-44, Charles U. Cross; 1846, Joshua Woodman; 1848, Chas. P. Sheldon; 1850, Alexander H.Phelps; 1852, Harrison Dyckman, Nathan Jaquish; 1854, John Hunt, Nelson H. Marshall; 1856, John Hunt; 1858, Ashbel H. Herron; 1860, Jefferson Edmunds, Stephen B. Morehouse; 1862, Albert R. Wildey, Asahel S. Downing; 1864, John Andrews, Abel Brown; 1866, John Andrews, Loyal Crane; 1868, Thomas A. Granger, Geo. L. Seaver; 1870, Wm. R. Hawkins, Daniel Van Auken; 1872, Oscar F. Thomas, William P. Bryan; 1874, Elisha B. Moon, Loyal Crane; 1876, Michael Mason, James P. Fox; 1878, Henry M. Brodrick, Albert S. Haskin. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. By a law passed in the spring of 1838 three county commissioners were elected, who superseded the supervisors and exercised their functions. The first three determined their terms of one, two, and three years by lot; afterwards one was to be elected each year, holding three years. The Board of Commissioners was abolished, and the Board of Supervisors resumed their former functions by a law passed in the spring of 1842. 1838, Peter Gremps (for three years), W. H. Keeler (for two years), Morgan L. Fitch (for one year); 1839, Silas Breed; 1840, Andrew Longstreet; 1841, Lyman G. Hill. THE PRESS OF VAN BUREN COUNTY. 367 CHAPTER XLVIII. THE PRESS OF VAN BUREN COUNTY. The Pioneer Newspapers of the County-Journalism at the CountySeat-The Press of South Haven-Newspaper Enterprises at Decatur, Lawton, Hartford, Bangor, and Lawrence. THE PAW PAW DEMOCRAT. THE history of the press of Van Buren County began in January, 1843, when H. B. Miller, of Niles (known later as " Buffalo" Miller, of Chicago), sent his brother-in-law, one Harris, over to Paw Paw, with press and printing material, to start a newspaper, chiefly for the purpose of printing the county tax-lists. Harris got out a six-column folio weekly, which he called the Paw Paw Democrat. Its politics were Democratic, and its office of publication was on Main Street just east of the present bank building. Harris was consumptive and did very little work. He died during the winter of 1842-43, and his death ended the history of the Democrat, Miller carrying the press and material back to Niles. PAW PAW FREE PRESS. During the next two years Van Buren County was destitute of a newspaper, but in January, 1845, a lawyer named Samuel N. Gantt and a printer named Geiger brought a " two-pull" wooden Ramage press, and the other necessary material for a printing-office, by wagon, from Detroit to Paw Paw. On their arrival, they issued a fourpage five-column weekly, which they christened the Paw Paw Free Press. In the course of the season, however, Mr. Geiger became disgusted with the general course of events, and with Gantt in particular, and accordingly one night he carried off the screw of the press, threw it into the Paw Paw River, and fled to Detroit. Gantt mourned the loss of Geiger much less than that of the screw, the latter being indispensable to the working of the press. lie offered a reward of ten dollars, and A. V. Pantland, who happened to know where Geiger had thrown it, fished it out of the river. Mr. Gantt continued to publish the Free Press until the spring of 1846, when he sold it to John McKinney, then county treasurer, and began the practice of law at Paw Paw. Mr. McKinney owned and published the paper until January, 1846, when he disposed of it to E. O. Briggs. After a newspaper experience of thirteen months Mr. Briggs sold the Free Press in January, 1848, to S. Tallmadge Conway, who had been a printer in the office since August, 1846, and who had done a little newspaper work on the Paw Paw Democrat as early as 1842. Mr. Conway retained the ownership for the previously unprecedented time of six years and a half. The paper then (July 10, 1854) passed into the hands of a stock company. A few weeks' experience, however, was enough for the stockhold ers, at the end of which they transferred the Free Press to I. W. Van Fossen. Soon after this gentleman went into possession the Paw Paw Free Press ceased to exist, so far as the name was concerned, though the publication still continued. PAW PAW PRESS. This was the new name by which the Paw Paw Free Press was baptized soon after Mr. Van Fossen became the owner. Even this did not satisfy him, and in the early part of 1855 he took the whole county into the scope of his paper's name. VAN BUREN COUNTY PRESS. Such was the appellation upon which Mr. Van Fossen finally settled, and this appeared to be satisfactory to all concerned, for under this name and by the same publisher the paper was issued for nearly thirteen years, until the 3d of January, 1868, when the office was destroyed by fire. This interrupted the publication for a few months, but in the summer of 1868 Mr. Van Fossen revived his paper, and continued to publish it until 1872. He then leased the office to Frank Drummond, who during the campaign of that year supported the cause of Greeley and Brown. In the winter of 1872-73, Mr. Van Fossen sold the property to E. A. Lanphere and G. W. Mathews, who determined on another change of name. PAW PAW COURIER. With the change came a change of politics, for Messrs. Lanphere & Mathews, eschewing the Greeley issue of the year, made the Courier an exponent of Republican principles, and published it as such until the beginning of 1877, when they sold it to E. A. Blackman and E. A. Park. These gentlemen made it a Democratic paper, and published it until the 4th of August, 1877. Then they consolidated another journal with it and extended its name, as will be related below. VAN BUREN COUNTY PRESS (No. 2). During the ownership of the Courier by Lanphere & Mathews, Messrs. E. K. Park and George F. Sellick, job printers at Paw Paw, started a new Democratic paper there, to which they gave the old name of the Van Buren County Press. Perhaps Mr. I. W. Van Fossen was attracted by the name with which he had so long been identified, for he soon purchased the Press. He speedily transferred it to O. D. Hadsell, who changed its name to another, which had, like that one, already seen service in the county. PAW PAW FREE PRESS (No. 2). Under this name Mr. Hadsell conducted his venture until the 4th of August, 1877, when he sold it to Blackman & Park, the owners of the Paw Paw Courier. PAW PAW FREE PRESS AND COURIER. The Free Press and the Courier were then consolidated, and in order to please the readers of both sheets Messrs. Blackman & Park consolidated the names as well as the papers, issuing the new journal under the name of the Paw Paw Free Press and Courier. Like both its predecessors, this was a Democratic sheet, and has flourished in that faith to the present day. On the 23d of November, 1878, Mr. Park withdrew, and Mr. E. A. Blackman has since been the sole editor and proprietor. It will be seen that the present Free Press and Courier is the legitimate successor of the first newspaper established 368 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. in Van Buren County, except the old Paw Paw Democrat of 1842, as well as of another line of papers now united in the same channel. We have, therefore, briefly sketched the journals of various names whose shades may be supposed to linger around the sanctum of their successor before delineating the career of others. THE TRUE NORTHERNER. This journal boasts a continuous existence under the same name of twenty-five years, and in that respect is the oldest paper in the county. It was founded in March, 1855, as a Republican weekly journal, on the very first organization of the Republican party, by George A. Fitch, then publishing the Kalamazoo Telegraph, and has maintained that political status since then without change. Mr. Fitch sent John B. Butler over to edit and publish the True Northerner, but in August of that year Butler retired and Fitch sold the material to John Reynolds and E. A. Thompson, pledging himself, however, to edit and publish the paper until March, 1857. R. C. Nash was employed as editor, but retired in January, 1856, and was succeeded by L. B. Bleecker and S. F. Breed. On the 19th of February, 1856, Samuel H. Blackman and S. F. Breed became the sole proprietors of the True Northerner. In 1858, Thaddeus R. Harrison purchased the paper from them and remained the owner until 1866, although during the latter part of that period it was leased to Charles P. Sweet. In the year last named Mr. Harrison sold the True Northerner to Thomas 0. Ward, who retained possession until the 28th of August, 1870. At that time S. Talmadge Conway, whose connection with the press of Paw Paw has already been noticed, became editor, publisher, and proprietor of the True Northerner, and has so remained to the present time. The True Northerner has a circulation of about two thousand, and ranks among the leading Republican papers of Western Michigan. TIHE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT. In March, 1878, Charles S. Maynard founded the National Independent, at Paw Paw, as a Greenback organ, issuing the first number on the 8th of that month. Mr. Maynard conducted the paper until the 15th of January, 1879, when he sold it to R. C. Nash. In April following the Independent was transferred to Smith & Wilson. Mr. Wilson soon retired, and W. E. Smith became sole editor and proprietor. The National Independent suddenly ceased X to exist in the latter part of December, 1879. VAN BUREN COUNTY TRIBUNE. This paper, published by T. O. Street, was the pioneer of Decatur journalism, but its career was so very brief that it is difficult to ascertain even the date of its existence. It was, however, about 1864. DECATUR CLARION. The Tribune was succeeded by the Decatur Clarion, which flourished (or languished) for an equally brief period, under the editorship of Moses Hull, and then became forever silent. VAN BUREN COUNTY REPUBLICAN. This is the first permanent newspaper in Decatur, and was founded in 1867, by E. A. Blackman and C. F. R. Bellows (the latter being then the principal of the union school, and now the occupant of a professor's chair in the University of Michigan). Mr. Bellows retired after a brief experience, leaving the control of the paper to Mr. Blackman. Under his control the Republican expounded the principles of Republicanism until 1872, when it supported Greeley and Brown. In 1873 it passed into the ranks of the Democracy. In 1876, Mr. Blackman sold his paper to H. C. Buffington (formerly of the Cass County Republican), who brought it back into the Republican fold, where it has since remained. In December, 1879, Mr. Buffington disposed of the paper to A. M. Wooster, the present proprietor.- The Republican is a four-page, twenty-eight-column journal, issued every Wednesday, and is one of the prominent newspapers of the county. THE IRON CITY AGE. This was a weekly publication, established in Lawton in 1860 by Joseph Twell. It expired in 1867. THE LAWTON GAZETTE. After the decease of the Age, George W. Lawton, Esq., began the publication at Lawton of the Lawton Gazette (weekly), which, however, was printed at Paw Paw. The Gazette lasted until 1869. LAWTON TRIBUNE. In September of the year last named J. H. Wickwire established the Lawton Tribune, a four-page, six-column journal, sixteen inches by twenty-two. It passed successively into the hands of Cowgill & Jennings, Ambrose Moore, Jr., Orris Strong, and Ezra Hayden, and expired in 1873. HARTFORD DAY SPRING. The first number of this paper was issued Thursday, Nov. 16, 1871, by O. D. Hadsell and Alonzo H. Chandler, the latter, however, retiring in a few weeks. It was continued by Mr. Hadsell until Oct. 28, 1876, when it was purchased by Wm. H. H. Earle. He edited and published the Day Spring about a year, when Luther Sutton assumed the editorship, since which time Mr. Earle has been the proprietor and publisher and Mr. Sutton the editor. SOUTH HAVEN SENTINEL. The South Haven Sentinel was founded in June, 1867, by Capt. David M. Phillips, of Albion, as a six-column neutral paper. In June, 1868, it was sold to Dr. Samuel D. Tobey, who transferred it to Capt. William E. Stewart in September of the same year, he having been in charge of the mechanical department since August, 1867. Capt. Stewart has successfully conducted the Sentinel during the period of almost twelve years which has elapsed since his purchase, and in 1870 was enabled to enlarge it from six to eight columns per page. SOUTH HAVEN RECORD. This paper was started on the 12th of August, 1878, as a Greenback sheet, by J. Densmore. Mr. Densmore pub THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 369 lished it until May, 1879, when he sold it to parties in Kalamazoo. It was then removed to that place, where it continues to support the interests of the Greenback party. FONETIC KLIPS. This curious little sheet, which is issued monthly by A. J. Pierce, was started on the 1st day of January, 1879. It is devoted to the introduction of phonetic spelling, which is now being used to a very limited extent by some of the journals of the country. BANGOR JOURNAL. The journalism of Bangor is of recent date, and will occupy but a very brief space. In February, 1873, Charles Gillett began the publication at that place of a weekly paper, which was called the Journal. The venture was not a success financially, and with the autumn of the same year the pioneer newspaper of Bangor closed its brief career. BANGOR REFLECTOR. From the ashes of the Journal, however (that is, from its old type and press), arose the Balgor Reflector, the first number of which was issued in December, 1873. This paper was published by W. W. Secord, with limited success, until April, 1875, when it passed into the hands of its present proprietor, C. C. Phillips. Under his management its circulation has steadily increased, until it ranks as one of the leading weeklies of the county. It is a fivecolumn, eight-page sheet, and is a staunch advocate of Republican principles. LAWRENCE ADVERTISER. On the 1st day of February, 1875, Theodore L. Reynolds issued the first number of the Lawrence Advertiser, an independent, seven-column paper located at the village of Lawrence. After Mr. Reynolds' death, in November, 1876, Mrs. Reynolds continued the publication until the 1st of March, 1877, when the Advertiser passed into the hands of George A. Cross, John B. Potter being the manager. On the 20th of April, 1877, Mr. Cross sold the paper to Robert L. Warren, who has since been the editor and proprietor. Mr. Warren made the Advertiser a Republican sheet, and such it has since remained. On the 1st of October, 1877, he leased the office to Messrs. Van Hoesen & Bates, who have since then published the Advertiser, while Mr. Warren has retained the editorial management. CHAPTER XLIX. THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. The Van Buren County Bar-The Medical Profession in Van Buren County-Van Buren County Medical Society-Homoeopathic and other Physicians. THE VAN BUREN COUNTY BAR. THE first lawyer in Van Buren County was Aaron W. Broughton, who came previous to 1839. He, however, was engaged in the mercantile business in the township of Hamilton for several years, during which time he rarely or never 47 practiced his profession. He was appointed the first prosecuting attorney of the county, and served from April, 1840, to April, 1842, receiving fifty dollars for the first year's services and seventy-five for the second. He was also appointed prosecuting attorney for 1844 and 1845. He practiced at Paw Paw for several years after that, and was practically the only county judge of Van Buren County, holding the office from 1846, when it was established, until 1850. A successor was elected in the latter year, but the office was abolished by the constitution of that year. Frederick Lord, who is still a resident of Paw Paw, was the second lawyer in the county and the first in Paw Paw. He became a resident of that village in the spring of 1839, taught school and studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He was almost immediately elected county treasurer, and in 1842 was appointed the second prosecuting attorney of Van Buren County. He was also the first person elected to that office by the people under the constitution of 1850, and was second judge of the county court, from 1847 to 1850. For several years Mr. Lord has not been engaged in the duties of his profession. George L. Gale, a lawyer, settled in Paw Paw a little later, remained about ten years, and then went to California. Samuel N. Gantt, a lawyer, located in Paw Paw in 1845, but for a little over a year he was engaged in publishing a newspaper there. In the spring of 1846 he began practicing law there, but did not remain long. J. R. Baker located at Paw Paw in 1844 or '45. He was a very zealous, energetic man, and soon became prominent in the county. Besides taking an active part in politics and land business, Mr. Baker was a successful lawyer, and was employed in a large portion of the cases litigated in Van Buren County, and in some of the adjoining counties. He was prosecuting attorney from 1847 to 1849. He also bore a prominent part in the prosecution of Reynolds, for murder, in 1854, which resulted in sending the accused to the State-prison for life. In 1858, Mr. Baker formed a partnership with Chandler Richards, a new-comer in Paw Paw, the firm-name being Baker & Richards. The partnership continued ten years. During this time Mr. Baker left the greater part of the law business to his partner, occupying himself much with other matters, but always being considered one of the leading men of the county. The partnership between Messrs. Baker & Richards was dissolved in 1868. The former gentleman died in June, 1873. Elisha Durkee settled in Paw Paw, October, 1845. He was a native of Orleans Co., N. Y., and had been admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of that State in 1843. When Mr. Durkee arrived at Paw Paw there were only the three lawyers before mentioned in the county, but these four were amply sufficient to do all the business. There were but two terms of the Circuit yearly, and at these the calendar would be cleared in one or two days. There was, however, considerable justice-court business, which, if less lucrative for the counsel, was more interesting to spectators than the statelier proceedings of the Circuit. The first case Mr. Durkee tried was before a justice of the peace who lived in the woods three miles from Paw Paw. Messrs. Broughton and Baker were both employed 370 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. on the other side, and all three of the counsel had to make their way among the trees as best they could, for the road was only cut out a part of the distance. On their arrival they found a log house with one room, which served as parlor, dining-room, kitchen, bed-room, and court-room. The justice's wife lay sick on the bed in one corner, the court, counsel, and parties clustered thick around the table in the centre, and the jurymen disposed themselves as best they could against the wall. The trial began, and after a short time the jury asked to be excused, and all went out. In a few moments they returned and the trial proceeded. It was not long, however, until the jury asked to be excused, and again unanimously retired. When this had occurred the third time Mr. Durkee thought he would see what was going on. He followed the jurors to the barn, and found they had a jug of whisky there, furnished by the opposite party. He was at first inclined to object to this, but finally concluded that he could manage a drunken jury as well as his opponents, and kept still. And in fact, when the case was finished at midnight, the jury gave a verdict in favor of his client. Mr. Durkee practiced at Paw Paw until 1866, when (his health failing) he retired to his farm in Antwerp, where he still resides. He was judge of probate of Van Buren County from 1848 to 1856. Samuel H. Blackman located in Paw Paw shortly after Mr. Durkee. He soon became a successful practitioner, and in 1849 was appointed prosecuting attorney, holding the office until it was made elective by the constitution of 1850. Mr. Blackman has continued to keep an office at Paw Paw until the present time, being now the senior practicing member of the Van Buren County bar. William N. Pardee was a member of the bar, and served as prosecuting attorney from 1852 to 1854, but did not practice long after expiration of his term of office. For many years there seem to have been no accessions to the bar of Paw Paw, but in the latter part of 1857 Joseph W. Huston opened an office at that place. He was a wide-awake lawyer and politician, and soon made his mark at the bar. During the war he entered the military service, and received a commission as major. After the close of hostilities he resumed practice at Paw Paw, and for a time was the postmaster of that place. About 1870, Maj. Huston removed to Idaho, and has since been appointed the attorney-general of that Territory. In 1858 two more disciples of Blackstone made their home at Paw Paw,-M. S. Bowen and Chandler Richards. The former only remained two or three years, and then removed to Coldwater, Branch Co. Mr. Richards, as before stated, entered into partnership with Mr. Baker, and practiced with him ten years, taking the laboring oar in the management of cases in court. Having dissolved his partnership with Mr. Baker in 1868, Mr. Richards was absent from the county four years. Returning to Paw Paw in 1872 he resumed practice, and has ever since been one of the leading lawyers of the county. T. H. Stevenson was admitted to the bar in 1862, and practiced in Paw Paw until his death, which occurred in 1872. Mr. Stevenson was a man of marked ability, both as to knowledge of law and as to skill in the management of causes, and during the latter part of his career stood at the head of the Van Buren County bar. Calvin Cross located in Lawrence in 1857. He opened an office in Bangor about 1873, and has practiced there most of the time since then with marked success, being now the head of the firm of Cross & Withey. John B. Upton began practice in Lawrence in 1859. After carrying on business there successfully until 1867, he removed to Decatur. Mr. Upton was prominent in both law and politics, and was prosecuting attorney of the county four terms (from 1864 to 1872), the longest period that the office has been held by a single individual. Mr. Upton removed to Big Rapids, Mecosta Co., about 1875. A. W. Brown located in Lawrence in 1860, but removed to Lenawee County the following year. Hiram Cole, an able lawyer, a native of Cayuga Co., N. Y., opened an office in Decatur in 1857, and practiced there with decided success until his death, which occurred in April, 1870. Mr. Cole was prosecuting attorney of the county from 1862 to 1864. He was successively the head of the firms of Cole & Shyer, Cole & Parkhurst, Cole & Foster, and Cole & Upton. Charles Shyer, a promising young lawyer, and a gentleman highly respected by the people, located at Decatur previous to the war, and became the partner of Mr. Cole. In 1863 he became the captain of Company K in the new battalion of the 1st Michigan Cavalry. He served with distinguished courage, and was killed at the battle of Cedar Creek, in the Shenandoah Valley, October 19, 1864. George W. Lawton was admitted to the bar at Detroit in 1861, and has been in practice since that time, except when in the army. He entered the service as second lieutenant in the 4th Michigan Cavalry in 1862, served throughout the war, was severely wounded at Dallas, Ga., and was brevetted major in the Atlanta campaign. He has practiced successfully at Lawton since the war, and was probate judge of Van Buren County from 1872 to 1876. Jonathan S. Parkhurst, a native of Oswego Co., N. Y., who was admitted to the bar at Detroit in 1858, located at Decatur in 1863, and practiced there until 1870. He then removed to Kansas, but returned to Decatur in 1876, where he has since been in active practice. We have now given brief sketches of the lawyers who began practice in Van Buren County before the close of the war of 1861-65, and of two or three others. We next transcribe from the records of the county clerk a list of those who have been admitted to the bar of Van Buren County (with the dates of admission) since the first day of April, 1864, back of which time those records do not extend. Ashbel Harrison Herron, April 20, 1864; Newton Foster, April 16, 1867 -Isaac E. Barnum, April 16, 1867; Joseph Herron, Oct. 31, 1867; William H. Tucker, Jan. 19, 1869; Wm. C. Chubb, April 19, 1869; Oscar W. Field, Aug. 16, 1869; George L. Linden, Aug. 16, 1869; John Knowles, Aug. 16, 1869; Orris C. Lathrop, Oct. 20, 1869; W. Scott Beebe, April 11, 1870; Theodore E. Hendrick, April 11, 1870; John R. Carr, April 19, 1870; James M. Davis, Nov. 26, 1870; Jay J. Sherman, April 13, 1871; Oscar F. Januasch, April 15, 1872; Oran W. THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 371 Rowland, Nov. 13, 1872; Edgar A. Crane, March 29, 1873; James B. Judson, March 31, 1873; James S. Maury, Jan. 20, 1875; C. H. Engle, Jan. 20, 1875; Wm. H. Buchanan, May 24, 1875; 0. N. Hilton, June 22, 1875; David K. Prentice, Oct. 6, 1875; Win. H. Mason, Sept. 5, 1876; Samuel Holmes, April 10, 1877; Thornton Hall, Jan. 30, 1878; Elias J. MacEwan, March 27, 1878; Charles A. Harrison, Jan. 30, 1878; Frank E. Withey, Dec. 10, 1878. Of the gentlemen above named, Messrs. Knowles, Rowland, Hilton, Mason, Holmes, and Harrison are now practicing at Paw Paw; Messrs. Tucker and Sherman are at Decatur; Mr. Engle at Hartford; and Mr. Withey at Bangor. Newton Foster, after being in partnership for a time with Franklin Muzzy, of Niles, returned to Decatur, where he had studied, and practiced there with marked success until his death, in 1877. W. S. Bebee also practiced at Decatur from his admission until 1877, when he removed to Portland, Oregon, where he is now engaged in the duties of his profession. 0. W. Field, who studied with Mr. Foster, and was at one time in partnership with him, was in practice at Decatur from his admission until his death, in the winter of 1874-75. Mr. Lathrop located in South Haven on his admission, but removed to Illinois in 1875. Besides, there have been several disciples of Blackstone who were admitted outside of the county, and who have located in it, either temporarily or permanently, since the war. H. M. Lillie began practice at South Haven in 1867 or 1868, practiced there most of the time for five or six years, and subsequently died. A. H. Chandler came to South Haven about the same time as Lillie, practiced there a few years, left the county, returned, and is now practicing at Hartford. A Mr. Fordham, a lawyer, was at South Haven prior to Mr. Chandler, but did not practice, and removed to Kentucky. Benjamin F. Heckert located at South Haven in May, 1869, practiced there until he was elected prosecuting attorney, in the fall of 1875, when he removed to Paw Paw, where he still holds that office. Darius E. Comstock opened an office at South Haven in July, 1870, and remained until the 1st of January, 1874, when, having been chosen prosecuting attorney, he removed to Paw Paw. He was appointed circuit judge in 1874, but died while holding the office, in January, 1875. Jerome Coleman, though long a resident of this county, was admitted elsewhere soon after graduating from the University of Michigan, in 1871, but has since practiced at Decatur. Alfred J. Mills, one of the later accessions to the bar of Paw Paw, is now the probate judge of the county. We close this sketch with a list of the lawyers now residing in Van Buren County, with their places of business: Paw Paw, E. R. Annable, S. H. Blackman, C. A. Harrison, B. F. Heckert, O. N. Hilton, Samuel Holmes, John Knowles, W. H. Mason, A. J. Mills, Chandler Richards, and 0. W. Rowland; Decatur, Jerome Coleman, J. S. Parkhurst, J. J. Sherman, and W. H. Tucker; Bangor, Calvin Cross, Austin Herrick, James F. Maury, and F. E. Withey; South Haven, William N. Cook, James H. Johnson, and C. J. Monroe; Hartford, C. H. Engle and A. H. Chandler; Lawton, George W. Lawton and S. A. Tabor; Lawrence, Robert L. Warren. TIHE MEDICAL PROFESSION. It is hardly necessary to say that the life of the early physicians in Van Buren County, as well as throughout the State of Michigan, was one of great hardship. All their traveling was necessarily done on horseback, and the settlements were so widely scattered that they were obliged to traverse immense distances in order to visit their patients. Rising early and retiring late, the pioneer doctor rode from one lone log cabin to another, now following a scarcely perceptible roadway, where the boughs met close above his bending head, now striking boldly through the untrodden woodland, now struggling through a marshy interval, and anon urging his tired steed into a bridgeless stream, perchance compelled to swim a part of the way across, and emerging drenched to the skin on the opposite shore. Practicing medicine was no holiday work in Van Buren County from 1835 to 1850. According to the oldest residents, the first physician in Van Buren County was a Dr. Barrett, who was invited to Paw Paw from Stone Arabia, N. Y., in the summer of 1835. He practiced at Paw Paw only three or four years (perhaps less), and then removed to Kalamazoo, where he died. The first physician who settled permanently in the county was Dr. Levi H. Warner, who came with his family from Sweden, Monroe Co., N. Y., in the fall of 1835, with the families of John Hill, Theophilus Bangs, and Joshua and Joseph Luce. These families all settled at Paw Paw or vicinity. Dr. Warner practiced his profession in the county until 1847 or 1848, when he returned to New York. The next was Dr. Harvey Manley, a native of Ashtabula Co., Ohio, who located at Breedsville in the spring of 1837. He purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres on section 29, in the immediate vicinity of Breedsville, where he lived for many years, and followed his profession. Dr. Torrey, a graduate of a medical college in one of the Eastern States, came to Paw Paw in 1837, and practiced medicine for several years. His health failing, he returned to New England, where he soon after died. Josiah Andrews is a native of Cayuga Co., N. Y. He studied medicine in that State, and graduated at Fairfield Medical College, Herkimer Co., N. Y. He came to this State in 1838, located at Paw Paw, and commenced the practice of his profession. His ride embraced all the settled portions of the county. He was associated in after-years with Dr. H. C. Clapp, and is now associated with Dr. L. C. Woodman. In later years Dr. Andrews has mostly been engaged in office-work and consultation. He represented his district in the Legislature in 1846. Dr. Joel Camp, a native of Ohio, came to this county as early as 1846, and was practicing at South Haven in that year. He soon after settled at Breedsville, where he practiced till the fall of 1853, when he removed to Lawrence. He subsequently went to Kalamazoo to reside, but about 1867 returned to Bangor, where he is still engaged in the duties of his profession. Dr. John W. Emory, a native of Alstead, N. H., graduated at Woodstock Medical College, in that State. He practiced many years before coming to this State. 372 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. In 1848 he came to Paw Paw and engaged in his former business. With the exception of four years spent in Vermont, he has lived and practiced in Paw Paw to the present time. Dr. Geo. Bartholomew, a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y., came to Keeler in 1846, and bought a farm, where he remained two years. He then removed to Paw Paw, and spent three years in that place. He was in the employ of the Panama Railroad Company as a physician five years, but. returned to Keeler in 1869, where he is still in practice. Dr. C. P. Prindle came to Lawrence in the year 1848, and practiced till the fall of 1852. Dr. J. T. Keables, a native of Norwich, Conn., studied medicine, and commenced practice in 1849, at Joliet, Ill. In 1851 he came to Decatur, and has practiced in that place till the present time, with the exception of three years' service as surgeon in the 3d Michigan Cavalry. Dr. Charles T. Baker is a native of Howard, Steuben Co., N. Y. He graduated in the medical department of the University of Michigan in 1854, and in the fall of that year came to Decatur. He has been in practice in that village ever since, except during a term as surgeon in the army in the war for the Union. Dr. Wm. B. Hathaway, a native of Jefferson County, N. Y., studied medicine with Professor Trowbridge, in Watertown, N. Y., graduated at Castleton College, Vt., in 1851; came to Allegan in the fall of the same year, moved soon after to Breedsville, and in 1853 located at South Haven. He was the first regular physician in that township, and remained there till 1861, when he removed to Paw Paw, where he still resides and practices. Dr. G. W. Rogers is a native of Cortland Co., N. Y., and studied medicine with Dr. Curtiss, of Geneva College, N. Y. He practiced five years in that State, and in May, 1857, came to Decatur, where he is still engaged in his profession. He attended lectures at Chicago, and is a member of the State Medical Society. Dr. Charles M. Lee graduated at the medical college in Geneva, N. Y. He was a native of Fulton, N. Y., and came to South Haven in 1856. He remained three years and then returned to New York. Dr. Henry C. Clapp, a native of Cayuga Co., N. Y., came to Paw Paw in 1842. After teaching school a short time he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Andrews, of that village. He attended lectures and graduated at Laporte, Ind., in 1846. He returned to Paw Paw, where he practiced seven or eight years, and then removed to Chicago. He afterwards went from that city to California, where he died. Dr. M. F. Palmer was the first resident physician of Hartford. He located at the village about 1852, and commenced a practice which he still continues. Dr. Nelson Rowe, a well-educated physician, came to Lawrence in the spring of 1853, and practiced there until his death, in January, 1864. Dr. A. S. Haskin came to Lawrence in 1857. He has been in constant practice to the present, and is secretary of the County Medical Society. The Van Buren County Medical Society. —The following is the first record of this association: "At a meeting of a number of the physicians of Van Buren County, convened according to previous notice, April 15, 1856, at the office of Dr. Josiah Andrews, at Paw Paw, it was on motion resolved that a medical society be organized for this county. A preliminary organization was effected, and an adjournment to April 29th, when a permanent organization was perfected by the election' of the following officers, and the adoption of a constitution: Josiah Andrews, Paw Paw, President; H. C. Clapp, Paw Paw, Vice-President; J. Elliot Sweet, Keeler, Secretary; J. Andrews, Treasurer. The persons whose names are given below are the constituent members: J. Andrews, J. Elliot Sweet, L. C. Woodman, C. T. Baker, G. B. Davidson, H. C. Clapp." Dr. Sweet remained secretary until January, 1878, when he was succeeded by A. S. Haskin. Meetings of the society are held every three months, in January, April, July, and November. The officers in 1879 were L. C. Woodman, of Paw Paw, President; T. E1. Briggs, Vice-President; A. S. Haskin, of Lawrence, Secretary. The following is a list of the members in 1879: Paw Paw, Josiah Andrews, John W. Emory, William B. Hathaway, L. R. Dibble, L. C. Woodman; Hartford, J. Elliot Sweet, M. F. Palmer, William A. Engle, A. E. Palmer; South Haven, J. O. Gunsolly, G. V. Hilton; Decatur, J. T. Keables, C. T. Baker; Lawrence, A. S. Haskin, O. B. Wiggin, E. S. Cleveland; Watervliet, B. B. Tucker; Mattawan, T. H. Briggs, David Brown; Dowagiac, C. W. Morse; Bangor, J. E. Ferguson; Keeler, George Bartholomew; Breedsville, N. J. Cranmer; Gobleville, A. E. Bulson; Bloomingdale, H. R. Bulson, W. B. Anderson. Regular physicians resident in the county not members of the society are Drs. Rose and Dillon, Decatur; Dr. William E. Rowe, Lawrence; Dr. John L. Cross, Bangor; Dr. E. B. Dunning, Paw Paw; Dr. Joel Camp, Bangor; Dr. M. E. Bishop, South Haven; Dr. William C. Freese, South Haven; Dr. Charles Carnes, Covert; Dr. L. A. Barber, Bloomingdale; Dr. Rankin, Bloomingdale. Homoeopathic and other Physicians.-The physicians of this practice have no county society. The names of those who have practiced and are still practicing in the county are given as well as can be ascertained: Dr. C. M. Odell, a native of Canada, graduated at Queen's College, Toronto, as an allopathic physician in 1835, and practiced there in both allopathy and homoeopathy before coming to this State. He came to Mattawan in 1850, and to Paw Paw a little later. After the establishment of the Homoeopathic College at Detroit he attended lectures there, and graduated in 1873. He is still in practice at Paw Paw. Dr. Eugene Bitely, a native of New York, graduated at Cleveland in 1853,and settled at Paw Paw, where he practiced till his death, March 31, 1873. Dr. S. Rowe, an eclectic physician, came to Lawrence in 1853, and still practices there. Dr. Zenas Sikes came to the township of Keeler, and was one of its earliest settlers. He was a physician of the Thompsonian school, and for several years was the only practitioner in the township. The homooeopathic physicians now in practice are Dr. West, of Lawton; Dr. H. M. Brodick, of Decatur; Dr. A. M. Hendrick, of Paw Paw; Dr. C. D. Gibson, of Bangor; and Dr. J. W. Megan, of Pine Grove. COUNTY SOCIETIES. 373 CHAPTER L. COUNTY SOCIETIES. Van Buren County Agricultural Society-Paw Paw Valley Agricultural Society-Van Buren County Pomona Grange, P. of H.-Van Buren County Pioneer Association-Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Van Buren County. VAN BUREN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. THE early records of this society, if there were any such, are not to be found, but the following facts concerning it have been obtained from some of its early members. The society was organized in the summer of 1850, with Jay R. Monroe as president. The first fair was held in the court-house square, the stock being tied to the trees and the court-room being used as a floral hall. The fair was held in the same place in 1851. In 1852 it was held in the village of Lawrence, south of where the Methodist church now stands. In 1853-55 the annual expositions were held at Paw Paw. In 1855 the people of the western part of the county furnished lumber, and built sheds, stalls, and stands on the public square at Lawrence, and the fair of that year was held at that place. In 1856 the lumber was taken down and removed to Paw Paw. The society leased of Peter Gremps lands west of the river, which were fenced, and on which the necessary buildings were erected with the lumber brought from Lawrence. From that time the fairs of the society were held on the leased grounds until 1870, when the directors purchased twenty acres of land half a mile west of the village of Paw Paw. The grounds were fenced, and a floral hall and commodious stalls were erected that year. In 1872 a judges' stand and grand stand were erected. The society is now in a prosperous condition, and the property is valued at $10,000. The officers of the society for 1879 are as follows: David Woodman (2d), President; Joseph Kilburn, VicePresident; C. A. Harrison, Secretary; N. M. Pugsley, Treasurer. Directors for two years: 0. P. Morton, J. T. Bangs, Aaron Van Auken, E. P. Mills, C. W. Youngs, T. W. Vallean. The following is from a report of the secretary, and is a comparative statement of the society: INDEBTEDNESS OF THE VAN BUREN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, OCT. 10, 1878. M ortgage on grounds........................................... $1500 Notes held by N. M. Pugsley................................. 1025 Notes held by bank............................... 630 Interest on sam e................................................. 300 Total......................................................... $3455 INDEBTEDNESS, OCTOBER, 1879. Mortgage notes....................................... $1500 " " upon which all interest is paid. 1115 - $2615 Reduction................................................ $840 RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES SINCE 1870. 1870.-Receipts (in this is included from county, $340; life members, $207-$547).......... $1627.93 Expenses............................................. 1643.48 1871.-Receipts.............................................. 1180.35 Expenses............................................. 1198.82 1872.-Receipts (county, $250; life members, $113 -$363)........................................... Expenses (in hands of treasurer, $143.13)... 1873.-Receipts (life members, $200)................. Expenses............................................. 1874.-Receipts (appropriated from county, $168.75)................................................. Expenses............................................ 1875.-Receipts (appropriated from county, $133.33)................................................ Expenses............................................. 1876.-Receipts (appropriated from county, $133.33)................................................ Expenses............................................. 1877.-Receipts (appropriated from county, $100) Expenses............................................. 1878. —Receipts.............................................. Expenses............................................. 1879. —Receipts.............................................. Expenses............................................. $1629.30 1486.15 1524.65 1664.54 1670.75 1899.1.4 1589.77 1596.72 1238.02 1235.36 1636.22 1687.66 2505.49 2138.21 1649.84 1340.20 NUMBER OF EXHIBITORS AND ENTRIES SINCE 1874. 1874. 1875. 1876. 1877. 1878. 1879. Exhibitors....................... 353 429 400 377 434 380 Horses............................ 128 152 166 152 231 218 Cattle............................. 52 50 47 33 82 49 Sheep....................... 52 49 57 51 59 47 Swine..................... 18 16 41 54 57 48 Poultry................... 9 16 31 18 19 37 Totals..................... 259 283 342 308 448 394 PAW PAW VALLEY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. In 1863, on account of the disaffection occasioned by the continuance of the fair-grounds of the county society at Paw Paw, a Horse-Fair Association was organized at Lawrence, and a tract of twenty-five acres of ground was leased of Holland B. Clark for its use. The grounds were fenced, a track was graded, and stands, stalls, and a floral hall erected, at a cost of nine thousand dollars. E. O. Briggs was elected president, and J. R. Baker secretary. Fairs were held in 1864-66, but the receipts were not sufficient to meet the expenses, and they were therefore discontinued. In 1871, pursuant to call, a large number of the citizens of Van Buren County met at Chadwick's Hall, in the village of Lawrence, on the 7th day of January, 1871, and formed themselves into an association 'L for the encouragement and advancement of agriculture, manufactures, and mechanic arts," under the name of the Paw Paw Valley Agricultural, Society, it being intended to embrace the townships of the western and central portions of Van Buren County. The following officers were duly elected: President, Samuel Hoppin; Treasurer, Isaac C. Bunnell; Secretary, John B. Potter; Directors, Eaton Branch, Oscar M. Southard, Samuel Hoppin, Holland B. Clark, Rufus Tillon, Jay R. Monroe, Alvin Sturtevant, Samuel G. Mather, James M. Blowers, Chandler Richards, John B. Potter, Fabius Miles, Newell Crussey. The grounds of the Horse-Fair Association were occupied by the society, under the leave of that association, and the first fair was held Oct. 11-13, 1871. At a meeting of the society in 1877 its scope was extended so as to include the townships of Watervliet, Pipestone, and Bainbridge, in Berrien County, and of Volinia, Wayne, and Silver Creek, in Cass County. The officers for 1880 are Erastus Osborne, of Hamilton, President; Amos Dopp, of Lawrence, Vice-President; Robert L. Warren, of Lawrence, Secretary; Charles Rockwell, of Lawrence, Treasurer. 7W 374 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. VAN BUREN COUNTY POMONA GRANGE, No. 13, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. This society was organized at Lawrence, on the 26th of October, 1876, by C. L. Whitney, State Lecturer, and J. J. Woodman, Master of the State Grange, with sixty constituent members. The first officers were David Woodman (2d), Master; Oscar Caldwell, Overseer; Arthur Hayden, Lecturer; Henry Goss, Secretary. David Woodman (2d) was the Master till October, 1878, when Oscar Caldwell was elected. In October, 1879, David Woodman (2d) was again elected to the chief position. The society now contains about one hundred and twenty-five members. All Patrons of Husbandry who have attained the fourth degree, and are in good standing in the subordinate granges, are eligible to the county grange. VAN BUREN COUNTY PIONEER ASSOCIATION. Pursuant to call, a large number of the old settlers of Van Buren County met at Chadwick's Hall, in the village of Lawrence, on the 22d day of February, 1872. Gen. B. F. Chadwick was chosen chairman, Hon. M. L. Fitch was assistant chairman, and S. T. Conway secretary. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws, which were adopted by the meeting, and an association was then organized under the above name, with the following officers: President, Jay R. Monroe; Vice-President, E. Barnum; Secretary, S. T. Conway; Executive Committee, David Wise, Pine Grove; Silas Breed, Almena; C. M. Merrill, Antwerp; S. Corey, Porter; Ashbel H. Herron, Bloomingdale; R. J. Myers, Waverly; N. M. Pugsley, Paw Paw; Elijah Goble, Decatur; J. A. Howard, Columbia; D. D. Briggs, Arlington; Eaton Branch, Lawrence; Calvin Field, Hamilton; Clark Pierce, Geneva; Charles U. Cross, Bangor; Lewis Miller, Hartford; R. Irish, Keeler; D. T. Pierce, South Haven; Myron Fish, Deerfield. Speeches were delivered by Jay R. Monroe, Joseph Woodman, Dr. J. Andrews, and J. R. Hendryx. The fourth annual meeting was held in Decatur. The town hall was decorated with evergreens and pictures. Upon the wall, behind the president's desk. hung'a portrait of Adolphus Morris, the first pioneer of Van Buren County, above which were the words " Decatur, the pioneer town, welcomes her friends." A call was made by the president for all who came into the country between 1827 and 1835 to take the stand. About fifteen responded. Jay R. Monroe was the president of the society until his death, in 1877, when Eaton Branch, of Lawrence, was elected, and still holds the position. Meetings are held annually in different parts of the county. The society has a present membership of five hundred and seventy-six. The records, kept by Dr. J. Andrews, contain numerous interesting reminiscences of the early days, many of which will be found in the different township histories. FARMERS' MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY. This company was organized Sept. 12, 1863, with the following constituent members: T. R. Harrison, Myron Plumb, Joshua Bangs, A. M. Hanselman, Samuel Hayden, Jehial Glidden, N. M. Pugsley, Jesse Wilson, Philip N. Teed, J. J. Woodman, Joseph Luce, P. I. Bragg, Edwin D. Whitney, Lyman Tuttle, James Bale, and S. W. Manning. The company was incorporated the same year, the first president being Jason A. Sheldon, and the first secretary William P. Stocking. The business of the company is confined to Van Buren County. It insures all farm buildings and all personal property on farms against fire and lightning. The number of policies in force Jan. 1, ] 880, was 865, covering property to the amount of $1,189,975. The losses for 1878 were $1850; those for 1879 were $3633.42. The increase during the latter year is due to the extremely dry period which occurred in May of that year. Average cost of insurance for the past six years, about one-fourth of one per cent. The salaries paid to officers in 1879 amounted to three hundred and seventy-five dollars and forty cents. The officers for 1880 are David Woodman, President; Chandler Richards, Secretary and Treasurer. The office of the company is at Paw Paw. CHAPTER LI. ANTWERP TOWNSHIP.* Boundaries and General Description-Pioneers of Antwerp-Antwerp Post-Office-Early Roads-Wayside Taverns-Mills and MillersTownship Organization and List of Officers-Lawton Village-Mattawan Village-Schools of the Township-Churches-Fruit Culture-Railways in Antwerp. ANTWERP, lying on the eastern boundary of Van Buren County, is one of the seven townships formed from Lafayette, on the 11th of March, 1837, just before the organization of Van Buren County. In the United States survey it is designated as township 3 south, range 13 west, and is bounded as follows: on the north by Almena, on the south by Porter, on the east by the Kalamazoo County line, and west by Paw Paw. Antwerp is a rich agricultural district, and within the past five years has been rapidly and profitably developing as an important fruit-raising region, especially in the vicinity of Lawton village, where the culture of the peach and the grape, already attended with gratifying results, promises something extraordinary for the near future. Manufactures are chiefly confined to flour-mills, of which there are four in the township. that produce largely for Eastern shipment. An extensive industry, known as the Michigan Central Iron Company, was carried on at Lawton village between the years 1867 and 1875, and inspired that town with a very lively activity, to which it has since been a stranger. Lawton and Mattawan are the two villages of the township, the former being incorporated. Both are stations on the Michigan Central Railway, and both are important wheat-shipping points, Lawton being also one of the termini of the Paw Paw Railway. The east branch of the Paw Paw River, passing through the township in a northwesterly direction from the southeast, furnishes excellent water I * By David Schwartz. IJ. WO DMANW -..-836 7a:: MR J J WO A.N t~su a........w _,. n. so.. ^.iiX^fy.?.^$~ a,/. -. '..it..................... kA',........ —. lp,X Vhm -&,,,, via -A, RESIDENCE OF HON. J.J. WOODMAN, ANTWERP, MICHIGAN. -ADJOINING PAW PAW ON TH. EAST. I1 TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 375 power for four large grist-mills. Generally, the soil is a sandy loam, although in some portions clay and gravel prevail. The surface of the country is strikingly even, and what few elevations there are are of but little prominence, the most conspicuous being one south of Mattawan and one in the northeast, which afford picturesque views of the surrounding country. The population of Antwerp in 1874 was 2209, and its assessed value in 1879 was $465,000. PIONEERS OF ANTWERP. The present township of Antwerp invited the attention of the Western pioneer, for the special reason that its territory was largely composed of ( oak openings," while it was remarkably free from swampy or low land. The soil, a fine sandy loam, promised ready cultivation, and when the inducements to settlers began to disclose themselves, the tide of migration westward brought settlers into Antwerp in considerable numbers, so that at a comparatively early day the township was generally given over to the hardy pioneers. Even before roads were laid out, traveling through the township was no difficult matter, since there was little or no underbrush in the forests, and these latter were so open that the settler could drive through them anywhere without having to cut his road before him. Old settlers in Antwerp now living say that when they came into the country they were charmed with it. The woods were like vast orchards, in that one could see round about anywhere for the space of a quarter of a mile. The early settlers found here and there clearly-defined traces of what have been termed prehistoric garden-beds. In the northern part of the township especially were these old beds discovered, grown over with giant timber, but marked by regular lines easily traced, and entirely convincing as to their earlier uses. On the farm of Nathaniel Bangs, on sections 4 and 9, one may yet see, in a piece of timberland, positive signs of the remote existence on that spot of these so-called garden-beds. Opinions seem to be divided as to the identity of the first white settler in Antwerp. It was either Joel Tomlinson, who, according to the recollection of his daughter, settled upon section 22, Dec. 11, 1834, or Joseph Woodman, who settled on section 7 on the 10th of May, 1835. In the spring of 1836 a Mr. Bishop erected the framework of a mill, and had a dam nearly completed across the stream, but Mr. Tomlinson would not allow him to complete it, as the back water from the dam would overflow a very valuable spring of his. Mr. Tomlinson lives now in Ohio, at the advanced age of eighty-three, but cannot recollect whether he settled in the township in 1834 or 1835. Mrs. Peter Moon, of Porter, a daughter of Mr. Tomlinson, says that after her father had been settled some time, she, with two sisters, started out with horses and wagon to discover whether there were any neighbors. In due time they reached a clearing on the Territorial road, and there were surprised to see old Jesse Abbe and his daughter hard at work plowing,-the young lady driving the oxen, and driving them, too, with a good deal of vigor.* Settlements in the southern portion of the township, although first tending that way, were far from rapid. The incoming pioneer tide followed more generally the line of the Territorial road, and during 1835, 1836, and 1837 by far the greatest number of settlements in Antwerp were made on or near that important highway. With Antwerp, as with many towns in Michigan, it appeared to be the rule that nearly all the early settlers came from New York State, and in Antwerp's especial case, Monroe Co., N. Y., furnished a large majority of the first comers. The reason for this latter was that the Wadsworth family, of Monroe Co., N. Y., owned considerable land in Antwerp, and sent many settlers thither. Joseph Woodman, one of the pioneers of Antwerp, died in April, 1879, at the age of eighty-nine, upon the farm (near Paw Paw village) which became his home in May, 1835, and remained his home until he died. In an address delivered by Mr. Woodman before the Van Buren County Pioneer Association in 1872, he thus graphically recited his experiences in 1835: "I came to this country in the spring of 1835, landed at Detroit, and made my way to Kalamazoo through mud and mire with two teams,-a horse-team and an ox-team. The mud was terrible, and I had frequently to double up my teams to get through. I frequently met stages, with passengers on foot carrying rails or poles. They said it was hard fare, and that the driver wanted them to carry two rails apiece, but they couldn't see it. I had my family with me,-wife and six children,-and after much difficulty reached Kalamazoo, and succeeded in getting them into an old log house. I started alone then from Kalamazoo for Paw Paw, and was told at Grand Prairie that I could not get through that night, that I would be eaten by the wolves, but being young and vigorous I pushed on, and without mishap reached a cabin known as Dodge's tavern, standing upon the site of the now flourishing village of Paw Paw. On Saturday, in company with Silas Breed, I went land-viewing, and returned to Dodge's that evening. I asked Dodge if they had any meetings, and was answered in the negative. I told him we had a ministert in our party, and we would like to have a meeting on the Sabbath, which we accordingly did, holding it in a slab shanty. On Monday, in company with Joshua Bangs, I went out on the Territorial road to locate land, and each selected a piece. I brought my family from Kalamazoo, and established them in Paw Paw in a blacksmith's shop.4 I built a log house on my land, and moved my family into it on the 10th day of May, 1835. I went to clearing land, plowed seven acres with a wooden plow, and raised a fine crop of corn, potatoes, turnips, pumpkins, melons, etc." When Mr. Woodman settled with his family upon his Antwerp farm, Paw Paw village contained one very small that year, it would seem improbable that Tomlinson could live six months, and through one winter, within three miles of their only neighbor without knowing it. It seems quite certain that Mrs. Moon is mistaken in the time her father settled in the township, and that Joseph Woodman and his family are correct in their recollection and belief that they were the first settlers in the township. t Mr. Woodman was himself an ordained Methodist Protestant minister. t Rodney Hinckley's shop. * As the Territorial road was not opened until the summer of 1835, and Abbe did. not settle upon his land until the middle of May of 376 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. frame house, three log cabins, and a. saw-mill. Upon the old homestead now lives his son, Jonathan J. Woodman (Master of the State Grange and Master also of the National Grange). Another son, David, lives in the southern portion of Paw Paw township, where he became a settler at an early day. In the spring of 1835, Joshua Bangs, Silas Breed, and Elder Jonathan Hinckley, of Monroe Co., N. Y., started from there with Breed's team to look for land in Michigan, purposing to make Grand Rapids their objective point. They journeyed as far as Silver Creek, Ohio, by road, and found the travel so bad that —to use Mr. Bangs' words"One of us drove the team while the other two footed behind, carrying rails with which to pry the wagon out of the mud-holes, and I tell you we had to do a heap of prying." They continued by way of the lake from Silver Creek to Detroit, and there, resuming their team, pushed on for Grand Rapids. At Marshall they overtook Joseph Woodman and his family, of Monroe Co., N. Y., bound also for Grand Rapids, and so they journeyed westward in company. Learning that the land-office was at Kalamazoo they halted there, and being persuaded to locate in Van Buren County, Woodman and Bangs made a land-looking tour through the present town of Antwerp. They were so well pleased that they selected land without delay, Bangs entering four 80-acre lots on section 5 and one on section 7, on the latter of which he put up a log shanty at once, as did Woodman, who had selected a farm adjoining Bangs on the west. Bangs was then ready to go back to New York for his family, and as Woodman had also to return to that State, they, in company with Silas Breed, bound also eastward, started from Dodge's tavern, in Paw Paw, and traveled to Detroit, where they arrived just four days and a half later. Bangs got his family ready, and in the fall of 1835, when he made the start for Michigan, he was accompanied by the families of Dr. Levi Warner, Joseph Luce (both of whom settled in Paw Paw township), Theophilus Bangs, and John Hill. Joshua Bangs lived upon his Antwerp farm until he was chosen county treasurer, in 1837, at a special election, -D. O. Dodge, the first county treasurer elected, failing to act,-and then he removed his residence to Paw Paw. Mr. Bangs was thus the first actual county treasurer of Van Buren, although nominally the second. He held the office four years, when he resumed his residence in Antwerp, which has since been his home. Theophilus Bangs, his brother, who came to Antwerp with him, settled upon section 19, where he lived about thirty years, and then removing to Paw Paw village, died there. John Hill, who also accompanied Joshua Bangs westward in 1835, located upon section 7. ' He got homesick in about three years, returned to Monroe County, and sold his Michigan farm to Jason A. Sheldon, who came out and settled upon it. Sheldon sold it to the present occupant, G. B. Chapin, and moved to the village of Paw Paw, where he resided several years, and then to a farm on section 5, where he now resides. Philip Moon, of New York, settled upon section 5 in 1835. He died on the place in 1856. His son, Horace W. (who came out with Joshua Bangs), now lives on sec tion 16. Elder Samuel-Gilman, father of Joseph Gilman, bought out E. H. Niles on section 5, and settled there in the fall of 1838. He afterwards sold his farm to J. R. Bangs, and moved to a farm on section 6, where he died, and where his daughter, Mrs. William Clark, is now living. A. F. Moon, now living in Georgia, settled in Antwerp, on section 17. Peter Moon, now of Porter, was a settler in Antwerp in 1835. Among the land-lookers in Michigan in 1835 was John Hunt, of Vermont, who, being pleased with the land in the northern portion of Antwerp, entered 160 acres on section 1. He returned to Vermont, and in 1836 came again to Michigan to buy more land, but just at that time the landoffice, overrun with applications for farming territory, was closed, and Hunt had to go back to Vermont without making additional purchases. When he reached his Vermont home he began to make preparations for a move, with his family, to his Michigan farm, and May 1, 1837, he set out with his wife and four children. They proceeded by canal to Buffalo, where, finding the harbor so full of ice that vessels could not get in, they engaged a man to carry them and their goods in a wagon to Silver Creek,-thirty-six miles away,-where they were told they would find a steamer for Detroit. The rain poured down in torrents, the roads'were knee-deep with mud, the man who drove for them was drunk, and the result was that after floundering two days through the rain and mire they were abandoned by the drunken Jehu in the woods when not much more than half-way to Silver Creek. They succeeded, however, in finding a party to carry them to their journey's end, and thus, after a three days' trip, they made the thirty-six miles, and reached the steamer. They left the boat at Toledo, went by horserailway to Adrian, and there engaged a team at $5 a day to convey them to Kalamazoo, which they reached at last, three weeks after their departure from Vermont. Leaving his family at the house of his brother Ormon, in Kalamazoo, Mr. Hunt went up to Samuel Wells' saw-mill in Antwerp, bought a lot of boards, and hired Jesse Abbe (who owned about the only pair of horses in the township) to haul them for him and put up his house. As an evidence of the high cost of life's necessaries there at that time it may be mentioned that Mr. Hunt paid $55 at Kalamazoo for a cook-stove (second-hand at that), " about as big," he says, "as a warming-pan." "When I started from Vermont," says Mr. Hunt, " I had $800 in money, but when I got to Michigan I had $300 less,-a pretty steep price for a trip that you can make now in thirty-six hours." Mr. Hunt still lives on the farm he bought in 1835, and is always glad to relate the stirring experiences of his pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan L. Fitch, Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Gates, and Mr. and Mrs. N. L. Surdam were married before they came to Antwerp in 1837, and of the married couples who came into the township at that early period are the only ones living in Antwerp. Mr. Hunt was the first to build a barn in his neighborhood, and its completion was an event of no little impor tance in the locality, chiefly for the reason that Mr. Hunt showed his slow neighbors how much better it was to thrash on a barn floor than in the open air and on the ____I -: *.a; ^) PETER HARWICK. MFS.PETER HARWICK.;-, * 7 —7 _ RESIDENCE OF PETER HARWICK, ANTWERP Tp, VAN BUREN C., MICH. I TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 377,.. _ _.... ground. Many of them had been thrashing their wheat in open lots. When they saw how great an improvement Mr. Hunt had effected in the premises by barn-thrashing, they quickly changed their tones of derision for those of admiration, and for a while Hunt was besieged by farmers requesting permission to thrash in his barn. Among the more conspicuous early settlers were also Samuel Lull, a famous dairyman; Anthony Corey, a noted timber-hewer, who settled on the spot where Lawton village is now located; Hiram and Robert Morrison; Lyman Taylor, a brickmaker; Patrick Johnson; Harman Harwick and his son Peter; John McKinney; the Hathaways; Weldens; Silas F. Breed (the founder of Breedsville), and Isaac Borden. Peter Hinckley, a son of Elder Jonathan Hinckley, settled on section 4 in 1835, and sold to E. B. Dyckman in 1838. The year 1836 brought many settlers to Antwerp. Among them was Wells Gray, who located upon section 2. He put up a log cabin with a loose board floor, and one day when a black-snake reared his ugly front through one of the floor cracks and glared at Mrs. Gray, that good woman was so alarmed and disgusted that when her husband came home that night she declared he must get a farm somewhere else, for she would not live in a place where snakes were liable to drop in on her at any time. So Gray sold his farm to Reason Holmes, and bought one on section 7, where his wife died in 1838. He married again, and lived on the same farm until his death, in 1867. Ezra Gates, who was a son-in-law of Jesse Abbe, lived with the old gentleman a while, and then located upon section 2, where he still resides. Mr. Gates came from Ohio, and in explanation of the fact that his early school education had been neglected, used to say that when he was young he lived on the wrong side of the river.-that is, the river was between him and the school-house. Samuel Longstreet, who came to Antwerp in 1836, located upon a farm near his brother Andrew, and from there went to Lawton, where he died. He held the office of justice of the peace at the time of his death, and for several years previously. In 1836 there came also Morgan L. Fitch, from Western New York, and in June of that year he bought of Thomas I. Daniels four 80-acre lots on sections 1, 2, 11, and 12, in Antwerp. Besides these he bought 80 acres on section 3, in Antwerp, for his brother, Lyman Fitch. He had to buy his land from a second hand because just at that time the land-office was temporarily closed by reason of being flooded with applications for land, and as a new order of things was contemplated, it was resolved to receive no more land-entries until matters in hand could be properly disposed of. In regard to the rush of landlookers to Michigan at that time,, Mr. Fitch says that when he reached Detroit, on his way to Kalamazoo, he found that all seats in the stages were engaged for six days in advance. Not caring to foot it, he managed to buy a horse after a three days' search, and so rode to Kalamazoo. Upon reaching there he was surprised to see an old Quaker (the then recorder of the city of Philadelphia) who was his fellow-passenger on the lake to Detroit, and whom he had left in the latter place, waiting for a chance to proceed westward by stage. " Why, my friend," exclaimed Fitch, 48 " how did you happen to get here so soon? They told me at Detroit there wouldn't be a chance in the stage for a week." "Well, I'll tell thee," replied Broadbrim. "I waited until ye were all gone from the stage-office, when I quietly approached the clerk, saying, ' if any of thy friends conclude they won't go to-day, thou mayst save a seat for me; I hand thee here two dollars, not for my ticket, but for thee: my ticket I will pay for beside.' When I came around at stage-time," continued the Quaker, " the young man had a seat ready for me." After Mr. Fitch bought his land he went back to New York for his family, and in the spring of 1837 he came again to Michigan. He hired a young man named T. C. Benton- to go West and work for him three years, and traveling by wagon to Huron, Ohio, whence they journeyed via lake to Detroit, the little party was six weeks making the trip from their New York home to Grand Prairie, in Michigan. At the latter place Mr. Fitch stopped with Lovett Eames, while engaged in building a frame house on section 2. Ezra Gates dug the cellar in half a day, and Eames, Fitch, and Benton built the house (that is, made it habitable) in a day and a half. Mr. Fitch lived on that place until 1876, when he moved to Mattawan, where he is now engaged in the warehouse business. Lyman Fitch came to Antwerp in the fall of 1837, lived with his brother Morgan until 1839, and then settled upon his own farm, where he resided until 1878, removing then to Paw Paw, his present home. After serving the allotted three years with Morgan Fitch, young Benton bought a farm on section 2, and lived upon it until his death. The pioneer blacksmith of Antwerp was William Taylor, who brought a family, consisting of his wife and twelve children, from Ohio into the township in 1836, and located on the Territorial road, on section 3, where he set up his forge, and where he lived until his death. Taylor was a brother-in-law of Reason Holmes, and when he entered Antwerp put up a " rail-pen" on Holmes' place, where he lived until he could arrange matters for locating land and securing a permanent habitation. Taylor was an exceedingly industrious man, but thoroughly given over at one time to a conviction that he could invent a machine that would produce perpetual motion. He worked at this machine long and secretly, and became so absorbed in his work and in his belief that he had at last discovered the great secret that his conviction seems to have developed into a mania. He was satisfied that designing persons would seek to rob him of his discovery and his treasure, and when one day he learned that his machine had actually been stolen his distress was appalling. Conjecturing at once that some person had captured it for the purpose of securing a patent on it, Taylor managed to raise $10, and engaged Philip Williams to dispatch it straightway to Washington for a caveat, so that the designing robbers of the machine might be forestalled. After he received his caveat he was overcome with delight to find that his beloved machine had been restored to his shop during his temporary absence. It transpired afterwards that certain mischievous boys, desiring to annoy the old man, had stolen the concern and hid it in a barn. Taylor was sanguine that his machine was a great 378 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. success. He spoke enthusiastically to every one he encountered of the brilliant prospects in store for him, how he would be a great and a rich man, how future generations would rise up and call him blessed, and went so far even as to promise a few of his friends that he would make it his especial care to see that they were handsomely provided for just as soon as he should come into his great fortune. Taylor's marvelous machine of course proved a failure when, amid the breathless interest of a multitude, he essayed to give an exhibition of his great invention. Somehow one of the wheels flew into pieces, the whole affair was a disastrous fiasco, and the crestfallen Taylor returned, with a broken heart, to the prosaic details of blacksmithing, nor ever more tried to learn the secret of perpetual motion. Among those who came from New York State westward in 1833 was James Ferguson, of Livingston County, who, with his wife and two children, traveled as far as Ypsilanti, Mich., and there rested a while to visit his brothers. He concluded to buy a farm in Calhoun County, and there he lived until 1836. Being then persuaded by Daniel Van Antwerp (the brother of Ferguson's wife), then with his father living in Antwerp township, to locate in the latter place, Ferguson struck his tent once more and continued westward. He bought 40 acres of land of Daniel Van Antwerp, on the road between Schoolcraft and Paw Paw, and put up a frame house. Ferguson lived but a few years after coming into the township, dying upon his 40-acre, farm. John Lyon, who was a settler upon a farm in sections 3 and 10 in 1836, died there during the sickly season of 1838. One of his children dying in 1836, it was buried in a spot over which the Territorial road passed, and under the roadway the bones of the little one are still reposing. Mrs. E. B. Wright, one of Mr. Lyon's daughters, now lives on the farm her father formerly owned. In June, 1836, a little band of eight people came into the township, and by that number swelled the list of struggling pioneers, who were yet but a handful. In this company were Daniel Van Antwerp, his father (Harmon) and mother, his wife, and his four children. They came from Geneseo, N. Y., where Daniel Van Antwerp exchanged his farm with James Wadsworth (a member of the large land-holding family of that name) for twelve 80-acre lots in town 3 south, range 13 west, afterwards to be called by the name of these very settlers. Mr. Van Antwerp's land lay near the centre of the town, on both sides the Paw Paw and Schoolcraft road. So well pleased was he with the land, that upon his arrival he bought one more 80-acre lot in the same neighborhood. Daniel Van Antwerp's mother, who died May 4, 1837, was the first adult person who died in the township (John Lyon's child having died in 1836). She was buried in the Van Antwerp burying-ground, on sections 10 and 15, where seven or more people were buried in 1838, which was known as a fatal year among the settlers of Antwerp. Chills and fever prevailed in an aggravated form, and so little was understood about the treatment of the disease that four persons in the township suc cumbed to it. These four were John Lyon, John Barber, -- Whittel, and Benjamin Markle. They were all buried in the Van Antwerp burying-ground, which became afterwards a township cemetery, and as such is still used. Two other deaths occurred in the township that year. Daniel Woodman, a promising son of Joseph Woodman, aged eighteen years, died of brain fever on the 21st of September, and Mrs. Wells Gray about the same time in childbirth. Daniel Morrison, father of Robert Morrison, who came from Vermont in the fall of 1835, with a large family, and lived on the Agard place, in Lafayette, died the same year. The three latter were buried in the Paw Paw cemetery, but afterwards moved to the cemetery on section 7 of Antwerp. The widow of Daniel Morrison is now living in Paw Paw, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. It is said that Mr. Van Antwerp laid out the township cemetery on both sides the section line, so that a proposed road from Mattawan to Paw Paw should not pass through his property, and it was in consequence of his opposition that the road was run a half-mile south of the cemetery. There was afterwards laid out a second cemetery, on section 2, to the purchase of which sixteen men contributed. Bodies which had been interred promiscuously here and there were taken up and re-interred in this yard, which continues to serve its original purpose. Among its graves may be seen one of Elizabeth Quackenbush, the mother of Mrs. Rose, of Mattawan, whose age is recorded as having been one hundred and one years at the time of her death, in 1867. She had then 121 descendants, to wit: 14 children, 69 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. It appears strange now that chills and fever should have proved fatal, for at this day that disease is readily treated; but in those days they knew less about medicine than is known now, nor could they readily obtain quinine. Dr. Levi Warner, of Paw Paw, was the medical main stay, but although he was esteemed skillful, he failed to grapple successfully with the disease until six persons in Antwerp and adjoining townships had been carried off. After he mastered the disease he had no difficulty in curing his patients. The disorder was so wide-spread that at one time in 1838 there were more sick than well persons among the settlers. Harmon Van Antwerp lived with his daughter, Mrs. Ferguson, until his death, in 1849. Daniel Van Antwerp died on his old farm, in section 9, in 1875. Two of his sisters are still living,-Mrs. Andrew Longstreet, of Antwerp, and Mrs. Philip Williams, of Kalamazoo County. His widow lives in Paw Paw. His daughter Ann, who taught Antwerp's first school, is Mrs. P. N. Smith, and lives on the farm her father occupied in his lifetime. Andrew Longstreet, who came into Michigan from Lyons, N. Y., with his family, in June, 1833, located in Jackson County, and in 1836 entered 120 acres of land, just north of the present village site of Lawton. He was chosen, at a special election in 1837, sheriff of Van Buren County, and was the first active incumbent of that office, Samuel Gunton, of Lawrence, who had been elected at the regular election, declining to serve. In 1841 he married the widow of James Ferguson, and in 1843, having completed his official term, he re-settled in Antwerp, and in 1850, mov ing to the then newly-started village of Lawton, opened a shoemaker's shop there, and in 1851 was appointed the first postmaster of the place. In 1853 he moved out of the RES IDEN CE OF JAMES M. LULL, AN TWER P Th-, VANBUREN CO., f IC H~ 4>J tX i. - (iESIDENCE OF HENRiY WAITE, ANTI TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 379 I township, and remaining away five years, returned to Lawton in 1858, where he lived until his death, in 1871. Col. Longstreet was a much-esteemed citizen, and took a prominent part in the local affairs of his day. Jacob Plank located in 1837, north of what is now Mattawan, whence he soon passed farther west. Near there also, in 1838, settled James Murray, now a resident of Mattawan. N. L. Surdam, a native of Sharon, Conn., was a settler in 1837 upon section 3, where he has continued to live to this day. Philip Williams located upon section 10 in 1836, and there lived until his death. It was at Mr. Williams' house that the first township-meeting in Antwerp was held. Although Solomon Phillips, of Broome Co., N. Y., located a farm on sections 4 and 9 early in 1835, he did not occupy it until some years afterwards, for the reason, doubtless, that, being a bachelor, he preferred roving to settling. When he did marry, however, he was fortunate enough to marry a rich widow. His farm was always esteemed one of the most desirable pieces of land in the township. He moved, some years after his first settlement, to section 22, where he built, in 1858, with his brother Benjamin, the first grist-mill in Antwerp. He died a resident of the township. In 1838, E. B. Dyckman, a widower with four children, living near Syracuse, N. Y., exchanged his farm there for one on sections 4 and 9, in Antwerp township, Michigan, and proceeding westward joined the noble band of Antwerp settlers. When he traded his New York farm, he was importuned to take one hundred barrels of salt, at one dollar per barrel, in part payment of the difference, but he was exceedingly unwilling to do so, although he did eventually consent to the proposition quite reluctantly. The salt was shipped to him at St. Joseph, and arriving at a time when salt was very scarce, Mr. Dyckman realized from six to ten dollars per barrel, and received through that lucky, accidental salt shipment an excellent start upon the road to future fortune. After remaining a few years in Antwerp, Mr. Dyckman removed to Schoolcraft, his present home. Philip Hinckley, who came to Michigan with Mr. Dyckman, settled upon section 4, where he died, and where his son now lives. Philander N. Smith, who also came to Michigan with Mr. Dyckman, married one of Deacon Daniel Van Antwerp's daughters, and now lives on a portion of the old Van Antwerp farm. Oliver Warner, who settled on section 6, in Antwerp, in 1836, lived there until his death, in 1879. A. M. Lane came West in 1836, and lived in the vicinity of Paw Paw until 1838, when he traded a house in that village to Joseph Butler for some land upon section 18, north of the river, in Antwerp. Butler, who had a large farm south of the river, sold out and went back to New York. Lane sold his land to Wells Gray, bought on section 5, and became one of Antwerp's settlers. He lived there until a few years ago, when he moved to Bloomingdale, his present home. One of the earliest settlers in the southern part of the township was Levi Savage, who settled in 1835 upon section 36, but selling his place soon afterwards to Samuel Lull, he moved to a farm east of Daniel Van Antwerp's. In 1842 he removed with his family to the far West and located eventually at Salt Lake City, where at latest accounts he was still living, a member of the Mormon Church. Samuel Lull's widow and son James still live on the old Savage place, in section 36. John Cooper, of Ohio, who located upon section 36 in 1836, moved out of the township a few years afterwards. Daniel Bird settled on section 24 during the same year. He moved to Prairie Ronde, where he died. Nicholas Thompson, who lived also on section 24 about that time, went afterwards to Lawton village, where he died. On section 24 also J. B. Wildey was an early settler. He died a resident of Lawton village. J. K. Bingham, who built a saw-mill on section 21 in 1837, moved to Kalamazoo, where he died. A Mr. Whittet settled on section 20 in the fall of 1837, and died in 1838, when his family returned to New York. Whittet began to " grub" his land before it was surveyed, and when he called in John Hunt, the surveyor, Whittet was much provoked with himself to find that he had grubbed quite a large piece on a lot adjoining his own. The Markle family, consisting of the widow and her four sons,-Jacob, Benjamin, Elias, and David,-located on section 22 in the spring of 1837. Jacob and David live now in Porter. Elias lives in Antwerp. Wolves and deer were abundant in Antwerp in the pioneer days, and the mighty hunters of the time found plentiful exercise for their sportive tastes, although indeed about everybody able to bear arms was at that period a hunter, since the finding of game was an easy business, and bountiful returns invariably marked the result of a few days' shooting. Mrs. Longstreet, of Lawton, says her brother, Daniel Van Antwerp (known as a famous deerslayer), often went out after deer in the evening, and in an hour would return with a half-dozen or so. Wolves had a habit of approaching settlers' cabins as the day darkened into night, seeking the chance of carrying off small stock, and many were the raids the settlers used to make upon them at such times. Young William Van Antwerp, who was much given to playing upon the flute, used to tune his instrument regularly every evening. As soon as the melody commenced, the howls of wolves would resound from every side; when the flute stopped the howls would cease, but return with renewed vigor as soon as the music was recommenced. ANTWERP POST-OFFICE. About 1840, there being imminent danger of the stageroute being diverted farther north, Mr. John Hunt succeeded in having a post-office established in Antwerp, on the Territorial road, and Reason Holmes, who was the first incumbent of the office, kept it at his tavern. Philip Williams was the next postmaster, and upon the completion of the Michigan Central Railroad to Mattawan the office was removed thither, and the name changed to Mattawan. EARLY ROADS. The commissioners of highways met in Antwerp, April 11, 1837, and divided the township into road districts as follows: 380 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I No. 1.-Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18; Philip Moon, Overseer. No. 2.-Sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15; John A. Lyon, Overseer. No. 3.-Sections 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, 36; Joel Tomlinson, Overseer. No. 4.-Sections 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33; Andrew Longstreet, Overseer. The Paw Paw road was surveyed April 13, 1837; the Bangs road April 14th; the Longstreet road April 11th; the Centre road April 12th; and Cooper's road April 13th; H. P. Barnum being the surveyor. WAYSIDE TAVERNS. The Territorial road, which passed between Detroit and St. Joseph, was constructed in 1835, and the considerable traffic upon that highway gave occasion, of course, for the creation of numerous roadside taverns, many of which, in the prosperous coaching days, were places of some note. That portion of the road passing through Antwerp township in a straight line east and west was laid out and constructed by Cyren Burdick, of Kalamazoo, who owned also land on section 1, in Antwerp. On the Antwerp road Jesse Abbe was the first to open a tavern. His place was on section 2, and consisted simply of a log cabin, with a couple of sleeping-rooms in the second story and below a kitchen and eating-room. The chief element in his entertainment was a bottle of whisky, and a much-prized element it was, too, for, as a rule, stage-coach passengers became thirsty every time they reached a stopping-place, and the whisky-bottle came in for a large amount of attention. Mr. Abbe kept his tavern until the stage-route was abandoned, and lived there afterwards as a farmer until his death. A story still current is, that a traveler stopping one evening at Abbe's tavern told the landlord that he wanted to remain all night but had no money. He would promise, however, that if he were kept he would return some day and pay. " Stay?" exclaimed Mr. Abbe, " of course you can stay, and pay me when you can. I've had lots of customers, but I've never turned one away yet." The stranger stopped, and some days afterwards, passing again that way, called at Abbe's and said to the old man, "Do you remember that you kept me one night, and I didn't pay you?" " I don't remember," returned Abbe, " but lots of folks have done that thing here; maybe you did stop." He told the man to pay him what he pleased, and upon receiving his money grew suddenly animated with joy, exclaiming, " Hurrah for an honest man! Such a thing has never happened since I've kept this tavern, and I've trusted hundreds of people. If there was a paper anywhere near here, I'd put it in, sure." Mr. Abbe was a man much given to eccentricity, although a man of piety, and a citizen whom his fellowtownsmen highly respected. Of the many stories yet told of Mr. Abbe, the following will show how devotedly attached he was to prayer and religious demonstrations. One day while riding with John Hunt, the latter said to him, "Uncle Abbe, I'll be glad when I can get a comfortable place to sleep and six weeks' provisions ahead." "Neighbor Hunt," responded Mr. Abbe, with much seri-..:f ous earnestness, " if you don't pray more you'll never have anything of the sort." On another occasion a neighbor came to borrow Abbe's oxen. " Haven't any oxen," said Mr. Abbe, in reply to the application. " Haven't any oxen? Why, there they stand." " Oh!" exclaimed the old man, "those are not my oxen, they belong to the Lord; but I suppose if you want to borrow them the Lord will have no objection." Calling once upon Mr. Hunt, and seeing him at work in a field of fine corn, he cried out, "Neighbor Hunt, this is a fine field of corn, but you don't deserve it, for you don't pray enough." "Very well," replied Hunt, " you pray and I'll hoe, and we'll see who will raise the best corn." He once called upon Jonathan Woodman, and after a brief conversation patted Woodman upon the shoulder, saying, " Jonathan, you are altogether too fine a fellow for the devil to have." The old gentleman had in his employ a lad who preferred resting to working, and frequently, when he wearied of labor, he would say to Mr. Abbe, " Shan't we go into the grove for a season of prayer?" and old Uncle Abbe, pleased beyond measure to note the pious growth of the youth's mind, would leave off work and pray an hour or so with the boy in the grove.- The old man, thoroughly honest and trusting, never dreamed that the young sinner simply imposed upon him, so that he might indulge his lazy disposition. So strong was this desire for prayer upon him, that Mr. Abbe has often been seen by travelers praying upon the open highway, while his horse stood patiently by, waiting his master's readiness to go forward. Wherever he might be going, he would stop his horse when the prayerful spirit overtook him, dismount and pray zealously for half an hour or more. At a revival meeting a girl, happening to be moved by the spirit, arose and cried out, ' Oh! I feel as if I were in the devil's iron chest, and that it was locked." " Yes, yes," shouted old Uncle Abbe, jumping suddenly up and gesticulating vigorously; "yes, brethren, she's in the devil's iron chest, and we've all got keys to it." He was devotedly sincere, and was esteemed a truly good man. Late in life he became a confirmed Spiritualist, and died a believer in that doctrine. One of Mr. Abbe's sons was a settler upon section 12, where he died in 1858. His widow still lives there. Elisha Abbe, another son, lives near the place his father occupied.,Reason Holmes opened a frame tavern on the Territorial road, in section 1, during 1836. He had been living on Genesee Prairie, and buying a piece of land in Antwerp of Cyren Burdick, built a frame house which he called a tavern, and as such kept it a half-dozen years or more. After discontinuing his tavern-stand, Holmes devoted his attention to farming, and lived on his farm in section 1, until he died. His tavern building was the first frame dwelling put up in Antwerp. As Samuel Millard kept tavern on the same road, just over the line in Kalamazoo County, there were within a stretch of less than three miles three taverns between Abbe's and Dodge's; at Paw Paw there was none. MILLS AND MILLERS. The pioneer miller of Antwerp was Samuel 0. Mills, who in 1836 put up a saw-mill on section 26, through POrTOS, e Y J. H. Pr A T. J. R. BAN GS. MRS. J, R. BANGS. 4. A I I T I 1 I. I. i I -LL RESIDENCE OF J. BAN GS, A NTWERP, VANBURENtC CO.,MICH. II ^IiiCi: -: \I I;: Ic TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 381 which flows a tributary of the Paw Paw River. In 1849 Wells sold the mill to Charles Whalley and D. Longcoy, who in 1852 transferred their interest to Ira Carpenter. In 1855, however, Carpenter was compelled to relinquish the property, under an unsatisfied mortgage, to the Samuel Wells estate, represented by Hezekiah Wells. In the same year the Cowgill Brothers bought the mill, and operated it until 1856, when J. S. Cowgill became sole proprietor. In 1865 he tore it down, and in that year, upon about the same site, Cowgill, McKeyes & Co. put up a fine flouring-mill, at a cost of about $15,000. In 1866 they built near there a saw-mill, which was destroyed by fire. The grist-mill is now carried on by C. D. Lawton. John Bingham built in 1838, on section 21, the second saw-mill in the township. The site and power are now occupied by George H. Rix's fine grist-mill, containing three run of stones. In 1858, Solomon and Benjamin Phillips built on the same stream the pioneer grist-mill. Their successors in the ownership of the property have been J. P. Hutton, Josiah Hopkins, and D. C. Coleman, the latter being the present owner. - Powell & Houck built a steam grist- and saw-mill at Lawton. In 1873 both mills were burned. Powell & Co. rebuilt the saw-mill, and are now engaged in the restoration of the grist-mill. A steam saw-mill, built by Dr. John Shanklin and Peter Mott at Lawton in 1853, blew up in 1856. It was rebuilt at once by Dr. Shanklin and N. H. Bitely, and in 1869 was destroyed by fire. The fine grist-mill near the Paw Paw line, owned by E. O. Briggs and operated by A. Sherman and Briggs, was built by Asa LJamphear in 1869, and in 1872 sold to E. O. Briggs. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION. Antwerp is one of the seven townships of Van Buren organized under act of the Legislature approved March 11, 1837, and was named by Harmon Van Antwerp (then the most aged inhabitant of the township) after Antwerp in Europe. It contained then an area of six miles square, and has since then had no change in its territory. At the first township-meeting, held on the first Monday of April, 1837, at the house of Philip Williams, Joseph Woodman was chosen Moderator, Samuel O. Wells, John A. Lyon, and John K. Bingham, Inspectors, and Philip Williams, Clerk of the Election. The officers chosen were: Supervisor, Andrew Longstreet; Clerk, John K. Bingham; Assessors, Theophilus Bangs, Reason Holmes, Joel Tomlinson; Commissioners of Highways, Joshua Bangs, Jesse Abbe, Joel Tomlinson: Constable and Collector, John Hill; Directors of the Poor, Jesse Abbe, Patrick Johnson. At a special meeting held May 4, 1837, John Cooper, Reason Holmes, Joseph Woodman, and Philip Williams were chosen Justices of the Peace, and John Cooper, Samuel O. Wells, and John A. Lyon, School Inspectors. The names of those who have been elected annually from 1838 to 1880 to the offices of supervisor, clerk, treasurer, school inspector, and justice of the peace are given here: 1838.-Supervisor, M. L. Fitch; Clerk, J. K. Binghama; Treasurer, John Hill; School Inspectors, M. L. Fitch, John Hunt, E. H. Niles; Justice of the Peace, Jos. Woodman. 1839.-Supervisor, T. Bangs; Clerk, J. K. Bingham; Treasurer, Lyman Taylor; School Inspectors, L. A. Fitch, John Hunt, Reason Holmes; Justice of the Peace, John Cooper. 1840.-Supervisor, T. Bangs; Clerk, E. B. Dyckman; Treasurer, J. Tomlinson; School Inspectors, E. B. Dyckman, Joseph Gilman, L. A. Fitch. 1841.-Supervisor, T. Bangs; Clerk, E. B. Dyckman; Treasurer, Joshua Bangs; School Inspectors, M. L. Fitch, John Hunt, L. A. Fitch. 1842.-Supervisor, Joshua Bangs; Clerk, Silas Breed; Treasurer, I. S. Borden; School Inspectors, Silas Breed, John Hunt, L. A. Fitch; Justice of the Peace, Joseph Gilman. 1843.-Supervisor, T. Bangs; Clerk, Silas Breed; Treasurer, I. S. Borden; School Inspectors, John Hunt, M. L. Fitch; Justice of the Peace, William Spencer. 1844.-Supervisor, I. S. Borden; Clerk, P. Harwick; Treasurer, Th. Bangs; School Inspectors, John Hunt, M. L. Fitch; Justice of the Peace, I. A. Fitch. 1845.-Supervisor, P. Harwick; Clerk, P. Williams; Treasurer, L. Lawrence; School Inspector, M. L. Fitch; Justice of the Peace, C. M. Morrell. 1846.-Supervisor, Joshua Bangs; Clerk, P. Williams; Treasurer, L. Lawrence; School Inspector, James Murray; Justice of the Peace, M. L. Fitch. 1847.-Supervisor, John Hunt; Clerk, Silas Breed; Treasurer, L. Lawrence; School Inspector, Jos. Gilman; Justice of the Peace, W. B. Spencer. 1848.-Supervisor, John Hunt: Clerk, J. A. Sheldon; Treasurer, Hiram Green; School Inspector, L. A. Fitch; Justice of the Peace, A. Longstreet. 1849.-Supervisor, P. Harwick; Clerk, J. A. Sheldon; Treasurer, Hiram Green; School Inspector, J. Gilman; Justices of the Peace, S. Breed, H. Lincoln. 1850.-Supervisor, L. A. Fitch; Clerk, J. A. Sheldon; Treasurer, A. F. Moore; School Inspector, W. B. Mack; Justice of the Peace, J. Gilman. 1851.-Supervisor, H. Harwick; Clerk, J. A. Sheldon; Treasurer, A. F. Moore; School Inspector, J. J. Woodman; Justice of the Peace, H. Green. 1852.-Supervisor, D. Van Antwerp; Clerk, W. B. Spencer; Treasurer, A. F. Moore; School Inspector, Morgan Fitch; Justice of the Peace, A. Longstreet. 1853.-Supervisor, P. Harwick; Clerk, W. B. Spencer; Treasurer, A. Thompson; School Inspector, O. H. P. Sheldon; Justice of the Peace, S. Longstreet. 1854.-Supervisor, John Hunt; Clerk, J. J. Woodman; Treasurer, A. Thompson; School Inspector, M. L. Fitch; Justice of the Peace, W. Fox. 1855.-Supervisor, John Smith; Clerk, J. J. Woodman; Treasurer, A. Thompson; School Inspector, O. H. P. Sheldon; Justice of the Peace, H. Green. 1856.-Supervisor, John Hunt; Clerk, A. H. Thompson; Treasurer, N. B. McKinney; School Inspector, J. E. Sweet; Justice of the Peace, H. Lincoln.! 1857.-Supervisor, John Hunt; Clerk, J. J. Woodman; Treasurers N. B. McKinney; School Inspector, James Murray; Justice of the Peace, S. Longstreet. 1858.-Supervisor, N. H. Bitely; Clerk, J. J. Woodman; Treasurer, A. R. Wood; School Inspector, J. E. Sweet; Justice of the Peace, G. P. Smith. 1859.-Supervisor, L. A. Fitch; Clerk, J. J. Woodman; Treasurer, H. Cross, Jr.; School Inspector, A. C. Glidden; Justice of the Peace, P. H. Varney. 1860.-Supervisor, John Hunt; Clerk, J. J. Woodman; Treasurer, R. S. Griffin; School Inspector, N. H. Bitely; Justice of the Peace, G. R. Chapin. 1861.-Supervisor, Henry Fitch; Clerk, A. Flummerfelt; Treasurer, C. G. Harrington; School Inspector, H. H. Miller; Justice of the Peace, S. Longstreet. 1862.-Supervisor, L. A. Fitch; Clerk, G. W. Lawton; Treasurer, E. P. Mills; School Inspector, A. C. Glidden; Justice of the Peace, R. S. Armstrong. 1863.-Supervisor, 0. HI. P. Sheldon; Clerk, W. O. Fitch; Treasurer, N. B. McKinney; School Inspector, E. P. Mills; Justice of the Peace, N. B. Howell. 382 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 1864.-Supervisor, L. A. Fitch; Clerk, W. O. Fitch; Treasurer, N. B. McKinney; School Inspector, A. C. Glidden; Justice of the Peace, 0. H. P. Sheldon. 1865.-Supervisor, Orrin Buck; Clerk, E. S. Dunham; Treasurer, P. I. Bragg; School Inspector, C. D. Van Vechten; Justice of the Peace, S. Longstreet. 1866.-Supervisor, J. J. Woodman; Clerk, L. E. Fitch; Treasurer, N. B. Rowe; School Inspector, I. M. Hayden; Justice of the Peace, C. Durkee. 1867.-Supervisor, A. C. Glidden; Clerk, Charles Kelsey; Treasurer, N. B. Rowe; School Inspector, J. H. Breed; Justice of the Peace, N. B. Howell. 1868.-Supervisor, N. B. McKinney; Clerk, Charles Munger; Treasurer, L. C. Fitch; School Inspector, W. B. Gorham; Justice of the Peace, O. H. P. Sheldon. 1869.-Supervisor, John Ihling; Clerk, Charles Munger; Treasurer, Charles Kelsey; School Inspector, E. S. Dunham; Justice of the Peace, J. L. Parker. 1870.-Supervisor, John Ihling; Clerk, Charles Munger; Treasurer, J. Smolk; School Inspector, J. Kellard; Justice of the Peace, C. M. Morrill. 1871.-Supervisor, N. B. McKinney; Clerk, Charles Munger; Treasurer, J. Smolk; School Inspector, F. J. Cowgill; Justice of the Peace, L. G. Hunt. 1872.-Supervisor, J. McKeyes; Clerk, C. L. Eaton; Treasurer, N. H. Bangs; School Inspector, C. H. Fisher; Justice of the Peace, A. C. Glidden. 1873.-Supervisor, L. A. Fitch; Clerk, M. C. Joiner; Treasurer, F. L. Churchill; School Inspector, W. B. Gorham; Justice of the Peace, A. C. Glidden. 1874.-Supervisor, John Smith; Clerk, L. C. Fitch; Treasurer, F. L. Churchill; School Inspector, M. H. Cross; Justice of the Peace, C. M. Morrill. 1875.-Supervisor, F. B. Adams; Clerk, C. S. Adams; Treasurer, E. Durkee; School Inspector, B. V. Love; Justice of the Peace, N. B. Howell. 1876.-Supervisor, J. McKeyes; Clerk, J. A. Gates; Treasurer, J. W. Johnson; School Inspector, F. Rice; Justice of the Peace, L. Bathrick. 1877.-Supervisor, J. McKeyes; Clerk, J. A. Gates; Treasurer, F. B. Adams; School Inspector, O. J. Graves; Justice of the Peace, I. M. Hayden. 1878.-Supervisor, J. McKeyes; Clerk, J. A. Gates; Treasurer, J. S. Buck; School Inspector, O. J. Graves; Justice of the Peace, C. M. Morrill. 1879.-Supervisor, J. McKeyes; Clerk, C. S. Adams; Treasurer, D. D. Nobles; School Inspector, E. W. Green; Justice of the Peace, L. C. Fitch. The township board for 1879 was composed of Juan McKeyes, C. S. Adams, I. M. Hayden, and Lysander Bathrick. The school inspectors were E. W. Green, C. H. Lawton, and C. S. Adams. The justices of the peace were L. Bathrick, I. M. Hayden, C. M. Morrill, L. C. Fitch. LAWTON VILLAGE. In 1849, Nathan Lawton, of Watertown, N. Y., owned the land upon which the business portion of Lawton is now located, and when the place was selected for a station on the Michigan Central Railroad, Mr. Lawton laid out a town A v there. When in 1851 a post-office was about to be established there, Col. Andrew Longstreet, upon an application to that end, christened it Lawton, in honor of its proprietor. Mr. Lawton had previously donated ten acres of land for railway-depot buildings, which were erected in 1848. The station was known as Paw Paw, and sometimes called South Paw Paw, but after the creation of the post-office, Lawton was substituted, for station and town. Mr. Lawton, for whom the place was named, was at no time a resident of Michigan, although two of his sons-George W. and Charles D.-have been citizens of Lawton village for many years. When the Michigan Central Railroad was being constructed at the point now called Lawton, then a wilderness of bramble-bushes, Henry McNeil opened a store in a log cabin on the west side of what is now Main Street, near the line of the road. McNeil supplied the railway laborers with store goods, but dealt chiefly in whisky, of which the railroad hands consumed large quantities. He made considerable money at keeping store in Lawton, and removed to Minnesota. Andrew Longstreet, who had been living near the village on a farm, moved into it shortly after McNeil opened his store, and took possession of an unoccupied railroad laborer's shanty that stood on the corner now occupied by Ford & Dalton's store. Mr. Longstreet also started a shoe-shop on the west side of the street, opposite his house. While McNeil was keeping store there, Gilbert Johnson, of Paw Paw, opened a store near McNeil's, and called it " The Farmers' Headquarters." From that out the village began to grow. Horace Sebring put up a hotel where the Robinson House now stands, but soon sold out to R. S. Armstrong, who died in the hotel in 1863. Hight & Smith succeeded as landlords, and sold out in 1866 to George W. Robinson & Brother, who in two weeks after coming into possession were burned out. They at once rebuilt the present Robinson House, of which George W. Robinson is landlord. Next to Johnson in the order of succession as to storekeepers were John McKinney, William Selleck, Livingston McNeil, -- Leonard, Fairbanks & S. Kiver, W. H. Smith, George P. Smith, Smith & Ingalls, Dr. Root, William & Charles Munger, N. B. McKinney, and others. Although it grew, Lawton grew slowly in its infancy, and in 1854, when Mr. Nathan Bitely located in the village, it contained Sebring's Hotel, two stores, a saw-mill, two or three frame residences, and a half-dozen log cabins. After that, however, its progress was more rapid. With the establishment of the works of the Michigan Central Iron Company, in 1867, Lawton took a decided step forward in respect to both business and population, and during the iron company's existence the town reached a population of 2000. When the company ceased operations at Lawton, in 1875, the village lost many of its inhabitants, and numbers now about 800. A union school house erected at this place in 1867, at a cost of $10,000, is a feature of considerable local pride. It is a handsome and commodious brick structure, contains four departments, including a high school, and has an average attendance of 219 pupils. The mercantile trade of the town is represented by Ford & Dalton's general store, B. J. Desenburg and J. S. Cowgill's grocery-stores, Kinney, Adams & Co. and C. S. Adams' hardware-stores, Juan McKeyes and J. R. Doolittle's drugstores, and L. Stern & Co.'s dry-goods store. The village manufactories are noticed elsewhere. The Lawton post-ofice was established in 1851, and Andrew Longstreet appointed postmaster. His successors in the office were Henry McNeil, Livingston McNeil, A. H. Thompson, Richard Finley, and N. B. McKinney. Col. Longstreet, who had been absent from Lawton some ON 4n I A RESIDENCE OF NATHANIEL L. SURDAM, ANTWERPT, VANBURENCO.,M1CH. ~i I::I I; TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 383 years, was reappointed shortly after his return, and succeeded Mr. McKinney. Longstreet continued in the office until his death, in 1871, when he was succeeded by William H. Smith, who was succeeded, in 1879, by Otis Rider, the present incumbent. Lawton Village Incorporation.-Oct. 15, 1858, the Board of Supervisors of Van Buren County passed a resolution incorporating the village of Lawton, and included within the village limits the following territory: the north half of the southeast quarter and the northeast quarter of section 32, together with the following-described parcels of land, to wit: commencing on the south side of the Michigan Central Railroad, where the quarter-line running north and south through section 32 crosses said railroad, and running south on said quarter-line twenty rods; thence west thirtysix rods and nine feet to the south line of the Michigan Central Railroad; thence in a northeasterly direction along the south line of said road to the place of beginning. Also all that part of the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 29 known as Baker's and Thompson's addition, and the west half of the west half of the northwest quarter of section 33. Also a piece of land thirty rods in width, taken from the east side of the northwest quarter of section 32, extending from the Michigan Central to the north line of said section, and a piece thirty rods wide east and west and fifty rods long north and south, in the southeast corner of the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 29. The first election was ordered to be held in the village school-house on the first Saturday in December, and George P. Smith, John McKinney, and Calvin Durkee were appointed inspectors of said election. At the first election, held Dec. 4, 1858, the aggregate number of votes cast reached 75. A full list of the persons annually chosen since 1858 to be president, clerk, treasurer, and trustees is given below, viz.: 1858.-President, Calvin Durkee; Clerk, N. B. McKinney; Treasurer, A. H. Thompson; Trustees, N. H. Bitely, Henry D. Lesure, Samuel Longstreet, John Munson, Platt Nims, James W. Wager. 1859.-President, Calvin Durkee; Clerk, N. B. McKinney; Treasurer, M. H. Smith; Trustees, James W. Wager, Jesse S. Smith, John Munson, N. H. Bitely, Samuel Longstreet, Thomas D. Ward. 1860.-President, Samuel Longstreet; Clerk, N. B. McKinney; Treasurer, G. D. Johnson; Trustees, N. H1. Bitely, G. P. McNeil, Jesse S. Smith, C. P. Harrington, C. H. Maxwell, George P. Smith. 1861.-President, Andrew Longstreet; Clerk, R. H. Finley; Treasurer, J. S. Smith; Trustees, William Fairbanks, James W. Wager, M. H. Smith, E. B. Aldrich, H. V. Harwick, N. H. Bitely. 1862.-President, J. S. Smith; Clerk, R. H. Finley; Treasurer, B. F. Engle; Trustees, Thomas Scott, George W. Lawton, H. D. Lesure, George H. Schriver, Harlow Robinson, George W. Dye. 1863-64.-No record. 1865.-President, N. B. McKinney; Clerk, George P. Smith; Treasurer, Edward Root; Trustees, Andrew Longstreet, William H. Smith, N. B. Rowe, Charles D. Lawton, H. V. Harwick, Lucius K. Robinson. 1866.-President, William H. Smith; Clerk, Edwin S. Dunham; Treas urer, William J. McKinney; Trustees, H. V. Harwick, N. B. Rowe, C. D. Lawton, Edward Root, E. D. Simmons, A. W.. Townsend. _ 1867.-President, William H. Smith; Clerk, E. S. Dunham; Treasurer, N. B. McKinney; Trustees, C. B. Lawton, N. B. Rowe, William Munger, J. L. Parker, M. H. Smith, S. C. Day. 1868.-President, Henry Ford; Clerk, William J. McKinney; Treasurer, Andrew Longstreet; Trustees, F. B. Adams, Calvin Durkee, L. T. Moore, Edwin A. Smith, Leonard Waldron, Charles M. Morrill. 1869.-President, Henry Ford; Recorder, James Atwell; Treasurer, Andrew Longstreet; Trustees (for one year), Stephen Jones, Orrin Robinson, James H. Conklin (for two years), David W. Powell, John W. Morrill, G. D. Johnson. 1870.-N. B. McKinney; Recorder, James L. Parker; Treasurer, A. L. McElheney; Trustees, George W. Robinson, Robert Lamoreaux, and Orrin Robinson. 1871.-President, D. W. Powell; Recorder, J. D. Monroe; Treasurer, L. G. Halsted; Trustees, F. B. Adams, G. B. Hill, T. J. McKinney. 1872.-President, Robert Lamoreaux; Recorder, Charles M. Morrill; Treasurer, R. S. Griffin; Trustees, Dudley Thornton, L. L. Halsted, Lucius Baker. 1873.-President, N. H. Bitely; Recorder, Charles M. Morrill; Treasurer, James S. Cowgill; Trustees, M. H. Smith, L. L. Halsted, Charles D. Lawton. 1874.-President, N. H. Bitely; Recorder, George P. Smith; Treasurer, James S. Cowgill; Trustees, John Jefferson, John Pelton, George W. Robinson. 1875. —President, L. L. Halsted; Recorder, C. S. Adams; Treasurer, N. B. McKinney; Trustees, Henry Stearns, N. B. Rowe, C. D. Lawton. 1876.-President, Joseph C. Ford; Recorder, C. S. Adams; Treasurer, B. J. Dusenbury; Trustees, Robert Lamoreaux, Juan McKeyes, J. W. Johnson. 1877.-President, J. C. Ford; Recorder, C. S. Adams; Treasurer, Henry Stearns; Trustees, W. W. Robbins, C. D. Lawton, G. W. Robinson. 1878.-President, J. C. Ford; Recorder, C. S. Adams; Treasurer, M. H. Smith; Trustees, H. C. Watson, C. G. Harrington, Lucius Baker. 1879.-President, Henry Ford; Recorder, J. W. Johnson; Treasurer, Myron H. Smith; Trustees, Henry Stearns, A. B. Jones, Louis Waldorff. Lawton Manufactures.-Besides the mill interest at Lawton, there is the extensive cooper-shop of John Mayhard, in which 10 men are employed in making barrels; a plow-point factory, carried on by J. L. Wilcox; and the fanning-mill works of Smith & Walker. This latter establishment was founded in 1861, at Lawton, by Bonsteed & Smith, and in 1862 that firm was succeeded by W. H. Smith, who in 1870 took in Mr. Walker as a partner. From 10 to 15 men are employed, and from 500 to 700 fanning-mills are manufactured annually, beside a considerable number of fruit-boxes and meat-safes. Ledyard & Aldrich were engaged at Lawton from 1856 to 1873 in the manufacture of fanning-mills, of which they produced about 300 yearly. Michigan Central Iron Comrpary.-The works of the Michigan Central Iron Company at Lawton, although temporarily abandoned, resounded a few years ago with the hum of busy industry, and entered conspicuously into the elements of Lawton's then prosperous progress. During the nearly eight years' continuous existence of its active history the company contributed largely to the business and population of Lawton, and the discontinuance of its works was a severe check to the prosperity of the village. As to the origin of the enterprise, the following narration will be found of interest. Early in the year 1867, Maj. Joseph Walker while passing westward, stopped at Lawton to visit C. D. and George W. Lawton, and incidentally 384 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. there arose a discussion touching the fact that Lawton ought, by reason of the presence near there of excellent timber-land, to be a good manufacturing point, and beyond that a peat-bed on the McKinney farm promised to prolong the supply of fuel even when the timber should be exhausted. This peat-bed had been purchased by Gen. Q. A. Gillmore, of the United States army, with a view doubtless to probabilities similar to those contemplated by Walker and the Lawtons. The discussion referred to, speedily developed into an earnest interest in the subject, and when Walker left, it was with the understanding that the matter would not be allowed to rest there. Walker happening soon to call on Maj. T. D. Brooks, engaged in mining iron in the Lake Superior country, mentioned the Lawton subject to him, and was told that the most profitable project to be suggested in that connection was the manufacture of iron. Not only that, but he promised to take an interest in the business, and the result of the matter was that Walker, Brooks, and the Lawtons decided to undertake the organization of a company to make iron at Lawton. Walker accordingly proceeded eastward and interested Gen. Gillmore and other army officers so far that in the same year (1867) the Michigan Central Iron Company was organized, with a capital of $150,000. Gen. Gillmore was chosen president, and Samuel Cantrell treasurer, while among the stockholders were Gens. Grant, Barnard, Porter, and others in the military service,-Gen. Grant being still one of the stockholders to the extent of $5000. About 1500 acres of timber-land besides Gillmore's peat-bed were bought by the company, works were erected at Lawton, extensive docks constructed at Michigan City, and the business so pushed forward that on Dec. 24, 1867, the works were started, under the management of Henry Ford, a practical iron manufacturer. The ore, obtained at Lake Superior region, was landed on the company's docks at Michigan City, and transported over the Michigan Central Railroad to the works. About 150 hands were employed at the works and in clearing land, and for nearly eight years the enterprise was industriously and profitably maintained. In April, 1875, however, depression in the iron trade led to what was intended to be only a temporary cessation of manufacture, but which has proved to be a suspension to this time. The company is, however, intact as an organization, and latterly there has been earnest talk among the directors looking to an early resumption of the business. Gen. Gillmore is still the president, and D. Van Nostrand secretary of the company. The property owned by the corporation is a valuable one, and includes the Lawton works, 2500 acres of land, and 600 feet of dock at Michigan City. The Lawton Foundry.-Messrs. Wright & Agnew put up at Lawton in 1870 a foundry of considerable size, and in that year began the manufacture of castings, school furniture, etc., and employed from 10 to 15 men. They sold out in 1872 to Hill, Elmore & Co., who ceased operations in 1875. Since that time the foundry has been idle, except upon periodical occasions of no particular business moment. Lawton Railroad Station.-The following table shows:C A::: a: it I:: the shipments (by car-loads) at Lawton Station, of flour, grain, lumber, and live-stock for the six months ending Dec. 1, 1879: Month. Flour. Grain. Lumber. Live-Stock. June....................... 19 8 14 1 July................... 11 5 7 1 August.................... 9 44 2 10 September............... 29 48 5 25 October.................. 22 41 3 6 November............... 9 14 2 8 Total................ 99 160 33 51 Lawton Lodge, No. 216, F. and A. M., was organized Jan. 10, 1867, with Grove C. Love as Master, H. F. Robinson as Senior Warden, and John Ihling as Junior Warden. The Masters since the organization have been G. C. Love, H. Jackson, Charles Munger, John Ihling, George D. Boies, Frank B. Adams, Henry Ford, and H. C. Watson. The officers Jan. 1, 1880, were H. C. Watson, W. M.; Henry Ford, S. W.; Elijah Warner, J. W.; J. W. Johnson, Sec.; M. H. Smith, Treas.; C. S. Adams, S. D.; Orrin D. White, J. D.; James Babcock, Tiler. The lodge has now a membership of 60, and is in a flourishing condition. Regular sessions are held in Masonic Hall, Lawton. Lawton Lodge, No. 83, 1 0. O. F, was organized in 1861, and has now a membership of 28, although it had in 1870 100 members. The officers are W. D. Kinney, N. G.; C. G. Harrington, V. G.; D. W. Powell, Sec.; J. L. Wilson, Treas. Sessions are held in the I. O. O. F. building, Lawton. Monitor Encampment, No. 16, I. O. O. F., domiciled in the I. 0. O. F. building at Lawton, was organized in 1864. The present membership is 16, and the list of officers as follows: T. D. Ward, C. P.; W. D. Kinney, S. W.; C. G. Harrington, J. W.; R. N. Still, H. P.; D. W. Powell, Scribe; N. V. Finch, Treas. Court Van Buren, No. 6, Ancient Order of Foresters, was organized Nov. 3, 1878, with a membership of 19. D. W. Powell was chosen C. R.; Juan McKeyes, V. C. R.; and J. W. Johnson, Rec. Sec., The court has now a membership of 26, and is officered as follows: J. Gillespie, C. R.; N. V. Finch, V. C. R.; J. W. Johnson, Rec. Sec.; M. H. Smith, Treas.; H. B. Janes, S. W.; J. D. Tillou, J. W.; Robert Janes, S. B.; B. J. Desenberg, J. B. The regular meetings are held in Masonic Hall every Tuesday evening. MATTAWAN VILLAGE. While the Michigan Central Railway was in course of construction, Nathaniel Cheseboro, the attorney for the railway company, bought 40 acres of land on a portion of the site of the village of Mattawan, laid out a town, and called it Mattawan, after a village on the Hudson River in New York. In 1848, Charles W. Scott made material additions to the plat, and really did all the work towards pushing the town to the front. He donated land to the railway company for depot purposes, conditioned that Mattawan should be made a regular stopping-place, but as the company ig nored that condition subsequently, he sought to recover pay for the land, but without success. Elias Kinney and D. B. Webster made additions to Mattawan, and the march of enterprise set in as if fruitful results were destined to follow. MR. JASON A. SHELDON. MRS. JASON A. SHELDON. JASON A. SHELDON. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is worthy of conspicuous mention. He was born April 15, 1799, in Stephentown, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., and is one of a family of ten children. His father, Benjamin, was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y.; his mother, Elizabeth Gardner, was born in Newport, R. I., and both were of English descent. Jason's father was a Baptist minister. His grandfather was one of the first settlers of Stephentown township. Benjamin remained there until 1816, when the family moved to Western New York, and settled in what was called "the Genesee Country," latterly known as Orleans County, where Benjamin died in August, 1832. When about fifteen years of age Jason commenced assisting on the farm, and working at anything else he could find to do, until 1820, when he hired out on the Erie Canal, under the supervision of Major Adams, discharging each and every duty faithfully. He soon became foreman, which position he held three years. June 1, 1823, being then twentyfour years of age, he married Miss Sabrina M. Glidden, in the town of Clarendon, Orleans Co., N. Y. Her parents were natives of the Green Mountain State, where she was born June 4, 1799. To this marriage were born six children,-five sons and one daughter, viz.: Oliver Hazard Perry Sheldon, born Dec. 12, 1824, now married and living in Paw Paw; Ellen Adelia, born Oct. 10, 1826, died when two years of age; Asa Glidden, born Sept. 15, 1828, died June 15, 1857, in his twenty-ninth year; William S., born Nov. 22, 1830, now living in Antwerp township; Job G., born May 1, 1833, lives in Prairie Ronde, Kalamazoo Co.; Benjamin Clark, born Sept. 7, 1835, lives on part of the old homestead. After leaving the canal Mr. Sheldon chose farming as his vocation, improving some wild land which he had previously purchased. In 1845 lie sold his farm, and with his family came to Michigan, settling in Antwerp township, on section 7, which is one mile east of Paw Paw village. His farm at first only contained one hundred and twenty acres, to which he afterwards added one hundred and seventy-five acres, improving his farm until 1854, when he sold a part of it to Mr. Chapin, dividing the remainder between his children. Since then he has lived on the interest of his money. There was no sudden accession of wealth, but slowly the work was carried forward year by year amid the severest hardships, until, in the lapse of time, ease and comfort have been reached. In January, 1879, Mr. Sheldon was bereft of his loving and faithful companion, who is kindly remembered by many friends. In politics he is a Republican, though in early days a Democrat, representing his party in New York as supervisor for several years, also as justice of the peace. He represented his party in Michigan as judge of the County Court for one term, when the Court was changed to Circuit Court. He has also been town clerk and justice in Antwerp four years. He had only ordinary educational advantages, never attending any but a common school; yet, by making good use of the advantages within his reach, he has acquired a practical knowledge sufficient to enable him to do any ordinary business. Himself and wife were both members of the Free-Will Baptist Church since 1833, both joining at the same time. Mr. Sheldon and his brother, William, who resides with him, are the only ones left of their father's once unbroken and happy family. Mr. Sheldon's mother died at her old home in New York, March, 1845, at the good old age of eightyfour; and when the lamp went out, they laid her in a sunny nook, where the marble marks her quiet resting-place. I~ I: TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 385 The first house of any importance built on the villagesite was a grocery-store, put up in 1850 by one John Cronkhite. He sold the place to Rev. J. J. Bliss, a Canadian, who came along that year, and making his residence on the ground-floor, opened a store in the second story. This building occupied the corner upon which the Front Street brick block stands. It is now standing upon the same lot as " Charity Hall." Bliss built also the warehouse near the railway, now owned by Morgan L. Fitch. He was a railway switch-man and preacher, as well as a trader, and divided his time between selling goods and preaching, first the Protestant Methodist and afterwards the Free-Will Baptist doctrine. Bliss sold his business to Henry Fitch, whose successors were Morgan L. Fitch and C. D. Van Vechten. There was no hotel in the village until 1855, when J. F. Parmenter built the Antwerp House, on Front Street. George Conklin put in a new front and called it the Willard House. He was the landlord when the building was burned, in 1873. Henry Durkee built a hotel on the corner, near the present post-office, and called it the Union House. It was burned in 1866, and then Durkee put up the hotel now kept by Chauncey Bonfoey,-the only one in the village at present. A post-office was established at Mattawan in 1850, when Rev. J. J. Bliss was appointed postmaster. Postmaster Bliss' duties were not very heavy, nor was his mail voluminous, since he found that a cigar-box was quite large enough to serve him as a receptacle for all the letters sent to the office. Mr. Bliss' successors in the office to the present have been John Smolk, James Murray, Raper Ward, Abel Brown, L. C. Fitch, S. S. Rascoe, and Isaac Stewart. About 1869, Mattawan enjoyed an era of considerable prosperity and carried on an extensive business as a shipping-point for great quantities of lumber, which were sent in from mills north of the place. The population numbered at that time about 800, and the little town was flushed with signs of material prosperity. The completion of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, however, soon diverted the lumber shipments elsewhere, and Mattawan suffered a reaction. The village population is now (Jan. 1, 1880) about 400. The chief business interests are represented by Morgan L. Fitch (warehouse), E. Moore (general store), George H. Goodrich (hardware), and the grocery-stores of Stewart & Co. and L. C. Fitch. Mattawan Lodge, No. 268, F. and A. M., was organized Jan. 13, 1870, with Thomas H. Briggs as W. M., C. D. Van Vechten as S. W., and Clinton Fitch as J. W. The lodge has now a membership of 50, and is officered as follows: James McCarter, W. M.; D. W. Miller, S. W.; C. Bonfoi, J. W.; Isaac Birdsall, Treas.; C. O. Nash, Sec.; John Eves, S. D.; George Tillou, J. D.; James Day, Tiler. SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP. The first school-teacher in Antwerp was Ann, daughter of Daniel Van Antwerp, and the first school-house the log cabin of Joshua Bangs, on section 7, in the second story of which, in 1837, Miss Van Antwerp taught a subscription 49 school one term, and had perhaps a dozen scholars. Miss Van Antwerp married P. N. Smith, and now lives in the township, on section 9. After that first season a slab schoolhouse was built, and did duty for some time near where the fine school-house on section 7 now stands. Lawton and Mattawan have each an excellent graded school and a handsome brick school-house, the one at Lawton being one of the best in the county. Following is a statement of the condition of the schools of Antwerp, as per school report for the year 1879: Whole number of districts, 9 (of which 2 are fractional); total enrollment of children, 618; total average attendance, 374; whole number of teachers employed, 20; amount paid for teachers' wages, $2331; value of school property, $16,600. (District No. 4 is not included, because not reported.) The school directors of the several districts at the date of the report were as follows: District No. 1, E. C. Towers; No. 2, Daniel Morrison; No. 3, Charles Race; No. 4, Reuben Clum.; No. 5, J. Sheldon; No. 6, A. Harwick; No. 7, C. R. Williams; No. 8, M. H. Smith; No. 9, R. W. Brown. The township was divided into four school districts May 4, 1837, and on July 25th of the same year two additional districts were formed. Feb. 26, 1839, primaryschool money to the amount of $14.08 was received from the Van Buren County treasurer and apportioned: $8.32 to District No. 5, and $5.76 to District No. 6. The annual report of the board of school inspectors, made March 11, 1839, showed that there were six districts, that only two reported, and that the books in use were Cobb's "Elementary Spelling-Book," " First-Class Book," "Smith's Grammar," "Adams' Arithmetic," "English Reader," and " Olney's Geography." The first record of the selection of the school-teachers appears under date Dec. 5, 1843, when James Duncan, W. B. Mack, and Joseph Gilman were examined and approved as teachers. Annual reports of the schools were made to the school inspectors regularly, but from 1838 to 1844 no complete report from all the school districts was received in any year, and the actual condition of the schools during that period cannot, therefore, be ascertained. CHURCHES. The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Lawton is the pioneer religious organization of the town, and dates the period of the formation of its first class back to 1855. There were but 8 members in that class, but it grew rapidly, however, and flourished as the years passed on until in 1869 the church membership numbered 215. The first pastor was Rev. S. Simmons, and the first class-leader Harvey Barker, of Porter, who was also a local preacher, and exceedingly zealous in behalf of the church. In 1860 the church was in charge of Rev. T. T. George, and included the classes of Lawton, Porter, Centre, the " Valley" class, and those of Marcellus and South Porter. Mattawan was afterwards included and set off in 1867. In 1860, Andrew Longstreet was leader of the Lawton class, which then in cluded among its members Jason Atwell, William Powell, Calvin Durkee, William L. Barker, and Chauncey Hollister. 386 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The church worshiped in the Lawton school-house until 1862, when the church edifice now in use was erected. It is a commodious frame structure, with seating capacity for 300 people. The present pastor is Rev. T. T. George. The leaders of the Lawton class to the present time have been Harvey Barker, Andrew Longstreet, William Barker, Henry Ford, James Wager, T. D. Ward, James Drowley, William Powell, William Harper, Walter Fredenburg. The officers of the church at present are: Trustees, W. S. Harper, T. D. Ward, Jason Atwell, Henry Ford, James Drowley, George Worden, and Harvey Harper. The stewards are T. D. Ward, W. S. Harper, Jason Atwell, and James Drowley. The class-leaders are William S. Harper and Walter Fredenburg. The recording steward is T.D. Ward. The Sabbath-school numbers about 100 pupils, and is in charge of Nathaniel Atwood (superintendent) and 10 teachers. The First Baptist Church of Lawton was organized Nov. 11, 1865, in the Lawton school-house, by Rev. E. S. Dunham. Twelve members were on that occasion received into the church, to wit: E. S. Dunham and wife, Thomas Barker and wife, M. D. Williams and wife, John Stearns and wife, Jonathan Baughman and wife, Cynthia Smith, Helen M. Williams. Upon being organized, the church was attached to the Kalamazoo River Association. Rev. Mr. Dunham preached about a year, and was succeeded by Rev. Hezekiah West. Since Mr. West's time the church has been compelled to depend upon supplies. The Rev. Mr. Dunham, now living in Lawton, has been connected with the church since its organization, and has from time to time occupied the pulpit, serving altogether about five years. Mr. Dunham has been an active minister in the Baptist Church in Michigan since 1849, and has only latterly retired from the calling. The church membership is now about 60, and although dependence has long been upon supplies, preaching has always been enjoyed at least once each Sabbath. The Sabbath-school is in a flourishing condition, with an average attendance of 70, G. N. Birdsall being the superintendent. The church edifice now used was built in 1867. The officers of the church are Thomas Barker, Deacon; G. N. Birdsall, Clerk. Mr. Barker has been a deacon since the date of organization. First Presbyterian Church.-Dec. 15, 1868, Rev. Calvin Clark, a Presbyterian missionary, assisted by Revs. E. F. Toof and William Fuller, organized the First Presbyterian Church of Lawton, at a meeting held in the Methodist Episcopal church of that village. Their first meeting was held in the morning, when 12 members were enrolled, to wit: Daniel Van Antwerp and wife, Harriet Van Antwerp, W. A. Twichell and wife, Theodore Perry and wife, R. S. Griffin and wife, 0. G. Badlan and wife, and Mrs. Solomon Phillips. At an evening meeting on the same day Mrs. Jeannette Morrill, Mrs. Mary Abbott, James M. Wells, and Geo. W. Lawton and wife were added to the membership. The ceremony of organization closed with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, administered by Rev. Calvin Clark. Rev. John Kelland was called to be the first minister, and for some time thereafter the congregation grew in strength, but when the Iron Company's works discontinued operations many of the members (who were employees of the company) moved from the village, and of course their withdrawal checked the church's progress. The organization has, however, prospered fairly, and includes at present a membership of 30. During Mr. Kelland's time services were held twice each Sunday, while the sessions of the Sabbath-school were held each Sabbath. Preaching is now enjoyed, however, but once a month, Rev. Theodore Marsh, of Paw Paw, supplying the pulpit. The society has never owned a church edifice. A public hall served at first, and later a building purchased by a few members of the society and converted into a chapel was and is still used, in common with members of the Protestant Episcopal faith. The church trustees are Freeman Rice and C. M. Morrill. A Protestant Episcopal Church was organized several years ago in Lawton, but the membership was small, and the organization was discontinued after a brief season. Episcopalians in Lawton have, however, had periodical religious meetings in the village, and have managed to have occasional preaching. Rev. George P. Shetky, of Paw Paw, supplies them with preaching at present, and holds services once every three weeks in the Presbyterian chapel at Lawton. First Methodist Episcopal Church of Mattawan.-In the absence of the early records of this church the date of the organization of the Mattawan class can only be vaguely given as about 1854. The place of the organization can, however, be stated as the Fitch school-house, north of Mattawan, and the name of the first pastor as Rev. Mr. Jones. Worship was held at the Fitch school-house two years, when the place of meetings was transferred to Mattawan. At that time the class was attached to the Lawton Church, and among its members were Lyman Lawrence and wife, Charles Scott and wife, Jacob Ward and wife, Cobb, James Murray and wife, Raper Ward and wife, Mrs. Merritt Gates, and Green. In 1866 the present church edifice was erected, and in 1867 the class was set off from the Lawton circuit. The charge of which Mattawan is a part includes, besides that class, the classes of Almena and West Oshtemo, and has a membership of 117. The class-leader at Mattawan is Elbridge Reed; the pastor is Rev. S. C. Woodward; the trustees, Bryan Stainton, E. B. Wright, David Brown, Philo Reed, Joseph B. Ford, Truman Bailey, and S. C. Hiscock; the stewards are W. S. Plumb, Elbridge Reed, and Bryan Stanton. Church services, as well as Sabbathschool sessions, are held every Sunday. First Congregational Church of Mattawan.-At a church council held July 2, 1867, at the house of J. J. Johnson, for the purpose of organizing a Congregational Church in Mattawan, there were present Rev. Anderson, of Augusta; Rev. E. Strickland, of Dowagiac; Rev. E. Cleveland, of Lawrence; Rev. E. Hastings, of Paw Paw; and Rev. W. H. Hubbard, of Schoolcraft. The church was organized, and the following members received: J. J. Johnson and wife, W. O. Elmore and wife, Charles Kelsey and wife, Josiah Hopkins and wife, Luther J. Hopkins, Wm. Ward and wife, Milo Ward, Samuel Ward, O. P. Morton and wife, S. N. Mygatt, Louis Hitchcock, A. Kellogg, Mary A. Van Winkle, and Stephen Morton. Josiah Hopkins and Charles Kelsey were chosen deacons, and the TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 387 manual of the Kalamazoo Congregational Association was adopted, with a few alterations. The pastors of the church in their order of service are given as follows: Revs. Q. A. McFarland, Thomas Jones, Jonathan Crain, G. Dangramond, J. H. Williams, D. W. Comstock, and I. N. Tomes. Upon the organization of the church a Sabbath-school was also formed, and in 1869 a house of worship was built. The church membership, which is now 25, was at one time upwards of 80. Rev. I. N. Tomes, the present pastor, preaches every Sunday. The deacons are W. B. Gorham and W. B. Ward; the trustees, Peter Harwick, W. B. Ward, and Scott Glidden; and the clerk, W. B. Gorham. A Close Communion Baptist Church was organized in Mattawan, at the house of N. B. Howell, in 1867, with 18 members. Up to the close of 1878 preaching was supplied from Kalamazoo as often as once every fortnight, and services were held in the Methodist church, a public hall, the school-house, and other convenient places. The membership is now but 10, and since the close of 1878 the members have not met for public worship. A Universalist Church was organized in 1873, with 16 members, by Rev. Asa Countryman, a Michigan missionary, at the house of C. D. Van Vechten. Mr. Countryman preached for the church a year, and during the ensuing two years Revs. Jacob Straub and - Mason preached once a month. After that the membership became reduced, and since 1876 no public services have been held. FRUIT CULTURE. Four years ago Antwerp township was not esteemed a region peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of such fruits as the peach and grape, and what was done in those departments was upon a very limited scale. At this time, however, the peach and grape culture is one of the important features of the township's industries, and promises moreover to expand in a very important way in the near future. Indeed, this valuable interest seems to be just developing, and among those who are urging it forward the opinion holds, and with much sanguine faith, that the fruit trade of Antwerp and the neighboring country will soon be far greater than at present. The oldest peach orchard in the township is that of Nathan H. Bitely, who has been marketing the fruit for about twenty years, or since 1860. Mr. Biteley has also one of the largest vineyards in Antwerp. Messrs. L. L. Halstead and L. Baxter have old orchards, but a large majority of those now cultivated are but four years old. Early in 1878 the fruit-growers in the neighborhood of Lawton moved for the organization of a society which should be devoted to the encouragement of their interests, and in April of that year, accordingly, the Lawton Pomological Society was formed, with N. H. Bitely as President, C. D. Lawton, Secretary, and A. B. Jones, Treasurer. The original membership of 40 has swelled to 50, and, according to the first defined purpose, includes fruit-growers of the townships of Paw Paw, Antwerp, and Porter, although there are also a few members from Decatur. It is estimated that fully 50,000 bearing peach-trees are owned by members of the society, while their vineyards and beds of small fruits are constantly expanding in area. Lawton is the shipping-point whence in 1878 between 50,000 and 60,000 baskets of peaches and 30 tons of grapes, besides much other small fruit, were forwarded, Mr. C. Engle, a fruit-grower, of Paw Paw, himself shipping 7000 baskets of peaches. Antwerp is likewise a strong apple-producing region, and in the light of late important progress as a fruit-belt may confidently count upon a valuable commercial future. RAILWAYS IN ANTWERP. The Michigan Central Railway, passing through the township between the east and southwest, was completed in 1848, and created the two flourishing villages of Lawton and Mattawan. The Paw Paw Railroad, connecting the villages of Lawton and Paw Paw, was chartered April 25, 1857, but the company seeking to ignore Lawton by intersecting the Michigan Central Railroad between Lawton and Mattawan, were by the latter corporation denied the privilege, and having thus uselessly expended their capital the company abandoned the undertaking. In November, 1866, there was a reorganization, with an increased capital, and then the line was completed as it now exists. 388 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. LYSANDER BATHRICK. MRS. LYSANDER BATHRICK. LYSANDER BATHRICK was born May 18, 1812, in the town of Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and was the seventh in a family of nine children,-five sons and four daughters. His father, Stephen Bathrick, was born in Massachusetts, May 25, 1778. His mother, Catharine (Bachelor) Bathrick, was also a native of that State, her birth occurring Aug. 28, 1776, and her marriage with Stephen Bathrick being celebrated Dec. 25, 1799. Mr. Bathrick and his wife both died in the State of New York, the former Dec. 24, 1854, and the latter June 29, 1839. Of their family, six members are now living. Lysander Bathrick passed his youth on his father's farm, after the manner of farmers' sons in those days, attending the winter terms in the district school, and assisting on the homestead through the summer months. After he became of age he hired his services at monthly wages, and with the money thus earned paid for one winter's tuition at Brockport College. Feb. 20, 1838, he was married to Miss Phebe Salisbury, whose parents, Joseph and Phebe (Westbrook) Salisbury, were born in Pennsylvania. She was a native of Monroe Co., N. Y., in which her birth occurred, July 28, 1819. The fruit of this union was four children, Rosina A., born March 9, 1839; Miranda A., born June 19, 1842; Pratt L., born May 15, 1848; Burt D., born March 23, 1862. These are all living. In 1841, Mr. Bathrick settled on a farm in Orleans Co., N. Y., and in 1866 sold it and came to Michigan, locating at Battle Creek, Calhoun Co. In 1869 he removed to Antwerp township, Van Buren Co., where his wife died, August 13th, in the same year. His present home consists of one hundred and nineteen acres on section 24, which, with the assistance of his youngest son, he manages. His oldest child, Rosina, is still in New York, and the others are married and settled near him. March 16, 1870, he was united in marriage with Mrs. M. Rose, a native of New York, in which State she was born Feb. 24, 1818. She is a sister of J. R. Bangs, of Paw Paw. Mrs. Bathrick (first) early became a convert to the Christian religion, and at her death was a member of the Congregational Church. The present Mrs. Bathrick also united with this church about 1870. Mr. Bathrick was formerly connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, but is at present a member of none. His first wife was an advocate of all reforms, and with him was an earnest worker in the anti-slavery cause, rising from her bed on many occasions to assist some lonely refugee. Mr. Bathrick's house was the haven which such wanderers sought for temporary shelter and assistance, and they were ever welcomed, and, after rest and refreshment, were "sent on their way rejoicing." Mr. Bathrick's father was a participant in the second struggle with Great Britain (1812-15), and an early settler of Monroe Co., N. Y. His house, erected in 1811, was the fifth in the township in.which he settled, and was covered with bark, as no lumber could be procured nearer than Rochester. His road was cut six miles through a dense forest. He did not locate with his family until Feb. 22, 1814, having lived previously in Cayuga County. Lysander Bathrick has been a life-long Republican, his principles being taught him by his mother. He has served as a justice of the peace in the township where he lives. TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 389 JONATHAN J. WOODMAN, so well known to very many, not only of the citizens of Van Buren County, but of the whole country, was born in Sutton, Caledonia Co., Vt., May 25, 1825. He was the youngest son of Joseph and Tryphena Woodman, whose portraits appear upon another page in this work, and was nearly ten years of age when his father settled in Antwerp, early in May, 1835. Western Michigan, except its few prairies, was then an almost unbroken wilderness. A few families arrived and settled in the neighborhood in the summer of 1835, and not unmindful of the fact that schools were an essential part of the civilization they had left behind them, they opened up in a primitive way the chances for an education in a slab shanty in Paw Paw village, to which the few children of the early settlers too young for work were sent. About this time the flood-tide of emigration to Southern Michigan commenced, and the sturdy settlers engaged at once in opening up farms, building villages, and providing educational advantages for their children. These were enjoyed by young Woodman to the extent of devoting the winter season to the village school, and the summer to labor on his father's farm, completing his school education at a private academy, under the tuition of the late Professor Vose, before he was twenty-one years of age. His time in the village school and his academic course of a few terms had been so well improved, and had kindled in him such a desire to explore the fields of learning, the portals of which he had just passed, that to go to college was then his highest ambition. But a new country with its demands for improvement, a new farm with its demands for labor, and a large family with its demands for a living, left few dollars to devote to the less necessary collegiate education which his ambition coveted. His father could not help him, and he was compelled to abandon this cherished purpose. He determined to enter a law-office and study law, and went to Kalamazoo, making his first application for a place in the office of Stuart & Miller. Mr. Stuart was not in when the farmer-boy called to arrange for his future course in life. Mr. Miller, a few years his senior, raised on a farm, with a few years' legal practice, was well qualified to give good advice. He said to young Woodman, "The profession is overcrowded, and the chances for a competence and future distinction are better and more certain for a young man intent on doing what he undertakes well, if he sticks to farming in this new and undeveloped country than at the bar." This opinion from an eminent lawyer cooled his ardor for professional life, and he returned home resolved to comply with the wishes of his father, and heed this friendly advice which had come to him unsought. arom henceforth he was ultimately to be a farmer, and he soon purchased forty acres of land adjoining his father's farm, incurring a debt of four hundred dollars, which was paid in installments with money earned by teaching. As he was well qualified, and it was more remunerative, he devoted six successive winters to that work, finding employ ment on his father's farm through the summer seasons. A forty-acre farm was too restricted for his ambition, and in the newly-discovered gold-fields of California he fancied he saw a prospect to secure means to enlarge his little farm, and enable him to prosecute his chosen vocation and secure the objects which attend success. Resigning the position of principal of the Paw Paw union school in the spring of 1852, he joined the throng and crossed the Plains to meet and overcome, as best he might, the hardships of the venture and adventure of a two years' life in California. Though he found no bonanza, he saved enough in two years of California life, by mining and other business in which he was engaged, to enlarge his farm, and soon made such valuable improvements as gave him the coveted standing which he has since so fully enjoyed,-an independent, enterprising Michigan farmer. His services as teacher were in demand, and the two winters succeeding his return from California he spent in teaching. We conclude that his time during the winter of 1856 was not wholly devoted to teaching school, as we find on inquiry that on the 30th day of March following he married Miss Harty H. Hunt, daughter of John and Eliza Hunt, pioneer settlers in the township, of whom mention is made in this work. Mrs. Woodman was born in Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vt., Oct. 20, 1834, and was but two and a half years old when her parents emigrated from Vermont and settled in Antwerp. Her educational advantages were very similar to those of her husband. In the common school, with a few terms at the Kalamazoo Female Seminary, under the tuition of that most excellent instructress, Mrs. Stone, she qualified herself for teaching school, and for several years previous to her marriage was successfully engaged in teaching. A small frame house was soon erected upon their one-hundred-and-twenty-acre farm, in which they commenced housekeeping and lived until their present residence was built, in 1868. They have but one child, Lucius Woodman, a promising lad of seventeen years of age. In 1860, Mr. Woodman was chosen to represent Van Buren County in the Michigan Legislature, a position to which he was re-elected successively five times, to represent the eastern district, making twelve years of continuous service, during three terms having the additional honor of being selected by that body to serve as presiding officer (one term as Speaker pro tern. and two terms as Speaker), a distinction never accorded to any member of ordinary ability, nor given a second time to any person lacking in executive talent. In the late Centennial Exposition he was one of the board of managers representing the State of Michigan, Eis especial duty being to take charge of the agricultural exhibition of his State. In 1878 he received from President Hayes the appointment of commissioner to the Paris Exposition, being one of the four to represent American agriculture. It is worthy of note that this appointment was made on the united solicitation of the entire Congressional delegation from his State, Mr. Woodman himself having no part in its procurement, nor even the knowledge that the position would be tendered him. The duties of the office took him abroad 390 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. early in May, 1878. During the summer months he was closely engaged in Paris most of the time. He found time, however, to make occasional excursions into the agricultural districts of France, and traveled extensively through several other countries in Europe, where, with the fondness of an enthusiast, he sought out everything new, if it seemed to have bearing upon the business in hand,-the development of truth in agriculture. These trips were delineated in letters to the Grange Visitor and Post and Tribune, and freely copied by the agricultural press throughout the Union. Very soon after the grange movement became in Michigan a moving impulse Mr. Woodman identified himself with it, notwithstanding the opprobrium that thoughtless scribblers and senile orators had endeavored to cast upon it. He saw in the order a precious boon to American farmers, conditioned only upon their cordial support of an institution devised in their interest, and therefore dependent upon them for whatever power or force it might have in shaping affairs. Being thoroughly identified in the new work, it was soon apparent to his fellow-laborers that his abilities indicated a wider field than could be afforded by his local grange as the measure of his usefulness, and he was therefore elected, in 1874, Master of the Michigan State Grange, a position which he still holds, having twice been re-elected by a nearly unanimous vote. In 1875, at the ninth annual session of the National Grange, in Louisville, Ky., he was elected Overseer, the second office in the body, the term expiring in 1877. At the eleventh annual session, in Cincinnati, he was re-elected, and served with much ability at the sessions of the National Grange at Richmond and at Canandaigua, often occupying the chair of the Master, where his familiarity with parliamentary law and usage, and his natural tact as a presiding officer, brought to him the highest office in the gift of that body-that of Master-at its late session, in November, 1879. Mr. Woodman has many qualities that have given him admirable fitness for the various official positions to which he has been called; but it is not the purpose of this sketch to make a careful analysis of character. It may be said, however, that as a presiding officer in a deliberative body he has, combined with the utmost readiness of decision, rare tact, that gives adverse ruling the character of graceful and courteous denial, soothing to those who seek the favors firmly refused. Intrenched in the most profound parliamentary lore, he occupies the chair as the embodiment of law, whose executive he becomes, with no favor nor harsh ruling to bestow, the plain purpose being to guide the proceedings of the body over which he presides by the rules it has itself established. As a speaker, he is entirely free from ostentatious display, although earnest and forcible, trusting rather to close argument and the logic of facts than to the arts of oratory. As a farmer, entire system marks every department of his work. Except when official duties have made demands upon his time, he has not only given personal attention to the business of his farm, but has always taken hold of its manual labor with the "come boys" activity that usually makes success certain. In 1860 he purchased one hundred acres of his father's farm, this time incurring a debt of four thousand dollars. Other additions have been made until he now owns over five hundred acres of land, with three hundred and seventyfive acres under cultivation. In practical farming he holds tenaciously to the idea that a mixed husbandry, thorough cultivation, with a liberal supply of fertilizers, and a systematic rotation of crops is essential to success. His motto is system, economy, and punctuality in all farm operations, as well as other business, and " an intelligent calculation on probabilities." His farm lies just outside the village of Paw Paw, the county-seat of Van Buren County. His residence, within half a mile of the post-office, gives him all the society advantages which village life affords. He has a fine residence and other farm-buildings sufficient for the needs of a large farm, but exhibits no lavish expenditure. With but one child, his family is always reinforced with the hired help necessary to run a large farm, and his considerate treatment of all his employees when at home makes them careful of his interests, and there is little of that change from year to year which is so common among farmers. Mr. Woodman has been successful in his own business affairs, successful in official life, and honored for the faithfulness with which he has discharged every duty imposed upon him, and now, at the age of fifty-four, we find him surrounded with every comfort and convenience found in a well-ordered home. The fortuitous circumstances of life that seem to attend some men more than others have fallen to his lot. With a wife familiar with farm-life from childhood, and eminently qualified to adapt herself to every situation, her practical good sense and sound judgment have contributed in no small degree to their financial prosperity, while her fine social and intellectual qualities have made their home an attractive centre of a large circle of friends who are always welcome at their hospitable board. She is an earnest worker in the grange, as well as in other social and benevolent enterprises; and, with her husband, has been honored with high positions in both the State and National Granges. She was elected Flora of the State Grange in 1875, a position which she still holds and fills with grace and dignity. In 1877 she was elected Pomona of the National Grange, and promoted to the office of Ceres in 1879, being the highest office held by a lady in that body. HENRY WAITE was born in Washington Co., N. Y., Sept. 10, 1825, and was the ninth in a family of fifteen children,-five sons and ten daughters. His father, Green Waite, was also a native of Washington County, as was also his mother, Lida (Moon) Waite. Mr. and Mrs. Waite, Sr., were married about 1808-9, and when Henry was five years of age the family removed to Livingston Co., N. Y., where the son worked on his father's farm summers, and attended school winters. When seventeen years of age, Henry Waite, at the request of his parents, started for Michigan to join his brother in Hillsdale Co., Mich., and learn the carpenter's TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 391 trade. With ten dollars in his pocket, and his clothing rolled up in a pack, he left home and proceeded on foot to Rochester. Arriving finally at Adrian, Mich., he walked from there to his brother's, having two dollars and a half left on his arrival. He remained most of the time with his brother for two and a half years, and experienced homesickness almost constantly. He returned to New York and stayed two years, at the expiration of which time he came again to Hillsdale, and subsequently to Van Buren County, where he stayed but a short time, returning to Hillsdale, and thence to New York, walking as far as Niagara Falls. March 26, 1850, he was married to Miss Caroline McCrossen, whose father was a native of Ireland, and mother of New York. In the latter State Mrs. Waite was born, Dec. 9, 1831. Mr. and Mrs. Waite have no children of their own, but have an adopted daughter, Leonora, now thirteen years of age. After their marriage, Mr. Waite rented a farm for two years, after which he purchased fifty acres of land in Ontario Co., N. Y., and removed to it. He sold his place in the fall of 1855, and returned to Michigan, purchasing seventy acres in Almena township, Van Buren Co., Mich., obtaining credit for most of it. For about ten years he remained on this farm, clearing and improving it, and finding employment at sheep-shearing, welldigging, and teaming, and says he made his money " not on the farm, but off from it." He sold his place in 1865, and worked land on shares for two years, then purchasing his present home, on section 5, in Antwerp township. He also owns land in Almena, upon which he pastures sheep. He is considerably interested in sheep-raising, and has a flock numbering one hundred and twenty-six. Mr. Waite's farm had very little improvement upon it when he purchased it, but he has persevered in his efforts to transform it into a pleasant home, and with what success may be judged by a glance at the view which appears in this work. Mr. Waite has ever been an industrious, hard-working man. For seven years he was engaged in thrashing grain, and followed welldigging until within recent years. His mother died in 1867, and his father, who for two years had lived with him. died in 1869. Mrs. Waite's father died March 9, 1865. Her mother is living with her, having nearly reached the age of eighty-seven years. Mr. Waite is a Republican in politics, and both he and his wife have been members of the Christian Church for twenty years. JAMES M. LULL was born in Broome Co., N. Y., June 9, 1830, and was one of a family of eleven children. In the spring of 1839 he came to Michigan with his father, Samuel Lull, who settled first in Kalamazoo County, and in 1844 removed to the township of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., and located on section 36. His parents were both natives of New York, in which State his father died Aug. 12, 1874, at the age of eighty years. The latter's widow is now living with her daughter in Kalamazoo County, at the age of eighty two years. When James M. Lull arrived at the age of twenty-one years he removed to Ohio, and during his residence in that State was married to Miss Emily Crane, a native of Massachusetts, who had come to Ohio with her parents when but two years of age. About two years after his marriage, Mr. Lull removed to Michigan, locating with his family on their present home of one hundred and sixty acres, in the township of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., clearing and improving it in the succeeding years. Mrs. Lull's mother died in Ohio, April 15, 1855; her father is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Lull are the parents of three children, as follows: Clarence A., born in Ohio, March 9, 1852; Emma F., born Feb. 25, 1857, in Michigan; Juliette, born Sept. 25, 1866. Mr. Lull, aside from his regular business as a farmer, has devoted considerable attention to raising fine stock, and is at present the owner of ten blooded cattle and several Percheron horses. He has every reason to be pleased with his success in life, and enjoys the reputation of being an excellent farmer. His educational advantages were somewhat limited, but his knowledge is of that practical character which enables its possessor to achieve success in the business walks of life. PETER HARWICK. This gentleman's parents, Elias and Cynthia (Ryan) Harwick, were natives of Montgomery Co., N. Y. Elias Harwick was born Sept. 29,1789, and died June 14,1871. His wife, Cynthia (Ryan) Harwick, was born Nov. 7, 1792. They were married Oct. 30, 1813. Soon after their marriage they removed to Monroe County, and not long afterwards to Livingston County. From the latter they came to Michigan in 1841, and located in the township of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., where Mr. Harwick purchased and occupied a farm on section 16. About twenty-six years later, his health being broken down, he removed to Paw Paw village, where he died, and where his widow is now living. Peter Harwick, the oldest child of the above, and one of a family of eight,-all sons but two,-was born Oct. 19, 1814, in the town of Mendon, Monroe Co., N. Y. He lived with his parents until 1837, in which year he was married to Miss Belva Root, who was born at Fort Ann, Washington Co., N. Y., May 28, 1813, and married Mr. Harwick in Erie County, where she was then living with her parents. After his marriage Mr. Harwick began farming independently in Caledonia, Livingston Co., N. Y. In October, 1842, he removed to Michigan, with his wife and child, and settled on section 16, Antwerp township, Van Buren Co. His possessions upon his arrival here were a small team of horses and fourteen dollars in money. He purchased eighty acres of land on section 16, and borrowed forty dollars of his sister in order to make the first payment upon it. The place was entirely unimproved, and almost by his individual efforts has it reached its present condition of thrift. To his original purchase he has since added a like amount, and is now the owner of the southeast quarter of section 16,-one hundred and sixty acres. He lived during the first few months with his father, in the meanwhile erecting a log house on his own place. In order to get lumber to finish it with he went to Breedsville, cut timber, hauled it to a saw-mill and had it sawed, HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and then drew it to his home. The house was finished and occupied in April, 1843. A severe and protracted struggle for a livelihood then began, and difficulties of manifold nature were constantly arising. But the energy and perseverance of the young pioneer triumphed in the end, and prosperity and plenty were showered upon him by favoring fortune. Judge Bazel Harrison, the well-known pioneer of Prairie Ronde, Kalamazoo Co., furnished him with wheat at one time when his store of money was entirely exhausted, and thus made one more in his long list of friends. The judge lived to be one hundred and three years of age, and went down to his grave with the consolation of having never known an enemy, and it was such deeds as this that won him the confidence and esteem of all. Mr. Harwick gratefully remembers the favor, and scarcely knows what he should have done but for the judge's kindness.* Mr. Harwick's education was acquired in the common schools of his boyhood, generally two miles from home, whose advantages were scarcely equal to those of the schools of the present day. He has lived sixty-six years anfd won the esteem of his acquaintances, and been elected to several offices by his townsmen,-supervisor, town clerk, etc. In politics he is a Democrat; his occupation has always been that of a general farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Harwick have had but one child,-Allen Harwick,-who is now married, and residing on the farm with his father. Mrs. Harwick is a member of the Congregational Church. J. R. BANGS. The ancestors of this gentleman, upon the side of his father, were Scotch, and those of the name in America are descendants of three brothers, who emigrated previous to the. Revolution., Mr. Bangs' grandfather, Joshua Bangs, was born in Ingham, Mass., Feb. 26, 1764, and served in the war as a cabin-boy on board an American privateer. He was captured by the British, taken to England, and held a prisoner until the war was over, when he returned to Boston, Mass. He died in the town of Sweden, Monroe Co., N. Y., July 13, 1837. His wife, Anna (Folcon) Bangs, was born in Massachusetts, Nov. 17, 1766, and died in Sweden, N. Y., Jan. 4, 1844. Nathaniel Bangs, the father of J. R., was born in Massachusetts, March 4, 1789, and removed to Wheelock, Vt., where, on the 6th of October, 1809, he was married to Mary Woodman; afterwards removing to Sweden, N. Y., purchased one hundred and thirty acres of land, on which he lived until his death, Aug. 13, 1835; his wife is still living. Miss Woodman's father, John Woodman, was born March 30, 1763, and married Sarah Foy, Dec. 17, 1787. Both were of English descent. J. R. Bangs, the sixth in a family of nine children, was born in the town of Sweden, Monroe Co., N. Y., Feb. 6, 1824. Until he was seventeen, his time was passed on the farm of his father, except during the winters, which were devoted to study in the district schools. At the age men tioned he was employed at monthly wages, still continuing j his winter schooling. March 10, 1844, he was married to Miss Lucy M., daughter of Mills and Catharine Davis, in Ogden, Monroe Co., N. Y. Mrs. Bangs' parents were of English descent and natives of Livingston Co.,.N. Y. She was born in Livonia, April 14, 1828; her mother's maiden name was Adams. Her father died when she was but a year old, and a year later she was taken into the family of her uncle, Samuel Brigham, who resided in Ogden, Monroe Co., and with him she was living when married. After their marriage, Mr. Bangs rented a farm for three years, afterwards purchasing eighty acres of land in the town of Ogden, Monroe Co., for which the sum demanded was two thousand eight hundred dollars. One hundred dollars only were paid down, and the place was occupied five years, at the end of which time he sold it for three thousand two hundred dollars, and removed with his family, in the fall of 1854, to Michigan. He had visited the State the previous spring and invested in lands situated north of Grand Rapids. Not being satisfied with the location, he exchanged the land for what is better known as the Elder Gilman farm, in Antwerp township, Van Buren Co., on section 5. Upon this he located and remained about fifteen years, making extensive improvements. In 1870 he disposed of his place and removed to the one he now occupies, one-half mile east of the village of Paw Paw. Here he has built a neat residence (a view of which is seen in this work), and made many and valuable improvements. He has also taken an active interest in the propagation of improved stock, especially horses, and has introduced several fine animals of the Percheron Norman breed, which he secured in Illinois. In company with Mr. C. Bilsborough he is the owner of six, one of which is in Albion, Mich. In politics, Mr. Bangs is a Republican; though often solicited to allow his name to be used as a candidate for township offices, he has never sought them. Mr. and Mrs. Bangs were members of the Christian Church in New York and brought letters with them to Michigan, but have not united with any church in the latter State. Although they have a pleasant and thrifty home, it has never been made merry by the voices of children of their own. ORANGE STEPHENS. This gentleman was born April 11, 1822, in Chittenden Co., Vt., and was the second child and oldest son in a family of seven. His father, Royal Stephens, was born also in Chittenden County, on the same farm upon which the son was born. Mr. Stephens' mother, Sally (Richardson) Stephens, was born in Addison Co., Vt., and married his father about 1818. In 1832 the family removed to Niagara Co., N. Y., and located on a farm. His father sold out in May, 1836, and came to Michigan, and purchased two hundred and eighty acres in Ingham County. At the age of twenty years Orange Stephens left home, and found employment for about five years by the month, after which he was married to Miss Mary A., daughter of R. S. and Esther Armstrong, who was born in Addison Co., Vt., Sept. 2, 1823, being the second in a family of five children. Mrs. Stephens came to Michigan in the spring of 1844, and engaged in teaching school, making her home with her sister. Her * John Hunt, of Antwerp, also went his security for hardware to finish his log house with, whom he also remembers with gratitude. MRS. ORANG~ STEPHENS. trL'IDVENCE OF UHF/1L: b! LHHENS/ ANTWERP IP, VAN BUREN CO., MICH. \I II 0z t [ X q S::: T: 0 Ac C::Sr0 TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP. 393 mother died in Vermont, Oct. 12, 1841. Her father came to Michigan about 1854, settled in Lawton, Van Buren Co., and kept hotel until his death, in 1863. After Mr. and Mrs. Stephens were married they consolidated their earnings and purchased one hundred and twelve acres of land in Sandstone township, Jackson Co., Mich., upon which they resided until 1853, when Mr. Stephens went to California. In July, 1855, he returned to his family, who in the mean time had sold the farm, and coming to Van Buren County purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in the township of Antwerp, to which he has since added a like amount. Mr. and Mrs. Stephens are the parents of two children, as follows: R. E. Stephens, born May 16, 1848, married and living in La Crosse, Ind., and being employed on the railroad; Frank E., born July 10, 1857, married, Dec. 3, 1878, to Miss A. A. Beardslee, a native of Pennsylvania. Her parents came to Michigan in 1866, and are now residing in Mattawan. Frank E. Stephens and his wife live on the farm with his parents. During his stay in California Mr. Stephens engaged in mining, with fair success. His father died April 17, 1867; his mother is now living on the old homestead in Ingham Co., Mich. Mr. Stephens is a Republican in politics, as is also his son, and has held the office of highway commissioner, but has never been a seeker for office. In his religious views he is liberal, and has been a member of the Masonic order since 1864. His advantages for obtaining an education were limited. N. L. SURDAM. Among the early pioneers who migrated from the far East to build up a home and fortune in the then. almost pathless wilds of Western Michigan came Nathaniel L. Surdam, who in September, 1835, located a farm-his present home-in Antwerp township, Van Buren Co. Of his ancestors, his paternal grandparents resided in Salisbury, Litchfield Co., Conn., where they followed the occupation of farming. Among their three sons was Christopher, the father of Nathaniel, who was born in Salisbury, in October, 1773; learned the mill-wright and ship-carpenter's trades, working at these principally through life: was married, about 1794, to Miss Elizabeth Lockwood, who was born at Sharon, Litchfield Co., Conn., May 20, 1775, where her parents, in affluent circumstances, had lived as farmers for many years. Christopher S., while yet a young man, moved with his family to New York City. As foreman in the navy-yard, he worked at ship-building for several years; but disliking the many evils, restrictions, and contagious diseases of the city,-his wife having nearly died with both smallpox and yellow fever,-they returned to Sharon, Conn., which was ever afterwards their home. His subsequent life was principally devoted to mill-wright work, building foundries, forges, mills, etc. He died in 1825, at the age of fifty-two, his wife surviving him many years. They had five sons and three daughters: William, born at Sharon, Conn., Sept. 17, 1795, where he still lives; Betsey, born Nov. 16, 1797, at Sharon, where she died; Eunice, born in New York, died when a child; Trowbridge 50 L., born at Sharon, June 8, 1806, moved from Broome Co., N. Y., to Washtenaw Co., Mich., in 1833, and died in 1876; Lewis L., born at Sharon, June 25, 1808, moved to Illinois, purchased three farms, and died in Michigan in 1878, when on a return trip from Connecticut; Eunice, the second, born at Sharon, March 31, 1813, lived and died on a farm in Illinois; John W., born in Sharon, Sept. 2, 1815, located at Manchester, Mich., and died in 1865. All the brothers were carpenters and joiners, excepting William, who was a master-millwright. Nathaniel L. was born in New York City, Jan. 26, 1803. He spent his early life in Western Connecticut, received a common-school education, and worked five years as an apprentice to Daniel St. John, a master-builder. He continued at the business there five years longer, erecting some of the finest dwellings, school-buildings, and churches in that country. He went to Broome Co., N. Y., in 1830, worked at his trade, and was married, Sept. 16, 1832, to Miss Caroline Fuller. He bought a farm near the Pitcher mineral springs, Chenango County, and resided there two years, carrying on his farm and trade, until the death of his wife, in April, 1835, when he sold out and returned to Broome County. In the following September he came to Michigan, and located his present farm in Van Buren County. Mr. Surdam married, May 4, 1836, as his second wife, Miss Nancy Dickinson, of Broome County, whose paternal grandparents resided in East Windsor, Conn., where her father, Seth, was born in 1772. He emigrated to Broome County in 1800, where he carried on a farm, tannery, and shoemaker's shop, and where he resided until his death. Himself and family, and his brothers' and sisters' families around him, were peaceable, industrious, moral people, mostly Baptists, and himself a deacon of that church. The ancestors of his wife, Rhoda Elton, came, generations back, from Switzerland to Connecticut, where she was born in 1773; she died in Broome County in 1820. They had three sons and two daughters,-Rockwell, born March 5, 1798, deceased; Horace, born in November, 1800, deceased; Linus, born May 14, 1812 (settled near them as farmers, tanners, and shoemakers); Pamelia, born in 1796, moved on a farm in Hillsdale, Mich., and died there in 1838; and Nancy, born June 8, 1809. Shipping their goods by water to Detroit, Nathaniel Surdam and wife started Oct. 11, 1836, in a top-buggy, with one horse, for Western Michigan, more than six hundred miles distant; after a weary journey through the almost impassable swamps of Canada they reached Genesee Prairie, Kalamazoo Co., November 16th, where they stayed through the winter. They built a small frame house and moved on their farm the next spring. There, far from childhood's home and friends, among Indians, wild beasts, and an occasional white settler, they endured the hardships of pioneer life, felling trees and clearing land, going to Little and Big Prairie Ronde, " Egypt," for grain, and to Kalamazoo and Portage to get it ground; experiencing many privations and a thorough " seasoning" with ague and malarial fevers; laboring hard on the farm, mostly unaided for many years, beside building barns, dwellings, and doing much shop-work for others. 394 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Looking back over the forty-four years that have passed, they can now see the vast change which time and labor have wrought. Kalamazoo had then but three frame houses, Paw Paw a few more, the forests of Mattawan and Lawton had barely heard the echo of a pioneer's axe, and a steam-whistle was unheard for many years. Although age has crept over the pair, having lived in the spirit of the motto, "pay as you go and live within your means," the slow accumulations of years of honest toil have gathered round them, and they are no longer poor. They have traveled but little since coming to Michigan, and have joined no secret societies or church organizations here, although members in good standing of Methodist Episcopal and Baptist Churches in the East. Mr. Surdam never was an aspirant for political honors. They have had two children, both born in Michigan,-Julia Ann, Sept. 21, 1837, died Nov. 17, 1855; Frederick W., youngest of the family and writer of this sketch, has spent his life thus far upon the old place, in educating himself and helping to improve the homestead farm. CHAPTER LII. ARLINGTON TOWNSHIP.* Location and Topography-Settlements and Settlers-Early RoadsCivil and Political-First Township-Meeting-Township Officers, 1843 to 1880. THE township of Arlington, otherwise designated as township No. 2 south, of range No. 15 west, is an interior division, and situated near the centre of Van Buren County. It was formerly part of the old township of Lawrence, and became a separate organization in 1842, the name of Arlington having been suggested by one of its earliest residents,-a Revolutionary veteran named James Stevens, to whom it brought pleasing recollections of his native town in the Green Mountain State. Contiguous township organizations are Columbia on the north, Waverly on the east, Lawrence on the south, and Bangor on the west. The most important water-courses are the Black and Paw Paw Rivers. The former, in its flow to the southwest, crosses section 6; while the latter, flowing in the same direction, cuts off a large portion of section 36, the same being attached to Lawrence township. Several small creeks also traverse the township, Elizabeth Creek being the largest of these. A number of lakes are observed, the largest, Scott's Lake, being situated mainly upon section 1. The soil of Arlington has by the industry of its inhabitants been brought to a high degree of cultivation. It is naturally of great productiveness, being composed of a rich sand and clay loam, admirably well adapted to the growth of corn, fruit, wheat, and other cereals. The last census (1874) reported 1664 acres of wheat and 1529 acres of corn harvested in 1873, of which the products were 24,794 bushels of the former, and 54,070 bushels of the latter grain. *. By Edgar 0. Wagner. The surface is undulating, and in some localities these elevations and depressions are marked. The township was especially rich in timbered land, and from that fact the labor of the early pioneers was more arduous than in many other portions of Michigan, where the prairies and " oak openings" greatly modified their toil. Trees of black walnut, ash, whitewood, and oak grew to enormous proportions, one of the former, it is said, having measured at a point 3 feet above the earth 35 feet and 8 inches in circumference. Limestone, utilized to a considerable extent, has been found in the eastern part of the township. The census of 1874 returned a total of 1362 inhabitants. SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS. The first settler within the limits of the present township of Arlington, William N. Taylor, when twenty-two years of age, joined his fortunes with the party composing the Breedsville pioneers (see history of Columbia township) and came to Michigan first in the fall of 1835. His reminiscences regarding the journey from Detroit to Breedsville are most amusing. The oxen purchased in Detroit were both " off steers," and he as their driver, had a most difficult time guiding them around stumps, over logs, etc. The men, women, and children of the party, except Wells G. Brown, walked the entire distance, and following directly behind the other, or after the manner of Indians. The women and smaller children, however, generally mounted the wagon when fording streams. In crossing Elizabeth Creek, the young wife of Jonathan N. Howard, Elizabeth, was by a sudden lurch of the vehicle thrown from her seat into the creek. From this incident the stream derived the name it bears to-day. Soon after their arrival in Breedsville, Mr. Taylor purchased 120 acres of land, situated on section 8, in township 2 south, of range 15 west. He remained with his friends in Breedsville nineteen days, assisting them to erect houses, etc. Then, as they could afford to pay him but 50 cents a day for his labor, and their food consisted almost wholly of potatoes roasted, frequently eaten without salt, he turned his footsteps to Kalamazoo, where he worked for some time in the old Kalamazoo House. A few weeks later he went to Comstock,. Kalamazoo Co., where he "'tended tavern." Afterwards he worked in the Comstock grist-mill, and upon Caldwell's farm. In the winter of 1836-37 he returned to Hinckleyville, Monroe Co., N. Y., where he married Miss Philinda Kelsey, of Skaneateles, Onondaga Co., N. Y., who was then visiting friends in Hinckleyville. With his wife, he came back to Michigan in the spring of 1837, arriving at Comstock in May. Here his wife remained until he went forward and built a small bark-roofed shanty upon his land-purchase. Upon its completion it was occupied by himself and wife. He cleared several acres the same summer, but the season was so far advanced that he was only able to raise a small crop of turnips, and the major portion of that crop was destroyed by his neighbor's cattle, the " off steers" owned in the Breedsville set tlement. Charles U. Cross, living one mile west of him, and where, Mr. Taylor thinks, he settled in the fall of 1836, was his nearest neighbor. I 1K I t I 4LVl 4 GJ-tARIMAN. A LVI AN. I I RESIDENCE OF ALVIN GHAPMAN, ARLINGTON TP,VAN BUREN CO.,MI CU. I - TOWNSHIP OF ARLINGTON. 395 Illustrative of life in the backwoods at an early day, Mr. Taylor relates that a few months after his settlement he was able to cover his cabin with a shingle roof. The blazing logs in the huge corner fireplace would so heat the cabin's interior in midwinter that the water from the melted snow ran down the outside of the logs, and again freezing formed icicles. The one-legged bedstead occupied by the pioneer couple was fastened to the cabin walls, into and through the chinks and crevices of which the water made its way, and coming in contact with that portion of the bedding next the walls, would so freeze them together that for days Mrs. Taylor, in the performance of her household duties, was unable to take off the sheets and spreads while " making the bed." Indeed, Mr. Taylor says that on awakening one morning the dire necessity awaited him, in his attempt to arise, of either tearing loose from his sole undergarment, or of being thawed out with a kettle of hot water! The house of " Uncle Bill," as he was familiarly called, was noted among the youth of pioneer days as a jolly place for dances, fun, and conviviality. In the mean time he devoted all his energies to the clearing and improvement of his lands. By persevering efforts he overcame all obstacles, and eventually converted a fair portion of Arlington's forests into a productive farm. He built the first framed barn, many who assisted in the " raising" coming from distant settlements. In 1868 he removed to his present place of residence, in the village of Lawrence. The next settler in this township was James T. Hard, a son-in-law of Elder Hinckley. He, too, came from Hinckleyville, Monroe Co., N. Y., and settled upon a portion of section 5 in the fall of 1837. Afterwards he removed to the farm now occupied by A. Heath, and ultimately migrated to the State of California. One of the most active spirits in the early pioneer experiences of Arlington was Major Heath, who removed from Jefferson Co., N. Y., in 1837, to Jackson Co., Mich., and two years later, being much impressed with the quality of the land and the fine timber, entered a farm on sections 19 and 30, choosing the latter as a point upon which to erect a log house. The country was still in a very primitive condition when Mr. Heath arrived. No roads led to his possessions, and they were accessible only after he had, with his axe, made a highway through the forest. His house of logs was roofed with troughs after the fashion of those early times. He desired, however, to have some reminder of civilization in its construction, and secured, after a walk of six miles, a board with which to construct a door, thus rendering his home more pretentious in its appointments than those of his neighbors. While building this house he remained with Mansel M. Briggs, who located in the township of Bangor adjoining. Mr. Heath took an active interest in public affairs. He was chosen the first supervisor, and filled other offices of importance. His judgment and experience made him a person of influence in the neighborhood and a useful citizen. He subsequently removed to Iowa, but returned again to Van Buren County, and purchased land in the extreme southeast corner of Bangor, where he resided until his death. His son, Charles E. Heath, now lives on section 25 of the latter township. The little circle of pioneers was not broken by the death of one of its members until the winter of 1841. The family of Major Heath was first invaded, and Mrs. A. H. Heath, the partner of his early toil, was the chosen one. Her remains were buried in the cemetery on section 30, and the funeral services were the earliest held in the township. Among other pioneers who were here prior to making the assessment of Lawrence in 1839, and who were designated on that roll as resident tax-payers of township No. 2 south, of range No. 15 west, were R. Gillman on section 5, Ransom Kellogg on section 5, S. M. N. Brooks on section 29, and Robert Christie, an inn-keeper, and the owner of 22 village lots. The following statistics show the total number of taxpaying inhabitants in the township in 1839, also the location of their lands, value, etc.: Real and Per- Taxes to be Names. Section. Acres. sonal Estate. paid. James T. Hard............. 5 114 $344 $2.75 R. illman................... 5 112 388 2.70 William N. Taylor......... 8 120 360 2.88 Ransom Kellogg........... 5 160 480 3.84 Major Heath................. 30 136 420 3.75 S. M. N. Brooks............ 29 40 120 96 Robert Christie............. village lots 110 1.60 Allen Briggs was a native of Bennington, Vt., from which point his parents removed to Oneida Co., N. Y.,and subsequently to Lewis County. After again changing his New York residence, he, in 1838, visited Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, and devoted some time to prospecting in the latter State. He entered, in company with his two sons, the following summer (1839) 40 acres on section 19, and began the arduous task of hewing out a home in the dense forest with which the township was then covered. In the summer of 1840, after having in the mean time constructed a house of logs and otherwise arranged for the comfort of his family, he sent for them. After a long and tedious journey by canal to Buffalo from Orleans Co., N. Y., and thence by lake to Detroit, and the remaining distance of one hundred and eighty miles by wagon, they reached their wilderness home. Mr. Briggs from his first settlement in the township took an active and leading interest in all public enterprises. His education-was superior to that of most of the early pioneers, and he was thus enabled to be of signal service to them in the transaction of matters of business. He also held many offices of importance in the township, which he filled with ability. Mr. Briggs' death occurred at his home in Arlington in the year 1868; he having reached the advanced age of eighty years. His son, Emory O. Briggs, preceded his father to the township by a few months. Together with his brother, in February, 1839, he left the paternal roof, and, with many blessings besought for them and their undertaking, started for Michigan. One horse carried their luggage and provisions for the journey, while the would-be pioneers, aged respectively seventeen and nineteen, wended their way on foot. Their route lay, first, from their starting-point to the Niagara River at Lewiston, where the stream was to be crossed, and thence through Canada to Detroit, whence they were to proceed to Van Buren County. On landing in Canada, these two beardless youths, with no arms save pocket-knives, and with their solitary steed, were, on pre 396 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I tense of being recognized as rebels in the so-called " Patriot war," then hardly closed, arrested by a squad of Her Britannic Majesty's soldiers, armed with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, and triumphantly marched through the streets of Queenstown to the headquarters of the commanding officer, by whom they were ordered to the guard-house. This last order was, however, countermanded before their arrival at the guard-house, and they were returned to the august presence of the commander, by whom they were questioned and searched. The ferryman who brought them was also closely interrogated. After much more delay in examinations and other formal proceedings, they were suffered to depart, the sage verdict having been rendered that they were not regarded as dangerous or hostile to her Majesty's interests. After ten days of tedious travel through slush and mud, snow and frost, they reached Detroit, and ultimately, Van Buren County. They were at first employed in cutting a highway through the dense wilderness of the county, and receiving for this labor the sum of $50, expended it in the purchase of 40 acres of land, on which their parents subsequently settled, and which was entered in the name of Allen Briggs. William N. Taylor and James T. Hard were their nearest neighbors in Arlington. With the exception of a very circuitous road, which followed an Indian trail, and admitted the passage of but one vehicle at a time, there was no highway. Emory O. Briggs employed his winters as a teacher, and found plenty of labor to occupy his hands during the summer months. His skill as an engineer was early called into requisition, and many of the first roads of the townships were surveyed by him. To the land originally purchased Mr. Briggs has added from time to time until he has become one of the largest land-holders in the township. He has also filled many official positions, both in the township and county. His present residence is Paw Paw, where he is largely engaged in commercial pursuits. The same year (1840) came Alvinzy Harris, who located upon 53 acres on section 19, having come from St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and become a resident of the State two years previously. He was a man of much force of character and good judgment, and was the recipient of many local offices within the gift of his fellow-townsmen. Mr. Harris found his land entirely uncleared, and depended upon his own sturdy arm for the improvements that were made. His son, Jefferson D. Harris, now lives upon the homestead, having added to it by a purchase of 80 acres. With Mr. Harris came Morrison Heath (also a native of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y.), who settled upon 40 acres on section 30, which he improved. He was one of the small band of early voters when Arlington became an independent organization, and on that occasion was appointed inspector of elections. The year 1840 brought with it other accessions to the little colony of settlers. William Bridges came from Livingston Co., N. Y., to Breedsville in 1837, and in the spring of 1840 he entered 40 acres on section 8. The land was en tirely uncleared, and, like many pioneers who had preceded him, he erected his shanty in the midst of the fbrest. Deer were abundant, and the wolves were nightly prowlers about I I his humble habitation. Mr. Bridges was, however, undeterred by difficulties or discouragements, and very soon after his settlement had many acres cleared and under cultivation. He was a man of quiet, unobtrusive habits and unfailing industry, and was much respected by his neighbors. James Stevens was one of the pioneers of 1840, having emigrated in that year with his wife from Livingston Co., N. Y., and made his home with Allen Briggs, whose stepfather he was. He was an octogenarian, and was accorded the privilege of naming the township. Mr. Stevens possessed a prouder claim to the regard of his friends in that he was one of the bravest soldiers of the Revolution, having served for six years and seven months under Washington's immediate command. Nor did he lay down his musket until the last gun was fired and the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown insured not only victory but peace to the infant republic. With the entertaining reminiscences of the conflict fresh in his recollection, it may be imagined that Mr. Stevens was always a central figure in the family grloup during the long winter evenings devoted to social intercourse. He died in 1847, much esteemed by all. Joseph Ives was another of the New York State pioneers who arrived in 1840, and located on section 29, where he improved a farm. He was one of the earliest voters and an office-holder the first year of the township's existence. Soon after came a settler named James M. Bierce, who located upon the same section, where he cleared land and built a log house. In 1842 the township was organized, and the few settlers that had become residents assembled to choose officers for the ensuing year. The accessions to the population had been so small that but 14 electors were present on this occasion. They were William N. Taylor, James G. Cochran, Emory O. Briggs, Joseph Ives, Morrison Heath, Major Heath, James Stevens, Allen Briggs, William Bridges, William Dyckman, William H. McGeorge, James T. Hard, Alvinzy Harris, and Conrad Hogmire. Of this number but three survive,-William N. Taylor, who resides at Lawrence; Emory O. Briggs, living at Paw Paw; and James G. Cochran, who is still a resident of the township. The latter gentleman had become a resident of Arlington the year previous, having removed from Livingston Co., N. Y., in 1838, and settled at Breedsville, from which place he removed two years later, and purchased 40 acres on section 29 from Martin Brooks, and afterwards located upon section 9, where he now resides. Mr. Cochran retains a vivid recollection of the hardships he endured as a pioneer. On his arrival in the county there were no mills in Van Buren County, and a journey in search of provisions involved a pilgrimage of forty-two miles, and consumed seven days in going and returning. Afterwards a mill was built at Paw Paw, which diminished the distance. A melancholy event caused much grief to Mr. Cochran's family soon after their settlement. Samuel Watson, the father of Mrs. Cochran, while on his return home from Paw Paw lost his way and died in the woods, in the north por tion of the township, before succor could reach him. In the family of Mr. Cochran occurred the earliest birth in Arlington, that of his son, Andrew M., in 1844. TOWNSHIP OF ARLINGTON. 397 William Dyckman, another of the early pioneers, settled in 1840 upon section 24, where he cleared and cultivated a large farm, upon which he lived until his death. He was active in promoting the interests of Arlington, and held important township offices. To quote the langpage of one of the old residents, " he was justice of the peace since he could remember." Adjoining, and upon the same section, was the farm of an early pioneer named Delong. Mr. Delong was somewhat distinguished as a man of means who had money to loan,-a fact which was so uncommon as to make him a central figure in financial transactions. His sons now occupy the land he improved. At very nearly the same time came E. B. D. Hicks, who located upon section 25, where he still owns a large and productive farm and enjoys the reputation of being one of the most successful tillers of the soil. The family of Hogmire, from their early settlement and the large share they have had in the growth and development of the township, may be regarded as worthy of distinguished mention. Daniel Hogmire left the attractive land of Western New York for a home in the wilds of Van Buren County in 1842, and selecting Arlington as a favorable point of location, entered 40 acres on section 9. William Bridges was a near neighbor, with whom he enjoyed a temporary shelter until he had erected a log house on his land. For a while he followed his trade of carpenter, returning to the East during the interval to bring his family to their primitive home. In the breaking up of the land, oxen were in general use, as being better adapted to the work than horses, but one of the latter being in use in the neighborhood. Mr. Hogmire purchased an interest in the pineries of Columbia township, and engaged in the manufacture of shingles, for which as the country became populated there was a considerable demand. Later he purchased 80 acres on section 21, where he built a fine brick residence and where he now resides. Conrad Hogmire left Livingston Co., N. Y., in 1842, and located with William Bridges, on section 8. He purchased 40 acres of land, but died soon afterwards. Henry Hogmire purchased 80 acres on section 8, cleared and built upon it a fiame house. Later he removed to Paw Paw, where he died. John Hogmire settled in 1850. He bought 80 acres upon section 20. This he soon rendered productive, and continues to reside upon it. The name of Bigelow is also a prominent one in the annals of the township, and Livingston Co., N. Y., the former home of so large a proportion of the early pioneers, included this family in the number it sent to cultivate the forests and prairies of the West. Rufus Bigelow came to the township during the severe winter of 1843, and purchased from a settler who had preceded him, 80 acres on section 17. Some slight improvements were made, but no habitation had been built by the former owner. He remained two years in the family of Daniel Hogmire, meanwhile building a comfortable log house. Allen Briggs and Daniel Hogmire were his nearest neighbors. The lands around him were mostly uncleared, and no roads near him were yet improved. The tax-paying residents of the township in 1844 were James T. Hard, William Bridges, William N. Taylor, James M. Bierce, Joseph Ives, Charles Hall, William Dyckman, Samuel Goodenough, Morrison Heath, Alvinzy Harris, Allen Briggs, Emory O. Briggs, Robert McClintock, James G. Cochran, Major Heath, Amos R. Kellogg, Henry Delong, William Delong, Daniel Hogmire, Isaiah T. Hunt, E. B. D. Hicks, Elisha W. and Melancthon Gage. Additional residents mentioned in 1845 were William Dyckman (3d), Calvin Goodenough, Rufus Bigelow, Isaac Drake, Conrad Hogmire, and Timothy Bewley. In 1845, Calvin J. and Samuel Bigelow arrived, the latter of whom purchased 80 acres of J. R. Monroe, on section 21. Calvin J. bought 80 acres on section 20, and later, 40 additional on section 21, and 160 on section 17, a part of the latter being afterwards disposed of to J. Bridges and David Massey. Samuel lived for some years with his brother Rufus, and ultimately erected the frame house he at present occupies. A school was early held in the Bigelow neighborhood, at the houses of the residents, Miss Ann Eliza Fisk being the presiding genius of the school-room. The first school is, however, conceded to have been in the Heath neighborhood, with Miss Mehitable Northrop as the earliest teacher. The log school-house was located upon the southeast corner of section 25, of Bangor, portions of the two townships forming a fractional school district. Early religious services were held at the houses of Mr. Bigelow and other settlers, Elder Knapp being the expounder of sacred truths to the little band of worshipers. With his sacred calling he combined the versatile gifts of an itinerant tradesman (he was sometimes familiarly spoken of as a peddler), and the excellence of his pots and kettles inspired much praise from the good housewives of his parish. George Meabon removed from Livingston County in 1845, and remained with Daniel Hogmire while he built a log house upon 40 acres he had purchased. The industry with which he persevered in his pioneer labors has been rewarded, and his farm now embraces 200 acres of well-tilled land, Homer Adams came from New York State in 1845, and located on section 20. He was active in the public interests of the township, and held many offices of trust. Though now a resident of Breedsville, he still owns his farm. Ira Orton claimed Orleans County as his former home, from which he emigrated in 1845, and exchanged with A. S. Barnum land in New York State for 40 acres on section 20. With Mr. Adams, his brother-in-law, he occupied a log house that had been built and vacated by Eaton Branch, on section 29, until he could erect one on his land. Not a tree had been chopped on his purchase, excepting those felled by the Indians in search for honey. His neighbors were Melancthon and Elisha Gage, who were located on section 29, but have since removed to Lawrence. Deer were abundant, and seemed to have no sense of fear. They would frequently be seen feeding with the cattle. Henry Earl came from New York State, and purchased on section 24, where he resided until his removal to South Haven. 398 HI,',i STORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Samuel Hoppin early purchased 80 acres on section 5 of Ransom Kellogg, a portion of which had been improved. He has rendered it very productive, and has erected upon it a fine brick residence, which he at present occupies. Amos Hamlin located upon 80 acres on section 36, and still resides upon this farm, which has been perceptibly improved by his labor. J. F. Kidder; formerly of Orleans Co., N. Y., purchased of the Ostrom Company 80 acres on section 27. An abandoned blacksmith-shop, not far away, afforded shelter for his family until more comfortable quarters were secured. He followed his trade of carpenter, and found ready employment in the erection of houses and barns for the later settlers. He was followed soon after by a pioneer named Magoon, who very speedily became weary of the privations experienced in the wilds of Michigan and departed. EARLY ROADS. During the early settlement of the township of Arlington highways were not abundant, and pioneers were occasioned much inconvenience by the obstacles that met their progress in traversing the country. The earliest surveyed highway was known as the Monroe road, which followed a diagonal course through Arlington, and connected Paw Paw with South Haven. This was followed by the Bridges road, described as " commencing at the quarter stake on the east line of section 8, township 2 south, of range 15 west; thence running north five degrees, thirty-eight chains, and eighty-five links; thence north eighty-five and a half degrees, seventy-nine chains, and fifty links to the northeast corner of said section." Surveyed July 20, 1842, by Charles U. Cross. Recorded Sept. 25, 1842, by E. O. Briggs, township clerk. Another early road between Arlington and the township of South Haven was surveyed Oct. 10, 1843, by A. Crane & Co. A road designated as the Brown and Taylor road began at the quarter post on the east side of section 7, running thence south eighty-five and a half degrees west, seventy-two and twenty-five one-hundredths chains, on the quarter line through the centre of section 7, and ending at the quarter post on the west side of said section 7. Surveyed Oct. 12, 1843, by A. Crane & Co. Other roads followed these as the presence of settlers made them indispensable. CIVIL AND POLITICAL. Township number 2 south, of range number 15 west, by an act of the State Legislature, approved March 11, 1837, became part of Lawrence township, and continued as such until 1842, when by an act of the Legislature, approved February 16th of the latter year, it was erected as a separate township under the name of Arlington. FIRST TOWNSHIP-MEETING. The first meeting of the electors of the township of Arlington was held at the house of Allen Briggs, on the 5th of April, 1842. James T. Hard, Allen Briggs, Morrison Heath, and Alvinzy Harris served as inspectors of election. The officers elected were Major Heath, Supervisor; Emory O. Briggs, Township Clerk; Allen Briggs, Treasurer; Alvinzy Harris, William N. Taylor, Assessors; Major Heath, James T. Hard, Emory O. Briggs, School Inspectors; William Bridges, James T. Hard, Directors of the Poor; Joseph Ives, Alvinzy Harris, James T. Hard, Highway Commissioners; William Dyckman, Allen Briggs, James T. Hard, Major Heath, Justices of the Peace; James G. Cochran, William N. Taylor, Constables. TOWNSHIP OFFICERS, 1843 TO 1880. SUPERVISORS. 1843-45, Major Heath; 1846-47, Isaiah F. Hunt; 1848, Abram Lewis; 1849, Major Heath; 1850-51, Homer Adams; 1852, Alvinzy Harris; 1853-55, Homer Adams; 1856, Sidney Fuller; 1857-60, Emory O. Briggs; 1861, Marquis Woodward; 1862-65, Emory O. Briggs; 1866, Homer Adams; 1867, Arvin Heath; 1868-69, J. D. Harris; 1870-76, Arvin Heath; 1877-78, J. D. Harris; 1879, Orton Schermerhorn. TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1843, Alvinzy Harris; 1844, Emory 0. Briggs; 1845, Alvinzy Harris; 1846, Homer Adams; 1847-54, Calvin J. Bigelow; 1855-56, M. Woodward; 1857-59, Calvin J. Bigelow; 1860-61, James B. Cushman; 1862, Calvin J. Bigelow; 1863, John Stanley; 1864, Calvin J. Bigelow; 1865, J. W. Gray; 1866, Calvin J. Bigelow; 1867, W. A. Burlingame; 1868-70, C. J. Bigelow; 1871-76, G. W. Monroe; 1877, Levi De HIaven; 1878-79, M. D. Trimm. TREASURERS. 1843-45, Allen Briggs; 1846-47, Homer Adams; 1848, Clark Lewis; 1849, Homer Adams; 1850-51, Alvinzy Harris; 1852, Homer Adams; 1853-56, N. D. Richardson; 1857-59, Homer Adams; 1860, Marquis Woodward; 1861, Iomer Adams; 1862, William A. Burlingame; 1863, J. D. Harris; 1864-66, John Stanley; 1867-76, Mitchell H. Hogmire; 1877-78, Miles Monroe; 1879, G. W. Monroe. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1843, Amos R. Kellogg, Major Heath; 1844, Emory O. Briggs; 1845, Amos R. Kellogg, Duane D. Briggs; 1846, Hezekiah More; 1847, Amos R. Kellogg; 1848, Ira Briggs; 1849, Simeon M. Heath; 1850, Enoch White, Henry Earl; 1851, Marquis Woodward, Duane D. Briggs; 1852, Marquis Woodward; 1853, William A. Burlingame; 1854, S. M. Heath; 1855, Gideon Hall; 1856, Levi W. Heath; 1857, Emory O. Briggs; 1858, Levi W. Heath; 1859, J. D. Harris; 1860, Emory O. Briggs; 1861, Homer Adams; 1862, Levi W. Heath, Emory O. Briggs; 1863, J. D. Harris; 1864, Emory O. Briggs; 1865, James Washburn; 1866, J. D. Harris; 1867, Alfred B. Palmer; 1868, James Buckley; 1869, William A. Burlingame; 1870, James Buckley; 1871, A. B. Palmer; 1872, B. F. Ewing; 1873, John B. Wilcox; 1874-75, William A. Burlingame; 1876, John B. Wilcox; 1877, John E. De Haven; 1878, M. Hogmire; 1879, John E. De Haven. ASSESSORS. 1843, W. N. Taylor, Daniel Hogmire; 1844, William Dyckman, Daniel Hogmire; 1845, Hezekiah More; 1847, Benjamin Herrington, James M. Bierce; 1848, A. M. Hamlin, Benjamin Herrington. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1843, William H. McGeorge, James T. Hard; 1844, William Dyckman, Isaiah F. Hunt; 1845, Duane D. Briggs; 1846, Major Heath; 1847, James T. Hard; 1848, Allen Briggs; 1849, Daniel Hogmire, Samuel Hoppin; 1850, Henry Earl; 1851, Isaiah F. Hunt; 1852, L. H. Bailey, Allen Briggs; 1853, Daniel Hogmire; 1854, Henry Earl; 1855, Allen Briggs, William Dyckman; 1856, Charles Hurbert, Abram Lewis; 1857, Mitchell S. Smiley; 1858, William Dyckman, E. 0. Briggs; 1859, Robert C. Smith; 1860, Homer Adams, O. E. Barnum; 1861, Henry Earl; 1862, Arvin Heath, Marquis Woodward; 1863, R. C. Smith, A. M. Hamlin; 1864, Duane D. Briggs; 1865, D. Van Antwerp, W. N. Taylor; 1866, Moses L. Kidder, Erastus Cutler; 1867, A. G. Russell, Moses L. Kidder; 1868, Duane D. Briggs; 1869, John B. Wilcox; 1870, J. N. Pritchard, Jeremiah Bridges; 1871, A. G. Russell; 1872, Joseph W. Gray; 1873, A. W. Scrimger; 1874, Joseph W. Gray; 1875, Arvin Chapman; 1876, Joseph W. Gray; 1877, E. B. D. Hicks, James Wright; 1878, C. J. Bigelow; 1879, Andrew Whitman, Joseph Dage. TOWNSHIP OF ALMENA. 399 HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS. 1843, J. T. Hard, Joseph Ives; 1844, William Bridges, Daniel Hogmire, Joseph.Ives; 1845, E. W. Gage, J. M. Bierce, A. R. Kellogg; 1846, John P. Fisk, William N. Taylor, Elisha W. Gage; 1847, H. F. Bewin, Abram Lewis, R. M. Bigelow; 1848, William Dyckman, Joseph Ives; 1849, William Dyckman; 1850, L. H. Bailey; 1851, Marquis Woodward; 1852, William Dyckman; 1853, John Simmons; 1854, Robert Smith, Arvin Heath; 1855, Henry Earl; 1856, Arvin Heath, Samuel Hoppin; 1857, E. M. Preston, A. A. Holly; 1858, A. A. Holly, J. D. Harris; 1859, Duane D. Briggs; 1860, G. W. Monroe; 1861, Joseph W. Gray; 1862, A. A. Holly, Samuel Smiley; 1863, Samuel Monroe; 1864, A. A. Holly; 1865, J. H. Nichols; 1866, Samuel Monroe; 1867, Henry F. Northam; 1868, Philip Eckler; 1869, A. B. Palmer; 1870, Charles E. Monroe; 1871, Alanson Ives; 1872, S. S. Fuller; 1873, C. E. Monroe; 1874-76, Alanson Ives; 1877, John Stanley; 1878, C. E. Monroe; 1879, Judson J. Moses. DIRECTORS OF THE POOR. 1843, Allen Briggs, Joseph Ives; 1844, Isaiah F. Hunt, Alvinzy Harris; 1845, J. T. Hard, Isaiah F. Hunt; 1846-47, William Bridges, Samuel Goodenough; 1848-50, Morrison Heath, William N. Taylor; 1851, Joseph Ives, E. Eaton. DRAIN COMMISSIONERS. 1875, George Pryne; 1878, S. P. Johnston. SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 1875-76, William A. Burlingame; 1877, A. B. Palmer; 1878, M. Hogmire; 1879, A. B. Palmer. CONSTABLES. 1843, Conrad Hogmire, Henry Delong, William N. Taylor, Rufus Bigelow; 1844, J. G. Hamilton, W. N. Taylor, J. M. Bierce, Conrad Hogmire; 1845, William N. Taylor, Duane D. Briggs; 1846, E. B. D. Hicks, D. D. Briggs, B. F. Stafford; 1847, Theodore Hunt, E. B. D. Hicks, Calvin Goodenough; 1848, B. F. Stafford, Thomas F. Gray, Emerson Magoon, Watson Durand; 1849, Benjamin Herrington, Duane D. Briggs; 1850, George W. Heath, Titus Kellogg, Clark Lewis, Isaac P. Ives; 1851, Samuel Bigelow, Isaac P. Ives, W. N. Taylor, D. D. Hathaway; 1852, Rufus M. Bigelow, E. M. Preston, Clark Vandervort, William Washburn; 1853, E. M. Preston, Emerson Magoon, Samuel Smiley, William Washburn; 1854, E. M. Preston, J. P. Ives, William N. Taylor, Samuel Smiley; 1855, J. P. Ives, William Delong, Asa Durin, Samuel Smiley; 1856, Asa Durin, Warren Babcock, James Kidder, J. P. Ives; 1857, Samuel Smiley, Ignatius Denoon, L. W. Heath, T. M. Hamlin; 1858, Henry Howe, A. M. Hamlin, Reuben Putney, Samuel Smiley; 1859, 0. E. Barnum, A. E. Hamlin, R. M. Bigelow, Isaac Shaver; 1860, H. K. Nichols, Michael Dyckman, Nathan Whitney, John Stanley; 1861, E. C. Hazard, James Gilbert, M. T. Kidder, C. M. Bridges; 1862, 0. A. Church, C. B. Babcock, David Massey, James Gilbert; 1863, Michael Dyckman, J. F. Bridges, J. E. Drake, Miles Monroe; 1864, L. A. Orton, Miles Monroe, Michael Dyckman, Theodore G. Hunt; 1865, 0. A. Church, Theodore G. Hunt, E. P. Orton, E. C. Hazard; 1866, C. B. Babcock, E. S. Delong, G. E. Brainard; 1867, E. C. Hazard, Sherburn Kidder, G. E. Brainard, T. G. Thomson; 1868, Dighton Eckler, Philetus Hathaway, Charles C. Monroe, David Hogmire; 1869, C. E. Monroe, Sherburne Kidder, E. C. Hazard; 1870, E. C. Hazard, Russell Chubback, Abraham Helms, G. W. Monroe; 1871, E. C. Hazard, H. K. Wells, S. B. Crawford, C. I. Wright; 1872, Jasper Burrell, E. C. Hazard, Wilbur Drake, C. I. Wright; 1873, C. I. Wright, Wilbur Drake, Jasper Burrell, Abraham Helms; 1874, Russell Herrington, James Gilbert, Wilbur Drake, Myron Sanborn; 1875, A. W. Wilcox, Edward Crannell, W. W. Gurnsey, E. C. Hazard; 1876, Russell Herrington, James N. Drake, A. W. Wilcox, G. R. Heath; 1877, George Bronner, B. D. Hicks, Gabriel Dage, Perry Johnson; 1873, Frank Burrell, James Washburn, M. Thompson, Sylvester Meacham; 1879, Julian Harris, Andrew Cochran, Barney Hicks, Milon Thompson. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. ALVIN CHAPMAN is descended in a direct line from Robert Chapman, the first settler, who came from Hull, in England, to Boston, in August, 1635. He removed in the following November to Saybrook, where some of his descendants still remain. Alvin Chapman was born in the town of Westbrook, May 26, 1827, and on the 22d of October, 1848, he married Laura Wright, also a native of Westbrook, where they continued to reside until 1855. In the year last named they removed to their present home, in Arlington, Van Buren Co., where they have since made their residence. Mr. Chapman has been a very successful farmer; possessing a farm of great fertility, he has, by industry and good management, brought it into a high state of cultivation, with fine improvements,-a better estimation of which can be obtained from a view of them, which we give on another page. CHAPTER LIII. ALMENA TOWNSHIP.* Description of the Town and its Early Settlements-Early Mills and Mill-Owners-Township Organization and Civil List-Churches in Almena-Schools-Almena and Paw Paw Telegraph Company. DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWNSHIP AND ITS EARLY SETTLEMENT. ALMENA, originally a portion of Clinch, lies upon the eastern border of Van Buren, and is known as town 2 south, range 13 west. Its boundaries are Pine Grove on the north, Antwerp on the south, Kalamazoo County on the east, and Waverly on the west. At least one-third of the township is covered by a great swamp which extends in a northeast and southwest direction. The earliest settlements were made in the territory lying south of the swamp, although pioneers penetrated soon afterwards into the northern and western sections. Good water-power, which attracted the attention of the first white settler, is found on a fork of the Paw Paw flowing through the town towards the west, and suffices now to supply two mills. Although the town has two post-offices, it has no village, the nearest approach to a hamlet being at Almena Mills, where there is a grist-mill and store. In the south the soil is sandy and productive. In the north there is much heavy timber and a clayey soil, although one may find in that portion also many excellent farms. Almena's population in 1874 was 1009. Its assessed value in 1879 was $324,000. Tradition has erroneously referred to one Joseph Dero sier, a Canadian Frenchman (probably a half-breed), as the first white settler in Almena. Derosier was doubtless the first white man who came to the township, but he was scarcely a settler. He had an Ottawa squaw for a wife * By David Schwartz. 400 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and squatted in 1833 upon section 23, near the swamp, where he put up a cabin, but his business was simply that of an Indian trader, guide, rover, trapper, and interpreter, but not a settler in the full meaning of the term. There was another French Canadian (with a deaf-mute squaw for a wife), called Mousseau, who was a companion of Derosier, but, like the latter, he was nothing above an Indian hunter. Derosier was known in the town until 1854, when he died in Waverly. Mousseau died in South Haven. The great Indian trail from Chicago to Grand Rapids passed through Almena. It was on this trail that Derosier lived, and in the vicinity of his place, until 1845, numerous Indians of the Pottawattamie and Ottawa tribes encamped from time to time. They were chiefly hunters, fishermen, and beggars, but never occasioned the whites any trouble or even concern. Two of them tried their hands at farming, but made failures of course. Finally the red men left the region and were seen no more. The first road of any consequence laid out was the Kalamazoo and Paw Paw road, which was in its time a thoroughfare of considerable traffic. It is yet the mainly traveled highway running east and west through the southern portion of the town. The first actual settler in Almena was Jonas Barber, of Prairie Ronde, who came hither in the spring of 1835, and built a saw-mill on the stream flowing through section 28. Barber had land near the present grist-mill, and lived there in a shanty. He intended to build a grist-mill at that point, but abandoned the idea. Before Barber's advent, however, Junia Warner, Jr., Horace Bonfoey, and one Potter came from New York to Almena, in the spring of 1834, in search of land. Warner entered 240 acres, lying in both Almena and Antwerp; Bonfoey located a tract on section 29, in Almena; Potter declined to make a location, and with Warner and Bonfoey returned to New York. In the spring of the following year (1835) Warner, his father (also named Junia), and Horace Bonfoey came again to Almena, for the purpose of preparing their land for permanent settlement. Warner and his father bought a few boards at Jonas Barber's mill, and putting up a cabin on section 31 began at once to clear some land, and having put in a crop and built a double log house, Junia, Jr., went back to New York for his family, while the elder Warner concluded to remain at Kalamazoo, where he labored at his trade as mason until September of the same year, when Junia, Jr., reaching Kalamazoo with his family, on his way to Almena, the old gentleman joined them, and all were soon installed upon the Almena farm, where they found a fairly comfortable home in the log house built by father and son the previous summer. The widow of Junia Warner, Jr., lives now in Paw Paw, and in describing their trip from Detroit to Almena says, " We traveled in a wagon drawn by three oxen, and although we made but fifteen miles a day, we were kept mighty busy at that." Junia Warner, Jr., who had been a Methodist circuit preacher in New York, continued to preach more or less in the West from the time of his settlement in Almena until his death there, in 1847. He was known far and wide as Elder Warner, and although averse to preaching, because of ill health, he was so persistently called, from here and there, to preach a funeral sermon or organize a church, that he could not well avoid ministerial labor, and, as a consequence, he was almost as busy as a preacher as he was as a farmer. His widow now lives in Paw Paw, hale and vigorous, at the age of seventy-four. His father died in Almena in 1841. His mother died in Paw Paw, January, 1880, at the advanced age of ninety-six. Horace Bonfoey, who came with the Warners in the spring of 1835, was from Otsego Co., N. Y., and made a settlement in Almena, upon section 29, where he lived until his death, Jan. 11, 1873. At the time of his location he, the Warners, Jonas Barber, and Derosier were the only white inhabitants of Almena. Of Mr. Bonfoey's children, those now living in Almena are Russell W. Bonfoey and Cyrena Hall. In the fall of 1834, William Ranney, and John, his son, Campbell Waldo, Frederick Krull, Alvin Hall, Russell Palmer, and Freeman Hall came to Almena in company on a land-hunting expedition. Ranney bought land on sections 14, 23, 25, and 26; Palmer and Krull on section 24; Freeman Hall on section 26; and Alvin Hall on the same section, adjoining Freeman's place. Of the seven, however, John Ranney and Freeman Hall were the only ones who became actual settlers. Returning East with the rest of the company after the lands were located, John Ranney came West again alone in 1835, and made a settlement on section 25, upon land his father had located. Ranney was a bachelor, and the story goes that when he left his New York home for the West he was engaged to be married to a charming girl, and the understanding was that he was soon to return for the wedding. The girl, however, speedily proved false to her vows, and not long after John's departure married an idle, brainless fellow. Ranney took the matter so much to heart that he forswore womankind and resolved to die a bachelor. Meanwhile, the girl who had jilted him led a sorry life with her worthless husband, who, fortunately for her, died before many years. She wrote to Ranney informing him of the event, thinking, it might be, that his heart still warmed towards her, and that she might win him back; but Ranney paid no heed to her communication, and she died not long after in an insane asylum. True to his resolve, Ranney lived a bachelor, and died on his Almena farm in 1863. Willard Newcomb, who bought of Potter (he who came west with the Warners in 1834) land entered by the latter in Almena, settled in the town in 1835, and put up a blacksmith-shop on section 29. Freeman Hall, who came to Almena in 1834 with the land-looking party of seven, returned hither in 1836, and effected a permanent settlement on section 26, which has since been his home. When he settled, there were in the town only the Warners, the Newcombs, the Bonfoeys, John Ranney, and Mears the miller. Samuel C. Annable, now a resident of Almena, came to the town with his family in November, 1835, and settled upon a farm in sections 23 and 26, previously located by - _, ~ -- -- i w 7- ~ - -- - --,. 9.., a.I L'!I 1.- - I.. -, -. - -- ~:....:~i...r..:,.:::;~ r t.i. ~-~~~- _-.;:Z:;~.;-C:8:r 1.~-: —. i..'.-..-. r...::1:: -L_15~-~) Z-i:i i r *'~, -7di:i r 4' " C?;t*' ii- ~:C 'C:_~'v i i:' Ir4Ur: 11- j i::r:: ' z;, i:~~ RESIDENCE O ALONZO W. STEVENS,ALMENATP.,VANBuRENCo.,MICH. I It I^ 0~ TOWNSHIP OF ALMENA. 401 his father-in-law, William Ranney. He found a temporary home for his family in John Ranney's log cabin, and in the spring of 1836 built a comfortable house on his own place. Asahel S. Downing, a resident of Cayuga Co., N. Y., migrated to Almena in the spring of 1836, with his family and his father-in-law, Isaac Barnum. They went first to Paw Paw, and stopped six weeks with Edwin Barnum. Downing and the elder Barnum then went into Almena and bought land on sections 29, 32, and 33 of Willard Newcomb and Horace Bonfoey. The mill-site now occupied by Brewer's mill was on the property, and there Barnum intended to erect a grist-mill, but before the undertaking was commenced he was stricken with apoplexy, and died the year following his settlement in the town. Downing assisted Mr. Barnum to put in a crop of wheat, and then moved to a place of his own on section 28, where he put up a frame house in 1837, and in that house-since then enlarged and improved-he still lives. Mr. Downing's residence was the first framed house of any consequence erected in town. Downing opened also a blacksmith-shop on his place, and carried it on for more than twenty years. Henry, son of Isaac Barnum, lived with his father until the latter's death, and then settled upon section 29, re maining there until his death, in 1856. Isaac Barnum had come West in 1835, and determining then to be a settler when he should come again he following year, he resolved to provide a supply of wheat beforehand, and so purchased a quantity of Dr. Brown, of Prairie Ronde. When Mr. Barnum came out in 1836 he sent Mr. Downing over to Brown's to get the wheat, with instructions also to take it to mill. When Downing reached Brown's he learned that the latter had gone to Virginia on a visit, carrying the key of the barn with him. Downing returned home without the wheat, but on a second trip secured it and carried it to Redmond's mill in Prairie Ronde. The miller being unable to grind the grist then, Downing went home empty-handed a second time. Two days afterwards he went to Redmond's for his flour, and he was told that the people of the neighborhood having voted Redmond's mill-pond a pestilence-breeding nuisance, had torn the dam away, and so there was Barnum's grist yet unground, and the family at home waiting for the bread which came not. Downing was much discouraged, but he loaded up the wheat once more and carried it to Comstock's mill, four miles east of Kalamazoo. There he left it, and returning in two days, eventually secured his flour, greatly to his joy no doubt, for in the work of securing it he had made four trips to mill, traveled about one hundred and forty miles, and consumed ten days of his time. Between 1836 and 1840 the settlements were quite numerous, and included those of John Campbell, Albert Fosdick, Bridget Finley and her five sons, Nahum Eager, Chauncey Abbott, Asa Crofoot, Blakelee Burns, Abel Burns, Jacob Plank, T. C. Benton, Samuel Turner, Libby, and others. Asa Crofoot visited Almena in 1835, and entered 160 acres on sections 25 and 26. He made a small clearing, 51 and then went to Schoolcraft, where he obtained employment, and from time to time, as he could, he improved his Almena farm. In 1844 he married, and in that year located permanently in Almena, and still lives on the place he entered in 1835. Chauncey Abbott, living on section 23, settled there in 1840, after a two years' residence in Oshtemo. Bridget Finley settled on section 12 in 1839, with six children, of whom Michael and James had farms of their own. Mrs. Finley died in 1864, on the place now occupied by her son James. 'About the time of the advent of the Finleys, Harvey Fosdick and John Campbell settled in that neighborhood. Amasa Tenney, now on section 28, came to Michigan in 1838, and to Almena in 1840, where he bought a farm of Asahel S. Downing. John Maxfield and wife, parents of Mr. Tenney's wife, came out at the same time, but did not like the country and went back to New York. Samuel B. Fisk, a mill-wright and house-carpenter, located in Lawrence in 1844, and in the fall of that year settled in Almena, which has since been his home. Samuel Mills bought land on section 34 in 1843, and lived there until his death, in 1860. His son, E. P., now resides on the farm. Allen McPherson settled on section 36 in 1845, and in 1846 Samuel Hayden on section 34, Jacob Erkenback on section 36, and W. F. French on section 23. Alva T. Stevens was a settler in Almena in 1837. He lived afterwards in Kalamazoo, but finally returned to Antwerp, where he located permanently on land he entered (in Almena and Antwerp) in 1837, and where he died in 1865. His son, A. W., resides now in Almena. L. A. Brown, now a resident of Almena, came hither with his uncle, Julius Wilson, in 1856. Foster Johnson and N. W. Waite, although settlers in Michigan in 1837, did not come to Almena until 1861. 0. H. P. Sheldon, who settled in Antwerp in 1846, did not become a resident of Almena until 1871. The pioneers of Almena were not called upon to endure the average hardships experienced by settlers in many parts of Van Buren County, for to those in the south especially Paw Paw was close at hand, with its conveniences of civilization, while the country itself, composed of fine oak openings, was easily penetrated, and had accessible roadways everywhere. The year 1838 was the sickly year, and many people died of fever and ague. So prevalent was the disease that there were at one time but three well persons in the entire town,-Mrs. Isaac Barnum, Horace Bonfoey, and a colored farm-hand named Henderson. These three looked after the sick ones, and certainly had their hands full. Exciting adventures with wolves were not infrequent among the settlers. Mr. F. C. Annable relates how he was coming home one night from an Indian camp, with two venison hams strung across his shoulder, and how the wolves chased him. He ran for life, and made up his mind to sacrifice the hams to his hungry pursuers; but fortune favored him, so that he reached home in safety, hams and all. ' But bless you," says he, "I was the worst scared young man you ever heard of." The " big swamp" was a dreaded place, and nearly every pioneer of Almena was lost in its mazes at one time or another, until they began to find out that to follow the streams up would be 402 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. sure to lead to an opening. After that the danger of being lost in the swamp frightened no one. On the north side of the swamp the first settlement was made by Nathan Williams and his son-in-law, John Condon, who came to Almena in the summer of 1836, and made a clearing on section 12. In the following year they crossed the swamp, and making a location on section 4, lived there until 1865, when they, with their families, moved to Iowa. Condon was equally noted as a farmer, fiddler, hunter, and trapper. He owned an exceedingly well-trained wolf-dog, and the State, county, and town bounty aggregating $30 on each wolf-scalp, Condon gathered first and last a bountiful harvest of dollars from that source. Next in order of settlement in the region north of the swamp came Jacob Currier and David Showerman. The latter had been at work in Gremps' saw-mill at Paw Paw two years, when, in 1838, he settled on section 7, in Almena, on the Allegan road, and there, after a while, opened a tavern. He died in Almena in 1863. Currier, who had been engaged in milling, with Morrill and others, in the southern portion of the town, made a settlement on section 7, and being by trade a machinist, set up a small shop on his place, which fronted the Allegan road. He died there in 1844. His widow married William Markillie, who came to Waverly in 1843, and to Almena in 1845, since when he has occupied the old Currier farm. William H. Stephens, now living on section 4, was a bachelor when he made a settlement there, about 1840, and he has lived there ever since. James Ketchum, who lives on section 9, says that when he came there, in 1843, with his father Elihu, the settlers on the south side of the swamp included Newton Canady, Nathan and Joseph Williams, John Condon, Henry Van Tassell, Jerome Thrasher, Daniel Frary, and William H. Stevens. Henry Campbell, a New Yorker, came to Almena in 1838, and worked at the company's saw-mill until 1839, when he married a daughter of Willard Newcomb and made a settlement in Waverly. Leaving there in 1844, he located in Almena, upon section 8, where he died in 1872, leaving a widow who still survives him. Thomas Clark, from New York, lived in Almena a year before locating, in 1847, upon a farm in section 18, where Alvin Crowell had preceded him as a settler. Mr. Clark still lives on the place, and his sons, James, Robert, and William, are living in the town. Silas Breed, the founder of Breedsville, in 1835, moved from there to Antwerp, and afterwards, in 1851, to section 7, in Almena, having bought the place of John Crowell, a previous settler thereon. Mr. Breed died in 1878. His widow and her son Silas now occupy the farm. J. W. Stoughton, who came to Michigan with his father in 1824, became himself a settler in Oakland County in 1844, and in 1856 removing to a place in Almena pre viously occupied by Josiah Hopkins, has lived there to the present day. The first birth among the settlers in the township was that of a child of Elder Warner. The same child was also the first to die in the new settlement,-the year of its birth and death being 1836. Isaac Barnum, whose death occurred in 1837, was probably the first adult person who died in Almena. Interments were made upon the Warner place until 1840, when the Almena cemetery was laid out. At that time seven bodies were transferred from other places and interred in the public burial-ground. The second child born was a son to Jacob Currier, Dec. 9, 1838. His name is George S. Currier, and from his birth to the present day he has been a resident of Almena. The first marriage was that of Alonzo Cobb, a school-teacher, to a daughter of Willard Newcomb,-Charles M. Morrill, justice of the peace, performing the ceremony. The jury list of the township in 1842 was as follows: Jacob S. Currier, Roswell Cook, Jacob H. Van Antwerp, Amasa Tenney, Willard Newcomb, Benjamin Eager, C. H. Abbott, Nathan Eager, David Showerman, J. H. Rockwell. The voters in the town in 1843 numbered 18; in 1844 they were 34; in 1845 there was an increase of 54; in 1857 to 137; in 1861 to 144; and in 1874 to 224. EARLY MILLS AND MILL-OWNERS. As already chronicled, Jonas Barber built a saw-mill on section 28 in 1835, and after operating it a short time, disposed of it to Maj. Edwin Mears, of Paw Paw. In 1836 he sold it to a company composed of Charles M. Morrill, Nathaniel Livermore, Jacob Currier, and Thomas Brown who came there from Lowell, Mass., in the year named. They pursued the business on a large scale, and did also something in the way of farming upon adjacent land. The company gave up the business after carrying it on a few years, Livermore removing to Paw Paw in 1847, and then returning to Massachusetts. Jacob Currier bought a farm on section 7, and lived there until his death, in 1844. Morrill farmed afterwards on the Territorial road in Antwerp; he engaged later in milling in Pine Grove, and removed ultimately to Lawton, where he now lives. Thomas Brown went back to Massachusetts after closing out his interest in the Almena mill. The mill property passed to the possession of Daniel 0. Dodge, and was best known as the Dodge mill. Walter Wise endeavored at a later date to utilize the power in the manufacture of heavy paper, but the scheme proved unsuccessful. The only saw-mill in the town now is the one on section 28, known as Brewer's mill. Prior to 1838 the nearest grist-mill was at Kalamazoo, but in that year Gremps & Willard's mill at Paw Paw furnished more accessible facilities. The first grist-mill erected in Almena was put up in 1859 by S. W. Fisk. That mill-site was originally owned by Jonas Barber, who contemplated the erection there of a grist-mill, but reconsidering his determination sold the property to Stout & Co., of Kalamazoo, from whom Horace Bonfoey purchased it, and put up on it a saw-mill and carding-machine. MAIL SERVICE. The southern portion of the town was for years supplied with mail facilities only at Paw Paw, until the creation in 1856 of an office called Brewerville, at Brewer's mill, where TOWNSHIP OF ALMENA. 403 Brewer also opened a store. Lawrence Brewer was appointed the first postmaster, and when the office was removed to the neighborhood of Fisk's grist-mill, and the name changed to Almena, Samuel B. Fisk was appointed. His successors in the office to the present time have been Simeon Brown, Ira Johnson, William R. Cotter, Russell W. Bonfoey, and Hubbard H. Hill. Waverly post-office, now in Almena north of the swamp, was originally established in Waverly township. Dr. Babbitt, who was instrumental in having the office established, was the first postmaster. Orlando H. Newcomb was Babbitt's successor, and upon Newcomb's death, the present incumbent, Hiram Goble, was appointed. In 1874 the office was removed from Waverly to Almena township. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL LIST. One of the seven towns created in 1837, when Van Buren was divided, was the town of Clinch, which embraced what are now the townships of Waverly, Almena, Bloomingdale, and Pine Grove. There was considerable discussion in reference to the name to be given the original town, and without coming to any agreement the inhabitants sent their petition to the Legislature with the various proposed names attached, and suggested that a choice might be made from the list. When they learned how the town was named the impression was that the name of Clinch had been given as an intimation to the citizens that instead of differing so widely in the matter of christening they ought to have been more harmoniously clinched. It proved, however, that I. W. Clary, member of the Legislature, had chosen the name in honor of Judge Clinch, of Georgia, whom he greatly admired. When, in 1842, the town of Clinch was divided, F. C. Annable, then in the Legislature, presented the petition for a division, and named both new towns,-the western half Waverly and the eastern half Almena. At that time Indian names were in favor for new towns, and Mr. Annable, recollecting something about an Indian princess known as Almena, bestowed that name upon his own town. In 1848 the northern half of Almena was set off and organized as a township with the name of Pine Grove. Appended will be found a full list of those who have been elected since 1842 to the offices of supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and justice of the peace. 1842.-Supervisor, Charles M. Morrill; Clerk, Junia Warner; Treasurer, H. Barnum; Justice of the Peace, J. S. Currier. 1843.-Supervisor, Samuel Turner; Clerk, G. H. Brown; Treasurer, Junia Warner; Justice of the Peace, A. Tenney. 1844.-Supervisor, J. A. Ranney; Clerk, G. H. Brown; Treasurer, F. C. Annable; Justice of the Peace, A. S. Downing. 1845.-Supervisor, J. A. Ranney; Clerk, G. H. Brown; Treasurer, F. C. Annable; Justice of the Peace, Samuel Mills. 1846.-Supervisor, G. H. Brown; Clerk, Samuel Turner; Treasurer, J. B. Hudson; Justice of the Peace, D. Showerman. 1847.-Supervisor, Henry Barnum; Clerk, G. H. Brown; Treasurer, J. B. Hudson; Justice of the Peace, Samuel Turner. 1848.-Supervisor, Henry Barnum; Clerk, O. J. Heusted; Treasurer, Freeman Hall; Justice of the Peace, J. A. Chase. 1849.-Supervisor, J. B. Hudson; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, Freeman Hall; Justice of the Peace, Samuel Mills. 1850.-Supervisor, F. C. Annable; Clerk; W. F. French; Treasurer, Elam Warner; Justice of the Peace, David Showerman. 1851.-Supervisor, F. C. Annable; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, F. Hall; Justice of the Peace, Amasa Tenney. 1852.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, F. Hall; Justice of the Peace, A. S. Downing. 1853.-Supervisor, J. A. Ranney; Clerk, J. G. Brown; Treasurer, Asa Hoyt; Justice of the Peace, B. F. Stevens. 1854.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, Asa Hoyt; Justice of the Peace, Josiah Hopkins. 1855.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, Asa Hoyt; Justice of the Peace, A. S. Downing. 1856.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, Asa Hoyt; Justice of the Peace, N. H. Soule. 1857.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, Abner Soule; Treasurer, Asa Hoyt; Justice of the Peace, D. Showerman. 1858.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, Asa Hoyt; Treasurer, Chauncey Palmer; Justice of the Peace, Samuel Mills. 1859.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, Asa Hoyt; Treasurer, Chauncey Palmer; Justice of the Peace, Chauncey Abbott. 1860.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. L. Warner; Treasurer, Chauncey Palmer; Justice of the Peace, Asa Crofoot. 1861. —Supervisor, C. B. Palmer; Clerk, E. L. Warner; Treasurer, A. Bonfoey; Justice of the Peace, A. Herron. 1862.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. L. Warner; Treasurer, C. B. Palmer; Justice of the Peace, Jesse Wilson. 1863.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. L. Warner; Treasurer, C. B. Palmer; Justice of the Peace, C. H. Abbott. 1864.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. L. Warner; Treasurer, C. B. Palmer; Justice of the Peace, James Stoughton. 1865.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, R. W. Bonfoey; Justice of the Peace, Charles Dean. 1866.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. D. Whitney; Treasurer, Jesse Wilson; Justice of the Peace, Allen Watson. 1867.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. D. Whitney; Treasurer, Jesse Wilson; Justice of the Peace, C. H. Abbott. 1868.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. D. Whitney; Treasurer, Jesse Wilson; Justice of the Peace, George W. Myers. 1869.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, E. D. Whitney; Treasurer, Jesse Wilson; Justice of the Peace, C. B. Palmer. 1870.-Supervisor, Silas Breed; Clerk, I. H. Johnson; Treasurer, Jesse Wilson; Justice of the Peace, Asa Crofoot. 1871.-Supervisor, S. W. Fisk; Clerk, W. F. French; Treasurer, L. A. Brown; Justice of the Peace, C. H. Abbott. 1872. —Supervisor, S. W. Fisk; Clerk, W. F. French: Treasurer, L. A. Brown; Justice of the Peace, C. W. Brown. 1873.-Supervisor, W. F. French; Clerk, A. D. Stocking; Treasurer, L. A. Brown; Justice of the Peace, W. H. Stevens. 1874.-Supervisor, W. F. French; Clerk, A. D. Stocking; Treasurer, L. A. Brown; Justice of the Peace, A. H. Lockwood. 1875.-Supervisor, W. F. French; Clerk, A. D. Stocking; Treasurer, P. N. Teed; Justice of the Peace, C. Goodwin. 1876.-Supervisor, J. H. Darling; Clerk, A. D. Stocking; Treasurer, P. N. Teed; Justice of the Peace, C. H. Abbott. 1877.-Supervisor, J. H. Darling; Clerk, C. B. Palmer; Treasurer, P. N. Teed; Justice of the Peace, J. D. Abbott. 1878.-Supervisor, W. H. Stevens; Clerk, Frank Cure; Treasurer, Samuel Hayden; Justice of the Peace, N. Lillibridge. 1879.-Supervisor, C. B. Palmer; Clerk, S. A. Breed; Treasurer, P. N. Teed; Justice of the Peace, C. Goodwin. CHURCHES IN ALMENA. In the southern portion of the town Elder Warner used to preach the Methodist doctrine to the pioneers, and north of the swamp the settlers enjoyed the benefits of religion through Baptist and Methodist societies organized in Waverly shortly after 1840. The Free-Will Baptist Church of Waverly, although organized in the latter town and still retaining the old name, has its church edifice in Almena, a short distance across the line, on Covey Hill. The organization was effected in 1843, at the house of Isaac Brown, in Waverly, with 13 members, whose names were Harviland Thayer and wife, Jonah Austin and wife, Isaac Brown and wife, Jephtha Waterman, Lucy Herron, Lucinda Aldrich, Peter Haines 404 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and wife, Polly Marble, and Elizabeth Brown. Rev. Peter Haines, who organized the church, lived in Cooper, Kalamazoo Co., and for a year or more came over to preach in Waverly once a month. Services were held in private houses until 1844, when the Bell school-house being built, that was occupied as a house of worship. Until 1866, various school-houses in Waverly and Almena were used, but in that year the present church edifice in Almena was erected. The first deacons were Harviland Thayer and Isaac Brown. The pastor to succeed Mr. Haines was Rev. W. H. H. Myers, of Bloomingdale, who filled the pastorate about twelve years. After him came Elders Darling, Stanford, Whittaker, Keyser, Prescott, and Mrs. Annie Barton, -the latter now occupying the pulpit. The church membership is about 75, and that of the Sabbath-school (of which Silas A. Breed is superintendent) is 100. The deacons of the church are C. M. Brown and David Loveland. The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Almena was organized in 1853, and attached to the Oshtemo circuit, with Mattawan, Genesee Prairie, and the " Hurd" district. The members of the first class were five in number,-Philip Teed and wife, James North and wife, and Ann Smith. Philip Teed, who was chosen class-leader at the outset, has served in that capacity uninterruptedly until the present time. Among the early pastors were Revs. Wilson, Williams (under whose ministry many members were added to the church), Watson, Beach, Hendrickson, Haviland, and Hoag. The Almena school-house was used as a place of worship until 1869, when the church now in use was occupied. It was dedicated in December of that year, the dedication sermon being preached by Dr. Joslyn, of Grand Rapids. The church is now in the Mattawan circuit, and has a membership of 14. The pastor is Rev. S. C. Woodman, and the trustees P. N. Teed, Hubbard Hill, and Abel Burns. The Free- Will Baptist Church of Almena was organized in May, 1877, at the Methodist Episcopal church, with a membership of 40. The deacons then appointed were G. W. Failing and Martin Erkenbeck, who still serve. Elder Darling, who organized the church, was the first pastor. Elder Roberts preaches now once in two weeks in a public hall at Almena Mills. The church has now a membership of 30, and the Sunday-school an attendance of 50. SCHOOLS. The first school taught in the town was held in the Warner settlement in a log cabin. The first teacher was Elizabeth Merry, a sister of the wife of Elder Junia Warner, and after her the teachers were Miss Myers and a Mrs. Palmer. East of that a log school-house was put up near where the grist-mill stands, and in that a Mr. Hurd, first, and then F. C. Annable taught a subscription school. Statistics of the public schools of Almena are given below, as found in the school report of 1879, viz.: Number of children of school age, 303; average attendance, 262; value of school property, $3110; amount paid for teachers' wages, $849. List of school directors at date of report: District No. 2, G. W. Failing; No. 3 (fractional), G. W. Van Dorn; No. 4, D. C. Lockman; No. 5, C. B. Palmer; No. 7, W. Roland; No 8 (fractional), F. Cure; No. 9 (fractional), G. R. Palmer; No. 10, George Lemon. ALMENA AND PAW PAW TELEGRAPH COMPANY. This company was organized in 1876, by Edward Annable and others, and duly incorporated under the laws of the State, for the purpose of providing telegraphic communication between Almena and Paw Paw, as well as to afford similar conveniences to persons living on the route. The company has now seven miles of wire in operation, and is doing excellent service, not only in the way of convenience of communication, but in the matter of furnishing practical experience in telegraphy to each of its patrons, all of whom have the privilege of direct communication from their homes with any point on the line. Edward Annable, chosen the first president, still serves in that capacity. -- 2. ~ --- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. EDWARD P. MILLS. Philo Mills, the grandfather of the above-named gentleman, was born in Connecticut, about 1770, and not long after 1800 removed to Livingston Co., N. Y. He had a family of fourteen children, of whom Samuel Mills, the father of Edward, was the oldest, his birth occurring in 1803 in Connecticut. He was, like his father, a farmer by occupation. In 1843, Samuel Mills settled in Almena township, Van Buren Co., Mich., on the farm now owned by his son, E. P. Mills. He was a very ambitious, enterprising citizen, and did his duty as a pioneer, and no doubt his struggles incident to the improvement of a large farm, hastened his death. He was the father of nine children, who are all living but one, and six of whom came to Michigan with him. They were named as follows: Henry, the oldest, is now in the mercantile business at Howell, Livingston Co., Mich., where he married the eldest daughter of William McPherson, an old settler and prominent citizen of the place. Lyman, who married a daughter of William Sprague, of O(shtemo, Kalamazoo Co., is now living the greater portion of the time in Howell. His wife is deceased, and his daughter is the wife of Mr. Badger, of the " Burdick House" at Kalamazoo. Julia, married to Owen P. Morton, of Texas township, Kalamazoo Co., where she resides with her husband. Edward P., is now living in Almena. Lucius W., a teacher by profession, a graduate of the normal school at Ypsilanti, taught three years in the upper peninsula of Michigan, and in 1879 at Plainwell, Allegan Co. Married Laura, daughter of Dr. Kinney, of Ypsilanti, and is now teaching at Lawrence, Van Buren Co. Mary E. died in infancy. Harriet E. married Dr. J. P. Stoddard, of Albion, Calhoun Co., his father being also a physician, and recently re moved from Albion to Muskegon, Mich. Eugene W. married Nellie Hubbard, of Paw Paw, Van Buren Co., and is now carrying on a farm in California. V N goal w-mi RESIDENGEoF- ASA CROFOOT, ALMENA, MICHIGAN, 1ESIOEN'CE OF LL)WMA HOfP MILL-St ALM ENATP, VAN8BU RENUGO.,MICH. AO II TOWNSHIP OF ALMENA. 405 Frances A. taught in various high schools at Albion and elsewhere, and was married to F. A. Wheelock, a drygoods merchant of that place. These children were all teachers, except Eugene, and were engaged in numerous district and public schools. Maria Warner, the wife of Samuel Mills, was also a native of Connecticut, and the daughter of David Warner. She was one of a large family of children, and when very young removed with her parents to Livingston Co., N. Y., where she was married to Mr. Mills. Samuel Mills died in 1860, on the farm now owned by his son, where by industry and economy he acquired a competency, and was respected by all who knew him. His widow is living with their youngest daughter, Frances, at Albion, Mich. After the death of his father Edward P. Mills purchased the interest of the other heirs, and owns and occupies the old homestead. Aside from his attendance at the district schools, he spent about a year at school in Paw Paw. His life as a teacher lasted through six terms of district school. At the age of twenty-two, until which time he had remained on his father's farm, he took a farm " on shares," working upon it summers and teaching school in winters. He was born Aug. 11, 1834, in Livingston Co., N. Y., and was therefore but a youth when he came to Michigan. July 3, 1859, he was married to Miss Phoebe A. Winslow, daughter of Samuel and Eunice Winslow, of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., Mich. Until 1867 he lived in different parts of the county, but in the latter year purchased the old farm of his father, and has since resided upon it. Mr. Mills and his wife are both members of the Presbyterian Church at Paw Paw. Politically, Mr. Mills is a Republican, and has held several offices of trust and responsibility in town, county, and in the church. Whenever improvements have been discussed in his township or county, Mr. Mills has been among the foremost to proffer aid and to urge on the work to completion. As.a man and a citizen he stands very high in the estimation of all who know him. He is, without ostentation, a true gentleman, and his wife is a most estimable lady, and with such attributes as they possess the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mills cannot fail to be a happy one, although no children have added their sunshine to it. The stranger at their door feels a genial presence, and adds his testimony to that of others as to the excellence of this worthy couple. May the hand of Time rest lightly upon, and Providence continue to give them prosperity. ASA CROFOOT. Mr. Crofoot's ancestors were from Massachusetts. His father, Joseph Crofoot, was a native of that State, and a farmer by occupation; the latter's wife was also born in the Old Bay State. This couple moved to Cayuga Co., N. Y., and lived in the township of Aurelius, near the city of Auburn, where they both died, the husband about 1870-71, and the wife some years previous. Asa Crofoot was born in the township named on the 8th of June, 1814. His parents' means were limited, and the boy earned most of the money to pay for his schooling, attending the district schools of the day. When nine or ten years old he left home and went to Ontario Co., N. Y., where he lived about four years with an uncle near Canandaigua. Returning to Aurelius, he found employment at farming, and continued until his removal West. On the 3d of March, 1836, he left Auburn and started for Michigan, arriving in what is now Almena township, Van Buren Co., about the middle of the month. The trip was made with a horse and cutter through Canada. He had placed a saddle in the sleigh before starting, to be used in case the sleighing was not good, but did not find it necessary to take it out, as the snow was unusually deep for the season. That winter is recollected as having been especially severe, and the snow remained on the ground until quite late in the spring. Mr. Crofoot purchased two eighty-acre lots from the government, the deed being signed by President Van Buren. His means were then exhausted, and he at once sought for employment. Proceeding to Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo Co., he found an old fiiend in the person of Ira Lyon, uncle of Lucius Lyon, the surveyor. He hired out to him, and continued in his employ about nine years, in the meanwhile hiring some clearing and breaking done on his farm in Almena. Dec. 8, 1814, he married Ira Lyon's daughter, Charlotte Augusta, and early in March, 1845, located with his wife on the farm,-the same he now occupies,-moving into the frame house which had been erected by his orders. When Mr. Crofoot first came to the township, in 1836, it contained but two or three settlers, and the Indians many times outnumbered the white inhabitants. Mrs. Crofoot gave birth to a daughter -Charlotte A. Crofoot-on the 14th of April, 1847, and on the same day her soul went to join the innumerable throng "waiting the judgment day." The daughter was married, April 22, 1865, to Henry French, of Almena township, and is now living in Montcalm Co., Mich. On the 26th of January, 1856, Mr. Crofoot was married to Eleanor Erkenbeck, daughter of Jacob and Helen Erkenbeck, of Almena township. She was born in Johnstown, Montgomery Co., N. Y., Nov. 17, 1829, and came with her parents to Almena in the fall of 1846, settling on the farm where her widowed mother now resides, her father having died Nov. 8, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Crofoot are the parents of the following children, viz.: Euphemia, Frank, Fred (who died at the age of three), Eva M., Asa E., all of whom are living at home. Mr. Crofoot has increased his home-farm to two hundred and twenty-five acres, and is the owner of several others. He belongs to no religious organization; his wife is a member of the Dunkard Church. Mr. Crofoot was a Democrat until, as he says, the scales fell from his eyes, under the administration of President Buchanan, since which time he has been a Republican. Although not an active worker in the political field, he has held a few township offices, and was commissioner of highways for twenty-one years. He was one of the early members of the grange, and has long been a director in both the County Agricultural Society and the Van Buren County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. After working for others at stipulated wages for twenty years, he has amassed a comfortable amount of this world's goods, and undoubtedly enjoys their possession. 406 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. JACOB ERKENBECK. MRS. JACOB ERKENBECK. JACOB ERKENBECK. This gentleman's life has been comparatively uneventful, so far as concerns the public, or society in general, and yet he has taken his full share of life's burdens and duties, and performed them faithfully, although unostentatiously. As one of the early settlers of this portion of Van Buren County, he is entitled to honorable mention. He was a native of the State of New York, and was born March 18, 1801. Dec. 19, 1824, he was married to Helen Cole, who survives him. Mr. and Mrs. Erkenbeck were the parents of eight children, as follows: Cornelius, born Oct. 18, 1825; Maria, born June 25, 1827, died Aug. 22, 1866; Eleanor, born Nov. 17, 1829; Catharine, born Nov. 25, 1831; WilALONZO W. STEVENS. Silas Stevens, the great-grandfather of Alonzo, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and the worn old powder-horn which he carried is now in the possession of Jared A. Stevens, of Florence, Ala. He was born May 20,1755, in Southwick, Mass., and married Lucy Simons, who was born Aug. 30, 1752; moved to Herkimer Co., N. Y., 1796. Their children were seven in number,-three sons and four daughters. Their son, Jared Stevens (grandfather of Alonzo W. Stevens), was born May 3, 1782, and married Mary Brown, who was born Jan. 10, 1785. They became the parents of eight children,-five sons and three daughters. Alvah T. Stevens, the father of Alonzo, was the oldest in the family of Jared and Mary Stevens, and was born Nov. 16, 1806. On the 21st of June, 1832, he was married to Lucy Hubbard, and by her was the father of six children,-four sons and two daughters. His wife died in 1852, and he afterwards married Mrs. Laura Love, a widow residing in Cass Co., Mich. By her he had four children,two sons and two daughters. Of the ten children, all are liam, born Feb. 10, 1834; Nicholas, born Feb. 25, 1836, died May 23, 1866; Martin, born Sept. 14, 1838; John, born June 1,1845. In the fall of 1846, Mr. Erkenbeck removed to Michigan with his family, and settled on the farm now occupied by his widow. He purchased eighty acres of land, and paid for it by trading off his team and wagon. It was very much of a struggle for him to take care of his family, but he finally triumphed over hardships and difficulties, and at his death, which occurred Nov. 8, 1877, he left them in good circumstances. His occupation was that of a farmer, and in it he was ultimately successful. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. living but two. One son, George E. Stevens, who was a member of the 6th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, died at New Orleans during the war of the Rebellion. Almeda, the oldest daughter, and wife of G. W. Lewis, of Allegan County, died in the fall of 1879. Another son, Jared A. Stevens, was a member of the 25th Michigan Infantry, and is now residing, with his family, near Florence, Ala. Mr. Stevens was a native of Herkimer Co., N. Y., in which his father owned a farm. When the son was small the family removed to Jefferson Co., N. Y., and settled in the town of Ellisburg, near the village of Belleville, where the young man assisted on his father's farm as soon as his age and strength would permit. Miss Hubbard, to whom he was married at Belleville, was the daughter of an early settler in the vicinity. In the summer of 1837, Alvah T. Stevens left the old home in New York and proceeded to Michigan via the Erie Canal and the great lakes, and finally arrived at St. Joseph. He had traded his farm in New York for two hundred and forty acres in Van Buren Co., Mich., lying partly in Almena township and partly in Antwerp. He at first located, however, south of Mattawan, in the township i4 IZ MRS. CHARLES U. CROSS. MR. CHARLES U. CROSS. CHARLES U. CROSS. Uriah Cross, the great-grandfather of Charles U. Cross, the subject of this sketch, was a native of Covington, Conn., and was born about the year 1774. His ancestors were English on the father's and of Scotch on the mother's side. He had ten children,-Moulton, Calvin, Abram, William, Lucy, Electa, Anna, Rebecca, Orrill, and Wealthy. He participated in the Revolutionary war as an orderly sergeant, in the regiment commanded by Etlan Allen; was present at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, and was in active service till near the close of the war, when he was severely wounded. He removed to Bennington, Vt, where several of his children were born. From thence he removed to East Hamilton, Madison Co., N. Y., about the year 1790. He afterwards removed to Georgetown, N. Y. Calvin Cross was born in Bennington, Vt., in 1762, and came with his father's family to New York. He married Polly Osmer, and had ten children,-Ashbel, Lydia, Mary, Ambrose, Orrin, Amanda, Edmund, Charles U., Calvin, and Fanny. Charles U. Cross was born in Georgetown, Madison Co., Dec. 25, 1814. When about three years of age he was adopted by his uncle, Samuel Payne, a wealthy farmer of Hamilton. He received a thorough mathematical and classical education at Hamilton Academy. His life while at his uncle's was that of a student, athletic in mind as well as in person, but was not marked by striking events. As the intended heir of his childless uncl?, he looked forward to a career in which earning his own livelihood did not appear as one of the factors. In a spirit of adventure he came to Michigan in the summer of 1834, in company with J. R. Monroe, and located in his uncle's name what is now a part of the village of Bangor. Soon after his uncle died intestate, and left Mr. Cross to depend entirely upon his forest tract of Michigan land and his own resources. In the spring and summer of 1835 Messrs. Cross and Monroe opened a road from Paw Paw to South Haven. In the winter of 1835-36 he taught school on Big Prairie Ronde. He was married to Mary S. West at Hamilton, N. Y., Sept. 6, 1836. Mrs. Cross was the daughter of Orrin and Mary (Hubbard) West, who were born respectively in 1789 and 1791, and were married March 26, 1816. They had four children,-Evelyn; Mary S., born Feb. 6, 1818; Sarah M.; and Abijah H. Mary S. resided with her parents until she came West with her husband immediately after their marriage. They made their home with John Inslie on Big Prairie Ronde until their log cabin was completed at Bangor, into which they moved March 8, 1837, becoming the first family that settled in what is now Bangor township. Then commenced that hard struggle for existence, which was the lot of all or nearly all of the early settlers; and the family of Mr. Cross probably were not exceptions to the general rule. Although the education of Mr. Cross had apparently unfitted him to endure the privations of a pioneer life, yet the frequent calls for his services as a surveyor and counselor gave him more lucrative employment than was found by some of his more muscular neighbors. Mrs. Cross was well qualified for the wife of a pioneer, being of a genial and fearless disposition. And the " white squaw," as the Indians called her, had much need of her courage when, alone by the fireside at night, the sound of the wind moaning and sobbing among the tall pines was only varied by the long drawling howl of the wolf. They had seven children, viz.: Samuel P., born April 14, 1838; Orrin W., Feb. 21, 1841; Sarah M., Jan. 6, 1843; Herbert S., April 1, 1845; John S., May 4, 1849; Charles U., Jr., Dec. 25, 1853; and Albert C., Nov. 1, 1855. Of these but four are now living,-Samuel P., Sarah M., John S., and Albert C. Herbert S. was killed by a railroad accident at Lawton, Sept. 21, 1868; Charles U., Jr., died when an infant; Orrin W. served with distinction through the war, was promoted to lieutenant, and died within a few days after reaching home after his discharge, in September, 1865. In 1846, Mr. Cross, in company with his brother, Calvin Cross, erected a saw-mill on the site now occupied by J. H. Nyman. This was conveyed wholly to Calvin Cross in the spring of 1850. July 11, 1867, he platted Cross' addition to the village of Bangor, and watched with pride and pleasure the rapid growth of the village. He was largely instrumental in securing the location of the railroad to this point, and gave liberally of his means towards this enterprise, as well as to induce the Bangor Furnace Company to establish their works at Bangor. He lived only to see the dawn of that prosperity which he had so materially assisted to promote, and which has been so abundantly sustained since his death. He died where he had fought the battle of life, May 9, 1872, on the same spot where thirty-five years before his log cabin was built. His wife survived him two years, and died at the old homestead, Nov. 17, 1874. Charles U. Cross was a man of extended influence and the strictest integrity; one who will long be remembered by the people of Van Buren County for his genial manner and wise counsels, his sterling honesty, and his munificent patriotism. " Requiescat in pace." TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR. 407 of Antwerp, where he had purchased forty acres, and lived on that and on a rented farm in Texas township, Kalamazoo Co., for twelve or thirteen years. The farm for which he had traded his New York homestead was in a state of nature when he moved upon it, no improvements of any kind having been made. A board shanty was erected and occupied by the family, and subsequently an unfinished frame was purchased, moved to the place, and completed. This was used for some time. Another house was bought and moved on, and occupied until three or four years before Mr. Stevens' death, when he erected a fine frame residence. He was always a farmer; was a Whig, and afterwards a Republican in politics. He held several township offices, although he was never an active politician. His death occurred Aug. 12, 1865, in Antwerp township, Van Buren Co., Mich. His brother, Horace Stevens, who came with him from New York, stayed but five or six years, living with him part of the time, and finally returned to New York, in which State he now resides. Alonzo W. Stevens, the oldest of his father's children, was born near Belleville, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Aug. 18, 1833, and was consequently but four years of age when he came with his father to Michigan. Until he was twentysix years old he remained with his father on the home-farm. Finally, in company with his father, he purchased the place he now occupies, on section 25, Almena township, on which no improvements had been made. They cleared forty acres together, and the balance of the one hundred and sixty was cleared by Alonzo himself. He has since sold twenty acres, the farm now containing one hundred and forty. For a year after buying this place he boarded with his father. He was married, Feb. 25, 1860, to Miss Hortense Phillips, and soon after occupied the farm, living for several years in a board shanty. Mrs. Stevens traces her ancestry back to the Pilgrim Fathers of Plymouth, Mass., but is herself a native of the township of Freedom, Wood Co., Ohio, where she was born Feb. 24, 1840. Her mother was a daughter of Joseph Fuller, who had come to Wood County, with his family, in 1835. Mrs. Fuller's parents were from Bristol Co., Mass. Jacob Phillips, the father of Mrs. Stevens, was also an early settler of Wood Co., Ohio. His father was a native of Germany. Mr. Stevens is a Republican in politics, but is not an active politician. He has held a few of the minor offices in his town. He is a member of the Masonic order, and is prominent in connection with the township grange, to which latter Mrs. Stevens also belongs. She is an Episcopalian in religion, and evinces taste in literary matters, having furnished numerous articles for publication. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are the parents of two children, sons, who both died in infancy. Had they lived they would now be, respectively, fifteen and ten years of age. CHAPTER LIV. BANGOR TOWNSHIP.* Boundaries, Soil, and Streams-First and Early Settlements and Settlers-Resident Tax-Payers in 1856-Civil History-Village of Bangor-Incorporation and Village Officers-Hotels-Manufacturing Enterprises-Bank-Societies and Orders-Religious Societies -Public Schools. BOUNDARIES, SOIL, AND STREAMS. THE township of Bangor is one of the interior divisions of Van Buren County, and situated northwest of its geographical centre. In the United States survey it was designated as township No. 2 south, of range No. 16 west. Adjoining township organizations are Geneva on the north, Arlington on the east, Hartford on the south, and Covert on the west; and being but a few miles distant from Lake Michigan, it enjoys many commercial advantages from its location. It is well watered, the most important stream being the Black River, which in its flow towards Lake Michigan crosses the northeast corner, and at the village of Bangor affords good water-power privileges, which have been utilized for many years. Smaller streams tributary to it flow through the centre and northwest portions, and numbers of small lakes also dot its surface. Van Auken Lake, embracing portions of sections 28, 32, and 33, is the largest of these. In the centre of the township is School Section Lake, and north of it Pleasant Lake, while Duck Lake is located on section 26, and southeast of it a number of smaller lakes. A portion of Rush Lake lies in the southwest corner of Bangor, and Mud Lake, a body of water insignificant in size and of little importance, lies on sections 26 and 27. The soil of the township varies in different localities. There is to be found in some places a gravelly loam, in others an admixture of sand, but the prevailing soil is a heavy clay loam. This enables Bangor to produce excellent crops of corn and wheat, and places it in the front rank among the townships of the county in its agricultural products. The census of 1874 gives 992 acres of wheat and 944 of corn, which produced 13,237 bushels of the former and 37,957 bushels of the latter grain. The surface of Bangor is gently undulating, presenting few sudden or abrupt declivities, and smooth and easilytilled land prevails. This was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, embracing beech, maple, whitewood, walnut, elm, pine, and hemlock. Good timber still abounds, but the clearing of the lands of the township has materially depleted the forests. FIRST AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS. In the year 1837 the newly-organized township of South Haven, which then embraced the present township of Bangor, boasted but a sparse number of inhabitants, and they, with two or three exceptions, were all living near the present village of Breedsville. (See history of Columbia township.) Charles U. Cross, the first settler in this township, and the founder of the present village of Bangor, was then the * By E. O. Wagner. 408 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. sole representative in surveyed township No. 2 south, of range No. 16 west. He first settled upon the east half of the northeast quarter of section 12, and soon after erected thereon a habitation for himself and family. Although separated from his Breedsville neighbors by several miles of timbered lands, he found constant society in the presence of "land-lookers," who daily claimed his hospitality. He devoted himself with much vigor to the development of the resources of the country, did much toward the growth of the village, and remained one of its residents until his death in 1872. The settlement of Mr. Cross occurred in March, 1837, and in June, 1837, came John Smith, from Orange Co., N. Y., who located upon section 11. He had been apprenticed in early boyhood, and finding the confinement irksome had taken unceremonious leave of his employer and departed for a seafaring life. Following this pursuit for many years, and visiting almost every port on the face of the earth, he determined to devote his declining years to the rough experiences of a pioneer life. While clearing his land Mr. Cross opened the door of his cheerful but not very elegant home to him, and he remained there until the completion of his own house, when, with his wife and son, who had meanwhile arrived, he removed to it. The next pioneer to the wilds of Bangor was John Southard, who came from Cayuga Co., N. Y., in November, 1837, and entered 480 acres on section 25, and immediately began the erection of a cabin, which was constructed in a very simple manner, troughs forming the roof of the building. After doing some labor in the way of clearing, Mr. Southard returned to the East and the following spring brought his family to their Western home. His presence during the winter enabled them at once to locate comfortably in quarters of their own, with no delays to inconvenience them. Mr. Southard's attention was at first devoted to clearing a spot on which to raise supplies for the subsistence of his family. During the interval he repaired to Little Prairie Ronde, a journey of thirty miles, for supplies, and to Kalamazoo for milling purposes, there being no gristmill at a nearer point at that early day. The following summer a mill was built at Paw Paw, which materially lessened the distance. The year after Mr. Southard's arrival, 1838, the first school district was organized, and embraced nine square miles of territory. In that area were but three families and four children, the youngest, Samuel P. Cross, but an infant. A school was not opened, however, until 1845, under the teaching of Miss Mehitable Northrop. It will be readily determined that the lady was quite beyond any sordid motives in the pursuit of her profession when it is stated that for her weekly labor she received the munificent sum of 8s., with the privilege of enjoying the hospitality of her patrons in turn. On the authority of Mr. O. M. Southard, who resides on the land entered by his father, John Southard, it may be stated that a school-house was built as early as 1840, in the southeast portion of the township. The earliest teacher was Miss Delia Rice, who enjoyed the hospitality of Mansel M. Briggs while in charge of the school. of John Southard and two from the family of Caleb Northrop. The building was constructed entirely of logs, with planks resting upon stakes for seats, and a writing-desk composed of a plank smoothed on one side. Since that time the educational interests of Bangor have steadily progressed. It now embraces five whole and four fractional districts, over whom preside, as directors, James A. Williams, C. C. Phillips, Chapin Reynolds, D. Chidester, William S. Charles, John Watkins, Benjamin Reist, O. G. Reynolds, Polk A. Wood. The number of children receiving instruction is 644, over whom are placed 7 male and 15 female teachers, whose aggregate salaries amount to $3028.00. The total educational resources of the township amount to $3488.83, $342.38 of which is derived from the primary-school fund. The value of school property is $11,300. Caleb Northrop came the latter part of the year 1837, with his two sons, from Cayuga County, and entered 160 acres on section 36. Leaving his family in Lawrence, at the house of J. R. Monroe, he began the erection of a cabin for their occupation, to which they repaired on its completion. He then devoted himself to improving his land, and made much progress in his pioneer labor. On this farm he resided until his death, and by his industry and good judgment established a reputation as a successful farmer. The sons of Mr. Northrop manifested a keen interest in public affairs connected with the township, and held many offices of trust. One of them still resides in Bangor. Mansel M. Briggs came as a pioneer to the State in 1836, and selected Bangor as a home in 1838. He first resided upon the farm of John Southard, taking a contract to clear a tract of land for him, and meanwhile erecting a small house, which he covered with bark, for the occupation of his family. On the completion of his contract he removed to section 24, where he purchased a farm and erected upon it a comfortable log house. In 1854 he changed his location and removed to his present house, where he has since resided. At the time of Mr. Briggs' settlement, and for many years after, Indians comprised a large proportion of the population of the township. Their constant intercourse with the whites aided much in civilizing them, so that ultimately but a trace of their former aboriginal life was perceptible, and some of them became possessors of comfortable homes. Daniel Taylor came from Monroe Co., N. Y., in the latter part of 1837, and entered 160 acres on section 14. His son Charles had the year previous entered half a section, and retained 120 acres for himself, disposing of the remainder. Another son, William M., had located in Arlington, and with him Mr. Taylor and his son Charles remained while building a house on their land. Mr. Taylor brought with him a horse and a yoke of oxen, and with these aids he speedily cleared five acres. He was obliged to go to School craft, a distance of thirty-six miles, for grain, and then to Kalamazoo to get it ground. Mr. Taylor built his log house entirely alone, no neighborly assistance being at hand. He walked daily to Breeds Among the scholars were four children from the family I MRS. THOS. CRO&S..6~OLdid RESIDENCE OF THOMAS CROSS, BANGOR TP, /AN BUREN Co.,MICH, I6 A. VAN BURE C. a........ si: ~; TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR. 409 ville, a distance of seven miles, performed a day's labor, and returned at night. Of such sturdy material were the pioneers of Bangor made. To him may be accredited the raising of the first orchard, the seed for which was brought in his pocket from New York State. Perrin M. Northrop was also another settler prior to 1838, and located 140 acres upon section 36. He was a prominent pioneer. There seem to have been no other settlers locating here during the years 1838-39, as is shown by the following copy of the assessment-roll of South Haven, made Nov. 13, 1839, and which includes the names of all designated as resident tax-payers in township 2 south, of range 16 west, viz.: Names. Section. Acres. Tax Paid. Charles U. Cross............... 12 80 $1.35 Daniel Taylor.................. 14 160 3.59 Charles A. Taylor.............. 14 160 3.20 John Smith...................... 11 40 65 John Southard.................. 25 467 10.02 P. M. Northrop................. 36 141 2.83 Caleb Northrop................ 36 40 78 Mansel M. Briggs, personal estate..................... 20 Caleb Northrop was assessed for real estate only. Mansel M. Briggs for personal estate only. All others were taxed for both real and personal estate. Thomas Kemp was one of the Cayuga County pioneers who came early. He entered 80 acres on section 34, and devoted his time for three years to the manufacture of maple-sugar, for which there was at that time a considerable demand. For this purpose he erected two shanties, and with the proceeds of this labor he was enabled to pay for his land. Returning to the East, he remained two years, and then became a permanent settler upon his purchase. He found much labor necessary in the preparation of his land for future crops, and was subjected to many deprivations. A journey to the nearest mill required a week, and many expedients were resorted to during the interval when bad roads or other obstacles made it necessary to postpone the journey. For many days the settlers lived on green corn grated and made into cakes, and regarded them as very palatable. It was not only impracticable but impossible to keep horses, as there was no fodder for them. William E. Kemp, brother of Thomas, came four years later and located upon 80 acres, which he purchased of his brother, on section 27, upon which he still resides. This land he improved and converted into a fine farm, though in a very primitive condition when he first secured it. Wild animals were abundant, and deer would frequently be seen feeding with the cattle within a short distance of the door. Mason Wood emigrated from Jefferson County in 1838, and for a while followed the occupation of a peddler. He finally settled upon section 8, where he entered 240 acres of land and became the first settler in the northwest portion of the township. He immediately erected a log house, at the raising of which all the residents of the township were congregated. Mr. Wood was a man of much intelligence. He served acceptably as justice of the peace, and in his business transactions displayed a characteristic energy. He left to his sons, Polk, and Dallas Wood, a highly-improved farm, upon which they still reside. Other settlers of 1840 were S. W. Bancroft, on section 35, Orlando S. Brown, on section 14, and William Jones, on section 24. 52 The 22 tax-paying residents in 1845 were Thomas Kemp, section 34; William E. Kemp, section 27; S. W. Bancroft, section 35; H. Potter, section 35; J. L. Northrop, section 36; P. M. Northrop, section 36; Mansel M. Briggs, section 36; J. Ball, section 36; John Southard, section 25; William Jones, section 24; Charles A. Taylor, section 14; Daniel Taylor, section 14; John Smith, section 11; William S. Camp, section 12; Mason Wood, section 8; William Henry, section 8; Charles T. Cross, section 12; R. Hoppin, section 12; Calvin Cross, section 12; Orlando S. Brown, section 12; William H. Hurlbut, section 13; and Hial Swan, section 13. Daniel Van Auken removed to the township from Wayne Co., N. Y., in 1846, exchanging Eastern property for the land upon which he settled, on section 34, embracing 110 acres. He brought his family soon after, and enjoyed the hospitality of Thomas Kemp, who assisted him in building his house and removing to it. Aaron Van Auken came to Bangor the same year, and made his son's house his home. In April, 1850, he became lost in the woods, and for two weeks no tidings of the wanderer were received. An organized band of 100 men from the adjacent country continued the search for days without avail. The following summer his remains were found at the outlet of Mud Lake, to which place he had wandered and was drowned. This melancholy event for months cast its dark shadow over the community. John Van Auken, brother of Daniel, resides upon an adjoining farm. Hiram Dean, who was a son-in-law of Aaron Van Auken, settled on land entered by the latter on section 33, upon which he still resides. He followed the trade of a carpenter, and erected a large number of the buildings in adjacent portions of the township. He is also known as a successful farmer. Sterne D. Ripley's settlement occurred soon after that of the Van Auken family. He was a former resident of Western New York, and on his arrival in this township selected 118 acres on section 28, which he entered, and on which he built a log house. Mr. Ripley subsequently entered the army, and died in the service. Charles D. Craft came early, and with his father settled upon section 13, where he soon established a reputation as a disciple of Nimrod. Later he removed to land on sections 15 and 16, where he now resides. J. D. Kingston was a former resident of Jefferson Co., N. Y. In 1843 he came with his step-father, Hial Swan, to Van Buren County, the latter gentleman having entered 320 acres, embraced in the present townships of Bangor and Geneva. Mr. Kingston located upon section 13, and remained with Maj. Heath while building a log shanty and preparing a comfortable resting-place for his family. The nearest neighbor at this time was David Taylor, who had located upon the adjoining section. Mr. Kingston cut 20 acres of timber the first season, and cleared a sufficient tract on which to raise supplies for domestic use. The country was for the most part unsettled, Indians and wolves were plentiful, and occasionally a panther was to be seen, which caused no little consternation in the immediate vicinity. Mr. Kingston brought with him a team of horses, which so captivated the eye of a settler whom they met on the 410 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. "... route that 40 acres of land with a house upon it was offered for them and refused. On his arrival he found the use of horses impracticable, and was glad to exchange them for a yoke of oxen. A grist-mill had been built at Paw Paw to which the settlers repaired for flour, though at an earlier period they were obliged to go as far as Kalamazoo with their grists. Elder Gage was an early preacher, services being held in the Southard school-house. Elder Hinckley, of Breedsville, also officiated at the first religious services held in the township. John Watkins, an Ohio pioneer, removed to section 3 of Bangor in 1855, where he purchased, in connection with E. P. Harvey, 105 acres. The land had been somewhat improved, and a log house built upon it, having originally been entered by the Ostrom Company. He followed, in connection with farming pursuits, the trade of carpenter, and, in company with John McNitt, was employed in the erection of the woolen-mills in Bangor. Mr. Watkins has never altogether relinquished the labors of his farm, and resides upon it still. W. L. Thomas came from Otsego Co., N. Y., in 1856, and purchased 100 acres on section 17, remaining with one of the early settlers on section 12 while erecting a house and barn. With the aid of an ox-team which he brought, he improved four acres, and sowed it with wheat, which afforded them subsistence the following year. Mr. Thomas ultimately cleared and converted his land into a productive farm. William S. Charles was a pioneer to the county in 1855, and three years later made the township his home. He at first worked a farm on shares, but by energy and judgment became the owner of 480 acres, a portion of which is highly cultivated, and on which he has built a fine brick residence. Mr. Charles, though in debt when he arrived, is now one of the most substantial residents of Bangor. RESIDENT TAX-PAYERS IN 1856. The resident tax-payers in the township of Bangor in the year 1856 were as follows: Thomas Curtis, N. Travis, William S. Travis, M. P. Watson, John Watkins, John Funk, Norman Brown, A. C. Earl, Francis Burger, Erasmus Burger, 0. Goss, Daniel Wainwright, S. V. Arnold, A. Brown, C. B. Gross, Benjamin F. Hamin, Charles Quigley, M. C. Lacock, W. A. Burlingame, Eliza Winters, A. P. Hunt, D. T. Fox, E. P. Harvey, Rossiter Hoppin, John Smith, William Kinney, Fred Taylor, William S. Camp, Charles U. Cross, B. F. Ewing, O. S. Brown, William H. Hurlbut, Alonzo Shepard, Willard Kingston, Solomon Ellis, Charles Ellis, Lafayette Kingston, J. D. Kingston, George Halleck, C. A. Taylor, Daniel Taylor, Noble S. Taylor, Carlton Coon, Charles D. Croft, Harvey Overton, O. M. Trudi, D. T. Taylor, Calvin Haner, Mamqua, Daniel Disbrow, Philo Cook, Fletcher Harris, William Jones, A. M. Graves, J. S. Waterhouse, William Moon, James Southard, David Southard, Charles Southard, A. Updike, Henry Goss, John Clark, W. E. Kemp, John Spurbeck, Elijah Crow, Charles Gates, Harlow Dean, S. Reynolds, Sterne L. Ripley, Alexander Haner, Lorenzo Haner, A. H. Kemp, Alonzo Haner, L. Disbrow, L. S. Branch, Daniel Dean, Joseph Caughey, John Van Auken, Amos Thompson, Hiram Dean, Daniel Van Auken, Comatea, J. B. Sheldon, P. Pequadder, Benoni Lawson, Harvey Potter, Patrick Finley, William Webster, J. L. Northrop, Thomas Kemp, M. M. Briggs, Emory O. Briggs, P. M. Northrop; and the total amount of tax levied during the same year was $1044.99. CIVIL HISTORY. By an act of the State Legislature approved March 11, 1837, surveyed township No. 2 south, of range No. 16 west, became part of the old township of South Haven. This relation, as regards this township, was continued until Oct. 11, 1853, when the Van Buren County Board of Supervisors, acting under the authority vested in them, erected as Marion the territory described as township No. 2 south, of range No. 16 west. Five days later, or Oct. 14, 1853, the supervisors amended their action to the extent of changing the name to Bangor. The act as amended then read as follows: "Notice is hereby given that the Board of Supervisors of Van Buren County, at the annual session holden at the court-house in said county, October, 1853, have set off and organized into a new township by the name of Bangor all that portion of the township of South Haven comprised in and known as township 2 south, of range 16 west, according to the United States survey, and have ordered that the first township-meeting be held on the first Monday of April, 1854, at the school-house in District No. 1, of the township of South Haven, situated on section 12, township 2 south, of range 16 west, and that Charles U. Cross, Perrin M. Northrop, and Mansel M. Briggs are appointed to act as a board of inspectors of said election. "And that the next annual township-meeting in the township of South Haven be held at the school-house in District No. 4, of the township of South Haven. "Dated at Paw Paw, Jan. 6, 1854. " JOHN ANDREWS, "-Chairman Board of Supervisors." First Township Election.-In accordance with the above notice, a meeting of the electors of the township was held April 3, 1854, and organized, with Charles U. Cross, Perrin M. Northrop, and Mansel M. Briggs as inspectors of the election. As a result of this meeting the following men were chosen township officers for 1854: Supervisor, Mansel M. Briggs; Township Clerk, Charles U. Cross; Treasurer, Perrin M. Northrop; Highway Commissioners, John Smith, David Van Auken; School Inspector, Charles B. Hurlbut; Justices of the Peace, M. M. Briggs, W. H. Hurlbut; Constables, David I. Taylor, Henry Goss, John L. Northrop, Francis Burger. List of Township Officers.-The following list embraces the various township officers from 1855 to 1879, inclusive: SUPERVISORS. 1855, William H. Burlingame; 1856, Charles U. Cross; 1857-58, William H. Hurlbut; 1859, Moses S. Hawley; 1860-61, Daniel Van Auken; 1862, Samuel A. Tripp; 1863, Daniel Van Auken; 1864-65, E. P. Harvey; 1866, Joel Camp; 1867, Ephraim Harvey; 1868-69, C. E. Heath; 1870, Daniel Van Auken; 1871-79, Charles E. Heath. ~: I MEADO - I{AYING. I -, I:: '::,, M.,~R ES. _g$ fr~8~:~;: I~. ~.~, r_'X~r ~j ..:~f'!:iii?:ei~ as 1:-1.2. 3 4, /w RS. WM',A:A R;, RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM S. CHARLES, B A N &O R TR, VA N BU FR EN Co., MI u. 4~ cI 'P0 I TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR. 411 TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1855, A. P. Hunt; 1856, W. H. Hurlbut; 1857-58, E. P. Harvey; 1859, Harrison Balfour; 1860, Alonzo Shepard; 1861, H. M. Overton; 1862, Noble S. Taylor; 1863, E. P. Harvey; 1864-65, Alonzo Shepard; 1866, Dennis Chidester; 1867, A. J. Nyman; 1868, Fred. N. Overton; 1869-70, D. K. Charles; 1871, Alonzo Shepard; 1872-74, Josiah G. Miller; 1875, William B. Edmonds; 1876, Charles Southard; 1877, Charles W. Peters; 1878, Frank Lombard; 1879, Charles W. Peters. TREASURERS. 1855-56, Daniel Van Auken; 1857-58, H. M. Overton; 1859, Perrin M. Northrop; 1860, H. M. Overton; 1861, John Watkins; 1862, Isaac Cate; 1863, John Watkins; 1864, Richard Owens; 1865, Paul S. Reynolds; 1866, Asel A. Hough; 1867-68, W. S. Charles; 1869-71, Samuel P. Harvey; 1872-74, Horace Sebring; 1875, J. E. Sebring; 1876-77, R. C. Nyman; 1878-79, E. S. Harvey. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1855, William A. Burlingame; 1856, Charles U. Cross; 1857, W. H. Hurlbut; 1858, William A. Burlingame; 1859, Adolphus Brown; 1860, William Burlingame; 1861, Harrison Balfour, M. S. Hawley; 1862, Samuel A. Tripp, Henry Goss; 1863, N. S. Marshall, Daniel Van Auken; 1864, Harrison Balfour; 1865, Charles U. Cross; 1866, Moses S. Hawley; 1867, Orson M. Baker; 1868, C. E. Heath; 1869, Orson M. Baker; 1870, F. N. Overton; 1871, D. K. Charles; 1872, Moses S. Hawley; 1873, D. K. Charles; 1874, Charles E. Heath; 1875-76, F. N. Overton; 1877, Daniel Van Auken; 1878, Thomas Cross; 1879, Oscar G. Reynolds. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1856, Daniel T. Fox, Rossiter Hoppin, Daniel Van Auken; 1857, David T. Taylor; 1858, M. M. Briggs; 1859, Joseph H. Nyman; 1860, Daniel Van Auken; 1861, H. M. Overton; 1862, William Webster; 1863, John Watkins; 1864, Butler M. Smith, Iarlow J. Dean, H. S. Worrallo; 1865, William Webster, Daniel Van Auken, B. M. Smith, D. T. Taylor; 1866, M. S. Hawley, Harrison Balfour; 1867, James E. Ferguson, Dallas Wood; 1868, John Miller, Daniel Van Auken, O. M. Baker; 1869, W. S. Charles, N. S. Taylor; 1870, N. S. Taylor, W. N. Gilbert; 1871, Orson M. Baker, Daniel Van Auken; 1872, John Miller, M. M. Briggs; 1873, E. M. Hipp; 1874, 0. Herrington, W. B. Tripp; 1875, Harrison Balfour; 1876, John S. Brown, E. G. Russell; 1877, Daniel Van Auken; 1878, H. M. Overton, D. W. Sias; 1879, John B. Royce. HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS. 1855, W. H Hurlbut; 1856, H. M. Overton; 1857, Henry Goss; 1858, William Webster; 1859, Joseph H. Nyman; 1860, Stephen Russell; 1861, Harlow Dean; 1862, William Cook; 1863, Alanson P. Hunt; 1864, Harrison Balfour; 1865, C. A. Taylor, Lewellyn Disbrow; 1866, James Stewart, John Watkins; 1867, H. M. Overton; 1868, E. P. Harvey, L. H. Perkins; 1869, W. M. Gilbert, Thomas Horton; 1870, Asel A. Hough; 1871, John Goss, Dallas Wood; 1872, W. N. Gilbert; 1873, Oliver Herrington; 1874, Edwin Ruthruff; 1875, W. N. Gilbert; 1876-77, Edwin Ruthruff; 1878, William Cook; 1879, Warren N. Gilbert. DRAIN COMMISSIONERS. 1872, J. G. Miller; 1873, Thomas Cross; 1874, William Kinney; 1875, John P. Goss; 1876, Thomas Cross; 1877, record not found; 1878, J. D. Kingston. SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 1875, Moses S. Hallevy; 1876, Adelbert Mortian; 1877, Frank E. Withey; 1878, John H. Reese; 1879, John L. Cross. CONSTABLES. 1855, John L. Northrop, Henry Goss, Francis Burger, Harvey Overton; 1856, D. T. Taylor, M. S. Laycock, H. M. Overton, Henry Goss; 1857, William S. Camp, O. M. Trude, Henry Goss, J. L. Northrop; 1858, J. D. Kingston, J. L. Northrop, Charles Kelly, J. J. Clark; 1859, James Southard, Andrew Goss, Alvin P. Earl, Michael Yeider; 1860, Erastus Hazard, O. M. Trude, H. D. Smith, J. L. Northrop; 1861, James B. Travis, J. L. Northrop, O. M. Trude, J. G. Miller; 1862, H. S. Warallo, O. M. Trude, J. J. Clark, Fletcher Harris; 1863, J. L. Northrop, Harlow Merriman, 0. G. I - - Reynolds, J. W. Whitney; 1864, Benjamin Reist, F. S. Taylor, Jacob K. Gring, Erastus Hazard; 1865, J. A. Hewitt, L. J. Raven, Thomas Cross, J. W. Cross; 1866, R. A. Earl, Henry Goss, Samuel P. Cross, Alonzo Palmer; 1867, James Gilbert, Thomas Horton, James J. Clark, William H. Willis; 1868, A. S. Palmer, C. G. Russell, J. J. Clark, F. Harris; 1869, J. F. Lee, J. J. Clark, Harlow Merriman, A. P. Hunt; 1870, R. A. Taylor, J. J. Clark, C. G. Russell, William Cook; 1871, J. B. Hopkins, Philander Hunt, J. J. Clark, Harlow Merriman; 1872, George M. Wilson, James E. Stewart, John Goss, Hezekiah Ditts; 1873, William G. Russell, John B. Hopkins, Alanson P. Hunt, J. J. Clark; 1874, G. W. Wilson, H. K. Nichols, Edwin Ruthruff, J. J. Clark; 1875, H. K. Nichols, G. W. Wilson, Walter Ruble, Henry Goss; 1876, Thomas Horton, E. L. Gilbert, A. P. Hunt, Solomon Jennings; 1877, John L. Van Auken, Lewis Wood, George W. Wilson, A. J. McLaughlin; 1878, G. W. Wilson, A. D. Hale, E. F. Ruble, H. K. Nichols; 1879, Charles Ford, James Gilbert, Chapin Reynolds, Harvey J. Cooper. VILLAGE OF BANGOR. The village of Bangor is situated near the northeast corner of the township, a portion of its site extending into Arlington. Good water-power privileges are here afforded by the Black River, and the village is also a station on the line of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad. The lands embraced within the corporate limits were purchased from the general government by the followingnamed parties: The east half of the southwest quarter of section 1, Bangor township, by J. R. Monroe; the southeast quarter of section 1, by Ostrom, Walker & Co.; the east half of the northeast quarter of section 12, by Samuel Payne; the west half of the northeast quarter of section 12, by T. S. Camp; the east half of the northwest quarter of section 12, by T. S. Camp; the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, and the north half of the southeast quarter of section 12, by Tomlinson & Co. In Arlington, the southwest quarter of section 6, by Peter Schermerhorn; the west half of the northwest fractional quarter of section 7, by John Allen; the east half of the northwest quarter of section 7, by J. R. Monroe, and the north half of the southwest quarter of the same section, by Horace Butler. First and Other Early Settlements.-To Charles U. Cross, the first settler in the township, may be accorded the honor of being the first settler upon the village-site of Bangor. Mr. Cross came to the State of Michigan from Madison Co., N. Y., in 1834. Having come into the possession of lands entered by him in 1834, in the name of his uncle, Samuel Payne, he, about the 1st of March, 1837, began the construction of a log house upon the same, and in this dwelling his family (consisting of only his newly-married wife) was installed upon its completion, on the 8th of the same month. His attention was not wholly devoted to farming pursuits, however, for he depended much upon his profession as a civil engineer and surveyor. The country was meagerly supplied with roads and bridges, and an almost constant demand was made upon his skill for years to aid in their construction. During the following spring (April 14, 1838) a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Cross, who enjoyed the distinction of being the first white child born in the township. The second settler in the village was Orlando S. Brown, who removed to the State from Monroe Co., N. Y., in 412 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 1837, and to Bangor in 1839. Mr. Brown had already entered 80 acres on section 14, in the township, on which he had made a slight improvement, when an opportunity was afforded him to effect an exchange for 80 acres on section 12, entered by Wm. L. Booth. One half of this land is now embraced within the village limits. On this ground but a single tree had been felled, probably by the Indians in search for honey. Its owner at once began a vigorous system of improvements. After the erection of a log house of sufficient dimensions to contain his family he cleared six acres and planted it with corn. The timber which at this time covered the present village limits was of the most gigantic proportions, some of the trees of black walnut and whitewood reaching six feet in diameter. For these splendid monarchs of the forest no market could be found, as the want of roads made their transportation in the form of lumber impossible. Later, the opening of highways created a demand, and ultimately made the timber of the settler one of his most profitable sources of revenue. Many Indians were to be found following the streams for fish or pursuing the hunt, those in the immediate vicinity being under the direction and control of a chief of the Pottawattamies named Pi-pa-wa. They were on amicable terms with the settlers, often exchanging supplies of game for bread, and were frequent visitors to the cabin of Mr. Brown. When overtaken by the approaching night, they found a cordial welcome and as comfortable a lodging-place as they desired upon the floor, where, wrapped in their blankets beside a blazing fire of logs, they slumbered, oblivious of care. The early pioneers were for a time profitably employed by the highway commissioners in making roads, for which they were paid in orders. These orders, which were the nearest approach to currency obtainable, were exchanged in Paw Paw for supplies at a discount of twenty-five per cent. Mr. Brown while engaged in this lucrative pursuit was accustomed, when at a distance from his home, to build a hut of brush for shelter at night. A cluster of boughs answered as a bed, and a fire. of logs modified in some degree the severity of the frost. Frequently the morning would find him almost enveloped in snow, and on many occasions the dinner was so frozen that his axe was called into requisition to cut it in pieces. A schooner laden with apples and shipwrecked on Lake Michigan afforded an opportunity for raising an orchard. The seeds of the apples washed ashore were planted in 1841, and produced the earliest fruit raised in the township. Mr. Brown still resides within the village limits, on the land of which he became an early possessor. Calvin Cross, a brother of the earliest pioneer in Bangor, came in May of 1844, and pursued his calling of a millwright. Discerning the advantages to be derived from the fine water-power, in connection with Charles U. Cross he erected in 1846 a saw-mill on the Black River, being assisted in its construction by William Rea, Orlando S. Brown, David Taylor, Christian B. Gross, and William H. Hurlbut. An examination of the records establishes the fact that this property was conveyed by Charles U. Cross and wife to Calvin Cross, May 3, 1850. Mr. Cross maniged it for a period of six years, and then sold to Marcello P. Watson, who conveyed in 1856 to Joseph H. Nyman, who subsequently erected upon the same site a sash- and blind-factory. Mr. Cross then removed to Paw Paw and erected a mill, and later another mill in Hartford, on the Paw Paw River, which was sold two years later. After following agricultural pursuits during the interval, he removed again to Bangor in 1873, where he now resides. William Rea purchased in 1846 a fractional quarter lying in the township of Arlington, a portion of which is now embraced in the village. He improved this land, erected upon it a small dwelling, and removed his family there the following year. William 3. Camp settled upon 160 acres of land on sec tion 12 in 1846, and became a resident of the hamlet. He took immediate measures to clear and cultivate his land, and resided upon it until his death, in 1870. The land was entered by his father, Thomas S. Camp. Rossiter Hoppin and Christian B. Gross soon after located within the village limits. Marcello P. Watson was the earliest settler who embarked in commercial pursuits. In 1852, in connection with Albert Comstock, he purchased a stock of goods and opened a general store. The demand for their wares was not large, and the ambitious merchants found it expedient to reduce their stock, and finally to close it out, Mr. Watson soon after becoming the owner of the saw-mill. A very marked impetus was given to the growth of Bangor and its business interests by the settlement of Joseph H. Nyman, who came from Niles, Mich., in 1856, and purchased the saw-mill and water-privilege. He replaced the old mill by a new and larger one, and the year following his arrival built a grist-mill. In 1865 he erected an extensive woolen-mill, having meanwhile much improved the water-power. Through his influence a post-office was established, of which he was postmaster,-the mail having been carried at first from Arlington. Later, a tri-weekly stage conveyed it from Paw Paw and South Haven to Bangor. The store erected by Watson was in 1862 purchased by J. D. Kingston, and in response to the urgent demand of travelers in search of shelter and good cheer, he converted it into a hotel and became the first landlord of the place. L. S. Russell became his successor, who added considerably to its dimensions and sold to L. H. Perkins, who in turn sold to its present proprietors, when it was christened the Sebring House. In 1864, A. B. Taft came from New York State and opened what was at the time the only general merchandise store in the place, in a building standing just north of the present site of the depot. The room was not only very limited in proportions but exceedingly dilapidated in condition, and the citizens did Mr. Taft the justice not to judge the quality of his stock by the uninviting aspect of the store. The same building did good service in the celebration of the opening of the railroad, in 1870. Mr. Taft was followed by the Ferguson brothers, who embarked in business on the north side in the spring of 1866, and the same summer Silas De Long opened a stock of goods, which the following year was sold to D. K. Charles. The village was already assuming importance as a busi I HESIDENCE OF A NI'UN GUSS, BANIGOR IP., VAN HUREN C(O., IPfICHI/IAN I 0' TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR. 413 ness centre, and attracting enterprising settlers from adjacent parts of the State, when the question of building a railroad within its boundaries was agitated. The agent of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, now called the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, visited the county and secured from the inhabitants of the township a pledge of $30,000 to aid in its construction. This was by a subsequent decree of the State Supreme Court reduced to one-half that amount,* and $15,000 was raised by the citizens and paid towards the completion of the project. This railroad opened a means of transportation for the products of the adjoining country, and made Bangor a central point of shipment, very materially advancing the value of property and insuring for the little village a future career of prosperity. The most powerful lever to the advancement of Bangor since the opening of the railroad has been the Bangor Blast Furnace. The company was organized in 1872, with a capital of $100,000, and was influenced by the ample supply of hard timber and the inducements offered by leading residents of the township to locate in the village. Its extensive demand for material and its immense shipping interests have greatly advanced the business activity of the place. The Bangor Chemical Works were next established, and they add materially to the industries of the village. These interests, supplemented by the prosperity of its business men and the ambition of its citizens, will eventually place Bangor among the most advanced villages of the State. Village Plats.-The first plat of the village was made by Joseph H. Nyman, and recorded Nov. 12, 1860. It embraced 55 acres on the north side of the river, and was known as the village of Bangor. The year following Mr. Nyman built on one of the lots of this plat his present residence, which was the first dwelling erected on the north side of the river. The second plat was made by Charles U. Cross, July 11, 1867, and included about 63 acres, embracing the east half of the northeast quarter of section 12. North of this plat Mr. Cross owned 17 acres, which he disposed of in parcels, giving five acres to the Blast Furnace Company as a site for their works. In 1872, Alexander H. Morrison platted the west half of the east half of the northeast quarter of section 12. In 1874 he also platted 80 acres in addition, embracing the east half of the northwest quarter of section 12, and later sold it. The latter plat is now cultivated as a farm. Incorporation, Village Officers.-The act to incorporate the village of Bangor bears date March 21, 1877, and reads as follows: " AN ACT to incorporate the village of Bnangor. "SECTION ONE.-The people of the State of Michigan enact that all the tracts of land situated in the townships of Bangor and Arlington, in the county of Van Buren, and State of Michigan, which are known and described as follows, to wit: the southeast quarter and the east half of the southwest quarter of section one (1), the northeast,- - `,~ ----~~~ * The township voted a tax of $30,000, which was declared unconstitutional and void; the $15,000 was raised and paid by private subscription. quarter and east half of the northwest quarter, the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, and the north half of the southeast quarter of section twelve (12), township two south, of range sixteen west, the southwest fractional quarter of section six (6), the northwest fractional quarter and the north half of the southwest fractional quarter of section seven (7), township two south, of range fifteen west, be and the same are hereby made and constituted a village corporate by the name of the village of Bangor, by virtue of and under the provisions of Act Number Sixty-Two of the Session laws of Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-Five, entitled ' An act granting and defining the Powers and duties of incorporated villages, approved April 1, 1875, and such amendments as made thereto.' " SECTION Two.-The first election for officers of said village shall be held on the third Monday of April, Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-Seven (1877), at the office of Sebring's warehouse, in said village, notice of which shall be posted in three public places of said village by the board of registration hereinafter appointed, at least ten days previous thereto." The first election was held at the office of Sebring's warehouse, April 16, 1877. The officers of the village elected at that time and at subsequent elections have been as follows: 1877.-President, Ephraim Harvey; Trustees (two years), R. C. Nyman, John Desmond, Judson B. Hall, (one year) William H. Reynolds, James Salisbury, Mark Remington; Clerk, William H. Reynolds; Treasurer, John E. Sebring; Assessor, James E. Ferguson; Street Commissioner, Edwin Ruthruff; Constable, Thaddeus McNitt. 1878.-President, James E. Ferguson; Trustees (two years), Mark Remington, James Slinger, Josiah G. Miller; Clerk, William H. Davis; Treasurer, Nathan W. Deak; Assessor, Enoch S. Harvey; Street Commissioner, James Livermore; Constable, William Ford. 1879.-President, N. W. Drake; Trustees (two years), J. G. Todd, W. H. Davis, A. J. McLaughlin; Clerk, William H. Reynolds; Treasurer, II. D. Harvey; Assessor, E. S. Harvey; Street Commissioner, Edwin Ruthruff; Constable, W. G. Russell. HOTELS. Sebring House.-This hotel building had its origin as early as 1852, when the portion now in use as a kitchen was erected by M. P. Watson as a dwelling. Ten years later I. D. Kingston purchased the building, and opened the earliest house of entertainment in the village. Later it became the property of various parties, until its purchase by Horace Sebring in 1869. It had previously been greatly increased in capacity, and Mr. Sebring added other apartments after his purchase of the building. He established its reputation as a well-kept house, and drew by his uniform courtesy and attention a large patronage. In 1878 the building was still further enlarged. The proprietor died the same year, since which time it has been managed by his son, John E. Sebring. Russell House.-This hotel is among Bangor's recent acquisitions, having been built in 1879 by C. G. Russell, who is also proprietor. It is conveniently located, and is obtaining a good patronage from travelers. MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. The Bangor Blast Furnace.-This is an establishment for the smelting of iron ore and the manufacture of pig iron. 414 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I It is under the direction of a stock company, the officers of which are A. B. Hough, President, Cleveland, Ohio; J. D. Bradley, Vice-President, Chicago, Ill.; C. D. Rhodes, Treasurer, Chicago, Ill.; H. S. Pickands, Secretary and General Superintendent. The furnace was built in 1872, and began operation in November of the same year, the company having been led to choose Bangor as a location from the abundant supply of wood which the adjacent country affords, as well as for its convenience as a shippingpoint. The furnace has run steadily until the present time, with the exception of four weeks of each year, when it goes out of blast to permit repairs, which usually require that length of time for completion. The furnace, including the works, kilns, and wood-yards, occupies 10 acres of ground, and gives employment in all its branches to more than 400 men. The best single day's product of the furnace is 45 gross tons of pig iron, and the average day's results 36 tons. The month of March, 1879, indicated a yield of 1181 tons. There is daily consumed nearly 125 cords of wood, and the timber from a square mile of forest is consumed annually. The immense resources of the country in this particular are fully equal to the demand, which is supplied either by wagon or rail. These figures afford an idea of the magnitude of the business and the extensive employment given to the population of Bangor and vicinity. The enterprise is under the general direction of Maj. H. S. Pickands, and the furnace department is under the immediate supervision of Maurice Ring. The Bangor Chemical Works.-These works, which are probably the largest of the kind in the world, are located in Bangor, adjacent to the blast furnace. They were built by Ira B. Lyon, of Flint, Mich., from plans and specifications furnished by H. M. Pierce, of Buffalo, N. Y., the products of the works being acetate of lime, from which acetic acid is produced, and wood alcohol. Of acetate of lime, 35,000 pounds, or 2 car-loads, is produced per week, while the yield of alcohol is 50 barrels per month. The pyroligneous acid, from which these products are reduced, is obtained by condensing the gases thrown off in the carbonization of wood in charcoal-kilns belonging to the Bangor blast furnace. In these kilns about 70 cords of wood are daily reduced to charcoal. Each cord will yield about 180 gallons of acid liquor, the entire 70 tons yielding about 60 tons of liquor, which must be daily handled in these chemical-works. To give some idea.of the magnitude of the work, a few figures are appended. There are six buildings of the foling dimensions: engine-house, 22 by 30 feet; office, 14 by 22 feet; still-house, 16 by 30 feet; neutralizing-house, 24 by 56 feet; alcohol department, 30 by 50 feet; acetate department, 56 by 100 feet. The daily yield of liquid from the kilns is about 13,000 gallons. The tanks and stills hold in the aggregate about 50,000 gallons. There are 9 evaporating-pans with a capacity of 1356 cubic feet, and 2 drying surfaces of 1600 feet. Mr. Pierce has recently greatly enhanced his reputation as a scientist by the discovery of a process of utilizing smoke for purposes of fuel. The Bangor Mills.-The saw-mill, as has been previously if10.. ".\ af; * I I stated, was built by Charles U. and Calvin Cross in 1846, the latter gentleman having disposed of it to M. P. Watson, from whom it was purchased by Joseph H. Nyman in 1856. The next year he demolished the old mill and erected a new one in its place, with a capacity of 12,000 feet per day. In connection with it is a planing-mill and a sash-, door-, and blind-factory. Mouldings and scroll work are manufactured to order, and lumber and lath are embraced in the stock for sale. The mills are managed by R. C. Nyman, a son of the proprietor. The flouring-mill was built by Mr. Nyman in 1857, and was in active operation in 1870, when it was destroyed by fire. The present structure at once replaced it, which has four run of stones and a capacity for 125 barrels of flour per day. It is a substantial three-story building, and fitted with all the machinery for making flour by the latest and most approved methods. The products of the mill formerly found a distant-market, but more recently have been devoted to supplying the home demand. The Woolen-Mills.-The woolen-mills were built by Mr. Nyman in 1860, and manufactured flannels, cloths, and yarn. They are substantially built, conveniently located, and have a capacity for a considerable business. They have not lately, however, been run to their fullest capacity. The mills are operated by John Crow, a son-in-law of the proprietor. All these mills are run by water-power supplied by the Black River, and rank among the most advantageous in the State for location and capacity. Wagon-ManLufactory.-The wagon- and sleigh-manufactory of Stephen McMillan is one of the most important enterprises in the village of Bangor. He has twice been compelled to rebuild, owing to the demands upon his skill. In 1875 he erected the spacious brick building at present occupied, in which are manufactured wagons, carriages, sleighs, and a general custom work is also done. Seven men are constantly employed, and the shop has a capacity equal to the production of 100 wagons per year, exclusive of the manufacture and repair of sleighs. Four furnaces are constructed in the shop, each provided with Root's patent blower, which greatly facilitates the labor. Connected with the establishment is an extensive blacksmithing department. MONROE'S BANK. This bank was first established by E. M. Hipp, of St. Joseph, Mich., in 1872, as a bank of deposit and exchange. It was managed by its founder until 1874, when it was purchased by Messrs. J. E. Sebring & Co., and by them owned and conducted for three years, during which time the bank did a prosperous business. In 1877 it again changed proprietors, N. S. Taylor becoming the purchaser, who employed J. E. Sebring as cashier and general manager. The bank building later became the property of Messrs. Charles & Chapman, who rent it with the fixtures to the present banking company. It is now known as Monroe's Bank, and is still a bank,of deposit, exchange, and collection, and under the same management as the First National Bank of South Haven. The officers are C. J. Monroe, President, South Haven, Mich.; S. R. Boardman, Vice-President, Chicago, Ill.; A. B. Chase, Cashier, Bangor, Mich. / I i Itit k Ii,t<(` i' I I I ~ HOUSE. nI =i PROPERTY OFJ. G.MILLER, IN AND ABOUT 8ANVGORT Milcp-., :::: t <:*X:: TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR. 415 SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Coffinbury Lodge, No. 204, F. and A.. —This lodge, which is one of the most flourishing in the county, obtained its charter Jan. 10, 1867, and began work with the following officers: Emory O. Briggs, W. M.; Dennis Chidester, S. W.; Charles U. Cross, J. W. It has since that time enjoyed a steady growth and a great degree of prosperity. Its meetings are held in a well-appointed hall in the Nyman block, which was designed, when the building was erected, for the use of the lodge, and has by them been neatly furnished. The present officers are A. J. Nyman, W. M.; John B. Hopkins, S. W.; Thaddeus T. McNitt, J. W.; George H. Remington, Sec.; Edwin Ruthruff, Treas. Tillotson Lodge, No. 165, 1. O. O. F.-This lodge was instituted June 26, 1871, and worked under a dispensation until Jan. 8, 1872, when a charter was granted by the Grand Lodge of the State. The charter members were James H. Besore. Joseph M. Coffelt, William H. Reynolds, James Slinger, Samuel Hoppin, W. H. Davis, Joseph H. Nyman. The charter officers were J. H. Besore, N. G; J. M. Coffelt, V. G.; William H. Reynolds, R. S.; James Slinger, P. S.; James E. Ferguson, Treas. The lodge meets Monday night of each week in a neatly-appointed lodge-room in the Reynolds block. The present officers are James Slinger, N. G.; A. B. Taft, V. G.; L. S. Russell, R. S.; William H. Reynolds, P. S.; M. Hammond, Treas. The lodge embraces 60 active members. Bangor Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star.-This chapter was organized April 12, 1876, under a dispensation, its first officers having been the following: Mrs. Alice M. Cross, W. P.; John M. Burch, Vice P.; Mrs. A. M. Taft, Treas.; Mrs. J. A. Harvey, Sec.; Mrs. P. J. Cross, 1st Patron; Mrs. E. J. Ruthruff, 2d Patron; Mrs. M. Remington, 3d Patron; Mrs. S. M. Nyman, 4th Patron; Mrs. E. A. Hopkins, 5th Patron; Mrs. J. M. Burch, Conductor; Mrs. A. Chidester, Guard; A. B. Taft, Sentinel; J. S. Brown, Chaplain. The present officers are Mrs. S. M. Nyman, W. M.; A. J. Nyman, W. P.; Mrs. A. C. Cross, A. M.; Mrs. J. M. Burch, Sec.; Mrs. J. S. Cross, Treas.; Mrs. Phoebe Cross, Conductress; Mrs. G. H. Remington, Associate Conductress; Mrs. N. W. Drake, Chaplain; Mrs. M. McGrath, Adah; Mrs. Edwin Ruthruff, Ruth; Mrs. J. B. Hopkins, Esther; Mrs. George F. Foster, Martha; Mrs. J. Jefferson, Electa; Mrs. C. H. Dowland, Warder; C. H. Dowland, Sentinel. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. Methodist Episcopal Church.-In the fall of 1865, Rev. William Paddock held a series of meetings in what was known as the old red school-house, located southwest of the village. As the result of these meetings a class was organized embracing 45 members and probationers, who soon after took the preliminary steps towards the building of a church. Very strong inducements having been offered to build on the north side of the river, then the business centre of the little village, ground was broken and the edi fice begun, under the direction of the building committee, consisting of Messrs. J. H. Nyman, N. S. Taylor, and John Miller. Rev. E. L. Kellogg, the next preacher in charge, I continued the work of building, and at the Annual Conference of 1868 succeeded in effecting a division of the South Haven circuit, by which Bangor and Geneva were embraced in the Bangor circuit. Rev. Irvin Skinner, a young preacher, next presided over the Bangor charge, receiving a salary of $575. The Stewards at this time were P. Hoag, J. Crakes, N. S. Taylor, A. B. Taft, H. Willis, T. Emerson, and E. L. Tucker; District Steward, A. B. Taft; Trustees, N. S. Taylor, A. B. Taft, E. L. Tucker, William Reynolds, J. H. Nyman, and D. K. Charles. In 1869, Rev. D. C. Woodard was appointed preacher in charge, with a salary of $800, his field of labor being at Bangor and the Wood school-house. Under his ministry the church was completed and dedicated, but was unfortunately not free from debt. Rev. William McKnight was placed in charge in 1870, at a salary of $700. Illness compelled him to retire from labor before his term had expired, and Rev. Bacon filled the vacancy. In December, 1870, the society not being able to liquidate the indebtedness on the church building, it was sold under mortgage. The ladies of the congregation, however, with their accustomed zeal, soon raised a sufficient sum with which to purchase a lot for the erection of a new building. In 1871, Breedsville was annexed to the circuit, and Rev. G. W. Patterson became the pastor, with a salary of $600, and later $700. In 1872 the board of trustees was reorganized, and the church then became known as the Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church of Bangor. N. S.Taylor, A. B. Taft, D. K. Charles, and C. F. Ford were appointed a building committee, to superintend the erection of the new edifice. It was completed in 1873, at a cost of $12,000, N. S. Taylor being the efficient chairman of the building committee. Rev. J. R. Odin was the pastor in 1873, with a salary of $600, and was succeeded in 1874 by Rev. T. Clark, who received a salary of $676. Rev. William Harper became preacher in charge in 1875, at a salary of $895, with assistants at the various fields of labor under his charge. Rev. C. W. Pearson came in 1876, receiving $600 as salary, but in consequence of failing health left the charge in care of Rev. William Jakeway in 1877. In 1877-78, Rev. E. H. Sparling filled the pulpit, at a salary of $700 and $600, respectively, Bangor having been set apart as a separate circuit. Rev. J. T. Iddings became pastor in 1879, with a salary of $700. The present officers are: Stewards, N. Drake, A. J. Lewis, A. B. Taft, S. McMellen, E. A. Withey, and J. L. Cross; Recording Steward, A. B. Taft; District Steward, J. L. Cross; Class-Leader, O. S. Brown; Trustees, D. K. Charles, C. C. Phillips, N. Drake, O. S. Brown, and A. J. Lewis. There is connected with the church a flourishing Sundayschool of 100 scholars, the superintendent being C. C. Phillips and the librarian F. W. Bidwell. Church of Christ.-Through the influence of several members of this church, who were residents of the village of Bangor and deemed it essential to carry out the principles which they had imbibed elsewhere, Elder William M. Roe, then pastor of the Church of Christ at Paw Paw, held a series of union services, with the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church of this place, in February, 1876. The 416 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I interest awakened in those services induced them to call to their aid Elder J. H. Reese, pastor of the church at Millburg, Berrien Co., who responded to their call on the 18th of March following, and organized them, according to New Testament usage, on the 22d of the same month, in Nyman's church building, on the north side of the village, with 13 members. J. L. Cutting and C. L. Brown were appointed overseers, and H. H. Williamson and J. A. Sherrod deacons. The record now shows 127 names, but death and emigration have lessened that number to 88. J. H. Reese and Ira B. Winch were added to the overseers on accepting the resignation of J. L. Cutting. A. Milliken, A. Whiteman, and J. B. Roys were added to the list of deacons on dismissing H. H. Williamson. Owing to an increase in membership and a desire to hold services every Lord's day, it became absolutely necessary to change the place of meeting, which was accomplished in October, 1878, by removing to Ransom's Hall, on the south side. The Sunday-school, under the wise management of Mr. C. L. Brown as superintendent, has been quite successful from the beginning. Its financial condition is good, and its average attendance is about 60 scholars at present. Elder J. H. Reese has had the pastoral care since the organization of the church. The society is free from debt, and under an act of incorporation has secured a lot and pledges to the amount of $700 for the erection of a place of worship. Church of God.-This society was organized in the year 1867, by Elders R. H. Bolton and William Reading. Since that time the following ministers have had charge of the church: J. H. Besore, J. C. Drake, A. J. Hull, B. D. Bright, J. Selkirk, R. Robbinson, J. E. Moffit, J. B. White, and W. Seifried, and 65 members have been received into church fellowship. The congregation worships in an edifice on the north side of the river. A fine church edifice has recently been erected on section 8 by the United Brethren Society, but the writer has been unable to obtain a history of the organization. PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The first school district was organized July 25, 1838, and comprised the northeast quarter of the township, embracing nine square miles, and numbering but three families and four children. The first school building erected within the limits of the present village was built by Calvin Cross in 1845, and located southwest of the centre of the village. It was for years known as the " red school-house," and the school was presided over by Miss Mehitable Northrop, who may be regarded as the pioneer teacher of the village. Other teachers followed, most of whom enjoyed the hospitalities of the district patrons and " boarded 'round." It being deemed advisable to change the site of the school building and afford more spacious quarters, on account of the increasing list of scholars, the building at present occupied was erected. There was, however, no change in the method of conducting the school until the coming of A. C. Martin as principal, in 1872. With his presence was manifested an increasing interest in education on the part of the citizens, which resulted, the second year of his engagement, in the organization of a graded school. The building, which had not been wholly occupied, was finished, and with two competent assistants Mr. Martin inaugurated a course of study similar to that of other graded schools in the State. In 1879 the increase of pupils was so manifest as to require additional assistance, and the principal was allowed in all four assistants. The school, with its large number of pupils and its able corps of teachers, felt greatly the need of a spacious and comfortable building. The immediate demand for more space was met by removing the staircase and hall of the present building, all available space being thus utilized; a recitation-room of limited dimensions was provided for the high school. It is thought that a new school building will ultimately replace the one in present use. The instruction in all the departments of the Bangor Graded School has been so thorough that its pupils find themselves fully prepared for admission to the most advanced institutions of learning in the State. The corps of teachers at present engaged are A. C. Martin, Principal; Mrs. A. C. Martin, Assistant; F. W. Bidwell, Grammar School; Miss Emma Cross, Intermediate Department; Miss Hattie Alvord, Primary Department. The members of the school board are C. C. Phillips, Director; George Remington, Moderator; W. B. Tripp, Treasurer; W. W. Davis, J. E. Ferguson, William Kinney, Trustees. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. WILLIAM W. KINNEY. This gentleman's parents were married in 1821. His father, Buell Kinney, was a native of Connecticut, and his mother of New York. Buell Kinney, a clothier by occupation, worked at his trade in New York until 1837, when he removed with his family to Monroe Co., Mich., where he had purchased a farm. William W. Kinney was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., Aug. 1, 1823, and remained with his parents until 1848. On the 22d of February in that year he was married to Miss Amanda Clark, who was one of a family of five daughters. Her father was born in Connecticut and her mother in Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney became the parents of nine children, of whom seven are living. After marriage they settled on a farm in La Salle, Monroe Co., Mich., where they remained until 1855. In that year Mr. Kinney purchased the farm he now occupies (sixty acres) in Bangor township, Van Buren Co. At that time it was unimproved, but the result of Mr. Kinney's labors upon it for twenty-five years will become apparent when the reader glances at the accompanying view. Mr. Kinney's mother died in Monroe County in 1853, and his father in Eaton County, where he was living with a daughter, in 1868. Mrs. Kinney's father died in Monroe County in 1850, and her mother in Bangor in 1872. Mr. Kinney is in politics a Republican, and in religion liberal. Although his own advantages in an educational line were not the best, he takes great interest in all affairs relating to schools, and has ever been among rmr*.ir -..li ; f 5_ICJ;n.i ~~~:j- LOG CABIM. bb` G " +~I cc ;cI,E rrrrll2 4 ci*i tPt SF' cX' C r ~JI- i-i ~: ~il r r P 5. i 4C sz~::1.i, "riiBYtf:r:,r"":- ~ — t 'Il-M;~I,-;c.-t R BIlaggi~381i'bcftrs~xri;r;C:1;7 i.cl,a i. s::~ t.-~;i i* t iri~;iusirer;aRrc —:~! r:i w, i- r_~;i?;c. I~ -, ~~ ii;,.. 1_1'3";i.ug ii ~,n;ii; I _:~^;~ i '":J 83:: i~: iiB FT ~: :~- d: P:Y: ji: itr;i'j:-r.~~- i i.~: ic J r: HESIOENCE OF WM. W. KINNEY, BANGOR, VAN BUREN CO., MICH. 4.....I 0 TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR. 417 the foremost to improve the tone and character of the various institutions of learning in his locality. He has held a school office for seventeen years, and is a staunch supporter of the cause of education. JOHN M. VANAUKEN. This gentleman, the son of Aaron Vanauken, and one of a family of nine children, was born in Knox, Albany Co., N. Y., March 3, 1816. His parents were both natives of New York, although his mother was of German descent. When seventeen years of age, John Vanauken began to do battle with the world on his own account. In the spring comparatively poor circumstances to an enviable position as regards true worth and prosperity, and his own labors have accomplished this end. THOMAS CROSS. John Cross was born in Columbiana Co., Ohio, in 1810, married Miss Martha Sterling, and in 1840 removed to Hancock Co., Ohio, where he remained twenty-three years. In 1863 came to Bangor, where he purchased a farm, upon which he still resides. In Colunbiana County three children, viz., James, Mary, and Margaret Jane, were born to them, and in Hancock County six more, named as follows: Thomas, Wilson, Cornelius, Jacob Sampson, Clarissa, and Nancy. Jacob Sampson and Clarissa died in Hancock County, and Wilson and Nancy in Bangor. Also Mrs. Cross died in Bangor, Jan. 27, 1877. Thomas Cross was born in 1841, and when sixteen years of age, his father having only fifty acres of land and a large family, he started in the world for himself; worked for Thomas Morgan three seasons, going home to attend school during three winters; the fourth year worked for a Mr. Sampson; then moved to Bangor, where he arrived Oct. 16, 1861. Necessity compelled him to commence work at once, and in eighteen days he had earned as many dollars; then contracted with Daniel Taylor for one year's labor, receiving therefor one hundred and sixty dollars; second year received one hundred and eighty, and the third two hundred and twenty dollars. With this money, in 1863, he purchased his first farm of eighty acres, a view of his residence on which appears in this work. In November, 1864, he married Mary J. Bennett, a native of Cleveland, Whitley Co., Ind., who was born in 1844. Her father, Hiram Bennett, was born in Brooklyn, Madison Co., N. Y., in 1806; removed to Pennsylvania in 1824, to Indiana in 1834, and to Geneva in 1855, and since the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Cross has resided with them. They removed to their farm in 1865. Their first child, Amanda J., was born in July of that year, died in July, 1876; Linford T., in September, 1867, died in July, 1870; Carrie L., in May, 1869; Gertrude M., in October, 1871; Irving J., in May, 1873; and Emma E., in September, 1875. In 1871, previous to the construction of the railroad,-anticipating it and realizing its tendency to advance the interests of his section,-he purchased three hundred and twenty acres, incurring a debt of five thousand dollars, necessitating the mortgaging of his original farm for full value. In 1872 the road was built, making a market for lumber. Then came the Chicago fire, to which point he made profitable shipments, and by disposing of one hundred acres to the Bangor Furnace Company he was enabled to remove all incumbrances. The reader will perceive from the foregoing that Mr. Cross has carved out his own fortune, with the assistance only of Mrs. Cross, who has contributed her share towards his success. His farm is highly cultivated, with fifty acres of timber, good improvements, and he claims the best barn in Van Buren County. His children are educated at home, employing a teacher in the house. A Republican since the organization of the party. Independent in circumstances, he enjoys all the comforts it affords. Photo. by Northrup, Bangor. JOHN M. VANAUKEN. of 1846 he purchased the land which he now occupies, including one hundred and fifty-five acres on section 33, Bangor township, Van Buren Co., Mich. It was entirely unimproved, but in the lapse of years a wonderful change has been wrought, and "Where once frowned a forest a garden is smiling." At the age of twenty-five, Mr. Vanauken was married to Miss Phebe A. Dawley in the town of Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y., of which State her parents were natives. Nine children blessed this union, of whom but three are living,-a son and two daughters. Mrs. Vanauken died in November, 1857, and in 1860 Mr. Vanauken was married to Mrs. D. J. Northrop, a member of the Kingston family, of Jefferson Co., N. Y. She had come very early to Michigan. Her death occurred April 22, 1869, and Mr. Vanauken's household is now presided over by his youngest daughter, Mrs. Stowe. Mr. Vanauken has about seventy acres under cultivation, and is in every respect a thorough and enterprising farmer. He has dealt to some extent in fine stock, and takes much pride in having the best varieties. He at one time sold a pair of steers, two years old, whose combined weight was three thousand and twelve pounds. In politics he is a Republican, and in religion liberal. One of his sons served three years in the war of the Rebellion. Believing that "whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well," Mr. Vanauken has risen from 53 418 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 7 Photos, by Northrup, Bangor. MRS. JOHN SOUTHA. D. MRS. JOHN SOUTHARD. JOHN SOUTHARD. JOHN SOUTHARD was born in Albany Co., N. Y., Feb. 4, 1795, and was the fifth in a family of eleven children. His parents were both natives of the State of New York. His grandfather, Thomas Southard, was born in Rhode Island, and served seven years in the American army during the war of the Revolution. John Southard was married, Feb. 16, 1823, in the town of Windham, Greene Co., N. Y., to Miss Harriet A. Haight. Her parents were natives of that State, and raised a family of eight children. In 1837, Mr. Southard emigrated with DAVID K. CHARLES. The ancestors of Mr. Charles, as far as they can be traced, were originally from Scotland. His parents, however, were natives of Ireland; and in County Londonderry, of the " Emerald Isle," Mr. Charles himself was born, March 25, 1829, being the second in a family of twelve children. When he was twelve years old he came to America, in company with his uncle, Andrew Charles, who had lived in America several years, but was back visiting his old home; they arrived in New York in April, 1841. His father and the rest of the family emigrated ten years later. Andrew Charles was a harness-maker by trade, and had carried on the business in Angelica, Allegany Co., N. Y., for several years. David K. lived with him two years, learning the trade. At the expiration of two years, he worked in the same town one year at the tanner's trade. He then learned the art of St. Crispin,-shoemaking,-and worked at the latter until 1849, when he established a business of his own at Angelica. On the 8th of April, 1851, he was married, at that place, to Miss Caroline Barnum, daughter of David and Elizabeth Barnum, who was a native of Angelica, and whose parents were both born in New York. She is one of a family of seven children. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles have been born four children, as follows: Amelia C., born Feb. 13, 1852, died March 30, 1853; Emma C., born July 20, 1854; Clifton B., born June 21, 1857; Hattie E., boru Dec. 22, 1858. his family to Michigan, and located in Washtenaw County, removing a year later to Bangor township, Van Buren Co., and settling on the farm which Mrs. Southard and her son now occupy on section 25. Mr. and Mrs. Southard raised a family of seven children, five of whom are now living. Mr. Southard received his education in the district schools of his day. His death occurred Oct. 30, 1864, after a wedded life of forty-one years, and when his existence had nearly reached the lengthened period of threescore years and ten. In July, 1858, Mr. Charles' property at Wellsville, N. Y., was destroyed by fire, after which he commenced business in Olean, where a like disaster occurred in 1866. This somewhat disheartened him, but he was not of the nature to be totally despondent, and removed with his family to Illinois. In 1867 he came to Michigan and located at the village of Bangor, where he opened an establishment for the sale of general merchandise, and continued in business five years. In 1872 he moved upon the farm he now occupies, on which is one of the finest residences in the township, a sketch of which is inserted in this volume. The farm contains four hundred acres, and is well adapted to both grain and stock-raising. Mr. Charles makes a specialty of hay, cutting about Qne hundred tons annually. His early schooling was in the district educational institutions where he lived, his attendance being principally during winters. At the age of twenty he entered Richburgh Academy, New York, and remained one term. In politics Mr. Charles is a Republican, but is in no sense of the term an office-seeker. Both he and his wife are members of the Episcopal Church, but as there is no society of that denomination in Bangor they have worked with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their children, except the one who died in infancy, have all grown to maturity. The oldest daughter is married; Clifton, who has recently completed a four years' course at the Agricultural College, is working his father's farm. Mr. Charles, since his arrival %: I -e Ad.'!-.T",-s-IT: 2;, ~r~ ------:,.:a~z~ "S,:lfi,"" i. 2. ~:..f:O -r"~: ~;, i'R~l '"';:i'~`~"t ~'t;"; I iBh,;?' i Ih"';i t 6." '"cUhL- II- Zi ~ I~ i,.i~r~;t: 7. 7" '"..""'li-~-ailr:r~ I —~-:i iSr —u i. -;~;:::::'7:j'Y::'4.r::;:i,.:-: ~i~i ~ v+ RES. OF D. K. CHARLES, BANGORTP, VAN BURENCO., MICH. ; 0 ft f 00 00S000D?; ffX00:I ~! TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR. 419 in the township, has erected seven dwellings and five barns, and aside from his farm owns a hotel and other property in Bangor village. His start in life was humble, but his ventures have been eminently successful, and great credit is due him for his achievements. WILLIAM S. CHARLES. This gentleman was born in County Derry, Ireland, June 28, 1839, and was the seventh in a family of twelve children. In the spring of 1851 he accompanied his parents to America, settling in Angelica, N. Y. When sixteen years of age he left home and came to Michigan, arriving at Detroit with but twenty-five cents in money remaining. His subsequent experience was for a time varied and somewhat exciting. He was for two weeks in the employ of Dr. Sweeney, at Dearborn, and subsequently found employment in Van Buren County as a wood-chopper until 1856. He then went to Allegan County, remaining until June of the latter year, and from thence to Paw Paw, where he lived three years, finally coming to Bangor, where, in 1860, he purchased forty acres of land, on which he still resides, and to which he has added numerous purchases, having at the present time a total of five hundred acres in the home-farm, besides lands in other portions of the county. Oct. 14, 1861, Mr. Charles enlisted as a private in Battery B, First Michigan Artillery, and was in the service of the nation three years and eight months. He was promoted, step by step, and on the 14th of November, 1864, received a commission as second lieutenant. He was an exemplary soldier, and was never absent from duty. His command formed a part of the Western army. He participated in the memorable battle of Pittsburg Landing, and took part in various engagements in Georgia and the Carolinas, having a varied experience, until the 21st and 22d of March, 1865. Oct. 31, 1865, he was married to Mary Jane Cramer, at Hudson, Mich. She was the only daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Sterling) Cramer, and was born in Medina, Lenawee Co., Mich., Nov. 29, 1840. Her parents were natives of New York, and came to Michigan not long before their daughter was born, settling in Lenawee County, where Mr. Cramer still resides. Four of his sons are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Charles are the parents of the following children, viz., Frank L., born Aug. 24, 1866'; Carrie B., born Oct. 14, 1868; and two others, who died young. In politics Mr. Charles is a Republican; has for two years held the position of township treasurer, besides having held minor offices. In religious matters his views are liberal. His advantages for obtaining an education were of an ordinary nature. ANSON GOSS. The subject of the following sketch is a native of Shalersville township, Portage Co., Ohio, where he was born, July 29, 1834. His paternal ancestors boasted of a Scotch ex traction, and were descended from the rugged character of the Highlanders. His grandfather, John Goss, and his grandmother, Polly Davidson Goss, reared a family of three sons and five daughters. Ormond, the third of the family, and Anson's father, was born June 29, 1802. On the maternal side Anson is descended from pure English stock; his mother's father, Elisha Haven, was born at Montpelier, Vt., Jan. 28, 1772, and married a widow, Mollie Streator, whose maiden name was Goodell, Jan. 22, 1790. By this alliance there were five sons and four daughters. Roby, the sixth child, and mother of Anson, was born at Montpelier, the home of her parents, Aug. 22, 1804. They removed to the Western Reserve, Portage Co., Ohio, in 1819. There three of the family still reside. Ormond Goss, in occupation a stone-cutter, emigrated to Ohio, where the matrimonial alliance with Roby Haven was contracted, March 12, 1829. They reared a family of four sons and two daughters, viz., Henry, Ruth, Anson, Fred, Polly, and John P. Henry, having purchased a soldier's claim, came to Bangor township in 1853, and laid his claim on government land. A severe drought occurring on the Reserve, many, his father among the number, disposed of their dairy cows, and sought a climate less subject to such changes. Henry's parents were attracted by him to Bangor, and came on a tour of inspection, little expecting to be satisfied with its soil, timber, or climate, but were so happily disappointed that they secured one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 22, made arrangements for some clearing and the buildingr of a log house, and returned to Ohio. In the spring of 1854 the parents and remainder of the children, except Anson, removed to this claim in Bangor. In the following autumn he also came and located his first piece of land, the east half of the northeast quarter of section 22, which cost him the small sum of sixty dollars, -three shillings an acre. Dec. 31, 1859, he married Mary Jane Vanauken, daughter of John Vanauken, of Bangor. He keeps his old log house, which is incorporated with the view of his present residence, to remind him of their beginning in life. They struggled together during the twenty years which have elapsed night and day, and by their industry, economy, and skillful management have amassed a snug little fortune, owning now seven hundred and twenty acres of land, a large amount of which is under cultivation and with good farm buildings; being a skillful mechanic, these he has superintended in construction. Mr. Goss is a man who never allows pleasure to interfere with his business, it seemingly being his greatest pleasure to push his business interests, and in this he certainly commands the admiration of all whose notice he attracts. THOMAS KEMP. This gentleman was born in Burwash, Sussex- County, England, Nov. 15, 1813, and was the oldest in a family of thirteen children. His father, Thomas Kemp, Sr., and mother, Eleanor (Kirkland) Kemp, were both natives of England, although the latter was of Scotch descent. Thomas Kemp, Sr., emigrated to America in 1829, sailing from London the 9th of May, arriving at New York City on the 3d of July, and proceeding thence to Cayuga County, in 420 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. the same State, where they settled and remained until death. Mrs. Kemp died when her son Thomas was seventeen years of age, and her husband survived her until 1863. Thomas Kemp, Jr., commenced to earn his own living when eighteen years old, finding employment near home until 1835. In that year he hired to Isaac Barnum, at twelve dollars per month, came to Michigan, and purchased his present farm, on section 34, Bangor township, Van in Lawrence township, Van Buren Co., Mr. Kemp was married to Miss Julia Raven, who has borne him eight children, all but one of whom are living,-the deceased member being Thomas Francis, who was drowned July 15, 1877, aged sixteen. The father of the present Mrs. Kemp was a native of New Jersey, and her mother of New York, Mrs. Kemp being one of a family of six children. Her parents came to Van Buren County in 1840, and settled in Photos. by Northrup, Bangor, THOMAS KEMP. MRS. THOMAS KEMP. Buren Co. Mr. Kemp has been three times married, his marriage with Miss Cone, in Hartford township, being the first wedding celebrated among the settlers thereof. Mrs. Kemp died July 6, 1846. After her death Mr. Kemp visited Ohio, and before returning was married to Miss Mary Cone, a sister of his first wife. Less than a year afterwards his fireside was again left desolate, but the departing left, as did her predecessor, a child to take her place. Both these children are now living. Dec. 5,1847, ORLANDO S. BROWN was born Sept. 29, 1816, in Monroe Co., N. Y. His father, Orlando Brown, was a farmer and a native of one of the Eastern States, and married a Miss Gould, of the same nativity. Mr. Brown, Sr., died when his son was but seven years of age. His widow married again, and in 1837 came with her husband to Michigan, settling in Monroe County. In 1839 they removed from the latter to Van Buren County, locating on section 13, in the township of Bangor, but a few months later trading for Mr. Brown's present place on section 12, consisting of eighty acres. Orlando S. Brown was married, Sept. 17, 1836, to Miss Polly Ann Taylor, in Monroe Co., N. Y. Her parents were natives of Connecticut, in which State she also was born. Their present home in Bangor was in the midst of a forest when they first occupied it, and the village of Bangor had scarcely been dreamed of. Mr. and Mrs. Brown became the parents of two children,-a son and a daughter; the latter is now deceased. Mrs. Brown died March 2, 1871, and on the the township of Lawrence, where her father died in July, 1843, and her mother in 1846. Mr. Kemp's educational advantages were not the best, and his attendance at public school aggregated but about five months. Both he and his wife have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1858, and have never shrunk from what appeared to be their duty. In politics Mr. Kemp votes with the Republican party on general issues, and in local matters for whom he considers most fit for the position in question. 14th of August, 1872, Mr. Brown was married to Mrs. McCrary, a native of Indiana. Her parents were born in the State of New York. In politics, Mr. Brown was a Republican, and, with his wife, belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church. His mother died in Bangor, Feb. 1, 1872. By his integrity as a man and his habits of industry and economy, Mr. Brown achieved his success in life. He held several of the offices in his township, and departed this life Feb. 2, 1880. J. G. MILLER. John and Fannie Miller were among the pioneers of the State of Michigan, having settled here before it was admitted as a State. They were natives of New York, were married there, and made a permanent settlement in Monroe Co., Mich., in 1831. Their children were as follows: L. B., born in New York; J. G., Cynthia S., L. C., John Pt$OTO6i,Y N9iLUP 0. S. BROWN. MRS. O. S. BRO WN. ~'';~ '": ~:; i '' I:~ ...I i ~. 73 : r: _li i~ I;:j:s...- ~-~::':"-.:~ sgr HESIDENCE OF ORLANDOV S. E :!! L:z::!: I I TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMINGDALE. 421 F., Fannie, and Sophia J., born in Michigan. The children are all living but two,-Cynthia S. and Sophia J. L. B., John F., and Fannie are still residents of Monroe County; L. C. has made his home in Bangor. J. G. Miller was born in 1833, and was reared surrounded by the impediments and difficulties usually attending the settlement of a new country. Losing his mother when only thirteen years of age, necessity compelled him to depend upon his own efforts for a livelihood, and he began his career under adverse circumstances. Realizing the advantages even of a limited education, he made a manly effort to secure one, and engaged for two winters in sawing wood, this affording him the opportunity of attending school. He afterwards worked two years, receiving as compensation three dollars per month, which enabled him to clothe himself and also to render assistance to his sisters. The following year his salary was doubled, and he then passed seven summers as an employee on the Wabash and Miami Canal, where he made his first one hundred dollars. Finding employment during a portion only of the last three years, he invested his money in a thrashing-machine and a horse, Esquire Thomas McManus, of Monroe County, becoming his indorser, as Mr. Miller was compelled to incur some indebtedness. In this business he remained until 1856, when he leased an uncle's farm. Cynthia and Lovisa superintended the internal arrangements of the household, Cynthia teaching a portion of the time, and here several members of the family were able to attend school. In 1858 he arrived with a team and wagon in Bangor, which he exchanged for forty acres of land. He immediately returned, securing a situation in a brickyard. In the fall he purchased a horse and buggy and drove to Bangor, where he purchased the farm now owned by him, and of which a view appears in this work, giving in payment one hundred dollars, his first purchase of forty acres, and his horse and buggy. In 1860 he followed his trade, that of carpenter and joiner, and worked in a sawmill as an employee of J. H. Nyman. In the spring of 1861 he returned to his trade, working at it until Sept. 25, 1861, when he united in marriage with Miss Eveline Watkins. They began their married life with a farm paid for and thirty dollars in cash. Thomas Watkins, the father of Mrs. Miller, was born near Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1802. He married there, and moved to Mount Vernon, Ohio, where John and William were born. He lost his first wife in Mount Vernon, and afterwards married Miss Katie Spaughn. Mrs. Miller was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1836. James and Levi were also born there. Katie, Mrs. Miller's mother, died in Hancock Co., Ohio, to which place they removed in 1857. Mr. Watkins then married Melvina Litrick. The names of his last children are Henry, Martin, Francis, Martha Jane, Charles, and Jackson, who, with the exception of one who died in Ohio, are still living. After Mr. and Mrs. Miller's marriage they passed eleven years on the farm, where three children were born, viz., Ida, July 10, 1862, died in 1872; Omar, Sept. 6, 1865; John J., Dec. 26, 1869. ' Mr. Miller having achieved success in farming, and having acquired the necessary means, engaged in business in the village of Bangor in 1872, having built a store in 1871. He commenced with a partner, whose interest he purchased in February, 1875. The village had been continually increasing in population, and the surrounding country been rapidly developed. Mr. Miller recognized the importance of having a public hall. The Opera House, of which a view is given, is the result. It is a building fortyfour by niDety-four feet. with a seating capacity of five hundred. The hall is on the second floor, and Mr. Miller occupies a portion of the first floor as a hardware-store, renting the remainder. Mr. Miller's career was begun as a poor boy. By energy and perseverance, united with economy and good business qualifications, he has secured a competency, and is now living in the enjoyment of the comforts and luxuries wealth affords. The records show him to be one of the heaviest tax-payers in his school district and township. Politically, he is a Democrat. CHAPTER LV. BLOOMINGDALE TOWNSHIP.* Boundaries, Soil, and Waters-First and other Early SettlementsCivil History-Bloomningdale Village-Gobleville —BerlamontAnderson's Mills-Township Public Schools. BOUNDARIES, SOIL, AND WATERS. UPON the northern border of the county of Van Buren, with Pine Grove on the east, Waverly on the south, Columbia on the west, and Allegan County on the north, is situated the township of Bloomingdale. It comprises the territory designated in the United States survey as township No. 1 south, of range No. 14 west, which, with the present township of Pine Grove, was organized as Bloomingdale in 1845. The surface is rolling, and originally was heavily timbered with pine, hemlock. and the many varieties of deciduous forest-trees indigenous to this latitude. Pine largely predominated in the northern part, yet it was found to a considerable extent in many other portions. The soil is a sandy and clay loam, fertile and well adapted to the culture of fruits and the cereals. In the quality and extent of its productions Bloomingdale takes a front rank among the northern tier of townships. Some twenty-two small lakes dot its surface, embracing a total area of about 1000 acres. Those dignified with names on the map are Great Bear (which also extends into Columbia township), Muskrat, Sweet, Twin, Three-Legged, Mud, Lake-Mill, Max, Little Brandywine, Thayer, and Smith's. As forming outlets and inlets to the lakes mentioned numerous unimportant streams are observed. The people are chiefly devoted to the pursuits of agriculture, and the State census of 1874 returned a total of 1690 inhabitants. FIRST AND OTHER EARLY SETTLEMENTS. During the bleak, cold days of December, 1837, the first settlement was made in this township by the brothers Mal * By John S. Schenck. 422 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. lory H., William H. H., Reuben J., and Merlin M. Myers, accompanied by their mother and sisters, Sarah 0. and Ruth Ann. The Myers were natives of Oneida Co., N. Y., where their father died in 1826. In later years they removed to the town of Bergen, Genesee Co., N. Y. Here the widow's children had nearly all reached the estate of manhood and womanhood ere a removal was contemplated to the new State of Michigan. In the spring of 1836 the brothers Mallory H. and William H. H. started out on foot and walked the entire distance from Genesee Co., N. Y., via Canada to this State. For six months Mallory worked in Monroe County, and during the same time William in White Pigeon. The latter then returned to the State of New York, and brought out with him the remainder of the family, all being established at White Pigeon in the fall of 1836. One year later they decided to settle permanently upon section 36, in this township, and here, as previously mentioned, they arrived amid the snows and wintry blasts of December 22d, with no shelter awaiting them other than that afforded by the tall monarchs of the forest. The frozen earth-after snow one foot in depth had been melted away by a rousing fire-afforded them a restingplace the first night. The next day a rude cabin was built, which was followed soon after by a substantial log house, 14 by 33 feet in dimensions, which, with no floors, was roofed after the primitive manner,-with wooden troughs. Thus situated, their nearest neighbors seven miles distant, -at Breedsville and Paw Paw,-this family passed their first winter. Yet they were not idle. Slashings were made preparatory for crops the coming spring season, and considerable quantities of shingles were manufactured for the Paw Paw and White Pigeon markets. This latter branch of industry added materially to the exchequer of this family, as well as of all other settlers, during the first and second decades of their residence. Mallory H. Myers, the eldest of this family of brothers, was twenty-three years old at the time of his settlement in this township. He was one of the first officers in the old township of Clinch, also of Waverly, and in 1845 was the first supervisor chosen in Bloomingdale. He now resides in the small village of Berlamont. William H. H. Myers taught the first school, in the winter of 1838 and 1839. In later years he became a minister of the Free-Will Baptist Church. He died in 1865. In the spring of 1838, Ashbel Herron, from Cayuga Co., N. Y., and Daniel G. Robinson, from Ohio, settled near the Myers', while Joseph S. Peck located in the extreme northwest corner of the township, on section 6. Mr. Peck's locality was for years known as " Pecktown," his early neighbors being Melvin Hogmire, Horace Humphrey, and Peter Smith. Joseph Brotherton, from Cayuga Co., N. Y., settled upon section 34 in the fall of 1838. During this year a school-house was built upon section 36, and the first marriage took place. The contracting parties-James Scott, of Decatur, and Miss Ruth Ann Myers, of the Myers settlement in Clinch-were married at the house of M. H. Myers, by Elder Warner. Orlando H. Newcomb, who had previously lived in Almena, settled on section 36 in 1839. Among other events of this year was the preaching of the first sermon, by Noah D. Sweet, Sunday, Aug. 11, 1839 (the services were held in the school-house); the burial of William Brownell, a young shingle-maker, who was the first person to depart this life in the new settlement. In December occurred the first birth. The child enjoying this distinction is now known as John Wesley Herron, of the village of Gobleville. Elder Warner also preached in the school-house during the fall of 1839. The same year two of the settlers' houses took fire in a mysterious manner and were burned with all their contents. Suspicion rested upon the Indians, who still frequented the country in considerable numbers; but they were finally dispelled by the uniformly friendly manner and general good conduct of the aborigines. The following list of resident tax-payers of the old township of Clinch, made in the summer of 1839, will be of interest to early settlers, as well as to the general reader, for it proves conclusively just who the residents were at that time in the present townships of Almena, Waverly, Bloomingdale, and Pine Grove: John A. Ranney, Joseph Derosier, Asa Crofoot, Luther Howe, F. C. Annable, Blakely Barnes, Horace Bonfoey, A. S. Downing, Samuel Turner, Ruhama Barnum, Henry Barnum, Freeman Hall, Bolivar Barnum, H. P. Barnum, C. D. Grimes, S. Grimes, Junia Warner, Jr., Willard Newcomb, Amon Covey, D. Critten den, Benjamin Fink, W. Hurlbut, Morrill, Brown & Co., Levi Libbey, R. Bell, Nathaniel Livermore, Ashbel Herron, Mallory H. Myers, Reuben J. Myers, William H. H. Myers, Joseph Brotherton, Daniel G. Robinson, Joseph Peck, Joseph Williams, and John Condron. These residents then paid taxes to the amount of $185.97. Harviland Thayer, a native of New Hampshire, who afterwards became one of the prominent men in this township, came here first in the fall of 1839, and purchasing lands situated on section 34, partly completed a dwellinghouse thereon. He was then residing in White Pigeon, whither he had removed from Cayuga Co., N. Y., in 1836. On the 3d of March, 1840, his family arrived here in the woods and began improvements, in the near vicinity of which many descendants still live. Other settlers of 1840 were Alanson Todd, on section 24; Ira S. Frary, on section 25; and N. Kennedy, on section 15. Dennis E. Whelan settled in 1842. Henry Mower, who was born in the town of Woodstock, Windsor Co., Vt., removed from the latter State to Herkimer Co., N. Y., in 1829, from thence to St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., in 1830, and to Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1832. In Kalamazoo he entered the lands where are now situated the fair-grounds. From 1832 to 1843 he traversed on foot over the greater portion of Southern Michigan, while acting as guide to " land-lookers" and in the employ of Theodore Sheldon. He finally, in 1843, purchased land and settled where he now resides in this township. He was present at the first township election, in 1845, and was elected township clerk in 1846, an office which he continued to hold during the succeeding nine years. In 1849 he served as supervisor. Though chilled by the snows RESIDENCE OF H.H. HOWARD, BLOOMINGDALE, VAN BUREN CO., MICHIGAN. TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMINGDALE. 423 of nearly eighty winters, Mr. Mower is still the possessor of good mental faculties and much physical vigor, and to him are we indebted for many facts concerning the early history of this and neighboring townships. Thomas Hodgson, another active pioneer, settled on section 30 in 1844. The township of Bloomingdale was formed in 1845. The 22 persons returned upon the assessment-roll of that year as resident tax-payers were: Sec. Sec. Ashbel Herron....:........... 36 Daniel G. Robinson............. 25 William H. 11. Myers........... 35 Peter T. Valleau..............13, 24 Joseph Brotherton............... 34 Alanson Todd.................... 24 IHarviland Thayer............. 34 Ira S. Frary....................... 25 Thomas Hodgson............ 30 Robert Moon....................... 24 Dennis E. Whelan............... 25 Henry Mower..................... 23 Mallory H. Myers.............. 36 Elisha C. Cox..................... 5 Levi W. Thayer................. 35 L. Jackson Lacy.................4, 8 David Loveland.................. 3 Melvin Hogmire.................. 6 H. T. Houghton........ Personal Joseph Peck....................... 6 Burroughs Abbott............... 25 Daniel G. Robinson & Co...... 16 Orlando H. Newcomb........... 36 Additional tax-paying residents in 1846 were Reuben H. Ward, Jonathan Goodell, William L. Houghton, William H. Story, Alson A. Greaves, township treasurer, John Wait, Josiah Sweet, Daniel Jewell, and Henry Whelpley. The latter, as a boy, was one of the first settlers, coming here and working in the Myers settlement in 1838. An early saw-mill (water-power) was erected by Daniel G. Robinson & Co., upon section 16, in 1848. Messrs. Myers & Newcomb built the first steam-mill; about three years later. John Hudson built the first grist-mill, in 1866. It was burned two or three years afterwards. Here, as in other newly-settled regions, all the early settlers kept open house for the entertainment of weary and belated travelers. When ill, and previous to the coming of Dr. Barber, they were attended by Dr. Andrews, of Paw Paw. Samuel Lane, at present a prominent resident of the village of Bloomingdale, removed from Monroe Co., N. Y., to Cheshire, then Trowbridge, Allegan Co., Mich., in the spring of 1845. He purchased 80 acres of land from the government, built a log dwelling, and became the third settler in that township. In 1848 he settled upon the Cox farm, section 5. About the year 1866 he sold the farm, and removing to the village of Bloomingdale, became one of its early merchants, also the first hotel proprietor. Among other quite early settlers were Harrison Cooley, Isaac L. Knapp, John Barnard, Truman B. Dougal, Henry W. Durand, Zenas L. Chase, Chester Barber, William J. Merwin, O. M. Bessey, Rufus M. Brown, Arch. W. Bishop, Alexander Miller, Christian Spicher, Shadrach S. Austin, Harvey H. Howard, Matthew Munn, E. Baughman, the Haven brothers, and Henry Killefer. Augustus Haven, from Portage Co., Ohio, in the spring of 1854 settled one mile west of the present village of Bloomingdale. There were then about 40 voters in the township, and Paw Paw was the nearest post-office station. The only framed dwellings were in the Myers and Herron settlement, and the Methodists-the only religious organization-held meetings in Joseph Peck's barn. Since his settlement here, as a farmer, merchant, and township official, Mr. Haven has been prominently identified with the varied interests of the township. In 1860, with a herd of 20 cows, he first began the manufacture of cheese. His cows were gradually increased to 40 in number. In 1870 he began using the milk of his neighbors' cows, and in 1873 cheese was made from the milk of 200 cows. Since 1877 his brother Warren has continued the business with success, yet Mr. A. Haven still manufactures individually from a herd of 30 cows. In wealth, numerical strength, and the embellishment of their homes, great strides have been taken by the people of Bloomingdale since the completion of the railroad, in 1870. In its course through the township the line of the Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad traverses sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23; 24, and 25, and from the stations of Gobleville (on the east border), Bloomingdale (near the centre), and Berlamont (on the west border), the residents are afforded ample facilities for travel and the shipment of freight. CIVIL HISTORY. The territory embraced within the limits of this township, with Almena, Waverly, and Pine Grove, formed the old township of Clinch. It became Waverly in 1842, Bloomingdale in 1845, and by the erection of Pine Grove, in 1849, assumed its present proportions. During a fire which occurred in the village of Bloomingdale, Aug. 23, 1878, the township records were completely destroyed, and it is now a matter of impossibility to ever compile a complete list of the township officers. We learn from early residents, however, that the first township election was held at the house of L. Jackson Lacy, in April, 1845, and 17 votes were polled. From records on file in the county clerk's office we find that the first officers elected were as follows: Mallory H. Myers, Supervisor; H. T. Houghton, Township Clerk; Ashbel Herron, Treasurer; Harviland Thayer, Orlando H. Newcomb, Assessors; Mallory H. Myers, Joseph Brotherton, Orlando H. Newcomb, Highway Commissioners; William H. H. Myers, Dennis E. Whelan, School Inspectors; Ashbel Herron, L. Jackson Lacy, Overseers of the Poor; Ira S. Frary, William H. H. Myers, Justices of the Peace. Subsequent supervisors and justices of the peace elected, as shown by the same source of information,-i.e., county records,-were as follows: SUPERVISORS. 1846, Elisha C. Cox; 1847, L. Jackson Lacy; 1848, Harviland Thayer; 1849, Henry Mower; 1850-53, Ashbel Herron; 1854 -55, Harrison Cooley; 1856, Isaac L. Knapp; 1857, Harrison Cooley; 1858, Ashbel Herron; 1859-60, Harrison Cooley; 1861 -62, Harvey H. Howard; 1863-66, Henry Killefer; 1867-68, Timothy Cooley; 1869, Pliny Wait; 1870-71, Augustus Haven; 1872-77, Harvey H. Howard; 1878-79, James M. Robertson. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1846, L. Jackson Lacy, Ashbel Herron; 1847, John Barnard; 1848, L. Jackson Lacy, Harviland Thayer; 1849, Daniel G. Robinson, Reuben Ward, Truman B. Dougal; 1850, Ashbel Herron, John Wait; 1851, Henry W. Durand; 1852, Zenas L. Chase; 1853, Chester Barber, Zenas L. Chase; 1854, Harvey H. Howard, Wm. J. Merwin, O. W. Bessey; 1855, Rufus M. Brown; 1856, John Wait; 1857, Archibald W. Bishop, Alexander Miller, Christian Spicher; 1858, Zenas L. Chase, Shadrach S. Austin; 1859, Rufus M. Brown; 1860, Thomas Hodgson, Henry A. Effner; 1861, Archibald W. Bishop; 1862, Ingraham Eaton; 1863, Rufus M. Brown; 1864, Thomas Hodgson, Casper Dunham; 1865, Archibald W. Bishop; 1866, Egbert Cooleye; 1867-72, no record; 1873, 424 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. J. G. Lockard, James L. Clement; 1874, Marshall Ferguson, David H. Smith; 1875, Warren Haven, Egbert Cooley, H. H. Howard; 1876, Hiram E. Goble; 1877, Philiman Bush, John N. Herron; 1878, Oscar L. Millspaugh, Calvin J. Baughman; 1879, Hyman H. Shaw. The total number of votes polled in 1878 was 384. In 1879, 345 votes were cast, and the following (present) township officers elected, viz.: James M. Robertson, Supervisor; William Killefer, Township Clerk; Fitz E. Adams, Treasurer; Horace M. Stout, Township Superintendent of Schools; John M. Baxter, Highway Commissioner; Hyman H. Shaw, Justice of the Peace; Samuel Lane, Lewis W. Vaughn, Benjamin C. Stout, John W. Gilson, Constables. BLOOMINGDALE VILLAGE. The village of Bloomingdale, situated west of the geographical centre of the township, is a station on the line of the Kalamazoo and South Haven branch of the Michigan Central Railroad. It was platted by William Killefer and Lucius B. Kendall, May 23, 1870, the original plat embracing portions of sections 16 and 17. An addition was made by George W. Haven, Sept. 15, 1870. As a commercial centre it is the most important point between Kalamazoo and South Haven. It contains three stores of general merchandise, two hardware-stores, one drug- and grocery-store, two church edifices (Baptist and Christian), Masonic and Odd-Fellows' lodges, one hotel, one graded school, two medical offices, several small mechanical shops, and about 300 inhabitants. The first settler upon its site was Henry Killefer. About 1854, Davis Haven, of Portage Co., Ohio, purchased 160 acres in the vicinity of the present village, and soon after the entire north half of section 17. As an inducement for Mr. Killefer to settle here, he-Mr. Haven-gave him one acre of land, now embraced within the depot grounds. In the fall of 1857, Mr. Killefer came on from Putnam Co., Ohio, and erecting a small building, now a portion of the hotel, established his family in the second story, while he opened a small stock of boots, shoes, and groceries in the first. This was the first house erected on the village-site, although William J. Merwin and Rufus M. Brown were then living on the hill, about eighty rods east of the same. Shortly after his settlement Mr. Killefer received the appointment of postmaster, and held the office until 1862. J. P. Howard was then appointed, and continued as postmaster to 1866. He was succeeded by William Killefer, who held it two years. In 1868, J. E. Rankin received the appointment, and in 1871 was succeeded by John Killefer, the present incumbent. After occupying his first building three years, Mr. Killefer erected the building now owned by his son John. Some two or three years later he sold it to Barber & Lane, and built the store which, in December, 1868, with J. P. Howard's store and Barber Brothers' drug-store, was burned. The building now owned by Augustus Haven was erected by Mr. Killefer in 1869. About 1860, Messrs. Merwin & Brown opened a store near their residence on the hill, previously mentioned. Prior to 1869, Messrs. Barber & Lane established a mercantile business, which, until the near completion of the railroad, comprised, with those already named, the business men of the village. The first passenger train on the Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad arrived at the village July 4, 1870. Augustus Haven then owned the one acre first settled upon by Mr. Killefer, having paid therefor $800. Samuel Lane became owner of the original Killefer building, and removed it to the present hotel site. He built an addition to it, and first opened the present hotel. A. W. Torrey set up the first steam saw-mill-a portable one-in the fall of 1870. It was removed to Bangor in 1878. Mr. Killefer built the present saw-mill in 1871. Dr. L. A. Barber was the first physician. He had practiced previously while residing one mile west of the village. Drs. C. W. Morse and H. R. Bulson have also lived and practiced here. The present physicians are Drs. Barber and William B. Anderson. VILLAGE CHURCHES. The First Methodist Episcopal Society* in Bloomingdale was organized in the winter of 1856, by Rev. Mr. Corey, assisted by Rev. H. Caldwell, a junior preacher with him on the circuit, the society being in the Black River charge of the Kalamazoo district, Rev. I. Cogshall, presiding elder. The names of the original members were A. Miller, ClassLeader; W. C. Wait, Steward; F. Miller, J. A. Wait, H. E. Miller, E. Caughey, William J. Merwin, T. Merwin, L. Cook, M. Cook, and M. S. Miller. They belonged to various charges, and part of the time were in the Niles district. In 1874, when Rev. Mr. Van Fossen was sent to them, they became a separate charge and head of a circuit, and have since built a parsonage valued at $600. The following pastors have officiated here since 1856. Their names may not be arranged correctly in the order of their succession, but are nearly so, viz.: Revs. Mr. Penland, T. T. George, W. I. Blowers, J. Hoyt, G. W. Tuthill, C. H. Fisher, J. R. Berry, D. C. Woodard, W. C. Maffatt, G. W. Goslin, J. S. Valentine, A. W. Torrey, Van Fossen, J. F. Orwick, G. Daniels, A. E. Tanner, F. N. Jaynes, and C. H. Fisher again in 1879. The society now numbers 75 members. They are in a prosperous condition, and hope in the near future to erect a church edifice. The Christian or Disciple C'hurcht of Bloomingdale was organized April 5, 1858, and held their early meetings in the school-house on section 15. The 25 original members were Harrison Cooley, Austin Melvin, Frederick Melvin, Eli Bell, Margaret Bell, Russell Loomis, Rebecca Loomis, M. L. Healey, Maria Healey, R. F. Loomis, Mary F. Loomis, W. D. Ensminger, Polly Ensminger, George Pierce, Henrietta Pierce, Augustus Haven, William Armstrong, Abby Killefer, Azubah Cooley, Corintha Strong, Lucretia Brown, Julia M. Paxon, Marinda Loomis, Louisa Loomis, and Margaret Corning. For some seven years they were without the services of * From information kindly furnished by the pastor. t Information furnished by George W. Haven, Esq., church clerk. :, i,;: ~ ~; b -'n;;-:lt~ c~~;- """:1::6-iY ~- i,:i n: t co-N w WORM W, "*V=7ftt Ga1 - ~I "lCHURC CH AN O PARSONAIAGE"I RESIDENCE OF J.G. CLA F K, GOBLEVILLE, VAN BUREN Co., MICHIGAN. 77s77D TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMINGDALE. 425 a resident pastor. Since then they have had here with them Revs. Edwin Barnum, J. W. James, Elias Sias, and E. C. Faunce. A house of worship was erected in the village of Bloomingdale in 1871, at a cost of $3500, and has a seating capacity for 300 persons. The Baptist Church of Bloomingdale.-The Baptist Church of Allegan, on the 8th day of July, 1853, granted to A. B. Eaton, Maria Eaton, Ann E. Palmer, M. E. Eaton, and L. J. Kannon, members of its body, the privilege of associating together as a branch church. This privilege they exercised as best they could in their scattered condition. They met in their log dwellings for prayer and the study of God's word, and were occasionally favored with the privilege of hearing from ministers who might happen among them. Elder H. Munger had purchased a farm on Eagle Lake, and was laboring to make it a home. Being in their midst, he held his membership with them, and his name frequently appears upon the record in connection with their meetings. Elder Case's name also appears on the record. The first baptism was administered by Elder Munger. Orrit Lane and Harvey Munger, son of Elder Munger, were by him baptized in Eagle Lake, April 9, 1854. From this small beginning the work went on, additions being made by letter, experience, and baptism, until March 2, 1859, when 32 had been added to the original number, 16 by baptism. In the winter of 1858-59, Elder Burk, of the Protestant Methodist persuasion, held meetings at the Base Line school-house, which resulted in the conversion of a large number, among them many prominent heads of families. Finally, believing that there was an inconsistency between Elder Burk's teachings and church associations, they were baptized into the fellowship of the branch church. On the 1st of March, 1859, two only of the original five were members of the branch. Two had been dismissed by letter and one had died, but with the additions that had been made to them they felt that the time had come when they should receive an independent organization, and take their place in the family of churches in defense of the truth. Accordingly, on the 6th of March, 1859, a council convened at the call of the branch, composed of delegates from the churches in Paw Paw, Keeler, Hartford, Watervliet, and Allegan. After hearing the Declaration of Faith presented by the brethren, it was unanimously resolved to admit them into the denominational family, to be known as the" Base Line Church." Rev. A. J. Bingham, of Allegan, preached; Rev. H. Munger, then pastor at Keeler, gave the hand of fellowship; and Rev. Daniel Platt, of Allegan, gave the charge to the church. March 12th the church met for the first time, as an independent organization; at which time they elected M. Lane and Egbert Cooley deacons, and S. Strong church clerk. Two were received at this meeting, one by experience, one by letter; and on the following day five were baptized by Elder Munger and the Lord's Supper was administered, this being the first mention of its celebration. On the 3d of March, 1860, the church voted to extend a call to Elder Munger to continue his labors another year, 54 one-half the time for which they voted to raise $150 by subscription. They also voted to ask the State Convention for aid, but no mention is made of their receiving any. March 2, 1861, Elder Munger tendered his resignation, which was accepted by the church, on the ground that they were not able to pay him as much as he could get in other places. It seems from these records that Elder Munger served the church from its organization up to this time, and meetings were held in the Base Line school-house. In November, 1861, Rev.-W. H. Prentiss became pastor, and continued until January, 1863. There appears on the record during this period some evidence of church trouble and several exclusions. April 1, 1864, the church voted to hire Elder O. C. Dickinson for one year, one sermon each Sunday. It appears from th6e mention previously made that Elder Dickinson had been laboring with the church two months prior to this vote. Elder Dickinson tendered his resignation, Oct. 1, 1864, which was accepted. During his term of service the first record of any talk about securing a parsonage is recorded. On the 1st of April, 1866, Elder J. H. Rasco became pastor of the church, and continued as such till September, 1868. On the 2d of January, 1869, the church elected I. E. Eaton clerk, S Strong having resigned, and who died in November following. During the administration of Elder Rasco, Deacon Cooley resigned, and Timothy Church was elected deacon. There was also a committee appointed to select a site for a meeting-house, but it does not appear that they ever made a report. At that time there was a disagreement in regard to locations, which defeated all action. In January, 1869, the church voted to request Elder Pierce to preach for them, and in March following, Elder McCarthy was mentioned as leading a covenant meeting, and subsequently referred to as pastor. April 10, 1869, the following resolution was adopted: " That Elder Rasco and Elder McCarthy be dropped, and no more considered as candidates for pastor of this church." This was to compromise differences of opinion in regard to pastor. In May following Elder Webb was hired to serve the church for one year. William Munger was invited, September 12, 1870, to preach for them as long as it should be thought best. On the 5th of November Elder Pierce conducted meetings, and on the 13th, same month, the church voted to make an effort to secure his services. A meeting was called March 4, 1871, to take into consideration the hiring of a pastor and building of a meetinghouse and parsonage, but nothing came of it. Elder O. C. Dickinson was recalled to the pastorate of the church, commencing in June or July, 1871, and closing in February, 1873. By this time the village of Bloomingdale, having become a railroad town, began to assume importance, and suggest to some that it was the proper place for the church to locate her buildings and centralize her labors. During a portion of Elder Dickinson's time he preached every other Sunday morning in the Disciples' House in Bloomingdale, and the alternate Sunday morning at Base 426 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Line. The church had already bought a house and lot in Bloomingdale for a parsonage. This had the effect to intensify preferences, and to render the canvass sharp for the ascendency in locality of buildings and the place of meetings. The brethren finally compromised the matter of where the meetings should be held by agreeing to be united in the decision of the man who should be employed as minister. Rev. R. S. Dean commenced his labors as pastor in May, 1873, which still continue. For the first sixteen months he held meetings at the Base Line every Sunday morning. All the covenant meetings and the Sundayschool were held there. He established an evening appointment in Bloomingdale, and a Union Sunday-school was organized, in which the Methodist class were participators, they, at the time, holding meetings in the schoolhouse every other Sunday morning. During this time the interest in the preaching and Sunday-school on the Base Line decreased, and that in Bloomingdale increased. This had the effect to prepare the way for a change in the place of holding meetings, and in August, 1875, the church voted to abandon Base Line and make their headquarters in Bloomingdale. Notwithstanding Providence seemed to point so clearly to the wisdom of making the change, quite a number demurred, and some felt that it would result in loss to the church and the cause. In March following the Lord opened the windows of heaven and showered a gracious blessing upon the community, especially upon the Sunday-school, through the prayers of the faithful few who had asked in faith. This had its effect in uniting the church as to the wisdom of the removal. The still further divine blessing enjoyed through the visit of Elder A. P. Graves took away the last feeling that it was a mistake to transfer their interests to Bloomingdale. During the year 1873 and the spring of 1874 the parsonage was enlarged and painted, and its surroundings greatly improved. In the spring of 1875 the church bought lots for a meeting-house, for which they paid $200. Having no legal record in the county of Van Buren, measures were taken to effect the change of the name of the church from Base Line to Bloomingdale, and secure corporate powers and privileges, which were successful, and the title to the property was made to correspond therewith. On the 23d of August, 1876, the corner-stone for a meeting-house was laid with appropriate services, Dr. Hodge, of Kalamatoo, making the address. The trustees of the church, to whom was committed the whole work of building, both in planning and securing the funds, worked with a will, and in spite of discouragements, which thickened as they advanced, gave a finished structure into the hands of the church, which was dedicated to the service of Almighty God on the 7th day of February, 1878, Dr. Hodge preaching the dedicatory sermon. Thus the church, after long years of "wilderness life," are settled in the possession of a comfortable parsonage, a very neat and pleasant meeting-house, with good shelter for their faithful beasts, for all of which they have reason to praise their heavenly Father, as they endeavor to do. Since the commencement of the present pastorate there have been added to the church by letter, 16; by experience, 18; and by baptism, 74. The total additions to the church, in all ways, commencing with the five, have been 227. The total decrease, in all ways, has been 100, which would give a present membership of 132. This we find by actual count to be six less than the number on the records. I. E. Eaton was succeeded as clerk by Charles H. Miller, in 1875, and he by E. M. Eaton, in 1877, who now holds that office. George Hopkins was elected deacon in 1877, and J. A. Leavitt in 1879. During the entire history of the church there has been a good working band heartily engaged in the Sunday-school work. With very little interruption Deacon Lane has been the superintendent, and a large portion of the church take interest in the school. It has been the nursery of the church, very many having been transplanted from it into the more advanced position of burden-bearers in the church. The above sketch has been compiled from the minutes of a meeting of the Kalamazoo River Baptist Association, held in Bloomingdale, Mich., Aug. 13 and 14, 1879. VILLAGE SECRET ASSOCIATIONS. Bloomingdale Lodge, No. 221, F. and A. M.-The first meeting of this lodge was held May 5, 1866, and they began work under dispensation. The following were the first board of officers: Samuel Holmes, W. M.; A. D. Munger, S. W.; H. H. Shaw, J. W.; Henry Killefer, Treas.; S. L. Barber, Sec.; L. K. Holmes, S. D.; E. A. Colwell, J. D.; Homer Shepard, Tiler. A charter was granted Jan. 12, 1867, and the first officers elected thereafter were Samuel Holmes, W. M.; E. A. Colwell, S. W.; H. H. Shaw, J. W.: Henry Killefer, Treas.; M. A. Barber, Sec.; J. E. Rankin, S. D.; L. K. Holmes, J. D.; C. N. Remington, Tiler. Samuel Holmes was re-elected Worshipful Master each successive year until January, 1873; then H. H. Shaw from 1873 to 1876, inclusive; Warren Haven served during the year 1877, and William Killefer in 1878 and 1879. Other officers of the present year are H. H. Shaw, S. W.; Warren Haven, J. W.; J. E. Rankin, Sec.; H. H. Howard, Treas.; C. E. McArthur, S. D.; Philemon Bush, J. D.; Albert Taylor, Tiler. The first meetings were held over Henry Killefer's store. After the store was burned but one meeting was held until Killefer's new store was erected. The lodge-rooms were then continued there till June, 1877, when they removed to their present quarters. For furnishing, fixtures, etc., the lodge has expended about $500. Present membership, 55. Regular communications are held Saturday evenings on or before the full moon, in the village of Bloomingdale. Bloomingdale Lodge, No. 161,. O. of 0. F., was instituted May 16, 1871, by Grand Treasurer A. H. Morrison. The officers first installed were Stephen Baker, N. G.; Eugene Cooley, V. G.; C. H. Miller, Recording Sec.; J. M. Howard, Treas.; Stark Lampman, Warden; J. P. Howard, Conductor. The first and all subsequent meetings have been held in Masonic Hall, both lodges rentn ing in conjunction. The presiding officers since first installation are named as follows: 1871 (last half), Eugene Cooley; 1872, J. P. Howard, C. H. Miller; 1873, Stephen Baker, L. A. Bar /.j I./ / CATHARINE TEDROW. AARON K TEDROW. P:-m RESIDENCE OF CATHARINE TEDROW, BLOOMINGDALE, VAN BURE CO., MICH. -. i. A:, -..... z I I TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMINGDALE. 427 her; 1874, H. S. Groves, H. H. Howard; 1875, D. P. Gilbert, H. A. Starkweather; 1876, C. S. Brewster, C. H. Miller; 1877, R. S. Babcock, George Post; 1878, E. M. Eaton, William Killefer; 1879, C. V. Nash, J. M. Howard. Present membership, 45. Regular meetings are held every Thursday evening. GOBLEVILLE. The village of Gobleville derives its name from the family named Goble, who were quite early settlers in its vicinity and proprietors of the village plat. It is a station of some importance on the line of the Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad, or branch of the Michigan Central Railroad, and includes territory lying in both Bloomingdale and Pine Grove townships. The original plat was made by Hiram E. Goble, April 16, 1870, being part of section 25, township 1 south, of range number 14 west. Warren Goble's addition was platted March 12, 1872, and included lands situated on section 30, of township number 1 south, of range number 13 west. The village now contains one church edifice (Free-Will Baptist), one hotel, two stores of general merchandise, one drug- and grocery-store, one harness-shop, one shoe-shop, one barbershop, two blacksmith-shops, one cooper-shop, one meatmarket, one grist-mill, one saw-, stave-, and shingle-mill, one cider- and lath-mill, a graded school, and a population of about 250 inhabitants. The hotel seems to have been the first building erected here. It was built by John Goble, in 1864 or 1865, fronting the highway then known as the Allegan State road. In 1867, Hiram E. Goble built a store near the hotel, and Fessenden & Hayes established their blacksmith-shop. Dr. A. E. Bulson came in 1869, and during the ten years of his residence was very successful both in his practice and pecuniarily. James G. Clark, from Monroe Co., N. Y., first settled two miles south of the village. After a few years' residence there he removed to Geneva township, in 1868. He came to the new village of Gobleville in 1870, and his recollections of those who had preceded him are already mentioned. During the same year in which he built his store, John Fessenden erected the building now occupied as a harnessshop, and the railroad was completed to this point, Hiram E. Goble donating the depot grounds. In 1871 the school-house was built, at a cost of $2500. Dr. Bulson's store and J. L. Clement's steam saw-mill were erected in 1873. Mr. Clement afterwards added buildings and machinery for the manufacture of lath, wood-turnings, shingles, and staves. Hiram E. Goble's saw-mill was built in 1874. The following year G. B. Boughton built his drug-store. In 1877 the church edifice of the Free-Will Baptist Society was completed. J. L. Clement's mills were burned in April, 1878. During the same fall he rebuilt stave- and shingle-mills. The Post Brothers then built their grist-mill, obtaining power from Clement's engine. The grist-mill is now separate and complete in all its appointments, and the Messrs. Post have since erected a saw-mill. Post- Office. - The post-office was first established at "Lake Mills," Arch. W. Bishop, postmaster. In 1867 the office was removed to the village, Hiram E. Goble becoming postmaster, and the name of the office changed to Gobleville. Mr. Goble was succeeded by G. B. Boughton, who continued until the spring of 1878, when the present incumbent, Edward Keeler, received the appointment. The Free- Will Baptist Church of Gobleville* was organized April 23, 1872, the ministers present being Revs. J. H. Darling and A. H. Whitaker. Hiram E. Goble, S. A. Goble, A. E. Bulson, S. A. Bulson, James G. Clark, Mary Morris, and Delia Richardson composed the original members. Their meetings were held in the school-house until 1877, when a house of worship was completed, at a cost of $3300. It has sittings for 400 persons. The building committee consisted of Messrs. J. G. Clark, A. E. Bulson, and J. L. Clement. Messrs. Ames, of Bloomingdale, and Roberts, of Kalamazoo, performed the work. The church was dedicated June 2, 1878. Prof. R. Dunn, of Hillsdale, preached the dedicatory sermon. In 1877 also a parsonage was erected, and the property of the society is now valued at $4200. Rev. J. H. Darling was the first pastor, and began his work in August, 1872. Rev. J. M. Kaiser was here during the years 1873 and 1874, his successor being the present pastor, Rev. B. L. Prescott, who came in April, 1876. A Sabbath-school was first organized in the summer of 1871, and has been very successfully continued to the present time. James G. Clark was superintendent until the spring of 1874. Then Dr. A. E. Bulson held the office until his removal to Wisconsin, in October, 1879. Rev. B. L. Prescott succeeded him. The school numbers 120 pupils. BERLAMONT. The small village of Berlamont, formerly known as "Bear Lake Mills," is a station on the railroad between Bloomingdale and Grand Junction. The first settlers in its vicinity were William St. Clair, Stephen Baker, Anson Stafford, John Barnard, Russell Johnson, and Boyer. It now contains a hotel, store, post-office, the extensive mills of S. B. Anderson, and a population of about 100 inhabitants. ANDERSON'S MILLS. Dr. H. Anderson, from Genesee Co., N. Y., settled in Breedsville in 1855. Two years later he, together with Amos S. Brown, built a saw-mill at Bear Lake. In 1862 they purchased Heath's grist-mill, situated on the outlet of the same lake. Brown sold out his interests to his partner in 1868. In 1869, Col. David Anderson became a partner. During the year 1871 the Anderson Brothers built the gristmill in Berlamont and removed the machinery from the old mill to it. The saw-mill and complete sets of wood-working machinery were added in 1874. The mills are now controlled by S. B. Anderson (son of David). His engine is of 100 horse-power, and from 10 to 25 men are employed. - From information kindly furnished by James G. Clark, Esq. 498 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Col. David Anderson gained distinction during the war of the Rebellion as lieutenant, captain, major, and colonel of the 19th Michigan Infantry. Dr. H. Anderson has been supervisor, and an otherwise prominent citizen of the township of Columbia. TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS. During the year 1838 a school-house was built in the Myers settlement, on the extreme southwest corner of section 36. The first school was taught the following winter by William H. H. Myers, and his pupils, seven in number, represented the families of Ashbel Herron, Daniel G. Robinson, Mrs. Myers, and Joseph Brotherton. Mr. Myers taught this school several terms. Mr. Charles A. Thayer, who, with his father's family, settled in the same neighborhood in the spring of 1840, recollects that he attended school the following winter. Mr. Myers was the teacher, and the pupils were Andrew, Mary, Nancy, Jane, and Harrison Herron, Henry Whelpley, Merlin M. Myers, Elisha, Elizabeth, Jared, and John Brotherton, Joseph Robinson, Levi W., Lucinda, Abigail, Charles A., and Jane Thayer. An early school-house was erected in " Pecktown," yet not earlier, we believe, than 1844 or 1845. The people in the latter neighborhood were included in fractional district No. 2, which embraced portions of Bloomingdale, Columbia, and Trowbridge townships. (See Columbia township history.) By the loss of township records we are unable to trace farther, with any degree of correctness, the development of schools and school districts in Bloomingdale. From an incomplete report of the township board of education for the year ending Sept. 1, 1879, and now on file in the township clerk's office, we take the following statistics: Number of districts (whole, 7; fractional, 2)........ 9 Children of school age residing in the township.... 547 Children attending school during the year........... 528 Non-resident children attending schools.............. 32 Number of frame school-houses.......................... 9 Seating capacity of houses................................. 795 Total resources during the year for school purposes $3994.44 The schools of fractional district No. 5 (village of Gobleville) and District No. 10 (village of Bloomingdale) are graded. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN SEBRING. This gentleman was born Aug. 4, 1818. His ancestors emigrated early from Germany, and settled in the State of New Jersey. The tide of emigration which swept westward to Central and Western New York carried them as far as the Holland Purchase, in that State, and they chose a location in the county of Genesee. John Sebring, at the age of sixteen, after the death of his father, began life for himself as a journeyman cooper, and at nineteen was married to Betsey A. West, of Oneida Co., N. Y. In 1853, Mr. Sebring entered the mercantile business at Walworth, Wayne Co., N. Y., continuing until 1857, when he removed to Kalamazoo, Mich., and established a business-locally, and "on the road"-in company with his son, J. L. Sebring, now a prominent citizen and produce merchant at that place. Mr. Sebring's wife died July 23, 1864, leaving eight children, who are all, except one, now living in Van Buren and Kalamazoo Counties. In 1865, Mr. Sebring was married to Clarissa S. Hall, and in 1866 retired from business and located upon a farm in the township of Porter, Van Buren Co. In the spring of 1867 he removed to Bloomingdale township, in the same county, where he now resides, an engraving of his home appearing in this work. AARON K. TEDROW. This gentleman, who was another of those who stood bravely up to do battle with the wilderness of Bloomingdale, and carve therefrom a home, deserves honorable mention. He was born in Somerset Co, Pa., Dec. 3, 1827, and was the third in a family of seven children. At an early age he was deprived of his mother, and was thrown upon his resources at a time when many, in like circumstances, would have despaired. He learned the trade of a stone-mason, and worked at that and on the farm until he was twenty-seven years of age. In 1855 he married Catharine Koover, also a resident of Somerset Co., Pa., and having accumulated a few hundred dollars, he determined to emigrate, with his wife, to the West, settling finally on an eighty-acre tract which he purchased in Bloomingdale township, Van Buren Co., Mich. A log house was first erected, and the work of clearing and improving was commenced; and life was begun in earnest by this pioneer couple. To his first purchase Mr. Tedrow afterwards added three hundred and sixty acres, and resided upon the farm until his death, which occurred March 12,1876. Although he held some local offices, he preferred to devote most of his time to his own business. Although he did not live to enjoy fully the results of his labors, he left a competence for his family,-a blessing not always bequeathed by a departing husband and father. To Mr. and Mrs. Tedrow were born the following children, viz.: Amanda, May 10, 1857; Elerann, March 1,1860; Charles A., Nov. 5, 1862; John F., April 7, 1865; Sarah A., June 28, 1868; Florence, Nov. 5,1871. All are living at or near home. Mr. Tedrow died comparatively young, but his memory will long be cherished by the relatives and friends who survive him. J. G. CLARK. Mr. Clark was born in the town of Clarkson, Monroe Co., N. Y., in the year 1846, and was the eighth in a family of eleven children. His parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth Clark, came from Lincolnshire, England, in 1830, settling in the town where the son was born, and in which the father died, in 1854. In 1857, Mrs. Clark removed, with her large family of children, to Bloomingdale, Van Buren Co., Mich., where she purchased a small farm. J. G. Clark, who remained at home until he became of age, entered then into the mercantile business at Geneva, in company with his brother. Upon the completion of the Kalamazoo and South Haven Railway, he withdrew from Iri Liz -7 ~;i4 i FiAi~-.-r; 7:51 RESIOENCE OF J OH N SEBRING, BLOOMINGOALE Te, VAN BUREN GO.,MICH. I, TOWNSHIP OF COLUMBIA. 429 the partnership with his brother and opened an establishment at Gobleville. This venture proved a success, and in connection with it, during the past two years (1878-79), he has engaged quite extensively in bee culture. May 8, 1875, he was married to Hattie A. Goble, who has borne him one child, Pearl J. Clark, born July 25, 1876. Mrs. Clark's parents, Warren and C. M. Goble, came from Monroe Co., N. Y., and settled at Gobleville. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are members of the Free-Will Baptist Church at the village, to which they have contributed largely in both time and money, the church and parsonage having been erected mainly through their efforts. This church was organized in 1871, and a view of the church property may be seen in this work, in connection with that of the home of Mr. Clark. H. H. HOWARD was born in Monroe Co., N. Y., on the farm of his parents, B. M. and Nancy (Hinkley) Howard, in the year 1825. The family was in prosperous circumstances. After the days of his infancy had passed Mr. Howard continued upon the farm until 1850, in which year he was married to Sarah, daughter of James B. and Adaline Cooley, also a native of Monroe County. With the characteristic energy of newly-wedded people, they sought for a suitable location in which to build up a home of their own, and turning their faces and footsteps westward, were soon among those who were striving for mastery with the mighty forests which covered the township of Bloomingdale, Yan Buren Co., Mich. Each succeeding year witnessed the growth of their "clearing," and new fields of plenty " smiled amain," and at present Mr. and Mrs. Howard are the occupants of one of the best-improved farms in the township. Mr. Howard has been chosen to the most responsible positions in the gift of his fellow-townsmen. In 1861, when public interest demanded that the best and most patriotic citizens should be at the helm, he was elected supervisor, and re-elected the following year. From 1872 to 1878 he held the same position, and was only retired later by a change in the (" Greenback") party majority. Without ostentation it may be affirmed that should a smilar emergency to that of 181il arise, Mr. Howard would undoubtedly be found an unswerving supporter of justice and equity and the principles of freedom. Such traits are doubtless owing, in the lives of many indi. viduals, to the influences of home, and this-not taking into consideration his natural character-is the case with Mr. Howard. His estimable wife has been a consistent member of the Regular Baptist Church of Bloomingdale since its organization, and has always exerted what influence she possessed towards the elevation and refinement of her family, and mankind in general. To Mr. and Mrs. Howard have been born two children,-Clara A., Jan. 3, 1859, and Edward M., April 26, 1865. A glance at the accompanying views of the present and former residences of Mr. Howard reminds the observer of Carleton's famous poem, "Out of the Old Home into the New." CHAPTER LVI. COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP.* Location and Description of Township-Early Settlements and Settlers-Civil History-Villages-Breedsville-Columbia-Grand Junction-Secret Associations-Educational. LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF TOWNSHIP. OCCUPYING a central position on the northern border of Van Buren County lies the township of Columbia. It was formed from South Haven in 1845, and embraces the territory designated in the field-notes of the United States as " township number one south of the base line, of range number fifteen west of the principal meridian." The general surface is rolling, diversified by irregular ranges of low hills and numerous lakes. Heavy forests of pine, hemlock, oak, beech, and maple covered it originally. Pine and hemlock predominated, however, in the northern part. The lakes, some 13 in number, cover an expanse of about 1300 acres, Saddle Lake being the largest. Other lakes are known as Mud, Deer, Little Bear, Base Line, Coffee, Dollar, Eleven, Fourteen, North, Monson, Jephtha's, part of Great Bear, and a portion of Scott's. The outlet of Great Bear Lake, or the south fork of Black River, is the most important water-course, and affords good water-power privileges, which are utilized in the village of Breedsville. The soil of the township is generally a sandy loam, intermixed here and there with clay. It yields abundantly of wheat, fruit, and all other products common to this portion of Michigan. For many years lumbering was the principal occupation of the people; but with the disappearance of the monarchs of the forest agriculture is slowly assuming its due importance. Ample railroad facilities are afforded by the Kalamazoo and South Haven branch of the Michigan Central Railroad and the Chicago and Michigan Lake-Shore Railroad. The former, running in a northwest course, intersects sections 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, its stations being Berlamont, Columbia, Grand Junction, and Brown's. The latter passes from north to south through the western half of the township, intersecting in its course sections 5, 8, 17, 20, 29, 31, and 32, Grand Junction and Breedsville being stations. Both roads were completed in 1870. Although settlements and their consequent development of the country did not commence in the northern half of the township until about 1868, the State census of 1874 returned a total population of 1736 inhabitants. EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS. In May, 1835, Rev. Jonathan N. Hinckley and Barnard M. Howard, both from Monroe Co., N. Y., visited the region now known as Columbia township, then unorganized territory attached to Cass County, and purchased several tracts of land in the immediate vicinity of the present village of Breedsville. Upon the south side of the creek, and east of the present * By John S. Schenok. 430 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. mill-yard, they erected the walls of a log house, and after covering them with a bark roof they returned to their homes in the State of New York. Early in the fall of the same year a party of about 25 persons, all from Monroe Co., N. Y., started out for the purpose of making a settlement on the new purchase. They journeyed via the Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence by Lake Erie to Detroit. In the latter city they bought an ox-team and wagon. Upon their wagon they loaded their household goods and the small children, and then, with the major portion of their number on foot, set out via the Territorial road for Paw Paw. ~ It occupied two days to cut out roads and make their way from the last-mentioned settlement to the cabin awaiting them on the banks of the outlet. Here all arrived safely, however, Oct. 1, 1835, and here began the first settlement of any importance in the northern half of Van Buren County. This party of emigrants was composed of the followingnamed persons: Rev. Jonathan N. Hinckley, William N. Taylor, Silas Breed, his wife and children,-Stillman, Phoebe Ann, Hinckley, Joshua,-and an adopted daughter named Sarah Taylor; Samuel Watson, his wife and children,Leonard, Lyman, Sarah,-and a grandson, whose name is unknown, all from the town of Parma; Jonathan N. Howard and his wife, Elizabeth, from the town of Sweden; Amos S. Brown, his wife, and children,-Elizabeth, Amos S., Jr., Wells G., Minerva, and Jesse R.,-from the town of Ogden. & The unfinished cabin was soon made in a habitable condition. The next house built was for Mr. Brown's family, which was followed soon after by the one erected for Mr. Watson's occupancy. These three houses sheltered the colonists during the first winter. Prior to that time, however, William A. Babbitt joined them. Elder Hinckley returned to New York in January, 1836, and did not again make this locality his residence until several years later. The first death occurred during the winter of 1835-36, in the person of Sarah Taylor. During the year 1836, Jonathan N. Howard and others erected houses for themselves, and Silas Breed built his saw-mill, which was then valued at $700. The events of the year 1837 were the organization of South Haven township, of which the residents were nearly all members of the Breedsville settlement; the arrival and settlement of Elijah Knowles, William Bridges, and George Cochrane, from Livingston Co., N. Y.; Dr. Hervey Manley, from Ashtabula Co., Ohio; and Myron Hoskins, from Paw Paw. Mr. Hoskins settled in Paw Paw in 1835, and it is believed erected the first framed house in this township. The first child-Nancy-was born to Jonathan N. Howard and wife in 1837, and during the fall of the same year the second death took place. Samuel Watson, then about sixty years of age, had gone on foot to Paw Paw in quest of medicine for some member of his family. Upon his return he died alone in the woods, where his body was found upon a search being instituted. The parties named in the first marriage contract were George Cochrane and Miss Sarah Watson. By whom they were married, or the precise date of the wedding, is unknown. - - I In 1838 the first tannery was commenced by Elijah Knowles and John Barrows, the first school-house-in which Lorenzo D. Cate taught the first school-was built, and the settlement was still further increased in numbers by the arrival of Jephtha Waterman, Horace Humphrey, John Barrows, and probably a few others. For several years the early residents procured their mailmatter at Paw Paw. Upon the establishment of the Breedsville office, Amos S. Brown became the first postmaster, and Jesse R. Brown carried the first mail between Breedsville and Paw Paw. The assessment-roll of the townships of South Haven for the year 1839 shows that the resident tax-payers in township No. 1 south, of range No. 15 west, their location of lands, number of acres owned, and value of real and personal estate were as follows: Silas Breed, section 33, 80 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $1090; saw-mill, $700. Elijah Knowles, section 32,160 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $720. Hervey Manley, section 29, 240 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $770. Jonathan N. Howard, sections 19, 28, 240 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $705. J. M. Babbitt, sections 1, 33, 160 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $515. Myron Hoskins, sections 26, 32, 33, 880 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $880. Leonard Watson, section 33, 40 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $140. Amos S. Brown, section 32, 160 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $765. Luman Brown, section 32, 80 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $240. Jephtha Waterman, section 35, 69 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $162. Horace Humphrey, section 1, 40 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $120. Joseph Peck,* section 1, 80 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $240. D. C. Ackley, section 29, 80 acres; aggregate of real and personal estate, $240. Other names added to the rolls in 1840 were those of William A. Babbitt, Henry Babbitt, and Dustin Murch, and the total amount of taxes paid by the residents in that year was $30.23. Thomas P. Page settled in the village of Breedsville in 1841. He, with many others, kept an open house for the accommodation of travelers. About 1848, when the stages began running between Paw Paw and South Haven, he opened a regularly licensed hostelry. Charles W. Luce, a present prominent resident of the township, settled on section 23 the same year. Alexander Lytle, township treasurer for a long period of * Joseph Peck, of " Pecktown," was a resident of the present township of Bloomingdale, section 6, but owned land on section 1, in this township. Messrs. Breed, Knowles, Manley, Howard, Babbitt, Watson, and Amos S. Brown were the only ones assessed for personal estate, and, except three, the foregoing twelve men comprised all the resident tax-payers of the then township of South Haven in 1839. MRS S. D. BROWN. VIEW FROI THE NORTH VIEW FROM rHE SOUTH. H/ESIDENCE OF MRS. S.D. BROWN, BREEDSVILLE,VANBURENCO., CH, A-O. Il~ TOWNSHIP OF COLUMBIA. 431 years, early purchased lands situated upon sections 28 and 34, and settled here in 1842. Other early settlers, who were here prior to 1845, were Peter Smith, Lyman Loomis (the first supervisor of Columbia), Jethro Barber (one of the earliest pioneers in the county), Amos E. Barber, Edmond Sawtell, David Barker, Hiram Chappell, James Richards, S. N. Pike, A. Bugsbee, and James Moore. Jonathan N. Hinckley, a grandson of Elder J. N. Hinckley, came from Barry, Orleans Co., N. Y., in the fall of 1845, and settled where he now resides, having purchased an improvement made by Jephtha Waterman. Mr. Hinckley drove out his team of horses, coming by the route south of the lakes. In the spring of 1846 his family, accompanied by his brother Marenus, joined him here. Henry Mower was his nearest neighbor on the east, and Paw Paw the nearest post-office station. Among other quite early settlers in this township were E. L. Bushnell, who first came to Van Buren County in 1833; John King and his brother, 1845; Eli Bell, 1849; A. H. L. Teal, 1851; the Lacells, 1852; E. T. Pepper, 1854; Dr. H. Anderson, 1855; R. Jones, 1856; and James Thompson, 1857. In 1858 the first grist-mill was erected by Heath, on the outlet of Great Bear Lake. No improvements of any importance, except in the vicinity of " Pecktown," were made in the northern part of the township until 1868 to 1870, when they were hastened by the contemplated building of the railroads. CIVIL HISTORY. Upon the organization of the county, in 1837, South Haven was one of the seven townships then formed, and the inhabitants of the territory now known as the township of Columbia comprised nearly all the residents of South Haven. This geographical condition of affairs, as regards this township, was continued until 1845, when, by an act of the State Legislature, townships 1 south, of ranges 15 and 16 west, were set off as the township of Columbia. Geneva became a separate organization in 1854. Compilations from Township Records.-It was proposed under this head to give in full the proceedings of the first township elections, other early items of interest, and complete lists of township officers elected annually from 1845 to 1879, inclusive; but, in consequence of the unaccountable disappearance of records to 1858, they can only be given from the last-named year to 1879, inclusive, as follows: SUPERVISORS. 1858-59, Amos S. Brown; 1860, Doctor II. Anderson; 1861, Jonathan N. Howard; 1862-64, Amos S. Brown; 1865, Doctor H. Anderson. 1866-67, William 11. Knowles; 1868, V. F. Randall; 1869-70, Norman H. Adams; 1871, Jonathan N. Howard; 1872, William H. Knowles; 1873, Amasa M. Brown; 1874, Duane D. Briggs; 1875-79, Amasa M. Brown. TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1858, Enoch White, Jr.; 1859, Thomas P. Page; 1860, Lemuel C. Clow; 1861, James M. Gray; 1862-79, Abner D. Enos. TREASURERS. 1858, Jonathan N. Howard; 1859-64, Alexander Lytle; 1865, Jonathan N. Hinckley; 1866-69, Alexander Lytle; 1870, James M. Gray; 1871, William H. Knowles; 1872-78, Alexander Lytle; 1879, William H. Knowles. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1858, William W. Smith, Richard Bessey; 1859, Doctor H. Anderson, Thomas P. Page, C. La Rue; 1860, Charles B. Hurlbut; 1861, Jonathan N. Howard, Sumner Bisbee; 1862, Charles B. Hurlbut; 1863, C. Lane, Chester C. Leathers; 1864, Chester C. Leathers; 1865, Eleazer C. Vincent; 1866, Charles B. Hurlbut; 1867, Joel C. Sayre, Richard B. Cooper; 1868, Chester C. Leathers, A. G. Eastman, William R. Fox; 1869, Richard B. Cooper; 1870, Augustus D. Munger; 1871, A. G. Eastman; 1872, George M. Osman, D. S. Headley; 1873, Richard B. Cooper, J. D. Serinar, George W. Chrouch; 1874, Stephen Baker, George M. Osman; 1875, A. G. Eastman, II. W. Burkholder, Charles S. Sharon; 1876, Norman H1. Adams, A. T. Anderson, James Smith; 1877, C. J. Slafter; 1878, Eri Summay; 1879, Charles B. Hurlbut. HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS. 1858, Uriah H. Chapman; 1859, Jonathan N. Hinckley; 1860, Obed W. Quint; 1861, A. E. Barber; 1862, 0. Hoag, Albert E. Bessey; 1863, Doctor H. Anderson, Jesse R. Brown, Timothy P. Bewley, Hiram B. Hayes; 1864, Richard B. Cooper; 1865, Joseph Bogardus; 1866, Amos E. Barber; 1867, Jonathan N. Hinckley, Jesse R. Brown; 1868, Wells G. Brown; 1869, Amos E. Barber; 1870, Chester C. Leathers; 1871, William Rodenbough; 1872, Edwin T. Pepper; 1873, Amos E. Barber; 1874, William Redding; 1875, Edwin T. Pepper; 1876-77, Wells G. Brown; 1878 -79, John A. Wright. DRAIN COMMISSIONERS. 1876, Asahel A. Iough; 1877, Henry Ilice; 1878, Benjamin Smith. TOWNSHIP SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS. 1875-76, Seneca Anderson; George R. Baker, appointed October, 1876; 1877-79, Levi Ackley. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1858, Francis M. Jones; 1859, Doctor H. Anderson, Samuel Clow; 1860, Abner D. Enos; 1861, William 11. Knowles, Doctor H. Anderson; 1862, Norman H. Adams; 1863, Charles B. Hurlbut; 1864, Valentine Bennett; 1865, William W. Smith; 1866, Robert Baker; 1867, William W. Smith; 1868, Jonathan N. Hinckley; 1869, William H. Knowles; 1870, Wells G. Brown; 1871, N. J. Cranmer; 1872, George W. Chrouch; 1873, Seneca Anderson, Chester C. Leathers; 1874, William H. Knowles; 1875, Seneca Anderson; 1876-77, Charles B. Hurlbut; 1878, N. R. Baldwin; 1879, A. Throop Anderson. CONSTABLES. 1858, Uriah H. Chapman, James M. Moore; 1859, James Gilbert, James Crocker, Amos E. Barber, George M. D. Tucker; 1860, William H. Knowles, O. Gesler, Joseph Alien, Amos E. Barber; 1861, Uriah H. Chapman, Marenus Hinckley, Thomas P. Page, John Barnard; 1862, Amos E. Barber, Truman Fletcher, Augustus D. Munger, Jefferson Ostrander; 1863, John W. Fisk, Amos E. Barber, D. D. Root, Charles Leathers; 1864, Hiram B. Hayes, Amos E. Barber, Uriah H. Chapman, John W. Fisk; 1865, William Lafferty, Uriah H. Chapman, Amos E. Barber, John W. Fisk; 1866, William Lafferty, A. G. Eastman, Charles Leathers, Jerome Rockwell; 1867, William Lafferty, Stephen Baker, Uriah H. Chapman, O. Gesler; 1868, George Rossman, Thomas P. Page, Dana D. Root, John Starbuck; 1869, Millard J. Smith, Charles Leathers, E. Wood, G. Reynolds; 1870, Benjamin Brown, Millard J. Smith, A. G. Eastman, George W. Cheesebro; 1871, William Rhodes, George W. Cheesebro, J. M. Gray, Benjamin F. Woodruff; 1872, Solomon Cox, William Peck, Arthur W. Barber, Gilbert W. Hudson; 1873, William Curtis, Willard J. Smith, E. V. Allen, H. P. Siboll; 1874, H. P. Siboll, A. Root, Millard J. Smith, George Bidwell; 1875, Amos E. Barber, George S. Bidwell, Henry P. Siboll, Fred. H. Brown; 1876, Amos E. Barber, Edward Fox, William Lafferty, Daniel Ramsay; 1877, Elijah E. Brown, Edward Fox, William Lafferty, Amos E. Barber; 1878, William Lafferty, O. H. Barker, Orlando C. Fox, Stephen Stafford; 1879, William Lafferty, Charles F. Peck, O. J. Barker, L. D. Townsend. RESIDENTS IN 1845. Tax-paying residents in 1845, and the sections upon which their lands were situated, were as follows: 432 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I Sec. Sec. Peter Smith........................ 1 Hiram Chappell............... 19 Horace Humphrey............... 3 James Richards............... 33 Lyman Loomis............... 1, 33 Elijah Knowles................... 32 Amos S. Brown................... 32 Knowles & Barrows..........4, 33 W ells G. Brown................. 28 S. N. Pike.......................... 33 Thomas P. Page.................. 33 A. Bugsbee.................. 31 Jethro Barber................... 33 Rev. Jonathan N. Hinckley Amos E. Barber.................. 32 18, 20, 28, 29, 33, 35 Dustin Murch..................... 33 Jephtha Waterman.............. 13 Edmond Sawtell................. 32 Charles W. Luce.............. 23 Jonathan N. Howard.......19, 28 Alexander Lytle..............28, 34 Hervey Manley................... 29 James Moore............... 34 David Barker.................. 29 VILLAGES. Breedsville. —The village of Breedsville, which enjoys the distinction of being the oldest settlement in the northern part of the county, is situated in the southern part of the township, on the outlet of Great Bear Lake. It is also a station on the line of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad. It contains one church edifice (Methodist Episcopal), Masonic, Knights of Pythias, and Odd-Fellow's lodges, one commodious hotel, three stores of general merchandise, one grist-mill, one saw-mill, one extensive tannery, several small mechanical shops, and about 350 inhabitants. The original owners of its site were Barnard M. Howard, Miss Laura White, Amos S. Brown, Sr., Rev. Jonathan N. Hinckley, and Samuel Watson. Although quite regularly laid out, no survey and plat has ever been placed on record. Thomas P. Page kept the first tavern, and Lorenzo Painter, Woodson & Co. opened the first store. Previous to their establishment of a store here they had brought in goods and exchanged with the early settlers for shingles, produce, etc. The grist-mill was built by Wells G. Brown in 1873. Columbia.-A village-site of this name was platted by Marvin Hannahs, William F. Dickinson, and Samuel Rogers, Feb. 20, 1871. It is merely a station on the line of the Kalamazoo and South Haven branch of the Michigan Central Railroad. Grand Junction.-This village, as its name implies, is situated at the junction of the two railroads which intersect the township. It was platted by Samuel Rogers, Marvin Hannahs, Conrad Crouse, and George W. Chrouch, Dec. 8, 1871. It contains three stores of general merchandise, two hotels, one restaurant, blacksmith-, wagon-, and shoeshops, and about 200 inhabitants. Settlements were first made here in the fall of 1869 by David Young, a native of England. Mr. Young emigrated to America in 1848. In 1855 he settled in the township of Geneva, which was then a comparatively wild region. His nearest neighbor, Jesse Lane, was three miles distant, and many Indians frequented the vicinity. In 1869 he purchased six lots in the prospective village of Grand Junction, and during the fall of the same year became its first settler. The two railroads were then in process of construction, and his nearest neighbors were in Breedsville. Soon afterwards he began the erection of the building known when completed as " Young's Hotel," and opened the same in 1871. The next settler was a colored man named Hungerford, who kept boarders. I Conrad Crouse, a German, and one of the village proprietors, sold the first goods, about 1874, in the building now occupied by himself and others as a dwelling. Merchandising has since been carried on here by John Collins, Harvey Munger, Henry P. S. Voll, William H. Knowles, and others. John Collins was the first postmaster. The office has since been held by Harvey Munger and W. A. Teazell, the present incumbent. Patrick Mead opened the first smithy in 1872, and during the same year the first physician, Dr. Delaplaine, located. He has been succeeded by Drs. Webster, Andrews, and Cornell. The school-house was built in 1871. John A. Wright built his saw-mill in 1874. George W. Chrouch, another of the village proprietors, was the first station-agent and an energetic citizen. The country immediately surrounding the village was originally heavily timbered with pine and hemlock. During the burning of Chicago, forest fires, wide-spread and very destructive to life and property, raged with great violence in many portions of the Western States. Such an one swept around and over the little hamlet of Grand Junction. After destroying thousands of acres of valuable timber, the fiery element spent its force in Allegan and Ottawa Counties, yet not before the village of Holland was laid in ashes. Here the depot and every other building was destroyed, except Young's Hotel and a portion of the Temperance House. The small village of Berlamont, lying partly in the township of Bloomingdale, and the site of Anderson's extensive mills, is mentioned more particularly in the history of the latter township. SECRET ASSOCIATIONS. Headley Lodge, No. 163,1 0. 0. F., was instituted, under a dispensation, May 31, 1871, the first members being A. G. Eastman, Abner D. Enos, Chester C. Leathers, H. C. Kelley, Samuel Hoppin, and T. P. Bewley. They met in Masonic Hall. The first board of officers installed were A. G. Eastman, N. G.; Chester C. Leathers, V. G.; Abner D. Enos, Sec.; T. P. Bewley, Treas. A charter was granted Jan. 18, 1872. The Noble Grands during succeeding terms to present are shown as follows: 1872, Chester C. Leathers, Abner D. Enos; 1873, C. Herold, A. G. Eastman; 1874, John Swan, Henry Hice; 1875, Chester C. Leathers, S. Snell; 1876, 0. Hoag, A. E. Barber; 1877, L. D. Townsend, S. Snell; 1878, H. J. Scrimger, George R. Heath; 1879, Abner D. Enos, S. Snell. The present officers (January, 1880) are L. D. Townsend, N. G.; George Rossman, V. G.; George R. Heathe, Sec.; Abner D. Enos, Permanent Sec.; James M. Gray, Treas. Regular meetings are held Saturday evenings of each week, io their lodge-rooms opposite Snell's hotel. Bailey Lodge, No. 287, F. and A. M., was chartered Jan. 13, 1871. The first officers were Duane D. Briggs, W. M.; P. C. Hathaway, S. W.; and P. A. Dulerrow, J. W. Damascus Lodge, No. 6, K. of P., was chartered March 21, 1873. These lodges all have their lodge-rooms in the village of Breedsville. Further data concerning the Masonic and I as I 11. I I.!J - I =ri n r1 G C,, C,) C)i (I 0 Cai tz 20 C) C):b cs x m zt N. it o o, J 7 i V :-~i:::::::? r TOWNSHIP OF COLUMBIA. 433 Pythian lodges, and also of the Methodist Episcopal Church, were earnestly solicited, and promised by official members, but we failed to obtain the desired information. EDUCATIONAL. As previously mentioned, the first school-house was built in the Breedsville settlement in 1838, and Lorenzo D. Cate taught the first school. From the township records we learn that School District No. 1, comprising sections 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33, was formed Jan. 31, 1845. Fractional District No. 2, including sections 1 and 12 in this township, and portions of Trowbridge and Bloomingdale, was organized Dec. 26, 1845, by Jonathan N. Howard, Hervey Manley, Daniel Foster, Sidney Smith, William H. H. Myers, and Henry T. Houghton, school inspectors of said townships. This meeting was held at the house of Horace Humphrey. Lewis Van Vliet was granted a certificate to teach the school in District No. 1, Nov. 29,1845, and one year later, Dec. 16, 1846, John Roby was licensed to teach the same school. The sum of $7.36 was received from the county treasurer in July, 1847, which was apportioned to District No. 1, it having 23 children of school age. Also during the same year Miss Adelia Sexton received a teacher's certificate. The teachers licensed in 1848 were Miss Minerva Brown, Miss Mary R. Platt, Miss L. L. Gray, and Joel Camp. The apportionment of school moneys received in March, 1848, was as follows: total received, $42; paid to District No. 1, having 25 scholars, $42. In July of the same year $19 was received. The apportionment gave to District No. 1, $14.41; to Fractional District No. 2, $4.59. Miss Harriet Brown received a certificate in 1849, and the following was the July apportionment same year: District No. 1, 25 scholars, $8.25; Fractional District No. 2, 22 scholars, $7.21. Other early teachers, from 1850 to 1853, were Miss Sarah A. Peacock, Miss H. D. Peacock, William B. Hathaway, Miss Minerva Brown, and Miss Harriet N. Ladd. Buren County with him, besides A. S. Brown, Jr., were his wife, Mrs. Eliza (Bullock) Brown, Welles G., Jesse R., Minerva, and Sarah,-the latter remaining in Paw Paw, where she still resides. Besides these who came with him, there were Amasa M. and Luman (who remained in Vermont). Amasa is a practicing physician there. Luman, at a later period, followed the family to Michigan, entered the army, was wounded at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and died from its effects. Sarah, Minerva, and Amasa M. are the only surviving children. A. S. Brown, Sr., purchased upon his arrival a farm of eighty acres, and with the three younger boys, A. S., W. G., and J. R., continued the working of this farm until his death, which occurred in 1842, at which time the boys formed a copartnership, and remained with interests united until the beginning of the Rebellion, when W. G. withdrew. Previous to this, in 1860, A. S. had married Miss Sarah Deming, daughter of Roswell and Mariana U. (Boughton) Deming, who were married in Avon, Livingston Co., N. Y., where Philena C., Amos, William, Sarah, Almena, Martha, and Catharine were born, the last named dying in infancy. The others are still living, the first four in Michigan, Almena in Livingston Co., N. Y., and Martha in Minnesota. Mrs. Brown's mother had died in Livingston County, March 3, 1841, Mr. Deming removing with two of the children to Arlington, Van Buren Co., where he remained until Sarah's marriage to Mr. Brown, after which he made his home with them. The two brothers finally dissolved partnership, and in the division of property A. S. became owner of the homestead, a view of which appears in this work, and where the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Brown were born, the dates and names as follows: Sarah E., born April 3, 1862; Henry A., born Aug. 8, 1863; Ella C., born April 28, 1865, died July 30, 1867; Amos S., born May 3, 1867, died Aug. 8, 1869. Mr. Brown, from time to time, added to the original purchase until his farm contained over two hundred acres. His health failing him, he proceeded to Minnesota, hoping the change would be beneficial, but such was not the case, and on the 4th of September, 1872, he died. By his preeminent abilities he arose from comparative obscurity, and has bequeathed to his family a handsome fortune. The soundness of his judgment and sterling integrity had secured for him a high place in the estimation of his fellowcitizens, whose voluntary suffrages had for nearly thirty years retained him almost constantly in some official position. During the years 1867-68 he represented his district in the State Legislature on the Republican side with fidelity and ability. Public enterprises and improvements always found in him a liberal and efficient patron. Mrs. Brown resides at the old home, using the means her husband provided for her in the education of their children. J. N. HINCKLEY. Dexter and Elizabeth (Doty) Hinckley were natives of New York, and were married in Monroe County, where J. N., Levilla, Marenus, Nancy, and Betsey Jane were born. J. N. was born in 1819, received a limited education, and at the early age of fifteen was compelled, of necessity, to SCHOOL STATISTICS OF 1879. Number of districts (whole, 7; fractional, 2)........ Children of school age residing in the township.... " attending school during the year............ Frame school-houses........................................ Seating capacity...................................... Value of school property................................. Number of teachers employed (male, 3; female, 11) Paid male teachers......................................... " fem ale "......................................... Total expenditures during the year..................... Cash on hand, Sept. 1, 1879............................. 9 432 354 9 528 $5360 14 $601.00 $979.25 $2172.90 $679.86 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. A. S. BROWN. One of the first four families that located in the tbwnship of Columbia was that of A. S. Brown, Sr.; this occurred in the fall of 1835. Mr. Brown came from the town of Essex, Chittenden Co., Vt., where the subject of our sketch, A. S. Brown, was born in the year 1819. The members of Mr. Brown, Sr.'s family who came to Van 55 434 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. become the support and mainstay of the family. He worked upon the Erie Canal six seasons, and then removed to Columbia township, Van Buren Co., Mich., his mother, Marenus, Levilla, and Jane accompanying him. Nancy had previously married and settled in Columbia, and Mr. Hinckley bought an adjoining farm of forty acres, for living. Charlotte married B. W. Cornwall, and lives on the home-farm. Flora married R. Holland, and lives in Charlevoix Co., Mich. Ella married Joseph Baxter, and lives in Bloomingdale township. The others are living at home. Mrs. Hinckley died May 2, 1873; she was a devoted wife, a faithful mother, and loved and respected by all who Photos. by L. L. Northrup, Bangor. J. N. HINCKLEY. MRS. J. N. HINCKLEY. which he paid one hundred dollars. Several years later he bought forty more, and has continued adding to the original forty until now he is the owner of one hundred and eighty acres. He married Miss Harriet L. Bessey and settled upon the place now occupied by him. Of this union seven children were born, viz., Charlotte A., Flora E., Orrin N., Ella J., May E., Perry N., and Harriet A., all of whom are still CHAPTER LVII. COVERT TOWNSHIP.* Deerfield changed to Covert-Description of the Township-Pioneer Settlers in Deerfield-The Village of Covert-Resident Tax-payers in 1856-Civil History-The Congregational Church. DEERFIELD CHANGED TO COVERT-DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWNSHIP. THE township of Covert was for many years after its organization known as the township of Deerfield. This name proving inconvenient, from the fact that there were other towns and villages of the same name in the State, a bill was introduced into the Legislature in 1876, by W. 0. Packard, Esq., praying that it be changed to Covert, which was accordingly done. It is designated as township 2 south, range 17 west, and is located on the western side of Van Buren County, its western border being washed by the waters of Lake Michigan. On its northern side lies South Haven, on the east Bangor, while Berrien County joins it on the south. knew her. Mr. Hinckley afterwards married Mrs. Elizabeth Leathers. When Mr. Hinckley first came to Michigan he had four hundred dollars, and by good management, economy, and industry has secured a competency, and now, in the afternoon of life, takes the world easy. He is a Republican in politics, and much interested in the grange, of which he is a member. Its name was suggestive of the early pioneer days, when the deer roamed unharmed through its forests; and when circumstances rendered a change in its cognomen necessary these reminiscences were not ignored in its subsequent christening., The soil of Covert presents a very attractive field of labor to the agriculturist, and is especially well adapted to the growth of fruit. It is a mixture of sand and clay, which is very productive, and yields abundant crops of corn and wheat. Notwithstanding this fact settlers were tardy inl availing themselves of its advantages, and it was not until 1844 that the first settler broke the soil and began clearing the forests. The surface is gently undulating until the lake-shore is approached, when it becomes broken and uneven, abrupt and often picturesque hills adorning the landscape. One or two of these have from their height and striking appearance something of the dignity of mountains, and are objects of some interest to the traveler. From their summits is afforded a view of the lake, which is at once commanding and expansive. Covert is well watered by numerous streams which meander through its limits, principal among which is Brandywine Creek, a considerable stream, which flows west of the centre of the town * By Edgar 0. Wagner. WM. PACKARD. W. 0. PACKARD. WILLIAM PACKARD. The grandfather of this gentleman was born in Bridgewater, Mass., and at the age of fourteen years entered the Revolutionary army. At twenty-four he was married to Miss Edson, and by her became the father of eight children, -five sons and three daughters. His occupation was that of a farmer. Among his children was Amasa Packard (father of William), who, at the age of eighteen years, married Lucinda, daughter of John Ford, her parents being also natives of Bridgewater,-where Amasa Packard was born, Jan. 6, 1788. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Packard occupied a tract of wild land, which they improved and resided upon until 1832, when they removed to Ohio. William, son of Amasa and Lucinda Packard, was born in Plainfield, Mass., July 23, 1808, and was the first in a family of eight children,-five sons and three daughters. Until he had reached his majority he assisted his father on the home farm, and for two years subsequently hired " by the month." May 19, 1831, he married Mary F., daughter of Thaddeus and Mary Rude, a native of Massachusetts. The wedded pair removed to Rensselaer Co., N. Y., and occupied a farm which Mr. Packard had previously purchased. In 1836 they changed their residence to Chatham township, Medina Co., Ohio, where Mr. Packard bought and cleared a farm, and remained upon it until 1859. In the latter year he removed to Allegan Co., Mich., and in 1870, to the place he now occupies in Covert township, Van Buren Co. Mr. and Mrs. Packard are the parents of the following children: William 0., born Sept. 14, 1832; Alfred S., born Sept. 22, 1834; Mary P., born August 18, 1836; Helen Celestia, born Oct. 28, 1842, died at the age of six months. July 14, 1863, Mr. Packard was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died and was buried in Allegan Co. Sept. 5, 1864, Mr. Packard was married to Mrs. Mary F. Rood, widow of Marshall Rood. Her death occurred in Covert township August 25, 1875;and on the 19th of September, 1876, Mr. Packard was married to Josephine L. Seymour, daughter of William H. and Ruth Seymour. This union has been blessed with one child,-Ruth Celestia, born Oct. 5, 1879. Mr. Packard united with the Congregational Church in 1844. He is a staunch Republican in politics, and has been the recipient of numerous favors from his fellow-citizens, in the shape of offices of greater or less importance. While a resident of Ohio he occupied all the official positions in his township, and was twice chosen to the Legislature from Allegan Co., Mich. Since he settled in Michigan, Mr. Packard has, in company with his sons, been extensively engaged in the lumber business, their possessions at one time including upwards of four thousand five hundred acres of timber, with four saw-mills in full operation. In 1877, Alfred S. Packard withdrew from the firm, and is now individually engaged in business. William Packard and his son, William O. Packard, are yet associated, and own and operate the saw-mills at Covert, one saw- and planing-mill having a run of stone attached for the purpose of grinding feed. Mr. Packard's brother, Josiah Packard, with his son-in-law, belonged to the firm of Packard, Sons & Co. for eight years. William O. Packard was elected to the State Senate in 1876, from Van Buren County, serving one term. I::;::::::: -:::::'-~-;: TOWNSHIP OF COVERT. 435 ship, and finds an outlet in Lake Michigan at the northwest corner of section 8. On section 30 is Mud Lake, which, though not of large size, is the only lake of consequence, and affords attractions to the lover of piscatorial sports. Covert, however, derives its importance from the fact that it lies adjacent to Lake Michigan, and is thus afforded commercial facilities which are denied its inland neighbors. The last census, 1874, does not indicate a flattering yield of grain, but since that time much additional land has been cultivated and its productiveness greatly increased. PIONEER SETTLERS IN DEERFIELD. The township is a comparatively new one, and very little progress was made in its development until after 1860. Its timbered lands, until the enterprise of later residents made them the chief sources of its revenue, offered many obstacles to the pioneer, and retarded rather than promoted its advancement. It contained no rich prairie land, and every acre of tillable soil was obtained at a cost of much labor in clearing. The coming of the earliest settler occurred in 1845. In that year Benoni Young migrated from the distant State of Maine and located upon section 13, where he entered 160 acres. Here, with his family, in the midst of the forest, he lived for seven years an isolated life, with no other settler in the township, and for a long period no indication of an increase in its population. His nearest neighbor, Mason Wood, resided in the township of Bangor, and became a resident after Mr. Young's arrival. Isaac Swain, another neighbor, lived in the township of Watervliet. Mr. Young was obliged to depend chiefly upon his own exertions for the improvement of his farm, and realizing this fact, he began with a will the preliminary work of chopping and erecting the necessary buildings for the comfort of his family. By industry he soon rendered a portion of this land productive, and proved the fine quality of the soil in the abundant crops which he produced. Mr. Young, however, seems not to have been strongly attached to the scene of his early pioneer experiences, for in 1861 he made the township of Hartford his home, and still resides there. In his family occurred the earliest birth in Covert, that of his daughter, Marietta Young. Eis home was the scene during the year 1859 of a very merry gathering, which celebrated the earliest marriage in the township, that of Miss Jane Young, his daughter, to Mr. Allen Fish. They still reside in Covert. The next settler was John Peters, who purchased a farm and located upon section 32, the land having been previously owned by one Ingraham. He did not, however, remain long to improve his purchase, but removed to Berrien County. He afterwards entered the United States army and died in the service. Matthias Farnum's settlement soon followed that of Mr. Peters. He chose section 7 as a location, and built upon it a saw-mill, the first in the township, in which for a period of years much of the lumber was sawed which was used in the construction of the frame houses and barns of the township. Mr. Farnum later removed to Benton Harbor, where he now resides. On the site of this early mill was built in 1857 a saw mill, which formed the nucleus of an extensive enterprise under the direction of a settler named Paul. The scheme of this ambitious company seemed to have been one of no small magnitude, contemplating the running of 60 saws which were to be propelled by steam furnished by three huge boilers. The settlement was christened Paulville, and boarding-houses were erected for the numerous choppers. The enterprise, however, proved a failure, and the decline of the little village of Paulville on the shore of Lake Michigan was scarcely less rapid than its mushroom growth. No vestige of its former importance remains, and other mills have performed the labor that was intended by its projectors to have been accomplished by this. Canada sent a pioneer to the township in the person of James Dobbyn, who arrived in 1854 and entered 280 acres on section 32. John Peters and family extended to the Canadian settlers a cordial welcome, and offered them such shelter and hospitality as was possible in their limited quarters. This was gladly accepted during the interval of six weeks in which Mr. Dobbyn was engaged in constructing a cabin for his household, and sixteen souls at this time composed the family circle. Mr. Dobbyn at once began the work of clearing and improving his land, and with the aid of the axe and the fire about five acres were soon cleared. During this period he suffered much from illness, which seriously impeded his progress, but a sufficient tract had been improved to render the family a modest subsistence. Arriving without a team their early labors were made the more arduous, and indeed this fact was the more apparent in their progress towards their new home, when all the household goods they possessed were borne upon their backs. Very great aid was afforded Mr. Dobbyn in his early struggles as a pioneer by the abundance of game to be found. Not only did this supply their larder with fresh and dried meats, but much of it was shipped to Chicago, where good prices were realized. The earliest school-house was built in the neighborhood of Mr. Dobbyn's farm, by the side of the highway, on section 33. The young lady who guided the youthful minds of Covert at this early day was Miss Geraldine Taft, who had just attained the age of fourteen summers, maturity of years not being deemed an essential element in the qualifications of a district school-teacher. The years of her oldest pupil fully equaled her own, while the youngest had seen but four summers. The pupils at this early school were Josephine Lee, Henry Wygent, Violetta Wygent, John Dobbyn, Jane Dobbyn, Emma Dell, Isabella Dobbyn, William Lee, David Lee, William Wygent, Richard Dobbyn, Lita Fish, Mary Dell, Sarah J. Dobbyn, and Solon Ingraham. In connection with this it may be stated that the township is now divided into five whole and one fractional districts, the directors of which are William Y. Trafford, Henry Curtis, Franklin Ganson, David Leslie, D. Ballen, and Bryan Everhan. The number of children receiving instruction is 287, who are taught by 1 male and 9 female teachers, to whom in salaries the sum of $1366 is paid. The value of school property is $4375, and the total resources are $2065.67, of which $172.12 is derived from the school fund. 436 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ----- -- John Wygent arrived during the winter of 1854, with his family, and settled upon section 32, in the house vacated by John Peters. He cultivated and improved his land, converting it into a valuable property, but finally was attracted by the flattering prospects held out to the emigrants who were fast populating Nebraska, and became a resident of that Territory. Archibald Wygent arrived soon after, but ultimately made Watervliet his home, where he still resides. Hiram Fish was another of the New York State pioneers who came in 1854. He selected section 21 as a home, where he became a considerable land-owner, having entered 360 acres. This he began early to improve, his first efforts being devoted to the building of a log house. During the interval he remained at Watervliet. Mr. Fish was among the most active of the early pioneers, and manifested a deep interest in affairs pertaining to the welfare of the township. This, however, did not conflict with the more pressing business of cultivating his farm, to which he devoted himself with an energy which was afterwards amply rewarded. His three sons-Allen, Miram, and Draperstill reside in the township. Frank Beal entered, in 1855, 80 acres under the graduation act. He found his land entirely uncultivated, and began at once the work of chopping a sufficient space on which to erect a house, meanwhile remaining in Berrien County. His land lay upon sections 34 and 35. With him came William Kelley and W. W. Lampson, who entered 160 acres on section 35. William and J. McConnell took up their abode on section 36, where they still reside. The settlers were principally occupied at this time in laying out and improving highways. For this service fair wages were paid by the commissioners, which greatly aided them in living, and afforded them means to carry on the work of clearing and improving their lands. Often while engaged in this labor at a remote distance from their home night overtook them, and such shelter as the woods afforded was gladly accepted. With a log for a pillow and a cluster of boughs for a couch, they would enjoy the rest which toil had made sweet, regardless of the howling of the wolves around them. The first highway cut through the forests of the township was probably the one leading to the sawmill of Matthias Farnum. James Dobbyn and his neighbors also cut an early road in the immediate vicinity of their own homes. William A. Dell, who enjoyed the distinction of having been chosen as the first supervisor, was a former resident of New York State, from which he emigrated in the summer of 1855 and purchased 80 acres in Covert, on section 29. Mr. Dobbyn's log house afforded him a temporary abode, while the neighbors made a " bee" for the purpose of building a cabin for his family. His experiences were not unlike those of other pioneers, but Covert seems not to have offered permanent attractions, as later years found him a resident of Watervliet, where he died. The same year came Reuben Lee, who settled upon section 33, where he purchased and improved 60 acres. He seems to have found the township a more congenial abode than his neighbor, Mr. Dell, as he is still a resident upon the farm he purchased. -I I... Ohio sent to Deerfield a pioneer in the person of J. Enlow, who purchased of John House, in 1857, a farm on section 12. This land was entirely uncultivated, and no settlers had located in the immediate vicinity, the nearest neighbors being Mason Wood, in Bangor, and a settler upon section 11. His family were left in Lawrence while he engaged in the construction of a log house, he himself making Bangor his temporary abode during its progress. After the house was completed Mr. Enlow removed his family, and at once found an extended field of labor in the clearing of his land. The southern portion of the township having been earliest settled, the centre and northern sections were at this time almost in their primitive condition. No roads were visible, those originally surveyed having been covered by a heavy growth of brush, which, from want of travel, made them almost impassable. The Indian trail was the highway most used until late emigration made good roads a necessity. Mr. Enlow succeeded in improving this land and developing its resources, and ultimately cleared a fine farm, upon which he now resides. Dawson Pompey came from Indiana in 1866, and purchased of William Sherburne 160 acres on section 13. This farm had previously been owned by Benoni Young, and was the first land cleared in the township. Mr. Pompey had, therefore, to undergo none of the severe experiences of his pioneer neighbors in its early improvement. He has by his industry added greatly to its productiveness, and is esteemed as one of the most successful farmers in Covert. The township has in later years had many accessions to the ranks of its agricultural population, but none of them can properly be included among its pioneers. THE VILLAGE OF COVERT. The hamlet of Covert-which by courtesy is termed a village, though not incorporated-is located principally on section 14, though a portion of it crosses the section line and covers a part of section 13. Its growth may be regarded in some respects not only as rapid but remarkable, the year 1866 having witnessed the earliest effort which later resulted in a promising settlement. Messrs. Hawks & Lambert, of Niles, Mich., being attracted by the very luxuriant growth of timber in the township, purchased timberlands in the vicinity, and immediately began the erection of mills, locating them where the grist-mill of Packard & Sons now stands. They carried on a lumbering business for three years, when their interest was purchased by Packard & Co. To these gentlemen may be ascribed the credit of having promoted the growth of the village, and placed the township on a business equality with the most enterprising townships of the county. Alfred H. Packard, Jr., had previously established himself upon section 2, where he had in 1868 erected saw-mills and made large purchases of land. Messrs. Packard. & Co had -added much to their timbered lands purchased of Messrs. Hawks & Lambert, and finding the capacity of the mill already built in sufficient, erected in 1872 a mill of larger dimensions, which was operated by steam. One of these mills was later devoted to sawing and planing, and a grist-mill was / A.S. PACKARD. MRS. A. s, PACKARO.:~ i-i ",: Mt,,~.r;; ~i 1~;~''.r 1,xs\n46-jd-+c~~. '-:I~-:~ LS/':~;L LE-. On Io. EL, I RESIDENCE AND SAW MILL OF A. S. PACKARD, COVERT TP,, VAN BUREN Co., MICHIGAN. Ii;~:::r:-::~:;-:~~_:::::r -~ —i:l::-:p~ ~~- ~~:2-:-: I::;I,,_-:::~r:-,::~ i TOWNSHIP OF COVERT. 437 built for the purpose of doing custom work. In this mill corn. and feed of various kinds are ground, but no flour. The saw-mills have a capacity of 4,000,000 feet a year, and the firm also deal largely in bark and wood. They employ in the various departments of labor about 40 men, most of these being engaged in chopping. A horse-railroad has been built from the mills to the lake, which affords them superior advantages of shipping. For this purpose substantial piers have been built on the lake-shore at the terminus of the horse-railroad. The mills of Alfred H. Packard, Jr., saw nearly 6,000,000 feet of lumber annually. They also have a horse-railroad, which conveys lumber directly to the lake. The market for this lumber is found in Milwaukee. Chicago, Racine, and other lake-ports. The store was formerly connected with the business, but is now owned by Josiah Packard, who removed from Ohio, and was previously a member of the firm of Packard & Co. There is much business activity manifested in Covert aside from the lumber interest. Josiah Packard conducts a general merchandise store, in which an extended trade is had. E. G. Allen & Co. deal in drugs and medicines, with which they combine groceries, and E. A. Rood is a heavy dealer in hardware. In addition there are two blacksmith-shops, kept by O. B. Shine and Mark Peters; one watch- and clock-shop, kept by J. R. Shine; one liverystable, owned by S. D. Kenney; one market, kept by G. H. Michaels; one shoe-shop, the proprietor of which is Colvin; and a master-builder, G. R. Ross, who has shown much skill in the construction of the new church at Covert. Dr. G. D. Carnes, the only allopathic physician, enjoys an extensive practice. The public school is under the superintendence of De Forest Ross, with Miss Ellen Shaw as assistant. RESIDENT TAX-PAYERS IN 1856. The following list embraces the resident tax-payers in Deerfield (now Covert) for the year 1856: Matthias Farnum, Benoni Young, Charles Phillips, Allen Fish, Draper Fish, Miram Fish, John Burnham, Ira H. Derby, William A. Dell, James Dobbyn, John Wygent, A. G. Wygent, Reuben Lee, F. Beal, W. W. Lampson, William Kelley, Nelson Kelley, George Sinkler, J. Packard, R. Parker. CIVIL HISTORY. This township, originally forming part of the old township of Lafayette, was included within the boundaries of South Haven by an act of the State Legislature erecting the latter township, bearing date March 11, 1837. It continued as South Haven until Oct. 8, 1855, when, by the action of the Board of Supervisors of Van Buren County, surveyed township No. 2 south, of range No. 17 west, was organized as Deerfield. Its name was changed to Covert by the State Legislative body, then in session, March 29, 1877. First Township Election.-Pursuant to the act of organ ization, the electors assembled at the house of Hiram Fish on the first Monday in April, 1856, and organized by Thoosing William A. Dell chairman, Miram Fish and John E. Wygent inspectors of election, A. G. Wygent and Miram Fish clerks. As the final result of this meeting the following-named officers were declared elected, viz.: William A. Dell, Supervisor; Miram Fish, Township Clerk; Draper Fish, Treasurer; Hiram Fish, J. E. Wygent, Franklin Beal, Highway Commissioners; Benoni Young, A. G. Wygent, John A. Hunt, Reuben Lee, Justices of the Peace; A. G. Wygent, William A. Dell, School Inspectors; R. Packer, Allen Fish, A. E. Wygent, George Sinkler, Constables; Hiram Fish, Wallace Lawson, Directors of the Poor. Township Civil List.-The township officers elected at subsequent annual town-meetings (from 1857 to 1879, inclusive) have been as follows: SUPERVISORS. 1857, William A. Dell; 1858-59, Miram Fish; 1860-61, George H. Barker; 1862-63, Miram Fish; 1864-67, George 11. Barker; 1868, William F. Trafford; 1869, Miram Fish; 1870-74, George H. Barker; 1875-76, George Grant; 1877-78, 0. S. Shaw; 1879, George Grant. TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1857, James Dobbyn; 1858, A. Cress; 1859, William A. Dell; 1860, James Dobbyn; 1861, Miram Fish; 1862, R. R. Randall; 1863 -64, William A. Dell; 1865, R. R. Randall; 1866, J. S. Packard; 1867, William F. Trafford; 1868, W. M. Simpson; 1869-70, Jeremiah HIartman; 1871-74, J. S. Bunnell; 1875, George H. Barker; 1876, 0. S. Shaw; 1877-79, E. G. Allen. TREASURERS. 1857-59, John A. Iunt; 1860, A. G. Wygent; 1861-63, Allen Fish; 1864-65, James Dobbyn; 1866-67, Miram Fish; 1868, Robert Bartley; 1869, George II. Barker; 1870-75, William F. Trafford; 1876, James Dobbyn; 1877-78, Robert Bartley; 1879, William J. Shattuck. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1857, William Willcomb; 1858, A. G. Wygent; 1859, Charles Phillips, J. S. Packard; 1860, 0. F. Ingersoll; 1861, George H. Parker; 1862, O. F. Ingersoll, J. S. Packard; 1863, C. II. Sherborne; 1864, G. H. Parker, O. F. Ingersoll; 1865, J. S. Packard; 1866, G. II. Barker; 1867, Charles Lockwood; 1868, George H. Barker; 1869, Miram Fish; 1870, D. B. Allen; 1871, Thaddeus Rood; 1872, D. B. Allen, Miram Fish; 1873, D. B. Allen; 1874, Miram Fish; 1875, James 0. Keith; 1876, A. B. Sherborne; 1877, D. I. Allen; 1878-79, George IH. Barker. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1857, James Dobbyn, J. S. Packard, Benoni Young; 1858, William Willcomlb, Miram Fish; 1859, C. C. Leathers, J. S. Packard; 1860, William Sherborne; 1861, Miram Fish, G. H. Barker; 1862, William Sherborne; 1863, John A. Hunt; 1864, William Willey; 1865, J. S. Packard, R. R. Randall; 1866, W. F. Trafford, Miram Fish; 1867, W. F. Trafford; 1868, Bryant Milliman, G. H. Barker; 1869, William Kenney, A. R. Sherborne; 1870, Miram Fish; 1871, J. S. Packard; 1872, Daniel Lutz; 1873, A. R. Sherborne, William H. Wynn; 1874, Miram Fish; 1875, William F. Conner; 1876, J. S. Packard; 1877, Thaddeus Rood; 1878, E. G. Allen, Gordon Sinclair; 1879, J. O. Keith, E. O. Rood, Miram Fish. HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS. 1857, Franklin Beal; 1858, H. F. Wing, S. C. Paul; 1859, Franklin Beal, Draper Fish; 1860, Charles Phillips; 1861, W.W. Lamson; 1862, Draper Fish, George Andrews; 1863, C. H. Sherborne, W. Patterson: 1864, J. W. Tripp, George F. Mast; 1865, J. S. Packard, C. W. Darling, Allen Fish; 1866, J. W. Tripp, Draper Fish; 1867, Charles Lockwood, Draper Fish; 1868, C. W. Bunnell; 1869, Stephen Reed, Bryant Hilliman; 1870, I. S. Bunnell; 1871, J. S. Packard; 1872, Draper Fish; 1873, I. S. Bunnell; 1874, R. R. Randall; 1875, C. E. Lockwood; 1876-78, W. J. Shattuck; 1879, Robert Bartley. 438 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. DRAIN COMMISSIONERS. 1872, Charles Phillips; 1873, Stephen Reed; 1874, R. R. Randall; 1875, William E. Knapp; 1876, C. 0. Frazier; 1877, F. W. Conner; 1878, John A. Hart; 1879, Jacob Gunsaul. SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 1875, Brainard Allen; 1876-78, D. B. Allen; 1879, A. N. Ballen. CONSTABLES. 1857, George Sinkler, J. B. Greenlee, S. B. Greenlee, Ernest Lepolt; 1858, C. M. Blom, George Sinkler, A. G. Wygent; 1859, R. B. Cooper, Allen Fish, William A. Dell, George Sinkler; 1860, W. H. Sherborne, Ira A. Derby, William A. Dell, George F. Mast; 1861, George F. Mast, George Andrews, W. W. Lamson, William A. Dell; 1862, George Andrews, George Sinkler, Charles H. Sherborne, C. T. Tilton; 1863, Reuben Lee, Charles H. Sherborne, H. P. Sinkler, John Burnham; 1864, William A. Dell, T. H. Humphrey, W. McConnell, B. F. Jenkins; 1865, R. R. Randall, George Sinkler, B. F. Jenkins, C. W. Darling; 1866, R. R. Randall, George Sinkler, J. A. Derby, J. W. Tripp; 1867, Charles Phillips, Lyman Ingram; 1868, Thomas Anderson, R. R. Randall, W. S. Lambert, Charles Stoddard, Sr.; 1869, John Lilly, Jeffries Reed, John Carpenter, A. Lilly; 1870, Thomas Wynn, G. P. Williams, S. G. Jameson; 1871, I. S. Bunnell, D. W. Wesnall, R. R. Randall, Thomas Anderson; 1872, Orin Hill, C. O. Frazier, Charles Burton, John West; 1873, T. B. Wynn, O. Shine, N. Kelley, C. E. Lockwood; 1874, H. L. Dobbyn, E. M. Symonds, William Chapin, N. Bartes; 1875, Thomas J. Chaffee, Ezekiel Milliman, B. F. Wynn, Alfred Packard; 1876, George Michaels, William Tripp, A. Lovelace, Thomas J. Chaffee; 1877, J. Dalson, H. Curtis, T. B. Wynn, J. Hartman; 1878, John Dalson, George Michaels, Jeremiah Hartman, Frank Stewart; 1879, B. Milliman, F. B. Harris, C. O. Frazier, George Michaels. THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. The Congregational Church at Covert was organized Sept. 27, 1870, Rev. D. F. Peet and Rev. -- Anderson officiating at the services held on the occasion. Its early membership embraced the following names: Josiah Packard, Elizabeth Packard, Perlia Packard, Margaret Smith, Edward Rood, Pamelia Packard, Alfred Packard, Flora Rood, Mary Packard, William Packard, E. P. Shaw, Mrs. E. P. Shaw, Milan Packard, W. F. Trafford, Martha E. Trafford, Gordon Sinclair, Thaddeus Rood, Martha Rood, Flora A. Allen, and D. B. Allen. The early services were held in a barn fitted for the purpose, and soon after the members convened in a new school-house that had meanwhile been built. The congregation, however, increased so rapidly that these quarters were too limited, and Packard's Hall was opened for the use of the congregation. For a period of more than five years this spacious apartment was occupied as a place of worship without expense to the society. The first regular pastor, Rev. F. W. Bush, began his ministry in January, 1873, and a parsonage costing $1500 was ready for his occupancy and paid for on his arrival. In 1878 the congregation determined to erect a house of worship, and in August of that year began the work. The building is of wood, with stone foundations, and having a side-tower from which entrance is effected into both audience- and lecture-rooms. These rooms open into each other through doors mounted on rollers and running into the walls. The edifice is well built, neatly finished, and will seat comfortably 400 people, having cost, completely furnished, more than $4000. The building was finished in October, 1879, and the dedicatory services were held on the 5th day of November, 1879. These exercises, which were I conducted by the former pastor, Rev. F. W. Bush, Revs. E. A. Paddock, and N. D. Lamphear, were of a very interesting character. The church roll embraces a membership of 90, the present pastor being Rev. Levi Parsons Spellman. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. EDWARD A. ROOD. This gentleman traces his ancestry back to days of Puritanism in New England, his mother, whose maiden name was Abigail Hawes, being a direct descendant from a member of the colony which crossed the Atlantic in the " Mayflower," and settled at Plymouth, Mass. His father, Josiah EDWARD A. ROOD. F. Rood, was born in Buckland, Franklin Co., Mass., and was married to Miss Hawes, June 13, 1815. Their children were as follows: Abigail G., born April 16, 1816; David, born April 25, 1818; Marshall, born May 26, 1820, died April 12, 1854; Aurelia, born Sept. 16, 1822, died June 19, 1860; Josiah, born June 30, 1824, died July 10, 1863, in the army; Henry F., born March 1, 1828, died March 13, 1852; Susan A., born March 21, 1831, died Feb. 15, 1864; Thaddeus, born June 8, 1833; Edward A., born May 18, 1840. Of these the oldest son now living is a missionary in South Africa. Josiah F. Rood died Aug. 19, 1864, his wife's death having occurred July 28, 1863. Edward A. Rood came from Massachusetts to Michigan in 1861, and settled in the township of Ganges, Allegan Co. After one year he returned to his old home, and on the 25th of October, 1863, he was married to Miss Flora M. Warner, daughter of William and Annis Warner. She was born Oct. 24, 1843, and was the third in a family of four children. Her brother, Edwards W. Warner, died in the army; Eliza A., her oldest sister, was married to W. TOWNSHIP OF DECATUR. 439 J. Shattuck, and is now living with her husband in the township of Covert. The youngest sister is now the wife of George Campbell, residing at Florence, Mass. Mr. Rood and his wife are the parents of two children,Frank E., born Oct. 27, 1864, and Lillian A., born Oct. 7, 1868. Mr. Rood came to Michigan for the purpose of entering the employ of Messrs. Packard & Sons, and remained with them about eleven years. In 1863 he purchased land in Allegan Co., Mich., and at present is the owner of two hundred acres in the township of Covert, Van Buren Co. In 1873 he established a hardware-store, which he still continues to operate, handling agricultural implements and a general line of hardware. Mr. Rood and his wife are members of the Covert Congregational Church, having united with it at its organization. Politically, Mr. Rood is a Republican, but he has not aspired to office. ALFRED S. PACKARD, son of William and Mary (Rude) Packard, was born in Rensselaer Co., N. Y., Sept. 22, 1834, and was the second in a family of four children. His father was a native of Massachusetts. In 1836 the family removed to Ohio, where Alfred S. Packard remained with his father, working on the farm and lumbering, until he became of age. On the 1st of May, 1859, he married Laura A., daughter of Iram and Cynthia Packard, she being a native of Plainfield, Mass. To this couple was born one son, Ernest H., his birth occurring April 2, 1870, and his death five months later. Mrs. Packard died April 10, 1870, and on the 22d of June, 1871, Mr. Packard was married to Mary E., daughter of Nelson T. and Emily C. Burnham, who was born in Middletown, Conn., April 28,1846, and moved, with her father, to Ohio, in which State she resided until her marriage. Mr. Packard came from Ohio in 1859, and settled in the township of Ganges, Allegan Co., Mich.; removed from Ganges to Deerfield (now Covert) in 1867. Until 1877 he was in business with his father and brother, but in the fall of that year a division was made, Mr. Packard taking what is known as the " upper mill" property. He now owns and operates that, also one at South Haven, and has a horse-railway from the former to a pier on the lake-shore, four miles distant. He is at present the owner of two thousand five hundred acres of land, from which he is clearing the timber, and his home is situated on two hundred acres already cleared and well improved. Mr. Packard is a Republican in politics, and both himself and wife are members of the Congregational Church. CHAPTER LVIII. DECATUR TOWNSHIP.* The Pioneer Township and its Early Settlers-The Swamp RoadTownship Organization and Civil List-Decatur Village-Churches -Schools-Incidents. THE PIONEER TOWNSHIP AND ITS EARLY SETTLERS. DECATUR, known as town 4 south, range 14 west, lies in the southern tier of townships bordering upon Cass County, and enjoys the distinction of being the township that re ceived the first white settler in Van Buren County. Its boundaries are Paw Paw on the north, the Cass County line on the south, Porter on the east, and Hamilton on the west. Originally covering a territory six miles in width by twelve in length, half of its area was set off to Porter in 1845, so that it remains to-day six miles square. Decatur is a fine wheat-growing township, and as to general agriculture will compare favorably with any township in the county. The wheat shipped at Decatur station for the six months ending Dec. 1, 1879, aggregated 84,000 bushels. The business of sheep-raising is likewise an important and profitable feature of farming industry. Farmers who pay especial attention to sheep-raising own flocks numbering from 500 to 1000. Decatur bears the palm as the pioneer township of Van Buren County in point of early settlement, and until 1831 contained within its limits only the family of the man who led the way into Van Buren County as its first white settler,-Dolphin Morris, a resident of Deer Creek, Scioto Co., Ohio, who, accompanied by his father, Henry D. Swift, and Jacob Morlan, came to Decatur, and on the 27th of March, 1829, began to cut logs for a cabin, which he built upon section 35, near the centre of its southeast quarter. During the first week in April he moved his family into the cabin, and from that time forward remained a settler in the township. Morlan settled in Cass County, while Swift, although he worked for Mr. Morris, did not become an actual settler until 1831. For two years, therefore, Mr. Morris was the only settler in Van Buren County, although he was not without neighbors in Cass County. Dolphin Morris' log cabin was a historical structure, and deserved preservation among the pioneer relics of Van Buren. It not only sheltered the first family of white settlers in the county, but beneath its roof occurred the first birth and first death. Within its walls the first sermon was preached and the first school taught, while it enjoyed likewise the minor distinction of being the first hotel in the county. The material structure has passed away, but the spot upon which it stood is well remembered. Dolphin Morris continued to be a resident in Decatur until his death, in January, 1870. His son Henry lived on the old place until Sept. 28, 1879, when he and his wife were murdered in a mysterious manner. Dolphin Morris split with his own hands the first rail, and turned the first furrow in Van Buren County. Mr. Morris' sons now living are Samuel, Elias, and Amos, the latter residing in Lawton and the two former in Cass County. Elias Morris is now the oldest person living of those born in Van Buren County. H. D. Swift, who came to Michigan with Dolphin Morris, located a piece of land on section 36, and being without funds to purchase it, held it as a " claim," and selling the claim to Le Grand Anderson in 1831, was enabled with the money thus obtained to buy a tract near at hand, and upon that place he lived until his death. George Tittle, a brother-in-law to Dolphin Morris, came from Ohio in 1831, and settled upon 80 acres on section 35, where his son Dolphin now resides. George Tittle died on the old farm in 1866. * By David Schwartz. 440 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Samuel, a brother of Dolphin Morris, came to Cass County in the spring of 1829, and after a residence there of two years settled in Decatur, in 1831, upon section 36, where he lived until his death. Le Grand Anderson came from Ohio to Michigan in the spring of 1831, and bought 434 acres of land in Decatur township, on sections 26 and 36, there being in the tract 80 acres of prairie land. Instead of working his own lands, he rented 40 acres in Cass County, on Young's Prairie, and broke it. He returned to Ohio in the summer, and in October of the same year came back to Michigan to close his land purchases. Journeying once more to Ohio, he came back in the spring of 1832 to Michigan, bringing with him on this occasion men and teams, with which he worked his land and put in crops. In the summer of 1832 he brought his family from Ohio, and in November of that year they became permanent members of the infant settlement. Mr. Anderson lived on section 36 which was his home, until his death, in 1869, and which is now the home of his son, L. R. Anderson. His other children living in the township are William and Jane. The only settlers in November, 1832, in what is now Decatur were Le Grand Anderson, Dolphin and Samuel Morris (brothers), George Tittle, their brother-inlaw, H. D. Swift, and David Curry. David Curry, one of Decatur's foremost pioneers, was a young unmarried man when, in 1830, he migrated from Indiana to Volinia township, Cass Co., Mich., in search of a new home. He lived in Cass County two years, and marrying, determined to settle in Decatur, where, upon section 34, he entered 160 acres adjoining Dolphin Morris' farm, and whither he removed with his wife in 1832. At that time there were already on the ground Dolphin and Samuel Morris, George Tittle, John Eckenberger, Le Grand Anderson, and H. D. Swift. Mr. Curry's cabin measured 18 by 20, but had neither floor, window, nor door. Puncheon floors were common enough, but Mrs. Curry preferred to have no floor until she could have a better one, and accordingly in the January following their settlement Mr. Curry hauled from Whitmanville, twelve miles distant, some rough lumber with which a floor was laid. Mrs. Curry then enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that her floor, even if rough, was the only "sawed" floor in the township, and that she lived also in what was then conceded to be the best house not only in Decatur, but on the "Prairie." Mr. Curry lived until 1846, when he was killed by a fall from a wagon. Five of his children still occupy the old homestead, to wit: Jonathan, Joseph Q., Juliette, David Q., and Elizabeth. David Q. served through the war of 1861-65 as a member of the 4th Michigan Cavalry, and participated in the capture of Jefferson Davis, his souvenir of that incident being a pair of saddle-bags taken from Gen. Reagan, of Davis' cabinet. David Curry's old log cabin, which stood near the present Curry home, has passed from view, but the old " lean-to" is yet preserved although in a state of decay. Joseph Van Hise, a resident of Butler Co., Ohio, came to Decatur in 1835, located 80 acres on section 13, and then hired out to work a year for John Eckenberger, a settler then in Decatur. After serving his year Van Hise went back to Ohio, and in the fall of 1836 brought his family out, put up a log cabin on his 80-acre farm, and lived on the place until his death, in February, 1873. His widow and son Jared are now living on the farm. Another son, William K., lives on a place adjoining it on the west. With Joseph Van Hise came also to Decatur in 1836 his brother, William O. Van Hise, and his father (Oakey) and mother, the parents living with William 0., on section 24. The latter subsequently removed to Cass County, where he now resides. John Eckenberger, of whom mention has been made, lived two miles south of Joseph Van Hise. He sold his farm to Jacob Charles, of Cass County, and moved farther west, but returning again to Decatur, died in the township, as did Mr. Charles. A Mr. Lantrekin, who lived with his family on section 23 in 1836, moved away soon afterwards and was heard of no more. Thomas Scott and family lived in that year on section 13, in a cabin put up by one Johannet. Scott went to Schoolcraft, and becoming afterwards a resident of Antwerp and later of Illinois, died in that State. John W., a nephew of Thomas Scott, came from Ohio to Decatur in the spring of 1837, and worked as a farm laborer until 1842, when he returned to Ohio, married, and in 1844 came back to Decatur and located upon the farm he now occupies. In the northern part of the township settlements were not made until a comparatively late date, and until even the beginning of the history of Decatur village that section was sparsely peopled. Joseph Van Hise used to say that when he was town treasurer, in 1848, there were but three tax-payers north of Lake of Woods, and to reach them required from him a day's journey, which in the end gave him cash collections to the amount of fifty cents. The first white child born in Van Buren County first saw the light in Dolphin Morris' rude log cabin, Aug. 4, 1830. The child was Lewis Creighton, a son of Dolphin Morris, and the little fellow gave up his young life, under the same roof, December 20th of the same year, this being the first death in the county. In that cabin, too, May 11, 1832, was born Elias Morris, now living in Cass County; the second white child born in Van Buren, and now the oldest of all natives of the county. The first marriage in the county was that of Elijah Goble, of Cass County, to Eliza Tittle, of Van Buren. John Shaw was the justice who performed the ceremony, and Sept. 28, 1833, was the date on which the knot was tied. Daniel Alexander and Margaret Tittle were the second couple married in the county, and set up housekeeping in the old Morris cabin. Among the trials of the settlers in 1831 was the failure of seed-corn, which threatened much distress, but Dolphin Morris was equal to the occasion. He dispatched one Kirkendall and John Tittle, a lad of fifteen, to Fort Defiance, on the Maumee River, one hundred miles distant, for a fresh supply. They made the distance with a pack-horse, returned one Saturday night with two bushels of seed-corn, and on Sunday morning the settlers turned out and planted it. The crop raised from that planting was about all the corn they had that year. June 20, 1835, was memorable Photo. by C. F. Pritchard, Decatur. ALEXANDER B. COPLEY. Alexander B. Copley is of English descent; his ancestor on the paternal side, four generations back, having emigrated from England to Boston in the beginning of the eighteenth century, and settled in Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn. He was born in Champion, Jefferson Co., N. Y., March 11, 1822. He subsequently resided with his parents at the manufacturing villages of Whitesboro', New York Mills, Walden, and Mattawan, in that State, until Sept. 12,1829, when he removed to Dayton, Ohio, from which place the family emigrated to Michigan Territory, arriving at Little Prairie Ronde July 1, 1833. His education was limited to the meagre facilities afforded at that early day by the common schools of the Territory, having been a pupil in the first school taught in Van Buren County, in the winter of 1834-35. Left at the age of twenty with a widowed mother, and one brother and five sisters younger than himself, to help care for,-added to the illness of his father several years previous to his death,-there was not much time to cultivate the intellect, had there been opportunity to do so. By occupation he is a farmer, taking a just pride in agricultural experiments and improvements. He has on his farm over a mile of the finest Osage hedge in Western Michigan. In 1850 he married Jane H. Hathaway, sister of B. Hathaway, Esq., the "Farmer Poet" of Michigan; his family at the present time consists of himself, wife, and two sons, the elder of whom is married and manages the farm. In 1874 he moved to the village of Decatur, where he now resides. He is president of the First National Bank of Decatur, of which institution he was one of the original stockholders. Mr. Copley has frequently been honored by his fellow-citizens with places of trust and responsibility, having served as supervisor of Volinia township, Cass Co., for six years, and representing the northern district of that county in the Michigan Legislature for the sessions of 1865-72, and the eastern district of Van Buren County for the session of 1875. The magnificent road built across the swamp southeast from Decatur was projected and brought into successful operation largely through his individual efforts. f::ff::X;f R EiSA;::f A:):00: f::. TOWNSHIP OF DECATUR. 441 because of a severe frost, that destroyed almost all the crops except those near the small lakes. It is told of Dolphin Morris that in 1832 he started for Niles to mill, and encountering a terrible snow-storm as well as very bad roads, he was fourteen days making the trip, and when he got home it was with but the fore-wheels of his wagon, his team, and a bag of flour. A stage-route was opened through Decatur between Cassopolis and Paw Paw in 1838, and was for some years thereafter a much-traveled thoroughfare. Along that line, now covered in part by the valley road, was erected the first telegraph road put up in the State. In Decatur there were on the road no wayside inns, although Jacob Charles, who lived near " The Spring," kept at times a house of public entertainment. THE SWAMP ROAD. In the year 1848, when the growth of Decatur village was sluggish, the subject of a road through the great swamp was agitated, and in a little while it became apparent that such a road was a vital necessity, since without it there could be no communication with the district on the south and southeast. Beers & Sherwood undertook the construction of the road, which was estimated to cost $2000, the railroad company giving $500 and the villagers $300 towards it. Except for one-fifth the distance, which was planked, the road was built of split puncheons about ten feet in length, laid on pole sstringers, and being but a single track, had turnouts at intervals. It was a rough thoroughfare, but a great convenience. The first person to cross it towards the south was Miss Hathaway (now Mrs. A. B. Copley), who, arriving at Decatur Nov. 6, 1849, was conveyed by Mr. Goddard, station-agent, over the road to her home, the roadway having been completed three days before. A new road, west of the old one, was built in 1856, and in 1865 material improvements were put upon it, the total expenditures upon the road then amounting to $15,000. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL LIST. Under the act of Legislature, approved March 11, 1837, dividing Van Buren County into seven townships, Decatur embraced the territory now occupied by Decatur and Porter, and received its name in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur, a naval hero of the war of 1812. In 1845 the township of Porter was organized from the eastern half of Decatur, each afterwards having a territory six miles square, as at present. The records of the township dating from 1837 to 1844 are not to be found, and the civil list for that period is, therefore, unobtainable. From 1844 to 1880, however, the records are perfect. and the names of those who have been chosen annually between those years as supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and justice of the peace are given below: 1844.-Supervisor, Stephen Kinney; Clerk, G. S. Freese; Treasurer, Nathan Cook; Justice of the Peace, V. C. Smith. 1845.-Supervisor, Lyman Sanford; Clerk, Joseph Van Hise; Treasurer, Thomas Scott; Justice of the Peace, Thomas Scott. 1846.-Supervisor, Lyman Sanford; Clerk, James Boyd; Treasurer, Thomas Scott; Justice of the Peace, W. C. Van Hise. 1847.-Supervisor, Lyman Sanford; Clerk, James Boyd; Treasurer, Thomas Scott; Justice of the Peace, W. C. Van Hise. 56 1848.-Supervisor, Lyman Sanford; Clerk, W. 0. Van Hise; Treasurer, James Van Hise; Justice of the Peace, Ralph Mason. 1849.-Supervisor, Lyman Sanford; Clerk, W. 0. Van Hise; Treasurer, James Boyd; Justice of the Peace, George B. Sherwood. 1850.-Supervisor, N. Lefever; Clerk, W. N. Pardee; Treasurer, James Boyd; Justice of the Peace, W. N. Pardee. 1851.-Supervisor, W. 0. Van Hise; Clerk, Henry Canoll; Treasurer, James Boyd; Justice of the Peace, W. 0. Van Hise. 1852.-Supervisor, Lyman Sanford; Clerk, H. Canoll; Treasurer, Hiram Potts; Justice of the Peace, William Campbell. 1853.-Supervisor, Lyman Sanford; Clerk, R. Barden; Treasurer, J T. Keables; Justice of the Peace, M. F. Merrill. 1854.-Supervisor, Jeremiah Teed; Clerk, E. M. Pool; Treasurer, J. T. Keables; Justice of the Peace, N. Jaquish. 1855.-Supervisor, Jeremiah Teed; Clerk, E. M. Pool; Treasurer, J. E. Hollister; Justice of the Peace, John C. White. 1856.-Supervisor, George Bennett; Clerk, E. M. Pool; Treasurer, W. E. Trowbridge; Justice of the Peace, George Bennett. 1857.-Supervisor, George Bennett; Clerk, J. A. Stafford; Treasurer, H. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, H. C. Millard. 1858.-Supervisor, J. Teed; Clerk, J. A. Stafford; Treasurer, H. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, 0. T. Welch. 1859.-Supervisor, 0. T. Welch; Clerk, J. A. Stafford; Treasurer, W. E. Trowbridge; Justice of the Peace, E. S. Parker. 1860.-Supervisor, 0. T. Welch; Clerk, W. K. Van Hise; Treasurer, Charles H. Keyes; Justice of the Peace, I. W. Powers. 1861.-Supervisor, 0. T. Welch; Clerk, W. K. Van Hise; Treasurer, D. C. Brown; Justice of the Peace, H. C. Millard. 1862.-Supervisor, E. P. Hill; Clerk, Charles Shier, Jr.; Treasurer, M. Hinckley; Justice of the Peace, 0. T. Welch. 1863.-Supervisor, E. P. Hill; Clerk, Charles Shier, Jr.; Treasurer, M. Hinckley; Justice of the Peace, W. K. Van Hise. 1864.-Supervisor, E. P. Hill; Clerk, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, G. W. Geer; Justice of the Peace, George Bennett. 1865.-Supervisor, E. P. Hill; Clerk, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, H. A. Northrop; Justice of the Peace, H. C. Millard. 1866.-Supervisor, E. P. Hill; Clerk, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, George Bennett; Justice of the Peace, C. Hollister. 1867.-Supervisor, C. Hollister; Clerk, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, George Bennett; Justice of the Peace, W. K. Van Hise. 1868.-Supervisor, Eri Beebe; Clerk, L. D. Roberts; Treasurer, C. Hollister; Justice of the Peace, J. Richards. 1869.-Supervisor, Eri Beebe; Clerk, N. Foster; Treasurer, C. Hollister; Justice of the Peace, H. C. Millard. 1870.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, N. Clark; Treasurer, W. E. Trowbridge; Justice of the Peace, C. H. Haskins. 1871.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, N. Clark; Treasurer, W. E. Trowbridge; Justice of the Peace, William Hall. 1872.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, J. G. Haynes; Treasurer, D. Squier; Justice of the Peace, 0. W. Field. 1873.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, J. G. Haynes; Treasurer, D. Squier; Justice of the Peace, J. W. Lewis. 1874.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, Samuel Ellis; Treasurer, A. N. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, George Bennett. 1875.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, Samuel Ellis; Treasurer, A. N. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, J. Ransford. 1876.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, Samuel Ellis; Treasurer, A. N. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, J. G. Haynes. 1877.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, J. G. Haynes; Treasurer, A. N. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, W. Pritchard. 1878.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, J. G. Haynes; Treasurer, A. N. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, N. S. Rathbun. 1879.-Supervisor, R. Nutting; Clerk, J. I. Sherman; Treasurer, A. N. Chamberlain; Justice of the Peace, W. K. Van Hise. Decatur had in 1874 a population of 2306, and in 1879 an assessed valuation of $523,300. DECATUR VILLAGE. Until 1847 the present site of the village of Decatur was simply a hunting-ground, and a favorite place of resort it was for the Nimrods of the time as far back as 1834, while near at hand, on the banks of Pickerel Lake, anglers gath 442 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ered from far and near, for the waters of that lake were in the olden time very abundantly supplied with fish. In 1847, Beers & Sherwood, of New York City, had acquired government grants for 5000 acres of land, in which was included the site of the present village of Decatur, and when the Michigan Central Railway began to push its way westward from Kalamazoo they determined to lay out a village on the line and call it Decatur. They donated land for depot buildings, which were put up in 1848, in which year also the railway was completed from Detroit to Niles. October 7th of that year an excursion-train from Detroit to Niles, in celebration of the opening of the road, passed through Decatur. The village did not, however, begin its growth until 1849, when it was platted according to the original design, and christened Decatur. C. S. Tucker, who had been boarding railroad hands in a shanty south of the depot, opened a boarding-house in a building previously used by Beers & Sherwood as an office, which stood upon the place now occupied by the Duncombe House. In the same year a number of village lots were occupied, and stores were opened by A. H. Dixon, Goss & Dixon, and T. E. Phelps, in the order named. Hiram Lee, now living in the village and resident longest therein, bought the first village lot, in 1848, before the village was platted. It was designated as the third lot west of the public square. The completion of the swamp road, in November, 1849, opened communication with a hitherto unapproachable tract of country, and gave to the new village a decided impetus. The first village school-house was built in 1848, and school was taught in it during the winter of 1848-49 by Miss Sarah Cook, whose pupils numbered 20. Trade, Past and Present.-In 1854 the present business centre of the village was occupied by a drug-store, two general stores, and one dry-goods store. Jan. 1, 1880, the village population was closely estimated at 2000, and, in the matter of mercantile trade, there were five general stores, two hardware-stores, two drug-stores, five grocery-stores, one furniture-store, one shoe-store, and various small business stands. Ten brick store buildings of some pretensions embellish the main street, and bestow upon the town an air of substantial thrift. Decatur is famous as a great " trading town," and is likewise an important grain-purchasing point, and makes large annual shipments by railway, as will be seen in a table of statistics printed elsewhere. In the earlier history of the village, when no man dared venture upon opening a store, trading was done at Kalamazoo or Paw Paw. Dixon's store, which stood where Hathaway's store now is, was esteemed a fine establishment for that day,-indeed, some thought it rather finer than was needed. Theodore Phelps' store stood on " Chadwick's Corner," and was ultimately converted into a hotel, known as the Downs House. In 1851 the main street of the village boasted the stores of A. H. Dixon, Theodore Phelps, and E. Ingalls, and a bar-room, kept by Robert Willis. Willis was then known as the wealthiest man in Decatur, but subsequently his prosperity declined and he sunk to poverty., Henry Canoll was keeping a drug-store in the building put up by Dr. Bartholomew, and on the corner now oocu pied by the Duncombe House L. R. Barker was keeping the Decatur House. Barker had taken the place originally set up by Charles Tucker as a railroad boarding-house, added a front, named it the Decatur House and made it a reputable hotel. At that time the spot now occupied by the thriving village of Decatur was literally in the woods, and the sight of deer and wolves in the very heart of the village is said to have been no uncommon one. George Sherwood, an employee of Beers & Sherwood, was one of the first justices of the peace in the village, and with William N. Pardee practiced law whenever occasion required, but occasions of that sort were not plentiful enough to call for extraordinary exertions on their part. In 1850, Beers & Sherwood engaged Nathan Wilcox to put up a steam saw-mill near the village. A whisky-distillery subsequently took the place of the mill, although its career was brief. The first carpenter and joiner to locate in Decatur village was L. T. Olds, who came July, 1849, and who was for five years one of the only two mechanics plying their trades in the village. In July, 1819, the railway-depot, the kitchen of what was afterwards Barker's Hotel, and three dwellings comprised all there was of Decatur village. During the first five years of its existence the village was increased by about 75 new buildings,-12 of which were erected by Robert Willis as tenements. L. T. Olds (above mentioned) and Mary Elliott, who were married by 'Squire George Sherwood, May 18, 1850, were the first couple married in the village. Village Physicians.-Decatur's first physician was Dr. Bartholomew, who put up in 1848 a small office and drug-shop on Railroad Street,-the building now doing duty as Shelter's Hotel. Dr. Bartholomew remained but a short time before taking the California fever, and went away to the Pacific slope. He now resides in Keeler. During Dr. Bartholomew's time, and subsequent thereto, Dr. Wells, of Little Prairie, visited Decatur frequently to teach a singing-school, and occasionally practiced also the healing art in the town. In 1851, Dr. J. T. Keables opened an office in Decatur, and since that time has practiced medicine in the village continuously. Dr. Foster, of Climax Prairie, made a location in Decatur about 1855, but made his stay a short one. For some years Dr. Keables had the field to himself, and, like all physicians of the day, practiced over a wide extent of territory. The physicians of Decatur now number six,-Drs. Baker, Broderick, Dillon, Keables, Rogers, and Rose. Town Hall.-One of the most imposing architectural features in the village is the town hall, in which the postoffice has roomy quarters, and where the township and village authorities have their offices. A commodious public hall gives accommodation for public entertainments, as well as town-meetings. The structure is of brick, measures 37 feet front by 72 deep, was erected in 1870, and cost upwards of $11,000. The Union School.-The school in School District No. 4 (embracing Decatur village) was organized in 1862 as a graded school. In 1863 work on a new school building was begun, and in September, 1864, sessions were held in 1 ~ t 4r 4 1 cvi n~ 0r H1 * C~e C: zP ai aB 3- I * 'c- t#n ~~;I-~~: ~' ' r ~t' Is~l t $-.45 *'tf $5 1~ r:w 777 ~ TOWNSHIP OF DECATUR. 443 the edifice. It is of brick, of handsome and substantial appearance, cost $12,000, employs 7 teachers, has an average attendance of about 400, and requires for its annual support about $4300. Post-Office.-A post-office was established about 1852, and George Sherwood appointed postmaster. W. N. Pardee succeeded Sherwood, and Charles N. Poor in turn followed Mr. Pardee. After him Theodore Phelps was the incumbent. Upon his death his widow was appointed his successor, and following her Eri Beebe filled the place, which he relinquished to J. W. Rogers, the present occupant. The office receives and delivers four daily mails, and twice a week receives and delivers a stage mail. The sale of stamps, envelopes, etc., average about $600 each quarter, money-orders issued average $1300 each mouth, and moneyorders paid about $600 during a like period. The Village Press.-Decatur's earliest newspaper was called the Van Burenc County Tribune, and its earliest publisher T. O. Sweet. The Decatur Clarion, edited by Moses Hull, was the successor of the Tribune. These and other newspapers will be found mentioned more fully in the general county history. Village Incorporation.-The village of Decatur was incorporated by the board of supervisors Oct. 11, 1859, and reincorporated by Legislative act approved March 16, 1861. The first president-ofthe village was E. P. Hill, and the first recorder Orrin S. Welch, both of whom were elected in 1859. The earlier records of the village are somewhat imperfect, and the list of those who have been chosen presidents, recorders, treasurers, and trustees each year can be given only from 1862 to 1880: 1862.-President, E. P. Hill; Recorder, Charles Shier; Trustees, Hiram Cole, Myron Hinkley, J. H. Wallace, Carlton Wheeler, Charles N. Poor, John Tarbell. 1863.-President, J. Teed; Recorder, C. J. Poor. 1864.-President, C. Wheeler; Recorder, L. C. Noble. 1865.-President, C. Wheeler; Recorder, W. T. Gerow. 1866.-President, E. P. Hill; Recorder, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, William Hodges; Trustees, E. L. IHawkes, R. Nutting, J. B. Higgins. 1867.-President, J. M.* Moore; Recorder, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, E. D. Clark; Trustees, 0. S. Abbott, H. A. Northrop, D. C. Rogers. 1868.-President, J. M. Moore; Recorder, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, E. D. Clark; Trustees, J. B. Higgins, R. Nutting, E. L. Hawkes. 1869.-President, E. P. Hill; Recorder, W. T. Gerow; Treasurer, E. D. Clark; Trustees, 0. S. Abbott, M. Hinckley, J. S. Dowd. 1870.-President, James Haynes; Recorder, David Squires; Treasurer, J. P. Warner; Trustees, W. Tuttle, Jr., D. W. Stevens, Jacob Kissell. 1871.-President, Eri Beebe; Recorder, H. C. Church; Treasurer, W. E. Trowbridge; Trustees, R. Nutting, A. A. Abbott, D. C. Rogers. 1872.-President, E. Beebe; Recorder, A. A. Abbott; Treasurer, W. E. Trowbridge; Trustees, Thomas Browning, William Tuttle, W. Russell. 1873.-President, H. J. Hendryx; Recorder, E. A. Blackman; Trustees, R. E. Nicholson, F. N. Chadwick, R. Nutting. 1874.-President, H. J. Hendryx; Recorder, E. A. Blackman; Treasurer, S. N. Thomas; Trustees, Thomas Browning, E. P. Hill, Walter Russell. 1875.-President, Eri Beebe; Recorder, Jerome Coleman; Treasurer, S. N. Thomas; Trustees, L. F. Rawson, David A. Squier, John L. Harrison. 1876.-President, H. A. Northrop; Recorder, Samuel Ellis; Treasurer, S. N. Thomas; Trustees, A. N. Chamberlain, L. D. Roberts, Henry Bull. 1877.-President, Lucius Nutting; Recorder, R. E. Nicholson; Treasurer, S. N. Thomas; Trustees, M. Hinckley, George Bennett, E. F. Ruggles. 1878.-President, Lucius Nutting; Recorder, Charles W. Barrett; Treasurer, S. N. Thomas; Trustees, L. D. Roberts, Dennis Jordan, William Pritchard. 1879.-President, E. P. Hill; Recorder, A. B. Johnson; Treasurer, S. N. Thomas; Trustees, A. B. Copley, William Tuttle, L. F. Rawson. Railway Slipments.-Decatur is an important wheat and lumber shipping-point, and as a matter of interest a table is presented showing the shipments at the station of the three leading articles of grain, lumber, and stock for the six months ending Dec. 1, 1879, the figures in each case representing car-loads. Month. June........................... July............................ August........................ September.................. October........................ November..................... Totals.................. Grain. 31 10 70 58 68 3 240 Lumber. 23 22 15 22 19 13 114 Stock. 2 9 12 17 13 53 During the year 1878 the shipments of apples at Decatur station aggregated 10,000 barrels. Mlanufactures.-There is at the village of Decatur a manufacturing interest of considerable importance, which contributes in no slight degree to the prosperity of the town. M. Hinckley & Co occupy about two acres of ground for a barrel and stave manufactory, and employ from 25 to 40 men. They turn out about 3,000,000 staves yearly, and an equal proportion of barrel-heading, besides making about 10,000 apple-barrels and 5000 packing-barrels. The works were established in 1858 by Jones & Chapin, and since 1871, Mr. Iinckley, of the present firm (which was organized in 1876), has been interested as a partner. Daggett & Percy, of Chicago, are doing a very flourishing business at Decatur in the manufacture of wooden butterplates, fruit-packages, fruit-baskets, etc. They occupy a building formerly used by R. Hoppin & Son as a tannery, and have been engaged since January, 1879, in the present enterprise. About 20 men are employed. The manufactory is in charge of Mr. Charles King, who is the representative at Decatur of the owners. John M. Conkling & Brother carry on a foundry, which was built in 1870 by Mason & Herring. The present firm took possession in 1876, and since then have been steadily employed in the manufacture of plows and iron castings of all kinds. The other manufacturing industries are Charles Duncombe & Co.'s grist-mill (with five run of stones), built in 1867 by Abbott & Matthews; J. J. Balcomb's custom grist-mill, with two run of stones; H. B. Babcock's planing-mill, and the saw-mills of Bull & Ackley and Enoch Hopkins. Bank.-Previous to Oct. 15, 1870, Decatur village had enjoyed only such limited banking facilities as were furnished by the private banks of John Tarbell and Joseph Rogers. On the date above noted the First National Bank 4 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. of Decatur was chartered, with a capital of $75,000, the first directors being Messrs. Charles Duncombe, C. W. Fisk, A. B. Copley, Levi B. Lawrence, E. P. Hill, O. S. Abbott, and A. S. Hathaway. A. B. Copley was chosen president and E. P. Hill cashier. The capital of the bank is now $50,000; its circulation, $45,000; deposits, $45,000; loans and discounts, $55,000. In 1873, Mr. Charles Duncombe put up a fine brick building for the use of the bank, which the institution subsequently bought. The president of the bank is A. B. Copley and the cashier L. D. Hill. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Decatur Lodge, No. 99, F. and A. M., was organized Jan. 14, 1858, with 23 members, after having worked under dispensation a year. Under the charter H. Canoll was Master; M. Winner, S. W.; and J. E. Hollister, J. W. Of the 9 members of the lodge when it was constituted 8 of them were Hubbell Warner, Loomis Warner, James F. Avery, M. Winner, - Barney, Sloan, H. Canoll, and Edward Harris. The membership is now 30, and the officers as follows: Enoch Hopkins, M.; George Pollard, S. W.; Charles Schuster, J. W.; William Meade, Sec.; H. A. Northrop, Treas.; Marvin Hinckley, S. D.; Warren Botsford, J. D.; M. Winner, Tiler. Decatur Chapter, No. 75, R. A. M., was organized Jan. 10, 1871, with 10 members, of whom Horace Arnold was H. P.; James Haynes, K.; and E. R. Farmer, Scribe. The membership is now 16, and. the officers: H. A. Northrop, K. and Acting H. P.; Enoch Hopkins, Scribe; Henry Bull, Acting Sec.; S. N. Thomas, Treas.; L. D. Roberts, 3d V.; Orrin Hodges, 2d V.; Loomis Warner, 1st V. The lodge and chapter occupy a handsomely appointed room in Chadwick's block, Decatur village. Sprague Lodge, No. 113, 1.. O. F., was organized Oct. 28, 1867, with 5 members. The membership in January, 1880, was 50, when the officers were Norman S. Hammond, N. G.; Peter Pardonnet, V. G.; George W. Wait, R. S.; Johnson Parsons, P. S.; Benjamin Adams, Treas. Regular sessions are held every Tuesday night at Decatur village. Decatur Grange, No. 346, was organized in June, 1875, with 60 members. L. R. Anderson was the first Master, - Thomas the first Secretary, and Jonathan Curry the first Treasurer. The officers Jan. 1, 1880, were Oscar Cadwell, M.; S. Roberts, Overseer; James Cadwell, Steward; John Lewis, Assistant Steward; C. A. Moulton, Sec.; Mary Powers, Chaplain; Julia White, Sec.; William Powers, Treas.; Mrs. Blades, Ceres; Mrs. Lurkins, Pomona; Mrs. Kidder, Flora; Mrs. Lewis, Lady Assistant Steward. The membership is now 54. Regular sessions are held once in two weeks in Trowbridge's hall, Decatur village. The Decatur Reform Club.-A strong temperance movement was inaugurated in Decatur in the spring of 1877, by O. D. Beebe, of Kalamazoo, and H. C. Rogers, of Dowagiac, and so popular did the new departure become that when the Rogers Reform Club was organized in Decatur village, April 15, 1877, upwards of 800 persons were en rolled as members. A reading-room was opened in the village, and subsequently the name of the club was changed to the one it now bears. The reading-room, which is still maintained, is free to all, and is a place of pleasant and profitable resort. The club membership numbers now about 300, and includes many prominent people. The officers for 1879 are Charles Labardy, President; J. H. Tuttle, Secretary; A. C. Copley, Treasurer. CHURCHES. In 1831 public religious worship was held occasionally in Dolphin Morris' log cabin, and after that there was preaching in George Tittle's house and Le Grand Anderson's barn. Methodist preachers were itinerating through Michigan in those early days, and they stopped here, there, and at all places where the presence of new settlements promised a field for labor. Among the earliest Methodist preachers who held services in Decatur were the Revs. Felton, McCool, Cobb, and Elder Meek, an exhorter. "There happened along also, once in a while, Baptist preachers and those of other denominations, but the names of these latter have not been preserved. A Methodist Episcopal organization was effected in 1834, and July 27th of that year a first quarterly meeting was held at George Tittle's. Beyond the limits of Decatur village there is but one church building in the township,-that of the colored Baptists, in the northwest. Although small, this church congregation supports preaching once a week. There are in the south part of the township two church organizations, -Disciple and Methodist Protestant (worshiping in schoolhouses),-which are in a flourishing condition. The First Presbyterian Church of Decatur village was organized by Rev. Marcus Harrison, an evangelist, Feb. 1, 1852, with the following members: Lydia Harrison, Mrs. Eli Rich, and Joseph McClintock, three in all. Mr. McClintock, who was chosen ruling elder, is still living near the town. Mr. Harrison concluded to make Decatur his home after organizing the church, and continued to preach for the little band during the ensuing three years. Jan. 4, 1853, the church was attached to the Kalamazoo Presbytery. During Mr. Harrison's ministry he bought a village lot and erected upon it the frame for a school-house and meeting-house. The lot and building frame he set apart to be donated to the First Presbyterian Church Society when it should be formed, and the society being organized during the pastorate of Rev. Samuel Fleming, who succeeded Mr. Harrison in August, 1855, the building of the church edifice was pushed forward, and Sept. 18, 1856, the house of worship, the first one in the village, was dedicated, the dedication sermon being preached by Rev. A. C. Tuttle, of Paw Paw. The succession of pastors following Mr. Fleming includes Revs. T. C. Hill, S. R. Bissell, W. T. Bartle, J. J. Ward, E. M. Toof, E. P. Goodrich, Henry Hoyt, and C. W. Wallace. The elders are Joseph McClintock (who has served as deacon and elder since the organization of the church), W. E. Trowbridge, E. P. Hill, D. Hodges, and Jerome Coleman. The deacons are Joseph McClintock, W. E. Trowbridge, and D. Hodges. The original church building was sold in 1869 to the Universalist Society, which, dissolving in 1877, disposed of the structure to the Catholic congregation, by whom it is now used. The Presbyterians replaced their old house of T Ar I --- — ------------- I I i I i i i I I i i I I i I i I I i i I --------- - I.:: I IM,, I 0 m w p,, ,, " I Ej" wx;, i I i i i j i 1 1 C. T. BAKER, M.D. 14 A - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - dr/ mI IDENCE OF C.T. BAKER, M.L2.,DECATLJR, MICH. I TOWNSHIP OF DECATUR. 445 worship with the fine large church now in use, and expended upon it upwards of $6000. The church has now a membership of 102, and in the Sabbath-school, of which Jerome Coleman is superintendent, the average attendance is 150. The number of members received into the church since its organization is 219. The church trustees are J. M. Conkling, Henry Upton, and John Pollock. D. Hodges, the clerk, has occupied that place since 1864. The Church of the Holy Family (Roman Catholic).About 1855, Rev. Mr. Koopman, a Catholic priest of Marshall, visited Decatur village, and arranged with the few families there and in the vicinity professing the Roman Catholic faith to hold religious services there once in three months. The first meeting was held in the house of Henry Brown, where Father Koopman preached four or five times, and after that, when Mr. La Belle, of Kalamazoo, took charge, the place of worship was transferred to the house of Mr. Dennis Jordan, which remained the church for ten years afterwards, or until the congregation gaining strength more commodious quarters were necessary, and so public halls were used. In 1877 the church edifice formerly used by the Universalists, and before that by the Presbyterians, was purchased. Father La Belle preached once in three months for about twelve years, and was succeeded by Fathers Sweeney, Herbert, and Roper, from Silver Creek. Father Wernert, of Paw Paw, has been in charge about a year, and holds services once a month. The attendance includes about thirty families. The church trustees are Daniel Kearney, James Howland, and James Cregan. First Methodist Episcopal Church of Decatur.-The early records of this church having been lost, the date of its organization cannot be positively fixed, although it is generally believed that the class was first formed in 1856; at all events, it is known that in 1857 it contained but 7 members. Of those who joined the first class none now live in the village, and personal recollection even of early events cannot therefore be utilized. In 1860, however, the church had grown considerably in strength, and in that year a commodious church edifice was erected. The church embraces now three points, to wit: Decatur, East Decatur, and South Hamlilton, of which the combined membership is 200. Rev. Mr. Carlisle, the present pastor, preaches at Decatur twice each Sunday. The present officers of the church are as follows: ClassLeaders, E. F. Ruggles, W. C. Acton; Trustees, Thomas Browning, William Blowers, William Powers, J. G. Parkhurst, H. B. Clapp, W. H. Clark, J. F. Barry, E. F. Ruggles, William C. Acton; Stewards, J. N. Peters, W. M. Blowers, W. H. Clark, Thomas Browning, T. Threadgold, William Powers, J. M. Lombard, O. Beach. The Sabbath-school, which has on its rolls the names of 170 scholars and an average attendance of 120, is in charge of E. F. Ruggles, the superintendent, assisted by 18 teachers. The volumes in the library number 220. A Protestant Episcopal Mission, attached to St. Mark's Church of Paw Paw, has existed in Decatur since 1877. Services have been held in Trowbridge Hall once in four weeks, the average attendance being about 30. SCHOOLS. The first school taught in Decatur was opened in 1835 in the house of Dolphin Morris. The teacher was William Alexander, and of his 20 pupils, several were from Cass County. Anderson was a relative of Le Grand Anderson, and coming from Virginia to visit Anderson, was persuaded to stop that winter and teach school. After a winter's term he went back to Virginia. John McKinney, of Porter, was a teacher in Decatur in 1837. Jonathan Curry, now living in Decatur, was one of McKinney's pupils. Appended is a table of statistics relating to the schools of Decatur, from a report for the year ending Sept. 1, 1879: Number of districts (whole, 6; fractional, 1)........ 7 t" children of school ge...................... 753 Average attendance.......................................... 651 Number of school-houses (brick, 2; frame, 5)....... 7 Value of school property.................................. $19,900 Number of teachers employed.......................... 22 Amount paid teachers' wages............................. $3378.63 Total expenditures.......................................... $5412 The school directors in 1879 were L. R. Anderson, W. K. Van Hise, E. F. Chappell, I. L. Harrison, F. Carpenter, A. M. Lyle, and Wm. Cole. INCIDENTS. The Morris Mlurder Mystery.-One of the remarkable tragic sensations of the West during 1879 was the mysterious murder of Henry Morris and his wife at their residence on section 35, in Decatur township. On the morning of Monday, September 29th, the dead bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Morris were found lying in their home, where they had been shot down the previous night by an unknown assassin, whose identity has to this time remained hidden despite the most earnest efforts towards his discovery and the offering of large rewards to stimulate his pursuers. The mystery surrounding the tragedy was deepened by the evidence that a desire for plunder had nothing to do with the murder, since nothing of value was carried away, although valuable property was within easy reach. Van Buren County offered a reward of $2000 for the capture of the murderer, but the constant exercise of the powers of the country's most skillful detectives has thus far brought nothing to light. The Meteor Commiotion.-The meteor of 1861 is well remembered on the south side of the swamp in Decatur, and the excitement it occasioned for a time is an almost fresh incident in the minds of many. Indeed, one valiant householder, with the knowledge of the newly-fledged Southern Rebellion keen upon him, made sure that the meteoric explosion was simply a rebel advance upon Decatur households, and rushing into his home with the cry, "The rebels are shelling us!" he proceeded to barricade doors and windows, put his family under arms, and, with musket in hand, declared that he was not only " ready for them," but that he would pledge himself to whip a dozen rebels single-handed. After a while he found out the true cause of his alarm, just as people in the neighborhood found out how he had laid himself out for war. It was a rich incident, and furnished food for merriment long afterwards. 446 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. BI OGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. DOLPHIN MORRIS. DOLPHIN MORRIS was the oldest son of Samuel and Rebecca Morris, and was born in Loudoun Co., Va., Aug. 16, 1798. When but a small boy his parents moved to Ross Co., Ohio. His edution was confined to what a youth could learn in about four or six weeks. He learned the alphabet and to write his signature, though not a very legible hand. However, in after-years he learned to read, and took great comfort in reading his Bible and the newspapers. When he was twenty-one years old, in company with a number of other young men, he started on a voyage down the Mississippi River, on a boat laden with corn and bacon, bound for New Orleans, then a small town. Before reaching their destination the boat grounded, and remained so for several days. The company becoming impatient, decided to undertake the journey on foot, so they (fourteen in number) provided themselves with cooking utensils, blankets, and a limited supply of provisions, thinking to accomplish the journey in a few days. But after several days' hard travel through forests, marshes, and streams, they began to get discouraged. As their supply of provisions vas growing less every day, and no means of replenishing, they abandoned the idea of reaching the city, and concluded to turn their steps homeward as best they could, with but a small amount of money and no guide. The undertaking was a perilous one. Their supply was soon exhausted, or supposed to be. It turned out that Morris and two of his companions had each a biscuit, which they cut into fourteen pieces and distributed equally. These precious morsels sufficed to appease the gnawings of hunger, which were becoming almost unbearable. The party still pursued their journey; three days passed and they had not tasted another morsel of food,-their situation was becoming desperate. Death by starvation, or how to avert it, were thoughts that occupied their attention. Would they resort to cannibalism or would they starve? The former was finally decided upon, and it was privately understood that the cook, an Irishman, who was one of MRS. NANCY MORRIS. their party who proposed it, should be the first victim. But Providence interfered and sent relief by way of a large terrapin, which the party succeeded in capturing. It was made into soup, which all partook of with a greedy relish, and the small fragments of meat distributed. Young Morris received the tail for his portion, and as he often remarked, " That was the sweetest morsel I ever tasted." The next day the party came upon an Indian village or encampment. The Indians being friendly, supplied the party with dried venison and such other provisions as they had. The party being in a strange country and not knowing which way to go, tried to hire a young brave to pilot them to the settlement, but he would not go for any price, but kindly gave directions as best he could. The next day they reached a rude habitation, where they rested and were furnished with a supply of boiled cider, which, for the time being, revived their drooping spirits. Here they laid in a fresh supply of provisions, which lasted till they reached the settlement, where they were safe. Though uneducated, he was a man of good ideas and sound judgment, an excellent calculator, and free from most of the vices which beset young men. His father being poor, he was early in life thrown on his own resources, and young Morris turned his attention to agriculture. He being sober and industrious, had no trouble in leasing land " on shares and furnished." He thus worked for several years, until he had the nucleus of a small fortune formed. He then conceived the not uncommon idea " that it was not good for man to be alone," and sought the hand and heart of Nancy Beaver, then a young girl of about eighteen years of age. They were married March 27, A.D. 1823. After the birth of three children-Samuel, Zarilda (now deceased), and Amos-Mr. Morris concluded to seek his fortune in the wilds of Michigan. In July, 1828, he, in company with his father, came to Michigan to see the country, and before he returned to Ohio made a claim on La Grange Prairie, now known as the Ritter farm. Im TOWNSHIP OF DECATUR. 447 mediately on his return home he was taken ill, which prevented his moving until the 1st day of November, 1828, when he and his brothers, Samuel, John, and James, with his family and effects, and his father and family, all started for their future home. They arrived at Joseph Gardner's (a relative), at Pokagon, on the 1st day of December. Here they remained for the winter. During the winter lie visited Little Prairie Ronde, and made his location on the south half of section 35, township of Decatur, on the north side of Little Prairie Ronde (having abandoned his former claim). In February, about the 15th, he came to Little Prairie and cut the logs for a cabin which he raised. A severe snow-storm precluded further operations, so he returned to his family. About the 1st of March he returned and completed his cabin, and moved his family into the same about the 20th of March, 1829. This cabin was the first built in Van Buren County, and was known far and near, and many a weary traveler reposed beneath its rude roof and was warmed by its cheerful fire. For nearly two years Mr. Morris was the only settler in this county. His rude cabin not only sheltered the first white family resident in this now prosperous county, but under its roof the first school was taught by William Alexander, in the winter of 1833-34. Here was born the first white child in the county,-Lewis Creighton Morris,-Aug. 4, 1830, and here the little fellow left for his angel home, December 20th of the same year. Here was born, May 11, 1832, Elias Morris, the oldest living white person born in the county, now living in Cass County. Here it was that Daniel Alexander and Margaret Tittle (Peggy she was then called), the second couple married in the county, spent their honeymoon. A building that served to shelter the first family, was the first hotel, church, school-house, where the first birth and death occurred, where the first domestic altar in the county was set up, deserves more than a passing tribute, and its site should be marked, as a reminder of our early history. Mr. Morris was a noble-hearted man, assisting all who came within his reach. Many of the early settlers bear testimony to his kindness. The family now living remember distinctly very many of the hardships incident to pioneer life, through which they, with their parents, passed. Many of these incidents are detailed in the township history. Here, amid these hardships, Mr. Morris remained, and made for himself and family a home, to which by prudence and economy he was enabled to add, until at one time he was the owner of over eleven hundred acres of good farminglands. Subsequently he gave to each of his children a fine farm; all located in the immediate vicinity of his home. In 1865 the First National Bank of Paw Paw was organized, and Mr. Morris was one of the stockholders, and for about three years prior to his death he was one of the directors of the same. For twenty-five years prior to his death he was a very consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and many a weary " circuit-rider" sought his home and shared his hospitalities. In October, 1869, he was taken ill, grew gradually worse; finally, after an illness of nearly three months, surrounded by his sorrowing family and friends, he quietly passed away, gathered in as a sheaf ripened and ready for the Reaper. NANCY (BEAVER) MORRIS was born in the State of Kentucky, Feb. 12, 1805, and when a small child moved with her parents to Ross Co., Ohio, and settled on a farm on Deer Creek, near Chillicothe. Her education was limited to a few months at the district school, where she learned to read and write. When about eighteen years old she was united in marriage to Dolphin Morris, and immediately began housekeeping in her father's log cabin on the farm, which he had vacated for one more modern. In 1826 she, with her husband, moved to another farm, which he rented, near London, same State, but owing to milk-sickness, which was very prevalent in that locality (the family being sick much of the time), it was decided to seek some healthier locality. So, on the first day of November, 1828, she, with her husband and three small children, started for Michigan, her future home, where she shared with her husband the hardships incident to pioneer life. Many times her courage was put to a severe test by some Indian tramp. Yet these red men, or rather their squaws, were often of real service, being friendly. They would often come to Mrs. Morris' house, help her wash, and do other work, and were extremely glad to be shown how to make bread, which she always took pleasure in showing them. Many times she was left entirely alone, with her children, to care for all the stock, etc., while her husband was absent on business. She should be entitled to full credit for her share in the success in business affairs, which, in after-years, brought comfort and happiness to her husband and family. Mrs. Morris was the mother of seven sons and four daughters,of whom only three (sons) are now living. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for more than thirty years prior to her death, which occurred Oct. 14. 1877, in the seventy-second year of her age. CHARLES HENRY MORRIS, youngest son of Dolphin and Nancy Morris, was born May 9, 1847. He married, Dec. 24, 1869, Esther A., daughter of Asa Jones, of Edwardsburg, Cass Co., Mich. After the death of his father and mother Charles H. became the possessor of the old homestead, where his father located in 1829. While in the midst of a useful and happy life, surrounded by a host of friends, with bright hopes of the future, he was on the night of the 28th of September, 1879, shortly after retiring, called to the door, and there shot twice through the heart by a cowardly assassin. The fiend, not satisfied with the blood of one victim, entered the house, and immediately opened fire upon Mrs. Morris, whom he met coming, with a small revolver in hand, to her husband's rescue. She retreated to her bedroom, pursued by the fiend, who shot her twice through the body; she then entered a closet adjoining, where she fell and was shot twice more. Thus ended one of the most horrible tragedies ever perpetrated in any civilized community. We also give a cut of the horse which carried the assassin from this frightful scene. He was ridden to South Bend, Ind., about forty miles distant, where he was found early the next morning in a very jaded condition. 448 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Photos. by Pritchard, Decatur. ( Cue ant SAMUEL MORRIS. ELIAS MORRIS, fourth son of Dolphin and Nancy Morris, was born in Decatur township, Van Buren Co., Mich., May 11, 1832, and is the oldest living white person born in the county. His education was obtained principally at the district schools in the vicinity, with the exception of three terms at the Wesleyan Seminary (now Albion College), at Albion, Calhoun Co., Mich. He married, March 12, 1857, Charlotte, daughter of Allen Dunning, of Edwardsburg, Cass Co., Mich. Five children have been born to them; three only are now living. By occupation he is a farmer; he is now the owner of a fine farm, where he resides, just in the edge of Cass County, near his father's old home. We present the readers of this work the portraits of Dolphin Morris and wife, Charles H. Morris and wife (brother of Elias), and a sketch of their house; these, together with his own portrait, are all inserted by Elias Morris as a tribute of love and respect to his deceased father, brother, and sister. SAMUEL MORRIS, eldest son of Dolphin and Nancy Morris, was born in Ross Co., Ohio, Aug. 17, 1824, and when a lad four years old, with his parents, moved to Michigan. His education was obtained at the district school in the vicinity of his father's, on the north side of Little Prairie Ronde, with the exception of four months at a select school at Paw Paw, taught by Professor Jesse Vose, now deceased. He being the oldest child of his father's family, was, at an early age, taught to assist in all the different departments on the farm as occasion seemed to demand. One of his duties was to watch his father's sheep during the daytime to prevent the wolves from depredations on the young lambs; but despite his efforts, sometimes the hungry beasts would ignore his presence, seize upon a lamb, and run off with it. On one occasion seven wolves made their appearance at the same time, but owing to his courage and skill were prevented from doing serious damage. Indians were frequently his playfellows, with whom he often joined in their sports. So familiar did he become with them that he learned to speak their language, and often joined them in target-shooting with bow and arrow, with which he became an expert, many times vanquishing his opponents, to their great chagrin. Indeed, so great was his skill, that he could shoot a bird at a distance of fifteen rods with great precision. He also became skilled in the use of the rifle, with which he took delight in hunting deer and other game. In fact, he furnished the family with meat a great portion of the time. Married, Oct. 3, 1852, Harriet C., daughter of Thomas Simpson, of Cass Co., Mich., and immediately commenced housekeeping on his farm on Little Prairie Ronde, Cass Co. He has always been engaged in farming, in which he has been very successful. Has also been one of the stockholders in the First National Bank of Decatur since its organization, and for a period of seven years has been a director of the same. He is a living witness to the growth and prosperity of Western Michigan, having shared in many of the hardships incident to pioneer life. CHA S. H. MORRRI S. MRS. CHAS. H.MORRIS. -T;7_,, I -,:- _-:;;;ijjr~ -.l.i~_-;:-:~::::: —.:-E:-i i:-;~._i,.:::`: ~j~.b:::~:~:I:.:~;..-:.-:::::::::::I-~.,i; r , i~:~lr;.:.-:::-' ..:_:i:i- r':-:-: -::::;i.~-.i ~:: ~:,~:i. '-::-li~;-'Q.P;~:::::~:-' -:: --- l.::::::::: _;- I~- i_-::-:-.,:j;: ~i::';: —;\ ~;-,_ ~~:I:-I.. ~ -: —~_ _t ~:;:I;.;(-:(,::-~:il-, _:-~; 1;;: ---::~~~::~-~ ~~. i: I::. —::::; i:ii: .....; '` -i-;.;::::::::-:-:::i:::.-:': `::::::: 1..1 i, OLD HOMESTEAD OF DOLPHIN MORRIS.AowLATE RisiotNCE OF CHAS. H MORRIS DECATU, MICH. 4: OI rI iI TOWNSHIP OF GENEVA. 449.. DR. C. T. BAKER was born in Howard village, Steuben Co., N. Y., Jan. 2, 1829, and was the youngest of a f:amily of twelve children,-two having died previous to his birth. When but four years old his father, Andrew Baker, with his family, then consisting of a wife and six children (the rest having married and left home), moved to Allegany Co., N. Y. There he lived with his father, attending school and working on the farm, until after the death of his mother, which occurred March 25, 1844, aged fifty-nine years. After his mother's death he made his home with a brother-in-law, William H. Gordon, a merchant and lumberman living in Wellsville, in the same county. There he attended school and assisted as clerk and book-keeper until a short time before he commenced the study of medicine with his oldest brother, Dr. Andrew Baker, Jr., of Norwich, N. Y., where he also attended the academy for about two years. In 1852-53 and 1853-54 he attended the medical department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated March 30, 1854. December 4th of the same year he located in Decatur, Mich., and commenced the practice of medicine. He has since resided at that place, with the exception of the time spent in the army during the war of the Rebellion, when he served as contract surgeon, and was assigned to duty at post hospital, City Point, Va., General Grant's headquarters. He was on duty at that place when Petersburg and Richmond were evacuated by the rebels, and also when General Lee surrendered his army to General Grant, and returned to Washington on the memorable 14th of April, 1865,-the day of President Lincoln's assassination. He has been president, vice-president, and censor of the Van Buren County Medical Society, and has served as health-officer of the village and township of Decatur ever since the law establishing that office has been enforced. He is now surgeon to the Michigan Central Railroad at that place. In politics he is a Republican. His father and two brothers, Hiram and John, with their families, came to Michigan in 1855, locating in Keeler township, where the father died July 10, 1856, aged seventy-seven years. The brothers are farmers in the latter township at this time. Three sisters are still living, viz., Mrs. Nancy Naramor, in Macomb Co., Mich.; Mrs. Fanny Dolbee, and Mrs. Elizabeth Gordon, both in Pennsylvania. Dec. 31, 1857, Dr. Baker was married to Adelia M. Nutting, daughter of Lucius and Eliza B. Nutting. CHAPTER LVIX. GENEVA TOWNSHIP.* Boundaries and Topography-Settlement of the Township-Organization and List of Officers-Early Roads-Irvington-SchoolsReligious Societies. BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY. THE township of Geneva contains 36 full sections, and is the first full township from the lake in the north tier of townships. It is bounded on the north by Allegan County, * By A. N. Hungerford. 57 on the east by Columbia, on the south by Bangor, and on the west by South Haven. Its soil is varied and well adapted for fruit- and grain-raising. The surface is somewhat broken in the central part, but is in the other portions generally level or slightly undulating. Like all the territory in Southwestern Michigan, it was originally heavily timbered with whitewood, basswood, beech, maple, and ash, and in parts pine and hemlock. It is well watered by the south branch of the South Black River and its branches. It enters the township on section 34, flows northwesterly, and passes out at the northwestern corner of the town. SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWNSHIP. The territory that now comprises Geneva was a wilderness after other townships east and north had become the homes of a few emigrants. The year that South Haven, then embracing several townships, was set off (1837) Clark Pierce, a native of Marlborough, Vt., bought of J. H. Monroe 160 acres of land, it being the southeast quarter of section 32, lying on the Monroe road, laid out two years before. He emigrated to Michigan in 1833, and lived at St. Clair for a time. After locating this land he built a log cabin, and lived alone about two years, his nearest neighbors being settlers at Breedsville and his brother Daniel, who was occasionally at South Haven, where he had bought land and put up a cabin. In the summer of 1839, Daniel and Clark Pierce rented 90 acres of land of Stephen Wilbur and Elias Rawson at Schoolcraft, and sowed it to winter wheat. They retained the farm together till the fall of 1841, when in October of that year Clark Pierce married Miss Royce, and remained on the farm till the fall of 1842, when he, with his wife and one son (A. J. Pierce, of South Haven), with their household goods, and a few young cattle, came back to the humble log cabin, and there passed two years of hermit life, being the only family in the township till 1845. The lands at South Haven had passed into the hands of a New York company, of which William A. and William L. Booth and Dr Abbott were partners. Lewis A. Booth, a brother of William A., was the agent. In the spring of 1845 this company proposed to build a mill at that place and other improvements. Clark Pierce was hired to move there, erect a boarding-house and take charge of the property. His family moved there in 1845, having at that time two sons (Irving, the youngest, being the first white child born in Geneva township), and they remained at that place till June, 1846, when they returned to the farm, and from 1837 to February, 1846, no one had settled in the town. At that time Eri Eaton and Andrew Miner came in and settled near the centre of the town. In 1845, Mr. Pierce moved to Illinois, and in the spring of 1858 came back on the farm where he has since lived. Considerable land had been bought by speculators, and emigrants were slow in coming in and paying their prices for land. In the. latter part of the fall and winter of 1845-46, Eri Eaton and Leander J. Eastman came through this sec tion of country to seek locations. On their return home, at Adrian, they purchased land of Cornelius B. Bogart, of that place,-Mr. Eaton 40 acres, Eastman 20 acres, and 450 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Andrew Minor, a son-in-law of Mr. Eaton, 20 acres, on section 15. In the February following, 1846, Eri Eaton and Andrew Miner, with their families, came in and stopped a few days with Hiram Chappell, until they finished their own cabins. At that time Clark Pierce, on section 32, was the only man living in the township. Mr. Miner afterwards sold and bought of government 90 acres on the northeast quarter of section 3, where he still resides. Mr. Eaton is living with his daughter, Mrs. Win. Beebe, at the centre of the township. Philip Hoag, a native of Cuyahoga Co., owned a farm near Kalamazoo, and traded for land in this township, getting therefor 80 acres on the east half of northeast quarter and 80 acres on east half of southwest quarter. In 1848 he built a log house on the northeast quarter, where he lived until 1878, and moved to the southwest quarter, where he now lives. He was instrumental in getting the town set off from Columbia. In 1847, Marvin Hannahs, of Albion, commenced a settlement on section 18, where he built a saw-mill (the first in the township) on the Black River. The lumber for the construction of the mill and the boarding-house in connection with it, was hauled from Breedsville. The first family who kept the boarding-house was that of Henry Hogmire. In the following year a large tannery was built by him at the same place, and he also erected a school-house, and made several other improvements as an inducement for settlers to locate in the neighborhood. Eri Bennett came to the place as foreman for Mr. Hannahs. He was elected justice of the peace in 1855-56, and supervisor in 1859. The demands of the tannery for bark gave employment to many at that time, and the settlers in the vicinity employed their time when not engaged in their own clearings in working for Mr. Hannahs. The place was nicknamed Jericho by the workmen in the mill and tannery, but Mr. Hannahs named it Hunter. It was from this place that Joseph Sturgis and his assistants went down the river to commence the settlement that became South Haven. After the latter place became established, the Jericho or " Hunter" settlement lost its importance, but the nickname given it by the employees of Mr. Hannahs outlived both the tannery and the name bestowed by its proprietor. Nathan Tubbs came from Grand Rapids to this town in 1849, and bought land in the southeast quarter of section 2, and remained here several years. He sold to John Chrisman, who in 1859 sold to Jerome B. Watson, a native of Monroe County, who moved on. the farm with his family, where they still live. Mr. Tubbs was the first supervisor of the town. Charles N. Hoag, brother of Philip, in the fall of 1851 left Ohio and emigrated to this town, purchasing on the southwest quarter of section 1, where he lived till 1858, and removed to Lawrence, purchasing a farm there. He returned again to Geneva in 1865, and bought 120 acres on the south half of section 3, where he now lives. Charles Davy in the winter of 1851-52 purchased 80 acres on west half of the southeast quarter of section 3. James Bates came in 1851 and settled on 40 acres on the northeast quarter of section 14, where his son Edwin lives. I I~: Moses Welch, a native of Madison Co., N. Y., emigrated to Prairie Ronde, with his wife and three children, in the fall of 1847, and in the winter of 1850 bought of James Jones 80 acres of land on the southeast quarter of section 3, and moved upon it with his family Jan. 15, 1852. Mr. Welch was one of the first members of the Methodist class in the township, and was instrumental in getting the first road through to South Haven, in 1852, and in 1853 had the contract for building the east end of the causeway of logs along the section line between sections 4 and 9, Jesse Lane having the contract for the other part. Mr. Welch lives on the place where he settled in 1852. His present wife is a sister of Andrew Miner. Jesse Lane in 1852 bought of William Knowles (a brother of Elisha, who settled at Breedsville in 1837) 160 acres, the northeast quarter of section 10. He afterwards traded with W. D. Metcalf, of Kalamazoo, and moved to Missouri. James Kelly also in this year located land on the southeast quarter of section 4. Orrin G. Hoag, a brother, came in the fall of 1852, and settled near Charles and Philip, his brothers. Orrin and Charles married Laura and Harriet, sisters of Charles Brott. Philip Brooks, a native of Genesee Co., N. Y., came to this township in the fall of 1853, and settled on the southwest quarter of section 12. His widow and two sons are still on the farm. Benjamin Knowles, from Livingston Co., N. Y., emigrated with his father, Elisha Knowles, to Breedsville in 1837. He went through to the mouth of the Black Rlver with Clark Shaffer in 1849, when nothing was there except the single house built in 1845, and the ruin of the Monroe house. In 1852 he first located at Geneva, on the northeast quarter of section 10, where he still resides. Charles Brott emigrated from Ohio to this township in 1855, purchasing the year before the south half of the northeast quarter of section 1, and has lived there to the present time. He married a daughter of Mr. Chappell, an early settler. Samuel Lull, from Broome Co., N. Y., emigrated to Kalamazoo County in 1840, and to Geneva township in the spring of 1854. He bought his farm of John Glover, on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 11. With the exception of the little clearings of Nathan Tubbs, Moses Welch, and Charles Day, that neighborhood was then a wilderness. Mr. Lull is now largely engaged in the culture of peaches and apples. About 1856, Daniel and Mahlon Funk settled on the southwest quarter of section 34. About the same time William Miller purchased 80 acres on section 33, and the same on section 34. George McKenzie was the first settler in the southeast quarter of the town, on section 36. Between this time and 1862-63, Peter Chambers settled on the northeast quarter of section 8, where he still resides. Perry Kidney settled on the same section, where Mr. Cobb now lives. S. M. Trowbridge bought land on sections 6 and 7, on Black River, and erected a mill there known as Geneva Mills. He is now engaged in a flour- and feed-store in South Haven. Yetter settled on the Sand Hill east of Trowbridge's mill. James Peters, about 1862, lived on the southwest quarter of section 10. Anson Warner, a native I I I Ia I ~~1;~ F; 7! RESIOENCESOF GI LMAN AND PHILENA WHITE, IRVINGTON, CENEVA T., VAN BUREN CO., MICHIGAN. ~ESIDENCE OF 5. W. TROWBRIDGE, GENEVATPR, (EAR SOUTH HAVEN LINE.) VAN BUREN CO.,MICH. -: ; I I I I TOWNSHIP OF GENEVA. 451 -- -I of New York, came in 1863, and purchased on the southeast quarter of section 9. He was the first to settle on that section. Soon after, Lucius Mead and Sylvanus Cobb settled near him. Benjamin Westcott, a native of Wayne Co., N. Y., emigrated to Bangor in 1848, and in December, 1864, located on the southwest quarter of section 8, purchasing of Perry Kidney, where he still lives. William W. Worthington settled on section 18, near Mr. Westcott, in August of the same year. George H. Reeves, from Connecticut, moved to Suffolk Co., N. Y., and emigrated to Geneva in 1864, settling where he still lives, on section 22. Many others came in from 1858-64, among whom were Hubbard C. Pond, Abel Edgerton, Daniel D. Hathaway, F. M. Jones, J. G. Lafler, Henry Pease, Lewis B. Truesdell, and Daniel Rooker. ORGANIZATION AND LIST OF OFFICERS. This township, originally a part of Lafayette township, in the division in 1837 was made a part of South Haven. Again in 1845 it was set off from that township as a part of Columbia, then organized, and Jan. 5, 1854, it became a separate township by action of Board of Supervisors, by which body it was then " Resolved, that township 1 south, range 16 west, situated at present in and belonging to the township of Columbia be, and the same is hereby set off from said township and organized into a new township by the name of the township of Geneva, and that the time and place for holding the first annual township-meeting in said township of Geneva shall be on the first Monday of April next, 1854, at the dwelling-house of Nathan Tubbs, on section 2, in said township, number 1 south, range 16 west, and that Nathan Tubbs, Clark Pierce, and Charles N. Hoag be and are hereby appointed to act as the Board of Inspectors of election to preside at said meeting." Election was held accordingly on the 3d of April, 1854, when twenty-two votes were cast and the following officers elected: Supervisor, Nathan Tubbs; Township Treasurer, Philip M. Brooks; Township Clerk, Charles N. Hoag; Justices of the Peace, Eri Bennett, Leander J. Eastman, Jesse L. Lane, Philip Hoag; School Inspectors, Hiram Simmons, Francis M. Jones; Commissioners of Highways, Clark Pierce, Leander J. Eastman, Jesse L. Lane; Directors of the Poor, Eri Eaton, Clark Pierce. The principal township officers from that time until the present have been those named in the following list: SUPERVISORS. 1855-56, 0. H. Burrows; 1857-58, Nathan Tubbs; 1859, Eri Bennett; 1860-61, Jerome B. Watson; 1862, Hubbard C. Pond; 1863, Jerome B. Watson; 1864, Abel Edgerton; 1865, V. D. Dille; 1866, Gideon Hall; 1867-68, Jerome B. Watson; 1869, S. M. Trowbridge; 1870-72, William R. Tolles; 1873-77, Jerome B. Watson; 1878-79, Goodwin S. Tolles. TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1855, Charles N. Hoag; 1856-57, Daniel D. Hathaway; 1858-60, Pomeroy Prince; 1861, F. M. Jones; 1862, J. G. Lafler; 1863, O. S. Hoag; 1864, J. G. Lafler; 1865-66, Samuel B. Phelps; 1867-68, Benson Paddock; 1869, J. G. Clark; 1870-71, James Martin; 1872-77, George H. Reeves; 1878, William A. Burlingame; 1879, George H. Reeves. TREASURERS. 1855-60, Philip M. Brooks; 1861, Benjamin Clark; 1862, Philip M. Brooks; 1863, Henry Pease; 1864, James W. Peters; 1865-69, H. Wenban; 1870-72, Goodwin S. Tolles; 1873-78, James Martin; 1879, Gilbert Mitchell. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1855-56, Eri Bennett; 1857, Daniel D. Hathaway; 1858, Clark Pierce; 1859, Lewis B. Truesdell; 1860, Daniel Rooker; 1861, William Miller, Philip Hoag; 1862, Pierce M. Funk; 1863, Lewis B. Truesdell; 1864, Truman Fletcher, C. C. Terrill; 1865, F. Reeve, George McKenzie; 1866, Clark Pierce, Benjamin Knowles; 1867, Philip Hoag; 1868, J. N. Osborn; 1869, Jonathan T. Elliot, John N. Osborn; 1870, George McKenzie, Clark Pierce; 1871, John B. Hicks; 1872, Benjamin B. Clark; 1873, Clark Pierce, Edward S. Jelly; 1874, A. J. Wyman, Clark Pierce; 1875, John N. Osborn, John S. Hicks; 1876, Lucian F. Mace, George McKenzie; 1877, Philip Hoag, George McKenzie; 1878, George McKenzie; 1879, Edward S. Jelly. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1855-56, Clark Pierce; 1857, Charles N. Hoag; 1858, A. Edgerton; 1859, Lewis B. Truesdell; 1860, George McKenzie; 1861, Philip Hoag; 1862, H. A. Pond; 1863, Francis M. Jones; 1864, Manley B. Peters; 1865, C. H. Emerson, F. M. Schurz; 1866, Charles N. Hoag; 1867, Allen W. Davis; 1868, James Abbott; 1869, John N. Osborn; 1870, Benjamin F. Chapman; 1871, John N. Osborn; 1872, Francis R. Cady; 1873, Edward B. Jelly; 1874, Francis R. Cady; 1875, Aaron B. Gates; 1876, Irving W. Pierce; 1877-78, Charles H. Mace; 1879, James Martin. SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS. 1875-76, John B. Hicks; 1877-79, John H. Tripp. EARLY ROADS. The first road laid out in the township was the road that crosses sections 32 and 30 diagonally, running in a northwardly direction. It was laid out by Charles U. Cross and Judge Monroe, from Paw Paw to South Haven, in 1835, and was a continuation of the road from Prairie Ronde, laid out earlier. When the township was laid out the records of previous roads were transcribed from the Columbia records, March 30, 1853, as follows: Murch road, surveyed by Charles U. Cross, June 29, 1839; Stearling road, surveyed June 22, 1846; Eaton's road, surveyed June 25, 1846; Pierce's road, surveyed Dec. 14, 1846; Tubb's road, surveyed Oct. 5, 1852. IRVINGTON. Irvington is a hamlet on the line of the Kalamazoo and South Haven division of the Michigan Central Railroad, and lies in the northeast part of the township, in the centre of section 1. It was platted by Enoch Pease in July, 1871. It received its name from Irving Pierce, son of Clark Pierce, who was the first white child born in the township. It contains a Methodist church, depot, about thirty dwellings, three stores, steam-mill, coal-kiln, blacksmith- and wagon-shop. SCHOOLS. The first school taught in the township was by Mrs. Caroline Miner, wife of Andrew Miner, about 1848, at her house. The pupils were the Eaton, Eastman, and Miner children. In the winter of 1849-50 a school was taught in the log house of Clark Pierce, by Laura Rogers, who was succeeded by Fanny Kidder. A school-house was built at Jericho by Marvin Hannahs, to induce emigrants to settle there, but some time elapsed before school was taught there. Ellen Fish was the first to teach in that house. In the northeast quarter of the town Laura Pratt, now Mrs. Orrin S. Hoag, taught a school in 1853, in a rough shanty near Eri Eaton's. Angeline Foster, in the summer 452 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. of 1854, taught in a board cabin on Moses Welch's place. A school-house was erected about 1855 where the present school-house stands, in what is known as the Lull district. Mrs. Harriet Hoag, wife of Charles N. Hoag, and Augusta Smith, now Mrs. Benjamin Knowles, were both among the first teachers there. Soon after the organization of the township the taxable inhabitants met and petitioned the school inspectors to organize a school district. The petition was granted and signed by Francis M. Jones and Charles N. Hoag, inspectors. The petition for the first district was signed by B. Knowles, J. L. Lane, P. M. Brooks, 0. S. Hoag, James Bates, Nathan Tubbs, M. Welch, and Henry Pease. Feb. 24, 1855, a new district (No. 2) was formed by dividing District No. 1. June 2, 1855, a school-house site was chosen on the northeast corner of the northwest quarter of section 11. Oct. 6, 1855, the inspectors reported, as from District No. 1, 20 scholars between four and eighteen years of age, and voted to raise $1 by tax for each scholar. District No. 2 reported 17 scholars, and voted to raise $4180 for building a school-house, $15 for contingent expenses, and $17 for tuition purposes. District No. 3 reported 6 scholars; no report of date of organization of this district. Appropriation of school fund, 1857, $25.97,-53 cents to each scholar,-District No. 1, $10.60; District No. 2, $12.19; District No. 3, $3.18. March 6, 1858, District No. 4 was organized, and was bounded by the base line on the north, town line on the west, sections 16, 17, 18 on the south, and sections 3 and 10 on the east. The appropriation for 1857, as per taxes of 1856, are as follows (mill tax, $81.07): District No. 1, $22.89; District No. 2, $26.31; District No. 3, $6.87. The township library was started while the township was a part of Columbia, and a subsequent division of books gave the new town a nucleus. At the present time the library numbers 251 volumes, 80 being purchased in 1878. A list of the teachers receiving certificates from the inspectors from the organization of the town to 1868 is given, as follows: 1855.-Fanny Kidder, Jan. 26; same date. Angeline Foster; June 11, Amvietta Blood; April 15, Helen M. Fish. 1856.-Nov. 1, Wm. M. Welch; Nov. 7, Israel P. Boles. 1857.-May 4, Ruth Hunt; May 18, Mary E. Welch. 1858.-April 24, Augusta Smith; May 15, Lucinda E. Young. 1859.-April 30, Evaline Fellows; May 2, Sarah Shaver; Nov. 26, Sarah Young. 1860.-Nov. 5, Henry C. Rowman; Nov. 22, Francis M. Jones; Nov. 25, Olivia Kleckner. 1861.-April 15, Mary H. Briggs; May 18, Sarah A. Peacock; June 1, Amanda Rawen; June 7, Aldena Hoag; July 15, Aurelia Ellsworth; Nov. 2, Mary Lulte; Nov. 18, Helen Ailsworth; Dec. 9, James Southard. 1862.-April 12, Eliza Clark; April 26, Adaline Deming; Nov. 1, Kate C. Peters, Martha E. Grover. 1863.-May 25, Mary A. Rowland; Nov. 9, Rebecca A. Burlingame; Dec. 2, Emily A. Loomis; Dec. 19, Helen M. Pool. 1864.-May 24, Georgia Williams; Nov. 5, Cordelia Worralon, Han nah Cross, Laura Pierce; Nov. 12, Aurelia Stillwell; Dec. 17, Aristene E. Metcalf. 1865.-April 8, Susan A. Cassidy; May 3, Janet Hurlbut; Nov. 4, Gideon Hall; Nov. 25, Cirrie Longwell, Marion Balfour. 1866.-Jan. 6, Fanny Peacock; March 31, Mary Penrod; April 28, Ellen Chapin; May 19, Hattie Shaw, Hattie Fuller; Nov. 3, Laura Mayberry, Emmeline Rowley. 1867.-Jan. 12, Lettie Cornwall; Feb. 9, Elsie A. Crowell; March 16, Theresa Dean. The following school statistics of the township are from the directors' report for 1879: Number of Number of Dis- Children be- Frame trict. tween 5 and School- ( 20 Years. Houses. No. 1.. 105 1 No. 2.. 54 1 No. 3.. 37 1 No. 4.. 73 1 No. 5.. 52 1 No. 6.. 58 1 No. 7.. 63 1 Total...442 7 Seating Value of Numberof Wages of Capacity. Property. Teachers. Teachers. 50 60 32 80 135 60 50 467 $400 1000 350 1800 500 800 100 $4950 3 3 1 2 2 2 1 14 $285 152 150 138 215 168 132 $1240 N N N N N N N N N RECEIPTS. Dis Moneys on Two-Mill Primary- District et hand Sept. -a School Taxes for 1 rt. 1878. ax. Fund. all purposes. ro. 1..... $59.00 $110.90......... $158.24 ro. 2..... 103.32 51.84 $22.88 115.35 ro. 3.... 50.53 59.36 28.94 57.00 ro. 4..... 6.16 79.68 37.92 92.50 [o. 5..... 128.39 60.00 33.12 48.53 ro. 6..... 22.66 62.62 28.32 159.38 ro. 7.. 14.96...... 31.68 130.00 Total..$385.02 $524.40 $182.86 $761.00 Raised Total Refrom other sources for sources. the Year. $1.00 $328.14 14.00 311.39.... 195.83 19.75 236.01 17.25 287.29 29.75 302.73 16.50 193.14 $97.35 $1854.53 EXPENDITURES. District. Paid Teachers. Paid all other No. 1............... $285.00 $21.51 No. 2............... 152.00 68.74 No. 3.............. 150.00 33.85 No. 4............... 138.80 49.50 No. 5............... 215.00 20.10 No. 6............... 168.00 40.41 No. 7............... 132.00 11.05 Total............ $1240.80 $245.16 Amount on hand Sept. 1, 1879. $21.63 90.65 11.98 47.71 52.19 92.82 50.09 $367.07 Total Expenditure during the Year. $328.14 311.39 195.83 236.01 287.29 302.73 193.14 $1854.53 The school directors for 1879 were Jerome B. Watson, Samuel Johnson, Isaac M. Saunders, W. W. Hodge, A. A. Hough, Lewis D. Port, Levi Ackley. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. Methodist Church.-The first preacher in the townshipone of the Methodist denomination-was the Rev. J. H. Robinson, who formed a class at the log house of Nathan Tubbs at the same time, March, 1854. The constituent members of that class were Nathan Tubbs and wife, Moses Welch and wife, Mrs. Harriet Hoag, Mrs. Catharine Miner, Mrs. Charles Davy, and Philip Hoag. The circuit that included this territory embraced Breedsville, Bangor, Watervliet, Coloma, and St. Joseph. The ministers who succeeded Mr. Robinson on the circuit were the Revs. Thomas Clark, Hendrickson, Blowers, Rodgers, E. L. Kellogg, I. Skinner, Paddock, Thomas Clark, J. Odin, Harper, - Van Fossen, Jaynes, and Lawrence, the present pastor. The church has about 80 members, with a Sunday-school containing 60 pupils,-Adam White, superintendent. The church was built at Irvington in the summer of 1876, at a cost of $800. A Methodist class was started at Chambers' school-house in 1875, at the close of a revival, under the charge of the Rev. E. H. Mackinney. The class is under the charge of the South Haven Church, and has been supplied with ii N. S. TAYLOR. MRS.N. S. TAYLOR. ~-~'.i~';~-'-~::~~;: —:: -"-c .- tESIDENCE OF NOBLE S. TAYLOR, GENEVA TP., VAN BUREN CO., MICHIGAN. : ~: - Id: I; TOWNSHIP OF GENEVA. 453 preaching by the Revs. H. Parker, W. A. Huhnsberger, and N. D. Carroll. It has at present 15 members. Evangelicrl Association.-The society wls organized about 1872, as a branch of the Bangor Mission. Clarkson Cone and his wife were the only members. Additions were soon made to the number, and the Rev. David Rolland was the first pastor, succeeded by the Revs. — Dewitt, Asel Russell, John Smaroz, George Provost, and John Snyder, the present pastor. Meetings are held at the Lee school-house, and the society now numbers 33 members, who reside in the townships of Lee, Casco, and Geneva. A Free-Will Baptist Society was organized about 1855 or 1856, at what was early known as Eatonburg. The Rev. Mr. Burrows became their pastor. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Myers. The society continued ten or twelve years and then declined. In the fall of 1876 a Baptist Society was organized at the Geneva Centre school-house, with 9 members, by the Rev. George S. Martin. They now number 12 members, and still hold their services at the school-house. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. GILMAN AND PHILENA WHITE. Peregrine White was born on the "Mayflower" in 1620, before the landing at Plymouth Rock. Nicholas White was a grandson of Peregrine White; married a Miss Gilman in 1725. Ebenezer White, second son of Nicholas, was born in Haverhill, Mass., in December, 1731. He married Hannah Merrill, by whom he had seven children,three sons and four daughters. His wife dying, he married a second time, marrying for his second wife Ruth Emerson, by whom he had eleven children,-eight sons and three daughters. Gilman White, Sr., the ninth son of Ebenezer White, was born in Newburg, Vt., June 21, 1783. Gilman White, Jr., was born in Topsham, Vt., Dec. 4, 1812, and was the eldest in Gilman White, Sr.'s family of five sons and three daughters, of whom Adam White was the youngest. Adam, Gilman, and William B., another brother, all married sisters,-Adam marrying Ruth Eastman, Gilman, Nancy Eastman, and William B. marrying Philena Eastman, who, after the death of her husband, William B. White, which occurred in Black Brook, Clinton Co., N. Y., came to Irvington, where she has since resided. Aside from John D. White, who resides in Kalamazoo, and a sister, Mrs. Nathan Bigelow, who is also a resident in Kalamazoo, all of the other members of the family, except those named, have remained in the East. We give upon another page a view of the residences of Gilman and Mrs. Philena White, at Irvington; a general store which is conducted by them also appears in the same view, together with a view of the depot and church. Adam White is prosecuting a large business in the manufacture of charcoal at Irvington, which is the principal industry there. Although only for about three years have the above named resided at Irvington, yet they have become well known throughout that section of Van Buren County for enterprise, energy, together with ability, uprightness, and public spirit. N. S. TAYLOR is the son of Daniel and Phoebe (Churchill) Taylor, and was born in Litchfield Co., Conn., in 1829. When an infant his parents removed to Brockport, Monroe Co., N. Y., where they lived eight years, removing to Bangor, Mich., Dec. 25, 1837, being among the first that made a permanent settlement there. As evidence of the unimproved condition of the country then, Mr. Taylor states that they frequently supplied their table with venison by shooting deer from the door, and often saw wolves near the house. The first winter was one of difficulties, but having taken up one hundred and forty acres of land, he (Daniel Taylor) proceeded to improve it, and always took an active part in all local improvements until his death, which occurred Jan. 9, 1865. His wife still survives, and has reached the age of eighty-nine, residing with a daughter near Lawrence. N. S. Taylor was the youngest of the sons, and after becoming of age passed three years traveling in the West. Starting from Galena, Ill., went to California, where he arrived in 1852; remained four years, which were profitable ones to him. Returning in 1856, purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land near the old homestead in Bangor, and not only made fine improvements upon his own property, but has taken a prominent part in the general advancement of the township; has acted as an official for the same in several capacities, but has been much interested in its improvements, particularly in the erection of a Methodist church, contributing largely in that direction. Also contributed to the erection of the Bangor furnace and the railroad, and to the establishment of the press. Was a zealous supporter of whatever related to the Sunday-school interests, in fact using the means he had acquired in promoting the general good as well as his own interests. In 1876 he wedded Mrs. Mary Smith, a very estimable lady residing in Bangor, visiting on their wedding tour all the principal Eastern cities and public resorts, and on their return purchased an elegant residence in the village of Bangor. Also bought a banking institution, with its interests, which he made a financial success. After two years an opportunity to dispose of this business was offered, which he accepted, and removed to his present residence in Geneva. Mrs. Taylor's parents, John and Eleanor (Parrish) McNett, were natives of New York, and moved to Monroe Co., Mich., afterwards to Texas township, Kalamazoo Co., where Mrs. Taylor was born. When seventeen years of age she was married to Butler M. Smith, of Prairie Ronde, Kalamazoo Co.; moved to Kankakee, Ill., where their first son was born. After remaining there two years removed to Bangor, and purchased a farm of two hundred acres. Here three boys and one girl were born to them. They continued to reside on their farm until the death of Mr. Smith, who was a man not only loved and revered by his family and friends, but respected by all that knew him. 454 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.,.... Photos. by Northup, Bangor. CLARK PIERCE. MRS. CLARK PIERCE. CLARK PIERCE was born in Marlborough, Vt., in 1814, and lived with his parents, Joseph and Sally (Bartlett) Pierce, until his mother's death, which occurred when he was ten years old. In 1832, Clark made his advent in the State of Michigan, stopping first in St. Clair County, where he remained two years, removing thence to Prairie Ronde, Kalamazoo Co., and finally bought of J. R. Monroe a quarter-section of land on section 32, in the present township of Geneva, Van Buren Co., where he still resides. This purchase he made during the winter of 1837-38, paying twenty shillings per acre, thereby incurring an indebtedness which required some time to remove. He married Mary S. Roys, of Brady, Kalamazoo Co., Mrs. Pierce thereby acquiring the distinction of being the first resident white woman of Geneva township, Mr. Pierce being the first settler. There they have remained, witnessing the growth and development of the country about them, and have reared and educated their children, of whom they had six, viz., Almon J., Irving, Laura, Quincy, Gertrude, and Etta. Quincy died when twenty-three years of age. The rest are living in the vicinity of the old home, making the last years of their parents their best years. The first school taught in Geneva was at their house, three terms having expired before a school-house was built. His place was twenty-three miles from Paw Paw, the location of the nearest mill and post-office, and it required about three days to make the trip. He, as an employee, aided in building the first frame house in South Haven, living in it about eight months. Almon J. Pierce enlisted in Company G, 19th Michigan Infantry, was taken sick, and re-enlisted, from convalescent camp, in Ellet's Marine Brigade of the Mississippi River, where he participated in the siege of Vicksburg. On returning from the army, he entered the State Agricultural College, remaining two years. His studies included the rudiments of surveying; and, leaving before completing the course, he began the practice of iand-surveying in Van Buren and Allegan Counties. His success in this line gained him the election of county surveyor in 1869, which position he has since filled, excepting one term. Irving W. was a member of the 28th Illinois Infantry; was at Mobile; returning from the service, as did Almon J., uninjured. Mr. Pierce was first a Whig, then an Abolitionist, and now a Republican. The family attend the Congregational Church, and are firm advocates of the principles of temperance. Mr. Pierce is known as one of the landmarks of Van Buren County. His name is familiar in every household, and he is eminently a self-made man. CHAPTER LX. HARTFORD TOWNSHIP.* Boundaries and General Description-Indian Occupancy-Early Settlements and Settlers-Organization and Township Officers-PostOffices and Postmasters-The Village of Hartford-Societies and Orders-Schools-Religious Societies. THE township, lying in the southwest part of the county, is composed of 36 full sections, and is known as town 3 south, range 16 west. It is bounded on the north by the township of Bangor, on the east by Lawrence, on the south by Keeler, and on the west by the township of Watervliet, in Berrien County. The surface is gently undulating, and originally was covered with a heavy growth of timber, consisting mostly of black walnut, beech, maple, ash, white and basswood, interspersed with oak, elm, and a little pine. The soil through the centre from east to west along the line of the old Watervliet road is quite sandy. The south part of the township and that part north of the Paw Paw River is of a rich sandy loam, with a slight admixture of clay, and is equal in productiveness to any soil in the State. The valley of the Paw Paw River is narrow, and is composed of rich alluvium. The township is well watered by * By A. N. Hungerford. TOWNSHIP OF HARTFORD. 455 -I the Paw Paw River and its branches, and by Rush Lake, which lies in this and the adjoining township of Bangor. The Paw Paw River enters on the south part of section 1, and flows southerly to the south line of section 11, then, in a winding course, westerly, and passes out of the township in the middle of section 18. The two larger branches rise in the southeast portion of the town, and flow in a northerly course, one making a junction on section 14, the other on the southwest part of section 8. One also rises in Bangor, with two or three branches, and joins the river at the east line of section 9. The Paw Paw River is a meandering stream as far as the forks below the village of Paw Paw, and in an early day was much used for shipping lumber and flour in flat-boats to St. Joseph. Mineral springs abound along the river, and on the farm of Fabius Miles, near the west line of section 12, is a sulphur spring, which issues from a mound about four feet above the level of the surrounding land. INDIAN OCCUPANCY. When the first white settlers began to locate in this section of country, bands of Pottawattamies, Ottawas, and a few Chippewas were quite numerous, and were roving over the country, settling (or rather camping) in different parts in different seasons. In the spring of the year they gathered near the large maple-groves to make sugar. The sis-bah-quet (sugar) they would exchange with the che-moke man (white man) for such articles as they wanted, which generally was, first, whisky, next, whisky, then quash-que (bread) and koo-koosh (pork). The largest of these sugar " orchards" was in the southeast part of the town, on sections 23 and 24, from the Brown and Dowd neighborhood east to the Shafer and Johnson farms. Another was on the north side of the river, below Fabius Miles', on section 12, extending west down the river to the De Long neighborhood, and other smaller groves were in various parts of the town. In the summer season they moved their wigwams to the borders of berry swamps and near good fishing. The largest of these berry swamps was in the southeast part of the town, on the northeast quarter of section 35, near Orson Olds. Another was in the northwest part of the town, on the west line and north of the river. In the fall season they gathered on the lowlands, and selected a place for their wigwams in the heavy timber, where they were protected from the wind. The game was principally deer, wild turkeys, and the fur-bearing animals. The most of the Indians were removed in 1838; a few remained and some returned, and in 1842 were again removed. Remnants of these tribes now live near Rush Lake, and in the townships of Hartford, Bangor, Covert, and Watervliet, at their intersection. They are mostly Catholics, and have a church at the south end of Rush Lake, which is attended by Father J. Roeper, of Silver Creek. A cemetery is near the church. The first church was built of logs, and was for many years attended by Father Barron, of Silver Creek. Within a few years a number of white families in the adjacent townships have become attached to the church. About ten families living in this township are members. EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS. The section of country embraced in this township was not surveyed until several years after its cession by the Chicago treaty of 1821. About 1829 the lands were first opened for settlement, and emigrants from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the Eastern States began to flow in slowly along the St. Joseph River. Several years after, settlers began to press back from the river, and locate and clear the land. At that time the section of country all along the western slope north of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor was almost a complete wilderness, and Hartford was the home only of Indians and wild animals. Not far from 1835 a noted hunter and trapper by the name of Harvey Saulsbury came first into what is now the township of Hartford, and built a cabin of basswood logs, with roof of bark, on the bank of the creek on the southwest quarter of section 14, on the farm of John N. Travis. This cabin was occupied by him in his hunting trips, in which he ranged the line of swamps from the Dowagiac to the Black River. There were no white settlers for a long distance, and this cabin was built as a half-way house between the northern and southern points of his range. His summers were mostly spent at Niles, and as the hunting and trapping season came on he started out, dressed in deerskin trousers, blouse, and slouch hat, with his rifle on his shoulder and a load of traps on his back, would make his way to this place, and generally remain here till spring, occasionally going to Paw Paw to exchange his furs for articles to sell to the Indians. He continued his hunting and trapping excursions till about 1844-45. As early as 1835 a man known as " South Bend Taylor" was in the habit of passing through this section of country about three times in the course of the winter, and gathering furs of hunters and Indians. He traveled generally on foot, and when his burdens were gathered they were either packed on Indian ponies and sent out to the settlements, or down the river to St. Joseph. He now lives at South Bend, Ind., and is over eighty years of age. It is said that two men named Duncan and Sumner about 1828, before any settlements were in this section, followed up Paw Paw River as far as Watervliet, and built a saw-mill under the bluff, on the south side of the Paw Paw River, using the water of Mill Creek. This was near the mill of the Watervliet Mill Company. At about the same time three brothers by the name of Stone bought a tract of land in the northwest part of this township, on sections 5 and 8, for the timber. They cleared land for th-d logs, which were manufactured into lumber at the mill below. This continued for a short time, when a flood filled the raceway with sand; then they all left here, and their shanties became an Indian rendezvous. Sumner went to Cass County, where he was the founder of Sumnerville. The Stone brothers years afterwards sold their lands to Alvah De Long, for five shillings per acre, receiving their pay in lumber. It is now occupied by Asher and Allen De Long. About Sept. 1, 1835, John Allen, a native of Vermont, left Ann Arbor for West Michigan, and located a number of lots in Van Buren County, established stage-routes, built mills, did business on the credit system, and failed. Mr. 456 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Allen, Edwin Barnum, and Ephraim Palmer built a log house on the bluff bank of Brush Creek, about forty rods north of the present union school-house of Lawrence. Mr. Allen, not being satisfied with moderate profits and steady business, was seized with the speculative mania, and located a number of lots of land on what is now known as Hog Creek, about a mile east of Hartford village. He platted this land into lots and started an imaginary village, calling it Middletown. A good story is told in connection with the village, about as follows:* In 1836, Mr. Allen attempted to establish a stage-route from Paw Paw to St. Joseph, via Brush Creek, Middletown, and Waterford (Watervliet). Some five or six families who had gathered at Brush Creek, having heard of Middletown, supposed it to be quite a village, and some of the men of the settlement proposed to visit it. The company consisted of about half a dozen ragged men and as many barefooted boys; but one of the company, John Mellen, a Mohawk Dutchman, being rather more destitute of clothing than the rest, felt a little ashamed to go among strangers, when Humphrey Barnum offered to lend him a coat. Mellen accepted, and the company started out, passing a little south of where Holland Clark now lives. They soon struck the hills, and after going up and down for about half a mile, came to what seemed to be the last place in creation, being a deep hollow, about forty rods across and fifty or sixty feet below the land around it; and as much of the timber in and around it was pine, the name of Pine Hollow was given to it. Climbing out of this they soon came to Mud Lake, and a little farther west passed Sutton's Lake and came to the great Indian trail which passed through the country north and south from Pokagon to Lake Michigan, crossing the Paw Paw River at Sturgeon Ripple, and through the Indian settlements in Bangor, striking the lake at South Haven. A little west of this they crossed the town line, which brought the party into a town not yet settled by a white man. Working their way through brush, over logs, and across small streams, they reached Middletown Creek, and crossing it, took a seat upon the bank where the barn stands on the Bouvier place. There the party partook of their lunch, when Barnum told Mellen he would show him the village, and going a few rods he introduced him to the public square and other imaginary localities and business places, and also to the leading settlers, which were none other than mosquitoes, and he thought they had made themselves acquainted at least with some of the family. The joke was relished by the whole company, and was the source of considerable sport for years afterwards. The party, after surveying the village and its surroundings for a few hours, returned home tired and hungry, but entirely satisfied with their inspection trip to the new village. With all the inducements offered, Middletown failed to realize the hopes of its projectors, and it was not even used for farm-lands for many years after. Upon the failure of Mr. Allen a Mr. Grant, of Oswego, N. Y., came into possession of it by foreclosure of the mortgage, and long after Sylvanus Casselman bought the * This story and some of the incidents of the pioneers are gleaned from articles contributed by Luther Sutton in the Day Spring as historical notes, pioneer sketches, etc. land,- Mr. Allen was a pioneer in three States, —Michigan, Iowa, and California. He was State senator from Washtenaw County in 1847-48, and in 1850 went to California, where he died. The first actual settlers in the township were Ferdino Olds and family, consisting of his wife and daughter Julia (now Mrs. Ansel E. Reynolds). Mr. Olds was a native of Cayuga Co., N. Y., emigrated to this place in December, 1836, and located land on the middle of the north half of section 29, where W. H. Haven now lives. On coming through to the place the family stopped at the house of Lyman G. Hill (who was the nearest settler and lived in the northeast part of Keeler township) while he put up a small log cabin, which was completed Jan. 25, 1837, on which day the family moved into it. Here they lived a short time, but the family increased so rapidly that a larger house had to be built, and a family of ten children were raised, nine of whom are living. Mr. Olds died in October, 1856. His brothers, Hezekiah and John, came in soon after. The latter settled on the southwest quarter of section 29, adjoining Ferdino; Hezekiah was (and is still) a bachelor and lived with John; Orson settled south of John on the same quarter-section, and lives now in the village. His farm was sold to Sylvester McNitt. Ira and Harry came in later. Ira settled on section 28, where William Day resides, and now lives in Keeler, near the north line. Harry was a carpenter. He lived here a few years and returned to New York. Edwin R. Olds, a son of Orson, married Harriet, a daughter of Ferdino Olds, and in 1858 bought the farm now owned by A. N. Spaulding on the northeast quarter of section 28, and was engaged in farming and lumbering for several years. He removed to the village and built the first hotel, known as the Olds House. He is now engaged in buying stock, grain, and wool, and is one of the foremost business men in the town. Ransom and Allen Olds are sons of Orson, and are engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors, and blinds, and are also building contractors. Henry Hammond was the next settler, and located on the southeast quarter of section 34, where Mr. E. B. Greenfield lived. He erected a cabin for temporary use in the spring of 1837, where he lived till about the middle of May. Mr. and Mrs. Hammond unitedly worked together in building a log house 16 by 22, and moved into it as soon as completed. In this house, Jan. 3, 1838, a daughter was born to them, who was the first child born in the township. This was Catharine Hammond, afterwards the wife of Hiram E. Stratton. Thomas Conklin, a native of Rutland, Jefferson Co., N. Y., came to Kalamazoo in 1834, but not liking the country returned to New York. In November, 1836, in company with his brother James and a Mr. Sellick, he came back to Kalamazoo. They had with them a yoke of oxen and a'wagon. The first night in the wilderness was passed under many difficulties; they felled a large beechtree, and building a fire against it cooked their food. They slept on the ground with the wagon-box turned over them. Snow fell during the night to the depth of two feet, and continued the next day, and the weather getting colder THOMAS CONKLIN. MIRS. THOMAS CONKLIN. AS CONKLIN, HARTFOROTR, VANPURENCO.MICH. sA a; TOWNSHIP OF HARTFORD. 457 they decided to go to Battle Creek. While at Kalamazoo, in the fall of 1836, Thomas Conklin in behalf of himself, James his brother, Mr. Sellick, Burrell A. Olney, and James Spinnings, all schoolmates and associates, entered about 1000 acres of land and paid for it. The most of the members of this company were still in the East, and did not come out till the spring of 1837. In February of 1837, James Conklin and Mr. Sellick, with the assistance of Thomas, put up their log houses on sections 5 and 6 in Keeler township. In March, 1837, B. A. Olney and James Spinnings came from the East, and they, together with Thomas Conklin, erected on Mr. Conklin's land a log cabin, 12 feet by 12, in which they lived together six weeks, chopping and clearing land, doing their own cooking. The furniture was rude, as was usual in those days; the only tool of the time was the axe. Marsh hay was gathered to fill an old tick to make a bed, —the three occupied the same bed, with two blankets for covering. About the 1st of May the party separated. After getting the land cleared, corn and potatoes planted, and a new log house built, Thomas Conklin returned to the East, married, and returned to the new home about the 1st of October, 1837. Mrs. Conklin was a teacher in the East, and here, in this new log house, the first children of Hartford township were gathered together and taught by her. Before the organization of this township, Gen. Chadwick, Mr. Conklin, and Orrin Sykes were the first school inspectors. In 1839, Hezekiah Olds employed Thomas Conklin to erect for him a log house, 18 by 24 feet, in consideration for which service he was to receive a cow. The work was completed in thirteen days. Mr. Olds raked up the chips the same day and set them on fire, which not only burned the chips but the house also. Mr. Conklin lives near the village, and his son Luke on a farm adjoining. Luke was the first male child born in town, Dec. 3, 1838. Burrell A. Olney, James Spinnings, and Thomas Conklin arrived in Hartford on the 14th of March, 1837, their land having been selected previously on part of the southwest quarter and west half of section 33. Mention is made of the selection of land and their first few weeks' labor together on another page. After the separation on the 1st of May, each commenced for himself. Mr. Spinnings lived with Mr. Olney, and died May 2, 1841, his being the first death in the township. By the 1st of June they had cleared six acres of timber and planted it to corn and potatoes. Mr. Olney returned to Jefferson Co., N. Y., and in the September following returned to the farm with his family, and for about a year did the work of the farm without a team. In the fall of 1838 he purchased a pair of oxen, which were used about ten years in the clearing up and logging incident to all new land in a timber country. He is a man of great physical energy and business ability, and has kept pace with the progress of the country. He left the farm about fifteen years ago and formed a partnership which became the firm of Swain, Olney & Co., in the village of Watervlict, entered into a large lumbering business, and is to-day engaged in buying grain, wool, and other produce. He is connected with his son Horace and Edwin R. Olds. In 1837 or '38, George Washington Springer settled 58 f near the southwest quarter of the township. His occupation was hunting, trapping, and fishing. He was noted for his success as a hunter and for telling stories which had a Munchausen flavor, and of which Springer was generally the hero. He moved away after about five years. Rufus Sayers, of Wayne Co., N. Y., was one of the surveying-party who surveyed this section of country, and in 1836 he located the northwest quarter of section 24 and made arrangements with - Wetherby to clear 20 acres, for which he was to receive an eighty-acre lot. Wetherby made a clearing, built a log house, and lived there for a time, but soon left it. Sayers returned to New York, and in 1843 exchanged the land in Michigan with a neighbor, Horace Dowd, for land there, placing the value of this land at $5 per acre. Mr. Dowd, who was a native of Massachusetts and had emigrated with his father's family to Wayne Co., N. Y., in 1828, came in the spring of 1844 to the farm he had purchased, with his family, consisting of his wife and three children. The farm was in a neglected condition, and about the first thing done was to burn the log cabin, which was nearly rotted down. Saplings had grown up in the clearing, and the place was as rough as at first. He was active in the organization of the Baptist Church in Hartford, and died July 4, 1870. His widow and sons, Jefferson S., Henry H., and daughter, Mary L. (now Mrs. A. H. Brown), all live on or near the first settled farm. Robert Wilcox and Henry Miner, about 1837, settled on section 17,-Wilcox, where Z. K. Stickney now lives, and Miner across the road. They remained but a short time. Smith Johnson settled on section 17, and in 1843 sold to William Thomas, a native of Washington Co., N. Y., who came to Hartford in 1843, and bought 50 acres on section 17, of Smith Johnson, where he still lives. He married a daughter of Ira Allen. He was elected to the Legislature in 1875, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of B. J. Geckley; was supervisor in 1844, and has held the office of justice of the peace for many years. Caleb Johnson, brother of Smith, lived adjoining, and removed to Illinois about 1844. One Snay, a French Canadian, lived near the Johnsons for a few years. In the fall of 1837 William Everett and his son Richard B. came in and settled on section 26, in the southwest quarter, and Peter Williamson lived adjoining; the latter still lives on the place, Everett in Keeler. Alexander Newton settled on section 13. In March, 1839, Joseph Ruggles, with his family, emigrated from Huron Co., Ohio, in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and settled on the southeast quarter of section 31, where H. S. Jennings now lives. In 1839, Alvah De Long, a native of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., settled 40 acres in the northeast quarter of section 29, purchased of Ferdino Olds, where J. ). Robinson now lives; later, lie bought the pine woods on the school section, and commenced the manufacture of shingles. Afterwards, in 1846, he bought the Stow property, and in 1850 he moved to California, where he died. His brothers, Asher and Allen De Long, own the property, the latter living on the farm, the former in the village of Hartford. Francis De Long, the father of the above, came to this town and 458 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. lived with his sons. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and died in the one hundred and third year of his age. Ira Allen, a native of Vermont, emigrated to near Buffalo before the war of 1812, and was a soldier in the army at the time the British crossed to burn Buffalo, where he was wounded. He afterwards moved to Michigan, settling on the river Raisin, where he remained two years, then returning to New York. In 1835 he removed to Ann Arbor; to Lawrence in 1837, and to Hartford in 1839, locating on the north half of section 21, where James Beny now lives. He died about 1875, and was buried in the village cemetery. Four children are living,-Ira W., who opened a store at the village in 1855, and has been in business from that time to the present; Mary, the wife of William Thomas; Lucy, the widow of James Griffin; and William, who lives in California. Josiah Hill settled on the east part of section 13. H^e was also from St. Lawrence County, and with Cornelius Williams bought out Alexander Newton. Charles P. Sheldon, a native of Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y., came to this township in the fall of 1841; he was the first settler north of the Paw Paw River, and located on section 2. At that time remnants of the Pottawattamies and of the Ottawas lived near him, including Commodah, a war-chief of the Ottawas, with his sons, Pixwaxie, Paw Paw, and Nottawawas, also Watbimneto and his family, of the Pottawattamies. Mr. Sheldon returned to New York, and in the spring of 1842 brought on his family. The following spring he was elected supervisor, and during that year succeeded in getting a vote of the people to build a bridge across the Paw Paw River on section 10. He filled the office of supervisor several terms, and was justice of the peace eleven years consecutively. In 1852 he was elected from this county as representative for the session of 1853-54. He moved to Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa, in 1855, and has since served that State in the Legislature. The only road cut through this township was the old Watervliet road that ran from Paw Paw to St. Joseph, and was used as a mail-route. This was cut through in 1837 by the commissioners of Lawrence. In the fall of 1836, 32 men, 28 of whom were Canadian Frenchmen, came to Watervliet from Jefferson Co., N. Y., in the employ of Smith, Merrick & Co., to work on the imnprovements they were then making in the construction of mills, digging a race, and clearing land, on the spot where, eight years before, Duncan & Summer had their mill. The old race was cleaned of sand and was enlarged. Of this party were Felix Rassett, Sirell Rassett, A. P. Pinney, and Edward Eber. Soon after their coming in A. P. Pinney purchased large tracts, among which were section 13, and four eighties on section 17. In 1841, Felix Rassett purchased of Mr. Pinney the northeast quarter of section 17. A short time after, Sirell Rassett bought where Z. K. Stickney now owns, and Edward Eber on section 16; Eber went to California about 1860, returned, and now lives in the village. Felix Rassett built a frame house on the Watervliet road, in the fall of 1843. He now keeps the Rassett House in the village of Hartford. The next spring Bartholomew Showrie settled at what is now the village. He remained several years, and removed to Kansas. In that year occurred the first wedding, and it was quickly followed by two others. Thomas Kemp, of Bangor, was married to Mehitable Cone, a sister of Mrs. Ferdino Olds, on the 22d day of September, 1844, at the house of Mr. Olds. About the same time James Griffin and Lucy Allen, daughter of Ira Allen, and Edward Eber and Abigail Mellen were married at the house of Ira Allen, on the farm now occupied by James Beany. William Thomas and Thomas Conklin were present, and both being justices of the peace, each married a couple. The bridal parties went to Watervliet, joined Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kemp, and held a wedding-feast together. The Allen lands, located by John Allen in 1835, passed to a Mr. Grant, and subsequently became the property of the Ostrom Company, of which Courtlandt Palmer was the principal and Bela Hubbard, of Detroit, agent. In 1852, Job Dunham, and John and Lyman McNitt purchased of the Ostrom Company 240 acres on section 15, the west half of northeast quarter and northwest quarter. Mr. Dunham sold the west half of the northwest quarter to Andrew Bartlett; John McNitt sold the east half of the northwest quarter to one Percival; Lyman McNitt sold to James Griffin the south half of the west quarter of northwest quarter, and to Griffin and Almon A. Olds the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter. In 1854, Roswell Hart, a native of Connecticut, emigrated to this place, having purchased of Courtlandt Palmer, of New York, the northwest quarter of section 15 and the contract of James Griffin. A part of the Hart farm is in the Olds addition. Mr. Hart was supervisor from 1871 to 1874, inclusive. In 1875, Mr. Hart moved to the southeast quarter of section 14, where he still resides. During the year 1844, Ralph Taylor and his sons, Howland C. and Emory O. Taylor, and three sisters, natives of Rutland, Jefferson Co., N. Y., settled on the south half of section 4, and Austin Beaman, of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., on land adjoining on the west. Howland C. Taylor lives now on the northeast quarter of section 20, and Emory O. Taylor in Wayne, Cass Co. Paul Weibar lived north of the river, also in the southwest quarter of section 11. Fabius Miles, a native of Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y., taught school in that place for twelve years, and emigrated to this town in May, 1844, locating 300 acres on the west half of section 12, intersected by the river. On the northwest quarter of the section a water-power was fitted up, and improved in the autumn of that year. The first saw-mill in the township was built at this place, and completed about April 10, 1847. Mr. Miles was supervisor in 1852, member of the Legislature of 1859-60, and has filled other positions with credit. He still lives on the farm he first settled. Wright, a son, is living in Colorado. Abram Yates came with Roswell Hart from Monroe Co., N. Y., at the same time, and settled on the east half of the southwest quarter of section 15, where Clark Sampson now lives. He now resides in Watervliet. Melville Hathaway in 1854 lived in the village, on the corner where now stands the Masonic block. He was lost on the steamer " Hippocampus," in Lake Michigan. TOWNSHIP OF HARTFORD. 459 Harlow Griffin, a brother of James, lived on the site of the old Day Spring office. Hilliard in the fall of 1854 came to the village of Hartford, and settled on section 15. He was one of the party that formed the original plat of the village, in 1859. He still lives in the village. Truman Stratton, a native of Vermont, emigrated from Chautauqua Co., N. Y., in the spring of 1858, and purchased on the west side of centre line of section 16. ORGANIZATION AND TOWNSHIP OFFICERS. When this part of the Territory of Michigan was divided into counties, in 1829, the territory now called Van Buren County was set off and attached to Cass County for judicial purposes; and the township of Lafayette was formed March 25, 1835, comprising the territory of Van Buren County.* By an act approved March 11, 1837, this township was divided into seven towns, of which Lawrence was one, and included the present towns of Lawrence, Hartford, and Arlington. At the same time the township of Covington was formed, and included Keeler and Hamilton. In 1838 these townships were organized from that town; and Keeler also embraced in its new organization town 3 south, range 16 west (now Hartford), but in the spring of 1840 this was set off and made a separate township. It was first intended to be called Hartland (after the town Mr. Olds came from), but there being another of that name in the State, it was called Hartford, at the suggestion of Mr. B. A. Olney. The township was organized by an election of officers in April of that year, this first town-meeting being held at the house of Smith Johnson, in section 17. The records of the township were destroyed by fire in June, 1877. The following list of officers is obtained from the records of the Board of Supervisors for the years given: 1840.-Supervisor, Joseph Ruggles; Town Clerk, Burrell A. Olney; Treasurer, Joseph Ruggles; Justices of the Peace, Alexander Newton, Richard B. Everett, Smith Johnson, Burrell A. Olney. 1841.-Supervisor, Joseph Ruggles; Town Clerk, Burrell A. Olney; Treasurer, Joseph Ruggles; Justices of the Peace, Richard B. Everett, Smith Johnson, B. A. Olney, Josiah Hill. 1842.-Supervisor, Burrell A. Olney; Town Clerk, Joseph Ruggles; Treasurer, Richard B. Everett; Justice of the Peace, Ira Allen. 1843.-Supervisor, Charles P. Sheldon; Town Clerk, R. B. Everts; Treasurer, B. A. Olney; School Inspectors, Freeman Ruggles, C. P. Sheldon, B. A. Olney; Justices of the Peace, R. 3. Everett, Joseph Reynolds. 1844.-Supervisor, Charles P. Sheldon; Town Clerk, William Thomas; Treasurer, Thomas Conklin; School Inspector, C. P. Sheldon; Justice of the Peace, William Thomas. 1845.-Treasurer, Sylvester G. Easton; Justice of the Peace, B. A. Olney. 1846.-Supervisor, William Thomas; Town Clerk, William Thomas; Treasurer, Sylvester G. Easton; Justice of the Peace, C. P. Sheldon; School Inspector, Aaron P. Iammond. 1847.-Supervisor, Burrell A. Olney; Town Clerk, William Thomas; Justice of the Peace, R. B. Everett; Treasurer, S. G. Easton; School Inspector, Fabius Miles. ~ Prior to the organization of Lafayette township the territory of Van Buren County, part of Cass, and land still north was embraced in Penn township, which was organized Nov. 5, 1829, and which territory was a part of St. Joseph township, organized April 12, 1827. 1848.-Supervisor, B. A. Olney; Township Clerk, Martin Ruggles; School Inspector, Howland C. Taylor; Treasurer, William Thomas; Justice of the Peace, Austin Beaman. 1871.-Supervisor, Roswell Hart; Town Clerk, N. Thomas. 1872-74.-Supervisor, Roswell Hart. 1873.-Supervisor, R. Hart; Town Clerk, Nathan Thomas; Treasurer, II. M. Olney; Justice of the Peace, A. H. Chandler; School Inspector, O. D. Hadsell. 1878.-Supervisor, Lyman Bridges; Town Clerk, Thomas J. Johns; Treasurer, George H. Moore; Justices of the Peace, Albert H. Tuttle, Livara McNitt; Superintendent of Schools, James M. Lamb; School Inspector, William W. Shepherd. 1879.-Supervisor, Lyman Bridges; Town Clerk, Henry Spaulding; Treasurer, Thomas J. Johns; Justices of the Peace, J. E. Packard, Charles Mortimer Superintendent of Schools, J. M. Rowe; School Inspector, Luther Sutton. POST-OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS. The first mail-route through the township was established in 1854, from St. Joseph to Paw Paw, and passed through the village, but no mail was delivered there, and the nearest office was at Watervliet. The mail was carried on horseback for about a year. In 1855, one Dolph carried the mail, and this year the office was established at Hartford Centre, with James E. Griffin as the first postmaster. The mail contract was successively taken, after Dolph, by Samuel Wolcott, James Griffin, and Harvey Tamblin. At this time passengers began to be carried. William Thomas and Fairbanks also had the contract for a short time. Jacob Crager took the contract about 1864, and has held it to the present. The route, which at first was from Paw Paw to St. Joseph, has been shortened from time to time until now it extends from Lawrence to Hartford. The postmasters since the appointment of Mr. Griffin have been M. F. Palmer, W. A. Engle, Nathan Thomas, and the present incumbent, J. W. Travis. TIE VILLAGE OF HARTFORD. About 1844, in the spring, one Bartholomew Showrie came to this place, purchased of A. P. Pinney a part of where the village now stands, erected a small log cabin, and cleared a small piece of land east of where the furniture-store of M. Boynton stands. He afterwards built a frame house, and still later removed to Kansas. The only road was the road from Paw Paw to St. Joseph. A few years after his arrival, Martin Ruggles entered land from the State on section 16, and built the cabin afterwards occupied by Truman Fowler, which was near the present residence of Dr. M. F. Palmer. About 1852, Francis Wilkes, a bachelor, came to the place, and with Fowler erected a frame house on the south side of Main Street, corner of Centre, and put in a few goods and more whisky. James Griffin, with his wife, lived in the back part of the store. Thaddeus Drew was also here occasionally, but he was the traveling man of the party. At this time the place became somewhat notorious, and was known by the name of " Bloody Corners." The inhabitants, consisting of Fowler, Wilkes, Drew, and a few others, were always in active pursuit of horse-thieves, which were almost, but never quite, caught. About- 1854-55 a better class of settlers began to gather at the Centre, and Roswell Hart, a native of New York, and Ware Hilliard, a native of Nefy Hampshire, settled here, followed soon by Truman Stratton, John H. Van Ostrom, and James Wolcott. 1 4600 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. In 1855, Antoinette Stoughton (now Mrs. Hurlbut) taught the first school in the village; the same year, Ira W. Allen and Willard Stratton built a store where the old Day Spring office stands, about 14 by 20, and one story high, and put in a small stock of goods. Dr. M. F. Palmer, in June, 1857, opened an office and commenced the practice of his profession. Benjamin Randall opened a blacksmith-shop on South Centre Street, west side. 0. H. P. Baker (better known as Alphabet Baker) is said to have kept the first tavern, in part of what is now the Rassett House. Cyrus Boynton, in the fall of 1858, opened a store in the Rassett House, and put in two cases of boots, several sacks of coffee, and a few dry goods. His store was the general resort for the long winter evenings. The growth of the village was very slow until about 1870, when the building of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad was an incentive to a more rapid settlement, and the village increased until at the present time it has a population of about 800. The business part of the village was nearly destroyed by fire in June, 1877, thirteen business places being burned. But it has steadily and healthily grown since, and now contains two churches (Baptist and Methodist), a brick school-house, the brick dwelling of Orson Olds, a brick hotel, Odd-Fellows' Hall, Masonic Hall, Reynolds' block, and thirteen business places in other blocks; five dry-goods stores, two groceries, two hardware-stores, two drug-stores, five blacksmith-shops, two wagon-shops, post-office, school-house, newspaper-office, two cabinet-shops, three millinery-stores, harness-shop, and stave-factory, two cider-mills, two saw-mills, two sash-, door-, and blindfactories, two markets, a lumber-yard, one flour- and feedstore, two livery-stables, one jewelry-store, two restaurants, one boot and shoe-store, three insurance-offices, one hairstore, two warehouses, depot, telegraph- and express-office, two lawyers, and four physicians. Village Incorporation and Officers.-Efforts had been made for several years to perfect the incorporation, but were not successful until 1877; the charter being granted April 1st of that year. The territory comprised the east half of section 16 and the west half of section 15. The officers were to be a president, recorder, six trustees, and a treasurer. The first election was held at the office of C. H. Engle, April 16, 1877, and the officers elected for 1877, '78, and '79 are as follows: 1877.-President, John W. Hubbard; Trustees, Henry P. Phelps, Edwin R. Olds, Valentine I. Stratton, William Bennett, George H. Morse, Russell W. Stickney; Recorder, Levi S. Warren; Treasurer, Volney E. Manley. 1878.-President, George HI. Morse; Trustees, Henry P. Phelps, Edwin R. Olds, Valentine I. Stratton, William Bennett, Albert H. Tuttle, Henry Spaulding; Recorder, Levi S. Warren; Treasurer, Volney E. Manley. 1879.-President, Marvin L. Edmonds; Trustees, William Bennett, Albert H. Tuttle, Henry Spaulding, Arthur H. Young, Thomas J. Johns, William L. Pierce; Recorder, Levi S. Warren; Treasurer, Volney E. Manley. Plats and Additions.-In the fall of 1854, Ware Hil liard, a native of New Hampshire, purchased a part of the land on which the village of Hartford stands. At that time Roswell Hart lived north of the village, on section 15, where Eber Hart, a nephew, now lives, Mr. Hart having settled there the spring previous. Bartholomew Showrie lived in a frame house on the southeast corner of Watervliet road and Centre Streets, near the Rassett House; he had lived there since about 1843 and '44. Fowler lived in a log house near where M. F. Palmer now resides. Francis Wilkes lived in a frame house near the southwest corner of Watervliet road and Centre Streets; he afterwards sold to Truman Stratton. In March, 1859, Truman Stratton, Ware Hilliard, John H. Van Ostrom, James Smith, W. W. Shepherd, Roswell Hart, and M. F. Palmer laid out a plat of land for a village, which was surveyed by Sylvester McNitt, and contained a total of 47 9%6 acres. The first addition is known as Van Ostrom's, and is described as the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 15, containing about 32sL$ acres; also a strip of land adjoining, and on the east of original survey, 42~%chains wide, extending to Main Street and the south half quarter-line running east and west through section 15, containing about 7 acres. Hilliard's addition is dated Dec. 15, 1870, and is the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of northeast quarter of section 16, excepting the railroad grounds, and contains about 8 acres. A. E. Reynolds' addition bears date May 30,1871; comprises the west half of the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 15, and contains 20 acres. Truman Stratton's addition is dated May 3, 1871, and comprises the west half of northeast quarter of southeast quarter of section 16, lying south of Main Street, and 3{ line of said sections; it contains 14 acres. Allen, Huntley, and Stickney's addition, which bears date of Feb. 2, 1872, lies south of the centre of Main Street and west of the east i line of section 16, is 10-'o chains square, and contains 10 acres; besides 6 rods wide through the same, owned and occupied by the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad Company. E. R. Olds' addition is dated Jan. 4, 1875; it lies in the northeast part of the village, is a strip of land 4 chains wide from the south side of the southwest quarter of northwest quarter of section 15, except a piece of land on the west of same 462c chains wide, and contains 6~-j acres. Freeman Stowe's addition (dated Jan. 4,1875) lies in the southwest part of the village, and is a strip of land 4-,7-5 chains wide off the west side of northeast quarter of southeast quarter of section 15; it contains 10 acres. Hilliard's second addition, dated May, 1875, contains 10 acres. The Warren addition was made Feb. 23, 1876, and contains 16 89 acres. The whole number of lots in 1875 was 383, embracing an area of 134 acres. A Union.School was organized and commenced in the village of Hartford about the year 1860, and the brick school building was erected in 1873. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. Floida Lodge, No. 309, F. and A. M. —This lodge was instituted Jan. 17, 1873, with E. C. Hurd as Worshipful Master; Thomas J. Johns, Senior Warden; and James C. 'HD tWA! o' NI n n hi O A 73 Nod A H -O 3)0N:30S3.j 11 -,ji r., I /,-N 4A f),4/ IS d:: I1 i I II TOWNSHIP OF HARTFORD. 461t Crandall, Junior Warden. They number at present 60 members. The present officers are George Moore, Worshipful Master; John P. Van Ostrom, Senior Warden; Volney E. Manley, Junior Warden; James Lamb, Sec.; Thomas J. Johns, Treas. Benevolence Eastern Star Lodge, No. 46.-This lodge was instituted as Benevolence Lodge, No. 46, Oct. 3, 1877, with Mrs. Allie Manley as Worthy Patron. In October, 1878, it was changed to Benevolence Eastern Star Chapter; and the number was changed to No. 19 in October, 1879. The present officers are Mrs. Allie Manley, W. President; Jessie Thomas, Vice-President; Mrs. Bertha Reinhard, S ec.; and Mrs. Hortense Stickney, Treas. Charter Oak Lodge, 1 O. of O. F., No. 231.-This lodge was instituted May 7, 1874. The charter members were R. W. Stickney, Morris Jacobson, Luther Sutton, Oscar Stickney, and Geo. Harley. The lodge has a present membership of 48. The present officers are John Righter, Noble Grand; A. P. Shaw, Vice-Grand; H. E. Rich., Sec.; Allen Olds, Treas. Meetings are held in Odd-Fellows' Hall. Hartford Encampment, 1 O. of O. F., No. 73.-This encampment was organized Feb. 11, 1876, with the following charter members: James E. Durden, Charles G. George, Morris Jacobson, James H. Van Vrankin, Isaac S. Rosevelt, A. G. Eastman, O. W. Oviatt, and H. E. Holland. The present number of members is 30, with the following officers: Charles Hilliard, Chief Patriarch; H. Braught, Senior Warden; H. Spaulding, Junior Warden; C. Mortimer, Scribe; J. Jones, Treas. Hartford Rel ekah Dpgree Lodge, ANo. 24.-The lodge was instituted Feb. 22, 1879. The charter members were Henry Spaulding, Charles Mortimer, Geo. F. Collett, R. W. Stickney, John W. Hubbard, Luther Sutton, Chas. Hilliard, Mrs. Helen Spaulding, Elizabeth Mortimer, Addie Collett, Hortense Stickney, Annie M. Hubbard, Priscilla Sutton, and Mary Hilliard. The number of members at present is 45. The officers are Mrs. Geo. F. Collett, Noble Grand; Mrs. R. W. Stickney, Vice-Grand; Mrs. John W. Hubbard, Sec.; Mrs. A. P. Shaw, Treas. tHartford Lodge, No. 862, L O. of G. T.-This society of Good Templars was organized May 13, 1875, with 20 constituent members, and J. E. Sweet as Worthy Chief Templar; Mrs. P. A. Travis, Worthy Vice-Templar; Rev. A. G. Parish, Sec. The present membership is 20, and the officers at present are Luther Sutton, Worthy Chief Templar; Miss Clara Thompson, Worthy Vice-Templar; Mrs. Alice Russell, Sec. Charter Oak Lodge, No. 28, Knights of Pythias.-This lodge worked under a dispensation, granted Oct. 27, 1875, until Jan. 25, 1875, when a charter was obtained. The charter members are as follows: Milton L. Palmer, James H. Curtiss, Wm. H. Lefler, Hugh W. Taplin, Aaron Waldorff, Albert Hale, Richard Hale, Hiram P. Simmons, Cortez Hawkes, Benj. F. Sweet, and William Cook. The lodge at present numbers 20 members. David C. Ray, Chancellor Commander; Ansel E. Reynolds, Vice-Com mander; John Rassett, Prelate; M. F. Palmer, Keeper of Records and Seals. Hartford Grange, No. 89, P. of H.-This order worked under a dispensation, granted Oct. 7, 1873, and a charter was granted March 21, 1874. The present officers are J. D. Robinson, Master; Miss Ida Irey, Sec.; Geo. W. Shepherd, Treas. Membership of 50. SCHOOLS. In 1837 the first school in the township of Hartford was taught by Mrs. Martha Conklin, wife of Thomas Conklin, in their house, while this territory was yet in the township of Lawrence. The next year Abigail Mellen taught in a log house, near where William Thomas now resides, and the same summer one was taught in a cabin opposite Mrs. Robert Olds. The first school-house was built in the spring of 1842, and the first teacher therein was Olive Pool, with only five scholars. She received $1.25 per week. District No. 5 -in the village-was organized in July, 1854, and Antoinette Stoughton taught in the house of Harvey Tamblin. The first school-house in the village was built, about eighty rods from the Rassett House, in the spring of 1856. In the fall of 1871 the district was changed to a graded school, and the brick building was erected in the summer of 1873, at a cost of $6000, including fixtures, and opened for services Oct. 31, 1873, with 140 pupils and A. L. Fox, principal. The principals since that time have been Horace B. Clapp, J. F. Smith, and J. M. Lamb, the present incumbent. The following statistics are taken from the school report for 1879: District. No. 1......... No. 2......... No. 3......... No. 4......... No. 5......... No. 6......... No. 8......... No. 9......... No. 10. No. I......... Totals...... Numler of SchoolChillren. Houses. 15 1 -34 1I 50 1l 42 1l 60 1 -54 1 266 t 56 1 -53 I: 46 1-; 74 1 -750 11 Seating Vlu Number of Capacity. alueTeachers. 40 $600, 2 80 800 2 60 700 2 42 600 2 60 1,000 2 60 600 2 244 6,000 4 60 200 2 50 800 2 60 800 2 40 50 2 769 $12,150 24 Amount of Wages. $90.00 28.00 113.60 112.4)0 71.10 36.00 913.00 36.00 16.00 48.00 $1463.70 RECEIPTS. Moneys on District. hand Sept. 1, 1878. No. 1.................. $32.50 No. 2................ 17.80 No. 3.................. 20.53 No. 4.................. 27.95 No. 5.................. 12.25 No. 6................. 67.27 No. 7.................. 9.45 No. 8................ 41.15 No. 9.................. 90.19 No. 10................. 70.11 No. 11.................. 26.50 Totals............. $415.74 Two-Mill Tax. $26.00 60.00 80.58 45.80 89.20 116.55 326.30 78.70 73.50 40.12 $936.75 Primary- District School Fund. $10.82 $100.00 15.64 40.00 28.47 40.17 31.47 100.00 28.47 151.00 27.52......... 134.55 1345.85 27.38 100.00............I....... 21.82 59.50 41.40 65.00 $367.58 $2001.52 Total. $172.90 139.28 178.90 220.71 290.07 220.19 1930.71 256.35 90.19 252.95 221.38 $3953.63 EXPENDITURES. District. N o. 1.................................... No. 2.................................... No. 3................................... No. 4.................................... N o. 5.................................... No. 6................................... No. 7................................... No. 8.................................... N o. 9.................................... No. 10.................................. No. 11.................................... Totals................................. Frame. Amount Paid Teachers. $90.00 98.00 113.60 112.00 191.10 166.00 1663.00 186.00 76.00 138.00 160.00 $2993.70 Total Expenditures, including Cash on hand. $172.90 139.28 178.90 220.71 290.07 220.19 1930.71 256.35 90.19 252.95 221.38 $3953.63 t Brick. 462 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. The school directors for 1879 were Elias Whipple, Jerry Wilcox, Solon Root, J. S. Dowd, George W. Shepherd, J. D. Robinson, Charles Mortimer, A. J. Traver, J. M. Potes, Dennis Healey. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. Methodist Episcopal Church.-About the year 1859 a class was formed in the village of Hartford, in the old school-house, of which John and Maggie Van Ostrom. Charles and Sarah Doty, and Fanny Goodenough were the constituent members. Charles Doty was the first classleader. The first pastors were the Revs. J. Hoyt and C. C. Kellogg. For several years the charge was supplied by two ministers alternate. These were followed by Soule and Colwell, H. H. Joy and T. T. George, Hoag, G. A. Buell, John W. Miller, F. I. Beard, Fowler, John Webster, J. P. Force, E. A. Tanner, I. G. Parrish, C. Woodward, N. M. Steele, F. I. Bell, and E. V. Boynton, the present pastor. The church numbers at present about 80 members. About 1869 the church organized a Sunday-school, with C. H. Engle superintendent, who still holds the position. It has an average attendance of 100. A church edifice was commenced in the summer of 1866, and finished in the summer of 1867, at a cost of about $5000. The society at that time was in charge of the Rev. John W. Miller. The dedication sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Reed, of New York. First Baptist Church.-In 1858, Horace Dow and family and others were dismissed from the church of Lawrence, for the purpose of organizing a church in Hartford. Letters missive were sent out to the churches at Lawrence, Paw Paw, Dowagiac, Niles, and Watervliet. Delegates were present from all the churches except Niles. The Rev. S. H. D. Vaughan, of Dowagiac, was chosen moderator, and the Rev. A. Handy, clerk. The meeting was held in the school-house in Hartfbrd village, in November, 1858. After examination as to doctrine, etc., it was unanimously voted that the First Baptist Church of Hartford be recognized and received with the following constituent members: Horace Dowd, Mary Dowd, Sylvanus Reynolds, Emma Reynolds, James Wolcott, Maria Wolcott, Alvah McNitt, Sylvia McNitt, Jane Disbrow, Elvira Hunt, Clarissa Craw, A. H. Brown, Mary L. Brown, Chapin W. Reynolds, Ann Jane Cassellman. Horace Dowd and S. Reynolds were chosen deacons, and J. S. Dowd church clerk. The sermon was preached by the Rev. S. H. D. Vaughan, and the right hand of fellowship was given by the Rev. A. Handy, of Paw Paw. The Rev. E. S. Dunham preached before the organization, and the Rev. H. Munger was sent as a missionary upon the establishment of the church. He was succeeded by Albert Gore, William Simons, William Gates, E. A. McGregor, R. S. Dean, M. Meacham, J. F. Ross, J. G. Portman, Sherman Hendricks, and S. A. Cole, the present pastor. The church edifice of the Universalists was purchased in 1873, and repaired in 1879. The church membership is 42. also of Lawrence, ministered to them a year or two. No permanent society was organized. About 1860 a number of the inhabitants of the village of Hartford gathered together for the purpose of forming a Universalist society. Subscriptions were made for a church, and during the next year a church was built, at a cost of $3400. It was dedicated June 23, 1861. The Rev. Mr. Countryman preached the sermon, and remained here during that summer. The church was built almost entirely by the energy and means of Thomas Conklin. A Sundayschool was organized with about 100 pupils, and was sustained for some considerable time. The church was finally sold to the Baptist society in the summer of 1873, and the society was abandoned. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. HON. FABIUS MILES. Jonathan Eastman Miles, the father of the above, was born June 2, 1782, in Hampden Co., Mass.; was one of a family of six sons and one daughter. Mr. Miles followed the occupation of a farmer his life long; was very successful as such, and a man of great ability. When about four years of age his parents removed with him to the State of New Hampshire; located at a point nearly opposite St. Johnsbury, Vt. At the age of sixteen he passed one year in Connecticut, and in 1799 went to Whitesborough, N. Y., and attended a school taught by one Dr. Stedman, under whom he completed his education. In 1800, with a sack of apple-seeds upon his back, he journeyed on foot to Watertown, N. Y., a distance of eighty-five miles. At that time but three families resided in what is now the township of Watertown, and but one, Hart Massey, on the site of the city. Johnson Howk, who lived about three miles from Massey's, allowed Mr. Miles to sow his apple-seeds on his place; and from this nursery sprang, and were transplanted, many of the best orchards in that region. He remained in Watertown until 1807, and there became acquainted with Miss Mary Sheldon, whom he afterwards married. She had come from Connecticut, about 1804, with her parents. In the fall of 1807 he took a prospecting trip through many of the Southern States, purchasing a pony in Alabama, which he brought to Watertown on his return, in the fall of 1808. The same season he was married to Miss Sheldon, who died in 1809, after giving birth to a daughter, Caroline May Miles, who is now living in Crete, Neb. After his marriage Mr. Miles settled upon the farm he continued to occupy until his death, which occurred in February, 1860. In 1810 he was married to Miss Lucinda Sheldon, a younger'sister of his first wife, she having been born in 1791. By her he had seven sons and five daughters, all of whom reached maturity except one son, who died in infancy, and eight of the number are now living. One son, Pliny Miles, was for some time associated with his brother Fabius in the book business, in Watertown, afterwards becoming a noted newspaper correspondent, and wrote able articles upon various reforms in the gov I About 1854 the Rev. Mr. Rowe, of Lawrence, gathered together the Christian people of this place and formed a society known as Congregational. The Rev. Mr. Stevenson, A//li.1. I.-. I I 0 R~siD ENCEoF- FAB IUS AA ILES, HARrToR-o TP., VAN 3UR ENCO.,MICH. I ~ TOWNSHIP OF HARTFORD. 463 ernment service, especially Postal Department; held situations with the New York Tribune, Hartford Courant, Boston Post, and the New York Herald. For three and a half years he was a very successful lecturer on certain scientific subjects in Great Britain, finally locating in London as correspondent from that city for the New York Herald. While on his way to witness and report the opening of the Suez Canal, in 1865, died on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean. A sister of the above, Mrs. Eloise M. Abbott, well known in Van Buren County as a newspaper correspondent, in which business she has for many years been engaged, is now residing with her only child, a daughter, at San Jose, Cal. Emily, another sister, was a successful teacher in a female seminary at Watertown, of which a sister of Gen. Joseph Hooker was principal. Fabius Miles was born in the township of Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Dec. 31, 1814. He received a good common-school education in the district where he lived, and in 1831-32 attended school in Buffalo; returning to Watertown in 1832, he continued his studies in the Watertown Academy, and for several years taught school during the winter months, and continued the prosecution of his studies, including that of the French language, which he studied under the instruction of a French professor, who was a lieutenant under Napoleon in his campaigns in Spain. In 1838, Mr. Miles established the Watertown Normal School, which he continued with good success until 1844. Among the pupils was Dr. Bartholomew, of Keeler. Among the numerous patrons of his school was Madame De Labola, the former wife of Count Joseph Bonaparte, an Americanborn lady, who, after her removal to Paris, became the wife of a wealthy Paris silk merchant, named De Lafola, subse quently returning to America. She was an accomplished French scholar. May 1, 1844, Mr. Miles left Watertown, and came to Michigan to visit his brother-in-law and cousin, Chas. P. Sheldon, then living on the north side of Paw Paw River, on section 2, Hartford township. Mr. Miles then had no idea of locating here, but journeyed to Chicago, thence to Beloit, Wis., back to Elgin, down the Fox, Illinois, and Mississippi Rivers to Island Number Ten, finally returning to Michigan, locating where he now lives, on the north bank of Paw Paw River, Hartford township. In the fall of that year (1844) he commenced to build a saw-mill. He had brought with him to Michigan the sum of twelve hundred dollars, his net earnings as a teacher in Watertown, and had about one thousand dollars left when he began his mill. The best mill-wright in that section agreed that a mill on the plan he wished to follow would cost about three thousand dollars; but he expended his own capital and two thousand dollars borrowed, and his mill was not then nearly completed. Finding it impossible to obtain further credit, he took his valise on his back and started afoot towards his native town. He walked to Battle Creek, fifty-five miles, and there met a friend who loaned him seven dollars. This, in addition to the solitary English sovereign he had, made him feel more-light-hearted, and he took the cars to Detroit, and a boat from there to Buffalo, where he arrived with twenty-five cents left. He boarded a packet-boat on the canal at Buffalo, and, fortunately, found friends who aided him to get to Watertown. He succeeded in raising five hundred dollars, and in the latter part of July, less than a month after he left Michigan, he started back, and arrived in due time at his mill, on which he resumed work. With money sufficient to pay his men, it was again easy to obtain credit, and his mill was finally completed, and commenced operations in April, 1847. The irons for the mill were procured at Mishawaka, Ind., forty miles away. In 1859 he took a cargo of lumber to New York City via St. Joseph, the lakes, the Erie Canal, and the Hudson. He continued in the lumbering business, exclusively, until 1860. His first purchase of land was nine acres, including his millsite; to that he has added at different times until he now has six hundred acres, of which nearly two hundred are improved. On Christmas-eve, in Watertown, 1839, Mr. Miles married Miss Bethialh Mantle, a native of that place, born in July, 1817. She was of New England parentage, her mother being a daughter of Capt. Tilly Richardson, of Massachusetts, a Revolutionary soldier, who settled at Watertown in 1804. He had a large and respectable family, his children being mostly daughters, nearly all married, and continued to live near that place until their death. In September, 1844, Mrs. Miles came alone to Michigan, and joined her husband, occupying, for a time, the house of Chas. P. Sheldon, with him and his family. There, on the 16th of October, 1844, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Miles, and named Rebecca Jane. She became the wife of Edward S. Jelley, and the mother of three children, and died in February, 1875. Her only living child, Isabel B., is now living with Mr. Miles. When their child was about three weeks old Mr. and Mrs. Miles moved into a log cabin, which had been erected on their own place. It was a characteristic structure of true backwoods style, with no floor, and a roof made of basswood troughs. While Mr. Miles was absent on his several trips, in 1845, his wife remained at home without fear of' molestation, often for days and weeks together. On one occasion when her health was delicate he carried her on his back to the house of a neighbor, who had recently located, and lived about eighty rods distant, leaving her there during his absence. The trials and experiences of those days are yet fresh in the memory of Mr. and Mrs Miles, and bind them more closely together. They had lost an infant son before leaving Watertown, and after the birth of the daughter mentioned became the parents of the following children: Florine, born in November, 1846, died in April, 1847; Silas Wright, born Sept. 1,1848, now an invalid from consumption, sojourning at Colorado Springs, educated at Hillsdale College, and was always an active, industrious young man, possessing noble qualities; Pitt, born Aug. 2, 1850, was possessed of fine business ability, but died in December, 1873; Florine L., born Oct. 3, 1853, now living with her parents; Lydia May, born in May, 1859, married to Marsh Worthington, and now living at South Haven, Mich. Politically, Mr. Miles was originally a Democrat, and voted three times for Martin Van Buren for President. He was an adherent to the school of Democrats in which Martin Van Burcn and Silas Wright were leaders, and was thoroughly imbued with anti-slavery principles. He was 464 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. an active worker in the Free-Soil movement of 1848, and one of the organizers of the Republican party in Michigan in 1854. He was elected to the lower house of the Michigan Legislature in 1858, has been supervisor of Hartford township several times, and was for many years its principal school examiner. In 1872, Mr. Miles voted for Horace Greeley for President, and for Peter Cooper in 1876. Otherwise he has supported the Republican nominees. He has always been active in political affairs, and his voice has often been heard advocating the merits of his party candidates. In 1868 he was a delegate to the State Convention which nominated delegates to the National Convention. To the Greenback movement he now gives his support. The hand of fortune has not always been held out to him, and he has undergone many trials; yet the noble heart of the man shows over all, and, with his excellent family to aid him, he, it is hoped, may triumph over all difficulties. THOMAS CONKLIN. Mr. Conklin's father, David Conklin, was born in the town of North Salem, Westchester Co., N. Y., and was of English descent. He had a family of seventeen children, of whom Thomas Conklin was the eighth. Thomas Conklin was born in Rutland, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Jan. 2, 1811, on a farm to which his father had removed from Westchester County, and upon which the young man remained until he was of age, attending the district schools and assisting in the care of the place. From his father he never received any money; but when he became of age he was the possessor of ten dollars, which he had saved in small sums, from a cent to a shilling. With this amount of money he started for Rochester, paying eight dollars of it for stage fare. With a portion of what he had left he purchased an axe, and went into the country for the winter. For four successive seasons thereafter he hired out at the rate of one hundred dollars for eight months' work. In the early fall of 1836 he emigrated to Michigan, and purchased two hundred and twelve acres of government land in the township of Hartford. The snow soon fell to such a depth that he could not continue his improvements, and he spent the winter in Allegan County. He had been accompanied from Battle Creek to Hartford by his brother, James Conklin, and a cousin named Selleck, they having located previously at Battle Creek. The first night in the woods of Hartford was passed in a shanty made of a few boards and their wagon-box placed against a tree they had cut down. The forest resounded through the night with the howls of wolves. In March, 1837, Mr. Conklin returned from Allegan County, and, in company with B. A. Olney and James Spinnings, built a log cabin on his place, and again began improvements. The three lived in the cabin for some time, Messrs. Olney and Spinnings settling in the neighborhood. When the weather moderated Mr. Conklin built a log house, covered it with boards, and lived in it alone for six weeks, cooking his food beside a burning stump. He cut the timber from six acres of his land, planted some corn and potatoes, and about July 1, 1837, started on his return to New York. In August of the same year he was married, in Jefferson County, to Martha Justina Ely, who was left an orphan when young. She attended the female seminary at Watertown, and became an excellent teacher. She was an estimable lady, and taught for the benefit of the children, although not always receiving her pay. After coming to Hartford she taught the first school in the township. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin came to Michigan soon after their marriage, and moved into the log house on the first day of October, 1837. The building contained no bedstead, and had neither doors nor windows, but was well roofed. A pole bedstead was constructed, of the fashion well known to pioneers, and the ticks were placed upon it. Mrs. Conklin became the mother of two children, one of whom, a daughter, died in infancy; Luke E., the son, was the first white male child born in the township, his birth occurring Dec. 3, 1838. He is married, has four children, and is a respected citizen of Hartford township. Mrs. Conklin died Dec. 6, 1843, and on her death-bed expressed the wish that her husband should marry Fannie Davison, who had assisted in caring for her during her sickness, and this union was consummated on the 29th of February, 1844. Mrs. Fannie Conklin became the mother of eight children, five of whom died young, and one died when fourteen years old, from the effects of the kick of a horse. Two of them are now living,-Charles Rodolphus, nineteen years of age, and Miland Chester, in his eighteenth year. Mrs. Conklin was a woman of unusual financial ability, and Mr. Conklin attributes a large measure of his success to her efforts during the twentythree years they lived together. She was highly respected by all. Her death occurred May 25, 1867. Her father, George Davison, settled early in Keeler township, and was from near Angelica, Allegany Co., N. Y. In June, 1867, Mr. Conklin was married to Samantha Kennedy (from whom he was divorced), who bore him three children,-T. J. Conklin, Odell Conklin, and Elon Conklin. All are living. May 26, 1879, he entered matrimony a fourth time, leading to the hymeneal altar Mrs. Nellie Poole Jones, divorced wife of Samuel Jones, who was living at Lawrence at the time of her marriage. She is the mother of a daughter, Blanche, by her first husband, and is an estimable lady. She was well and favorably known in former years as one of Van Buren County's most successful teachers. Mr. Conklin aided in building the Methodist church at Hartford village (although not a member), and paid one thousand dollars towards the Chicago and West Michigan Railway. He built a church in the village and sold it to the Baptist society, and has also erected a brick store building, beside aiding other religious societies. He is a Universalist in belief, and a Douglas Democrat in politics. His nephew, John Conklin, also a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y., who had been for several years a sailor, was chosen as one of the first crew of the original " Monitor" during the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Conklin moved upon his present farm, on section 22, in 1868, and is the owner of five hundred acres of land. / / i MRS. A. S. WISE. A. S.WISE, 'A r~:I; I:i RES. OF A. S. WISE, HAMILTON, MICH. TOWNSHIP OF HAMILTON. 465 HENRY P. PHELPS. This gentleman is the son of Alexander H. Phelps, who came from Parkman, Ohio, in 18-1, and settled, with his family, in the village of Lawrence, Van Buren Co, Mich. He built a saw-mill, and for a few years was engaged in the milling business with his brother, Nelson Phelps, and Harrison Balfour. He was also, in connection with the mill, engaged in the mercantile business. Both he and his wife were natives of Ohio. Mr. Phelps lived in Lawrence until his death, which occurred March 1, 1878, and his wife is now living in that village. They were the parents of ten children,-six sons and four daughters,-who are all living, except two sons. Henry P. Phelps, of Hartford, was born in Lawrence, April 7, 1842. At the age of twenty he left home, and enlisted in a regiment of sharpshooters,-the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry,-and was with Sherman in his various campaigns. He was taken prisoner near Dallas, Miss., and about three months afterwards was released on parole, but was not exchanged until about eight months from the time he was captured. At Peach Tree Creek, Ga., on the 22d of July, 1864, he was wounded,-the day being that on which the gallant McPherson was killed. Mr. Phelps remained in the service two years and eleven months, and in the winter of 1865-66, after his discharge, attended the Eastman Business College, at Chicago. In the spring of 1866 he entered the store of H. M. Marshall, at Lawrence, and remained with him a year and a half, after which he engaged in the mercantile business at Hartford, in partnership with his brother, William A. Phelps. The firm was continued about two years, during which time a branch store was established at Keeler. H. P. Phelps finally purchased his brother's interest in the business, and continued at Hartford, while the latter assumed entire charge of the store at Keeler. In September, 1879, Henry Phelps sold his establishment to Charles F. Young, who erected the fine three-story brick store he now occupies. Sept. 29, 1869, Mr. Phelps was married to Jennie Smiley, daughter of Mitchell S. Smiley, who was originally from Maryland, and who settled in Arlington township, Van Buren Co., in 1851. Mrs. Phelps was born in South Avon, Livingston Co., N. Y., Sept. 25, 1849. Politically, Mr. Phelps is a Republican, and has been assessor of his township. He has also been interested to some extent in improvements in the village of Hartford, and is now engaged in the real estate and loan business at that place. CHAPTER LXI. HAMILTON TOWNSHIP.* General Description-Pioneers of Hamilton-A Winter FrightWolf Stories-Township Organization and Civil List-Religious Societies-Burial-Grounds-Schools-Hamilton Grange. TOWNSHIP 4 south, range 15 west, originally a portion of Covington township, later known as Alpena, and now called Hamilton, lies upon the southern border of Van Buren County, and is bounded on the north by Lawrence, on the south by Cass County, on the east by Decatur, and on the west by Keeler. The surface is generallylevel, and the soil, varied in its character, is richly productive in all classes of agricultural commodities. The northern portion was originally heavily timbered with walnut, whitewood, beech, maple, basswood, ash, and elm, while near the centre and in the south, oak openings prevailed. In the southeast there is considerable lowland, which is, however, being rapidly reclaimed to a valuable purpose. In the north the town is watered by a branch of the Paw Paw, which affords excellent mill-sites. In the southeast a branch of the Dowagiac Creek rises in the Lake of the Woods, a fine sheet of water lying partly in Hamilton and partly in Decatur There are also numerous other picturesque lakes, among the largest of which are School-Lot Lake, Pine Lake, Knickerbocker Lake, Johnson Lake, and Osborn Lake. The Michigan Central Railroad line crosses the southeastern corner of the town, but has no station there, Decatur village being the nearest railway depot, as well as the general market-town. Hamilton has no village within its limits, neither has it a store or church building. As to manufactures it has never boasted more than one grist-mill and two saw-mills, and the people of the town depend exclusively upon the interests of agriculture. Hamilton's population in 1874 was 1074, and in 1879 its assessed valuation was $414,210. PIONEERS OF HAMILTON. The first structure erected in Hamilton was a hunter's cabin, put up in 1833 upon section 17, by Benjamin Reynolds and Joel Clark, of Kalamazoo, who used to come over into what is now Hamilton on periodical hunting excursions. In 1834, Reynolds brought his wife over with him and occupied the hut, with the intention of remaining for a time at least, as a settler, although he had entered no land. One day, while Reynolds was away, his wife set out in search of their cow, and searching fruitlessly for a while, found, upon wishing to return home, that she was lost in the woods. She cried out for help, but none appeared until the next morning, when there came to her assistance John and James Nesbitt, settlers in Keeler, and then, to her surprise, Mrs. Reynolds found that she had wandered into Keeler township, several miles from home. The Nesbitts conveyed her to her house, and straightway, arriving there, she told her husband that she was disgusted with a life in a country where she could not take a walk without getting lost, adding, moreover, that she would not stop another hour. Despite her husband's protests against the move, she insisted upon going, and go she did. Reynolds settled shortly after in Porter, and there lived until his death. The first land entry in Hamilton was made by Robert Nesbitt, who located a tract on section 4, April 15, 1835, and at once settled there with a view to the erection of a saw-mill upon Brush Creek, which flowed through his land. Mr. Nesbitt, who with his brothers John and James had been living in Kalamazoo, came with them farther West, and decided to stop in Hamilton, while they chose their homes in Keeler. Robert Nesbitt had for years been con * By David Schwartz. 466 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. cerned in the building of mills in Michigan, and, as already observed, he lost no time after locating in Hamilton in erecting a saw-mill. In October, 1835, he hauled 19 loads of lumber and supplies from Prairie Ronde, and pushed the mill-construction so rapidly that he began to saw lumber June 3, 1836. The same year he built a log house 20 by 30 feet, and by that time had the company in the township of a number of settlers, to whom extended reference will be made. Mr. Nesbitt's saw-mill was for years the only one for miles around, and when the Michigan Central Railroad line reached the vicinity of Decatur, it was run night and day in supplying the demand for lumber for the railway construction. So constant has been the work at his mill for upwards of forty years, that from 1836 to the present time (1880) he has worn out five mills. In 1856 he built a grist-mill on the same site, and that mill he has operated continuously ever since. He was thus the first to enter land in Hamilton, he built the first sawmill, as well as the first and only grist-mill, and to-day, living upon the place of his first settlement, he is the oldest settler in the township. During his early days in Hamilton, Mr. Nesbitt added to his other extensive business interests the business of land-agent for A. P. Grant, of New York, and others, and sold for them thousands of acres of land in Hamilton and adjoining townships. He was himself the owner at one time of 2600 acres of land, and now, after fifty years of pioneer life in Michigan, he enjoys well-earned ease and comfort in the most elegant home in Van Buren County. In May, 1835, Zebina Stearns came into the township and moved into the hunter's hut on section 17, earlier occupied by Reynolds and Clarke. Mr. Stearns afterwards entered land on that section, and continued to reside in the township until his death, in 1846. He was joined in the spring of 1836 by his son Sidney, who had before that been engaged in stage-driving between Detroit and Monroe. Sidney Stearns still lives in Hamilton, and ranks among the oldest settlers. James, brother to Robert Nesbitt, came in 1835 from Keeler, and located four 80-acre lots on sections 13 and 14. He lived upon his Hamilton farm until 1849, when he was found one day, dead, in the bottom of his well. There were suspicions that his death was the result of foul play, but a searching investigation failed to establish any positive evidence to that effect, and to this day the tragic event has remained enveloped in mystery. The year 1835 brought also Lewis Johnson, who came from New York to Jackson in 1834, and to Hamilton in the following year, with his father and Zebina Stearns. The younger Johnson entered land on section 18, and there made a settlement. His father remained with him three years, and then returned to New York. Lewis, the son, continued, however, a resident of Hamilton until his death, on the old place, in 1872. His s9n Andrew now occupies the place his father located. Aaron Barney, a New Yorker, was another settler in 1835, and located upon land on section 30. His wife died in 1839, and he in 1858. His son Austin resides in Hamilton upon section 31. A Mr. Lyon, who came in during 1835, remained but a I short time, and upon leaving sold his property to Philotus Haydon. Mr. Haydon was a man of considerable note in Hamilton, and was well known and prominent in the county. He was withal a man of frank expression, bluff and hearty in his manner, and much given to eccentric speech and action. It is said that while hunting one Sunday he killed a deer near a school-house where a Methodist meeting was in progress. Haydon cut the animal's throat, and upon attempting to carry his prize away found his strength unequal to the task, whereupon, as if struck with a sudden thought, he rushed into the meeting, and undeterred by the fact that the preacher was in the midst of his sermon, held up his bloody hands and cried out, with a loud voice, " I've killed a big buck, but he's too heavy for me. Come along some of you and give me a lift in getting him home." It needs no very vivid imagination to conceive that preacher and congregation must have been somewhat taken by surprise. Whether Haydon got his required help or not is not related, but the story is vouched for as true, and a truthful illustration of his independence and eccentricity. On another occasion, a minister coming to him for assistance on behalf of the church, he exclaimed, " Well, I don't believe a word you say in the pulpit, but here's ten dollars. I'll help you along anyway." Mr. Haydon took an active part in politics, and during the civil war of 1861-65 was among the foremost in the county in the work of aiding the Union cause, towards which he gave liberally of his means and time. He died in Hamilton in 1866, upon his farm in section 18, which was his home for thirty years. His sons, Mortimer and Arthur, are well-known citizens of the township. James M. Lumrbard and his father, Ebenezer, settled upon section 15 in 1836. James removed later to Decatur village, where he now lives. In the same year Henry C. McClure and his son Henry came from New York to make a settlement. The elder McClure returned soon after to New York, and the son afterwards removed to Decatur village, and died there. James and Reason Comley, now living in Hamilton, occupy the three 80-acre lots which their father, John Comley, located in 1836, and upon which he lived until his death. George W. Geer and his brother Elisha came from Connecticut to Michigan in June, 1836. George located 240 acres of land on section 32, and now lives on part of it with his son George N. In the days of 1836 roads were by no means found ready made for the pioneers when they came in. Indian trails were the best highways at hand, and over such roads the Geers found their way to their new settlement, while the dense forest gave no sign of occupancy except by the red man and wild beasts. Elisha Geer set up a cooper's shop on section 28, where he resided until his death. Among the other immigrants in 1836 were S. T. Howell, Hale Wakefield, Caleb Bartlett, and Joseph McClintock. Howell, who hailed from Ohio, lives now in Kansas. Bartlett lived on section 19, and went to California in 1850. Joseph McClintock still lives on the land which he located in 1836, although he himself did not settle upon it until 1838 (a family by name of Luke working it for him two years). rI II l I Wt'4t This gentleman was born in Gorham, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1831; consequently, at the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th of March, 1875, he was just entering his forty-fifth year. At the age of twenty-two years he located at Ypsilanti, Mich., where he resided until 1860, when he removed with his wife to Hamilton township, Van Buren Co. He held the office of justice of the peace in Ypsilanti for several terms, being re-elected on account of his known capacity and unbending integrity. For the same reason he was chosen-and reelected several terms-supervisor of the township of Hamilton, and received the handsome compliment of being elected chairman of the board of supervisors. In the fall of 1874 he was chosen to represent his district in the State Legislature, running far ahead of his ticket, his competitor being a fellowtownsman, and a very capable and deservedly popular man. If, to do his whole duty to himself, his family, his neighbors, and the world-ever mindful of the Golden Rule, " Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you"-constitutes the true man, Mr. Yeckley, when weighed in the balance, was not found wanting. No death which had occurred in the county for many years had caused more deep regret in the public mind, or given rise to a greater sense of public loss. His funeral was the most imposing ever witnessed in the county. It was under the direction of the grange of which he was an honored and useful member, the order of Odd-Fellows also participating. Several members of the Legislative body were in attendance. Mr. Yeckley was a thrifty and enterprising farmer, and at his death left an amiable and affectionate wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Reed, daughter of Samuel Reed. Six children were born to them, and five are living,-all at home. Mrs. Yeckley was born Jan. 11, 1829, in Connecticut, and came to Michigan when nine years old. She remains on the farm which her husband improved and owned when he died. The death of Mr. Yeckley, cut down in the midst of usefulness, is one of the mysterious dispensations of Providence. He died regretted by a host of friends, and his memory and that of his good deeds will long remain green in the hearts of the people of Van Buren County. 4-O.M AARON BARNEY was born in the State of Massachusetts Oct. 11, 1785. In 1806 he removed to Jefferson Co., N. Y., and in 1821 to Michigan, landing at Detroit, where he remained one year. He then located at a point twenty miles west of that city, and three years later (1825) settled in Washtenaw County. In 1835 he came to Van Buren County, entering four hundred acres of land in Hamilton township, and eighty in Keeler. The land located in Hamilton was on sections 14 and 30, and in Keeler on section 25. Previous to emigrating to Michigan Mr. Barney was engaged in farming and milling, and after coming to Van Buren County was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred August 27, 1858. June 10, 1804, he was married to Miss Cynthia Barney, and they became the parents of twelve children, of whom but three are living. Mrs. Barney died April 15, 1839; and on the 24th of May, 1840, Mr. Barney was married to Mrs. Lucy Millard, who died about 1872. During his life Mr. Barney held several offices of trust in his township. In politics he was a Democrat, and in religious matters entertained liberal views. During his pioneer days in Michigan he experienced the various hardships and privations incident to backwoods life, and at the end could contemplate a noble handiwork all his own. AUSTIN M. BARNEY. This gentleman was born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., Feb. 25, 1821, and was brought to Michigan at a very early age by his parents. As soon as his age and strength were sufficient he worked on the farm with his father, assisting in clearing the land and preparing it for cultivation. In 1840 he left the farm and found employment in a machine shop, and, after completing his trade, engaged as an engineer on the Mississippi River, which occupation he followed for ten years. The age and failing strength of his father rendered it necessary for the son to return to the farm, which he did; and he managed his father's business until the death of the latter, in 1858, when he assumed the entire control of the place, and continued to conduct the business thereof until 1871. In that year he purchased forty acres near the old homestead, and in 1879 added forty acres more. He has since become the owner of a farm of eighty acres in the township of Keeler. Nov. 4, 1861, he was married to Miss Caroline C. Barney, daughter of J. A. and A. Barney. In political matters Mr. Barney has always voted and acted with the Democratic party. ti "I rI 4: oe:0 TOWNSHIP OF HAMILTON. 467 In 1837 the settlers included Henry Coleman, Samuel Bradt, Jackson Pratt, and his brother Caulkert, George S. Bishop, Marcus Merriman, Calvin Field, and James Brooks. Bradt and Pratt have long since disappeared. Field and Merriman, who came in company from New York and located upon section 33, are both now out of the township. Field is in Kansas and Merriman in Paw Paw. Bishop went into the brick-making business, and put up a kiln on John Comley's place. The venture turned out a complete failure, for when the bricks were burned they crumbled to pieces, and Bishop, disgusted with the business, left and was heard of no more. James Brooks bought land on section 33 of one Shepard, and with his little family, consisting of his wife and two children, set himself resolutely to the business of making a home in the forest wilds. That mission he bravely accomplished, and after a busy career of nearly forty years in Hamilton, he died in 1876, upon the place he first settled. He was one of the first members of the Methodist Episcopal society organized in the Field school-house, and remained one of its staunchest members until his death. Mr. Brooks was once lost in the woods so effectually that he wandered for four days and four nights, unable to find his way either to his home or to any other human habitation. Upon the termination of the first forty-eight hours of his absence the distress of his family aroused the settlers, and they organized with horns, guns, etc., a systematic search for the lost one. At the close of another forty-eight hours they found him, and a glad welcome they received. His children in Hamilton are Mrs. O. P. Maxon (whose husband came to the township in 1850), John and James Brooks, Mrs. Cyrus Youells, Mrs. Robert Sloan, and Mrs. George Sloan. Marcus Merriman located land on section 33 in 1836, and in 1837 made a settlement. As neighbors he found Calvin Field, John Comley, Elisha Geer, George W. Geer, and Aaron Barney. Mr. Merriman, now living in Paw Paw village, recollects that the country was rather inviting in its character, consisting of oak openings, through which the eye could penetrate a long distance. Brush-fires in the woods used to occasion much alarm, and at times threatened settlers' dwellings when not carefully watched. Indeed, Mr. Merriman came very near losing his house by a fire of that kind, for returning home one evening he was just in season to see his fence ablaze, and threatening to sweep away his home,-a disaster which his timely arrival happily averted. Although not a famous hunter, he was nevertheless the hero of a bearchase, in which he chased the bear, treed him, and eventually killed him, and transported his carcass homeward with feelings of lively satisfaction. Of the pioneers who have been named above as having come into Hamilton during the years 1835-37, those who are known to be living now-January, 1880-are J. M. Lumbard, in Decatur; Sidney Stearns, G. W. Geer, Joseph McClintock, and Robert Nesbitt, in Hamilton; Marcus Merriman, in Paw Paw; and Calvin Field in Kansas. Among other early settlers were Barker, Thompson, Riddle, and several whose names cannot now be recalled; but their identification with the pioneer interest of Hamilton was a transitory one, and history can record their presence only as a passing incident. Leonard Tisdale, now residing on section 33, had a prominent place in the foremost ranks of those who penetrated Hamilton as pioneers, as did Solomon Hagar, who lives now on section 28 with his son, S. B. Hagar, who has been supervisor of Hamilton since 1875. George A. Bentley, Alexander Sloan, Ralph Mason, Eben Smith, and Palmer Earl were among the settlers of 1838 and 1839. Sloan was an Ohio man, and located with his family of a wife and eight children upon section 16, where he had a quarter-section of wild land, taken in exchange for his Ohio farm. He died upon that place in 1865. Of his sons, Alexander, Robert, and George now live in Hamilton. Truman Foster, school-teacher and farmer, located in Hamilton in 1840, and remained a resident until his death. Before 1840 Mr. Foster taught school in Lawrence, and was the second school-teacher in that town. Thomas Harris came from New York in 1842, with a family of fourteen children, and worked a place then owned by Henry McClure, and now by C. Duncombe, on section 17. He died in the township in 1863. His sons living in Hamilton are W. T., S. M., B. F., and S. R. George Bennett, an early settler in Hamilton, now lives in Decatur village. His son John, residing in Hamilton, served during the civil war of 1861-65, as second lieutenant in the 4th Michigan Cavalry, and was a member of the detachment that effected the capture of Jefferson Davis. In 1843, Stephen Osborn and wife, with a family of ten children, came from New York and settled in Hamilton, upon a place north of Osborn Lake. Mr. Osborn died in Hamilton in 1853. His widow still lives in the township, as do also his children,-Benjamin, James, Erastus, Horace, Charles, Harriet, and Mrs. Henry Geer. The first child born in Hamilton was Mason Wakefield, whose natal day was July 5, 1836. The second was Mary, daughter of Robert Nesbitt. She was born in September, 1837, and died in her twentieth year. The first marriage in the town was that of Robert Nesbitt and Maria, daughter of John Comley, all of Hamilton. The ceremony was performed at Mr. Comley's house Dec. 1, 1836, by John D. Freeman, a justice of the peace of Lawrence township, and although this was the pioneer wedding, it was a singularly quiet affair. True, the neighbors (what few there were) were at hand to wish the bride and groom unmeasured joy, but the wedding guests were few in number and composed of persons who, while earnest in their friendship, were not given to hilarity, for, in the pioneer days, joyous demonstrations were not so easily wrought out of the extremely matter-of-fact hardships and privations which intruded upon every hand. The first death in Hamilton was that of a Mr. Knickerbocker, who, in the fall of 1835, located, with his family and his brother, upon the bank of the lake now bearing his name. Here he built a log shanty which, without floor, door, roof, chinking, or chimney, served as the habitation of the Knickerbocker family, until Knickerbocker, worn out by exhaustion and exposure, died in it of lung fever, only a few days after occupying the dwelling. Robert Nesbitt 468~i HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. and Zebina Stearns hearing of the case, went over and found, indeed, a cheerless picture. The dead man lay in one corner of the roofless hut, and a fire smouldered in another corner, while the weeping widow and children filled the measure of wretchedness. Stearns set out at once for Paw Paw for a coffin, and in due time returned in a sleigh with Peter Gremps and Elder Warner, the former having provided the coffin. Elder Warner preached the funeral sermon at the house, and, in accordance with Knickerbocker's dying wish, he was buried upon the island in the lake, and there his bones still lie. In the procession which followed him to the grave were the widow, Peter Gremps, Elder Warner, Robert Nesbitt, Zebina Stearns, William Knickerbocker, James and John Nesbitt, and one Wheeler, Robert Nesbitt's hired man. After her husband's death, Mrs. Knickerbocker returned to her friends in the East. Sidney Stearns recites the story of the entrance of Lewis Johnson and his wife into Hamilton, as an illustration of how some pioneers began their arduous tasks in the Western wilds, literally with almost nothing save their hands as capital. He says that one day there came along the Territorial road to his father's door two foot-travelers, Lewis Johnson and his wife; he, with an axe over his shoulder and leading a cow, was followed by Mrs. Johnson, plodding wearily along under the weight of a bundle, which, with a bundle carried by Johnson, represented, together with the cow and axe, the sum of household effects possessed by the worthy pair. It was a slight outfit, it is true, but Johnson had secured his land and did not mind a short allowance of household supplies, since he knew his axe would do him good service, and the cow would do her share towards sustaining the family in one direction at least. The Johnsons stopped with Zebina Stearns until they completed their own cabin, and then, like their neighbors, struggled and fought for even the common necessities of life until persistence won success. until shortly after the abandonment of the stage-route, when the office was abolished, Coleman having been the postmaster continuously. After that Coleman moved to a farm on section 4, and died in 1857. The pioneer blacksmith of Hamilton was Charles N. Poor, who had a shop at Keeler's tavern in Keeler when Coleman built the Hamilton tavern; but when the latter took the stage business from Keeler he followed with his shop to Hamilton, and stuck to the bellows at Coleman's as long as the stages stuck to the Territorial road, after which he went to California. The first store in the township was opened, as has already been told, by Henry Coleman, in his roadside tavern, but as a place of trade it was rather insignificant. Aaron W. Broughton, who came to Hamilton in 1839, brought with him a stock of goods valued at about $2000, and set up a store of some pretensions near Philotus Haydon's, and there transacted a flourishing business for some years. Mr. Broughton moved to Paw Paw and died there. A saw-mill was put up in 1842 by one Trader, near Robert Nesbitt's, but it lasted only a brief period. Grist-mills were not accessible to settlers of Hamilton in the early days, nearer than Flowerfield or Whitmanville, and carrying grist to mill was no pleasant task, but it was an important and necessary one, although there were times when the home-made corn-mill of tree-stump or tin pan had to suffice for temporarily supplying corn-meal, and deferred for a time the dreaded journey to mill. Hamilton was supplied by Robert Nesbitt with a grist-mill in 1856, and that, still doing good service, is the only grist-mill the township has ever had. A WINTER FRIGHT. It is told that during the "hard winter" of 1842-43 quite a number of the inhabitants became much exercised over the belief current in some quarters that the extraordinary snow-fall had been sent as an instrument for the ultimate destruction of the earth,-the theory being that the snow would, in melting, turn to oil. take fire, and so burn the world with everything upon it. Just how far that belief extended cannot be stated, but i't is certain that it occasioned to some no little uneasiness, and somewhat disturbed the serenity of their existence until the advance of gentle spring turned the snow to water and warmed the blood of the timid into healthful action. WOLF STORIES. Of course wolf stories in endless profusion range through the early history of Hamilton, just as they do through the history of all early settlements in Michigan. Robert Nesbitt relates that while staining a coffin he had made for a man named Fenton,-killed in Keeler by the fall of a tree, -a pack of wolves, attracted by the odor of the liquid coloring, surrounded him, and despite his efforts to repel them they clung close to his cabin, and kept up a continuous howling the night through. The beasts frequently attacked Mr. Nesbitt's large watch-dog and chased him to the very cabin door. Coming home on foot from Kalamazoo, Mr. Nesbitt was attacked at nightfall by a pack of ravenous wolves, and he lost no time accordingly in climb In September, 1837, Henry D. Coleman built upon the line of the Territorial road in Hamilton, on section 15, a commodious frame tavern, still standing and usually known as the "Brown Tavern." The Territorial road, passing through Hamilton from the west to the northeast, had up to that time no tavern upon it in that township; but in Keeler township there was a Territorial road stage-house, known as Keeler's. When Coleman completed his tavern, he set about providing business for it, and by shrewd tact succeeded in getting the stages to stop at his house instead of at Keeler's. Staging, as well as other travel, was very brisk on that road for many years previous to the completion of the Michigan Central Railroad, and as Coleman kept the stages at his house as long as the stage-route was maintained, he carried on a brisk and profitable business. When Coleman got his tavern ready for trade he had just twenty-five cents in money on hand, and having a hotel, he wanted a store. Accordingly, he borrowed $700, bought a small stock of goods, and opened business as a merchant in one corner of the tavern. Shortly after opening his house, Coleman succeeded in obtaining a post-office for Hamilton, and was himself appointed postmaster. He kept the office, of course, at the tavern, where it remained I~ Jf r A/Ci/ CZ ( d ^ V1r ROBERT NESBITT. This gentleman, whose portrait appears above, was born near Belfast, Ireland, March 18, 1810, and emigrated to the United States in the spring of 1826, arriving in Plattsburgh, N. Y., on the 4th of May, and remained there six months. He then proceeded to Ann Arbor, Mich., and settled near that place March 23, 1827, and began work at the mill-wright's trade. In the fall of 1829 he removed to Kalamazoo County, and while there assisted in building the first saw-mill in the county. He took charge of the mill as sawyer, and prepared and sent to Kalamazoo the first load of lumber ever received there. In the spring of 1835 he located the first land entered in Hamilton township, Van Buren Co., settled upon it, and has since made it his home. His entry included three eightyacre lots in the midst of a dense forest, and this has been transformed into his present excellent and finely improved farm. In 1871 Mr. Nesbitt erected the residence he now occupies,-one of the finest in the county. He has been the owner of three thousand acres of land, his farm consisting at present of four hundred and sixty acres. Soon after his location he began cutting the valuable timber on his place, manufacturing it into lumber, and shipping it in various directions. The first cargo of walnut lumber ever shipped around Cape Horn to California was furnished by Mr. Nesbitt, he being secured on it by real estate until returns were made. Five saw-mills were built and worn out by him in the manufacture of lumber, aside from a steam saw-mill in Allegan County. Mr. Nesbitt has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Masia Comley, daughter of John Comley. to whom he was married Dec. 1, 1836, and who bore him four children,Mary, Elizabeth, George, and Masia; of these but two are now living. Mrs. Nesbitt died October 6, 1857; and on the 18th of September, 1858, he was married to Mrs. S. L. Griffin, by whom he has also had four children,-Robert, Minnie, Nellie, and Dora; two of the number fell before the sickle of the great reaper, Death. Mr. Nesbitt is a well-known advocate of the doctrine of Spiritualism, and has devoted more than thirty years of his life to an investigation of the subject. He is a firm believer in the ministrations and manifestations of departed friends, and frequent meetings of those interested in the study of the doctrine are held at his house, and largely attended; prominent mediums from this and other States being often present. Mr. Nesbitt, in summing up in December, 1879, said: " At this time I run one saw-mill and a grist-mill, beside a large farm, well stocked; am now in my seventieth year. I superintend all my own business, having but one son, who ' paddles his own canoe.' My health is good, my spirits light. I walk several miles every day looking after my business." Mr. Nesbitt's qualities have made him a leader in many things, and his integrity, through his long business career, has won for him the confidence of those with whom he has associated. He has made many friends, and his home is a place of hospitality and generous entertainment. His anecdotes of the days of pioneer life are ever interesting, and no man was better fitted than he for the duties of such a life. He is one of the few landmarks of a swiftly passing generation, and is "Only waiting till the shadows Are a little longer grown," when he will join the innumerable throng of those who have gone before. Mr. Nesbitt's father, George Nesbitt, emigrated to the United States in 1830, and purchased two thousand one hundred acres of land in Kalamazoo Co., Mich. He was engaged during his life in agricultural pursuits, and died July 22, 1843. The parents of Mrs. Robert Nesbitt came to "the States" about 1851, from Durham Co., Ont., Canada (where Mrs. Nesbitt was born Oct. 23, 1825), and settled in Breedsville, Van Buren Co., Mich. Her mother died in 1865, and her father in 1872. :2';:2:,; ii;:l,::::1~::5'-;~ ~::: j.:,~.-.:.~;:-Y.~:: -=::::~;e r.-IE-.;r:-~.:::;::::1_~I;::::,: i::;;.~-;~:::7:;:1-;~~~,.;u~-;;i:i~ _:;~~r~-:;~:?;~~:o;::~;:_:_. - i:: --- -'-::i:::::: -:,-I 1:-_;: i-:: -I~:::;-~-~;:i:;; ---:-:::::_i —._-:;-:_-:r;:~:~:"::i-'~.-;l::;i-d-' —D 14:i-~ —I-;: —;(:-~.I-: i.~ — ~.~r-;~:~ ~: ~":::: ~it:::::':l~i'.:1~~.-.I.:~:::T: ~i *~::~.~: r.: _~~~ ~::-::::-: -::1:;: ~: ~:~~- ~_I: ~:-~:;~ ~ 1~ ~. I::: ~.i-.:~;::::,:-J.;::~.:~?-.-c~.=:~:~: ~:: ''~~.;'eer. ~' ''' i `r, ii t ES, OF HUt LH IR NESBITT, HAMILTON, MICH. I Ij A I I TOWNSHIP OF HAMILTON. 469 ing a tree. He was about a mile from his home, and from the tree-top he could see the fire-light at his cabin, but the wolves waited for him with savage howlings at the foot of the tree, ready to pounce upon him as soon as he should descend. He was miserable enough indeed to be thus imprisoned, and to add to his discomfort the weather was bitter cold. Half frozen after a time, he became desperate. Determined to fight his way out at all hazards, he cut a heavy stick, and, descending rapidly to the ground, made such a fierce onslaught upon his foes that they fell back. Taking advantage of the truce, he ran to the next tree, and braced himself for another encounter just in time to receive the hungry pack which had returned to the charge. In that fashion he was compelled to fight his way homeward, and although he reached his cabin in safety, he was wellnigh worn out by the excitement and violent exertion. The taking of deer was an easy matter, and venison became as an article of food so plentiful as to become distasteful. An old settler says that he once counted 27 deer within sight of his door.step, and from the top of a tree counted 52 feeding in his turnip-patch. James Brooks used to tell how when he cut a tree he found about 20 deer browsing upon it as soon as it fell, and they were so tame that they did not appear to mind his presence. When the woods resounded with the howls of wolves, the general expression among the settlers was that the beasts were holding " Mormon meetings," although why Mormon meetings no one stands ready to explain. On one occasion they held meeting to such good purpose as to carry off two stray calves belonging to Lewis Johnson. Caleb Bartlett and the Geers, then occupying neighboring cabins, set out with guns in response to the cries of the calves, and for a time the sport of wolf-chasing was fast and furious. Two of Mr. Stearns' daughters going out towards evening in search of the cows, came suddenly upon the bovines just as the latter were flying pell-mell before a pack of wolves. The cattle were greatly demoralized, and that example the girls were not slow in following. Strange to say, the sound of human voices reassured the cows to that extent that they presently halted in their flight, while the wolves, disconcerted by the same agency, stopped short and vented their rage in howls. Each girl, crying loudly, and wofully frightened, seized the tail of a cow, and thus protected moved away from the threatening danger and reached home in safety. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL LIST. The territory now occupied by the townships of Keeler and Hamilton was set off under legislative act of March 11, 1837, as the township of Covington, and included a district six miles in width by twelve in length. In 1839 Covington was divided into two townships, that on the west being called Keeler, and that on the east Alpena. The record of proceedings at the first town-meeting in Alpena is given as follows: " The qualified electors of the township of Alpena met at the house of Henry Coleman, April 1, 1839, for the purpose of organizing said township. Appointed Philotus Haydon Moderator and Ralph Mason Clerk; Henry Coleman, Robert Nesbitt, and George A. Bentley, Inspectors. Whereupon township officers were elected as follows: Supervisor, George A. Bentley; Clerk, Henry Coleman; Treasurer, Marcus Merriman; Assessors, Ralph Mason, Philotus Haydon, and Henry Coleman; Constable and Collector, Ebenezer Lumbard; School Inspectors, Ralph Mason, Calvin Fields, Jr., and James Nesbitt; Directors of the Poor, John Comley and Aaron Barney; Commissioners of Highways, Jackson Pratt, Philotus Haydon, Zebina Stearns; Justices of the Peace, Henry Coleman, Robert Nesbitt, Calvin Fields, Jr., and Ralph Mason; Overseers of Highways, Joseph B. Bradt, Marcus Merriman, George A. Bentley, Robert Nesbitt, Henry C. McClure, and Elisha Geer." The name of Alpena did not suit the townspeople, and so, upon discussion, it was decided in 1840 to exchange it for that of Hamilton, in honor of the American statesman of that name, and Hamilton it has remained. The names of the persons chosen annually, from 1840 to 1880, to be supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and justice of the peace are given in the following list: 1840.-Supervisor, G. A. Bentley; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, James Nesbitt; Justice of the Peace, S. F. Howell. 1841.-Supervisor, G. A. Bentley; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, James Nesbitt; Justice of the Peace, John Comley. 1842.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, James Nesbitt. 1843.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, James Nesbitt; Justice of the Peace, Robert Nesbitt. 1844.-Supervisor, G. A. Bentley; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, James Nesbitt; Justice of the Peace, P. Haydon. 1845.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, James Nesbitt; Justice of the Peace, Joseph McClintock. 1846.-Supervisor, P. IIaydon; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, James Nesbitt; Justice of the Peace, C. Fields, Jr. 1847.-Supervisor, Palmer Earl; Clerk, S. R. Barker; Treasurer, James Nesbitt; Justice of the Peace, Robert Nesbitt. 1848.-Supervisor, Palmer Earl; Clerk, S. R. Barker; Treasurer, H. Coleman; Justice of the Peace, P. Haydon. 1849.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, H. Coleman; Treasurer, H. Coleman; Justice of the Peace, T. Foster. 1850.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, Truman Foster; Treasurer, H. Coleman; Justice of the Peace, John Baxter. 1851.-Supervisor, G. A. Bentley; Clerk, Truman Foster; Treasurer, Calvin Field; Justice of the Peace, R. Nesbitt. 1852.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, Truman Foster; Treasurer, Calvin Field; Justice of the Peace, Prentice Geer. 1853.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, Truman Foster; Treasurer, Calvin Field; Justice of the Peace, George Bennett. 154.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, Truman Foster; Treasurer, Calvin Field; Justice of the Peace, F. K. Adams. 1855.-Supervisor, P. Haydon; Clerk, Truman Foster; Treasurer, Calvin Field; Justice of the Peace, T. Riddle. 1856.-Supervisor, H. Coleman; Clerk, Truman Foster; Treasurer, Calvin Field; Justice of the Peace, J. F. Tuttle. 1857.-Supervisor, R. Nesbitt; Clerk, H. A. Bradley; Treasurer, Charles Osborn; Justice of the Peace, O. Atkins. 1858.-Supervisor, T. Foster; Clerk, H. A. Bradley; Treasurer, G. A. Bentley; Justice of the Peace, John Baxter. 1859.-Supervisor, T. Foster; Clerk, H. A. Bradley; Treasurer, G. A. Bentley; Justice of the Peace, D. V. Sutfin. 1860.-Supervisor, T. Foster; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, G. A. Bentley; Justice of the Peace, Palmer Earl. 1861.-Supervisor, T. Foster; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, Joseph McClintock; Justice of the Peace, William Bee. 1862.-Supervisor, R. Nesbitt; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, D. V. Sutfin; Justice of the Peace, J. Baxter. 1863.-Supervisor, R. Nesbitt; Clerk, Irving Babcock; Treasurer, D. V. Sutfin; Justice of the Peace, M. D. Mapes. 1864.-Supervisor, R. Nesbitt; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, D. V. Sutfin; Justice of the Peace, Palmer Earl. 470 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 1865.-Supervisor, R. Nesbitt: Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, P. Earl; Justice of the Peace, D. V. Sutfin. 1866.-No record. 1867.-Supervisor, G. G. B. Yeckley; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, A. H. Williams; Justice of the Peace, R. Hoppin. 1868.-Supervisor, G. G. B. Yeckley; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, A. H. Williams; Justice of the Peace, O. W. Field. 1869.-Supervisor, G. G. B. Yeckley; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, J. L. Harrison; Justice of the Peace, Oliver Geer. 1870.-Supervisor, G. G. B. Yeckley; Clerk, A. S. Wise: Treasurer, J. L. Harrison; Justice of the Peace, S. P. Tuttle. 1871.-Supervisor, G. G. B. Yeckley; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, J. L. Harrison; Justice of the Peace, A. W. Haydon. 1872.-Supervisor, G. G. B. Yeckley; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, J. L. Harrison; Justice of the Peace, John Bennett. 1873.-Supervisor, G. G. B. Yeckley; Clerk, A. S. Wise; Treasurer, J. H. Smith; Justice of the Peace, Jarvis Skinner. 1874.-Supervisor, C. Field; Clerk, D. J. Lee; Treasurer, S. B. Hagar; Justice of the Peace, J. R. Hendryx. 1875.-Supervisor, S. B. Hagar; Clerk, D. J. Lee; Treasurer, E. Osborn; Justice of the Peace, Jacob High. 1876.-Supervisor, S. B. Hagar; Clerk, D. J. Lee; Treasurer, E. Osborn; Justice of the Peace, D. V. Sutfin. 1877.-Supervisor, S. B. Hagar; Clerk, D. J. Lee; Treasurer, E. Osborn; Justice of the Peace, E. F. Baxter. 1878.-Supervisor, S. B. Hagar; Clerk, D. J. Lee; Treasurer, E. Osborn; Justice of the Peace, W. Horton. 1879.-Supervisor, S. B. Hagar; Clerk, D. J. Lee; Treasurer, E. Osborn; Justice of the Peace, Philo Selby. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. Although Hamilton has enjoyed from time to time the benefit of local religious organizations, there has never been within its limits a church building, and town school-houses have therefore been called upon to do frequent duty as houses of worship. Elder Levi Dewey organized a Disciple Church in 1877, and preached about a year at Grange Hall, but during the past year public worship by the congregation has been irregular. Methodist Episcopal preaching was occasionally enjoyed by the early settlers, for preachers of that faith paid close attention to the Michigan pioneers, and so public worship was available many times even before public schools brightened the prospect. Hamilton has not bestirred itself as briskly as some towns in the matter of religious worship, although the fact that there are churches in neighboring townships of easy access accounts doubtless for the lack of church organizations in this town at present. Thus there are in Hamilton to-day but two Methodist classes and the Disciple Church above mentioned. BURIAL-GROUND The first public burial-ground in Hamilton was laid out about 1840, on section 16, and in it the first person laid to rest was a Mr. Searls. The ground is still used, and is the only public burial-place in Hamilton. It covers 2j acres, and is very handsomely laid out as well as embellished with many fine monuments. SCHOOLS. About 1837 or 1838 a Mrs. Millard, who lived with her daughter, Mrs. Bennett, taught a select school and Sunday school at Mrs. Bennett's house. A Miss Litchfield, living in Pennsylvania, was brought to Hamilton by Robert Nesbitt, to teach his children, not long afterwards. The first district school in the township was taught in the "< Red School-house," near Coleman's tavern, in 1837, and had then twenty pupils. The condition of the public schools of Hamilton, as shown by an official report for the year 1879, is given as follows: Number of districts (1 fractional), 8; number of children of school age, 362; average attendance, 334; value of property, $3200; teachers' wages, $1308; total year's expenses, $1574. The school directors for 1879 were H. B. Smith, James Neville, Zebina Stearns, William Anson, John Reed, S. H. Mallory, M. C. Steele, J. B. Morehouse, R. H. Abbott. HAMILTON GRANGE, No. 355, was organized in March, 1874, with 84 members, and reached at one time as high as 100. Now, however, the membership is but 63. At the organization A. W. Haydon was Master; John Bennett, Overseer; and J. R. Hendryx, Lecturer. A. W. Haydon served three years as Master, and was succeeded by J. M. Weeks, whose term continued two years. The present officers are D. J. Lee, Master; John Read, Overseer; A. W. Haydon, Lecturer; J. Q. Adams, Steward; Edward Osborn, Assistant Steward; John Bennett, Chaplain; G. W. Wait, Treasurer; A. S. Wise, Secretary; S. H. Mallory, Gate-Keeper; Mrs. J. M. Weeks, Ceres; Mrs. Eliza Yeckley, Pomona; Mrs. J. Skinner, Flora; Mrs. John Bennett, Lady Assistant Steward. The Grange Hall, in which sessions are held, was built in 1875. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. CAPT. JOSIAH R. HENDRYX was born in the town of Fairfax, Franklin Co., Vt., March 4, 1807. His father was David Hendryx, his mother Fanny (Hunt) Hendryx. His grandfather, Isaiah Hendryx, who settled in Bennington, Vt., in an early day, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and the subject of this sketch often says, with pride, that he was one of the party who prevented Molly Stark from becoming a widow at the memorable battle of Bennington. His father enlisted in the war of 1812, leaving his mother to support four small children. Josiah, the only son, being the second in age, with his sister, Almena, two years older, were put out at such places as could be found for them from time to time until Josiah was eleven years old, when he found a permanent home in the family of Gov. Jonas Galusha, of Shaftsbury, where he was treated with the greatest kindness. Having set his heart on being the owner of a piece of land, and hearing that a family in town (Stephen Sturdevon) were about to remove to what was then called the Genesee country, the lad (then seventeen years old) got permission to go and see him, when an entire day of persistent entreaty resulted in gaining permission to accompany him to the then far West. His father,-who had returned from a five years' service in the army and saved a little money,-with the balance of the family, accompanied the i. v I i. E OAK AVENUE FARM- RESIDENCE & STOCK FARM oFJ.R. & H.J. HENNDRYX, HAMILTON, VAN BUREN Co., MICH. BREEDER OF HAMBLETON IAN H-ORSES, JERSEY CATTLE & AMERICANI MEMBRINO SHEEP. (RO..ADDRES, o o 0W GAC, M C H.. TOWNSHIP OF HAMILTON. 471 party by canal to Rochester, and thence by team to Covington, Genesee Co., N. Y. Josiah remained with Mr. Sturdevon until Oct. 1, 1826, appropriating all his wages for the benefit of his father's family, when, learning there was wild land in Orleans Co., N. Y., the lad of nineteen started out on foot to look out a home for the family. He went into the township of Yates, where he worked one month for ten dollars, then took a job of chopping six acres, for which a portion of the pay was kindly advanced. He went to Batavia on foot, entered fifty acres of land at five dollars per acre, and returned to Covington. It required much persuasion to induce the family to remove to the then wilderness home, but Josiah returned and erected a log cabin for the family, which was occupied late in the fall. The winter was spent in chopping. In the spring, after getting in four acres of corn, Josiah took a job of fourteen acres to chop, in order to raise money to enter fifty acres adjoining the first purchase. At the age of twenty-one he and well-to-do farmer, sold out and moved to Calhoun Co., Mich., where he bought several hundred acres of wild land. Hendryx remained with him twenty months, at the end of which time he was employed by the Hon. J. D. Pierce, then superintendent of public instruction, to take charge of a one-thousand-acre farm. Here he remained two years, then spent one year as overseer, building two miles of the Michigan Central Railroad near Albion, where he made the acquaintance of Marvin Hannahs, who was largely interested in tanning and lumbering in Van Buren County, and endeavored to secure his services in that business, but having purchased eighty acres of wild land three and a half miles west of Marshall, he commenced the improvement of it, which, with the assistance of his eldest son, Horatio J., he completed in two years. Then leaving it in charge of his son, only fifteen years old, he accepted the offer of Mr. Hannahs and entered his service, remaining seven years, during which time Mr. Hannahs built two grist-mills and MRS. JOSIAH R. HENDRYX. CAPT. JOSIAH R. HENDRYX. entered forty acres for himself, and commenced its improvement. At the age of twenty-three he married Evelyn Downs, then eighteen years old and eldest of a family of six,three sons and three daughters. This young couple commenced the battle of life March 11, 1830. Seven years of incessant toil had placed them in independent circumstances when an unfortunate venture stripped them of everything which the law did not allow them, even to household furniture. Other parties in this enterprise shifted their property, a thing Hendryx could not be persuaded to do, saying, " I have decided to save this much out of the wreck, my good name and my credit, which with my hands shall constitute the capital to commence life anew." He hired out to the man who came in possession of his farm for thirteen dollars per month, his wife and two boys, Horatio and Lewis, going home to her father for the summer. During this time his father-in-law, Lemuel L. Downs, an intelligent, enterprising, two saw-mills, Mr. Hendryx being the active man in all these enterprises. As remarked by a writer who a few years ago wrote up the various enterprises of the county, " Capt. Hendryx, mounted upon his faithful Crazy Jane, was the moving power that kept this harp of a thousand strings in constant tune." In 1853 the Michigan Central Railroad Company established an office in New York City, and tendered Mr. Hendryx a subordinate position in it. He accepted the position, but rapidly advanced until he was the contracting freight agent of this great central route, the New York Central, Canada and Michigan Central each sharing in the payment of his salary, which had increased to three hundred dollars per month and expenses. All of his salary not needed for necessary expenses was sent home and judiciously expended by his son, until they jointly owned six hundred acres of choice land, with good buildings and fine stock. One incident will serve to show how well Horatio managed affairs 472 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. at home during his father's absence. The Agricultural Society offered a premium for the best-kept farm in the county; all farms entered were visited by a committee appointed by the society. Young Hendryx, then twenty years old, was induced to enter their farm, and we see now a silver cup at their home bearing this inscription: " Calhoun County Agricultural Society, Oct. 2, 1851. Presented to J. R. Hendryx, as a premium for the best farm." In 1861, Mr. Hendryx resigned his position in New York and returned to enjoy the fruits of his fifteen years' absence. Mrs. H. spent much of her time with her husband while in the city, and accompanied him in many of his business trips in the West. In the fall of 1852, Horatio, being at his majority and the only living child, became joint owner of all real estate, and in the fall of 1867 they sold their farm, Horatio going to Decatur and engaging in the tanning business, and J. R. moving with his wife to the city of Marshall, where they remained until 1872. Becoming weary of separation from his only child, he removed with his wife to Decatur, and assisted in the business there until the fall of 1874, when they traded the tannery for the two hundred acres where they now live. They commenced at once to make additions, until they now have four hundred and sixty acres with good buildings and improvements. In politics Mr. Hendryx is a Democrat, but he never gave much attention to parties until the outbreak of the Rebellion, from which time he has been prominent. When charged with disloyalty by the Republican press of his county he proposed, through the Democratic paper, to place one hundred dollars by the side of the same amount of any man in his county and compare war records, and the one who could show that he had given the most time and money to the support of ithe government during the war could take up the two hundred dollars. It is needless to say that the challenge was not accepted. Josiah R. and Evelyn Hendryx have had six children, three dying in infancy, one at the age of five years, and the other in his ninth year. His only living child, Horatio J., married Ada Raven, Feb. 5, 1852. They have three living children, viz.: Lillian, now Mrs. C. T. Barter, of Chicago; Ada, aged fifteen, and Louis, aged thirteen. Three died young, Frankie being killed by the kick of a horse when he was four years old. Ten orphan children have been reared in the Hendryx family, and no corporal punishment has been inflicted under any circumstances. Mr. Hendryx once remarked in a public lecture that he would be proud to exhibit the whole party before that audience. He never made a public speech until he was fifty-nine years old; since that time he has become somewhat noted for that which has been tersely termed " sledge-hammer oratory." He has never sought office, never but twice been a candidate, and then much against his wishes, but in both cases ran ahead of his ticket; yet on the stump and through the press he has been a zealous advocate of Democratic principles. His influence and aid has often been sought and cheerfully given for the advancement of all public enterprises. A railroad enterprise from Coldwater north through Marshall being about thirty-five thousand dollars short on the subscriptions to its stock, and little hope entertained of raising it, as a last resort called Mr. Hendryx from Decatur to take hold of the matter. He made public speeches, canvassed all along the line on foot, and finally succeeded in raising every dollar. He celebrated his seventy-third birthday March 4, 1880, and with his faithful wife, who has shared with him in all life's battles, celebrated their golden wedding March 11, 1880. As to education, Mr. Hendryx has been often heard to say that the outside world has been his schoolmaster; all he knew of the world he had learned by mixing with it; all he knew of business he had learned by transacting it, and if he ever had any polish in his manners, he had rubbed it off from some polished individual with whom he had come in contact. Mrs. Hendryx is a zealous member of the Baptist Church in Marshall; she united with it by letter in 1840, when the first society was organized, and only two of the original members now survive,-Mrs. Hendryx and Mrs. Lusk. Mrs. Hendryx devotes much of her time in assisting missionary societies and other projects which are intended to promote the spread of the gospel. Mr. Hendryx has always given his support to this church. Although not a professor of religion, he says he never could shut his eyes to the fact that church influences produce salutary results. And now we find this well-preserved old couple enjoying the respect and esteem of the community in which they live surrounded by many friends. They have given to their friends, in this work, a fine view of their home, and their portraits, which will remain as monuments to their memory. They have walked life's journey together for fifty years,-years which have brought sunshine and sorrow to their home; but today they enjoy more than ever each other's society and the visits of their many friends, who are always welcome to their hospitable home. Long may they yet live to enjoy the fruits of their industrious youth. PHILOTUS HAYDON.* No man who ever lived in Van Buren County was more universally honored and esteemed while living, and more sincerely and generally mourned when dead, than Philotus Haydon, whose portrait appears in connection with this sketch. There are many now in easy circumstances living in this vicinity, where Mr. Haydon lived from the year 1836 to the time of his death, who often refer with emotion to the timely assistance he rendered them when struggling for existence in the early settlement of the country. Never was he known to take advantage of a man's necessities, never taking more than simple interest-and often none at all-on even a note. No honest man, however poor, was ever turned away emptyhanded when applying to him for assistance. If by misfortune he lost a horse or an ox out of his team, he knew right well where to go to supply its place. No one who ever knew this large-hearted man, and reads the above, will say that it does him more than simple justice. Mr. Haydon was born in Montgomery Co., N. Y., in the year 1810. When quite a young man he went to Brandon, Vt., and engaged in the mercantile business; there he married Mary A., daughter of Aaron W. Broughton of that * By Capt. J. R. Hendryx. '. I. -1 1. I... - -, - e-l -. I - -Z..-.: - 7", I Flf7 —'l" I I 7 . -9 Ifh a, -ri I Rsc oFJAMES. M. OSBORN, HAMILTON, MICH. TOWNSHIP OF HAMILTON. 473 - -- place, soon after removing to Hamilton, Van Buren Co., Mich., where he located one thousand acres of land in the year 1836, and began at once to make extensive improvements, and soon had an abundance with which to supply settlers who came in after him. He sold a portion of his large domain, but at the time of his death, which occurred March 10, 1866, owned about seven hundred acres. The PHILOTUS HAYDON. fruits of his marriage with Miss Broughton were two sons,Charles B., born in the year 1834, who enlisted as a private in the 2d Michigan Infantry at the outbreak of our late civil war, and soon rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and in 1864 died of wounds received at Jackson, Miss. The other son, Arthur W., was born April 22, 1844, and about the year 1870 married Miss Elizabeth Baker, daughter of Hiram Baker, Esq., of Keeler township, and settled on a portion of the old homestead set off to him by the administrators, where he now lives in a neat and commodious dwelling on a well-cultivated farm, and ranks among the best citizens of this township. Mrs. (Broughton) Haydon died in 1848, and Oct. 24, 1850, Mr. Haydon married Adelia E. Buck, by whom he had three children,-F. Mortimer, born Feb. 24, 1859; Mary A., born Aug. 19, 1861; Blanche, born Aug. 16, 1865. Mortimer is at present engaged in a store in Decatur. Mary A. and Blanche are completing their education in the Ann Arbor University. The mother of these three children died very suddenly in Decatur, Jan. 24, 1877, while coming for her children in attendance at that school. She was a lady of rare accomplishments, loved and esteemed by all who knew her, and, like her honored husband, was most heartily mourned at her death. Mr. Haydon never professed or talked religion, but would every day of his life do more real Christian acts than ninetenths of those who do profess and talk much. In politics he was a Republican, and was an able advo cate of his principles upon the stump. He served in the State Legislature from 1844 to 1851, also in 1859. Was elected supervisor of his township as long as he could be induced to serve. 60 JAMES M. OSBORN, the son of Stephen Osborn, who removed from Connecticut to Vermont, and thence to New York, was born in East Windsor, Conn., and engaged in farming with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, when he rented a farm in Steuben Co., N. Y., and began work for himself. Three years later he caught the " Western fever," and emigrated to Michigan, with his wife and one child. The journey was accomplished with a team and wagon, in which latter were stowed all his worldly goods. His capital was in the form of health and unlimited energy, and possessing these he felt assured the labor of his hands would in time bring him prosperity. He and his brother Daniel purchased a tract of ninety-three acres, and worked it in partnership. At the end of four years he sold his interest to his brother, and purchased eighty acres in Hamilton township, to which four hundred acres have since been added. Ilis father, Stephen Osborn, settled in the county in the fall of 1844, after his sons had located, and purchased forty acres of land, on which he lived until his death. His family consisted of eighteen children, nine by each of his wives,-he being twice married. J. M. Osborn married Miss Julia R. Allen, daughter of Samuel Allen, and she has borne him the following children: Gideon A., Catharine S., Edward A., and Eliza. Three of these are now living. Mrs. Osborn died Dec. 17, 1871, and on the 17th of March, 1872, Mr. Osborn married Martha J. Warren, who was born in Ohio, June 17, 1834. Politically, Mr. Osborn is a Democrat, and is liberal in religious matters. ERASTUS OSBORN is the oldest son of Stephen Osborn, by his second wife, and was born March 24, 1838, in Ossian, Allegany (now Livingston) Co., N. Y. The family was formerly from Vermont, and of Welsh descent. Mr. Osborn's mother was a daughter of Benjamin Hungerford, a well-known woolen-manufacturer in Allegany County, who moved to Michigan in 1840, Stephen Osborn following in 1844, and remaining at Mr. Hungerford's during the succeeding winter. March 24, 1845, Stephen Osborn and family settled on section 20, in the township of Hamilton, Van Buren Co. Mr. Osborn's death occurred in March, 1853, and his widow, having nearly completed her threescore and ten years, resides on the old homestead. Erastus Osborn, during the year after his father's death, worked with Mr. A. Barney, then for three years " by the job," and for fifteen years with a thrashing-machine. In March, 1858, the rumors from the Pike's Peak mining region induced him to journey thither, but before the company was quite ready to start he was disabled, by the kick of a horse on his knee, and forced to remain at home untl some time after the others had left, sending his teams and effects along with them, however. He overtook them by rail in Illinois. This company was one of the few that made the trip through to Denver, and stayed four weeks in Boulder. Mr. Osborn, whose dreams of fortune vanished when the stern realities of the position became apparent, returned to Iowa, where he remained two months, proceed 474 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. ing from there homeward, reaching the farm in November, with one hundred dollars left. In company with his brothers, Benjamin and Horace, he commenced in earnest to carve out a home. Hon. Philotus Haydon and Robert Nesbitt, two worthy pioneers of Hamilton township, furnished them respectively with land and money, on credit, and gave them some good advice. The struggle to meet these obligations was a severe one with the brothers, but lad/> tif/~t I tC~izd^^ C^'^- I and forty cents per bushel. His wife has long been an invalid, and his efforts have, consequently, been in a great degree single-handed; yet he has always maintained a large household, and was never known to turn a traveler from his door, whether rich or poor. "'Rastus Osborn will keep you," are words which have been spoken many times to tired and dusty wayfarers, and the assertion was ever fully realized as true. Many families of emigrants have been fed and sheltered by him, and if without food, furnished with sufficient for several meals, and sent on their way rejoicing; and Mr. Osborn is confident that in the North and West are many warm friends who in such manner partook of his bounty. He is a slave to no bad habits; does not use tobacco in any form; is a man of correct principles; is far-sighted in business affairs; possesses fine executive ability and unflagging energy; is a kind husband and father, a true friend, and ever ready to forget differences which may arise with others. He, in a word, commands the universal respect of his acquaintances. JOHN BENNETT; George Bennett was born Sept. 16, 1811, and in 1824 removed, with his parents, to Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co., Mich., from the State of New York. Oct. 24, 1830, he was married to Miss Eliza Barney, and moved to Unadilla, Livingston Co., in 1835, with his wife and two children. Six children were born to them in the latter township, and in 1849 they again directed their footsteps westward, and located in Hamilton township, Van Buren Co. Here a ninth child was born, and here they resided until the spring of 1855, when they left the farm and settled in the village of Decatur, where they are still living. Mr. Bennett has been engaged in various occupations,-farming, grain-thrashing, railroading, lumbering, and stone and brick mason-work. John Bennett, the eldest son of George, was born at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co., Mich., Nov. 17, 1834, and on the 17th of November, 1855, was married to Lucy M., youngest child of Calvin D. and Lucy Millard. She was born in Lyme, Conn., March 30, 1836. The newly-wedded pair settled the following spring in Decatur, which was their home until August, 1865. When, in the summer of 1862, the President issued a call for troops to aid in suppressing the rebellion, Mr. Bennett enlisted in the 4th Michigan Cavalry, and served under Gens. Rosecrans and Thoma'. He was captured in the Atlanta campaign, and was in prison three months at Andersonville and two months at Florence, S. C. After being exchanged he returned to his regiment, and found a second lieutenant's commission awaiting him. He took a prominent part in the capture of the petticoated and fugitive president of the Confederacy, for which he was brevetted first lieutenant, and received his share of the reward of one hundred thousand dollars, which had been offered. He was honorably discharged after three years of active service, and purchased and moved upon the farm he now occupies. It was then in a sadly-neglected condition, but through the energy of Mr. Bennett and his wife has been brought to its present state of"arder and thrift. they finally triumphed, and had cause to keep in grateful remembrance the men who had befriended them. In 1864 a portion of their land was exchanged for what was known as the Whitlock farm. In 1865, Erastus Osborn purchased the interest of his brothers, and now owns the entire farm. March 24, 1864, he was married to Annette M. Lascelle, a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y. Miss Lascelle was a teacher, and under her instruction Mr. Osborn passed a winter when in his twenty-fourth year. He yet insists that she was the best teacher he ever knew. Their children are two in number,-Mary E., born in October, 1865, and Luona A., born in October, 1866. They have both been educated at home, yet Mr. Osborn has been much interested in the cause of education, and has exerted his influence for good schools in his own district. This is owing largely to the fact that his own advantages in this respect were exceedingly limited. He has, however, a thoroughly practical knowledge. With neither money nor material, he at one time contracted to build a school-house in sixty days, and successfully completed the work. He is a Democrat in politics, and in 1875 was elected township treasurer, holding the office five successive terms, being elected the first time by twenty-two and the last time by fifty-six majority, and this is an acknowledged Republican township. Mr. Osborn aims to make his " word as good as his bond," and professes no other religion than the desire to do always as he agrees. His experience as a pioneer included such episodes as drawing corn and wheat twenty-five miles, with oxteams, to market, and selling them respectively for fifteen ii ,p., ~ ~I~/ PRIrIj$ a- Q O,T. JOHN BEN NETT. MRS.JOHN BENNETT. RESIDENCE OF JOHN BENNETT, HAMILTON TP,KAN BUREN Co., MICH. "t i iI I I TOWNSHIP OF HAMILTON. 475 Mrs. Bennett's mother, Mrs. Millard, who came with her husband and family to Michigan in 1837, was called upon to endure many hardships in the pioneer days of the settlement. Her husband died in 1838, leaving her and a young family to be provided for. Mrs. Millard, who had been reared in a city, was unaccustomed to the privations of frontier life, yet she fought with difficulties and overcame them, as only a pioneer mother in such a strait could. At one time the grist-mill was broken, there was no bread in the house, nor a single ounce of flour in the neighborhood. Her babe was crying for bread, and it seemed in vain. Finally, however, she thought of the coffee-mill, and those of the family old enough were set at work grinding, and at JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, whose portrait, together with that of his wife, appears on this page, was born in the town of Andover, Allegany Co., N. Y., Sept. 8, 1837. He lived there with his father until Sept. 8, 1857, when, with the family, he removed to Michigan, residing at home until he was twenty-five years of age, and assisted his father in clearing up and paying for two hundred and seventy-eight acres of new land on the west line of the town of Hamilton. In April, 1862, he built a cabin on his father's farm, and on Dec. 25, 1862, he married Jane K. Jacobs, who was born in the town of Comstock, Kalamazoo Co., June 3, 1839. She lived with her father until she was married; went to housekeeping in April, 1863. Mr. Adams lived in the cabin on his father's farm until May 1, 1865, and in that humble abode their first childEmma Jane-was born. In the month of January, 1865, he bought the farm where he now lives, containing one hundred and sixty acres. The following April he cleared the spot where his dwelling now stands, and on the 1st day of May moved into it. He at once commenced to improve his land. In the summer of 1866 he built on his place a commodious barn, and in June, 1879, bought fifty-three acres adjoining his first purchase, making his present domain two hundred and thirteen acres, with one hundred and last meal sufficient for a loaf was prepared, sifted, and baked, and hunger was appeased, and the children's faces were once more wreathed in smiles. The first Sabbathschool and the first common-school in Hamilton township were taught by Mrs. Millard, in her own house, the pupils being her own and the neighboring children. The nearest trading-post was many miles distant, and clothing and all articles of food, except wild game, could be procured no nearer. Game was furnished in abundance by a younger brother, Ralph Mason. Mrs. Millard was a professed Christian for more than forty years, and died at the residence of her son-in-law, John Bennett, Feb. 19,1872, in the seventyeighth year of her age. MRS. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. sixty acres under improvement, including orchards and comfortable buildings. The fruit of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Adams has been four children,-Emma Jane, born Sept. 17, 1864; B. E., born Aug. 30, 1866; John Q., Jr., born Nov. 19, 1869; Gertie, born March 17, 1876, died Oct. 28, 1877. It will be seen that the subject of this notice gave the first four years after arriving at his majority to the securing of a home for his parents and the younger members of the family, where the father, with two younger brothers, now live, his mother having died Sept. 16, 1878. After achieving this praiseworthy object, he unaided set out to secure the same comforts for himself, and with the hearty co-operation of his frugal and faithful wife has within the short space of fifteen years made himself a comfortable home. In religious matters Mr. Adams holds liberal views. Politically, he is a staunch Democrat, although never taking any active part in politics. He and his wife were charter members of the Hamilton Grange, and have much of the time held office in it since it was organized, six years ago. Mr. Adams was the second in a family of ten children,six boys and four girls,-all now living but the oldest, who was a daughter, and all but the two youngest boys are married and settled in life. Six of them live in the town of Hamilton and vicinity. 476 HISTORY OF VAN -BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN... =,............................................. _ ___ Photos. by Prichard, Decatur. WILLIAM HORTON. WILLIAM HORTON. This gentleman was born in Deerfield, Portage Co., Ohio, Sept. 21, 1815. Mrs. William Horton was born in Palmyra, Portage Co., Ohio, Feb. 1, 1817. Mr. William Horton, Sr., father of the above, died in 1835. His wife died in 1875. The subject of this sketch lived in Ohio until the year 1846, when he removed to Berrien Co., Mich., and purchased eighty acres of land, and after clearing up a portion of it he traded it for one hundred and sixty acres in Pipestone township, Berrien Co. He also cleared the latter and improved it to some extent, then sold and bought again in Silver Creek, Cass Co., Mich. The last farm consisted of one hundred and twenty acres. Having a desire to own a larger one, he again sold, and moved to Hamilton township, Van Buren Co., and purchased two hundred and thirty-five acres, upon which he is now living. Mr. Horton married Miss Matilda, daughter of Gibson and Mary McDaniel. This union has been blessed with eleven children, of whom six are living. The names are Worthing B., Emily, William, Isaac, Vincy, Gibson M., Dwight, Richmond P., Emeline, Asa, and Eliza. One of the sons is living in California and two are in Missouri. Mr. Horton has always been interested in the advancement of his township, devoting a part of his time to its business. He was an assessor in Ohio, a commissioner in Berrien County, and at present is a justice of the peace, which office he has held about six years. He is a member of the Disciples' Church. In politics is a Democrat. There were eight children in his father's family, of whom but three survive. Mr. Horton is in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and is considered one of the substantial men of his township. His house is always a home for his grandchildren, fourteen' of whom are living, three being deceased; five of these are at his home at this time. MRS. WILLIAM HORTON. A. S. WISE. This gentleman was born in Washington township, Morris Co., N. J., June 14, 1830. In 1832 he removed with his father to Livingston Co., N. Y., the father, Andrew Wise, locating on a farm. In 1855. the son, who until that time had remained on the home-farm, decided to search for a suitable location in the West for a future home for himself and wife,-he having, on the 22d of March, 1855, married Miss Hannah J. Read, daughter of Ezekiel S. and Delilah Read, who was born in Sparta, Livingston Co., N. Y., Jan. 12, 1832. Turning their faces westward, they began a long journey, and in the same year they were married located in Hamilton township, Van Buren Co., Mich., on one hundred acres of land, which Mr. Wise purchased and which is still their home; to it sixty acres have since been added. Mr. and Mrs. Wise are the parents of two children,-Eda D., born Nov. 2,1857, and H. Evelyn, born Nov. 15, 1863; both are living at home with their parents. Mr. Wise is also the owner of one hundred and forty acres of land in Oakland Co., Mich. Politically he is a Republican, and has filled several township offices. In religious matters he is liberal. He has been an active farmer through life, and has devoted much time to the improvement of his stock; sheep, of which he at present has a fine flock, and swine being his specialties. JOHN H. COLLINS. Prominent among the thrifty and prosperous farmers of Hamilton township, Van Buren Co., Mich., is John H. Collins, who was born in Erie Co., N. Y., Nov. 6, 1846, and came to Decatur, Mich., in 1859, with his father, Henry Collins. He was engaged in farming until 1871, when he entered business as. a grocer at Grand Junction, J. H. COLLINS. MRS. J. H. COLLI NS..:,:;. X,:...~ i ~:: T.-* ff0 7c:- t, ra]~*R RES. F J.H, CO LLI NS, HAMILTON, MICH. I I I : TOWNSHIP OF KEELER. 477 — i~ Van Buren Co. At the expiration of three years he rented a farm in Hamilton township, and occupied it three years. In 1878 he purchased the farm of one hundred acres, in the same township, on which he now resides. In 1873 he was married to Miss Ellen M. Beattie, daughter of Isaac and Jane Beattie, who was born in Van Buren Co., Mich., Nov. 20, 1845, and by her has two children,-Fannie J., born May 10, 1875, and John Guy, born Oct. 17, 1876. Mr. Collins acts with the Republican party in political affairs, but is a quiet worker, and not a man who desires publicity. In his religious views he is liberal. Mr. Collins, who was but a small boy when he came to this State, and began life without capital and is still a young man, has been remarkably successful in business, and is one of the most prosperous and enterprising farmers in the township. Everything on his premises evinces taste and thrift. CHAPTER LXII. KEELER TO WNSHIP.* Location, Surface, and Waters-Early Settlements-Territorial Roads -Township Organization and List of Officers-The Village-Societies and Orders-Religious Societies-Schools-Forest Home Camping Ground. LOCATION, SURFACE, AND WATERS. KEELER, the southwestern corner township of Van Buren County, is composed of 36 full sections, and is known and distinguished on the United States survey as township 4 south, range 16 west. It is bounded on the north by the township of Hartford, on the east by Hamilton, on the south by the township of Silver Creek, in Cass County, and on the west by Bainbridge township, Berrien Co. The surface of the township is generally level. Originally a large part of the township was burroak openings, but in some parts was covered with scruboak. For agricultural purposes the township is in advance of any other in the county. Its soil is a fine sandy loam, and is particularly adapted to the successful cultivation of wheat, and is all in a high state of cultivation, having no waste lands. Steady, persistent industry and energy, with the richness of the soil, have brought to its fortunate owners an abundance of this world's goods, as is shown by the excellence of their farm residences and buildings. The township is watered by small streams rising in the central part and flowing west and joining branches that flow into the Paw Paw River, and one that rises in the east and flows easterly through the south part of the township. There are a number of lakes, among the largest being Round and Crooked Lakes that lie near together in the southwest part, on sections 31 and 32; Magician Lake, in the south part of section 34; Keeler Lake, in the east part of section 23; Brown Lake, in the east part of sections 20 and 29; and two in the west part of section 17. EARLY SETTLEMENTS. The townships along the lake-coast having accessible har bors and landing-places were visited by persons in search of * By A. N. Hungerford. lumber and wood and eligible locations for mills, and whose object was not permanent settlement, but simply the cutting and manufacture of lumber. The townships lying back from the coast were not even sparsely settled till about 1833-34, when emigrants began to come in from the East to look for lands and to locate farms; Decatur leading the townships in the county and having the first settlers in Dolphin Morris and Henry Swift, who remained two or three years before they were joined by any others. The first to come in this township were John and James Nesbitt, natives of Ireland, who bought 120 acres of government land, in the southeast quarter of section 14, in the summer of 1834. They built a tent of two crotched sticks driven into the ground, a pole placed across the top and poles down the sides, all covered with marsh hay. Here they lived until the middle of the summer of 1835, when they sold to Wolcott H. Keeler. John Nesbitt is still living, and resides in Porter. The next to locate was Tobias Byers. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and when young went to Sparta, Livingston Co., N. Y., with his parents. In February, 1835, he left home for Michigan, traveling by stage and private conveyance through Buffalo, Cleveland, and Coldwater to Illinois, where he remained four months, and came to what is now the township of Keeler, examined the country, and went to the land-office at Bronson (now Kalamazoo) on foot, and located 120 acres of land on the east half of section 19 and 240 acres on the east half of section 13. He cut logs for a house on section 19, then went back to New York, and remained till about the last of October. Isaac De Long and David Byers (his brother) came with him, and raised the log house for which he had made preparations in the spring. David Byers soon returned to New York, but afterwards settled in Bainbridge. Isaac De Long hired out to W. H. Keeler to work by the month. Tobias Byers worked one month for John B. Freeman, near Prospect Lake, and boarded most of the time with Mr. Keeler. His early life in the country was passed in locating land for settlers, and in clearing and breaking up land for others, a business which he followed for about fifteen years. In 1850 he built a frame house on section 13, in the east part of the town, and carried on the farms in both places at the same time, living the most of the time on section 13 after the house was built. In 1856 he married Jeannette Wilson, and they now live on the east farm. Mr. Byers has been elected justice of the peace several times, and has held other township offices. Wolcott H. Keeler was a native of Vermont, and on the last day of June, 1835, came into the township a week after Tobias Byers, and bought of Nesbitt the 40 acres in the southeast quarter of section 14, and 80 acres on the southwest quarter of section 13, at five dollars per acre, and then went to Bronson and located the west half and northwest quarter of section 24 at 1 s. per acre, this making a total of 480 acres of government land. He returned to Vermont, but in the fall of that year came back with his son Eleazer and his daughter Almina. They erected a log house, afterwards building to it a frame addition. This house was built where the brick dwelling of John Rosevelt stands. Mr. Keeler returned to Vermont after the 478 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. house was built. His son Simon, in the winter of 1835 -36, drove through from Vermont with a team and a load of household goods, and in the spring of 1836 Mr. Keeler and his wife and daughter Ursula came round by the way of the lakes to St. Joseph, and then came in on the newlysurveyed track of the Territorial road. Mr. Keeler laid out a village at the place where he built his house. The house was made a tavern. The stageroute passed through here, on the Territorial road, and for a time it bade fair to become a village; but, like many others, it was simply on paper. The Keeler family remained here till in 1850 and sold 570 acres to John Rosevelt, who now lives on the place. Eleazer Keeler was the first town clerk of Keeler, in 1839, and filled other positions of trust in the township. A store was kept here also by the Keelers in 1836. Harlow Wright was a blacksmith in 1837. James Hill, a native of Vermont, emigrated to New York when twenty-one years old, and to this place in May, 1836, with his wife and his children,-Whiting S., Lyman G., James A., Mary, and D. Clinton Hill. Mr. Hill bought the west half of the northwest quarter of section 11. Mr. Hill was supervisor in 1839; Lyman G., his son, was supervisor from 1848 to 1852, and from 1854 to 1856. At that time Tobias Byers was living on section 19, and Keeler was on section 14. His son, Justus Hill, came from Vermont in 1840, and settled on part of his father's farm, in the east half of the northwest quarter of section 10. In 1865 he removed to the present village of Keeler, where he still lives. In 1840, when Justus Hill came in, the place was still a wilderness. In the north lived Henry Hammond, Peter Williamson, R. B. Everett, these being in the township of Hartford. Theodore Phelps lived south and east, on section 25. South and west was William Earle, on the southeast quarter of section 28, where William Warren now lives. On the south, beyond Keeler Centre and on to Cass County, no one was then located. Willard Dodge, a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y., in the winter of 1835-36 located government land as follows: the west six lots of section 26; all of section 27; the east half of southeast quarter of section 21; the north half of the southwest quarter of section 2; and 160 acres of the south part of the north half of section 3; and also lands in Hartford township. Ira Foster, a native of Madison Co., N. Y., with his wife and child and brother Truman, came into the township, bought land of Wolcott H. Keeler, on the northwest quarter of section 15, and, on the 7th day of April, 1837, commenced to chop and to build a log cabin. He worked alone for seven years with two yoke of oxen, breaking up land. He was one of the first to form a Methodist class, in 1840. His nearest neighbor was James Hill, on section 11, on the north; on the south was Samuel Treat, at Silver Creek, in Cass County; Keeler on the east; and Tobias Byers on the west. Mr. Foster lives on section 16, across the road from his first settlement. Benjamin Hungerford came from Livingston Co., N. Y., in 1837, with his wife and a large family of children, and moved first into the house of Tobias Byers, on section 19. That house was used by many of the early settlers till their own cabins could be built. Mr. Hungerford bought of Henry Byers 640 acres of land on the Territorial road, the east half of section 28, part of the northeast quarter of section 20, and the southeast quarter of section 17. On the place where Mrs. Andrew Klett now lives he built his cabin, and occupied it with his wife and thirteen children. They lived here for many years, and Benjamin and his son Stephen filled several town offices. The family have become scattered, like many others, and none of them are now living in the town. Zenas Sikes, a native of Westhampton, Mass., was a student of the Thompsonian practice of medicine before he came here, in 1836. He located the south half of section 18, the northeast quarter of section 19, and northwest quarter of section 20. On the 15th day of June, 1837, he arrived at the place, with his son Orendo M., and built a frame house, buying the lumber of Robert Nesbitt, in Hamilton township, who had the only saw-mill in a large section of country, and supplied the early settlers with lumber. In November of that year the wife of Dr. Zenas Sikes, with several sons, came in. Orendo M., Samuel, and Pliny P. are now living in the township. The children were Orendo M., Lorin W., Lucina G., Pliny P., Samuel J., Zenas, Charles L. W., and John F. Dr. Sikes practiced his profession until his death, in 1861. Orendo M. Sikes lives on the old homestead. Adrian Manley came in 1836, about the same time with Thomas Conklin and Burrell Olney, and settled on the northwest quarter of section 4. The family came on in 1837. Calvin Hathaway, of Oneida County, came in with Ira Foster in 1837, locating on the southeast quarter and the west half and southwest quarter of section 10, where L. D. Robinson now resides. The family are now all gone. Jeremiah Johnson, a native of Ohio, in the winter of 1835-36 located in the southeast corner of the township, on section 36. His son Daniel now lives in Hamilton. While the laborers were at work clearing and breaking up the land along the line of the Territorial road, one of the men was taken sick and died. He was buried at St. Joseph. In the winter of 1835-36 one Mathew Fenton, a cousin of W. H. Keeler, was killed by the falling of a tree, and was the first person buried in the-town. Samuel Pletcher, from the eastern part of New York, came here in 1838, and located in the west part of section 19. His wife was a sister of Tobias Byers. With them came Mattie Byers, afterwards well known as Aunt Mattie, who settled in Bainbridge, on section 24, on the Territorial road. She had on her place a never-failing well, and the stages all stopped there and made it a general wateringplace. David Byers, a brother of Tobias, located in 1838 in Bainbridge, just west of Aunt Mattie's, on the Territorial road. Mr. Pletcher died in 1845. His daughter married Dr. J. Elliott Sweet, now of Hartford. Capt. Marshall Lewis was a native of Southington, Conn., and a civil engineer by profession, which he followed in that State and Pennsylvania. He came to New York, and was employed by De Witt Clinton as engineer and placed in charge of important work in the construction of the Erie Canal. He designed the plans of the locks that were accepted for the Welland Canal, for which a premium of $1000 was offered, and was employed by William Hamilton Merritt, general manager of the project, to superintend I ~~~ Iii!~-:VI CHAS. DUNCOMBE. V V, A r A. I;~ 'g..: RS. CHAAS. DOU COMB~. RESIDENCE OF CHAS. DUNCOTMBE, KEELER, M/VCH.'. :: uI:\:: TOWNSHIP OF KEELER. 479 the construction of the locks and bridges. Later, he came to Monroe, Mich., and superintended the construction of the Raisin Canal, under Gen. Henry Smith. In 1837 he came to Lawrence, with Gen. Chadwick, and in 1838 removed to Keeler. Gen. Benjamin F. Chadwick, who was a native of Massachusetts, moved to Cayuga Co., N. Y., with his parents, when quite young, and remained till twenty-one years of age, when he went to Canada, and built a furnace at Chippewa. Soon afterwards he erected a foundry at St. Catharine's, in partnership with Capt. Lewis, whose daughter he married. In 1836 he came to Michigan, and located 320 acres of land, in two different sections, in what is now Lawrence township, and on the 13th day of April, 1837, Gen. Chadwick and his family, and Capt. Lewis, arrived at Judge Keeler's, at Keelersville. They remained overnight, and the next day went to the land they had bought, and purchasing a few boards from Judge Haynes at Brush Creek, erected a board shanty 12 feet by 12, cleared about three-fourths of an acre, and lived there until the fall of that year, and then sold to Judge Broughton. Gen. Chadwick then located and bought 160 acres on section 25, in Keeler township, where S. MI. Conklin now owns, in the northeast quarter. Jeremiah Johnson lived on the adjoining quarter-section south; Anson Barney was half a mile east, in Hamilton township; Philotus Haydon was also in Hamilton township, on the Territorial road. Capt. Lewis and Gen. Chadwick were residents of Keeler township about three years, when the property was exchanged with Theodore Phelps, for mill property on section 22 and one-halfof section 27, and they removed to that place. Capt. Lewis died in 1844. Gen. Chadwick was appointed in 1852, by President Pierce, superintendent of public works at St. Joseph, during the repairs and extension of the piers. He remained two years, and was appointed lighthouse-keeper, a position which he occupied six years. He is now living with his son-in-law, William Anderson, in Hartford. Palmer and William Earle located in the township about 1839. Palmer settled on the southwest quarter of section 35, and William on the southeast quarter of section 28, when William Warren now lives. About 1842, Ira Gould, a native of Cherry Valley, N. Y., came from Coldwater, Mich., with an Englishman by the name of John Duncombe, in 1842. Gould purchased the Palmer Earle farm at the east end of Lake Magician, on section 35, and Duncombe the west half of the northwest quarter of the same section, where Henry Keith now lives. The Goulds still occupy the farm. John Duncombe left here in 1846, by overland route for California before the gold excitement. He bought 40 acres of land where San Francisco now stands, and soon after died, leaving a wife and three little girls. A few years later the value of the land was enhanced by the wonderful growth of the city, and the sale of it gave them an independence which they are still living to enjoy. Daniel J. Osborne came from Western New York about 1842, and settled on section 17, where he still lives. Marvin Palmer settled on the southeast quarter of section 36, where he built a barn. He sold out and went to California, where he was successful, and returning to Michigan, bought a farm on McKinney's Prairie, Cass Co., but again sold out and went to California. About 1840, Thomas Arner located on the north-andsouth Centre road, near Ira Foster, where P. D. Peters now lives. Linus Warner located on section 31; Ebenezer Lyon, on section 29; and Samuel Robinson on section 5; William and Thomas Green, on the same section; James Lee, a sonin-law of one of the Greens, on section 2, where Henry Shepherd lives. In 1844 not a road had been opened on a quarter-section line in the township. The Territorial road was run from east to west through the township in about 1835, and as early as 1838-40 a diagonal road ran from Sikes', on section 20, southeast to the east end of Lake Magician, and a year or two later, one about a mile from Hungerford's diagonally southeast. A mail-road also was opened from Keelerville to Cassopolis. In the year 1844 quite a number of emiigrants came in, among whom were Ormion Rosevelt, of Monroe Co., N. Y. He was a single man and lived at Linus Warner's, on section 31. He bought the southwest quarter of that section. Afterwards (in 1845) bought the place now owned by George I. Sherman, on sections 26 and 27. John Buck and Lucius O. Buck, from Livingston Co., N. Y., came in the spring of 1844, and settled on the northeast quarter of section 15, where Lucius Buck now lives. John S. Buck, their father, came in 1846 and settled on the southwest quarter of section 22, where W. Jolly now owns. Samuel Gordon also settled on section 27. Henry S. Keith, from Jefferson Co., N. Y., bought, in 1843, of Willard Dodge, of that county, the south half of the southeast quarter of section 27, in Keeler, this being part of the lands Mr. Dodge purchased in 1835-36. In June, 1844, Mr. Keith arrived here with his wife and four children. They lived a few days with John Duncombe, and built a small frame house on the farm where his son Fleury now resides. Mr. Keith now lives on section 35, where Mr. Duncombe lived. Dr. George Bartholomew, of Jefferson Co., N. Y., emigrated to this township in 1846, bought the north half of the southwest quarter of section 26, remained there two years, and then went to Paw Paw, where he spent three years, then moved to Decatur, where he lived two years, and from that time was in the employ of the Panama Railroad Company for five years in Central America. He returned from there and lived in Berrien eleven years, and returned to the village of Keeler, where he has been in practice from that time to the present. At the time Dr. Bartholomew came in, the log cabin of Moses Duncombe stood where the village of Keeler now is. Mr. Duncombe came from Canada in the spring of 1844 to Grand Rapids, and located land which is a part of the village site. His two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, came with him, and they began housekeeping in a log cabin of James Hill, on section 11, and in the fall went into a house he built at the centre. Mrs. Duncombe, Charles, Caroline (now Mrs. Wheeler), William, and S. W. Duncombe came in afterwards. Charles and Mrs. Wheeler are still living at the 480 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. centre. S. W. Duncombe resides at Paw Paw. Charles Duncombe was a member of the Constitutional Convention in May, 1867. John V. Rosevelt, from Monroe Co., N. Y., purchased of Wolcott H. Keeler, the 27th of June, 1850, 547 acres, where he still lives. He has been for several years and is still supervisor of the town. The residents of Keeler township whose names appear on the tax-roll dated May 25, 1839, were the following: H. Hammond, Peter Williamson, R. Everett, Ruel Wilcox, A. Newton, F. Ruggles, J. Ruggles, Thomas Conklin, Russell A. Olney, Henry Miner, Alba De Long, Ferdino Olds, Smith Johnson, Adrian Manley, John Palmenter, Thomas H. Green, William Green, William B. Green, Benjamin Hungerford, Hiram Hungerford, Stephen Hungerford, Zenas Sikes, Orendo M. Sikes, Tobias Byers, Samuel Pletcher, William Earle, Palmer Earle, Benjamin Chadwick, Wolcott H. Keeler, Eleazer H. Keeler, W. H. and E. H. Keeler, W. S. Hill, Coloni Hathaway, Ira Foster, Lyman G. Hill, James Hill, James Lee, James Spinnings, and Marshall Lewis. The assessors of the township were Benjamin F. Chadwick, Lyman G. Hill, and E. H. Keeler. Of those included in the above list, only three are now living, viz.: Tobias Byers, O. M. Sikes, and Palmer Earle. The total real and personal assessment of residents of the township in that year was about $15,000. To give an idea of the settlement of Keeler, the names of the settlers are given as they were living on the different roads in the township in 1850. On the Territorial road, running from east to west, lived Tobias Byers, on the east part of section 13; Wolcott H. Keeler, Simon Keeler, and John Brown, at Keelersville, on the west part of the same section where J. V. Rosevelt resides; Mrs. Rider, on section 14, where John Baker lives; John S. Buck, on section 22, where Wilson Jolly lives; Moses Duncombe, on section 15; D. M. Thomas and Lysander Bly, on section 21, at the village; Benjamin Hungerford, on section 20, where Widow Klett now lives; Zenas and Orendo M. Sikes, on the same section; John Campbell, on section 19. On the road running through the centre of the town north and south, commencing at the north, was Truman Fowler, on the northeast quarter of section 9; Ira Foster, on section 15; and Thomas Ames, on section 15. South of the centre were Mrs. Earle Benjamin and Daniel Sill, and Stephen Gregory. On the first east-and-west road south of Hartford, commencing at the west end, were Ephraim Warren and Gilbert Leach, on section 8; Justus Hill, on section 10; Elder Rowe, on section 11; and Ozam Abbott, on 12. On the first north-and-south road east of the centre were James and Adrian Manley, on section 2; Lyman G. and James Hill, on 11; John and Lucius E. Buck, on 15; John S. Buck, on 22; Mrs. Farnham, Orman Rosevelt, Samuel Gordon, and H. S. Keith, on 27; and Ira Gould, on section 35. TERRITORIAL ROADS. The Congress of the United States passed an act to construct a road from Detroit to Chicago, in 1824, to pass through the lower counties in the State. Afterwards branches were surveyed and laid out. One of the branches oame through the township of Keeler to St. Joseph, and was commenced about 1834. When the first settlers came, in 1835, the workmen were still at work breaking up, clearing, and grading. The road ran in a straight course southwesterly, entering the town about the middle of the southeast quarter-section of 13, passing through 14, intersecting the section line on 15 and 22, passing through 22 and 21 and 20, intersecting the quarter-section line at nearly the west end of it, and about half-way across section 19 deflecting northwesterly, passing into Bainbridge near the centre of the west line of the northwest quarter of section 19. In 1835, John Allen, of Brush Creek, now Lawrence, took a contract for carrying the mails from Lawrence to St. Joseph, and in January, 1836, he established a stage-route from Lawrence to Keeler, where his route struck the Territorial road and passed on to St. Joseph. John Reynolds carried the mail through Dopp Settlement and Keeler before a post-office was established,-which was, however, done in that year, at Keelerville. William Taylor afterwards drove the stage. About 1838 the first change was made in the route, and was from the intersection of the road with the south line of section 15, following west along the section line to what is now the centre of the village, thence south about sixty rods, striking the old line of road. This change was made by the commissioners of the township. Still later a change in the route was made in the line from the intersection of the road on the south line of section 20, near where O. M. Sikes now lives, and following the section line west to the intersection of the deflecting line northwesterly. John Allen built a road from Reynolds' tavern, on the east line of Lawrence township, nea.Lake George, to Brush Creek, and from there to Keeler. The road was long a stage-route, and as many as ten coaches each way were run every day in the year. Upon the completion of the railroad from Kalamazoo to Niles the coaches were mostly withdrawn. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND LIST OF OFFICERS. An act of the Legislature was approved March 11, 1837, to divide the township of Lafayette into seven towns. The township of Covington was one of the seven towns, and comprised what is now Keeler and Hamilton. In 1839, Covington was divided into separate townships, and in the division, Keeler not only embraced the territory of township 4 south, range 16 west, but township 3 south, same range (now Hartford), that prior to that time belonged to Lawrence,-being embraced in that township when the township of Lafayette was divided into seven towns. At the first township-meeting 29 votes were cast and the following officers were elected: Supervisor, James Hill; Town Clerk, E. H. Keeler; Justices of the Peace, Lyman G. Hill, B. F. Chadwick, B. A. Olney, and R. B. Everett; Collector, Thomas Conklin; Highway Commissioners, W. H. Keeler, R. B. Everett, and Tobias Byers. Part of these first officers lived in Hartford and part in Keeler, and in the spring of the next year Hartford was set off as a separate town. No vote was cast in the town ship limits while it was in the township of Lafayette, and when Covington was formed, in 1837, the first election of that town was held at W. H. Keeler's tavern, in Keelers 1~ III 7777777T= — ~777777 7. A. E. GREG O R Y. 3 RS. A. E.GRECO RY. i:_ 4.,,: uBER. 4 f ";'.~-~" -j:.:.If:;Z3;. ~dn I::-ri'Bsl~:: ~-~ iI.: "-"- i.p,.LC! i i~:~~:~- jr.~" :.: ' ce:!~i 1:-I;-.~;;"~ ~,~i;.::a: ~-." ~c\:~:i::r~`i~*l-";X,,-A4H AI^iWN-^'^^"'"^^'^"'^''^ I I RESIDENCE OF A.E.GREGORY, FEELER, MtCH. O TOWNSHIP OF KEELER. 481 ville, and later, when Keeler and Hamilton were formed and Hartford was attached to Keeler, the elections still continued to be held there until about 1847. Mr. Tobias Byers says that in 1843 the snow was so deep that men came on snow-shoes to the election. The township records from 1839 to 1846 are missing. From the latter year until the present time, the principal offices of the township have been held as follows: SUPERVISORS. 1846, Theodore E. Phelps; 1847, George Bartholomew; 1848-52, Lyman G. Hill; 1853, James A. Lee; 1854-56, Lyman G. Hill; 1857-59, Charles Duncombe; 1860, Charles G. George; 1861, Isaac J. Cox; 1862-64, Charles Duncombe; 1865, Albert E. Gregory; 1866, Charles Duncombe; 1867, William Tuttle, Jr.; 1868, Charles Duncombe; 1869-70, Orendo M. Sikes; 1871, Charles Duncombe; 1872, John Baker; 1873, Isaac J. Cox; 1874-75, John V. Rosevelt; 1876, Henry S. Keith; 1877, Charles Duncombe; 1878, Henry S. Keith; 1879, John V. Rosevelt. TOWN CLERKS. 1846-47, Lucius E. Buck; 1848, John S. Buck; 1849-50, Lucius E. Buck; 1851, C. A. Buck; 1852, Lucius E. Buck; 1853, Daniel M. Thomas; 1854-55, Lucius E. Buck; 1856, David A. Buck; 1857-58, Pliny P. Sikes; 1859, Andrew Armstrong; 1860-61, Stephen W. Duncombe; 1862, Mursell M. Merritt; 1863, Joseph E. Sweet; 1864-70, Mursell M. Merritt; 1871, Willard S. Hill; 1872, J. Elliot Swett; 1873, Charles G. George; 1874-77, William E. Draper; 1878, James W. Thomas; 1879, William E. Draper. TREASURERS. 1846, James A. Lee; 1847-54, Ira Gould; 1855, John F. Buck; 1856, Marquis F. Buck; 1857, Albert E. Gregory; 1858-59, Benjamin D. Sill; 1860-62, Merritt Haynes; 1863, Newton T. Foster; 1864, Merritt Haynes; 1865-67, James W. Thomas; 1868-69, Henry B. Babcock; 1870-71, Lorenzo D. Robertson; 1872-77, John F. Taylor; 1878, Amos Irish; 1879, Franklin Hill. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1846, Henry S. Keith; 1847, Tobias Byers; 1849, Samuel Robertson; 1850, Luther Chapin; 1851, Tobias Byers; 1852, Ira Foster; 1853, Charles G. George; 1854, Charles N. Poor; 1855, James G. Haynes; 1856, John Baker, 0. M. Sikes; 1857, Charles G. George; 1858, Ira Foster, William Tuttle; 1859, John G. Haynes, Simeon P. Tuttle; 1860, Orendo M. Sikes, William J. Merwin; 1861, Simeon P. Tuttle; 1862, John L. Harrison; 1863, Robert B. Thompson; 1864, Orendo M. Sikes; 1865, Simeon P. Tuttle, Ephraim Warren, Stephen M. Miller; 1866, James H. Haynes, Jacob I. Rosevelt; 1867, Ephraim Warren, Aaron M. Knight, Isaac S. Rosevelt; 1868, Orendo M. Sikes, Edward M. Cook, James E. Durden; 1870, Charles G. George, John Baker; 1871, Samuel Robertson, Oscar Adams; 1872, Orendo M. Sikes, Horace B. Clover; 1873, Horace B. Clover; 1874, Charles G. George; 1875, Isaac S. Rosevelt; 1876, 0. M. Sikes; 1877, Iorace B. Clover, Charles W. Daily; 1878, George G. Scott, Truman D. Pitcher; 1879, Charles Duncombe. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1846, Eleazer H. Keeler, Linus Warner; 1847, Charles O. Buck; 1848, Charles Duncombe, Loren W. Sikes; 1849, David Foster; 1850, John H. Haynes; 1851, J. G. Haynes, Aaron Rowe; 1852, James H. Haynes; 1853, M. Kimball; 1854, John G. Haynes; 1855, Henry M. Farnham; 1856, Hiram Baker; 1857, Hamilton J. Willmotb, Henry A. Starr; 1858, IHenry M. Farnham; 1859, James H. Haynes; 1860, Henry M. Farnham; 1861, James H. Haynes; 1862, Henry M. Farnham; 1863, James Thompson; 1864, James H. Haynes; 1865, William M. Campbell; 1866, James H. Haynes, Albert E. Gregory; 1867, Albert E. Gregory; 1868, James II. Haynes; 1870, Alfred H. Cook, Henry B. Babcock; 1871, J. Elliott Swett, Seth Felt; 1872, William O. Cook; 1873, Albert E. Gregory; 1874, Albert C. Thompson, Horace B. Clover; 1875-77, William O. Cook; 1878, Lucius E. Buck; 1879, William O. Cook. 61 I SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 1875-76, John Baker; 1877-79, George W. Baker. THE VILLAGE. The first store kept in the village was by Loren W. Sikes; the first school was taught by Maria Head; the first church was built in 1860. Dr. J. Elliot Swett was the first resident physician. The village contains about forty families, two churches (Methodist and Congregational), one store, two groceries, post-office, hotel, school-house, two blacksmith-shops, coopershop, cabinet-shop, two wagon-shops, paint-shop, harnessshop, and shoe-shop. Thle First Post-Office was established at Keelerville in 1836, on the opening of the stage-route by John Allen, of Lawrence. Wolcott H. Keeler was the postmaster. The office remained there until 1856, and was removed to Keeler village. The postmasters who succeeded Mr. Keeler were John Buck, S. W. Duncombe, Mrs. Caroline Wheeler, and John F. Taylor, who now holds the office. SOCIETIES AND ORDERS. SalatMiel Lodge, No. 233, F. and A. M.-This lodge received its charter from the Grand Lodge of Michigan, Jan. 8, 1868, with the following-named persons as officers: Stephen W. Duncombe, Worshipful Master; Willard S. Hill, Senior Warden; J. Elliot Swett, Junior Warden. The present number of members is 41, and the present officers are George E. Scott, Worshipful Master; William E. Draper, Senior Warden; G. E. Rider, Junior Warden; O. M. Sikes, Sec.; Henry S. Keith, Treas. Keeler Lodge, No. 204, 1. 0. O. F.-This lodge was chartered March 27, 1873, with the following charter members: James E. Dusden, Rossiter Kappin, Jacob High, James Shearer, Charles Lambert, Estel Smith, and Isaac Cox. The present members are 41 in number, and the officers for 1879 are Alfred Lamont, Noble Grand; Albert Brown, Vice-Grand; John Nostrand, Rec. Sec.; Chester Irish, Per. Sec.; Franklin Hill, Treas. Carmel Rebekah Lodge, No. 21, 1.. O. OF.-The lodge was instituted Feb. 22, 1879, with the following as charter members: Robert K. Evans, Alvah Tuttle, S. Zimmerman, Charles G. George, Franklin Hill, John S. Rosevelt, John Ashman, Alfred Lament, James Shearer, A. Campbell, J. M. Babcock, G. L. Rathbone, William Sikes, Justus Irish, Mrs. R. K. Evans, Emily Tuttle, Anna Zimmerman, Dolly George, Molly Hill, Harriet Ashman, Sarah Lament, Polly Shearer, Mary Babcock, Jane Fowler. The present officers are William A. Sykes, Noble Grand; Mrs. Jane Fowler, Vice-Grand; Charles G. George, Rec. Sec.; Alfred Lamont, Per. Sec.; Mrs. Sarah Lament, Treas. The present membership is 23. Women's Christian Temperance Union. —This society was organized Nov. 14, 1879, with Mrs. Charles Duncombe, President; Mrs. Lucius E. Buck, Vice-President; Mrs. Henry Thomas, Second Vice-President; Mrs. Beulah Keith, Sec.; Mrs. Isaac Cox, Trcas. Patrons of Husbandry.-This grange was granted a dispensation, Dec. 24, 1873, as "Keeler Grange, No. 139." The charter was granted, March 21, 1874, as "Gilman of 482 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN............ Keeler Grange, No. 159." The following are the constituent members: Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Cox, Mr. and Mrs. Tobias Byers, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Keith, Mr. and Mrs. William O. Cook, Mr. and Mrs. John S. Rosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. John Baker, Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Sikes, Dr. George Bartholomew and Mrs. Bartholomew, Mr. and Mrs. K. B. Martindale, J. I. Rosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac S. Rosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. P. Peters, Ira Foster, Mr. and Mrs. C. O. Hills, Rev. J. Webster, Mrs. J. Webster, O. Bartholomew, Mr. and Mrs. O. M. Sikes. The officers for 1879 are William Warren, Worthy Master; John Baker, Overseer; De Witt C. Warren, Steward; G. A. Abbott, Asst. Steward; Elmira Abbott, Lady Asst. Steward; Franklin Conklin, Sec.; Tobias Byers, Treas. The society now numbers about 75 members. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. Methodist Episcopal Church.-The first class of this denomination was formed at the house of Samuel Pletcher, who lived on the west part of section 19, near the town line, in July, 1840. The members were Ira Foster and Carolina Foster, Adrian Manley and wife, Thomas Conklin and Martha Conklin, - Griffin and wife, and Mrs. Ferdino Olds. Ira Foster was the class-leader. The first preacher on the circuit through that section was Henry Worthington, who was followed by E. L. Kellogg, -- Van Order, Knox, Granger, Shaw, — Whitlock, - Jones, Thomas McCool, J. D. Robinson, Milo Corey. At this early time meetings were held at the school-houses in the Haynes and Hill neighborhoods. The first meetings held at Keeler Centre were in the schoolhouse, and the Revs. John Hoyt, T. T. George, and Henry M. Joy preached there. During the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Colwell, in 1860, a church edifice was erected, and dedicated in 1861. Mr. Colwell was succeeded by the Revs. G. A. Buell, Hoag, E. Beard, John W. Miller, Fowler, Webster, - orce, C. Woodward, Sparling, and George Elliot (the present pastor). The church now numbers 40 members. Congregational Church.-This church was constituted July 7, 1850, by the following persons, who brought letters from different churches: Joseph Haynes and Mrs. Mary Haynes, James H. Haynes, Jonathan W. Haynes, Luther Chapin and Mrs. Louisa Chapin, Mrs. Mary Gregory, and Mrs. Harriet Pletcher. Joseph Haynes was chosen deacon, James H. Haynes clerk. The services were conducted by the Rev. Sidney S. Brown. The first pastor of the church was the Rev. E. Andrus, who was succeeded by the Revs. W. H. Osborne, William Campbell, Charles E. Moon, and N. G. Lamphere (who is the present pastor). Services were held for the first few years at the Haynes school-house, afterwards in the schoolhouse at Keeler village. In 1865 the present church was built at a cost of $3500. and it was dedicated in 1866. The church at that time was under the charge of the Rev. William Campbell, and contained about 40 members. It now has a membership of 26. A union Sunday-school of the Congregational and Baptist societies contains about 80 pupils. William O. Cook is the superintendent. Baptist Church.-In 1843, Justus Hill, Emily, his wife, and William Everett and wife were dismissed from the Baptist Church of Lawrence to form a church in Keeler. This handful of Baptists gathered a few around them, but did not become a regularly organized body, being simply a branch of the Lawrence Church. Preaching was held in the school-house in the Hill neighborhood by the Rev. Moses Clark, Wm. T. Dye, and others. At a later date a church was organized, with about 15 constituent members. The Rev. Harvey Munger was the minister at the organization, and was pastor for a year or two afterwards. He was succeeded by the Rev. Albert Gore, who remained till 1861, Wm. Simons, J. B. Ross, and James G. Portman. The church has a membership of about 40. A Sundayschool, of which Wm. O. Cook is superintendent, is taught in connection with this and the Congregational society. Services are held in the Congregational church. SCHOOLS. The first school was taught about 1839 by Miss Woodman on section 19, on the Territorial road between the residences of Tobias Byers and Zenas Sikes. The children who attended were of the families of Pletcher, Sikes, and others. As early as 1842, Mrs. Prudence Williamson, daughter of William Everett, taught school on section 11, in a house that belonged to James Hill, and had been occupied by his brother, Lyman G. Hill. The pupils of that early school numbered but 12. The precise time when the township was formed into school districts cannot be accurately ascertained, but the township records, commencing in 1845, contain this entry: "School Districts as recorded in Old Book. "Dist. No. 1 contains Sections No. 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 9; Dist. No. 2 contains Sections No. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8; Dist. No. 3 contains Sections No. 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, 30, and the west half of 21, 28; Dist. No. 4 contains Section No. 13 and east half of Sections 24, 25; Dist. No. 5 contains Section Nos. 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, and 21." An annual report of the school inspectors to the county clerk, made Oct. 17, 1845, by David Foster and Orendo M. Sikes, shows as follows: Total number of districts................................... 5 District District District No. 1. No. 3. No. 5. Reports received from three districts...... 1 3 5 Number of children of school age......... 27 29 18 " attending in each district................... 30 40 9 " qualified teachers.............. 2... 1 " months school taught.......... 8 8 3 " volumes in township library..................... 129 Amount raised for library purposes........................... $25 Books used in school: Elementary Spelling Book, English Reader, H-ale's History of the United States, Olney's Geography, Kirkham's Grammar, Daboll's and Adams' Arithmetic. The following persons were granted certificates by the school inspectors, after passing examination: Miss Mary A. Bragg and Miss Harriet McKein, May 2, 1846; Martha Baxter, Aug. 7, 1846; Charles A. Bush, Nov. 7, 1846, to teach in District No. 1; Emily Gould, April 8, 1848, to teach in District No. 5. In 1845, 187 volumes were purchased for a library. Additions were made from time to time, till in 1858 the X X ^ffwStt~yIan A, X - # X 0 At s t 0- i 0 X f 0 Df- -; f; 0 0.; ": t:: 0 -::: - a ff;0:5000D::000-S;0:000- At t000000;X0000::::0::: i:::l DS:n;0P~ffV::::ft:0E:;: 4:: 4 0000: fESV;g Ho-t Xss Ed ' 0$ 0 at f ff0 0 a s s fuX w0| fae::~i:0 ~r::; t0::::tV:: RESIDENCE OF O. V ROSEVELT, FEELER, MICH. i St A L -., I c itz, CAMPING GROUNDOF E. PARDEE, KE'LER, MICHIGAN. SITUATE70 BETWEFCN SISTER LAKES. TOWNSHIP OF KEELER. 483 -: --- —- I —~ ---" --- —— "' number had reached 521. For the past few years the township has been without a library. SCHOOL REPORT FOR 1879. The school directors in 1879 were John McAlpine, Samuel Hammond, Alfred Lament, Hiram Baker, M. B. Keith, A. E. Gregory, John Baker, W. J. Britton, James Shearer, H. B. Clover. Di- Number of Dis- Children of trlct. School Age. No. 1.. 24 No. 2.. 33 No. 3.. 65 No. 4.. 20 No. 5.. 32 No. 6.. 29 No. 7.. 92 No. 8.. 37 No. 9.. 35 No. 10.. 34 Total....401 Frame SchoolHouses. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Seating Capacity. 30 45 40 50 30 30 100 60 70 68 523 Value. $400 300 50 500 500 250 3000 450 1000 600 $7050 Money on District. hand Sept. 1, 1878. No. 1........ $29.56 No. 2......... 32.72 No. 3......... 128.59 No. 4......... 252.72 No. 5........ 4.68 No. 6......... 34.34 No. 7......... 69.96 No. 8......... 28.57 No. 9......... 36.46 No. 10......... 31.90 Total........ $649.50 RECEIPTS. Two-Mill PrimarySchool ax Fund. $91.31 $14.88 99.30 21.52 65.61 33.00 146.59 12.88 20.90 14.88 124.90 17.28 171.20 44.16 85.40 79.25 18.24 75.76....... $1030.22 $176.84 EXPENDITURES. Number of Teachers. 2 2 2 1 1 3 2 2 3 2 20 District Tax. $65.00 105.00 79.00 238.70 10.00 285.80 25.00 59.43 100.00 $967.93 Amount of Wages. $132.00 200.00 141.50 116.00 90.00 87.20 192.00 100.50 49.00 136.00 $1245.20 Total Resources. $201.78 272.56 308.51 412.19 371.45 195.00 612.66 138.97 230.02 211.46 $2954.60 at once proceeded to clear off the underbrush and fit up the place as a permanent summer resort, erecting substantial buildings, improving its great natural advantages until now parties visiting these grounds find not only the picturesque beauty with which it was endowed by nature, but all the conveniences of our noted summer resorts, such as cottages, tents, and boats, while excellent facilities for fishing are provided. In the foreground may be seen a large hall which is for the use of the occupants of the cottages and tents, which form a circle across the grounds from lake to lake. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. DR. GEORGE BARTHOLOMEW* was born at Brownsville, Jefferson Co., N. Y., May 2, 1821. He worked on a farm until he was seventeen years of age, attending the district school about three months in each year. From the age of seventeen to twenty his time was Amount District. Teachers' on hand District. Wages. Sept. 1, 1879. No. 1......... $132.00 $30.02 No. 2......... 200.00 14.06 No. 3......... 141.00 135.06 No. 4........ 116.00 295.79 No. 5......... 90.00 9.87 No. 6......... 87.20 66.55 No. 7......... 192.00 104.64 No. 8......... 80.00 40.60 No. 9......... 49.00 77.67 No. 10......... 136.00 53.96 Total........ $1223.20 $828.22 Paid for Building and Repairs. $35.00 26.33......... 240.63 $301.96................. $301.96 Total ExpendAll other iture, includpurposes. ing amount on hand. $39.76 $201.78 23.50 272.56 6.12 308.51 40 412.19 30.95 371.45 41.25 195.00 108.12 612.66 18.37 138.97 23.35 230.02 21.50 211.46 $313.32 $2954.60 FOREST HOME CAMPING-GROUND. On the opposite page is given a view of " Forest Home Camping-Ground," the property of E. Pardee. The grounds are situated between the Sister Lakes, on section 31, Keeler township, Van Buren Co., and are about eleven miles northwest of Dowagiac, and the same distance south of Hartford. As is shown in the engraving, this camp is located on a narrow strip of land only about twenty-five rods wide, yet it is high rolling ground, heavily timbered with forest-trees and some twenty-seven feet above the lakes, whose pure, limpid waters wash the beautiful gravel beach on either shore. The place was first used as a campingground by E. Pardee and A. Maykes in 1868, who camped there two weeks in a tent nine feet square. The next year C. L. Sherwood and Thomas Rix, with their families, joined the party, and in 1872 it was still further increased by the accession of J. H. Smith, A. L. Rich, A. Jones, and B. L. Dewey, with their families. In 1876 the grounds were bought by E. Pardee from B. D. Sill, for which he paid $100 per acre. Mr. Pardee occupied in attending and teaching district and grammar schools. At the age of twenty he commenced to read medicine with Dr. Duncan, at Plessis, Jefferson Co., N. Y., with whom he remained one year, teaching school four months of the time to raise means to meet his expenses. The two succeeding years he read medicine with Dr. Amasa Trowbridge, President and Professor of Surgery at Willoughby University, Lake Co., Ohio, where he attended two courses of lectures, teaching four months in Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y. After his second course of lectures he commenced the *By Capt. J. R. Hendryx. 484 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. practice of medicine at Stone Mills, Jefferson Co., N. Y., under the general supervision of Professor Trowbridge, of Watertown, N. Y. He remained there five months, and married Minerva E. Keith, of Brownsville, N. Y., July 31, 1845. Immediately after he went to the Castleton, Vt., Medical College, where he received his third course of medical lectures, graduating at Willoughby University the following spring. He then, with his bride, removed to Keeler, Van Buren Co., Mich., and commenced the practice of medicine and surgery. He remained in Keeler one and a half years, then removed to Paw Paw, and formed a copartnership with Dr. Henry C. Clapp, which continued two years. From Paw Paw he went to Decatur, and put up the third building erected in that place, on Front Street, for a drugstore, and also practiced medicine until late in the fall of 1849, when he accepted the position of surgeon, and took charge of the hospital at Panama, for the Panama Railroad Company, remaining until the road was completed across the Isthmus, when he returned to Michigan completely broken down in health and unable to follow his profession. He then moved on a wild farm in Berrien township, in Berrien County, cleared it up, and planted the largest fruit farm in the township. After ten years of rusticating and digging in the earth he regained his health, sold the farm, and returned to his old stamping-ground, in Keelerville, and resumed his profession, where he still remains, and where he intends to spend the remainder of his days. The taste the doctor acquired for fruit culture when in Berrien he did not convey in the deed to the purchaser of his fruit farm. He, some four or five years ago, bought forty acres on an elevated site, two miles north of Keelerville, improved it, and planted it all to fruit. This farm is managed by his sons, under his close inspection and manag(ement. The doctor's counsel is often sought by amateur fruit-growers, as well as in public assemblies of pomologists. His skill in his profession, his devotion to his patients, his well-known integrity, large-heartedness, and his ever genial face, have given him an extensive practice, and made him a favorite wherever he is known. As a public speaker he is correct, logical, and often eloquent. In the summer of 1877 he built a fine residence in the village, where he and his amiable and accomplished wife, with their family of three boys, on a fair competency, live most happily. The doctor says he has no religion or politics,-the religion he practices is that of the golden rule. He votes for who he pleases and asks no favors. The doctor is of French descent, his wife of Scotch. His grandfather and mother were Vermonters. Mrs. Bartholomew's father served three terms in the New York Legislature. The doctor's grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution, and served all through the war. In the war of 1812 he, with three of his sons,Ebenezer, Augustine, and Oliver, Jr., the latter the father of the subject of this notice,-were the first mechanics engaged in building fortifications at Sacket's Harbor. Oliver, Jr., was born March 18,1793, and married Mary Everetts in the year 1819. The fruit of this union was seven children,-four sons and three daughters,-Dr. George being the oldest. His mother died in Hamilton township, Sept. 19, 1867, after which event his father came to live with him at Keelerville, Mrs. Bartholomew vying with her husband in kind care and attention to this venerable and worthy sire, who passed to his reward calmly and peacefully on the 6th of March, 1877. The doctor's family at present consists of himself and noble wife and his sons,George, born Sept. 20, 1857; Flurey K., born Feb. 14, 1851; and Estes, born April 13, 1866. ORRENDO M. SIKES. This gentleman is a descendant of Richard Sikes, who was born about 1600, and emigrated to America from London, England, in company with Governor Winthrop and William Pynchon, Esq., two of the noted pioneers of Massachusetts. He settled first at Roxbury, in that State, and in 1641 removed to Springfield, five years after the latter colony was founded. He had two sons,-Jonathan and Titus. In 1660 a settlement was commenced at Suffield, to which place Jonathan removed. His sons-Jonathan, Samuel, and Victory-all settled in the same place. Jonathan Sikes, Sr., was a master carpenter, and built each of his sons a house, that of Samuel being still in existence, and a fine specimen of the architecture of that day. It is still in the possession of his descendants. Jonathan Sikes, Sr., was born about 1640; his son Samuel, in 1675; the latter's only son, Victory, in 1710; and his son, Samuel, in 1752, who also had a son named Samuel, born in 1773. Victory Sikes (1st) had but one son, Titus, who sold his possessions and removed to Bennington Co., Vt., becoming one of its first settlers. His descendants are numerous and respectable. Jonathan Sikes (2d) was the father of two sons,Jonathan and Posthumous,-and lived to an extreme old age. Jonathan (3d) had five sons,-Lot, Jonathan, Paul, John, and David. Posthumous Sikes had four sons,Amos, Stephen, Shadrach, and Gideon. Victory had two sons and six daughters, viz., Samuel, Victory, Mehitable, Demarius, Mary, Mercy, Lucy, and Eleanor. Samuel (2d) had eight sons and four daughters, viz., Samuel, Eunice, Chloe, Oliver, Martin, Lucinda, Uriel, Wealthy, Silas, Ezra, Orrin, and Reuben. Victory (3d) had eight sons,-Alexander, George, Ambrose, Alfred, Jesse, Theodore, Franklin, and James. Lot had three sons and three daughters,Jemima, Lot, Lovisa, Calvin, Ashbel, and Mehitable. Lot, Jr., had three sons and eight daughters,-Ashbel, Frederick, Julia, James, Calista, Maria, Arabel, Sarah, Emeline, Lovisa, and Cynthia. Benjamin Sikes, the great-great-grandfather of Orrendo, died Aug. 2, 1781, aged seventy-seven years. His son Abner, one of a family of nine children,-three sons (Abner, Benjamin, and John) and six daughters,-was born Oct. 12, 1729. He was married, June 13, 1757, to Mercy Parson, who was born Feb. 20, 1733. They became the parents of seven children,-Mary, Abner, Experience, Increase, Pliny, Lois, and Zenas. Abner Sikes, Sr., died June 24, 1800, and his wife, March 24, 1818. Increase Sikes had nine children and Pliny four, those of the latter being Zenas, Orrin, Arna, and Lucinda. Zenas was the father of eight children, as follows: Orrendo, Loring, Lucina, Pliny, Samuel, Zenas, Charles; and John.::: ~ ~~-i: "; r:~~. O. M. SKES. PHOTOS. BY CHAS. F, PITCHARD. MRS. O.M. SI KES. (D~CEASED. ) MRS. 0. M.SIKES..e~:~~fi~~i o.;rr~T~ ~I.',::::::.,v 5 rtfjS. O r U. M.; /K KEExLER, IMICHIGAN, II I I TOWNSHIP OF KEELER. 485 -1 Orrendo Montague Sikes, the oldest son of Zenas and Nancy (Janes) Sikes, who were married in East Hampton, Mass., in 1813, was born in West Hampton, in the same State, in 1815. His brother John died in 1838, and his sister Lucina in 1848. His brothers, Pliny and Samuel, are living in Michigan, and Loring, Zenas, and Charles in California. In 1837, 0. M. Sikes came with his father to Michigan, and settled on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 20, in the township of Keeler. On the 8th of January, 1846, he was married to Ann Elizabeth George, daughter of Woodbridge C. George, an early settler of Berrien Co., Mich. She was born in Orleans, Jefferson Co., N.Y., Aug. 18, 1825. Mr. and Mrs. Sikes lived until 1855 in Benton township, Berrien Co., on a farm, but in the latter year returned to Keeler, and Mr. Sikes now resides on the old homestead of the family. They became the parents of the following children: William Arthur Sikes, born in Benton, Berrien Co., Mich., Oct. 10, 1847; Lucina Elizabeth Sikes, born at the same place, May 23, 1849, married, in December, 1870, to Albert F. Hurlbut, and now living near Fort Worth, Tex.; Kate Isabel Sikes, born in Benton, May 8, 1852, died March 14, 1860; Lelia Orra Sikes, born in Keeler, Jan. 27, 1864. Mrs. Sikes died Dec. 6, 1867, and in 1871 Mr. Sikes was married to Mrs. Susan E. Parmelee, widow of Byron L. Parmelee, of Benton, Berrien Co. By her he has had one child, Lyman Montague Sikes, born in Keeler, June 27, 1872. Mr. Sikes, who was a Democrat originally, became a Republican on the formation of the latter party. He has been a justice of the peace since 1856, and has been chosen to other offices. He is at present secretary of Salathiel Lodge, No. 233, F. and A. M., at Keeler, and overseer of the county grange. He has always led the life of a farmer. Mrs. Sikes is a member of the Methodist Church. The parents of Mr. Sikes were both members of the Congregational Church, and he, although not a member, is a trustee of the Congregational Church at Keeler. ORMAN V. ROSEVELT. Jacob Rosevelt, the grandfather of Orman V., was a native of Germany, and came to America in company with his brother, settling quite early at Schenectady, N. Y. His children numbered six,-five sons and one daughter. His youngest child, Isaac Rosevelt (the father of Orman), was born at or near Schenectady. He was married, in Saratoga Co., N. Y., to Maria Veeder, and removed with her to the town of Barre, Orleans Co. Mr. and Mrs. Rosevelt were the parents of three children. Orman, the oldest, was born in Saratoga Co., Sept. 6, 1821; Jacob, in Onondaga Co.; and John, the youngest, in Orleans Co. Isaac Rosevelt died in Orleans Co., Aug. 20, 1828, and his widow moved back to Saratoga County, where she died, June 24, 1832. Orman V. Rosevelt was but seven years old when his father died, and when his mother returned to Saratoga County he stopped with her brother, near the village of Skaneateles, Onondaga Co., and lived with him at that place until he was fourteen, when he moved with him to Rochester, in the winter of 1835-36. He remained with his uncle until he was twenty-one years of age. In the spring of 1844 he came to Michigan, and located in the township of Keeler, Van Buren Co., where he, had previously purchased land. The township had at that time but few settlers, and Mr. Rosevelt's land was unimproved. His home has since been in this town, and he has not been absent from it three weeks at a time. Oct. 28, 1847, Mr. Rosevelt was married to Nancy Sloan, daughter of Alexander Sloan, an early settler in Hamilton township, having moved to Michigan from Ohio. Mrs. Rosevelt was born in Pennsylvania, Nov. 25, 1825. In the spring of 1848, Mr. Rosevelt settled, with his wife, on section 27, in Keeler, and in 1855 located on the place he now occupies,-the south half of section 22. Mr. and Mrs. Rosevelt are the parents of three children,-George, Maria, and Frank. The latter is living at home, and the others are married and reside in Keeler township. Mr. Rosevelt is a Democrat in politics. He has held several of the offices in his township,-pathmaster, commissioner of highways, assessor, etc. From his childhood his occupation has been that of a farmer. The first thrashing-machine which was brought into the township of Keeler was owned by him, and for eighteen years he operated it for the accommodation of others. He also owned a breaking-team, and aside from breaking up all of his own land, he did good service in that line for many of the settlers in the vicinity. He is now- the possessor of a pleasant, comfortable home near Keeler Centre. CHARLES DUNCOMBE. Mr. Duncombe's father, Moses Duncombe, was a native of Norwalk, Conn., and married Sarah Oliphant, who was born in Ballston, Saratoga Co., N. Y. To them were born eight children,-three sons and five daughters.- Soon after their marriage (about 1816-17, in Saratoga Co., N. Y.), they removed to Ancaster, near Hamilton, Ontario. About 1824 they returned to Waterford, Saratoga Co., N. Y., and in 1833 removed again to Canada, locating at Blenheim. In the fall of 1844 they came to Michigan, and located at what is now Keeler Centre, on a place which Charles Duncombe had purchased, and the same which he now occupies. The family was the first to settle at Keeler Centre. Mr. Duncombe was a tanner, currier, and shoemaker by trade, and after coming here worked at that business winters and made improvements on the farm during the summers. He was a very industrious man, an active politician, and a respected citizen. He was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, when he became a member of the latter. He was never an office-seeker. Mrs. Duncombe died in Keeler in 1848; Mr. Duncombe's death occurred in Hartford (Van Buren Co.) in 1866. Charles Duncombe, the third child in his father's family, was born May 30, 1822, at Ancaster, Canada, and until he was thirty-five years old aided greatly in supporting the family. In 1849 he went to California and engaged as a dealer in stock, dry goods, miners' furnishings, etc., return ing to Michigan in 1852. In October, 1855, he was married to Frances S. Knights, of Half Moon, Saratoga Co., N. Y., where she was born on the 30th of January, 1830. IN 486 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Her father, Aaron N. Knights, came to Keeler a few years later, and is now living in Decatur, Van Buren Co. His wife (Mrs. Duncombe's mother) died in Keeler township. The place on which Mr. Duncombe now resides has been his home since he came to Michigan. For several years he was cashier of the First National Bank at Decatur, but is not now connected with that institution. He is one of the proprietors of the "Decatur Mills," and owns a hotel and several stores at that place. Decatur owes many of its improvements to him, he having taken great interest in their projection. In the summer of 1879 he erected a brick-store building in that village. He at present operates several fine farms. In 1867 he was a member of the State Constitutional Convention, and has been active in political matters. He was supervisor of Keeler township for twelve or fourteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Duncombe are the parents of six children,-three sons and three daughters. These are all living except one son, who met a painful death from scalding when quite young. The others reside with their parents, except one daughter, Fannie E., who is now the wife of Seth Taft, and living in the neighborhood. ALBERT E. GREGORY. Stephen Gregory, the father of the above, was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., and married Mary Stevens, a native of the same county. They became the parents of nine children,-four sons and five daughters,-of whom three sons and one daughter are now living. In the fall of 1846, Mr. Gregory removed with his family to Michigan, and settled in Keeler township, Van Buren Co., on the farm now owned by his son, Albert E. Gregory, on section 34. No improvements whatever had been made on the place, and it was as much of a task to make it habitable and a source of prosperity as if the surrounding region had not before witnessed the arrival of a white settler. Mr. Gregory's occupation was always that of a farmer. His death occurred in April, 1869, and that of his wife in May, 1873. Albert E. Gregory, who was born in Livingston Co., N. Y., was of very tender age when his father removed to Michigan. With the exception of three years, his home in Michigan has always been upon his present place. Mr. Gregory has been twice married, and has two children,-a daughter, Bernice E., by his first wife, and a son, Donald F., by his second. His last marriage was with Cora Force, the daughter of Rev. James P. Force, a Methodist clergyman; this occurred Oct. 27, 1873. Mrs. Gregory was born at Winchester, Randolph Co., Ind., Nov. 27, 1853. In political matters Mr. Gregory is a Republican. TOBIAS BYERS. The great-grandparents of this gentleman were from Germany, and settled at an early day in the State of Pennsylvania (Lancaster County). Jacob Byers, the father of Tobias was a young man at the time of the Revolutionary war. He was a wagon-maker by trade, and did work of that kind in the army. He was married in Lancaster County to Fannie Zimmerman, and lived afterwards in Centre County, removing finally to Livingston Co., N. Y. He was the father of twelve children,-seven sons and five daughters. He and his wife both died in the county last mentioned. Tobias Byers, the youngest son of Jacob and Fannie Byers, was born Feb. 9, 1808, in Centre Co., Pa., and when four years of age (1812) removed with his father to Livingston Co., N. Y., where the family were among the earlier settlers. Mr. Byers attended the district schools in the neighborhood of his home in New York, and does not recollect that he ever went to school in any but a log building. When he became of sufficient age he assisted his father on the farm, the latter working most of his time at his trade. After he became of age, Tobias Byers worked his father's farm on shares for two or three years, afterwards teaming a portion of the time for four years to Rochester. In February, 1835, about four years after his father's death, he left home and started for Michigan, proceeding by private team to Buffalo, thence by stage to Cleveland, and thence on by team through Michigan to Illinois, extending his journey as far south as Peoria. In June, 1835, he returned to Michigan and purchased the farm on which he now lives, on section 13, Keeler township, Van Buren Co., purchasing also on sections 15 and 19, the whole amounting to four hundred and forty acres, -all from government. He settled at once on section 19, built a log house, and lived in it several years. He had company occasionally, when settlers, with their families, would stop with him for a few days. In March, 1856, Mr. Byers was married to Jeannette M. Wilson, who had come to the township the year previous, from Allegany Co., N. Y., in company with her sister, Mrs. John Baker, who, with her husband, is still living in Keeler township. Mrs. Byers' grandparents were from Massachusetts, her parents from Wayne Co., N. Y. She was born Jan. 5, 1832, in Independence, Allegany Co., N. Y., and taught school from her fifteenth to her twenty-fourth year. Mr. Byers at the time of his marriage was living on the place where he now resides, which has since been his home. His business has always been that of a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Byers are the parents of five children, as follows: Charles, born Aug. 2, 1857, died Nov. 26, 1857; Flora I., born June 24, 1858, died Feb. 28, 1865; Nellie I., born June 23, 1862, died Feb. 17, 1865; Birney F., born May 21, 1866; Eddie, born Nov. 29, 1871, died Jan. 28, 1872. Mr. Byers is a Democrat in politics, and has held several offices in his township, among them that of justice of the peace about fifteen years. Neither he nor his wife belong to any religious society. He is a member of the subordinate and county granges, as is also his wife. Mr. Bycrs was the first permanent settler in the township of Keeler. His home-farm contains two hundred and thirtythree acres, and he is the owner, in the aggregate, of five hundred and thirty-three acres, in various localities. BYER-S. MA-STErB k Y -no. TOBIAS BYERS. KrESuLDuEE OF IU UtIAS BYERt, XEELER, MICH. I~ 0% I TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 487 I CHAPTER LXIII. LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP.* Boundaries and General Description-Indian Mounds-Pioneers and Early Settlements-Roads-Boating on the Paw Paw River-Van Buren Centre-Township Organization and Officers-Lawrence Village-Religious Societies in Lawrence-Schools. TOWN 3 south, range 15 west, is the designation applied in the original government survey to the township now known as Lawrence. It embraces thirty-six full sections and a fractional section in the northeast corner,-thus apportioned, doubtless, so that the Paw Paw might be the boundary line at that point between Lawrence and Arlington. On the north of the township is Arlington, on the south Hamilton, on the east Paw Paw, and on the west Hartford. The country, originally heavily timbered with beech, maple, whitewood, basswood, elm, ash, black walnut, and butternut, covers a region of gently-rolling lands, whose rich, sandy soil makes the township's agricultural interests exceedingly profitable. Wheat averages from fifteen to twenty-five bushels per acre. Fruit grows in abundance, especially apples. Peaches were at one time cultivated extensively, but disease among the trees has cut the crop down to insignificant proportions. There are also at Lawrence village milling interests which contribute not a little to the sum of local prosperity. Excellent water-power is gained from Brush Creek, the most important tributary of the Paw Paw in Lawrence. The river itself flows through the northern portion of the township, which is watered also by numerous river tributaries, and a half-dozen or more lakes, the largest of which are Taylor's Lake, Lake George, and Prospect Lake. Prospect Lake, in sections 25, 26, 35, and 36, is a mile and a half in length and half a mile wide. It was earlier known as Crystal Lake, because of the clearness and purity of its waters, and is now a place of popular resort for anglers and pleasure-seekers. The township contains but one village,-Lawrence,twhich is connected by railway with the Michigan Central line at Lawton, and by a daily stage with Hartford, on the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad. The population in 1874 was 1726, and the assessed value in 1879 was $531,100. INDIAN MOUNDS. Some traces of Indian mounds may still be seen in Lawrence, on sections 7 and 18, and old settlers say that before the plow had disturbed these elevations they were in some cases very clearly defined, and contained, moreover, numerous Indian relics. Just north of Sutton's Lake, on section 7, were three of these mounds, each about four feet high and twenty feet in diameter, sloping gradually to the level. They were located about ten rods apart, and in combination * By David Schwartz. t The village of Van Buren was laid out on the north side of Prospect Lake, in Lawrence, in the flush times of 1836-37, with plenty of streets and lots, but no houses. In 1839 it was owned by T. E. Phelps, R. Christie, and Charles Chadwick, and assessed in the aggregate at $1135, according to the county records. The streets were named Water, Broad, Park, and Forest. The village failed to appear in any later documents. formed a triangle. On the northeast quarter of section 18 were three smaller mounds, but similar in location and shape to the others. In 1840 one Wetherby, a hunter, opened these mounds, and found within them human bones and flint arrow-heads. At that time beech-trees sixteen inches in diameter were growing on some of the mounds. Between these two groups of mounds extended a ridge of land about forty rods wide, and in this ridge of land the plow has turned up from time to time considerable quantities of flints. Many thoughtful observers declare that at some remote period a battle was fought there, but by what race of beings (if by any) conjecture even has not seen fit to indicate, save in a general way that the race was savage. PIONEERS AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS. Although the early settlements in the township concentrated upon the site of Lawrence village, the first settlement in the township was made on the west shore of Prospect Lake, on section 26, by Stephen Fountain, a bachelor, in June, 1835. Very little can be said about Fountain's representation as a Lawrence pioneer, for he tarried in his new quarters but a short time, and when he left, traces of his existence in Lawrence disappeared with him. It was also in June, 1835, that John Allen founded the village of Mason, now the village of Lawrence; but as early settlements upon that spot receive mention elsewhere in this chapter the recital that follows will deal with the pioneers of the interior.' The summer and fall of 1835 saw the arrival also of John R. Haynes, Thomas S. Camp, George and John Reynolds, and others. Haynes located on section 10, Camp on section 4, and the Reynolds family on section 13. Mr. Haynes became one of the most prominent men of the township, and was for some time one of the associate judges of the county court. He was postmaster at Lawrence many years, the second coroner of Van Buren County, also a merchant and miller. He held many local offices of trust, and lived in the village until his death, in 1856. Sept. 1, 1835, James Gray, with his wife and six children, started from Lenawee Co., Mich., for Lawrence, and after a tiresome journey of ten days, made in a lumberwagon drawn by two yokes of oxen, and over roads which the hardy Gray himself had ofttimes to make, they reached section 11, in Lawrence, where Mr. Gray had located a farm. Gray's cabin was in size 10 by 15 feet, roofed with tree-boughs, boasting the country's soil for a floor, and adorned with a blanket, which served as a door, before the only opening the establishment had. The roof let in the rain, and sometimes so freely that the tenants were actually afloat within the domicile. Gray did odd jobs as a carpenter, and also farmed industriously, but bad luck overtook him, and, being forced to sell his farm, he moved to Breedsville, whence he returned to Lawrence village, and there died in 1873. Gray did something in the early days of his settlement in the way of flat-boating on the Paw Paw, and it was owing in part to his poor success in that branch of traffic that he succumbed to financial misfortune. Eaton Branch, of Ann Arbor, came to Lawrence in 1835, with his wife, and worked for John Allen a year, making roads, underbrushing at Mason village, and doing 488 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. what else came to his hand, living meanwhile in the house vacated by Ephraim Palmer. In 1836 he entered 160 acres of land on section 4, and rather than go around by the section line, he bought of Judge Haynes the right of way through section 9, and cut a road to his farm. As this road happened to be chosen subsequently by the highway commissioners for a town road, Branch got his money back. On the farm he then entered Mr. Branch has ever since lived. He was actively concerned in township affairs, and, as highway commissioner for several years, laid out many of Lawrence's first roads. Israel Branch, brother to Eaton, came, in March, 1836, to Lawrence, with his wife and three children, and, setting up a cooper-shop in the village, worked at his trade several years. He then settled on section 4, where he died in 1873. Luther Branch, another brother, came from Oakland County in 1837, worked a while as a cooper in the village, and eventually located upon a farm in section 14. He moved to a place on section 5, where he died in 1845. Vine Branch, the father, became a resident of Lawrence in 1836, and with his wife made his home at the house of his son Eaton, where he died in 1852. Orrin Sutton was a settler upon the Holland Purchase, N. Y., and in 1834, coming West with his family, located first in Washtenaw Co., Mich., and in 1836 in Mason village. He helped John Allen build the first saw-mill at Mason, worked about the neighborhood a short time, and then settled upon a farm in section 7, returning, however, to the village, from which he migrated to Hartford, where he died in 1868, and where his son Luther (editor of the Day Spring) now resides. Orrin Sutton was the first township clerk of Lawrence, and during his residence therein served extended terms as justice of the peace, town treasurer, and in other local offices. Horace Stimson, who became distinguished as the first postmaster at Lawrence, moved from Kalamazoo to section 1 in Lawrence, in 1836. Orrin Sutton built a double log house for Stimson, and finished it just in time to be used for the first town-meeting, held April 3, 1837. Stimson moved out of the township soon after, selling his place to Daniel Buckley, who died in Allegan County. Thomas S. Camp, hailing from Connecticut, came to Lawrence in 1836 and made purchase of considerable land in the township, and lived upon a farm in section 4. July 12, 1861, while fishing with a Mr. Brown, in Monroe's Lake, he was drowned. One of his daughters, Mrs. Eliza West, lives on section 4. In the Reynolds family were George, the father, and four sons,-John, George, William, and Burr. The elder Reynolds put up a log tavern on the Territorial road in section 13 early in 1836, and there for many years kept the old Reynolds tavern. His sons lived with him a while, and then all but John moved out of the township. John Reynolds, who had in early life been a boatman on the Ohio, renewed that occupation when he settled in Lawrence, and for some time was actively engaged in flat-boating on the Paw Paw between Lawrence and St. Joseph. His river experience elevated him to the dignity of flat-boat " captain," and he was a man of some local river fame for that reason. He was by trade a baker, and when he left Lawrence he opened \:. 4 a bakery in Paw Paw. He now lives on a farm south of that village. J. R. Monroe, one of Lawrence's most eminent and honored citizens, was for forty years closely identified with the most progressive interests of not only Lawrence township, but of Van Buren County. At the age of twenty (in 1826) he was engaged at Detroit with Gen. Cass and Campau in locating Western lands. He went back to New York in 1828, and in 1830, returning to the West, he undertook an exploration of Michigan, making his home at Prairie Ronde. In 1833 he entered the land upon which the village of South Haven now lies, and in 1835 laid out a road from Prairie Ronde to South Haven. That road passed through Lawrence township in the northeast corner, and crossed the Paw Paw on the west line of section 1. He built the first house ever put up in South Haven. His permanent settlement, however, in Michigan was made in Lawrence in 1837, upon land in section 2, through which the road from Prairie Ronde to South Haven had its course. On that farm he lived until his death, in October, 1876. Mr. Monroe was a large land-holder, and a man of mark in the community which was proud to claim him as a member. He was an earnest supporter and promoter of beneficent public enterprises, did much for the encouragement of public education, assisted in the foundation of both the State and Van Buren Agricultural Societies, occupied the judicial bench (sitting as associate judge in the first court held in the county, June 6, 1837), filled numerous local public trusts (serving twenty-five years consecutively as county commissioner of the poor), and stood until his death at the head of the County Pioneer Association, which he called into existence, and of which he was the only president during his life. During Judge Monroe's extended service as poor commissioner, he frequently provided at his own house for the wants of indigent poor, and to such his residence came to be known as the poormaster's house. One day, while the judge attired in shabby garments was at work in a ditch on his farm, he was accosted by an apparent traveling pauper with the inquiry, " Where is the poormaster's house?" and upon the judge pointing it out without revealing himself, continued, with a look of curious examination, " Do you work for him?" " Yes," replied the judge. " And what does he give you for working?" Oh, he gives me just what he has himself," was the judge's answer; " pork and beans, potatoes, johnny-cake, and old clothes." "Well," exclaimed the tramp, preparing to move off, " if that's all a fellow can expect, I'll be goll-darned if I stop with the old hedge-hog." And away he went, determined that the county shouldn't support him on those terms. In 1838, Uriel T. Barnes left Calhoun Co., Mich., where he had been living four years, and with his family set out for Van Buren County, his chief reasons for making the move being that in Calhoun County there was not timber enough to suit him, while peaches, he was satisfied, would not grow there. Arriving at Paw Paw at the close of a cold day, the family put up at Dodge's tavern, and there, Mrs. Barnes being asked by some person where the family was bound, replied, " For Brush Creek." "Brush Creek I" replied her interrogator, " why, you'll starve there. All the -~"-~rCI*3C)~-r).~~c-rrrr--~-ryc-m -;~. ---—;- ------— ..; ----.111--1: ~~~:-~ l.,r~I~ I,.~;i~~:~~~::a:I::,-: _C.:;;::,:ili:::::;I;y~: "~~:": ~-~-: ~I :::::::::~,~.:-r:: ~-. ~~r::;~:~: ..:~.~.-~j~:i_ ~.-:.~I ~: 1; i::;::: 1~.-~l:;t*:: RES. OF HOWARD S. ALLEN, LAWRENCE, MICH. 0 I i I 0 TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 489 people out there are starving. It's in the woods, and you won't be able to raise a thing." " Well," replied the lady, "I've had a four years' pioneer experience and haven't starved yet. I think, therefore, that I won't starve yet awhile." Pushing on, Mr. Barnes soon reached the hospitable cabin of Uncle Jimmy Gray, on section 11, in Lawrence, and in a trice the strangers were made welcome and comfortable. The next day the Barnes family moved into an abandoned log cabin on what is now the Baker & Richards farm, in section 14; a few days thereafter, Mr. Barnes bought 80 acres of land of Eaton Branch, on section 5, put up a frame house, and transported his family thither as soon as possible. Eaton Branch had cut out a road from the village to his place, and from Branch's to the farm on section 5, Mr. Barnes cut the road himself. Mr. Barnes lived upon that farm until his death in July, 1853. His son, A. U. Barnes, occupies the old place, and adjoining him lives his brother, H. G. Mrs. Allen Rice, a daughter of Uriel T. Barnes, says that when her father came to Lawrence there were but four families in the village, —those of J. R. Haynes, Dexter Gibbs, John Allen, and Israel Branch. She says further, " A saw-mill had been erected and a school-house built. I well remember the first time I went to school in that old school-house. I expected to see something like a village, but after walking what seemed a great distance through the dense woods, I came to a house and inquired how far it was to the village. 'To the village, dear?' returned the woman; 'why, you are in the village now, only you can't see it for the trees.' ' Well,' said I, ' where is the schoolhouse?' ' Only a little way farther in the woods,' was her response; and after walking what appeared to be half a mile, I found the school-house. There were about 30 scholars, and the teacher was Truman Foster, of Keeler." The widow McKnight, who came to Lawrence in 1838, was a sister of John and Joseph Haynes, and for some time kept house for Joseph. She brought with her two daughters and a son, and owned a little place in the village, now occupied by her daughter, Mrs. A. F. Haskins. Mrs. Henry Mayner, another daughter, lives in the township. The son removed to California some years ago. Ephraim Taylor, originally from New York, came to Lawrence in 1836 to work for John Allen, sold goods for him in Gibbs' tavern, drove stage, and finally settled on a farm in section 30, where he died in 1877. A. H. Phelps, one of Lawrence's early settlers, lived in the village about 1840, and soon afterwards, with his brother Theodore, built what is now called the Chadwick mill, south of Lawrence. He subsequently became interested with H. N. Phelps in milling and other business enterprises in the village, and for a long time was known as a fur trader, while he also manufactured deer-skin gloves and mittens. He dealt extensively with the Indians, and was himself esteemed during his early life in Lawrence as a great hunter. He lived an honored citizen in the township nearly forty years, and died in the village in 1877, only a few weeks after celebrating his golden wedding, leaving a widow who still survives him. George Parmelee, who came to the village in 1838, was 62 a tinner. After working about in the vicinity some time, he married a daughter of T. S. Camp, and went to live upon a farm on section 8, given him by Mr. Camp. He moved to Bainbridge a few years after, and subsequently to St. Joseph. He lives now at Old Mission, Grand Traverse Co., Mich., and is president of the State Pomological Society. H. P. Barnum, who was among the earliest and ablest of the county surveyors, settled in the eastern part of Van Buren in 1835, and in 1838 selected a permanent settlement upon section 11 in Lawrence township, where he lived until his death in 1851. Mr. Barnum surveyed nearly all the early roads in Lawrence, and devoted himself also assiduously to his farming interests. R. B. Danks came to Lawrence from Washtenaw County in 1836, and worked a farm for John Allen on section 14. Subsequently he bought a farm on section 19, west of Taylor's Lake, and moving thence to Hartford, died in the latter place. Danks was a firm believer in Spiritualism, and in his strong devotion thereto he frequently exhibited apparent eccentricities which gave him a peculiar local celebrity. Among other stories related of him, one is told of how when his horse fell sick he sought to cure him by mesmeric influence, but the influence was not quite strong enough to keep the animal alive. In 1838, Nelson S. Marshall, of Oakland Co., Mich., moved with his family into Lawrence and sought quarters in the Dexter Gibbs tavern, Marshall's wife being the daughter of Dexter Gibbs. The Marshall family lived in the Gibbs house a little more than a year, and then, Nelson's brother, Harvey, having joined him in the purchase of a farm on section 17, formerly owned by Dexter Gibbs, the brothers moved to the place in 1840 and managed the farm jointly. Nelson Marshall moved to Watervliet in 1856, and died there in 1863. Harvey Marshall still lives on the farm which he has occupied continuously since 1840. H. M. Marshall, one of the leading merchants of Lawrence, is one of Nelson's sons. When Marshall entered the village there were there the Gibbs tavern and the houses of Orrin Tutton, Alex. Newton, J. R. Haynes, and Watson Pool. When he moved to his farm on section 17, Peter Dopp was living on section 31, where Dopp's widow and her son Amos now reside. Mrs. Dopp was a woman of determined energy, and more than once, when there was sickness in her household, used to walk alone through the woods to the Marshall place, nearly four miles distant, to ask Harvey Marshall to ride to Paw Paw for a doctor. Harvey was then about the only one in the township boasting the possession of a horse, and for that reason was frequently called upon to perform the kindly service of riding away after a physician when sudden emergencies arose. The only other dwellers in the southwest corner in 1840 were David and James Dopp, Peter's brothers, Cyrus Bateman, Hosea Howard, and Roderick Irish, living on section 32. All these settlers came to Lawrence in 1836. Irish died in Keeler in 1878. Orrin Sutton, already mentioned, moved to a farm two miles and a half west of the village, and subsequently to Lawrence, where he died. Alexander Newton went to Kalamazoo and remained. He lived in a log house that stood upon 490 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. the site now occupied by the village tavern. Newton was not the most industrious man in the community, and, apropos of his inordinate fondness for lingering within grateful shade on a summer day, it is related that H. P. Barnum once said that he could always tell the time of day by marking Newton's gradual march around a house in the wake of the moving shadow of the building. Cyrus Batemen, above mentioned, lived on the place of his first settlement until his death. He and Roderick Irish married sisters of the Dopps. Samuel Gunton, the first elected sheriff of Van Buren County, settled on the Territorial road, one mile south of Prospect Lake, in 1836. In 1839, nearly all the members of his family being dead, he returned to New York State, his former home. S. M. N. Brooks, a young man, lived with his brotherin-law, John Reynolds, in 1838, roved about for a time, and settled eventually in Keeler. In the same year John Andrews located on section 14, east of Baker's Lake; he moved afterwards to Hartford, where he now lives. William R. Williams, a New Yorker, settled upon section 20 in 1836, and at an early day, selling his place to John Raven, moved to the eastern part of the State. Thomas Price and his widowed mother came from New York in 1836, in company with David Dopp, who had previously married Mrs. Price's daughter. They all lived together at the village a short time, and settled in company upon a farm in section 29, where Mrs. Price died. Her son Thomas lives now in the far West. In 1836, also, John Mellen, with his wife and ten children, journeyed from New York, and located on section 17, in Lawrence, where both Mellen and his wife died in 1843. All of their children moved out of the township. Mellen was at the time of his death a blacksmith in the village. Joseph Haynes, a carpenter, located in Brush Creek in 1836, worked at his trade there some time, and settling upon a farm in section 15, died there in 1858. Volney A. Moore, a nephew of Harvey Marshall, came to Lawrence in 1838, lived with the Marshalls for a time, and marrying, bought a farm on section 30, where he died. General B. F. Chadwick, who bought the Phelps mill, south of the village, owned also a small farm near there. He lives now in Hartford. The old mill is still known as Chadwick's mill. Mr. Chadwick says it used to be called "Chad's old mill," and " old Chad's mill," just as the popular humor fancied. Leonard Watson, who settled in Breedsville in 1835, and in Lawrence in 1838, married one of Judge Haynes' daughters, and died in Cass County. In 1838 also came Warren Van Vleet, who owned a farm on section 13, and who still lives in the township. Barney and Daniel Evans came to Lawrence with their father in 1838, and located near Prospect Lake. They are all dead. Barney's widow lives on section 16. Watson Pool, a carpenter,. became a resident of Mason in 1837, and besides his work at the bench attended to the cultivation of a few acres on what is now called St. Joseph Street. His widow still lives in the village. The first birth in Lawrence was that of Sarah, daughter of John and Jane Reynolds, her advent occurring March 21, 1836. She died in Lawrence in her youth. William R. Williams and Elizabeth Gibbs were the pioneer wedded couple of Lawrence, but as they mated before Lawrence had a "squire" they were compelled to go to Schoolcraft to have the ceremony performed. The first marriage in the township was that of Ephraim Taylor and Emeline Gibbs. They were joined in the autumn of 1836, by Justice Jay R. Monroe, in Dexter Gibbs' double log tavern, which was, on that important occasion, alive with merry-making, and radiant with a joyous gathering, from far and near, of fiiends and fellow-settlers. Judge Monroe was on his way to Schoolcraft when he was overtaken by a messenger in hot haste, and told that he was wanted to marry a couple at Dexter Gibbs'. The judge turned about, got to Gibbs' at nine o'clock that night, married them, and resumed his trip. No death occurred in the little settlement until 1838, when, in the month of April, Dexter Gibbs' wife was called from her earthly cares, and three months later her daughter, Mrs. Ephraim Taylor, died. Dexter Gibbs himself did not remain long, for in October of the same year he followed the others. Mother, father, and daughter were buried upon the banks of Brush Creek, just outside the present eastern limits of the village. This place was afterwards used as a public burial-ground until the present village cemetery was laid out. The frequent necessity of sending a grist to mill was to the early pioneers of Lawrence a task of considerable magnitude. For the first two or three years after its first settlement, " going to mill" meant going to either Kalamazoo, Prairie Ronde, Flowerfield, or Whitmanville, and sometimes even to Three Rivers,-places from twenty-five to thirty miles distant. A journey like that through a wild country, and over rough roads, or no roads at all, was not a pleasant subject for contemplation, but the necessities of the hour offered no loophole of escape, and the issue had to be met. The tree-stump corn-mill at home served many a good turn, and was a valued and useful coadjutor in the business of producing corn-cake. Of course the march of improvement soon relieved the settlers of the inconvenience attendant upon reaching distant mills, but while the exactions continued, they were distressing. Matters improved somewhat in that respect in 1838, when John R. Haynes put a small run of stones into his saw-mill at the village of Mason. As an illustration of the difficulties encountered by the early settlers in procuring the necessaries of life may be cited an incident in the experience of Mr. Warren Van Vleet. He spent, on one occasion, several days in a fruitless search through the country for some flour. Eventually, he discovered a man in Prairie Ronde who had eight barrels, but who refused to sell less than a barrel, and that at an extortionate price. Van Vleet was pretty nearly desperate at the dealer's obstinacy, and told him that he had better lock his flour up somewhere, for the people might presently be urged by hunger to deeds of violence, " and then," said he, "where would your flour be?" Failing to get flour Van Vleet bought a lot of rice at Paw Paw, but when he got home he found that there were no edibles in the house but the rice. Thereupon he roamed the woods in search of wild honey, and finding some, he and his fam TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 491 ily subsisted several days on honey and rice. His next search for flour resulted in his finding 80 pounds at Paw Paw, which he lugged home on foot, a distance of nine miles. " When we bought a piece of pork," says he, "it was generally the thickness of a finger, with hair on it long enough to lift it out of the pot with, and by the hair we, indeed, used to lift it out and hold it, too, while we ate it." When Ephraim Palmer got fairly located in the house he put up on the site of Lawrence village, he had as guests one day Edwin Barnum, the surveyor, John Allen, and James, his son. Supplies were all out, and Palmer started for Kalamazoo for a stock, but a fearful rain-storm coming on, the country was flooded, and he was six days making the trip. Meanwhile the Allens, Barnum, and Mrs. Palmer subsisted on cranberries and coffee. Allen caught a woodchuck, but there was no salt in the house, and the project of cooking it was about to be abandoned, when a few wild leeks being found, they were forced to do duty as seasoning, although the dish was voted distasteful, despite the hunger of the party. In common with settlers in all parts of Michigan, the pioneers of Lawrence were annoyed by wolves and other wild beasts, although no serious trouble was at any time occasioned. Wolves used to howl about the cabins in an apparently very fierce manner, though really they were cowardly curs unless running in packs. Still travelers were not without apprehensive fears when called abroad after dark, and usually took precautions to ward off the attacks of beasts. Sheep, calves, and hogs were carried off sometimes in broad day by the marauding creatures, despite the utmost vigilance of settlers. There was, however, some consolation in the knowledge that game was plentiful, and that a day's hunting was sure to produce a fruitful yield, especially of deer, which were so numerous that they could be shot from doorsteps, while the organization of grand hunts in the winter seasons provided fine sport for the inhabitants, and helped materially towards supplying the means of subsistence. ROADS. The first township road was laid out in the summer of 1837, and was known as the Watervliet road,-James Gray and Eaton Branch being the highway commissioners, and H. P. Barnum the surveyor. The highway commissioners of Lawrence had no sinecure in their office. Their territory of exploration covered the present townships of Hartford, Lawrence, and Arlington, and when they entered upon their task of providing roads for a new country where roads had not been, and where water-courses, marshes, and swamps were no inconsiderable obstacles, they needed indeed all the vigorous energy and persistent industry at their command. A road from Mason village towards Keelerville, surveyed in 1836 by Jesse L. Church, was laid out in 1837, and about then, also, another, called road No. 4, was laid out from the southeast corner of section 32 to the northwest corner of section 16. The river road, the Paw Paw road, a road north from Mason, one from the south side of sec tion 4 to the Black River road, and one from the southwest corner of section 19 to the southwest corner of section 20, were laid out in 1837. Among the roads laid out in 1838 were the Breedsville road, Hand's road, Phelps' road, Olds' road, Hammond's road, Taylor's road, Barnes' road, and Branch's road. In 1839 the roads included the town line road between Alpena (now Hamilton) and Lawrence, Major Heath's road, the Briggs road, Mellen's road, Peter Clark's road, and others. Until 1839, James Gray and Eaton Branch were the highway commissioners who performed the work set down for the board, and until 1841, Eaton Branch was more actively engaged than any other citizen in the work of laying out roads. H. P. Barnum was the surveyor of many of the earliest roads in Lawrence, although Jesse L. Church and E. H. Keeler performed an important share of the business. The Territorial road, which reached from Detroit to St. Joseph, passed through the southeastern portion of Lawrence. It was an important highway of travel from 1835 to 1848, and before the completion of the Michigan Central Railway resounded daily with the roll of many wheels, and bore upon its surface great numbers of stagecoaches and freight-wagons, which in the early days plied between the eastern and western boundaries of the State. MAIL SERVICE. In 1836, John Allen, who opened the settlement of Lawrence, had the government contract for carrying the mail between Kalamazoo and St. Joseph, and being desirous of favoring Lawrence as much as he could, constructed a road from Mason village to Keeler, and changed the mailroute so much as to take Mason in on the journey between Kalamazoo and St. Joseph. The Lawrence post-office was not established, however, until 1837, when Horace Stimson was appointed postmaster. John R. Haynes, who succeeded Mr. Stimson, held the office for many years, and relinquished it only upon his death, in 1856. His successor was John B. Potter, who retired in 1865, in favor of B. F. Chadwick, but returned to the office in 1867. In 1873 he gave place to G. A. Cross, the present incumbent. The office receives and forwards two mails daily. The receipts of its money-order department average $413 weekly, and payments $70. Prospect Lake Post-Office, on section 26, was established in 1851, H. Jacobs being appointed the first postmaster. His successor, Dennis Cooper, now in charge of the office, was appointed in 1876. When Stimson was appointed postmaster, the mail for Lawrence was conveyed over the route between Paw Paw and South Haven, Stimson's house being on that road, near the Paw Paw River. Allen's contract for carrying the mail between Kalamazoo and St. Joseph began Jan. 1, 1836. From that time to January 15th, the mail was carried from Kalamazoo to Lawrence by team and wagon, and from Lawrence to St. Joseph on horseback, John Reynolds being the mail-rider. From January 15th, during the winter, Ephraim Taylor carried the mail from Lawrence to St. Joseph in a sleigh, but when spring set in the roads to and from Lawrence became so bad that the mail-route via that point was abandoned in favor of the Territorial road. 492 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. BOATING ON PAW PAW RIVER. The Paw Paw River was, in the days of Lawrence's early settlement, an important highway for the transportation of freight from the Paw Paw Valley to St. Joseph, and many people were engaged in the business of boating flour on flat-boats. Above Brush Creek village, navigation was exceedingly uncertain, and that point was therefore a place of shipment for the neighboring country, flour being hauled overland from Kalamazoo, and shipped to St. Joseph from Brush Creek. John R. Haynes built a warehouse for the reception of river-freight at that place, and forwarded as well as received great quantities of goods. Many people of Lawrence were employed now and then upon the river, and a fortunate thing it was for many of them, too, for in that employment they managed to obtain ready cash, a very scarce article among the farmers. The traffic on the Paw Paw continued with more or less regularity until the completion of the Michigan Central Railroad, in 1848. Chauncey Willard, one of the early boatmen, met his death near Lawrence, where the overhanging branch of a tree swept him into the river. Ten days after, his body was found several miles below the village. TAVERNS. Dexter Gibbs' old log tavern, already noticed, was probably highly thought of, for it existed in the period and amid times when wayfarers were not inclined to be over-nice as to the accommodations, and when a place of rest and refreshment was more of a luxury than it is to-day. The second hotel built in Lawrence village, and the only one, besides Gibbs', which the town has ever had, was erected in 1849 by H. N. Phelps. Slightly changed since then, the building still does duty in its original character, and is now known as Mather's Hotel. Phelps kept the house until 1853, and sold it to H. S. Dolph, who was succeeded as landlord and proprietor in 1855 by S. G. Mather. Mather kept it until January, 1858, when he sold it, but took it back again in the fall of 1860. In 1866, Mather rented it to Capt. Whittaker, and in 1867 to E. Waterman. In 1869, Mather was again the landlord, and in 1876, A. G. Warren took it, only to relinquish it in 1878 to Mr. Mather, who is still its proprietor and occupant. There were two log taverns on the Territorial road within Lawrence, and, until the abandonment of the stage-route, they were features in current history. George Reynolds opened the first one near Lake George (or Reynolds' Lake), and kept it upwards of ten years. South of him, on the banks of Prospect Lake, H. N. Phelps opened a stagehouse in 1837, and, as it was for some time a place where the stages changed horses, it was considered a place of some consequence. Phelps sold the tavern to Robert Christie, who was its last landlord. The place occupied by Phelps for his tavern he bought from John D. Freeman, who had it from Stephen Fountain, the first white settler in Lawrence. Freeman is now living in St. Joseph County. VAN BUREN CENTRE. Mention of Phelps' tavern will recall to the minds of old settlers the history of John D. Freeman's paper town, on the shores of Prospect Lake, and the settlement of the Christie family. Freeman entered an 80-acre lot on section 26 (where Moody Emerson had previously squatted), put up a shanty against a side-hill, and contemplated the erection of a steam saw-mill. He abandoned his plans, however, before maturing them, and moved away. When Freeman came in, he occupied Emerson's shanty as a stable. He conceived the idea that the shores of Prospect Lake presented an attractive site for a town, and went so far in his imagination as to believe the place might, with proper attention, be made the county-seat. In pursuance of that idea, he interested Maj. Calvin Britain, of St. Joseph, in the project, laid out the 80 acres into village lots, staked a site for the court-house, published a map, upon which he showed a thriving village, with a steamboat proudly plowing the waters of the lake, and put his town on the market. Wild-cat money was then plenty, and Freeman sold a number of lots as high as $150 each to speculators, H. N. Phelps buying 23 of them. Freeman put-up a small frame building, in which he proposed to open a store, and matters began to look encouraging for Van Buren Centre. Before any considerable result was reached, however, the wild-cat money of the day became worthless paper, Freeman failed, and his ambitious projects went down with him. Phelps, having become interested in the prospective village, put up a tavern opposite Freeman's store building, and was the landlord when, in 1837, Robert Christie, of Washtenaw County, came along with his family en route to Hartford, where he had bought considerable land. The ideal village of Van Buren Centre consisted then of Phelps' tavern and Freeman's abandoned store building, into which latter Christie moved his family, proposing to stop there until he could prepare his Hartford place for habitation. He and his two eldest sons went to Hartford, in July, worked there until Saturday night, and returned to the lake to spend Sunday. They were, however, stricken with ague, and from that time until the next January not only they, but the rest of the family, lay helpless with fever and ague. During that time Christie exchanged his Hartford land with Phelps, taking the latter's 23 village lots and tavern stand therefor. Christie thereupon took possession of the tavern, converted his village lots into a farm, and was a landlord until the stages were withdrawn from the Territorial road, when he closed the tavern, but continued to reside there until his death, in April, 1865. Five of Mr. Christie's sons are now living, namely, Henry, Charles E., and James E., in Lawrence; David, in Decatur; and McDaniel, in Hamilton. John H. Stoddard, a son-in-law of Robert Christie, came from Washtenaw County the year following Christie's settlement, and located south of Prospect Lake, where he lived a year, and then moved to Paw Paw. He remained there until 1863, returning in that year to the lake, where he now resides. When Mr. Christie came to Prospect Lake, Samuel Gunton was living on section 35, but two years later returned to New York, whence he had come. Nathaniel Starkweather was living in the southern portion of section 36, but left about 1840 for other parts. In that vicinity other early settlers were Oliver Witter,-whose Photo. by Agrell, Allegan. A. S. HASKIN, M.D. This gentleman was born in the town of Moriah, Essex Co., N. Y., Sept. 15, 1827. In 1828 he moved with his parents to Bridport, Addison Co., Vt., and in 1834, to Brockport, Monroe Co., N. Y. In 1840 he removed to La Grange Co., Indiana; in 1843 to Benton, Elkhart Co., Ind.; in 1848, to Cass Co., Mich.; and in 1857, to Lawrence, Van Buren Co., Mich., where he at present resides, enjoying the comforts of a pleasant home. Until the year 1850 he was engaged in agricultural pursuits; but at that time he decided to enter the professional field, and chose the medical branch. He engaged as a teacher until 1855, employing his spare time in the study of medicine. In the fall of 1855 he entered the office of William E. Clark, and read for two years, attending lectures during the time at Ann Arbor. In the fall of 1857 he began practice, and through the succeeding years has been eminently successful. His father, Samuel R. Haskin, came to Lawrence about 1866-67, and died here in November, 1868. His wife had died in 1866, on the old homestead in Vermont. Mr. Haskin, Sr., passed his days as a farmer, never desiring to engage in any other pursuit. Dr. Haskin was married, April 9, 1854, to Miss Olive, daughter of Selah and Charity Pickett. Her death occurred Nov. 10, 1855; and on the 17th of December, 1860, the doctor was married to Miss Martha J. McKnight. Dr. Haskin has filled, with satisfaction to all, several offices in the township and village, to which he has been elected. He is at present one of the coroners of the county of Van Buren. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, uniting with it at the age of seventeen. In politics he has always been and remains a staunch Republican. I TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 493 two sons, 0. J. and L. M. Witter, now live in the township, -Rodolphus Howe, Cyrus Rathbone, and Leonard Watson. Hosea Howard, a Vermonter, came to Lawrence in 1839, and settled in section 32, upon a farm purchased of William M. Lee; Hector Yorke located the land in 1836, and sold it to William Clark, who settled upon it, but remained a short time only. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. Lawrence township was organized in 1837, and included at that time the territory now occupied by Lawrence, Arlington, and Hartford. Hartford was set off in 1840 and Arlington in 1841. The records of the township furnish the following report touching the first township-meeting: "At the first township-meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Lawrence, held at the house of Horace Stimson, on the 3d day of April, 1837, John R. Haynes was called to the chair as moderator, and John Reynolds was appointed clerk pro tern. Proclamation was made by the presiding officer of the days for opening of the polls for the election of township officers.... The following persons were duly elected, to wit: John R. Haynes, Supervisor; Orrin Sutton, Township Clerk; Hiram Hilliard, Collector; Joseph Haynes, John Reynolds, Horace Stimson, Assessors; John D. Freeman; James Gray, and Eaton Branch, Commissioners of Highways; Hiram Hilliard, William R. Williams, Constables; George S. Reynolds and Dexter Gibbs, Directors of the Poor. Resolutions were passed at this meeting as follows: "Resolved, That there be a bounty of five dollars on each wolf-scalp taken in this town the present year, and five dollars on each pantherscalp caught in this town the present year. " Resolved, That there be eight overseers of highways in this town the present year. The following persons were chosen overseers of roads: For road district No. 1, Truman Gillman; No. 2, Eaton Branch; No. 3, William M. Reynolds; No. 4, Orrin Sutton; No. 5, William R. Williams; No. 6, Samuel Gunton; No. 7, Peter Dopp." At a special meeting, on April 29th, in the same year, justices of the peace and school inspectors were elected, as follows: Justices, George S. Reynolds, Dexter Gibbs, Richard B. Danks, Alvin Harris; School Inspectors, Nathaniel B. Starkweather, Hiram Hilliard, John Reynolds. The persons chosen annually, from 1838 to 1879, inclusive, to serve as supervisors, clerks, treasurers, school inspectors, and justices of the peace, are named in the following list, with years of their election, viz.: 1838.-Supervisor, John Reynolds; Clerk, Orrin Sutton; Treasurer, Joseph Haynes; School Inspectors, L. Humphrey, H. Iilliard, C. Bateman; Justices of the Peace, Henry Hammond, H. N. Phelps. 1839.-Supervisor, John Reynolds; Clerk, Orrin Sutton; Treasurer, O. Sutton; School Inspectors, C. Bateman, L. Humphrey, J. Reynolds; Justice of the Peace, O. Sutton. 1840.-Supervisor, J. R. IIaynes; Clerk, George Parmelee; Treasurer, Joseph HIaynes; School Inspectors, G. Parmelee, H. Hilliard, N. S. Marshall; Justice of the Peace, J. Reynolds. 1841.-Supervisor, J. R. Haynes; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, Joseph Haynes; School Inspectors, E. HI. Keeler, J. Reynolds, E. 0. Briggs; Justice of the Peace, Major Heath. 1842.-Supervisor, B. F. Chadwick; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, Alexander Newton; School Inspectors, HI. P. Barnum, J. Andrews, B. F. Chadwick; Justice of the Peace, John Andrews. 1843.-Supervisor, John Andrews; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, Alexander Newton; School Inspectors, J. Andrews, N. S. Marshall, B. F. Chadwick; Justice of the Peace, B. F. Chadwick. 1844.-Supervisor, H. P. Barnum; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, Alexander Newton; School Inspectors, J. Andrews, N. S. Marshall; Justice of the Peace, J. R. Haynes. 1845.-Supervisor, H. P. Barnum; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, J. R. Haynes; School Inspector, George Parmelee; Justice of the Peace, J. Andrews. 1846.-No record. 1847.-Supervisor, H. P. Barnum; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, tI. N. Phelps; School Inspector, T. B. Irwin; Justice of the Peace, T. S. Camp. 1848.-Supervisor, H. P. Barnum; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, H. N. Phelps; School Inspector, O. M. Baker; Justices of the Peace, D. Hodges, T. B. Irwin. 1849.-Supervisor, H. P. Barnum; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, H. N. Phelps; School Inspector, W. M. Blowers; Justice of the Peace, Chauncey Potter. 1850.-Supervisor, II. P. Barnum; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, 1. N. Phelps; School Inspector, O. M. Baker; Justice of the Peace, John Andrews. 1851.-Supervisor, John Andrews; Clerk, A. H. Phelps; Treasurer, J. G. Lammon; School Inspector, C. P. Prindle; Justice of the Peace, H. Balfour. 1852.-Supervisor, John Andrews; Clerk, Richard Ferris; Treasurer, J. G. Lammon; School Inspector, O. M. Baker; Justice of the Peace, N. S. Marshall. 1853.-No record. 1854.-Supervisor, T. B. Irwin; Clerk, J. L. Phillips; Treasurer, J. G. Lammon. 1855.-Supervisor, T. B. Irwin; Clerk, J. L. Phillips; Treasurer, J. G. Lammon; School Inspector, N. Rowe; Justice of the Peace, John Andrews. 1856.-Supervisor, John Andrews; Clerk, J. L. Phillips; Treasurer, J. G. Lammon; School Inspector, C. S. Dunham; Justice of the Peace, J. H. White. 1857.-Supervisor, E. Southwell; Clerk, William Hodges; Treasurer, S. G. Mather; School Inspector, W. M. Blowers; Justice of the Peace, William Powers. 1858.-Supervisor, Nelson Rowe; Clerk, William Hodges; Treasurer, Orrin Sutton; School Inspector, A. S. Haskin; Justice of the Peace, Chauncey Potter. 1859.-Supervisor, Nelson Rowe; Clerk, N. Crissey; Treasurer, Orrin Sutton; School Inspector, E. S. Dunham; Justice of the Peace, George Bennett. 1860.-Supervisor, Nelson Rowe; Clerk, J. L. Phillips; Treasurer, Orrin Sutton: School Inspectors, 0. Rowland, T. Stow; Justice of the Peace, J. H. White. 1861. —Supervisor, Nelson Rowe; Clerk, H. M. Marshall: Treasurer, Orrin Sutton; School Inspectors, 0. Rowland, J. B. Upton; Justice of the Peace, George Bennett. 1862.-Supervisor, Nelson Rowe; Clerk, H. M. Marshall; Treasurer, Orrin Sutton; School Inspector, B. M. Williams; Justice of the Peace, D. C. Sweet. 1863.-Supervisor, Nelson Rowe; Clerk, H. M. Marshall; Treasurer, Orrin Sutton; School Inspector, H. L. Cornwell; Justice of the Peace, J. M. Blowers. 1864.-Supervisor, J. B. Upton; Clerk, H. M. Marshall; Treasurer, Orrin Sutton; School Inspector, C. C. Stutsman; Justice of the Peace, J. H. White. 1865.-Supervisor, J. B. Potter; Clerk, J. H. White; Treasurer, Orrin Sutton; School Inspector, H. Jacobs; Justice of the Peace, S. Ransom. 1866.-Supervisor, J. B. Potter; Clerk, L. M. Hodges; Treasurer, H. M. Marshall; School Inspector, J. Scotsford; Justice of the Peace, E. Lnnphear. 1867.-Supervisor, J. B. Potter; Clerk, L. M. Hodges; Treasurer, H. M. Marshall; School Inspector, A. G. Coney; Justice of the Peace, J. M. Blowers. 1868.-Supervisor, J. B. Potter; Clerk, O. W. Rowland; Treasurer, W. W. Bass; School Inspector, H. L. Cornwell; Justice of the Peaee, J. H. White. 1869.-Supervisor, J. B. Potter; Clerk, G. A. Cross; Treasurer, A. H. 494 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Draper; School Inspector, S. Plopper; Justice of the Peace, E. Rowland. 1870.-Supervisor, C. Richards; Clerk, G. A. Cross; Treasurer, A. H. Draper; School Inspector, H. Jacobs; Justice of the Peace, A. Sturtevant. 1871.-Supervisor, W. W. Bass; Clerk, George W. Rowe; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, H. Donaldson; Justice of the Peace, A. Rice. 1872.-Supervisor, W. W. Bass; Clerk, L. J. Dane; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, A. Rice; Justice of the Peace, C. Rockwell. 1873.-Supervisor, C. Rockwell; Clerk, J. F. Barrows; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, E. S. Cleveland; Justice of the Peace, S. Cole. 1874.-Supervisor, C. Rockwell; Clerk, J. F. Barrows; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, H. Donaldson; Justice of the Peace, C. Rockwell. 1875.-Supervisor, C. Rockwell; Clerk, J. F. Barrows; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, IH. Donaldson; Justice of the Peace, J. M. Blowers. 1876.-Supervisor, C. Rockwell; Clerk, J.F. Barrows; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, H. L. Cornwell; Justice of the Peace, H. A. Donaldson. 1877.-Supervisor, C. Rockwell; Clerk, J. B. Potter; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, B. M. Williams; Justice of the Peace, J. Burchanm. 1878.-Supervisor, C. Rockwell; Clerk, J. F. Barrows; Treasurer, G. A. Cross; School Inspector, H. Donaldson; Justice of the Peace, C. Rockwell. 1879.-Supervisor, C. Rockwell; Clerk, J. B. Potter; Treasurer, J. F. Barrows; School Inspector, H. Donaldson; Justice of the Peace, W. H. Page. The Township Board for 1879 comprised Charles Rockwell, J. B. Potter, Henry Donaldson, Jabez Burcham. The School Inspectors were Henry Donaldson and Rev. L. A. Cole (School Superintendent). The Justices of the Peace were H. A. Donaldson, J. Burcham, and W. H. Page. LAWRENCE VILLAGE. In June, 1835, John Allen, of Ann Arbor, entered 40 acres in the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 10, of the township now Lawrence. Here Mr. Allen laid out a village and called it Mason, in honor of the (then) Governor of Michigan. The new village was south of the Paw Paw, and near a creek which possessed considerable water-power; and upon the manufacturing capacity of these streams at that point Allen doubtless based his theory that the village would thrive. Having laid out his town on paper, Mr. Allen, who had himself no intention of actually settling, looked about him for some man whom he could induce to begin the improvement of the place. He interviewed Eaton Branch, of Ann Arbor, upon the matter; but Branch was not inclined towards the venture. Shortly afterwards Allen met Branch, saying, " I don't want you; I've got a man and his wife to go out to Mason." "Who's the man?" asked Branch. "Ephraim Palmer." " Ephraim Palmer?" replied Branch; " well, all I have to say to you is, watch him." " Oh," returned Allen, " you needn't attempt to set me against Palmer; I am a phrenologist, I tell you, and I am thoroughly satisfied that the man is honest." So Palmer and his wife, fresh from Ohio, went to Mason, and from a spot on the bank of Brush Creek, about thirtyfive rods north of the Lawrence school-house, he cleared the underbrush preparatory to putting up a log cabin. It was in August, 1835, that the Palmers reached the place, and as before that time the only settlement in the township was that of Stephen Fountain, a bachelor, near Prospect Lake, theirs was the first family settlement in Lawrence. Palmer cut logs of fourteen feet in length for his house, and when he was ready to raise it he had the assistance of Allen, Fountain, E. Barnum (who had just come in from Paw Paw), and a man who happened to be there in search of land. These five men raised the house seven logs high, as the best their strength could reach. The cabin had a door but no windows, and for a little while the Palmers lived in it without floor or roof. The fireplace was against the logs of the side-wall, and a hole in the roof served instead of a chimney. About a month after Palmer's settlement he left the place suddenly and was heard of no more, except that he passed through St. Joseph, with his wife, on their way West. It is said that his sudden departure caused Mr. Allen to lose faith in the value of his phrenological knowledge. Shortly after Palmer's departure his deserted cabin was occupied by John Reynolds, who, with his brother George, had just previously located upon section 13. Nov. 15, 1835, Reynolds and his wife received into their cabin a delegation of eleven people, ten of whom came to settle, and as Reynolds' house was the only one at hand, they were forced to crowd into it. These people were Eaton Branch and wife, Dexter Gibbs and wife, with five children, John Allen, and William Williams. There were thirteen, all told, who occupied the house, and as the room in which they slept was but twelve feet square, they were really in close quarters. As a matter of convenience, the gentlemen selected for their dressing-room an out-door spot behind a brush pile. They were, however, shortly in more expansive accommodations, when Allen built a double log house, and called it a tavern. It had on the ground-floor two rooms each fourteen feet square, with sleeping apartments above, and stood just east of where Mrs. Goodenough now lives. Dexter Gibbs was promoted to be the landlord of the tavern, and maintained the dignity of that position until his death, in October, 1838. The building of a saw-mill in 1836 by John Allen and John R. Haynes gave the village some impetus, but its growth was exceedingly slow, and in 1843, eight years after Allen laid it out, it contained but ten families, viz.: Watson Poole, a carpenter; Alexander Newton, a farmer; Norman Birse, cabinet-maker; John R. Haynes, miller; Joseph Haynes, farmer; Israel Branch, farmer; A. H. Phelps, fur-trader and miller; J. P. Fisk, blacksmith; Benjamin Dunning, blacksmith; and Rodolphus Howe, stockdealer. At that time the place had lost its original name of Mason and was known as Brush Creek, from the stream flowing through it. The story is told of John R. Baker (living in Paw Paw at that time, and the owner of considerable village property in Brush Creek) that he rechristened the place Lawrence, after the name of the township, and that upon being asked by a traveler for directions to find Brush Creek, sent the man to Chadwick's mill, on the creek, saying imme diately afterwards, " I'll teach him not to call my bright little village by the ugly name of Brush Creek." John Allen, who founded Lawrence village, was a resident vmnACH~m4AO103ON30/93,q 791~26~9 0 4, 1 I I i 4 TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 495 of Ann Arbor, and a very enterprising man. He dealt largely in Western lands, confining his ventures chiefly to Michigan. Unlike most Western land speculators, he sought to improve his purchases by the practical method of fitting the territory for settlement and cultivation, and thus by energetic management realized a considerable profit in the business, while he pushed the development of the country briskly forward. He joined the tide of speculation as it set in towards the Pacific coast, and died a resident of San Francisco, Cal. It may be mentioned that Allen mortgaged the Mason village property to John R. Baker, and to satisfy that Baker was compelled to take the land, and thus, as has been noted, became the village proprietor, and renamed it Lawrence. Lawrence Merchants.-While Dexter Gibbs was keeping hotel in the old double log house, John Allen put a small stock of goods into the bar-room, and engaged Ephraim Taylor to sell them. The assortment was doubtless meagre and the stock light, for there was scarcely a field at that time for the development of liberal enterprise in the matter of trade. Not much of an improvement was the store opened by John R. Haynes, in the second story of his saw-mill, some time in 1836. Half of his customers, it is said, were Indians, and probably very few of his goods were sold for cash. Cash was scarce, but " dicker" was more plentiful, and Haynes, of course, like a sensible trader, accommodated his customers. He carried on the trade four or five years, when he disposed of his store and saw-mill interest to H. N. and A. H. Phelps. H. N. Phelps had come to Lawrence for the purpose of lumbering, and had brought a stock of goods with him. These goods he put into the Haynes store, and there he and his brother traded until 1845, when they transferred the store business to a log house formerly occupied by Alexander Newton as a residence, upon the site now covered by the Chadwick block. In 1847 they built a short distance south of the log structure a story and a half frame dwelling, and moved their goods into it. That store was in that day considered a remarkably fine one, and awakened great admiration. The Phelps brothers continued in their new store until 1849, when they retired and leased the building to John R. Haynes, who resumed business and stocked the store with goods bought from Albion by Marvin Hannahs, the latter having come to Lawrence to put up a grist-mill. Haynes traded at that location two years, and in 1851 having put up a fine building at what is known now as Crissey Corners, opened it as a drug- and grocery-store. Upon his retirement from the Phelps store it was reopened by Thomas De Wolf, who had been the representative at Lawrence of James E. Bishop, of Chicago, who was largely concerned in lumbering. In 1853, H. N. Phelps became De Wolf's partner, and retiring in 1854, was succeeded by the firm of Phelps, Balfour & (James) Haynes. That firm wound up business in 1855. Haynes closed his grocery- and drug-store in 1854, and was succeeded there by Thomas De Wolf and Sylvanus Rowe. De Wolf removed to Chicago in 1855, and Rowe continued on his own account until 1856, when he moved to a place previously occupied by Uri Utley, took in Mr. Lockwood as a partner, and closed January, 1858. Rowe went to Decatur, came back to Lawrence and opened a store, in which he was burned out, and after that he confined himself to the practice of medicine. Returning to 1850, one Mitchell opened a store that year on the site of Dexter Gibbs' log tavern. He soon moved across the river, where he traded a year, and in 1851, William Hodges opened a store adjoining Mitchell's place, and carried it on until 1855. In 1854, J. M. Fisk and Clemens put up the first building, on the east side of the street south of Crissey's Corners, and opened it with a general stock. Clemens went out in about ninety days, and in 1857, J. M. Fisk sold the business to his father, J. P. Fisk, who retained it until his death, in 1865. E. H. Phelps kept store for a time in the place vacated by Sylvanus Rowe in 1858, and in 1856, J. E. Bishop opened what is now the Chadwick store. E. E. & J. L. Chadwick first occupied the place in 1858. The store is still kept by E. E. Chadwick, his brother having died in 1872. In 1860, H. M. Marshall, who had been clerking for Sylvanus Rowe, opened a store across the river, moved into the village the same year, and in 1874 completed and occupied the fine brick block in which he now carries on his business. Charles W. and J. M. Fisk succeeded J. P. Fisk in 1865, and in 1868, the firm dissolving, J. M. Fisk moved into the brick store he now occupies, and which he built that year. Ridlon, Phelps & Co. entered the trade in 1867, in the building now occupied by H. L. Cornwell. Ridlon bought out his two partners-Phelps and Cornwell -and pursued the business until 1872, when he moved away. Cornwell-who had been at Cassopolis-returned to Lawrence in 1873, and reopened the old store for account of Phelps & Cornwell. Phelps retired in 1875, and W. E. Cornwell came in. In 1879, W. E. Cornwell retired, and opened a store across the way. Besides the general stores of E. E. Chadwiek, H. M. Marshall, J. M. Fisk, and H. L. Cornwell, there are in the village the grocery-stores of W. E. Cornwell and J. L. Phillips; the drug-stores of J. F. Barrows and George Jerome; the hardware-store of Hill Brothers; and the usual minor business establishments found in a country town. Physicians.-The Rev. J. L. Marvin, one of the pastors of the Lawrence Congregational Church, also practiced medicine from 1844 to 1851, when he moved to Paw Paw. Previous to Dr. Marvin's coming, Lawrence people had to go to Paw Paw when a doctor was needed. During Dr. Marvin's residence in Lawrence, Dr. C. P. Prindle was also a village practitioner. He became afterwards a resident of Dowagiac, where he died. During 1853, Drs. Nelson Rowe, Sylvanus Rowe, and Joel Camp located in the village. Dr. Nelson Rowe died in 1864. Dr. Sylvanus Rowe is still in practice at the village. Dr. Camp went to Bangor to live in 1861. Dr. A. F. Haskins came in 1858, and is still one of the village physicians. Dr. Terwilliger came in 1861, and left in 1863. In 1862, Dr. O. B. Wiggins began practice in Lawrence, and still pursues it. Besides the physicians above noted as in practice in Lawrence, there are also Drs. E. S. Cleveland and William Rowe. Mills and Millers. —In the summer of 1836, John Allen and John R. Haynes built a saw-mill on Brush Creek, but 496 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. did not saw any lumber until early in the winter. About 1844, H. N. & A. H. Phelps bought the mill, and afterwards replaced it with the one now operated on the same site by Rufus Tillou. Previous to 1844, A. H. & Colonel Theodore Phelps had put up a saw-mill two miles and a half south of the village. They sold it in 1843 to Gen. B. F. Chadwick, from whom it took the name by which it is yet known,-Chadwick's mill. Thomas Hayes operates it at present. The Phelps brothers had also a store in connection with their mill, and used to barter goods for logs. Their lumber they floated to market at St. Joseph. In 1848 a stock company, composed of William Hodges, H. N. Phelps, T. S. Camp, John Andrews, and A. H. Phelps, put up a large saw-mill on the Paw Paw River, near the village. In 1850, Marvin Hannahs, of Albion, erected a grist-mill near the saw-mill and put in two run of stones. Haynes had a small run of stones in his old mill in 1838, but its grinding capacity was very small. Hannahs' mill may therefore be noted as the first of its kind worthy the name of grist-mill. In 1862 the grist-mill and saw-mill on the Paw Paw were destroyed by fire. In that year William Anderson built on Brush Creek the gristmill now owned by Tillou & Olin, to whom Anderson sold the property in 1868. Rufus Tillou manages both the grist-mill and the adjoining saw-mill for his own account. The steam saw-mill just east of the village, run by Sutton & Seeley, was started by Tillou & Cable in 1864. R. Osgood's steam saw-mill, near there, was built by Osgood & Lane in 1867. Henry E. Rowland's steam planing-mill, which he built in 1878, completes the list of mills at the village. L. J. Dane, who has a plow-point works and general repair-shop at Lawrence village, has been engaged in the same business at that place since 1866. He operates also an extensive cider-mill, and is interested with C. L. Northrop in a cider-jelly manufactory, a cider-vinegar works, and an apple-drying establishment, all these being located near the railway depot in Lawrence. Village Organization.-The village of Lawrence was incorporated under act of Legislature approved March 24, 1869, and in that act the village limits were described as follows: All that tract of country situated in the township of Lawrence as to wit, the east half of the southwest quarter of section 9 and the east half of section 9, the west half of section 10, the north half of the northwest quarter of section 15, and the north half of the northeast quarter of section 16. The first annual election for village officers was held May 3, 1869, in Chadwick's Hall, on which occasion the aggregate number of votes cast was 139. From the year of the first election to 1879, inclusive, the village presidents, trustees, recorders, and treasurers have been chosen as follows: 1869.-President, Sylvanus Rowe; Recorder, B. M. Williams; Treasurer, E. S. Cleveland; Trustees, Joseph Trumbull, James B. Johnston, Amos Darling, Francis A. Wakefield, Charles M. Bridges. 1870.-President, Sylvanus Rowe; Recorder, J. B. Potter; Treasurer, E. S. Cleveland; Trustees, James B. Johnston, Amos Darling, Joseph Trumbull, H. M. Marshall, Stephen Ransom. I 1871.-President, James B. Johnston; Recorder, H. M. Marshall; Treasurer, George Rowe; Trustees, L. J. Dane, Joseph E. Trumbull, Sylvanus Rowe, James M. Fisk, J. B. Hendricks. 1872.-President, John M. Fisk; Recorder, Edward S. Cleveland; Treasurer, George A. Cross; Trustees, Charles Rockwell, H. M. Marshall, Lyman J. Dane, E. H. Phelps, Leonard Watson. 1873.-President, Sylvanus Rowe; Recorder, E. S. Cleveland; Treasurer, George A. Cross; Trustees, J. M. Fisk, Charles Rockwell, E. 11. Phelps, R. Webster, H. M. Marshall. 1874.-President, Sylvanus Rowe; Recorder, H. M. Marshall; Treasurer, J. F. Barrows; Trustees, M. A. Howe, Talcott Shaver, C. S. Sutton, L. J. Dane, R. Webster. 1875.-President, J. B. Johnston; Recorder, H. M. Marshall; Treasurer, J. F. Barrows; Trustees, J. F. Barrows, J. M. Fisk, Charles Rockwell, G. A. Cross, R. Webster. 1876.-President, A. S. Haskin; Recorder, Theo. L. Reynolds; Treasurer, John F. Barrows; Trustees, A. H. Draper, T. O. Sweet, E. II. Phelps, J. W. Seeley, William W. Vanderveer. 1877.-President, J. B. Johnston; Recorder, J. B. Potter; Treasurer, John F. Barrows; Trustees, O. B. Wiggins, F. A. Chadwick, William W. Vanderveer, Samuel G. Mather, James M. Fisk. 1878.-President, R. L. Warren; Recorder, J. B. Potter; Treasurer, J. F. Barrows; Trustees, Charles Rockwell, O. B. Wiggins, A. S. Haskin, F. A. Chadwick, Samuel G. Mather. 1879.-President, 0. B. Wiggins; Recorder, J. B. Potter; Treasurer, J. F. Barrows; Trustees, J. W. Seeley, O. E. Holmes, Francis Branch, Charles Rockwell, H. M. Marshall, Thomas O. Sweet. The Fire of 1859.-On the night of Dec. 31, 1859, the village of Lawrence was visited with a destructive fire, which swept the west side of Paw Paw Street of all its stores, and laid nearly the entire business portion of the town in ashes. The stores burned were two belonging to Chadwick & Bro., and the places of Sylvanus Rowe, J. B. Potter, George Koon, J. L. Phillips, and L. Moulton. The aggregate loss was about $12,500. Measures were, however, speedily taken for the rebuilding of the structures, although the business interests of the village received a severe blow through the disaster, which now would be considered serious, and then was a great public calamity. The Lawrence Advertiser, now published at Lawrence by Van Hoesen & Bates, was founded by Theodore L. Reynolds in February, 1874, and continued by him until 1876, when he sold it to G. A. Cross, who disposed of it three months afterwards to R. L. Warren. In October, 1879, Mr. Warren transferred his interest to the present publishers, continuing, however, his editorial control. The paper is strongly Republican. It contains 4 pages, or 28 columns of printed matter, and is issued weekly. Paw Paw Valley Agricultural Society.-In 1863 a stock company was organized for the purpose of holding annual autumn fairs at Lawrence, and in the western part of the village laid out grounds and improved them to the extent of an investment of $5000. After an existence of eight years the company failed, and its effects passing to a new organization called the Paw Paw Valley Agricultural Society, this latter has carried the matter forward since then with much success. The grounds, which are well appointed, cover about 20 acres. For 1879, the President was H. J. Hendryx, of Decatur; the Vice-President, Amos Dopp, of Lawrence; the Secretary, J. B. Potter, of Lawrence; and Treasurer, Charles Rockwell, of Lawrence. Rising Sun Lodge, No. 119, F. and A. M., was chartered Jan. 13, 1860, and is claimed to be the third lodge DAVID FERRIS. MRS. DAVID FERRIS. DAVID FERRIS. Thomas Ferris, the father of David, was born in Washington Co., N. Y., April 19, 1779. Mrs. Thomas Ferris was born Nov. 9, 1790. Their family consisted of the following children, viz.: David, born Dec. 12, 1812; Rachel, born April 30, 1814; Daniel, born Jan. 20, 1817; Adeline, born July 9, 1818; Julie E., born June 23, 1820; Warren, born Sept. 20, 1822, died Oct. 28, following; Elizabeth A., born April 23, 1824; Lucy Ann, born Feb. 25, 1826; Sheldon, born Jan. 18, 1830; Ira W., born Oct. 3, 1832; Hattie, born Dec. 1, 1834. Mrs. Ferris died Sept. 14, 1840; Thomas Ferris died May 27, 1875. David Ferris, the oldest of the above large family of children, was born in the State of Pennsylvania. When but a child he removed with his parents to Washington Co., N. Y.; thence, in 1820, to Jefferson County; in 1833, to St. Lawrence County; and in 1850 he came to Lawrence township, Van Buren Co., Mich. Mr. Ferris was reared on a farm, and engaged in agricultural pursuits, with his father, until he was twenty-five years of age, when he entered the employ of an iron company, at ten dollars per month, and remained with them five years. Jan. 9, 1843, he married Miss Elizabeth A., daughter of Joseph and Jerusha Goodell. Their children have been six in number, as follows: Jerusha, born April 6, 1844; Louisa A., born July 14, 1845; Charles D., born May 29, 1847; Ellen J., born Aug. 29, 1849, died Aug. 7, 1873; Harriet J., born Nov. 1, 1854; Sheldon E., born Jan. 6, 1862, died Oct. 8, 1865. In 1862, Mr. Ferris purchased eighty acres of wild land, cleared and improved it, and has transformed it into a fruitful farm, which he now occupies. He is known to his neighbors as an upright, honorable man, and to no one is he indebted a single dollar. His persevering labors through the years that have passed have brought him prosperity and a competence, which he can now enjoy. Mrs. David Ferris died April 7,1878. C *' I TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 497 I in the State in point of age. Its charter members were 10 in number, as follows: Emory 0. Briggs, M.; J. R. Stevenson, S. W.; John B. Hudson, J. W.; — Goodale, R. B. Danks, S. G. Mather, C. H. Betts, Peter Dyer, Clark Van Dervoort, H. Bunnell. The lodge-room, in the Marshall block, Lawrence, is one of the handsomest in the county. The membership Dec. 1, 1879, was 80, when the officers were J. F. Barrows, W. M.; 0. B. Wiggins, S. W.; Orrin Crawford, J. W.; Charles Rockwell, T.; George Crawford, S. D.; T. O. Sweet, J. D.; L. J. Dane, Tiler. Lawrence Chapter, No. 95, R. A. M., was chartered Jan. 20, 1875, with Amos Dopp, S. G. Mather, R. W. Stickney, Eri Bennett, A. S. Haskins, Isaac Monroe, Newell Crissey, William Webster, E. L. Cross, and J. F. Barrows as members. Amos Dopp was H. P.; S. G. Mather, K.; R. W. Stickney, S. The present membership is 55. The officers are as follows: Newell Crissey, H. P.; S. G. Mather, K.; A. S. Haskins, S.; O. B. Wiggins, Sec.; Charles Rockwell, Treas.; G. A. Cross, C. of H.; Eri Bennett, P. S.; J. F. Barrows, R. A. C.; C. W. Sweet, 3d V.; C. R. Webster, 2d V.; T. O. Sweet, 1st V.; M. Ryan, Tiler. Lawrence Grange, No. 32, was organized in 1874, with 21 members. Meetings are held in Lawrence village once every two weeks. The present officers are William W. Bass, M.; F. Branch, O.; D. S. Bacon, L.; Albert Bryant, Treas.; Charles Jacobs, Sec.; T. Lanphear, Steward. Railway Communication.-Previous agitation touching the necessity of railway connection with some point, resulted, in 1867, in great activity and enthusiasm in support of a project urged by John R. Baker to build a railway which should connect with the Grand Trunk. The proposition awakened much eager attention, brought out the promised support of local capitalists, filled the community with sanguine expectations, and pushed business briskly ahead, while real estate advanced considerably. Unfortunately the enterprise failed, and the reaction was great and depressing. Other railway projects followed in due time, and each fresh proposition received such local encouragement as disclosed a strong desire for railway conveniences, but nothing in the way of tangible results was reached until 1877, when the narrow-gauge road, known as the Toledo and South Haven, was completed from Paw Paw to Lawrence, and on September 15th of that year the first train reached Lawrence. Since that time the village has enjoyed the convenience of daily rail communication with the outside world. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES IN LAWRENCE. First Congregational Church.-From an old church record, of date Aug. 19, 1837, it appears that " at a meeting on that day of several professors of religion, agreeable to previous notice given, in the township of Lawrence, the Rev. Silas Woodbury, of Kalamazoo, being present took his seat as moderator, and Horace Stimson was appointed clerk. On motion it was resolved 'that the time has ar rived when it is our duty to organize ourselves into a church.' " The following persons presented letters and certificates of church membership: John R. Haynes, 63 Margaret Haynes, William Haynes, Vine Branch, Abigail Branch, Israel Branch, Betsey Branch, Eaton Branch, "Peter and Isabel Dopp, Margaret and James Dopp, Harriett Bateman, Thomas S. Camp, Elizabeth Camp, Horace and Cynthia M. Stimson, Amanda M. Branch, and Anna Mellen. It was voted to call the church the First Presbyterian Church of Lawrence. John R. Haynes and Horace Stimson were chosen to be ruling elders, and a resolution was adopted placing the church under the care of the St. Joseph Presbytery. At the next church meeting, August 20th, Thomas S. Camp and Vine Branch were ordained deacons. In February, 1838, Philander, infant daughter of Israel and Betsey Branch, and Mary Coates, daughter of Horace and Cynthia M. Stimson, were baptized by Rev. Luther Humphrey. Rev. Luther Humphrey was the first pastor of the church, and succeeding him Revs. Calvin Clark and D. Jeffers occupied the pulpit, although only the latter was ordained as pastor. At a meeting held Aug. 11, 1844, it was voted " to change the church to Congregational," whereupon all the officers resigned. The church was named the First Congregational Church of Lawrence, and August 12th Watson Pool and Horace Stimson were chosen deacons, and by resolution the church was placed under the care of the Kalamazoo Presbytery. Until February, 1858, worship was held in the village school-house and the Baptist church. February 20th the society's new church edifice was dedicated, E. Taylor, of Kalamazoo, preaching the dedication sermon. Since 1844 the church has had for its pastors Revs. J. L. Marvin, Walter Pattinson, John Scotford, Edward Cleveland, Edward Shaw, James Watts. Rev. G. W. Blanchard is the present pastor, and preaches once a week. The church trustees are H. L. Cornwell, F. M. Banta, and Eaton Branch. The deacons are Eaton Branch and Geo. Kelley. The membership Dec. 1, 1879, was 33. The Sunday-school is in a prosperous condition, and is in charge of the pastor. The First Baptist Church of Lawrence.-A Baptist Church was organized in Paw Paw, April 21, 1838, by six persons, and called the First Baptist Church of Lafayette. March 20, 1841, at a special meeting held in the house of Henry G. Monroe, near Lawrence, Orrin Sutton and wife, Peter Clark, and Simeon Brooks, of Lawrence, were received as members, Peter Clark was chosen deacon, and the name of the church changed to that of the Van Buren County Church, located at Paw Paw and Brush Creek. At that meeting it was resolved, "That we adopt the following articles in addition to our former ones: 'As we believe faith establishes the law as a rule of articles, and is inseparably connected with good works, consequently we believe it to be inconsistent with a profession of religion to sell or purchase lottery tickets, vend or use any intoxicating liquors, except as a medicine or for mechanical purposes, or to resort to any method of personal gratification or profit which will corrupt good morals or endanger the salvation of others.'" May 5, 1841, at a meeting of the church in the Brush -Creek school-house, Laura A. Barnes (now Mrs. Allen Rice) was received by baptism. At a council convened at 498 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. the Brush Creek school-house, May 5, 1841, at which delegates from the churches of Edwardsburg and La Grange were in attendance, the young church was recognized. Its members numbered then 14, as follows: Stafford Godfrey, Ursula Conklin, Archibald Buys and wife, Luther Branch, Henry G. Monroe and wife, Peter Clark, Sally Heath, Simeon Brooks, Orrin Sutton and wife, Amanda Briggs, and Laura Adelia Barnes. Rev. William T. Bly was engaged as' pastor, and preaching through 1841, added 11 persons to the church membership. May, 1842, the church joined the St. Joseph River Baptist Association, and until 1844 struggled feebly without a pastor. From 1844 to 1845, Rev. Moses Clark was the pastor, but from 1845 to 1851 no regular public worship was held, and matters were far from prosperous, the organization of a new church in Paw Paw in 1844 having materially weakened the membership. In 1851 the advent of Rev. E. S. Dunham as pastor gave the church a new lease of life, and under his zealous and active care much prosperity was gained. During his pastorate, which extended from 1851 to 1858, the name of the church was changed, Sept. 6, 1851, to the First Baptist Church of Lawrence. The First Baptist' Church society was organized Nov. 29, 1851, with Orrin Sutton, Allen Rice, and O. S. Witter as trustees The building of a church edifice was commenced January, 1853, and in June, 1854, the church withdrew fiom the St. Joseph River Association to join the Kalamazoo River Association. The first church trustees were Thomas De Wolf, O. S. Witter, D. T. Fox, Allen Rice, and Horace Dowd, and although the church was opened for worship in 1854, -three denominations using it in common,-it was slow of completion and was not dedicated until 1865. A union Sunday-school was organized with the Congregationalists in 1854 and continued until 1858, when the latter occupied their own house of worship. After Mr. Dunham's retirement, in 1858, there was no pastor until 1861, when Rev. Albert Gore, of Hartford, was engaged and preached one year. His successors have been Revs. William H. Simons, Donald McGregor, H. Hayden, George S. Martin, J. W. Megan, and S. A. Cole. Mr. Cole has been the pastor since 1878, and preaches every Sunday. The membership is now about 80. The deacons are Allen Rice, H. G. Barnes, and Henry Donaldson. The trustees are H. G. Barnes, Henry Donaldson, Levi Firmin, Lyman Moore, and L. Alden. The Sabbath-school numbers 40 scholars, and is in charge of Superintendent William Merritt and five teachers. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Lawrence was organized about 1840, and began to hold worship in the village school-house. In the absence of records referring to the early history of the church, the relation of that portion of the church's history is restricted to oral evidence. Upon the erection of the union school-house in Lawrence, the house previously in use was sold to the Methodist society, and remodeled into a house of worship. As such it still serves. The present pastor is Rev. V. G. Boyington, whose charge includes Lawrence, West Lawrence, and Hartford. The present church trustees are W. H. Corey, E. J. Lane, and Messrs. Ives, Moden, Cornwell, and Brainard. The class leader is E. J. Lane, and the church membership about 40. The Sabbath-school, which is in a flourishing condition, has an average attendance of from 30 to 40, and is in charge of T. J. Parker as superintendent. Latter-Day Saints.-In the " Nauvoo" district, just west and north of Prospect Lake, exists a religious organization known as Latter-Day Saints, and by many incorrectly called a Mormon community. The organization was effected in the year 1868, by one E. C. Briggs, a traveling elder, with a membership of about 10, and called a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Since 1868 preaching has been enjoyed pretty regularly every Sabbath in the Nauvoo school-house. The church membership was at one time about 50, but is now reduced to 12. The last elder of the church was Columbus Scott, who preached until November, 1879, since which time there has been no preaching, although meetings have been held every Sabbath as usual. The present church officials are Seth M. Bass, Priest; David Bentley, Deacon; Henry Mance, Teacher. First Free Methodist Church of Lawrence.-Catherine Coombs, Caroline Erdman, and Jane E. Ransom were the only members of the Free Methodist Church at its preliminary organization, Aug. 27, 1871. At a second meeting, held September 17th, Lawton Draper and wife, Stephen Ransom, and Hannah Say were received into membership, and a permanent organization of a class was effected by the election of Lawton Draper as leader. The organization was effected in the Baptist meeting-house by Rev. Edward P. Hart, district chairman of the Coldwater district, attached to the Michigan Conference. Until October, 1875, when the present house of worship was erected, services were held in the Baptist church once a fortnight. Upon its organization the church was included in the Waverly and Lawrence circuit, and has had for its pastors Revs. Ellsworth Leonardson, S. C. Stringham, J. W. Sharp, H. Ferguson, W. H. James, and J. Lawrence, the latter being now in the second year of his pastorate. The membership is 25. The trustees are Daniel Abrams and Stephen Ransom. The steward is Stephen Ransom, and the class-leader James Thompson. The Sunday-school contains six classes and is in charge of the pastor. Disciple Church.-In March, 1874, Rev. W. W. John. son, an evangelist from Illinois, stopped at Lawrence during a tour through Michigan, and finding there seven persons of the Disciple faith anxious for a church organization, formed the church at a meeting held in the Baptist meeting-house March 22d. The seven persons who were admitted into the membership were T. O. Sweet and wife, Michael Ryan and wife, Alice Denton, Luanie Howe, and Mary Howe. Nightly revival meetings were held in the Baptist church until April 6th, when the further use of the house being denied, and the church failing to increase beyond the original seven, the organization was discontinued. No further attempt was made towards reviving the church until the winter of 1878, when Elder Levi Dewey, of Dowagiac, who had been holding services at the Red Creek school-house, held a meeting at Fisk's hall, in Lawrence, and there, with his Red Creek school-house congre MRS.A.U. BARNES. A. U. BARNES. RESIDENCE Qf A.U. BARNES, LAWRENCET., MICH. "C C * ~~ a9 aii TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 499 gation and members of the faith in Lawrence, organized a church, whose membership then aggregated 25. When Elder Dewey organized the church he removed to Lawrence, and until September, 1879, held services every Sunday. He then returned to his farm near Dowagiac, and since then has preached for the Lawrence Church once a fortnight. Cross' hall is now used as a place of worship and for the sessions of a Sabbath-school, which was organized in the winter of 1878, and had at one time 45 pupils. The church membership is now 65. The elders are Stephen Plopper and T. O. Sweet. The deacons are M. H. Plopper and Merrick Aldrich. Michael Ryan is clerk and treasurer. SCHOOLS. The first school-house erected in the township was built by James Gray in the spring of 1837, on the east side of Paw Paw Street in Lawrence village. This was the first township-school, and, as far as can be learned, the first school of any kind taught in Lawrence. The building now does duty as H. Smith's blacksmith-shop. Its first teacher was Elizabeth Camp, in the summer of 1837, and its second Truman Foster, who taught during the following winter. Lawrence IIigh School.-The only graded school in the township is the one at Lawrence village. It occupies a fine brick edifice, which was completed May 1, 1869, at a cost of $11,117. It has four departments, in charge of a principal and three assistants, and during 1879 instructed an average of 225 pupils, of whom 30 were non-residents. The condition of the public schools of Lawrence, as shown from the annual report made Sept. 1, 1879, is as follows: Number of districts (whole, 5; fractional, 2)......... 7 " scholars of school age...................... 533 Average attendance......................................... 526 Number of school-houses (brick, 1; frame, 6)...... 7 Value of property............................................ $14,800 Number of teachers employed........................... 18 Amount paid teachers...................................... $2398.90 The school directors for 1879 were E. Williams, A. S. Haskin, Arthur Jennings, L. H. Clark, F. L. Spencer, Jolhn Robinson, Howland Place. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ANSON U. BARNES. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary war two brothers named Barnes emigrated from Boston, England, to America, and settled in the State of Connecticut. One of these brothers was Abel Barnes, the father of Uriel T., and grandfather of A. U. Barnes, of Lawrence, the subject of this biographical sketch. Not long after his settlement in Connecticut Abel Barnes removed from that State to Schoharie Co., N. Y., and a few years later to the town of Floyd, Oneida Co., in the same State. He had married Miss Mindwell Roberts, and they became the parents of eleven sons and three daughters, most if not all of whom were born after their removal to New York. I Uriel T., the fourth son of Abel and Mindwell Barnes, was born in Schoharie Co., N. Y., Oct. 14, 1794, and while yet scarcely more than a child removed with his parents to Floyd, Oneida Co., where on the 30th of August, 1821, he married Huldah A., daughter of Zenas and Mary (Merrill) Gibbs, of Broome Co., N. Y., and with her settled in Floyd, where their daughter Adelia was boyn, June 19, 1824. Their eldest son, Trumas S., was born in Westmoreland, Oneida Co., N. Y., Dec. 27, 1826, and soon afterwards Mr. Barnes moved to a small farm which he had purchased in Oswego County, where three children were born to him, viz., William M., born April 26, 1828; Mary S., born Oct. 5, 1829; and Harlow G., born March 3, 1831. About that time he sold his farm with the ultimate design of leaving the sterile lands and severe climate of Northern New York to find a better home in the West. He, however, engaged to work in a saw-mill in Durhamville, Oneida Co., during the winter of 1831-32, but in the spring of the latter year was so severely injured by the machinery of the mill that he remained a helpless invalid for many months. In the following December, being unable to perform heavy labor, he commenced a grocery business in Whitesboro', N. Y.; but soon found that he could not live by this, unless he engaged in the sale of ardent spirits. That he would not do; his principles would not permit him to support his own family by carrying desolation into the families of others, so he sold his little stock and left Whitesboro'. During his stay at that place his daughter Sarah Ann was born, Jan. 2, 1833. Mr. Barnes having now regained his health sufficiently to labor, spent the following winter in the vicinity of Geneva, chopping wood at twenty-six dollars per month and houserent, and on the 10th of April, 1834, he set out with his family for Michigan, by way of the Erie Canal, Buffalo, and Lake Erie. About a week was spent on the canal and three days on the steamer " Michigan," but at the end of that time they safely reached Detroit, from which place they engaged Lorenzo Graham to transport them to Jackson County, where they arrived about the 1st of May. Mr. Barnes' first Michigan settlement was made in Albion, Calhoun Co. His total property at that time consisted of two cows, his few household goods, and fifty dollars in money. He engaged to work for Mr. Tenney Peabody, of Albion, but about that time the entire family were taken sick and his fifty dollars was soon exhausted. But he was still resolute in his determination to secure a home, and he resolved to "squat" on government land, hoping to be able to pay for it in time. With the help of a few neighbors he reared a cabin which was warm and comfortable enough, though there was not a pane of glass in it, nor was there a nail nor a sawed plank or board used in its construction. Into this dwelling the family moved in January, 1835. They had some corn, raised in the previous season on land owned by Mr. Peabody, and on this corn and the milk of their cows the family subsisted. During the entire summer of 1835, Mr. Barnes was sick with the ague, and to-add to his troubles a speculator purchased the land on which he had " squatted" and demanded possession. Being unwilling, however, to proceed to extreme measures, he finally paid Mr. Barnes fifty dollars to vacate. This money he invested 500 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I in forty acres of land, and with the help of neighbors erected a pole cabin upon it. In this cabin the family were comparatively comfortable, and here Anson U. Barnes was born. Settlers were coming in rapidly, a mill was being erected near by, work became plenty at reasonable wages, the family had regained their health, and the worst of their privations had passed. In the fall of 1837 Mr. Barnes sold his land near Albion for eight hundred dollars in " wild-cat" money, and in January, 1838, removed to Lawrence, Van Buren Co., where he domiciled his family in a log house on what is now the Baker and Richards farm. Not long after, he purchased from Eaton Branch, for two hundred dollars, the eighty acres on which his son, A. U. Barnes, now lives. On this land he put up a frame house in the following spring, and went energetically to work to convert the wild land into a productive farm. He cleared nearly the whole eighty acres with his own hands, besides doing a large amount of work for others. In the year next following his settlement he was chosen commissioner of highways, and was elected justice of the peace in 1840, being a member of the board at the election held (at his house) in the fall of that year, when Gen. Harrison was elected President of the United States. In 1844, Mr. Barnes' daughter Adelia was married to Allen Rice, this being the first marriage in the family. About this time Mr. Barnes' health began to fail, and he never again fully recovered. In June, 1853, he had a sudden and violent attack of hernia, which baffled the skill of the physicians who were called to attend him. He sank rapidly and died on Sunday, July 3d, in that year. At his funeral (July 4th) the Rev. E. S. Dunham preached from the text, " Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Mr. Barnes was converted in 1820, and became a member of the Baptist Church in Floyd, N. Y. He was the first of the family to pass over the mysterious river, and he died in the firm hope and belief of immortality. Mrs. Barnes survived her husband thirteen years, and died Sept. 30, 1866, of consumption. She was an excellent wife, and in every way a most worthy woman. She bore with patience and fortitude all the trials and privations of pioneer life. She was respected and beloved by all who knew her, and her children rise up and call her blessed. Anson U. Barnes, the youngest son of Uriel T. Barnes, was born near Albion, Mich., as before mentioned, the date of his birth being Jan. 6, 1837. He was a boy of but sixteen years of age at the death of his father, and after that event remained on the old homestead, which is still his residence. He was married, Feb. 21, 1860, to Sarah E. Shaver, whose family were from Lowville, Lewis Co., N. Y. Of their union there have been born six children,-three sons and three daughters,-all of whom are living. Mr. Barnes cast his first vote in 1860, for Abraham Lincoln for President. He has been elected by his fellow-townsmen to the office of commissioner of highways, and has been a member of the school board for a number of years. He is a substantial land-owner, and a man who commands the respect of all who know him. EATON BRANCH, son of Vine and Abigail Branch, was born in Benson, Rutland Co., Vt., April 8, 1808. His father was of English descent; mother, Scotch. In 1810 the father moved with his family to Onondaga Co., N. Y., locating about nine miles from what was then called Salt Point. They remained there twelve years, clearing up land, and in 1822 pushed west to the Holland Purchase, in Wyoming Co., N. Y. As the family possessed little means the educational Photo. by C. G. Agrell, Allegan. EATON BRANCH. advantages of the children were limited. Eaton says, with reference to his education, "I was schooled in the use of the axe, hoe, and ox-gad." In 1833 he started to see the western country, and pushed as far as Ann Arbor, Mich. Returning to the old home the same year, he married Amanda M. Allen. In 1834, in company with his wife, father, and mother, he came back to Michigan. In 1835 the country was threatened with war, and Eaton, with many others, was drafted in the "Toledo war," by order of Governor Mason. As the trouble was of short duration he was soon able to return to his work. Not having means to purchase land he was obliged to hire out, and engaged with a Mr. Allen to go to Van Buren County and superintend his business, as he (Allen) had bought land at the mouth of Brush Creek and laid out a town. On the 7th of November, 1835, Mr. Branch and his wife started in a wagon for this place. They were eight days going one hundred and twenty miles; stayed in Kalamazoo over the Sabbath, and attended service in a school-house, the sermon being preached by Rev. Silas Woodbury. They finally reached Mason, as it was then called,-now known as Lawrence,-November 15th, where they found a log house, owned by Mr. Allen, and at once occupied it; it was twelve feet square. Thirteen persons lived in it until they could build a double log house, which latter was used for some time as a hotel. Mr. Branch has been a very active man in the advancement of the interests of his township. In April, TOWNSHIP OF LAWRENCE. 501 - I 1837, he assisted in organizing the first town-meeting, and was elected one of the highway commissioners, which office he held for many years. He was a charter member of the First Presbyterian Church, organized Aug. 19, 1837, afterwards changed to a Congregational Church. In 1858 a new church was built, Mr. Branch furnishing about two thousand five hundred dollars towards its construction. In 1852 the first agricultural society was formed, which he helped organize, and a fair was held in the court-yard at Paw Paw. In 1872, Mr. Branch was an assistant in organizing the first pioneer society, and has been present at every meeting since, and is one of its officers. Mr. Branch has raised a family of six boys, all of whom lived to manhood. His oldest son was the first male child born in the town. Three sons served in the Rebellion, all returning after the war. Four of his sons are settled on lands which their father assisted them in buying. Mr. Branch first located a quarter-section in Lawrence township, President Van Buren signing the deed, and a part of this is now in his home. He united with the Presbyterian Church in 1831, and has always been an active member. Mrs. Branch died March 30, 1866, in her fifty-third year. T. W. HOWARD was born in Lawrence township, Van Buren Co., Mich., Nov. 13, 1841. His father, Hosea Howard, had settled here in 1838, on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he improved and occupied until his death, in 1847. His family consisted of four sons, of whom the above is the only survivor. Mrs. Hosea Howard has reached the age of eighty years, and is living with her son. T. W. Howard has owned the old homestead since 1861. On the 3d of June, 1864, he married a daughter of Horace Place, and to them have been born the following children, all of whom are living: George E., Aug. 19, 1865; Effie C., Oct. 22, 1868; Fannie E., Nov. 13, 1870; Isa C., March 26, 1873; Frank E., Aug. 31, 1876. Mrs. T. W. Howard was born in Albion township, Crawford Co., Pa., June 3, 1842, and came with her parents to Michigan in 1848. Her father, Horace Place, died in 1850; her mother is still living in the township of Hamilton, Van Buren Co. In politics, Mr. Howard is a Democrat. HOWARD S. ALLEN. Prominent among the thrifty farmers of Lawrence township is found H. S. Allen, who was born in Washington Co., N. Y., July 2, 1810. During the early part of his life he assisted his father, who was a blacksmith, and learned the trade, at which he worked until he was twentytwo years of age. In 1838 his mind became impressed with the advantages offered by the West, and he accordingly came as far as Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained six weeks. He purchased a farm thirteen miles from that city, and occupied it until 1851, when he removed to Van Buren Co., Mich., and settled near Breedsville. Five years later he purchased two hundred and two and a half acres of land, unimproved, in the township of Lawrence, moved upon it, and began the work of clearing and improving it. His present surroundings are evidence of his perseverance, industry, and energy. Mr. Allen was married, Oct. 9, 1831, to Miss Esther, daughter of John and Elizabeth Moore, and four children have been born to them, viz.: George W., born Nov. 24, 1834; John Augustus, born June 7, 1837, died Sept. 26,1838; William M., born Oct. 6, 1839; James E., born April 3, 1845. Mr. Allen's parents both died in New York. Mrs. Allen lost her father when she was but five years old, and her mother came to Michigan as one of its pioneers. She is now living -with her daughter, Mrs. Allen, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. While residing at Breedsville Mr. Allen was elected and served as justice of the peace and supervisor, and upon settling in Lawrence was again elected justice of the peace, but refused to serve, preferring the quiet of his home to political honors. Two of Mr. Allen's brothers are at present residing in the State of New York, one on the old homestead. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and a view of their home, appear in this work. ABNER M. MUNGER. Luke Munger, the father of the above, was a native of Boston, Mass., and when seven years of age removed with his father to Ohio, locating near Sandusky City, where a farm was taken and cleared of timber. Luke Munger remained at home until 1835, and on the 29th of March in that year he was married to Miss Loretta Reed, also a resident of Ohio. In the fall of 1839 they removed to Michigan, and purchased land in Kalamazoo County. Upon that, however, he did not settle, but rented a farm for the first year, and afterwards traded the forty acres he had purchased in Kalamazoo County for eighty acres on section 24, Porter township, Van Buren Co., upon which he built a log cabin and commenced making improvements. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Munger were as follows: Esther A., born Dec. 6, 1835; Russell V., born Aug. 22, 1837; Lafayette M., born June 27, 1840, killed by lightning, Aug. 7,1861; Abner M., born Feb. 7, 1842; Eliza A., born May 14, 1844. Mrs. Munger sickened and died June 18, 1847, aged thirty-two years, leaving Mr. Munger with five small children. On the 12th of March, 1848, he married Rebecca, daughter of Amos Harris, an early settler in Kalamazoo County, and by her was the father of the following children: Eunice A., born - -, died April 17, 1851; Sarah M., born Nov. 7, 1849; Mary E., born Sept. 30, 1851, died April 14, 1852; Salmedor R., born Aug. 15, 1853; William H., born Oct. 1, 1855; Cynthia J., born Feb. 28, 1858; Luke W., born June 30, 1859; Eva A., born Nov. 22, 1861; Frank M., born April 21, 1863, died Feb. 6,1865. Mr. Munger lived long enough to find himself and family in very comfortable circumstances, and died Dec. 3, 1863. He was an active worker in the affairs of the township, and sought to further its interests in every way. In religious matters he was liberal, and in politics a Democrat. He was a man who respected the religious views of others, and who was not a seeker after political distinction. His sons, Abner M. and Russell V. Munger, 502 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. - cause this article to be inserted in the history of the county in which he resided so long. Abner M. Munger was married, Dec. 24, 1865, to Oliva Corey, whose parents-Sanford and Eliza Corey-were among the earliest settlers of Porter township. Mrs. Munger was the oldest in a family of three children, and in turn became the mother of three children,-Chlarles C., born Oct. 26, 1866; Warren G., born March 11, 1870; Albert L., born Aug. 31, 1875. Mrs. Munger died Oct. 17, 1876, and Mr. Munger's sister assisted in the duties of his household until Nov. 28, 1878, when he married Miss Sarah M. Hibbard, daughter of Enos B. and Betsey Ann Hibbard. She is a native of the State of New York, and came with her parents to Lenawee Co., Mich., in 1866. Her father died Nov. 6, 1879; her mother is yet living in Lenawee County. Mr. Munger resides with his family on the farm formerly owned by Sanford Corey. CHAPTER LXIV. PAW PAW TOWNSHIP.* General Description-Pioneers of Paw Paw-Later Settlers-The Crooked Paw Paw-Forest Adventure of a Pioneer-Organization and First Town-Meeting-Township Civil List-Paw Paw Village -Prospect Hill Cemetery-Religious Societies in the TownshipSchools. THIS township, originally called Lafayette and rechristened Paw Paw in 1867, is known in the government survey as town 3 south, range 14 west, and is bounded on the north by Waverly, south by Decatur, east by Antwerp, and west by Lawrence. It contains in addition to the usual township allotment of thirty-six sections about a section and a half in the northwest corner, which was taken from the southwest portion of Waverly for the sake of convenience, this part being separated from the rest of the township of Waverly by a swamp. Three-Mile, Four-Mile, and Eagle Lakes, and some smaller sheets of water pleasantly diversify the surface of the township; while the west branch of the Paw Paw flowing north through Paw Paw village furnishes at that point excellent water-power, which is liberally employed. The Toledo and South Haven Railroad connects Paw Paw village with Lawrence, while the Paw Paw Railroad unites the same place with Lawton, on the Michigan Central road. Paw Paw village is the seat of justice of Van Buren County. The township was named from it in 1867, and it was itself called after the river, named by the Indians from the paw paw fruit, growing thickly upon its banks. The population of the township in 1874 was 2752, and the assessed valuation $744,800 in 1879., PIONEERS OF PAW PAW OUTSIDE OF THE VILLAGE. In 1833, E. L. Barrett, induced by Peter Gremps, for whom he afterwards worked, came with his wife and several small children, and settled upon 160 acres of land near Paw Paw village before there was a framed house in the county. Capt. Barrett took especial pride in fine oxen, and at one time owned nine pairs, which he " broke" and trained with great care. He named them, respectively, Nick and Duke, Buck and Bright, Brin and Berry, Jim and Larry, Spot and Spark, Charley and Ned, Bill and Joe, Sam and Ez, Ben and Tom. With his oxen he used to break a great deal of land for new settlers, and boasted of breaking several hundred acres in a year. Capt. Barrett built on a village lot in Paw Paw what is said to have been the first frame house in the county. He sold it to a man who moved it away, and while he was building another his family lived two weeks in the horsestable. He drove the first team from Paw Paw to Little Prairie Ronde, and upon his return experienced the exciting sensation of being chased by a panther and a pack of wolves. His first mercantile venture was the purchase of a barrel of whisky, at five " York shillings" a gallon, and the sale of it to thirsty settlers at fifty cents a pint, at which business he would have made a fortune in quick time could he have continued it extensively. He drove the first team from Paw Paw to Breedsville, when he moved thither the family of Mr. Brown,-the father of Smith Brown. After living a few years in the village, during which time he logged and broke land, Mr. Barrett located permanently on his farm, north of the village, removing subsequently to a place on section 36, where he has since lived. John Agard located in 1833 upon a place on section 1, east of Paw Paw River, and established a trading-post at which he did a large business with the Indians, trading for furs, sugar, etc. He had on his place a dozen or more log huts, in which he stored his goods, and until his death his post was a famous resort for Indians, and usually presented a very busy scene. After his death, his family moving away, it was abandoned. Mr. Agard died suddenly of heart disease, in October, 1835, and was buried on his place; his coffin being made by Williamson Mason, who still lives in Paw Paw village. William Gunn settled upon section 1, and was about the only settler who in 1833 and 1834 did much at farming. He removed in after years to Iowa. South of Agard's post was William Ackley, who, with Enos L. Barrett, dug the race for Willard & Gremps' grist-mill, in 1838. He moved to Indiana. In June, 1835, John Lyle and John K. Pugsley (the latter a bachelor), living near Utica, N. Y., started in company for the West, intending to look for land in Illinois. Journeying by way of the lake to Detroit, they traveled on foot over the Territorial road to Paw Paw, and just before reaching Jesse Abbe's tavern, on that road, in Antwerp, they overtook Edwin Barnum, who was bound for Paw Paw. When they reached the site of Paw Paw village, they found there, on the east side of the river, but two houses, one of which wes Daniel O. Dodge's tavern, where they stopped for the night. Barnum remained in Paw Paw, and after a while settled on a farm a mile and a half west of the village, where he built a cabin 10 feet by 16, and went to keeping " bachelor's hall." Lyle and Pugsley pushed on for Illinois, skirting the shore of Lake Michigan, and after a tedious tramp reached Chicago. They prospected a while in that vicinity, but found the prairies too low to suit them, and returned to I * By David Schwartz. I - 7 7 g in As 7 r 7 o r of r = 7 7 RESIDENCE OF UAVID WUU MAN, PAW [AW IP., MICH. I I TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 503 Paw Paw township, where they entered land on section 2, Pugsley taking 160 acres, and Lyle 240 adjoining him on the north. Pugsley began at once to build a cabin and clear his land, but Lyle hastened eastward for his family, whom he brought to Michigan in the fall of 1836, moving at once into Pugsley's cabin. There they also found Hugh Jones, who was at work for Pugsley, and who soon entered a farm just west of him, on which he lived until his death. The widow of his brother, Frank R. Jones, now owns the place. Mr. Pugsley's cabin boasted but one room, but within its narrow limits Pugsley, Jones, and the Lyle family, aggregating thirteen persons (of whom nine were children), managed to live for the space of ten days, when Lyle's own cabin-was finished, and he moved his family into it. Says Mr. William Lyle, in recounting the experiences of that time, "We all slept in that one room, and pretty well crowded it was too for thirteen of us, I can tell you; but then folks were not as particular in those days as they are now." Mr. Pugsley has resided in the township since his first settlement, and still lives on section 2. Mr. Lyle sold his farm in 1849, and moved to the village, where he resided until his death in 1870, aged seventy-seven. It has already been observed that when Mr. Lyle came to Paw Paw with his family he brought with him nine children, and it is a somewhat remarkable circumstance that they, as well as one child born after the settlement in Michigan, are all living to-day. John and William are living on farms in Paw Paw township; Daniel and George in Dowagiac; Merwin is a druggist in Paw Paw, in which village, too, reside the five daughters,-Mrs. Russell Parker, Mrs. Frank Parker, Mrs. Francis Selleck, Mrs. N. P. Conger, and Mrs. Edwin Barnum. At the time of the settlement of Mr. Pugsley and the Lyles, that portion of the township was an unbroken forest, the only settler there besides themselves being Richard Hutchins, who located upon section 2 in the summer of 1835. Among those who settled in and near that neighborhood at an early date may be mentioned Joseph Luce, Loyal Crane, Henry Harrington, William and Nathan M. Pugsley, H. M. Pugsley, Amos Deming, Ball, and the families of Jennings and Hicks. In 1842, William and John, sons of John Lyle, left the parental roof together, to take up homes of their own in the south part of the township. John located on section 29 and William on section 32. That portion of Paw Paw was but little settled at that time. Besides William and John Lyle, the settlers were Jesse Bickell, John Sherrod, Daniel Abbott, and Archibald Buys. Buys lived about a mile east of William Lyle, and except him there was no one between Lyle and the township line, nor were there any settlers whatever in the southeastern portion of the township. Anthony Labaday and his wife came to Paw Paw village in 1836, and during the next year occupied a house previously inhabited by Lawson Grout, who in that year moved out to a farm on section 22, where he died, and where his son George now lives. In 1837, Labaday and his wife settled upon the farm of Williamson Mason (Mrs. Labaday's brother), in section 22, where they lived until 1842, when Mr. Labaday bought of Peter Gremps a farm on section 21, and lived there until his death, in 1860. His widow still resides on the place. When the Labadays moved upon section 22, in 1837, their nearest neighbor was Asa Hinckley. In 1838 they had another neighbor, Horace Chadwick, who moved to Illinois with his family about 1850. Edwin Barnum, already mentioned, came to Paw Paw in 1835 when a young man, purchased 280 acres on sections 10 and 15, went at once upon his land, and lived there a bachelor until 1840, when he married a daughter of John Lyle. He removed to Paw Paw village in 1864, and resided there until his death, in August, 1875. His widow still lives in the village. Mr. Barnum held numerous local offices, and was for some years county treasurer. James Cate, with his son Lorenzo, settled in 1836 upon section 9. He died in the township, and after that Lorenzo moved to the far West. In June, 1835, Asa G. Hinckley, of New York, reached Paw Paw with his wife and five children, and settled on section 14, the land having been entered by Elder Jonathan Hinckley, his father, who came out a few months before, and who himself located in Breedsville. Asa moved in 1846 to a farm south of Eagle Lake, and died there in 1871. Later his widow moved to Paw Paw village, where she now lives. In June, 1835, also, Richard Hutchins, of Oneida Co., N. Y., came with his wife and two children, and located upon section 2, where he died in 1870, and where his widow now lives. John Barber, a Vermonter, came West with his family, in company with the Cate family, and located on section 8, where he died in 1838. West of him were the families of the Grouts and Henry Rhodes. Shortly afterwards Henry Monroe and Orimel Butler settled in that vicinity. Loyal Crane and family, from Cayuga Co., N. Y., came to Paw Paw in 1837, his father having come out in the previous year and located land. Loyal settled upon sections 10 and 11, and lived there until 1865, when he moved to the village, which has since been his home. His father, James Crane, became a settler in 1840, and kept store in the village in 1842. He died in 1869, while visiting friends in Pennsylvania. Alonzo Crane, who settled on section 10 in 1840, died there in 1847. Orimel Butler came from Western New York in 1836, and made Prairie Ronde his home until 1843, when he removed to Paw Paw and located upon section 10, where he died in 1869. His son, William K., also settled in Paw Paw, on section 8, where he now lives. He obtained his farm of Sylvester Murch, whose brother purchased it from John Barber, the original settler. The house in which Mr. Butler now lives is the one built by John Barber in 1836, and is considered one of the oldest habitable houses in the county. H. W. Rhodes pushed westward from Monroe Co., N. Y., in 1835, and located on section 8. He now resides in Paw Paw village, his son occupying the old homestead. Nathan M. Pugsley, being persuaded by his uncle, John K., already located in Paw Paw, came directly from his home in England to Michigan in 1838, and settled upon section 10, where he has since lived. His brother, H. M. 504 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Pugsley, now lives on section 7, on land which he located in 1845. A. R. Wildey came in 1835 to Paw Paw, and eventually settled upon section 9, where he now lives. B. F. Murdock, now residing in the village, came to Kalamazoo in 1836, and to Paw Paw in 1842. Mr. Murdock passed much of his early life in the West in schoolteaching, having down to 1842 taught in five counties. When he came to Paw Paw he worked at carpentering, and sold fanning-mills for J. M. Andrews, who was then manufacturing those machines in the village, as the successor of Jerome Walton. Abraham Ball, of Ohio, came to Paw Paw in 1837, and started a brick-yard on E. Barnum's farm, the first one in the county. He followed the business until 1849. In 1855 he died, while on a visit to Coldwater. Edmond Hayes, a tailor, and Rufus Currier, a carpenter, made a trip from Pennsylvania to Paw Paw in 1838, returning the same year to that State, and reporting so favorably regarding the Western country that William H. Lee determined to accompany them to Michigan. The three set out in the fall of 1838, proceeding to Detroit by water, and traveling thence on foot to Paw Paw village. Hayes and Currier remained in the village, where they proposed to ply their trades. Lee proceeded about a mile westward, to the place of Asa G. Hinckley, for whom he engaged to thrash wheat, his pay to be one bushel in eight. He also bought an acre of land of Hinckley, and while he was building a cabin lived with Loyal Crane. He returned to Pennsylvania in the winter of 1839 for his family, with whom, and accompanied by Jesse Bickell, his brother-in-law, and Mrs. Bickell (the latter's mother), he came back to Paw Paw in February of that year, the entire journey being made by wagon, and ending at Paw Paw in snow eighteen inches deep. Lee lived on his one acre four years, during which time he plied his trade as a mason, working all over the county, until he became acquainted with most of the people living in it. In 1843 he bought of Willard Dodge a place on section 28, where he still lives. Mr. Lee's father (James Lee), his mother, and his brother Uriel came to Paw Paw in 1841, and located upon section 33, where Uriel now lives with his mother (aged ninety-one), the elder Lee having died in 1852. Mr. Lee says he used to get sugar for his family by plowing for Pee Pee Yah, an old Indian, who had a farm on section 22. The Indians were always well supplied with sugar, but could not master the business of plowing. Lee did not get much sugar for a day's plowing, and what he did get he had to divide with Asa Hinckley, to pay for the use of the latter's horses. Mr. Lee used to take his dinner with him when he went to plow for Pee Pee Yah. One day, at noon, he discovered that dogs had captured it. Marching briskly into Pee Pee Yah's house, he told the squaw that as her dogs had devoured his dinner, he must have some from her. The old woman handed him a wooden ladle, pointed to a large kettle full of stewed corn, and told him to help himself. He began to eat, when presently the dogs came up and joined him in the repast, dipping in with their mouths where he used the ladle. He rapped them sharply with the ladle, but they insisted upon keeping him company, and as he was desperately hungry, and was assured by the squaw that it was according to the etiquette of the house for the dogs to eat out of the same dish with the family, he proceeded to complete his meal, and soon got so that he did not much mind his canine messmates. Pee Pee Yah was said to have been once a prominent chief of the Pottawattamies, but had turned farmer, and had bought of the government a quarter of section 22, which is known to this day as the Pee Pee Yah farm. There were in the township other Indians who owned small pieces of land, but Pee Pee Yah was the only one who ever approached the dignity of being a farmer, and his farming was at its best confined to the cultivation of a little soft corn and the boiling of sugar. He was, however, regarded by the other Indians as a superior sort of creature, and was much respected by them. When the government was endeavoring to procure the removal of the Indians of this vicinity to the West, he conceived the idea that it would seek to remove him, despite the fact that he was a land-holder, and therefore fled to Canada with his squaw and child. He died in Canada, and the squaw then returned with her child to Paw Paw, and reoccupied the farm. She afterwards sold it, however, to John R. Baker, and moved to Hartford township. LATER SETTLERS. John Sherwood, now living in the southern part of the township, was a settler about 1840. David Woodman (2d), who came with his father, Joseph Woodman, to Antwerp in 1835, located land on section 20, in Paw Paw, in 1841, and has made his home there since that time. Jonas Harrison came with his family from New York in 1846, and located with his son, William H., on 40 acres in section 16. He took up a farm himself on the same section in 1847, and lived in the township until his death, in 1864. Of his sons, William H. lives in Kalamazoo, Albert resides on section 16, in Paw Paw, and Aaron lives south of him, on the same section. About the time Mr. Harrison settled in Paw Paw there were living in his neighborhood Henry Wilson, A. R. Wildey, Joseph Luce, E. Tyler, Mitchelson, William K. Butler, Riley Woodman, and A. Hemingover. Henry Wilson, who located in Adrian as early as 1837, went from there in 1840 to Pennsylvania (whence he had migrated), remained there until the spring of 1846, and then came with his family to Paw Paw. He took up 40 acres on section 16, and has lived upon it until the present time. In 1848, Philip Sherrod came from Western Pennsylvania to Paw Paw, and after working for farmers until 1851 bought a farm on section 29 of Nathan Lawton, and has lived there to this day. H. Cuddeback, a sailor on the lakes, came to Michigan with his father, Sylvester Cuddeback, in 1849, and located land on section 28. The father settled on the farm, but the son returned to a life on the water, which he followed until 1851. He then became a farmer upon the place he still owns, his father removing subsequently to Lawrence, where he now lives. David Woodman, who came to Michigan in 1834, settled in Antwerp in 1838, and in Paw Paw in 1858, where he still lives, at the age of eighty-seven. Thomas B. Irwin . llV11'x.k.- - "', -. 7,-t. - 1, I -114 ll,' ,,, "I F A L-13 ER HARRISON, PAW FAV'l Tp, 1\4 1 CH lGA" - RESH)UICE G' I TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 505 came to the State in 1843, located in Lawrence in 1846, and in 1864 removed permanently to Paw Paw village. E. A. Thompson, who located in Paw Paw village, his present home, served between 1855 and 1859 as Deputy Secretary of State. THE CROOKED PAW PAW. Before the days of the Michigan Central Railroad, when the subject of water transportation between Paw Paw and Lake Michigan was one of much importance, the Paw Paw River was utilized, after a fashion, as a highway for flatboats, although it is generally believed that flat-boating on the Paw Paw was never a paying business. As early as 1833, however, the Paw Paw was regarded as navigable, and the settlers entertained strong hopes that a part of the stream at least might be profitably used by steamboats. In the spring of 1833 the Territorial government, desirous of promoting easy access to the river, authorized the construction of roads connecting the "Forks of the Paw Paw" (the supposed head of navigation) with Slloolcraft, Big Prairie Ronde, Adamsville, Little Prairie Ronde, Gun Prairie, and Barry County. "The Landing," near Lawrence village, came, later, to be a place where considerable freight was received for shipment down the river. In 1840, I. W. Willard, of Paw Paw, built two large flat-boats, loaded them with flour from his mills at Paw Paw, and dispatched them to St. Joseph. The boats were the "Daniel Buckley," commanded by A. R. Wildey, and the " Wave," in charge of William H. Hurlbut. They made the trip, but occupied so long a time and met with so much difficulty, on account of low water, etc., that the venture was not profitable. Other efforts to utilize the shallow stream as a water highway proved similarly unsuccessful, and although there was for a time considerable flat-boat traffic from Paw Paw to St. Joseph, the general verdict was decidedly unfavorable. In 1848, however, interest in the matter was revived by the passage of an act of the Legislature appropriating 10,000 acres of land for the improvement of the Paw Paw, with a view to make it navigable, at least for flat-boats; but the scheme miscarried, and the Paw Paw remains what it was, -only a mill-stream. There are among the residents of the county many wellknown men who used to " flat-boat it," and one is at no loss to gather a bountiful chapter of stories illustrative of life on the " raging Paw Paw" when the lusty boatmen poled their craft along its sinuous course and over its numberless sand-bars. Mosquitoes were the bugbears of a boatman's existence, and by day as well as by night waged incessant warfare upon the river-rovers, whom at times they drove well-nigh distracted. William M. Lyle says he once shipped as cook on board a Paw Paw flat-boat, and used to find the mosquitoes so thick that they would settle in swarms on the meat frying in the pan. Unable to get rid of them, he always fried them with the meat, or at least with the gravy, and served the food in that way. The boatmen never found fault, probably because it was mosquitoes and beef or nothing. FOREST ADVENTURE OF A PIONEER. About the year 1836, Edwin Mears, a young man living in Paw Paw village, set out in midwinter with a half-dozen 64 companions on a hunting expedition. In the course of the day young Mears found himself separated from his comrades, and despite his persistent efforts and shouts he could neither find them nor the way homeward. So he wandered through the woods four days and nights, half-dead with cold and hunger, and at the end of the fourth day found himself on the shore of Lake Michigan. There he discovered an abandoned hut, and in it a few grains of oats, which he ate with great avidity, for he had had no food since leaving Paw Paw, four days previously. Iis sufferings, from cold and hunger were intense, and he had about made up his mind to perish there when he heard human voices, and was rescued by a party sent out in search of him when it was found that he did not return home. He was in a most unfortunate condition, and for a time after being taken home it was thought he would die, but he at last rallied, and long survived to recount his painful experience. It is said that a few years afterwards Mr. Mears' rifle was found at the foot of a beech-tree. INDIAN SKULLS. Skulls and other human bones have frequently been turned up by the plowshare, especially in the southern portion of the township. Indian burying-grounds are known to have been laid out on sections 21 and 22, on the latter of which Pee Pee Yah had a farm, and there were within the recollection of many of Paw Paw's present citizens as many as two-score of Indian graves there. ORGANIZATION AND FIRST TOWN-MEET[NG. The township of Lafayette (now Paw Paw) was formed by act of the Legislative Council on the 26th day of March, 1835, and included the whole of Van Buren County, which was then temporarily attached to Cass. The first townshipmeeting was held at the house of D. O. Dodge, on the 4th of April, 1836, when Peter Gremps was chosen Supervisor; Daniel O. Dodge, Town Clerk; Edward Shults, Collector. By an act of the State Legislature, approved March 11, 1837, Lafayette (or Van Buren County) was divided into seven townships, of which the present Paw Paw retained the old name of Lafayette.* The first meeting of the new township of Lafayette (created under act of March 11, 1837, giving Van Buren County separate jurisdiction) was held at D. O. Dodge's tavern, in Paw Paw village, on the first Monday in April, 1837. Levi II. Warner was appointed Moderator, and there were present D. 0. Dodge, Town Clerk, and Peter Gremps, Supervisor. The polls being duly opened the following freemen voted: Joseph Luce, R. Currier, E. L. Barrett, Peter Gremps, D. O. Dodge, William Eckler, E. Jones, John Barber, A. Buys, John Hughes, E. Mears, L. H. Warner, J. K. Pugsley, Edwin Barnum, D. Thorp, J. Barnes, D. Barker, A. G. Hinckley, H. Gray, C. G. Harrington, R. Hinckle, John Lyle, E. Shults, T. B. Colton, William Prater, Lorenzo Cate, M. Hoskins. The following officers were elected: D. O. Dodge, Supervisor; Edwin Mears, Township Clerk; L. H. Warner, J. H. Simmons, J. K. Pugsley, and E. Barnum, Justices of * The name was changed to Paw Paw by an act of the Legislature approved March 15, 1867. 506 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN., f the Peace; Joseph Luce, J. H. Simmons, and L. H. Warner, Highway Commissioners; J. H. Simmons and L. H. Warner, School Inspectors; Rufus Currier, Edward Shults, and Edwin Barnum, Assessors; Charles G. Harrington, Collector; C. G. Harrington, Myron Hoskins, David Thorp, and L. A. Grout, Constables; E. L. Barrett and Asa G. Hinckley, Directors of the Poor. At the second township-meeting, held April 2, 1838, at the house of H. Wilder, the voters were John Barber, Rodney Hinckley, James Cate, D. O. Dodge, Edwin Barnum, Zethan Warner, Hugh Jones, Joseph Luce, L. D. Cate, Levi T. Ball, William Eckler, Charles G. Harrington, John Hughes, David Barker, L. H. Warner, Henry Gray, L. A. Grout, Williamson Mason, H. Read, Henry Rhodes, Peter Gremps, James Conklin, Francis Jones, S. C. Buys, E. L. Barrett, Archibald Buys, William Prater, R. E. Churchill, Joseph E. Roys, Charles Ivison, E. R. Hays, Martin Liscomb, H. Robinson, A. A. Greaves, A. G. Hinckley, and David Thorp. At that meeting it was voted to raise upon the taxable property of the township money enough to purchase and fence one and a half acres of land for a burial-ground. TOWNSHIP CIVIL LIST. A list of the persons annually chosen by the township from 1838 to 1880 to be supervisor, treasurer, clerk, and justice of the peace is given below: 1838.-Supervisor, J. H. Simmons; Clerk, H. Wilder; Treasurer, C. G. Harrington; Justice of the Peace, J. K. Pugsley. 1839.-Supervisor, Joshua Bangs; Clerk, J. H. Simmons; Treasurer, Joshua Bangs; Justice of the Peace, Joseph Luce. 1840.-Supervisor, J. H. Simmons; Clerk, J. II. Simmons; Treasurer, George Smith; Justice of the Peace, F. H. Stevens. 1841.-Supervisor, Peter Gremps; Clerk, L. 11. Warner; Treasurer, George Smith; Justice of the Peace, Loyal Crane. 1842.-Supervisor, Peter Gremps; Clerk, G. H. Baker; Treasurer, George Smith. 1843.-Supervisor, S. J. Foote; Clerk, A. Crane; Treasurer, F. R. Lord; Justice of the Peace, J. Shevarts. 1844.-Supervisor, J. B. Barnes; Clerk, A. Crane; Treasurer, L. H. Warner; Justice of the Peace, D. O. Dodge. 1845.-Supervisor, J. K. Pugsley; Clerk, A. Crane; Treasurer, A. J. Goodrich; Justice of the Peace, J. H. Simmons. 1846.-Supervisor, I. W. Willard; Clerk, Abner Hayes; Treasurer, Edmund Smith; Justice of the Peace, S. 11. Blackman. 1847.-Supervisor, Loren Darling; Clerk, Elisha Durkee; Treasurer, J. B. Barnes; Justice of the Peace, D. Woodman (2d). 1848.-Supervisor, Benoni Hall; Clerk, Elisha Durkee; Treasurer, J. H. Simmons; Justice of the Peace, James Crane. 1849.-Supervisor, Benoni Hall; Clerk, Edmund Smith; Treasurer, H. W. Rhodes; Justice of the Peace, J. T1. Simmons. 1850.-Supervisor, F. H. Stevens; Clerk, Edmund Smith; Treasurer, A. C. Kimball; Justice of the Peace, S. J. Foote. 1851.-Supervisor, J. K. Pugsley; Clerk, G. B. Sherwood; Treasurer, O. F. Parker; Justice of the Peace, A. Heminover. 1852.-Supervisor, F. H. Stevens; Clerk, G. B. Sherwood; Treasurer, B. D. Thompson; Justice of the Peace, John Reynolds. 1853.-Supervisor, G. B. Sherwood; Clerk, J. M. Longwell; Treasurer, N. P. Conger; Justice of the Peace, J. 11. Simmons. 1854.-Supervisor, Elisha Durkee; Clerk, E. Mather; Treasurer, N. P. Conger; Justice of the Peace, James Crane. 1855.-Supervisor, Edwin Barnum; Clerk, B. D. Thompson; Treasurer, A. Stewart; Justice of the Peace, David Webb. 1856.-Supervisor, R. Avery; Clerk, George Voke; Treasurer, G. S. Cogswell; Justice of the Peace, L. B. Sheldon. 1857.-Supervisor, Edwin Barnum; Clerk, T. R. Harrison; Treasurer, Thomas A. Granger; Justice of the Peace, Calvin Cross. 1858.-Supervisor, Edwin Barnum; Clerk, E. B. Butler; Treasurer, James 1. Prater; Justice of the Peace, T. E. Hendrick. 1859.-Supervisor, Charles Selleck; Clerk, A. J. Sartore; Treasurer, E. A. Sheldon; Justice of the Peace, J. II. Simmons. 1860.-Supervisor, L. B. Sheldon; Clerk, A. J. Sartore; Treasurer, G. W. Ocobock; Justice of the Peace, O. D. Glidden. 1861.-Supervisor, G. J. Hudson; Clerk, T. H. Stephenson; Treasurer, T. W. Melcher; Justice of the Peace, George Young. 1862.-Supervisor, J. K. Pugsley; Clerk, T. H. Stephenson; Treasurer, Russell Parker; Justice of the Peace, T. E. Hendrick. 1863.-Supervisor, Charles Selleck; Clerk, J. J. Roe; Treasurer, Edwin Cate; Justice of the Peace, E. M. Glidden. 1864.-Supervisor, Loyal Crane; Clerk, S. II. Blackman; Treasurer, G.'S. Lane; Justice of the Peace, H. P. Sanger. 1865.-Supervisor, Charles Selleck; Clerk, A. J. Sartore; Treasurer, G. S. Lane; Justice of the Peace, A. W. Nash. 1866.-Supervisor, Charles Selleck; Clerk, E. M. Glidden; Treasurer, J. W. Free; Justice of the Peace, T. E. Iendrick. ':1867.-Supervisor, E. M. Glidden; Clerk, A. J. Sartore; Treasurer, J. W. Free; Justice of the Peace, E. M. Glidden. 1868.-Supervisor, 0. D. Glidden; Clerk, Joseph Kilburn; Treasurer, John Pelton; Justice of the Peace, W. H. Randall. 1869.-Supervisor, J. L. Ross; Clerk, John Knowles; Treasurer, II. L. Eggleston; Justice of the Peace, A. IH. Herron. 1870.-Supervisor, E. O. Briggs; Clerk, A. M. Harrison; Treasurer, H. L. Eggleston; Justice of the Peace, T. E. Hendrick. 1871.-Supervisor, E. 0. Briggs; Clerk, A. M. Harrison; Treasurer, R. Rogers; Justice of the Peace, S. IH. Blackman. 1872.-Supervisor, E. O. Briggs; Clerk, A. M. Harrison; Treasurer, R. Rogers; Justice of the Peace, Wm. R. Butler. 1873.-Supervisor, Edwin Barnum; Clerk, W. I1. Mason; Treasurer, R. Rogers; Justice of the Peace, C. E. Galligan. 1874.-Supervisor, E. 0. Briggs; Clerk, W. H. Mason; Treasurer, R. Rogers; Justice of the Peace, D. Woodman (2d). 1875.-Supervisor, E. O. Briggs; Clerk, W. II. Mason; Treasurer, Charles Selleck; Justice of the Peace, S. II. Blackman. 1876.-Supervisor, E. 0. Briggs; Clerk, W. II. Mason; Treasurer, J. J. Forsyth; Justice of the Peace, John Knowles. 1877.-Supervisor, J. W. Free; Clerk, W. H. Mason; Treasurer, A. C. Lindsley; Justice of the Peace, K. W. Noyes. 1878.-Supervisor, J. W. Free; Clerk, R. I. Jarvis; Treasurer, A. C. Lindsley; Justice of the Peace, W. H. Mason. 1879.-Supervisor, D.Woodman (2d); Clerk, W. H. Mason; Treasurer, Charles Selleck; Justice of the Peace, S. H. Blackman. PAW PAW VILLAGE. The first settlement in the present township of Paw Paw was made upon the site of Paw Paw village in the year 1832, when Rodney Hinckley located upon a farm in the northern portion of the present village. In that year, also, Pierce Barber, of Prairie Ronde, began the erection of a saw-mill on the river at the west end of the village. Mr. Barber soon sold his interest in the mill to Job Davis and Rodney Hinckley, who, however, soon disposed of it (in 1833) to Peter Gremps and Lyman J. Daniels. These gentlemen came hither on a prospecting tour in that year, bought the mill property, improved it, purchased considerable land in the vicinity, and laid out upon it a village which they called Paw Paw. Daniels lived in Schooleraft, and at no time became a settler in Paw Paw. Gremps, who came from the Mohawk Valley, in New York, to find a mill-site in the West, returned to his home after purchasing the Paw Paw property, and did not settle permanently on his new possessions until 1835, when he moved into a cabin just west of the saw-mill. Edward Shults, Mr. Gremps' nephew, came out from New York with his uncle, and worked for the latter in his saw-mill. * Township name changed to Paw Paw. I :~:`;,~~i.~.-~ ~` r;. r I~: -~~..i i RESIOENCE OF G. FT HARRINGTON, PAW PAW TP., MICHIGAN. TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 507 While Mr. Gremps was absent in the East, his partner, Mr. Daniels, was busy looking after the saw-mill and devising means to further the interests of the new village. He thought there ought to be a tavern, especially as the Territorial road was likely to pass through Paw Paw, and so one day in 1834, on meeting in Schoolcraft Daniel 0. Dodge, who had been teaching school in those parts, he offered to give him an entire block in Paw Paw, and build a board house for him, if he would come on and keep tavern in it. Dodge agreed, and in the same year opened an inn, which became one of the most famous in this part of the State. Meanwhile, Enos L. Barrett had located land north of the village, but lived in a board shanty on one of Gremps' village lots. David Thorp was also on the west side of the river, where he occupied a building, in which he lived and operated a turning-lathe. Shortly after Mr. Gremps' permanent settlement he sent to Stone Arabia, N. Y., and invited Dr. Barrett (a resident of that place) to come out to Paw Paw and set up practice. Barrett came, and lived in a cabin just west of Dodge's tavern. Dr. Barrett was the first physician of Paw Paw. He was sorely afflicted with phthisis, and after three or four years' practice at Paw Paw removed to Kalamazoo, where he ended his days. Early in the summer of 1835, Mr. Gremps concluded that there ought to be a store in the village, and so he sent word to Edward Legrave, of Kalamazoo, that he wanted a carpenter capable of building a good store. Legrave found Williamson Mason (a carpenter from Wayne Co., N. Y., who had been in the West working at his trade since 1832), and induced him to go over and build Gremps' store. Mason started with three hands on Monday, July 6, 1835, and on the evening of that day reached Dodge's tavern, which was so full of people that he and his companions were compelled to sleep in a couple of abandoned shanties on the west side of the river. In them, too, they lived while they were building the store, which was erected in a short time, though in good style for that period. It was, of course, the first store inl Paw Paw, and it stood west of Dodge's tavern, where Phillips' blacksmith-shop is. Mr. Gremps moved his family into the back part of the building before it was entirely finished, and soon afterwards stocked the store with goods which he had brought from New York, and began business in it, with Edward Shults as his clerk. After completing the store, Mason and his fellow-workmen built a dwelling-house for Mr. Gremps just opposite, which is still known as the Gremps house. Mr. Mason, who is yet a resident and manufacturer at Paw Paw, says that when he came to the village, in July, 1835, it contained on the east side of the river Rodney Hinckley's house, Dodge's tavern, and Dr. Barrett's cabin; on the west side, Gremps & Daniels' saw-mill, David Thorp's turning-shop, and the two shanties occupied by Peter Gremps and Enos L. Barrett. Soon the need for a blacksmith began to make itself felt. Rodney Hinckley had put up a blacksmith-shop, but little work if any had been done in it. When blacksmithing was needed, the settlers went either to Schoolcraft or St. Joseph. So Peter Gremps said to Williamson Mason, "We must have a blacksmith." Gremps thought he could get Craig Buys, of St. Joseph County, a brother-in-law of Rodney Hinckley, and empowered Mason to promise Buys the gift of a shop if he would come. Buys did come, and occupied a shop which Mason built for him on a lot west of Dodge's tavern. Buys plied his trade there about six years, and then moved to Ohio. The first shoemaker of Paw Paw was Charles G. Harrington, who is now working at his trade at Lawton. Mr. Harrington came from Kalamazoo in 1836, and opened a shop in Paw Paw, in a building put up by Williamson Mason, just east of where the Dyckman House now stands. Mr. Mason also built the first school-house in the village, in the fall of 1836, its location being on Gremps Street north of Main Street. Rodney Hinckley, of whom mention has been made, finally moved to South Haven, where he died. Madison Eastman, a carpenter, settled in the village in 1835. He afterwards removed to Decatur, but returned to Paw Paw, and died there. The first foundry in the village was started by Calvin Hawley, who was also one of the first carriage-makers in Paw Paw. His widow, a sister of the late Edwin Barnum, still lives in the township. Peter Gremps, the founder of Paw Paw, came West, as already observed, in 1833, to find a location for a mill, and while stopping at Schoolcraft discovered one John Derosier, who piloted him to Paw Paw, as a place certain to suit him. Gremps at once entered considerable land in the neighborhood, returned East, and came again in 1835, with his family. Mr. Gremps never lived out of the village after that. He built the first store, and was the first merchant and first postmaster. After a busy career, he lived during the latter years of his life in peaceful retirement, dying upon the old homestead in 1874, at the age of seventy-three. Two of his children-Mrs. Alonzo Shults and Peter H. Gremps-are now residents of the village. Edward Shults, his nephew, who came to Paw Paw in 1834, and who was Mr. Gremps' right-hand man in business for many years, caught the gold fever in 1849 and migrated to the Pacific slope, where he still lives. Myron Hoskins, a carpenter, who came to Paw Paw in 1836, still lives in the village. William Prater, also a carpenter, came in the same year. J. H. Simmons, a cabinetmaker, came in 1836, and was the first who worked at that trade. He became a man of some mark, served as county surveyor and judge of probate, and lived in the village until his death. William Engle, who now lives south of the village, came in 1840, and followed the business of coopering. Richardson Avery, a carpenter, came to Paw Paw in 1835, and died in the village in 1875. Public-Houtses. Daniel O. Dodge's tavern in Paw Paw village, on the Territorial road (known also as the Paw Paw House), was a place of considerable importance from its erection in 1834; and later, when stage-coaching and other means of travel made the Territorial road an important highway, the old Dodge tavern was held in high esteem by those who traveled on that thoroughfare. It was an humble board shanty with four rooms, and measured about 16 feet by 24. Dodge's tavern was enlarged in 1835, and 508 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. I in 1836 was rebuilt. Mrs. Dodge was a famous cook, and gave the house great repute. The stages changed horses at that point, and for many years travel on the Territorial road was exceedingly brisk. It is said that Dodge had at one time as many as a hundred people at breakfast, and that Mrs. Dodge did the cooking for all of them. The tavern stood on what is now the south side of Main Street, at the western end opposite the bank, and for a year or more was almost hidden by trees. Trees, indeed, were so plentiful in Paw Paw, even after the village was laid out, that travelers frequently rode through it without knowing there was a town there, and searchers for the village often asked at Dodge's where Paw Paw was. Dodge sold the tavern to Horace Wilder, but being afterwards forced to take it back, carried it on until it was destroyed by fire. Mr. Dodge continued after that event to live in the village in retirement until his death. His widow and a son, Thomas, now live in Lawton. During Mr. Dodge's career as a Paw Paw landlord, Dr. Warner opened a tavern about opposite where the postoffice is now, but- it had only a brief existence. James Crane put up the Exchange Hotel on the site of the Dyckman House, which latter, erected by E. B. Dyckman and John Smolk, was built soon after the burning of the old Exchange. The Willard House, remodeled by I. W. Willard from an old store building, was a popular hotel many years ago, but has long since ceased to be a public-house. The Great Immigration of 1836.-The year 1836 brought a great army of land speculators and settlers to Michigan, and all along the Territorial road stages and taverns had more business on hand than they could comfortably manage. Travel was then at its flood on that highway, and travelers coming weary and footsore to a roadside inn with the glad expectation of rest and food, often found that neither could possibly be obtained; that the beds were all filled (having at least two persons in each), and that the larder had been completely exhausted. A participator in that bustling era says that Dodge's tavern was at that period like a bee-hive, and even then could not accommodate one-tenth of the people who sought its shelter. "Why," remarks this old settler, " I've known the time when the rush at Dodge's was so great, and the demand for lodging so pressing, that travelers offered as high as a dollar for the privilege of leaning against a post." This probably exaggerates but also illustrates the situation. Early Merchants.-It has already been observed that Peter Gremps opened the first store in Paw Paw. The next store-keeper was Nathan Mears (now a merchant in Chicago), whose store was west of where the bank is. After him Edwin Mears opened a store on the corner now occupied by E. Smith & Co. James Crane was an early merchant, and kept store on Smith's corner. Willard & Gremps opened a store on Main Street in 1838, and intrusted its management to Edward Shults. Willard afterwards bought Gremps' interest, and took Shults as a partner. Later the firm was Willard & Moffat. Isaac W. Willard was a man of considerable note in the community, and from 1838 until his death was closely identified with the interests of Paw Paw as a miller and merchant, and was a man f prominence in the community. Alonzo Sherman same from the State of New York to Paw Paw in 1844, and engaged in mercantile business in the village as a partner with E. J. House, who was then keeping store in the building previously occupied by Edwin Mears. Since that time Mr. Sherman has been continuously engaged in trade at Paw Paw, and is now a member of the firm of Sherman & Avery, as well as extensively concerned in milling. H. L. Dickinson bought out Nathan Mears in 1845, and in 1847 became a partner with Alonzo Sherman. Mears went into business again, soon after selling to Dickinson, and in 1846 disposed of his store to William R. Hawkins, who had settled in Kalamazoo County in 1836, and had resided in Paw Paw since 1846. F. H. Stevens and Loren Darling opened a store in 1844 on the corner where Sherman & Avery now are, and remained there until 1847, when they retired from business. In that year Edmund Smith, a resident in the town since 1843, and a carpenter by trade, commenced in Paw Paw as a merchant, and still carries on that business. The village has now five dry-goods stores, four grocerystores, five drugstores, one clothing-store, and numerous minor marts of business. Lawyers, Doctors, and Newspapers.-The lawyers and physicians of Paw Paw are mentioned in the chapters devoted to the legal and medical professions in the general history of the county, and in the chapter on the press will be found notices of the various papers which have flourished or languished there. The Postmasters of Paw Paw.-Peter Gremps was the first postmaster of Paw Paw, his appointment dating from 1835. Mr. Gremps, however, paid very little attention to the post-office, Edward Shults, his clerk, being also the deputy postmaster, and transacting the business of the office. Gremps was succeeded in 1842 by George L. Gale, and he was followed successively by John McKinney, John Smolk, A. J. Goodrich, F. H. Stevens, J. M. Longwell, J. W. Huston, E. J. House, A. J. Sorter, O. F. Parker, T. B. Irwin, and George W. Matthews, the latter being the present incumbent. During the three months ending Dec. 31, 1879, $800 worth of stamps were sold at the office, money-orders were issued to the amount of $6624, and $3817.53 were paid out on such orders. Mills and Millers.-The building of the first saw-mill at Paw Paw and its transfer to Gremps & Daniels have been elsewhere mentioned. Gremps & Daniels controlled the property until the death of the latter, after which the mill passed to a numerous succession of owners, until it was worn out and eventually demolished. The mill-site is near that occupied by the Phoenix Flouring-Mill, which uses the same power. The latter establishment, containing two run of stones, belongs to Thomas L. Stevens, and is carried on by M. Wells. In 1837, Stafford Godfrey, a mill-wright, came from Chautauqua Co., N. Y., in response to an invitation from Peter Gremps, and in 1838 began, with R. E. Churchill, the erection for I. W. Willard and Peter Gremps of the grist-mill long known as the Paw Paw Mills, which now contains six run of stones, and is carried on by A. Sherman & Briggs. The castings and stones were brought from St. - I I.-. c.... -,,... ~.... —: ---~-,I IC, -......._-....,.,,..-.., J~+~j;"lcrr~c"'Cj RESIDENCE OF PHILIP SHERR flAw PAw TP,, MICH. RESIDENCE OF A.C.WEBB, PAW PAW T., VANBURE~N Co., MICHIGAN. 77' TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 509 I Joseph, and that its completion gave much satisfaction may be understood from the fact that people had previously to go to Kalamazoo and to Flowerfield, St. Joseph Co., to mill. A. Sherman & Briggs also carry on the Central Flouring-Mills, formerly used as a woolen-mill. Stafford Godfrey, here mentioned, settled in Paw Paw in a house which stood upon the site of the Dyckman House, and in 1842 and 1843 he and Churchill built the present county court-house. His next important work was effected in 1856, when he built the brick Baptist church. Mr. Godfrey, aged eighty, now lives in the village. Free & Martin have a planing-mill in the village, and near there Williamson Mason occupies a building which was put up by J. H. Simmons in 1840, and in which Mr. Mason has a planing-mill, turning-shop, etc. In the same building George Birkenshaw has a woolen-mill, in which he operates the first carding-machine brought to Paw Paw, one Frank Taylor having introduced it into the village. Aside from the manufacturing establishments above named, the principal ones are the foundries of M. Snow & Sons and W. H. Randall, both of which are engaged chiefly in the production of plows. First JWedding, Birth, and Death.-The first wedding in Paw Paw was that of Hannah Mead and one Bellfontaine, in 1833. The bride was a servant-girl in the service of John Thomas, an employee at Job Davis' saw-mill, while the groom was one of the mill-hands. There was neither minister nor justice of the peace in the vicinity, but Job Davis, who declared that he had once been justice of the peace, said he knew the form of the ceremony, and thought it would be all right if he married them. They thought so, too, and were accordingly married by Davis, and began living together as man and wife. They soon moved to Indiana, and for aught that is known have lived as happily (or unhappily) as if a regular ministerial or judicial functionary had celebrated their nuptials. The first child born in Paw Paw-Simeon, son of Archibald Buys-is still living in the township. The wife of Daniel O. Dodge died in 1837, and was the first who died in Paw Paw. She was buried in the tavern garden, but in 1838, when the cemetery in the northern portion of the village was laid out, her remains were conveyed thither. Indian New- Year Calls.-On the last day of the year 1835, Peter Gremps moved into the new house built for him by Williamson Mason and Joseph Royes. That evening Edward Shults-who by reason of a year's residence knew something of Indian customs-told the family that on the morrow they would be visited by a delegation of Indians, whose fashion it was to make New-Year calls on the white settlers, for the understood purpose of ratifying friendships for another year. Sure enough, on the ensuing day a band of about twenty-five Indians, gayly adorned with paint and feathers, called in force, somewhat to the trepidation of the women, whom the Indians insisted upon kissing despite violent protests. Altogether the affair was a jolly one, notwithstanding the kisses. Mrs. Dodge put on her war-paint when the twenty-five Indians demanded to kiss her, and by a sudden attack routed and drove them from her house at the point of the rolling-pin. The First Fourth of July Celebration.-The first celebration of the national holiday in Paw Paw occurred in 1836, and, according to tradition, was a very patriotic and enthusiastic affair, though confined to a limited number of patriots and enthusiasts. The ceremonies attendant upon the celebration included an oration by F. C. Annable (now living in Almena); an address to three veterans of the war of 1812 (of whom Harmon Van Antwerp, aged ninety, was one), presented by a youthful daughter of Peter Gremps, now Mrs. Alonzo Shults, of Paw Paw; periodical(' anvil" salutes, fired by Rodney Hinckley; and a banquet to everybody; the scene of the demonstration being the so-called Public Square," an open space in the woods just west of the present court-house grounds. Village Incorporation and List of Officers.-Paw Paw village was incorporated under an act of the Legislature passed in the spring of 1867, and on the 6th of May of that year the first meeting for the election of village officers was held at the court-house. The judges of election were Russell Parker and J. Whittaker, and the clerk was A. J. Sorter. Two hundred and eighty-six votes were cast, of which Thomas H. Stevenson received 159 votes for president, and C. F. Allen, 127. A full list of the persons chosen annually to be president, trustees, recorder, and treasurer from 1867 to 1879 is here given: 1867.-President, Thomas II. Stephenson; Trustees, F. W. Selleck, Alonzo Sherman, Charles Selleck, E. G. Butler, Chandler Richards; Recorder, A. J. Sorter; Treasurer, Edwin Barnum. 1868.-President, E. O. Briggs; Trustees, G. J. Hudson, W. II. Randall, E. A. Park, Alonzo Sherman. Chester F. Allen; Recorder, A. J. Sorter; Treasurer, Charles R. Avery. 1869.-President, E. O. Briggs; Trustees, George Voke, J. W. Van Fossen, Joseph Davey, T. W. Melchor, William H. Randall; Recorder, A. J. Sorter; Treasurer, George W. Longwell. 1870.-President, Edwin Martin; Trustees, Sydney Cox, A. M. Harrison, E. C. Palmer, P. I. Bragg, Aaron Van Auken; Recorder, John Knowles; Treasurer, John W. Free. 1871.-President, Peter H. Gremps; Trustees, Joseph Davey, E. C. Palmer, Russell Parker, Peter H1. Gremps, Sydney Cox; Recorder, A. M. Harrison; Treasurer, Charles R. Avery. 1872.-President, G. J. Hudson; Trustees, J. H. Freeman, William Wiley, John W. Free, Joshua Hunt, Aaron Van Auken; Recorder, A. M. Harrison; Treasurer, Charles R. Avery. 1873.-President, J. H. Freeman; Trustees, Joshua Hunt, George Voke, P. I. Gremps, William Read, A. W. Miller, James Meyers; Recorder, William H. Mason; Treasurer, Charles R. Avery. 1874.-President, I. W. Willard; Trustees, J. C. Rousseau, Joseph Kilburn, James Bennett; Recorder, W. H. Mason; Treasurer, C. R. Avery. 1875.-President, Peter HI. Gremps; Trustees, E. O. Briggs, Joshua Hunt, A. W. Miller; Recorder, W. H. Mason; Treasurer, C. R. Avery. S 1876.-President, Edmond Smith; Trustees, George W. Longwell, C. R. Ocobock, William C. Macullar; Recorder, William H. Mason; Treasurer, C. R. Avery. 1877.-President, Loyal Crane; Trustee', Joshua Hunt, A. W. Miller, R. E. Quick; Recorder, Seigfried Shafer; Treasurer, E. P. Hathaway. 1878.-President, Charles S. Maynard; Trustees, James Phillips, N. P. Conger, Charles Flanders; Recorder, Edgar M. Snow; Treasurer, E. P. Hathaway. 1879.-President, J. W. Ball; Trustees, Alonzo Shults, James L. Tyrrcll, A. F. McNeil; Recorder, E. M. Snow; Treasurer, E. P. Hathaway. Paw Paw Fire Department.-This department was organized Sept. 29, 1868, with one engine company and one 510 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. hose company, H. L. Eggleston being the chief engineer. A hand-engine and hose-cart were then purchased and furnished to the companies; later a hook-and-ladder company was added. The original engine is still in use, although efforts are being made to supersede it with a steamer. The officers of the department are William Wiley, Chief Engineer; A. W. Showerman, Assistant Engineer; S. H. Lamont, Secretary; and M. P. Allen, Treasurer. The engine company numbers 37, Henry Hopping being the foreman. L. W. Melchor is the foreman of the hose company, which has 18 members, and R. E. Quick of the hook-and-ladder company, which numbers 14 members. Fires.-The business centre of the village has on three occasions been ravaged by severe fires, and two of them were especially disastrous. The first conflagration of any note took place in 1859, when the old Exchange Hotel. standing upon the site of the present Dyckman House, was destroyed. In 1866 the flames swept both sides of Main Street west of Kalamazoo Street. The loss was a severe one, but the citizens afterwards found some consolation in the presence of the fine brick blocks which now line both sides of Main Street upon the district burned over in 1866. On the 8th of January, 1868, the north side of Main Street between the Dyckman House and the post-office was ravaged by fire, which incident has thus far been the last important conflagration in the village. The Peninsular Electric Telegraph Company was organized in 1876, for the purpose of providing local telegraph conveniences. About two miles of wire are in use, and about 25 families enjoy the convenience of direct telegraphic communication between their homes and all parts of the village. 0. W. Rowland is the President, E. E. Rowland the Superintendent, and F. J. McEntee the Secretary and Treasurer. The Press of Paw Paw.-The first newspaper in Van Buren County was published at Paw Paw in January, 1843, and was named the Paw Paw Democrat. Mention of that paper has already been made in the general history of the county, as also sketches of the several newspapers which have been published from time to time in Paw Paw village at later periods, down to the beginning of 1880, when the National Independent went out of existence. Shortly after that event the material of the Independent was utilized by a stock company in the publication of the Paw Paw Herald, which gives promise of success. Banking.-The village of Paw Paw had no organized banking institution until Aug. 11, 1865, when the First Nationat Bank of Paw Paw was chartered, with a capital of $50,000.' It was the outgrowth of the private bankinghouse of Stevens, Holton & Co., who had. carried on a banking business in Paw Paw for several years previous to 1865, as the successors of Stevens, French & Co. The first Board of Directors of the First National Bank was composed of Thomas L. Stevens, Alonzo Sherman, James Crane, Thos. H. Stevens, Chas. S. Maynard, N. M. Pugsley, and E. O. Briggs. Alonzo Sherman was chosen president, and J. A. Holton cashier. The bank has now a capital of $100,000, a circulation of $45,000, a deposit account of $65,000, and a loan account of $120,000. The bank building on Main Street I I was erected by the directors, and was first occupied in 1867. Mr. Alonzo Sherman is now the president (having filled that place since 1865), and F. E. Stevens is the cashier. The robbery of the First National Bank in 1867 was for many years after its occurrence an important local sensation. It happened in March of that year, while the bank was occupying temporary quarters in R. M. Buck's hardware-store, pending the completion of its new building. The cashier, E. O. Briggs, discovered upon opening the bank-safe one Monday morning that upwards of $22,000 in bonds and currency had been abstracted, and that, too, without leaving any exterior marks to show that the combination-lock had been forced. Pinkerton's Chicago Detective Agency being called upon to furnish a key to the mystery, sent one of its corps to Paw Paw, who managed so cleverly that although he resided at Paw Paw about six months as a professed insurance agent, no one, save two of the bank officials, knew his real business, until he startled the community one day by causing the arrest of R. M. Buck, the hardware merchant (a young man high in popular esteem), on the charge of robbing the bank. The evidence against him was complete, and he was convicted and sentenced to three years' confinement in the State-prison. Nearly all the money, which had been buried by Buck on a farm in Keeler township, was recovered. The Paw Paw Rrile Company.-This organization was formed in 1839. Andrew Longstreet was chosen captain, Edwin Mears first lieutenant, and David Woodman second lieutenant. The command numbered about 40 men, and was attached to the 28th Regiment, 14th Brigade, 7th Division, of the State militia. The " Rifles" maintained an organization until the outbreak of the Mexican war, into which several of the members entered, when the company disbanded. Paw -Paw Lodge, No. 18,. 0. O. F.-This lodge was instituted Nov. 19, 1846, when a charter was issued to John McKinney, E. 0. Briggs, Frank Taylor, C. R. Maffit, and John Smolk. It is now in a flourishing condition, with a membership of 78, and owns a handsome lodgeroom, the first session in which was held in 1874. The present officers of the lodge are C. W. Ward, N. G.; A. Van Auken, V. G.; O. W. Rowland, Sec.; C. Lich, P. Sec.; E. Martin, Treas.; C. N. Griffin, W.; O. N. Hilton, C.; Edward Snow, I. G.; William Jones, O. G.; C. A. Harrison, R. S. N. G.; N. P. Conger, L. S. N. G.; A. F. McNeal, R. S. S.; William Reed, L. S. S.; L. S. Tyrrell, R. S. V. G.; - Chapman, L. S. V. G. Of the charter members named above only three are still living,-E. 0. Briggs, Frank Taylor, and John Smolk. Paw Paw Lodge, No. 25, F. and A. M.-This lodge was organized under dispensation May 6, 1848, and on the 10th of January, 1849, a charter was issued to A. W. Broughton, B. F. Chadwick, D. O. Dodge, Peter Gremps, Hubbell Warner, O. Warner, and John McKinney. Until the charter was obtained the lodge worked under the " Ancient Order." At the first election of officers, Feb. 10, 1849, B. F. Chadwick was chosen W. M.; J. R. Baker, S. W.; D. 0. Dodge, J. W.; Peter Gremps, Treas.; F. E. Stevens, Sec.; Hubbell Warner, S. D.; Williamson Mason, J. D.; John Smolk, Tiler. On the 13th of February, 1849, the rI PrOTOS. 9V J H. PRATER B.A. MU RDOCK. MRS.B.A. MURDOCK. (~ I I '" r 76 1;::.-:: *:: -~ ' ~?:::: ~_I__~:~~ —::::::,i:,i:~ ~ TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 511 newly-elected officers were installed by John Stewart, G. M.; C. L. Bird, D. G. M.; 11. Marsh, G. Marshal; Nathaniel Pullman, G-. C. The lodge now owns a finely-appointed lodge-room, and has upon its roll 100 active members. The present officers are E. Curtis, W. M.; W. M. Thayer, S. W.; J. B. Smith, J. W.; C. G. Nash, Treas.; F. E. Stevens, Sec.; and Andrew Harwick, Tiler. Paw Paw Chapter, No. 34, R. A. L —This Masonic body was organized Jan. 10, 1865, the charter designating J. R. Baker as H. P.; O. S. Simmons as K.; and E. O. Briggs as Scribe. The membership is now 60, and the officers are as follows: H. P., G. J. Hudson; K., William Dole; S., William Thayer; C. of H., E. A. Blackman; P. S., Ela Curtiss; R. A. C., C. R. Ocobock; 3d V., Joseph Davy; 2d V., R. O. Beebe; 1st V., S. Shaefer; Treas., C. G. Nash; Sec., F. E. Stevens; Sentinel, A. H. Harwick. Paw Paw Encampment, No. 30, I. O. 0. F.-Paw Paw Encampment was organized March 26,1868. The charter members were C. M. Odell, B. Odell, C. Lich, S. H. Blackman, T. W. Melchor, E. Martin, and J. I. Brown, of whom all are still living except T. W. Melchor. The membership is now 28, and the officers are as follows: G. W. Matthews, C. P.; J. M. Brown, H. P.; William Reed, S. W.; 0. W. Rowland, Scribe; C. Lich, Finan. Sec.; E. Martin, Treas.; William P. Jones, J. W. Paw Paw Lodge, No. 37, A. O. U. W.-This is a section of a new secret society, and was organized Feb. 26, 1878, with 10 mlembers. E. S. Dunning was P. N. W.; O. W. Rowland, M. W.; and John Knowles, G. F. The membership on the 1st of January, 1880, was 26, when the officers were O. W. Rowland, P. M. W.; Albert Robinson, M. W.; G. NI. Koons, G. F.; S. M. Wilkie, O.; W. H. Mason, Recorder; B. F. Heckert, Financier; M. J. McEntee, Receiver; R. A. Whitman, G.; P. G. Forsyth, I. W.; A. E. Quick, O. W. Regular sessions are held every Thursday. Martin. Lodge, No. 18, A. Y. A —This lodge was organized in 1874, with 10 members, L. R. Roberts being W. M.; Jonathan Grinage, S. WV.; and B. F. Roberts, J. W. The membership is now 19. L. R. Roberts is W. M.; Edward Cable, S. TW.; and Francis Smith, J. W. Paw Paw Lodge, No. 30, Knights of Honlor.-The society just named was organized Dec. 1, 1877, with 13 members, B. F. Stearns being D.; John Ihling, P. D.; and F. B. Kelly, I. The membership is now 22, and the officers are A. J. Mills, D.; H. Legrave, V. D.; C. W. Ward, A. D.; 1. A. Rogers, G.; J. D. Sherman, T.; B. F. Stearns, R.; H. S. Williams, F. R; L. C. Woodman, Chaplain. Regular sessions are held the first and third Thursdays of each month. Paw Paw Grange, No. 10, P. of I —The Paw Paw section of the Patrons of Husbandry was organized Dec. 31, 1872, with about 20 members. The Masters to the present time have been Joseph Gilman, J. J. Woodman, T. R. Harrison, David Woodman (2d), A. C. Glidden, T. R. Harrison (second term), and J. C. Gould. The present officers are J. C. Gould, M.; S. D. Searls, O.; D. Wood man (2d), L.; A. C. Glidden, Chap.; James Clancey, Treas.; O. H. P. Sheldon, Sec.; Peter Brummel, G.; H. D. Sherrod, Steward; M. Buskirk, Assistant Steward. Blue Ribbon Club.-At a meeting of seven friends of temperance, held in Dickson's harness-shop in the year 1878, the Paw Paw Blue Ribbon Club was organized, for the sole object of promoting the cause of total abstinence, its seven founders having previously been members of the Red Ribbon Club (since dissolved), from which they had withdrawn in consequence of their dissatisfaction with its management. The Blue Ribbon Club increased in strength rapidly from the outset, and down to Jan. 1, 1880, had received full 400 members, of whom there were on that date 334 in active membership, inclusive of 54 in the children's department. Weekly meetings are held in the Opera-House, at which pleasant literary entertainments are presented to the public free of charge. The present officers are E. E. Rowland, President; Jared Loveland, First Vice-President; Charles Stevens, Second Vice-President; Miss E. E. Crane, Recording Secretary; E. H. Lindsley, Financial Secretary; C. C. Hoppin, Treasurer; and Frank Rawson, Marshal. The Opera-House.-In 1876, George W. Longwell bought the building previously used for thirty-two years as a Methodist church and transformed it into a commodious and tastefully-appointed theatre. It has a seating capacity of 600, is supplied with a gallery, and has a stage well furnished with scenery and mechanical appliances. Library and Literary Association.-An institution was organized in January, 1880, for the purpose of providing a public library and reading-room, and has received at the outset such encouragement as to give it a strong prospect of success. PROSPECT HILL CEMETERY. On the 24th of March, 1859, the Prospect Hill Cemetery Association was organized, for the purpose of providing a public cemetery on Prospect Hill. Land was accordingly purchased there and handsomely laid out with lawns, smooth drives, walks, and other attractive improvements. I. WV. Willard was chosen president, Elisha Durkee clerk, and T. A. Granger treasurer. Prospect Hill is one of the highest elevations in Van Buren County. Upon its summit, in 1875, Mr. I. W. Willard erected an observatory 127 feet high, from which, on a clear day, it is said may be seen the waters of Lake Michigan and as many as thirty villages. The cemetery, which now covers an area of 30 acres, has many natural beauties, and is adorned with costly monuments. The present officers of the association are F. W. Selleck, President; J. W. Van Fossen, Clerk; and G. J. Hudson, Treasurer. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES IN THE TOWNSHIP. Methodist Episcop(tl Church.-The first sermon (of which there is any present recollection) heard in Paw Paw was delivered by Rev. Junia Warner, Jr., a Methodist Episcopal elder of Almena, in April, 1835, in Hinckley's blacksmith-shop. From that time until 1839, Mr. Warner preached frequently in the village, as did occasionally traveling preachers fiom Kalamazoo and Silver Creek. In the hfll of 1835, Rev. J. T. Robe, in charge of the Kalamazoo mission, organized a Methodist Episcopal class in Paw Paw, with the following members: Theophilus and.Charlotte Bangs, Junia Warner, Jr., Arminda Warner, W. Newcomb, Clarissa Newcomb, David Thorp, Junia 512 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Warner, Sr., Philura Warner, Sellick Longwell, Nancy Longwell, John Lyle, Oliver and Avis Warner, Horace and Susan Bonfoey, John K. and Emeline Bingham. Of the foregoing, two are still members of the church, namely, Arminda Warner, aged seventy-five, and Charlotte Bangs, aged eighty-one. David Thorp, who was the leader of the first class, offered his log chair-shop on the west side of the river as a place of worship. After using it some time the class went into a fiamed house owned by Myron Hoskins. Afterwards the village school-house was used, and in 1844 a church building was erected upon the site of the one now in use. The first church trustees were Theophilus Bangs, Junia Warner, Jr., Oliver Warner, Horace Bonfoey, and John Lyle. Among the earliest pastors were Revs. T. P. McCool, S. S. Williams, E. Kellogg, and H. B. Beers. The church was at first attached to the Laporte district, Indiana Conference, afterwards to the Michigan district, in the same Conference, and later still to the Kalamazoo and Niles districts. The corner-stone of the present handsome house of worship was laid Aug. 9, 1876. The structure, which cost $6600, was dedicated Dec. 17, 1876. Soon afterwards a union meeting was held in it, when 75 persons were received into the Methodist Church, and 70 into the Presbyterian. Rev. J. K. Stark was the Methodist and Rev. T. D. Marsh the Presbyterian pastor. During the forty-four years of its existence the church has received into membership upwards of 2000 persons. The membership on the 1st of January, 1880, was 160, Rev. S. B. Mills being then the pastor in charge. The trustees are James Bale, Thomas Adriance, S. H. Blackman, C. A. Young, A. J. Sorter, John Walker, H. H. Hurlbut, and E. M. Snow. The class-leaders are C. M. Gilson, James Abrams, and Samuel Qua. The Sundayschool is in charge of C. A. Young, and has an average attendance of about 80. First Baptist Church.-On the 21st of April, 1838, a few Baptists living in Paw Paw village met to talk about organizing a Baptist Church. Stafford Godfrey was chosen chairman, and William D. Baldwin clerk of the meeting. As a result the First Baptist Church of Layfayette was then formed, with the following six members: Stafford Godfrey and wife, William D. Baldwin and wife, E. H. Niles, and Ursula Conklin. E. H. Niles was chosen clerk, and Stafford Godfrey and William D. Baldwin deacons. Elder Hall, of Kalamazoo, was invited to preach once in four weeks. During the first year five members were added, namely, Archibald Buys and wife, Luther Branch, and Henry G. Monroe and wife. On the 20th of March, 1841, the name of the organization was changed to " The Van Buren County Church, located at Paw Paw and Brush Creek," the reason being that worship was held at Brush Creek, as well as Paw Paw. In 1844, the church being controlled by residents of Lawrence township, the Paw Paw members withdrew, and on the 8th of August in that year eight persons met in Paw Paw, at the house of Elder M. Clark, and organized the First Baptist Church of Paw Paw. The eight persons were Elder M. Clark, Stafford Godfrey, Alonzo Sherman, Matilda Engle, Lucy Ann Sherman, Jane Woodman, El-.:::::::l I mira Baker, and Jane Legrave. The records do not indicate that the church employed any regular pastor for the first few years, but show that occasional supplies were provided. The school-house was used for services, as was the court-house. An attempt was made to build a house of worship in 1848, but it was not successful. Between 1850 and 1853 meetings were held but seldom, but in the latter year there was a renewal of interest. The membership increased to 37, and Rev. J. T. R. Jones was engaged as pastor. In October, 1855, Elder Alfred Handy succeeded Elder Jones as pastor, and remained until 1859. On the 9th of September, 1857, the corner-stone of the brick church now in use was laid, and within a brief period the house was occupied for worship, services having previously been held in a building in Main Street now used as a part of Harris' carriage-factory. The pastors since 1860 have been Elders Dunham, Walden, Maybin, Purrett, Galpin, Haydon, Stephenson, Choate, Heritage, and Wilkie. Rev. Mr. Wilkie, the last minister, retired in August, 1879, since which time the church has been without a pastor. The church membership on the 1st of January, 1880,-was about 80. The deacons were then Stafford Godfrey, J. S. Cogswell, and Eli Wise. The church trustees are N. Grover, A. Sherman, R. B. Lane, A. M. Palmer, and J. C. Evart. Christian (or Disciple) Church.-From an old church record dated March 25,1843, is taken the subjoined entry: " We, the undersigned, members of the Church of Christ, having met at the dwelling of Brother Loyal Crane, for the purpose of setting in order the things that remain, have proceeded to do so by appointing Brothers James Crane and Loyal Crane bishops (elders), and Brothers Asahel S. Downing and Samuel Turner deacons. James Crane, Loyal Crane, Samuel Turner, Asahel S. Downing, Alonzo Crane, Daniel Abbott, James B. Crane, Almon B. Corey." It would appear from the foregoing that an organization had been effected previous to the meeting above mentioned, and according to the best evidence the date of that organization was in February, 1842. Besides those above named as members, the following joined the church at the meeting of March 25, 1843: Rheuma Barnum, Sally Ann Crane, Hannah Downing, Alonzo J. Abbott, Eliza Crane, Ann Turner, Sarah Ann Barnum, Susannah Lee, Sally Armstrong. At a church-meeting held in the school-house at Paw Paw, March 30, 1844, James Crane and Asahel S. Downing were appointed elders, Samuel Turner and Loyal Crane deacons, and Edwin Barnum and Loyal Crane evangelists. The first preacher was Rev. Mr. Martin, a missionary, who preached only at extended intervals. In 1858 the society purchased the meeting-house previously used by the Baptists, and in 1861 the church edifice now in use was completed and occupied. At the close of that year the clerk reported that the membership was 234, that 101 had been admitted during the year, that 11 had been dismissed, that 3 had been excluded, and that 11 had "gone to the war." After Rev. Mr. Martin's time, among those who served the church as pastors were Rev. Messrs. Martindale, Miller, Anderson, Roe, Wilcox, Lane, Jackson, Spencer, Frame, Crane, Ebert, Collins, Russell, Searls, and Brooks. Rev. TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 513 I, Theodore Brooks, now the pastor, entered upon his charge in 1878. The membership is now 219, and in the Sunday-school (of which James Crane is superintendent) there are 13 teachers and an average attendance of 102 pupils. The church elders are David Woodman (2d), J. W. Ball, and N. P. Conger. The deacons are A. S. Downing (chosen March 25, 1843), M. P. Allen, S. Shafer, and J. F. Bullard. Free - Will Baptist Church.-The Free -Will Baptist Church of Paw Paw was organized Feb. 13, 1841, in School District No. 2, in the township of Antwerp, near Paw Paw village. The first members were Samuel Gilman, Judith Gilman, Abigail Woodman, David Woodman, Joseph Butler, Laura Butler, James Lee, Hannah Lee, Roxanna Lee, Susan Morrison, Silas Breed, and Anna Gray. The records mention the election of Silas Breed as the first clerk, but are silent as to the election of deacons. Those who have served the church as pastors to the present are Revs. Daniel Osborne, J. H. Darling, L. J. Whitcomb, Stephen Bathrick, G. P. Blanchard, G. P. Linderman, and J. B. Drew, the latter being the present pastor, who began his services Sept. 1, 1878. Three hundred and eight persons in all have been received into the church since its organization. The membership on the 1st of January, 1880, was 200. Worship was continued in the Antwerp school-house and other convenient places until the completion of the present edifice, which was dedicated in 1859. The deacons of the church are Philip Sherrod and 0. H. P. Sheldon, the latter being also the clerk. The Sunday-school, in charge of Edwin Douglass, has a membership of 150 and an average attendance of 90. First Presbyterian Church.-The First Presbyterian Church of Paw Paw was organized in the autumn of 1843, at the residence of Edmund Smith. The loss of the early records has rendered it impossible to reproduce the names of all the first members, but the memory of old residents supplies the names of some of them, as follows: Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Van Antwerp, Salmon Hunt and his daughters Mary and Margaret (one of them, now Mrs. N. M. Pugsley, being still a member of the church), Mrs. Edmund Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Elias Harwick, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mills. The first elders were Daniel Van Antwerp and Samuel Mills. The first trustees of the society, elected June 24, 1844, were Daniel Van Antwerp, Salmon Hunt, Samuel Mills, A. K. Axtell, Dwight C. Grimes, Lorin Darling, A. V. Pantland, Samuel Grimes. and Edmund Smith. During 1844, Rev. James McLaurine was chosen to be the first pastor, who served about three years. After being then absent a year (during which time Rev. Mr. Davidson supplied the pulpit), he returned and remained two years. He closed his labors in 1850, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Holmes, who was followed in 1852 by Rev. Oliver W. Mather. For a brief season, in 1855, Rev. Mr. Whitney was pastor, and about the beginning of 1856 Rev. H. C. Tuttle entered upon the charge. Rev. Norman Kellogg succeeded him in 1859, and remained six years. In 1865, Rev. Albert E. Hastings began his pastorate, and in 1868 65 Rev. O. H. Barnard became the pastor, and remained until 1871. He was followed by Revs. N. Otis, C. R. Wilkins, and T. D. Marsh, the latter being now in charge. During about a year after its organization worship was held in the ball-room of the Exchange Hotel, and in 1845 a church edifice was erected near the court-house. In 1856 the building was destroyed by fire, and in 1858 was replaced by the present structure, which was dedicated March 3d of that year. The church has now a membership of 140, and the Sunday-school an average attendance of 90. The present elders are Robert Morrison, N. M. Pugsley, Lyman Tuttle, John S. Tuckey, E. P. Mills, Chandler Richards, John W. Free, Henry Randolph, Thomas Tuckey. St. Mtarc's (Protestant Episcopal) Church.-St. Mark's parish was organized at the court-house in Paw Paw Feb. 22, 1851, by A. W. Broughton, Anthony Cooley, Thomas J. Pinnock, Charles Selleck, I. W. Willard, Williamson Mason, T. W. Melchor, George B. Sherwood, J. R. Baker, E. S. Smith, George W. Ocobock, O. F. Parker, R. J. Merrill, Henry Ismon, H. L. Eggleston, A. V. Pantland, Peter Gremps, S. T. Conway, J. K. Pugsley, B. Hurd, A. Wilder, William Hill, and Benoni Hall. At the second meeting, March 11th, Theodore P. Sheldon and Thomas J. Pinnock were chosen wardens, and I. W. Willard, George B. Sherwood, G. W. Ocobock, Anthony Cooley, J. K. Pugsley, and B. Hurd as vestrymen. Of the vestrymen the only one known to be living is J. K. Pugsley. On the 3d of June, 1851, Bishop McCoskry gave his canonical consent to the organization of the church, and on the 1st of July Rev. V. Spalding was called to act as rector, at a salary of $200 per year, it being understood that the Missionary Society would furnish him $200 more. Mr. Spalding held his first service in an abandoned store, and used the counter as his pulpit. In February, 1852, a cooper-shop belonging to the Messrs. Grimes, and previously used by the Congregational Society, was leased, at a rental of $1 per week, being occupied about a year. That house of worship- is now a portion of Harris' carriage-factory. Mr. Spalding preached until December, 1852, and after that the church organization ceased its active existence for a period of thirteen years. On the 11th of January, 1865, Rev. Dr. C. A. Foster, of St. John's Church, Kalamazoo, revived St. Mark's Church with considerable success, and remained in charge until January, 1866. Rev. Darius Barker was then chosen rector, and served as such until December, 1877, when Rev. George P. Schetky, the present rector, began his service. Shortly after Mr. Barker entered upon his pastorate he built a commodious addition to his residence in Paw Paw, in which the church met for worship until the erection, in 1876, of the edifice now in use. The church membership is now 47. The wardens are D. C. Coleman and J. K. Pugsley; the vestrymen are C. J. Nash, F. E. Stevens, J. Davey, A. J. Mills, J. W. Van Fossen, and William Pugsley. The Sunday-school has an attendance of 60, and is in charge of the pastor. The stations in St. Mark's parish are Paw Paw, Lawrence, Hartford, Bangor, Breedsville, South Haven, Pine Grove, Kendall, Lawton, and Decatur. St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception ( Cath 514 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. olic).-As early as 1848, Father Barron, of Notre Dame, at South Bend, used to visit Paw Paw occasionally for the purpose of holding mass for the benefit of the families of Pee Pee Yah and other Indians. In 1855, when the village contained seven or eight Catholic families, Father La Belle, of Kalamazoo, held mass in the residence of James Bennett, and came after that about once a month for several years, holding services generally at Mr. Bennett's house. After Father La Belle's death, there came Father Cappon, of Niles, Fathers Quinn, Tierney, and Murray, of Kalamazoo, and Father Roper, of Silver Creek, during which period Paw Paw remained a mission in Kalamazoo parish. It was then created a parish by the name of St. Mary's of the Immaculate Conception, with Rev. John Wernert as the first resident priest, who still holds that position. The present house of worship was commenced during Father La Belle's time, but was not completed until 1872. The attendance includes about 50 families. The missions attached to the parish are Arlington and Decatur. The church trustees are James Doyle, William Ryan, and William Hough. SCHOOLS. The first village school in Paw Paw was taught by Miss Roxa Agard, in the summer of 1835, and there being no better school-house available, Rodney Hinckley's blacksmith-shop was utilized for that purpose. The appointments of that school-house consisted principally of a few slab seats, but the scholars are said to have been quite as studious and zealous as in some more pretentious institutions. There were perhaps ten scholars when the attendance was at its best, but there were times when not more than four or five would respond to roll-call. Of that chosen band of ambitious girls and boys, those known to be living are Mrs. Alonzo Shults (a daughter of Peter Gremps) and Jonathan J. Woodman, of Paw Paw, and Isaac Hinckley and his two sisters (children of Rodney Hinckley), now living at South Haven. The next summer (1836) the village school was taught by Melissa Warner, in a log shanty on the west side of the river, just north of where Mason's planing-mill now stands. That school had 15 or 20 pupils. During the summer of 1836, Williamson Mason and Joseph Royes built a schoolhouse on Gremps Street, and in the fall it was occupied, Lorenzo Cate being the first teacher in it, and being also the first male teacher employed in the village. That building was used not only as a school-house, but also as a courthouse, and on Sundays it became a house of worship. The condition of the public schools of the township on the 1st of September, 1879, according to the official report for the year 1879, may be learned from the subjoined table: Number of districts (whole, 5; fractional, 4).... 9 " " scholars of school age................... 859 Average attendance...................................... 756 Value of school property............................... $51,300 Number of teachers...................................... 31 Amount paid teachers................................... $4,073 Total expenses for the year........................... $9,721 The school directors for 1879 were J. Andrews, W. Wilson, G. T. Sherrod, E. E. Crane, Charles H. Butler, H. Hinckley, B. Odell, W. M. Shepard, George L. Tuttle. i, Paw Paw Union School.-The building now used as a town-hall was originally the union school; and although additions were made to its accommodations as the demand for room increased, there was still a lack of space, and in December, 1868, the district resolved to build a brick school-house, to cost $25,000, and to borrow the money required. The result was the present elegant and imposing structure which stands at the head of Main Street, and which is justly the pride of the town. The entire cost of ground, building, and furniture was $40,000. The edifice was begun in the winter of 1868-69, and was opened for use in September, 1870. It contains six departments, -high school, grammar school, two intermediate, and two primary departments,-in which the aggregate average attendance is 414. The members of the school board are E. O. Briggs, Josiah Andrews, G. J. Hudson, Andrew Richards, Aaron Van Auken, and George W. Longwell. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ALBERT HARRISON. This gentleman was born in the town of Tyre, Seneca Co., N. Y., April 19, 1828, and was the fourth in a family of seven children,-four sons and three daughters. His father, Jonas Harrison, was a native of New Jersey. His mother, Hannah (Markham) Harrison, was a native of England, and came to the United States in 1812. She is still living, aged eighty-four, but her husband is deceased. In the fall of 1847 the family came to Van Buren Co., Mich. Albert Harrison, who had remained at home until he was twenty-one, worked for two years thereafter at monthly wages, and in 1850 purchased land on section 36 in Paw Paw township, which he subsequently exchanged for forty acres on section 16, where his father-in-law now lives. Sept. 7, 1856, he was married to Esther E., daughter of Hiram I. and Elizabeth Southwell, she being the fourth in a family of seven children,-four sons and three daughters. She was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., May 3, 1836. Her parents, who were both natives of that State, came to Michigan in the spring of 1855. Mr. Harrison purchased one hundred and twelve acres of land, which is all under improvement. As they have no children of their own they adopted an orphan girl at the age of two and a half years, who is now living with them, aged twenty-one, and could scarcely be dearer to them if she were their own daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are consistent and influential members of the Disciples Church, with which Mrs. Harrison united when she was seventeen years of age. Mr, Harrison is a Republican in politics, but never took an active part in the political field, and has never sought for nor held an important office. MR. JOSEPH WOODMAN. ELDER JOSEPH WOODMAN. MRS. JOSEPH WOODMAN. Elder Joseph Woodman was born in Barrington, N. H., Feb. 12, 1790. When quite young, his father, John Woodman, with his family, became a pioneer settler in Caledonia Co., Vt. Joseph was the second child, and eldest son in the family, and in early life he developed those active qualities of labor, perseverance, and prudence, which crowned his life with success and honor. He was married to Tryphena Johnson, of the same county, Jan. 1, 1810, with whom he lived a happy union fifty-three years, she dying June 14, 1863, in the seventy-second year of her age, having had ten children, six of whom still survive. Riley, the eldest son, resides in Powhatan, Kan., the other five, viz.: David Woodman (2d), J. J. Woodman, Mrs. Joseph Luce, Mrs. Freeman Ruggles, and Mrs. H. P. Nelson, are residents of Van Buren County. Soon after his marriage he, with his wife, joined the FreeWill Baptist Church. Earnest in his religious convictions, he soon to the labor of his hands joined that of the ministry, and engaged in preaching the gospel. In the spring of 1831 he sold the farm (among the hills) in Sutton, on which he had lived several years, and which he cleared and improved with his own hands, also the saw-mill which he built on the stream near his residence, and in July of that year emigrated to Western New York, and settled on a farm in Riga, Monroe Co., where he resided until the spring of 1835, when he with his family moved to Michigan, and settled upon the land which he located and which became his future home, on the Territorial Road in the township of Antwerp, east of and adjoining the village of Paw Paw. He was the first white settler, and built the first log house and the first frame barn in the township. His log house, built in three days and finished ready for occupancy, and into which he moved his family on the 10th day of May, 1835, was built on the spot now occupied by the fine residence of his youngest son, Hon. J. J. Woodman, to whom he sold all of his farm in 1861, except forty acres on which his residence stood, which he built in 1838, and in which he lived forty-one years, and until his death, April 2, 1879, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, one month, and twenty-one days. When he settled upon his farm there was but one small frame house, three log cabins, and a saw-mill on the territory now occupied by the beautiful and flourishing village of Paw Paw. There being no church of his faith near him at the time, he united with the Protestant Methodists, and was soon after ordained, and was actively engaged in the ministry until within a few years of his death, when advancing age compelled him to retire from the pulpit and active duties of a long and useful life, and seek the quiet and comfortable surroundings of his home and fireside. His second wife, Mrs. Mary Osmer, to whom he was married in the winter of 1863, faithfully ministered to him in his declining years. He was a representative man of his time, and took an active part in the early politics of the State. He was magistrate of his township for nine years; and many were the suits tried before him, in which Charles E. Stuart, Miller, and Balch, of the Kalamazoo bar, were engaged as counsel. His name is associated with nearly all of the stirring events and public enterprises connected with the early settlement and development of the county; and he lived to see his children settled around him in comfortable homes; the red man and the forests pass away, and in their place a refined civilization with broad and rich cultivated fields and thriving villages. From the records of the Woodman family, which have been carefully compiled and published, it appears to have been remarkable not only for numbers and longevity, but for unito.n morality. Their ancestor, Edward Woodman, came from England, and settled in Newbury, Mass., in 1635, and in 1856 his descendants numbered seven thousand four hundred; and we have been unable to ascertain that any one of this vast multitude, or their descendants down to the present time, has ever been arrested for crime. As an example of longevity, we note the twelve children of Joshua and Eunice Woodman, who settled in Kingston, N. H., in 1736. Of this family, one died at the age of ninety-seven, one at ninety-three, two at eighty-six, two at eighty-four, two at eighty-one, two at eighty, one at seventy-six, and one at sixty-eight. The combined ages of the twelve amounted to nine hundred and ninety-six years. At a reunion of the Woodman family, at the residence of Hon. J. J. Woodman, in 1877, over eighty representatives of the family were present, and the occasion was one of interest, and of unusual occurrence. The venerable father was conducted to the parlor, where an agreeable surprise awaited him. On the walls hung the life-size portraits, recently painted, of himself and the wife of his youth, the mother of his children, who, though not lost or forgotten, is gone before. After looking at them earnestly and well, he simply remarked, "Yes, yes, that's Tryphena," and " Yes, that's me." The whole company were arranged upon the lawn in front of the house in the following order, —and were photographed by an artist who had been employed for the occasion: Elder Joseph Woodman, the subject of this sketch-who was then nearly eighty-eight years of age, and whose descendants numbered fifty-two-occupied the centre, with his three brothers and two sisters seated according to their respective ages upon his left; the united ages of the six amounting to five hundred and one years,-the youngest of whom was Rev. Jonathan Woodman, father of Dr. L. C. Woodman, of Paw Paw, in his eightieth year, and who had been constantly engaged in the ministry for sixty-two years; and is now pastor of a church, and preaching regularly in his native State, Vermont. On his right was his eldest child, Mrs. Sabra Luce, and her daughter, Mrs. Emily Abrams, and her daughter, Mrs. Ella Wattles with her infant son. Six octogenarian brothers and sisters on one hand, and five generations on the other, with seventy representatives of the family standing in the rear, all but four of whom are residents of -Van Buren County.. i - i L4 TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 515 PETER GREMPS. MRS. PETER GREMPS. PETER GREMPS, whose portrait, together with that of his wife, appears on this page, was born in the town of Palatine, Montgomery Co., N. Y., May 12, 1801, and was the youngest and the only son in a family of six children. His parents, John P. and Nancy (Belinger) Gremps, were also natives of the town of Palatine. John Gremps was a soldier of the Revolution, and was wounded in action. He died about the year 1815. Mrs. Nancy Gremps died in 1837. After his father's death Peter Gremps remained at home with his mother. In 1820, when but nineteen years of age, he was married to Christina H., daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Houck, natives of Schoharie Co., N. Y., and lived on the old homestead until 1835. His attention was attracted to the wonderful tide of emigration which swept westward, and he decided to join the throng who were seeking homes in the great West. To decide was to act, and he came to Michigan via the Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence by lake to Detroit. At the latter place he met his son, John Gremps, and a nephew named Arnold Vedder, who had made the journey with teams across Canada. Two weeks later they arrived at the site of Paw Paw, Van Buren Co. Mr. Gremps purchased land on section 12, and became one of the founders of Paw Paw village. He was its first postmaster, which was the only office he could be induced to accept. He was ever industrious, frugal, and genial, and trained his family to similar habits. He at first accumulated but a moderate quantity of worldly goods, but finally became possessed of an abundance. In company with Messrs. Willard and Daniels, he built the first gristmill at Paw Paw, the same which is now standing. His principal business was always that of a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Gremps were the parents of six children, as follows: John, born in 1821, died in 1861; Ann Eliza, born in 1823, died in 1847; Rosanna, born Dec. 14, 1825, married to Alonzo Shultz, May 25, 1854, and now living with her husband in the village of Paw Paw; Peter H., born July 17, 1828, married to Caroline S. Durkee, Jan. 16, 1868; Margaret, born in March, 1830, died April 2, 1862; Nancy M., born in March, 1833, married to Daniel Boone, June 5, 1868, and now living in Adrian, Mich. Peter H. Gremps occupies a portion of the old farm, but not the old homestead. He has one child, Belle, born Dec. 24, 1871, and is a worthy representative of his honored sire, who died March 29, 1874. Mrs. Peter Gremps, Sr., died April 24, 1860. ANDERSON C. WEBB. The father of this gentleman was a native of New York, and was born July 10, 1811. He married, in the State of Ohio, Julia Cone, who was born in Connecticut, May 21, 1815. They are both now living in Kansas. Anderson C. Webb is the third in a family of seven children, and was born March 16, 1839. Until he was fourteen years old he lived with his parents in Ohio, and came from there with them to Michigan, settling in Paw Paw township, Van Buren Co. He remained at home most of the time, assisting his parents, until he was twentysix years of age, and on the 2d of February, 1865, was married to Miss Laura M. Rhodes, daughter of Henry W. and Laura M. Rhodes. She was born in Paw Paw, June 3, 1843, her father being one of the pioneers of the place. Mr. and Mrs. Webb are the parents of four children, at follows: Dora M., born June 8, 1866; Frank J., born Oct. 26, 1868; Cora M., born Feb. 12, 1872; Fred A., born April 28, 1878. On the 24th of October, 1865, Mr. and Mrs. Webb settled on the farm where they are now living, a view of which will be found in this work. The place, which contains one hundred and forty acres, was but partially improved when Mr. Webb occupied it, but is now a very pleasant home. Mrs. Webb is the oldest in a family of five children; her parents are yet residing in Paw Paw. Mr. Webb is a Republican in politics, and he and his wife are members of the Free-Will Baptist Church, with which they united in 1870. Mr. Webb received his education at the common schools, although for a short time he attended the Agricultural College.:: 516 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HENRY W. RHODES. MRS. HENRY W. RHODES. HENRY W. RHODES was born in the town of Burrilville, R. I., Nov. 8, 1811, and was the second in a family of six children,-four sons and two daughters,-who are all living at present. Mr. Rhodes' father, Henry Rhodes, was born in Providence, R. I., in 1783, and died in Paw Paw, Mich., March 24, 1852. The latter's wife, Demaris (Parker) Rhodes, was born in Rhode Island in 1782, and died in Paw Paw, in 1868. William Rhodes, the grandfather of Henry W., was It sea-captain during the Revolutionary war. The parents of Mrs. Henry Rhodes, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Parker, were natives of England, and Quakers. Henry W. Rhodes removed to Vermont with his parents when eight years old, and remained there until he was twenty-two, assisting in the home duties and taking care of his father and mother. In the summer of 1833 he proceeded to Monroe Co., N. Y., returning to Vermont in the winter following, and coming thence to Michigan. In October, 1835, he arrived in the latter State, and in November purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 8, in the township of Paw Paw, Van Buren Co. May 18, 1836, he was married to Laura M., daughter of Joseph and Achsah (Moore) Luce, and widow of Jeremiah Trumble. She was born in Monroe Co., N. Y., on the 22d of April, 1813, and was the fourth in a family of eight children,-three sons and five daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes were married in Monroe Co., N. Y., where he had returned for her. Her father, Joseph Luce, was born in Massachusetts, June 11, 1782, and died April 9, 1847. Her mother, Achsah (Moore) Luce, was born in New Hampshire, Feb. 9, 1780, and died April 5, 1863. To Henry W. Rhodes and wife have been born the following children, viz.: Laura M., born June 3, 1843; William H., born Dec. 3, 1844; Charles P., born May 1, 1846, died Oct. 18, 1850; Frank W., born July 19, 1849; Julia S., born March 26, 1853. Laura M. is the wife of A. C. Webb, of Paw Paw; William H. married Mary E. Roeney, of Philadelphia; Frank W. married Jenny Salt, a native of Canada, and resides on the old homestead in Paw Paw; and Julia S. became the wife of James H. Wilder, who has settled on a farm in Dakota Territory. Henry W. Rhodes is by trade a mason, and his start in life was made with the trowel, his wife keeping house in the woods, with no neighbors nearer than a distance of three-fourths of a mile. The forest was thronged with wolves, whose nightly howls woke the echoes far and near. The red man visited the lone cabin occasionally to beg for victuals, and Mrs. Rhodes' recollection is vivid regarding the experiences of life in the Michigan wilderness. Mr. Rhodes began with the proceeds of his summer's work, less than two hundred dollars, and became an extensive owner and dealer in real estate, owning, at one time, seven hundred acres of land, aside from other tracts to which he held tax titles. He has at the present time considerable wild land in Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes have been connected with the Christian Church since 1844. In politics Mr. Rhodes is a Republican, and has often been selected to fill office in his township. He is numbered among the energetic class who have acquired prominence as self-made men, and is now enjoying the fruits of his labor through more than forty years in the " beautiful peninsula." EDWIN BARNUM, whose portrait is given in connection with this sketch, was born in Mentz, Cayuga Co., N. Y., March 31, 1814, and was the fifth in a family of seven children,-four sons and three daughters. He assisted in the duties of home until he was twenty-one, and in the spring of 1835 came to Paw Paw township, Van Buren Co., Mich., in which he lived, with the exception of a few brief periods, until his death, which occurred Aug. 24, 1875. Soon after his arrival in this State he located land on section 10 in Paw Paw, and kept "bachelor's hall" for one year. He boarded during the remaining time until 1840, and on the 21st of March, in the latter year, was married to Sarah Ann, daughter of John and Mary Lyle, who had moved from the State of TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 517 New York in the fall of 1835. Mrs. Barnum was born Nov. 5, 1820, and was the third in a family of ten children,-five sons and five daughters. Of these, eight are now living in Van Buren Co., and two in Cass Co., Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Barnum have had but one child,-Isaac, born May 19, 1842. At an early age he evinced extraor EDWIN BARNUM. dinary talent; being of a delicate constitution, he adopted the study of the law, in which profession he would have without doubt distinguished himself, had his health permitted. He is now in Colorado, seeking a new lease of life among the rocky peaks and pure, dry atmosphere of that State. At the age of twenty-nine years, Edwin Barnum embraced religion, and united with the Christian Church, in which he was soon licensed to preach. He labored earnestly in this sparsely-settled region with an acknowledged power of doing good. His purity of life, genial temper, liberality, and great kindness of heart made him many friends. In language he was eloquent, and in principle correct. He held the office of county treasurer eight consecutive years, and filled, very acceptably, the office of supervisor several terms. For thirty-two years he was a consistent member of the Church of Christ. His faithful and devoted wife, now wearing the garb of widowhood, is living in the village of Paw Paw, surrounded by the comforts which she assisted her husband to accumulate. DAVID WOODMAN, the second son of the late Joseph Woodman, was born in March, 1818, in Wheelock, Caledonia Co., Vt. In the summer of 1831 he removed, with his father's family, to Riga, Monroe Co., N. Y., remaining there, laboring upon the farm summers and attending the district school winters, until the spring of 1835, when his father and family removed to Michigan, leaving him with Joseph Luce, upon a rented farm. In September, 1835, he, with Mr. Luce and family and four other families, took up their line of march for Michigan. The party consisted of twenty-nine persons; their outfit was five covered wagons, each drawn by two pair of sturdy oxen; nine cows were driven along, which furnished milk and butter for use on the way; it was known as the "' big ox-train," and its progress was a matter of record at that time. It crossed the Niagara at Queenstown, arriving in Detroit fourteen days afterwards. It then wended its way westward, and arrived at Paw Paw in October, the journey occupying twenty-eight days. Paw Paw at that time consisted of a saw-mill, a very small hotel, a post-office, and three or four log huts or dwellings. The entire county of Van Buren at that time was included in the township of Lafayette, now Paw Paw. Young Woodman rendered his father efficient aid in improving the farm and erecting permanent buildings. As the spring of 1836 approached he, with his brother, prepared for sugar-making on section 33, and with two exceptions he made sugar at the same place for more than thirty years. At the time he opened his camp the adjoining forest was one vast Indian sugar-camp. Several wigwams being in close proximity to his own, he became quite familiar with the Indian language and their traits of character, one of which was honesty; that was always strictly adhered to. He well knew the old chiefs Pokagon and Pee Pee Yaw, and the old warrior, Shavehead, who was supposed to be one hundred years old, and boasted that he had killed a hundred men. In the spring of 1836, Mr. Woodman made a canoe at his sugar-camp, and, with the assistance of two others, the canoe was " backed" to Eagle Lake, about a mile distant. They were, no doubt, the first white men that ever floated upon that beautiful lake, and it was this party that gave the present name to that sheet of water. A pair of bald eagles had built an enormous nest in the forks of a large whitewood-tree standing on its southern shore, hence it was called Eagle Lake. Mr. Woodman was present at the first election ever held in Van Buren County, also at the first Circuit Court. He was also present at the organization of the township of Antwerp. He held a second lieutenant's commission (which bears the name of Stevens T. Mason) in a company of riflemen, also a first lieutenant's commission, signed by William Woodbridge, Governor, dated 1840. He commenced on the farm where he now resides in 1839, keeping what was called " bachelor's hall," working on his place summers and at other vocations winters. He frequently passed an entire week without seeing a single person. In 1841 he visited his old home in New England, and returned, thankful that he had found a better place than old Vermont. In the mean time he had cleared away the forest and erected a comfortable dwelling. He also built a house on some land he had purchased on the east side of the village of Paw Paw, and in May, 1844, he married Miss Jane Harris, who, about two years previous, had arrived from Wheatland, Monroe Co., N. Y., and was now a resident of Antwerp. They remained on their place in Paw Paw until April, 1845, when they removed to their farm. Early in the spring of 1852, Mr. Woodman removed his family to the village of Paw Paw, and, in company with his two brothers and brother-in-law, made a trip to California, their teams leaving Paw Paw March 16th, and arriving on Feather 518 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. -1 River the 27th of July, making the journey in one hundred and thirty-five days. Mr. Woodman returned in the spring of 1853, by the way of Panama, Kingston, Jamaica, and New York, arriving home in June, 1853. He immediately took possession of his farm, purchased one hundred and fifty acres adjoining, and, with his usual energy, commenced improving his new purchase and preparing for building. His house had burned during his absence, and a small, rough structure had been erected in its place. He built his present residence in 1857, and in the summer of 1864, accompanied by his wife, he again visited Vermont. They traveled extensively in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and returned through New York, visiting the early home of Mrs. Woodman. In 1866 they visited his brother in Kansas, traveling through Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin, journeying over four hundred miles by stage and wagon. In 1876 they visited Washington, crossing over to Arlington Heights, where the nation's dead are buried, and where stands the mansion of the rebel chieftain, R. E. Lee. They spent a week at the Centennial, and returned by the Lehigh Valley and Suspension Bridge. Mr. and Mrs. Woodman have had five children: Celia, born in 1845; now in California. Edson, born in 1847; enlisted in the army in 1864; was with Sherman in his Southern campaigns; was wounded at Bentonville, and receives a pension from the. government; he owns a fine farm adjoining his father's, and is a noted breeder of Percheron Norman horses. Emma, born in 1854, died at the age of three years. Jason, born in 1860, is a member of the junior class in the Agricultural College. Dora, born in 1862, is a student in the Paw Paw union school. Mr. Woodman has been one of the most successful farmers in his township, his farm comprising about three hundred acres of choice land. He practices mixed husbandry, raising stock and all the staple varieties of grain. He is one of the principal stockholders in the First National Bank of Paw Paw, and has been since its organization. He has held various township offices; has been assessor, highway commissioner, justice of the peace, and is now supervisor of Paw Paw. He is also president of the Van Buren County Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company; president of the Van Buren County Agricultural Society; director of the Western Michigan Agricultural and Industrial Society. He is also Master of the Van Buren County Pomona Grange. He is and has been for many years an elder in the Disciples Church of Paw Paw, a position he holds with honor to himself as well as to the church. He is now almost sixty-two years of age, enjoys perfect health, has never been confined to bed by sickness since he can remember; has only been visited by a physician, professionally, once, and that was to replace a dislocated shoulder, caused by a runaway accident. He has never used intoxicating liquors nor tobacco, believing both to be ruinous to health, destructive to property, and degrading to all using or trafficking in them. PHILIP SHERROD (a view of whose home appears in this work) was born in Erie Co., Pa., March 12, 1829, and was the third in a family of four children,-three sons and one daughter. His father, Daniel Sherrod, was born Sept. 20, 1800, in Pennsylvania, and his mother in Lincoln Co., Ohio, in 1802. They were married in Ohio in June, 1824, Mr. Sherrod having then been in the latter State one year. The maiden name of Mrs. Daniel Sherrod was Rebecca Kyle. After their marriage they located at Erie, Pa., where Mr. Sherrod engaged in farming. Philip Sherrod came to Michigan in 1848, and remained eighteen months, farming and attending school. In the spring of 1850 he returned to Pennsylvania, but in No. vember, 1851, came again to Michigan, and purchased the place upon which he now resides, in the township of Paw Paw, Van Buren Co. May 2, 1852, he was married to Berryund, daughter of James and Hannah Lee, who were early settlers in Michigan. Mrs. Sherrod was born June 16, 1823, and was the ninth in a family of ten children,seven sons and three daughters. Daniel Sherrod had purchased, through an agent, the land on which Philip now lives, the latter purchasing of his father. Upon his arrival in Michigan Mr. Sherrod found his means exhausted, and in order to pay for his land cut and sold saw-logs. The first year he occupied the place, he cleared seven acres and sowed it to wheat. Mr. Sherrod now has one hundred acres, including twenty which have been added to his original purchase. All is under excellent improvement. His residence is neat and commodious, and his out-buildings are ample. Mr. and Mrs. Sherrod are the parents of three children, as follows: Daniel, born Oct. 9, 1854, died Aug. 12, 1858; Lena, born March 12, 1871; and one who died in infancy, nameless. In 1868, Mr. Sherrod and his wife united with the FreeWill Baptist Church, in which Mr. Sherrod is now a deacon and a trustee. He is, politically, a Democrat, never having acted with any other party. He has held the office of highway commissioner six years, and justice of the peace, to fill vacancy, two years. Rebecca, the first wife of Daniel Sherrod, died in February, 1833, and in February, 1835, Mr. Sherrod was married to Hannah Cole, who was a native of New York. Seven children were the fruit of this union. Mrs. Daniel Sherrod, aged seventy-nine, is living in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Sherrod enjoy the esteem and confidence of all their acquaintances. Their walks have been upright in life, and their industry and economy have built for them the home they now occupy, with all its comfortable surroundings. WILLIAM H. LEE. This gentleman, whose portrait appears in this work, was the third in a family of ten children,-six sons and four daughters,-and was born in Chenango Co., N. Y., July 18, 1812. His father, James Lee, was a native of New York, and his mother, Hannah (Church) Lee, of Vermont. At the age of fourteen years William Lee began to learn the trade of a mason with his father, and worked in that business with the latter until he was twenty-four. In April, 1836, he was married to Susanna Brown, who was born June 5, 1817. To them were born ten children, of' whom five are now living, viz.: Harriet E., wife of Alma Mulligan, of Bangor; John S., now a resident of Nebraska; TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW. 519 Mrs. Hannah Payne, residing in Paw Paw township; Roxy S., wife of O. W. Baltzley, living in Nebraska; and Almira J., who is also living in Nebraska. In 1838, Mr. Lee came to Michigan and settled in the township of Paw Paw, Van Buren Co. His wife died Oct. 10, 1869, and on - I- --- Island, and her mother of Massachusetts. Mrs. Simmons was born Oct. 8, 1802, in Wbodstock, Vt., and was the third in a family of six children,-two sons and four daughters. Mr. Simmons taught school in the East about nine years, and in the summer of 1836 came to Paw Paw, JEREMIAH H. SIMMONS. WILLIAM H. LEE. the 16th of October, 1870, he was married to Mrs. Eliza Howe, widow of W. Howe. Her genial temper and broad intelligence contribute greatly to make the life and home of Mr. Lee most happy. She was born Oct. 16, 1820, in New Hampshire, and was the tenth in a family of fourteen children. She came to Michigan in 1845. Her union with Mr. Howe was blessed by four children,-Harry T., born November 20, 1841; Susan, born April 20, 1844, now the wife of Charles Flanders, of Paw Paw village; Lucetta, born Dec. 22, 1849, the wife of Alvah A. Hutchins; William S., born March 30,1852, died Dec. 29, 1853. Mr. Lee has always followed his occupation as a mason, preferring it to agricultural labor. Although his facilities for acquiring an education were limited, his natural gifts and determined mind have thus far enabled him to succeed well in life, and sufficient means have been accumulated to keep him from want during the remainder of his life. He is an honored and respected citizen. Following the example of the members of his family on both sides, he early united with the Christian Church, of which he is still a consistent member. JEREMIAH H. SIMMONS. Mr. Simmons was born at Woodstock, Windsor Co., Vt., July 27, 1800, and was the second in a family of seven children,-three sons and four daughters. His father, Howland Simmons, and his mother, Experience (Dunham) Simmons, were both natives of Connecticut, and farmers by occupation. When Jeremiah Simmons became of age he commenced learning the trade of cabinet-making. May 23, 1826, he was married to Miss Sarah B., daughter of Shadrach and Phebe (Goff) Phillips. Her father was a native of Rhode Van Buren Co., Mich., arriving on the 31st of July. He located eighty acres in the township of Paw Paw, and for two years succeeding his arrival worked at his trade. He built the first carding-mill that was erected in the county, and about 1854 engaged in the hardware business, having previously sold his interest in the carding-mill. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons became the parents of the following children, viz.: Orville C., born in Woodstock, Vt., Oct. 17, 1828; Irene P., born in Paw Paw township, May 15, 1838, now the wife of I. W. Vanfossen, of Paw Paw; and one (the first) who died in infancy. Mr. Simmons was a Democrat in politics, and a prominent man in his township and county. He held the positions of judge of probate, county clerk, register of deeds, and justice of the peace, and was one of the founders of the Masonic lodge at Paw Paw. He continued to live in this township until his death. Orville C. Simmons was associated for some years with his father in the hardware business. He was married, Nov. 4, 1851, to Margaret Gremps, who bore him two children, -Clayton R., born Dec. 15, 1855, now living with his grandmother, S. B. Simmons; Ida M., born Dec. 15, 1858, now the wife of Frank Hudson, of Paw Paw. Mr. Simmons died in Paw Paw, May 4, 1869. Miss Irene P. Simmons was married, June 23, 1858, to I. W. Vanfossen, who was born in Livingston County, N. Y., July 24, 1827, and came to Jackson County, Mich., with his father, in 1833. In 1854 he removed to Paw Paw, and commenced publishing the Paw Paw Free Press. Mr. and Mrs. Vanfossen are the parents of three children,Zell, born March 18, 1864, died Oct. 29, 1869; Vern, born Feb. 21, 1872; Rena Ray, born July 4, 1875. 520 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. HENRY WILSON (a view of whose home and portraits of himself and wife appear in this volume) was born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, Aug. 18, 1821, and was the second in a family of seven children. His father, James M. Wilson, was born in New York, and his mother, Lydia (Trask) Wilson, in Vermont. The latter died in 1841, and the former in 1848. From the time Henry Wilson was eleven years of age, until he was seventeen, his father hired his services to different parties, and appropriated his earnings towards the support of the family. At the expiration of the time stated, in 1837, he came to Michigan, and found employment with Judge Barry, in Lenawee County, at fourteen dollars per month, which was then the highest wages paid for common labor. He remained with the judge eighteen months, earning sufficient to pay for forty acres of land he purchased in the fall of 1837, at four dollars per acre, and having a balance on hand. He walked thirty-eight miles for the purpose of placing his deed on record, and then proceeded, still on foot, to Toledo, where he took passage on a boat for Erie, Pa. Upon his return home he found his mother in failing health, and entered the employ of Charles Reed, who lived near. In trading away his Michigan land he was the victim of misplaced confidence, and lost the whole, finding himself, at the age of twenty-one, forced to begin the battle anew. With a stout heart and willing hand he commenced work, and for three years was engaged, on contract, in chopping, clearing, and fencing. Oct. 24, 1844, he was married to Eliza 0., daughter of Moses and Olive Olds, who was born March 30, 1824, and was the third in a family of four children. Her father was born in Genesee Co., N. Y., and her m6ther in Vermont, and previous to her marriage with Mr. Wilson they had removed to Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1846, Mr. Wilson came West with his wife, via the great lakes, stopping a few days in Illinois, and proceeding thence to Paw Paw, Van Buren Co., Mich., arriving with a capital of eighty dollars. For four weeks Mr. Wilson was employed by I. W. Willard and Daniel 0. Dodge. About the last of May, 1846, he purchased forty acres of land on section 16, in Paw Paw township, paying for the same at the rate of five dollars per acre, and canceling one-fourth of the debt (fifty dollars) at the time. Within three days he built a log shanty, roofed it with " shakes," laid a hewed floor over one-half the room, and moved into it. His wife did the cooking out of doors for four months,-or until he could spare enough money, to buy a stove. During the spring and summer he was most of the time in the employ of others, but at late and early hours he worked upon his own place, and in time had cleared four acres, which he sowed to wheat. On one occasion, not having money enough to pay the postage on some letters which had come to his address in the post-office, he took his tools on his back, walked one and a half miles to Benoni Hall's, cut and split two hundred rails, received his pay, one dollar, returned home, and the same evening walked to Paw Paw for his letters. About this time, his supply of meat having failed, he walked one morning to Paw Paw, cut and split four cords of four-feet wood for I. W. Willard, received his pay in pork, and carried it home in the evening of the same day. At another time he started for Paw Paw, three miles distant, with two bushels of wheat on his back, intending to have some milling done. When about half way he was overtaken by a team, add his burden was carried for him. In this manner he kept the wolf from the door until he could harvest a crop of his own, and since then his energy has been exerted in clearing and fencing his land, and at times increasing the extent of his possessions. He is now the owner of two hundred acres of land, one hundred and sixty being under the highest state of cultivation; has a fine lot of stock and excellent buildings, and is free from debt. His son Walter is settled on eighty acres in the immediate neighborhood, his younger son, Henry, remaining at home. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of seven children: Eliza Jane, born Feb. 20, 1846, died March 30, 1864; Cornelia A., born May-9, 1848, died March 13, 1873; Warren H., born Aug. 30, 1850, died March 10, 1864; Walter H., born Aug. 18, 1854; Lowell H., born Aug. 13, 1856, died March 24, 1864; Cora J., born January 1, died March 21, 1864; Henry, born March 27,1867. Mr. Wilson's education was limited to six months' tuition in the common schools, but he has always been able to transact successfully his own business and keep his accounts straight, and is emphatically a selfmade man. By the aid of his faithful and most excellent wife, who has stood by him through sorrow, adversity, and every trial, he has been enabled to acquire a competence, and both are living to enjoy it. In religious matters Mr. Wilson is liberal, having due respect for the opinions of others, and in politics is a Jacksonian Democrat. G. F. HARRINGTON. This gentleman was born April 25, 1827, in Oneida Co., N. Y., and was the second in a family of nine children,six sons and three daughters. His father, H. C. Harrington, was born in Madison Co., N. Y., in 1804; his mother, Catherine (Marshall) Harrington, was a native of the same county, and was born the same year. Her grandfathers and his maternal grandmother were natives of Rhode Island, and his paternal grandmother was born in Vermont. Until he was twenty-one years of age he worked on his father's farm, and after that was engaged for seven years in farming and dealing in produce. In the fall of 1855 he came to Michigan, in company with Rev. A. C. Tuttle, and purchased one hundred and thirty acres of land on section 10, Paw Paw township, Van Buren Co. Mr. Tuttle moved upon it, and Mr. Harrington boarded with him. In 1864, Mr. Harrington's father came from New York and purchased Mr. Tuttle's interest in the farm. On the 10th day of April, 1864, G. F. Harrington was married to Ruth M., daughter of Calvin and Emily Cross. She was born in Bangor, Mich., July 28, 1846, and is the fifth in a family of eight children,-three sons and five daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Harrington are the parents of the following children: Delos, born April 29, 1865, died Aug. 3, 1865; Edward J., born Oct. 6, 1866; Wayne Cross, born July 11, 1868; Fred, born Aug. 13, 1870; Lou, born Jan. 24, 1872; Harry C., born March 3,1879, died Feb. 14, 1880. M RS. HENRY WILSON.. HE2NRY~ WILS"ON. PREs. or HENRY WILSON, PA W PAW, MICH. Id Ilk1*:.:.F It TOWNSHIP OF PINE GROVE. 521 After the death of his father, which occurred in July, 1878, Mr. Harrington purchased the old homestead, and now owns four hundred and fifty-eight acres of land, with one hundred and sixty acres under good improvement. He pays considerable attention to raising fine stock,-horses, merino sheep, and Poland China swine being his specialties. In this enterprise he is greatly assisted by his three fine boys, even though they are yet small. Mr. Harrington markets most of his own stock, occasionally shipping a carload at a time, and accompanying it himself. In religious matters he entertains liberal views, and endeavors to the extent of his power to inculcate strictly moral principles in the minds of his children, and give them the benefit of his own example. In politics he is a conservative Republican, never seeking for office nor taking an active part in political matters. teacher in the counties of Allegan, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Cass, and Van Buren. Mr. Murdock has been an extensive land-holder, having owned at one time sixteen hundred acres; He has now five hundred acres, aside from his present residence and several locations in the business portion of Paw Paw. He is engaged in farming. He votes with the Republicans, but was never an active politician. He attends strictly to his business, and is a quiet, upright, and highly-honored citizen. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Murdock, together with a view of their home, are given in this volume. CHAPTER LXV. PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP.* B. A. MURDOCK. Mr. Murdock was born in Hamilton, Madison Co., N. Y., Jan. 17; 1815, and was the second in a family of five children,-two sons and three daughters. His father, Ariel Murdock, a native of New York, was a farmer. He held a captain's commission in the war of 1812, and was for a time stationed at Sacket's Harbor, N. Y. He died September, 1826. His wife Tryphosa (Bonney) Murdock, a native of Chesterfield, Mass., was a member of the Baptist Church for over a third of a century. She died Jan. 6, 1867. B. A. Murdock remained at home until twenty-one years of age, working the farm in the summer season, and attending school in winter. On the 22d of March, 1836, he started for Michigan, arriving in Van Buren County, in the latter State, on the 10th of April following. In the same year he located one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 24, South Haven township. From 1836 to 1839 he worked at farming, except in winter, when he employed his time in teaching school. In 1839 he returned to New York, and in October of that year, in company with Benjamin Parlin, started on a tour of the States, returning to New York in June, 1840. He taught school in Madison County the following winter, and about July 10, 1842, came again to Michigan. From that time until his marriage he engaged in different occupations, teaching school, merchandising, and speculating in land. May 1, 1859, he was married to Mary V. Anderson, daughter of Le Grand and Catharine (Shaw) Anderson, both natives of Virginia, who emigrated in an early day to Pickaway Co., Ohio, where Mrs. Mur dock was born, Feb. 13, 1824. In 1832, Mr. Anderson moved, with his family, to Van Buren Co., Mich., having previously visited what is now Van Buren County as early as 1828. Mr. and Mrs. Murdock have had two children,-a son and a daughter,-both of whom died in infancy. Two nieces of Mrs. Murdock (and adopted daughters), M. Grace and Clara S. Anderson, whose mother died in 1869, are muchloved members of Mr. and Mrs. Murdock's happy home. Mr. and Mrs. Murdock have been members of the Christian Church since 1861. He has been trustee and clerk of the same church many years. He has been a school66 Location, Topography, and Population-First and Early Settlements -Civil History-Later Settlements in Pine Grove-Village of Kendall-Pine Grove Mills and Gobleville-Educational-Religious Worship. LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY, AND POPULATION. THIS township, which derives its name from the fact that the major portion of its surface was originally covered with pine forests, is situated in the northeast corner of Van Buren County. According to the field-notes of the original survey, other varieties of timber then growing here were beech, cherry, elm, white oak, linn, white ash, black ash, tamarack, butternut, whitewood, aspen, hickory, yellow oak, maple, and sycamore. The surface is broken by irregular ranges of low hills dotted with several small lakes, and intersected by numerous unimportant water-courses. The lake surface embraces a total area of about 600 acres, Clear, Brandywine, and Lilypad lakes being the most important. In the eastern part of the township are situated some three or fbur thousand acres of black-ash and tamarack swamps. Much of this swamp-land, however, will be reclaimed ultimately by drainage. A sandy loam predominates, which with intelligent culture yields average crops of the earth's products common to this region. The soil and climate are also peculiarly well adapted to fruit culture. During early years the people were chiefly engaged in lumbering; but with the almost total disappearance of their pine forests, attention has been turned more particularly to the pursuits of agriculture, and commodious farm buildings, surrounded by well-tilled acres, now appear where but a decade ago naught was seen but the woodman's shanty and its necessary adjunct, the "slashing." Since 1870 population has rapidly increased, the census of 1874 returning a total of 1851 inhabitants. It has at present (1880) a voting population of 570, showing an estimated total of at least 2300 inhabitants. FIRST AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS. The first setter within the boundaries of this township was Joseph H. Hawks, who in 1839 purchased from the * By John S. Schenck. 522 HISTORY 01F'VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. r general government lands, situated upon section 21, and in the following year (1840) his name appeared upon the Clinch assessment rolls as a resident owner of a portion of that section, lying in township 1 south, of range number 13 west. About a year after Hawks' settlement on section 21 a man named Stone purchased a part of section 30, in this township, and erected thereon a log habitation for himself and family, situated about sixty rods south, and a little east of the present village of Pine Grove Mills. He remained there until 1842 or 1843, clearing about ten acres. There seems to have been no further attempt looking towards permanent settlements until the years 1847 and 1848. Messrs. Morrill & Dyckman then owned several thousand acres of timbered lands, situated in this township. In 1848 they erected upon section 32 the old Pine Grove saw-mills, and established a store. They employed a large number of men in and about the mills, and here was formed the nucleus of a settlement which in thirty years has expanded to the present populous township. In 1849, with about 30 voters, the township was set off from Bloomingdale and began a separate existence. Among the residents at that time were Charles M. Morrill, the first supervisor; Dewitt C. Lockman, first township clerk; Aaron S. Dyckman, first treasurer; C. B. Palmer, Ephraim Taylor, Peter T. Valleau, Jephtha Waterman, E. B. D. Hicks, Uriah Stevens, Thomas Southward, Freeman Southward, Henry F. Bowen, John Pettibone, Benjamin P. Wolcott, Robert Love, James Clark, Edwin Pettibone, Benjamin H. Blair, Clark Brewer, Myron Parks, John Greenwood, Grove Love, Royal Cooley, Robert Ivy, Daniel Frary, James Ketchum, Sylvester Brown, W. H. Stevens, Horace H. Hadley, and Moses Waterman. Additional early settlers to 1852, inclusive, were Harmon Ostrander, Abel P. Conant, Newell Nash, Philip M. Brooks, David Salisbury, Jason Russell, William B. Clement, Jerome Thrasher, Samuel Impson, Samuel Impson, Jr., William Impson, Abram Nash, William Adair, Jordan H. Jones, Rudolph Rogers, Peter Miller, Albert Abrams, and David Wise. William B. Clement erected a saw-mill on section 20 in 1851, and engaged in lumbering quite extensively for a number of years. His mill was twice burned and as often rebuilt. In 1879 the machinery of this mill was removed to Montcalm County by his son. David Wise and family came from Lysander, Onondaga Co., N. Y., in May, 1852, and settled upon section 32. The following year he was elected supervisor of this township. His son, David D. Wise, besides serving in many other honorable capacities, has filled the office of supervisor ten terms, and is the present incumbent. He is also stationagent at the village of Pine Grove Mills. Chauncey Wise, another member of this family, served as supervisor during the years 1868-70. Henry Veley, if not the first, was one of the very earliest settlers in the northern part of the township. Among the residents here in 1854 and not already mentioned were James Hall, Henry Brown, George Clugston, Charles Jefferson, Amasa Southward, John Story, John Southward, Dewitt Church, William J. Charles, Sylvester G. Baker, Thomas Story, Stephen Remalig, James Earl, Chapman Lay, John J. Charles, Benjamin Earl, Volney Blanchard, Abram Fitzgerald, James Clement, C. M. Blanchard, Philip Strong, Myron Austin, Oscar Everest, Elias J. Aldrich, J. G. Ostrander, George Cook, Seth Munn, Hiram Hiscock, Henry Packer, William Ash, A. C. Hiscock, Ebenezer Van Tassell, A. M. Morrill, Richard Salisbury, C. C. Westcott, Nathan Baker, and W. L. Conant. CHAUNCEY WISE. Until after the close of the late war the township increased but slowly in population or material wealth, and but twice had there been polled more than 100 votes at township elections, viz., in 1861 and 1864. With the establishment of peace between the warring sections of our common country came many additional settlers to Pine Grove, in the persons of ex-soldiers, men who of all others are entitled to citizenship in a free land and under the flag they so bravely defended. By this influx and the contemplated building of the Kalamazoo and South Haven Railroad, the population was augmented to such an extent that in the spring election of 1868, 240 votes were cast. The Pine Grove Mills post-office, on section 32, was first established in 1857, David D. Wise, postmaster. The first framed dwelling was erected in the same locality in 1856, by Wise, Morrill & Co., and used as a boarding-house for their employees. The only water-power saw-mill was built on Pine Creek, section 1, about the year 1865. The Allegan State road, which ran along the west border of the township, was authorized by the authorities of Almena and Waverly, and surveyed by A. Crane, county surveyor, Sept. 2, 1844. The first road laid out by the highway commissioners of Pine Grove was of date July 12, 1849, upon the application of E. B. Dyckman and others, through whose land it was to pass. CIVIL HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP. The territory designated as township No. 1 south, of range No. 13 west, formed part of the original township of TOWNSHIP OF PINE GROVE. 523 I Clinch. It was set off as Almena in 1842, Bloomingdale in 1845, and by an act of the State Legislature became a separate organization under its present name in 1849. First Township Election, etc.-Pursuant to the act of organization, the legal voters to the number of 25 assembled at the place designated April 2, 1849, and chose Charles M. Morrill, Moderator; Aaron S. Dyckman, Clerk; Henry F. Bowen and Jephtha Waterman, Inspectors of Election. At ten o'clock A.M. the polls were declared open by Jephtha Waterman. It was then voted "To divide said township into two equal road districts by an east-and-west line." Board adjourned for half an hour. Upon reopening the polls, proclamation was made that the same would close at half-past four o'clock P.M. By a viva voce vote, Uriah Stevens was elected road overseer of District No. 1,-the north half of the township,-and Ephraim Taylor road-master of District No. 2, being the south half of the same. By a majority vote other resolutions, as follows, were passed: "That $200 be raised for township purposes. "That a bounty of $5 be paid on full-grown wolves, and $2.50 for each wolf-whelp killed in said township. " To raise 50 cents on each scholar between the ages of four and eighteen years, for the support of common schools. "To raise $200 for the improvement of roads, to be equally divided between the two road districts. " That the next annual meeting be held in the schoolhouse near Horace H. Hadley's." As a result of the canvass of votes, it was found that Charles M. Morrill was the unanimous choice of the 25 electors present, and the remaining officers elected were named as follows: Dewitt C. Lockman, Township Clerk; Aaron S. Dyckman, Treasurer; C. B. Palmer, Ephraim Taylor, School Inspectors; Peter T. Valleau, Jephtha Waterman, Directors of the Poor; E. B. D. Hicks, Peter T. Valleau, Uriah Stevens, Highway Commissioners; Thomas Southward, Henry F. Bowen, Horace H. Hadley, Dewitt C. Lockman, Justices of the Peace; John Pettibone, Benjamin P. Wolcott, Robert Love, James Clark, Constables. At the general election held Nov. 6, 1849, the whole number of votes polled was fifteen, of which John S. Barry received 12 and Flavius J. Littlejohn 3. Residents of 1849.-The names on the first assessment roll of Pine Grove Township, in 1849, were as follows: Sec. The township was then a lumbering region, and the foregoing list comprises for the most part lumbermen and their employees. The whole number of votes polled for presidential electors in 1852 was 27, of which the ticket headed by John S. Barry received 19, and that headed by John Owen received 8. Voters of 1854.-The voters at the spring election in 1854 were James Hall, Henry Veley, Henry Brown, George Clugston, Charles Jefferson, Amasa Southward, Jerome Thrasher, John Story, W. B. Clement, John Southward, Dewitt Church, Robert Ivey, William J. Charles, Sylvester G. Baker, Thomas Story, Stephen Remalig, James Earl, Chapman Lay, John J. Charles, Benjamin Earl, Volney Blanchard, Thomas Southward, Abram Nash, Abram Fitzgerald, James Clement, C. M. Blanchard, Philip Strong, Samuel Impson, Samuel Impson, Jr., James Clark, Myron Austin, Oscar Everest, Elias J. Aldrich, J. G. Ostrander, George Cook, Seth Munn, Chauncey B. Palmer, Hiram Hiscock, Henry Packer, William Ash, A. C. Hiscock, Chauncey Wise, Ebenezer Van Tassell, A. M. Morrill, Richard Salisbury, A. P. Conant, David Salisbury, Newell Nash, C. C. Westcott, Nathan Baker, W. L. Conant. Township Officers.-The following is a list of township officers from 1849 to 1879, inclusive, with years of their election: SUPERVISORS. 1849, Charles M. Morrill; 1850-51, Harmon Ostrander; 1852, Charles M. Morrill; 1853, David Wise; 1854, Seth Munn; 1855, Abel P. Conant; 1856-57, Newell Nash; 1858, Philip Strong; 1859, Moses A. Norris; 1860-66, David D. Wise; 1867, William Z. Bronson; 1868-70, Chauncey Wise; 1871, F. E. Adams; 1872, John Fessenden; 1873-74, David D. Wise; 1875-78, Tobias Johnson; 1879, David D. Wise. TOWNSHIP CLERKS. 1849, Dewitt C. Lockman; 1850, Abel P. Conant; 1851, Henry F. Bowen; 1852, A. M. Morrill; 1853, Abel P. Conant; 1854, William J. Charles; 1855, Amos D. Stocking; 1856, James L. Clement; 1857-58, David D. Wise; 1859-62, Charles R. Nightingale; 1863, S. B. Farr; 1864, James L. Clement; 1865, Seth N. Clement; 1866, William Z. Bronson; 1867-68, Seth N. Clement; 1869-70, Solomon Jewell; 1871, Seth N. Clement; 1872, William F. Winterburn; 1873-74, J. B. David; 1875-76, William 0. Bond; 1877-78, George P. Stearns; 1879, George F. Stevens. TREASURERS. 1849, Aaron S. Dyckman; - 1850-51, Charles M. Morrill; 1852-53, Chauncey B. Palmer; 1854, James Clement; 1855, Oscar Everest; 1856, Henry C. Story; 1857, Oscar Everest; 1858-59, Harvey M. Babbitt; 1860, John Goble; 1861-70, David Wise; 1871-76, David O. Everest; 1877, Hiram Cobb; 1878, George R. Elms; 1879, Jonathan McMichel. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 1849, Thomas Southward, Henry F. Bowen, Horace H. Hadley, Dewitt C. Lockman; 1850, Clark Brewer, Newell Nash, P. M. Brooks; 1851, David Salisbury, Philip M. Brooks, Chauncey B. Palmer; 1852, Jason Russell; 1853, Philip Strong, W. B. Clement, Samuel Impson; 1854, Nathan Baker, Sylvester G. Baker, David Salisbury; 1855, Newell Nash, William J. Charles; 1856, Victory P. Jones, T. G. Cutler; 1857, Philip Strong, Elias J. Aldrich, Harvey M. Babbitt; 1858, Moses A. Norris, James C. Chaffee; 1859, T. G. Cutler, Samuel Impson, Charles A. Clement; 1860, David 0. Everest, William Bradshaw; 1861, S. B. Farr; 1862, Samuel Wells; 1863, Henry Miller, James L. Clement; 1864, John H. Chamberlain, David O. Everest; 1865, S. B. Farr, David * Harmon Ostrander appointed to fill vacancy, Feb. 25,1850. * H farmon Ostratnder appointed to fill1 vacancy, Feb. 25, 1850. Daniel Frary................. 7 James Ketchum................. 17 Sylvester Brown................. 7 W. H. Stevens..................... 32 Horace H. Hadley............... 19 Benjamin P. Wolcott.....Personal John Pettibone............ " Edwin Pettibone......... " Dewitt C. Lockman...... Benjamin H. Blair........ " Ephraim Taylor........... " Robert Love............... " Clark Brewer............... " Henry F. Bowen........... " Myron Parks..............Personal. Jephtha Waterman........ " John Greenwood.......... E. B. D. Hicks............. Chauncey B. Palmer..... " Grove Love.................. " Royal Cooley............... " James Clark.............. " Charles M. Morrill...... " Aaron S. Dyckman........ " Thomas Southward....... " Freeman Southward...... " Robert Ivey................ The total amount of taxes levied upon residents during the same year was $19.07. 524 HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN. -- -. - -7 I Myers, Orrin Plumb; 1866, Edmund R. Allen, William Z. Bronson, Henry C. Story; 1867, Elijah J. Heath, John J. Starr; 1868, Benjamin Depuy; 1869, Martin Joslin; 1870, W. H. Gregory, Benjamin Depuy; 1871, Ransom Snell; 1872, William Jones, Hiram Cobb; 1873, Lawson D. Herman; 1874, William 0. Bond, Henry C. Story, David R. Wheeler; 1875, James H. Eldridge, Solomon Jewell; 1876, A. H. Haines; 1877, James H. Underhill, Horace Ward; 1878, James H. Underhill; 1879, James H. Eldridge. ASSESSORS. 1850, Chauncey B. Palmer, Henry F. Bowen; 1851, Henry C. Southward, Robert Love; 1852, W. B. Clement, Jerome Thrasher; 1875, William H. Gregory, Edson Howard. Supervisors all other years. HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS. 1849, E. B. D. Hicks, Peter T. Valleau, Uriah Stevens; 1850, William Impson; 1851, C. B. Palmer, Abram Nash; 1852, Jerome Thrasher; 1853, Philip Strong; 1855, Samuel Impson; 1856, Tarrant G. Cutler; 1857, Chauncey Wise; 1858, Samuel Impson; 1859, Tarrant G. Cutler; 1860, Henry C. Strong; 1861, Oscar Everest; 1862, William T. Perrin; 1863, Charles R. Nightingale; 1864, Salmon B. Farr, John W. Veley, Elias J. Aldrich; 1865, Charles Goodwin; 1866, Henry S. Sheldon, John G. Davis, Samuel Becker; 1867, Leander Simons, David Wise; 1868, John W. Veley; 1869, William H. Gregory; 1870, John V. Daratt; 1871, Hurlbut Brooks; 1872, M. W. Henry; 1873, George R. Palmer; 1874, John Graham; 1875-76, George R. Palmer; 1877, George R. Elms; 1878, John V. Daratt; 1879, Newland N. Nash. DRAIN COMMISSIONERS. 1872, George W. Howland; 1873, Mathew Atmore; 1874, John W. Veley; 1875, William Healey; 1878, Elijah M. Brown. SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 1849, C. B. Palmer, Ephraim Taylor; 1850, Abel P. Conant; 1851, Newell Nash, William Adair; 1852, Aaron S. Dyckman, W. B. Clement; 1853, Chauncey B. Palmer, Jordon H. Jones; 1854, James Clement; 1855, Abel P. Conant; 1856, Victory P. Jones; 1857, John Smolk, John Draper; 1858, Chauncey Wise, James C. Chaffee; 1859, Augustus House; 1860, David D. Wise, John Goble; 1861, Stephen L. Babbitt; 1862, David D. Wise; 1863, William P. Perrin, David D. Wise; 1864, Lewis A. Churchill; 1865, William Bronson, Milton G. Wise; 1866, Leander Simmons, Edmund R. Allen; 1867, John J. Sturr; 1868, Leander Simmons; 1869, John J. Sturr; 1870, William Z. Bronson; 1871, John Fessenden; 1872, George R. Elms, T. S. Potter; 1873, David H. Smith; 1874, David D. Wise, Hiram Cobb; 1875, Lawrence Knowles; 1876, James H. Eldridge; 1877, David D. Wise; 1878, Arthur Webster; 1879, John Graham. TOWNSHIP SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS. 1875-77, Otis L. Moshier; 1878, Arthur Webster: 1879, Otis L. Moshier. DIRECTORS OF THE POOR. 1849, Peter T. Valleau, Jephtha Waterman; 1850, P. M. Brooks, Clark Brewer; 1851, Charles M. Morrill, Newell Nash; 1852, Rudolph Rogers; 1854, Henry Brown, Thomas Story; 1855, Henry Brown, Philip Strong; 1856, Andrew H. Jones; 1857, Abram Nash, Thomas Randall; 1858, David O. Everest, Thomas Story; 1859, David Wise, Samuel Impson; 1860, David D. Wise, Newell Nash; 1861, Henry C. Cutler, Marvin Lowell; 1862, David Wise, Arnold Clement. CONSTABLES. 1849, John Pettibone, Benjamin P. Wolcott, Robert Love, James Clark; 1850, Ephraim Taylor, Royal Cooley; 1851, E. B. D. Hicks, Peter Miller, Freeman Southward, Abram Nash; 1852, E. B. D. Hicks, Albert Abrams; 1853, Isaac H. Conklin, John Dodson, Dewitt Church, Obadiah Munn; 1854, Robert Ivey, James Clement, John J. Charles, J. G. Ostrander; 1855, Alanson His cook, T. G. Cutler, Samuel Impson, Jr., David Deforest; 1856, S. B. Farr, T. G. Cutler, Andrew H. Jones, Abram Nash; 1857, William Rapp, Seth Newcomb, Philip Strong, Jr., Erastus P. Brown; 1858, Charles Clement, Jacob Gruber, Syrenus Daniels, Charles Finch; 1859, Edwin T. Phelps, Henry C. Cutler, Syrenus Daniels, John Allen; 1860, William H. Bradshaw, Charles H. Finch, Ezra Fasmire; 1861, Samuel Impson, David Wise; 1862, John W. Veley, Nathan A. Wood, Charles F. Norton, David M. Dayton; 1863, William Stevens, Nathan A. Wood, Lyman Milliman, Elias J. Aldrich; 1864, Charles Stamp, Charles F. Norton, Benjamin Depuy, Abram Nash; 1865, Mason Cutler, Nathan A. Wood, Alexander Baxter; 1866, Charles A. Clement, Lorenzo D. Story, Nathan A. Wood, Loren W. Norris; 1867, Jonathan C. Thompson, John W. Veley, James B. Chilson, Lee Mason; 1868, Orrin Phelps, Lee Mason, Lewis Camfield, James B. Chilson; 1869, Samuel Hayes, William Stevens, W. R. Story, Edwin Aldrich; 1870, Porter Salisbury, Lee Mason, Shepard Baldwin, Edwin Aldrich; 1871, A. 0. Story, C. W. Stamp, J. P. Williams; 1872, Frank Jones, Judson Bennett, George Conway, Abraham Gregory; 1873, Augustus Smith, George Galland, James Lane, Charles Veley; 1874, John Slover, Charles Veley; 1875, Eugene Dustin, Frank Everest, John F. Slover, Bradley Lane; 1876, M. Woodward, E. D. Bradley, Frank Everest, Eugene Dustin; 1877, Millard Woodward, Edward Aldrich, Shepard H. Baldwin, George Walker; 1878, Charles A. Spencer, Bradley Lane, Warren Green; 1879, Charles A. Spencer, John Slover, George Smith, and James Whelpley. LATER SETTLEMENTS IN PINE GROVE. For many years Mattawan, Paw Paw, and Kalamazoo were the principal shipping- and trading-points for the inhabitants of this region, the manufacture and sale of shingles being the principal reliance of the poorer classes for the means of purchasing necessary " store-goods." The progress of settlement in the eastern half of Pine Grove was very slow, on account of its isolated position. Being hemmed in on the east and south by a swamp one mile wide, its general surface quite hilly and broken, and a reputation for poor soil, it was in 1864 very sparsely settled. Mr. Baxter had settled and made a small opening on section 27, E. J. Aldrich and Curran Elms on section 34, Mr. Cobb and Stoughton Warner on section 35. Wm. H. Gregory had just built a cabin on section 23, while on and north of the centre K. Withey, Thos. Donaldson, S. Williams, S. Becker, L. Harbolt, and a few others had let the light of the sun in spots into this dense forest of oak, beech, and pine, and were striving to make themselves homes. VILLAGE OF KENDALL. In June of 1864, Lucius B. Kendall bought of Judge E. B. Dyckman 160 acres of land, densely covered with pine and oak timber, on section 22, and in company with James Thistle laid the foundation of a steam saw-mill on the banks of Duck Lake. In July, Albert Arms, of Kalamazoo, became associated with them in the enterprise. The mill was completed and the first lumber sawed about the 1st of September. There were no roads in this region, and the lumber was hauled with much labor, and under many difficulties, out of the forest through Almena to Mattawan,-twelve miles,-the nearest point on the Michigan Central Railroad. Soon finding that the oak of this region was of too "brash" a nature to be salable in the Chicago market, the company at once resolved to go into the stave business. Machinery was purchased, put into the mill, and the business commenced. In the spring of 1865, P. Ranney and W. L. Cutting, of Kalamazoo, became associated with the company, adding more capital, and the business was pushed forward with energy under the name and firm of Kendall & Co. : d 7 f~ n /DAVID WNIS'E, son of Daniel and Elizabeth Wise, was born of German parents in the town of Sharon, Schoharie Co., N. Y., Feb. 26, 1804, he being the youngest of a family of nine sons and two daughters. At the age of eight or nine years he was sent to an English school, at which time he could scarcely speak or understand a word of the English language. At that period the school facilities were limited, and his father, being only in moderate circumstances, was unable to give his children more than a common-school education. At the age of fourteen years his father died and left him upon his own resources. At the age of fifteen he went to learn the tanner and currier trade, at which he worked for three years. In March, 1822, himself, mother, and two older brothers, moved West to what was then a wilderness country, the town of Cicero, Onondaga Co., N. Y. The first summer after settling in Onondaga County he worked for his brother clearing land, and thus saved money enough to buy three acres of land for a trip to California in April, 1850. He returned home Jan. 8, 1851. In the autumn of 1851 he, with his eldest son, took a trip into Michigan, and were induced to purchase an interest in a saw-mill. In the spring of 1852 he, with his family, left Baldwinsville and moved to Pine Grove, Van Buren Co., Mich., arriving May 12, 1852. In 1853 he represented the township of Pine Grove in the board of supervisors. In the fall of 1853 he disposed of his interest in mill and lands to John Smolk, Jr., of Antwerp, and Jan. 1, 1854, he moved with his family to Kalamazoo, Mich., where he bought village property and erected a sash-, blind-, and door-factory, which he carried on until June, 1855, when he sold and moved back to Baldwinsville, N. Y., where he had left some property unsold. While there he was engaged mainly as a master builder. Having disposed of his property in April, DAVID WISE. himself, upon which to erect his tanyard and buildings. In the fall of the same year he comm e n c e d erecting his buildings and gathering together hides to tan upon;..; shares, which at that time was a customary practice * with small tanneries. MaIrch 9, Catharine Young, daughter of George X i Y and Margar et:!:j Young. She was born Aug. 3, 1801, in Minden, Mont"r, o gomery Co., N. Y. In 1821 she, with MRS. CATHARINE (YOUNG) WISE. the rest of their family,moved West to Cicero, N. Y. There being a pioneer log shanty near his tanyard, he moved his family into it and commenced housekeeping. He finally worked his stock of hides through, finished the leather, and to the satisfaction of his customers. Not having capital to continue with, and, finding the business would nota support his family, in the spring of 1824 he abandoned it, and adopted the carpenter and joiner business. By his own ingenuity and persevering industry he became a master, builder, and followed it as a business with good success. In 1842 he moved to Baldwinsville, Onondaga Co., N. Y., where he invested in village property, and erected a large shop with a water-power, where he engaged in general building and the manufacture of sashes, doors, and blinds, employing a large force of men. On the night of January 8, 1849, the shop took fire and was burned to the ground, which for the time being put a:i check upon him, and prompted him to take MRS. NANCY MIL 1858, he again moved back to Pine Grove, Mich. By this time the township had improved considerably. He bought some land and erected suitable i buildings thereon. April 1, 1868, his wife died, aged nearly sixty- eight years. She had been his faithful com-: panion for forty-e _ five years, and until 11. S reared a family of eight children,five sons and threen daughters. Four of the sons are still living, in the northeast part of Van Buren Co., Mich. Nov. 10, 1870, he m a r r i e d M i s s MRS. FANNY S. (SORTOR) WISE. Fanny S. Sortor, daughter of Henry and Sally Sortor, who was born in Friendship, Allegany Co., N. Y., Sept. 20, 1833, and came to Pine Grove in 1868. She died Dec. 19, 1872, aged thirty-nine years, two montls, and twenty-nine days. As a result of the care and anxiety arising from the illness of his wife, he was prostrated by sickness, from which he did not recover until the following April. Sept. 11, 1873, he married Nancy Soule, widow of Henry Soule, and daughter of Peter and Mary Miller. She was born in Luzerne Co., Pa., August 13, 1815. Since his return from the State of New York, in 1858, he has devoted his time and attention to agricultural pursuits. In 18(1 he was elected to the office of treasurer of Pine Grove township, and continued to hold the office from year to year until 1871. 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